prosperous farmers and stockmen in the community.
   Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kellogg, one of them - Gertrude - dying in infancy. The five still living are Grace, Asahel, Mary, Florence and Portia.
   Mr. Kellogg was the first county superintendent of schools in Greeley county, and Mrs. Kellogg was the first teacher. Her pupils were only five little girls, and she herself was then only fourteen years old, but she had passed the examination for teacher.
   Mr. Kellogg in past years has served Greeley county as county commissioner and also as supervisor for his township on the county board he and his family have been for years closely identified with the business, social and educational life of this portion of Nebraska.
   Elk, deer and antelope were plentiful when Mr. Kellogg first came and he has enjoyed the pioneer privilege of living in a sod house, having boarded in "soddy" houses during his first years on the plains. He was in Scotia when the blizzard of January 12, 1888, broke on the country. He felt it necessary to be home and made his way through the icy blast. In politics he is independent and fraternally a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.

 

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LORENZ CLEMMENSEN.

   Schleswig-Holstein has given its share of good citizens to the American states, both before and after its transfer from the Danish Kingdom to the German Empire. Lorenz Clemmensen was born in the village of Rabsted, in that province, June 20, 1856. He is a son of Nicholas and Christina Clemmensen. The former died when Lorenz was but two and a half years old, and the mother about 1881, both in their native land.
   When a youth of seventeen, Mr. Clemmensen emigrated to America, sailing from Hamburg, Germany, to Hull, England, crossing by rail to Liverpool, and embarked in May, 1873, on a New York liner, reaching his destination, Clinton, Iowa, on the 7th of June. He found work on farms near Maquoketa for three months, and then came out to Nebraska in the fall of the year, coming to the state by way of Yankton. He worked around St. Helena for a number of years, engaged in various employments; during the last few years there he was engaged in the hotel busuress two years, and for nine years ran a brick yard. He removed to Hartington in 1889 and for seven years ran the Hartington House in a creditable manner. In 1903 he opened a store for the sale of flour and feed, and the year following he added the shipping of cream to his business; he learned the scientific methods of testing cream and can in a few minutes estimate the true value of any specimen submitted to him. His equipment is modern and complete and there is no delay after the delivery of the product before the producer is paid the full value of his cream. It is by fair dealing and promptness that he has built up a lucrative trade.
   Mr. Clemmensen was married at St. Helena, December 18, 1881, to Miss Annie Christisen, also a native of Schleswig-Holstein, and daughter of Hans N. and Rika Christisen. Mrs. Christisen came to America in 1879, her parents following some twelve years later. Mr. and Mrs. Christisen have one daughter, Stina, now the wife of John Sullivan, a resident of Hartington; they have two children: James Floyd and Viola. Mr. Sullivan is a son of James Sullivan, a retired resident of Hartington, of whom an extended mention is made elsewhere.
   Mr. Clemmensen was living in St. Helena at the time of the flood and witnessed all its devastations, some of the refugees from the lowlands occupied his house through the summer until a new home could be provided for them. Mr. Clemmensen well remembers the three days' blizzard of October, 1880 that began the winter of the deep snow. The blizzard of January 12, 1880, Mr. Clemmensen was near the house when the storm broke, so was not out in it for any length of time. He has fought prairie fires, as all western men have done, at a time when there had been few furrows turned in Cedar county, and a fire once started, swept for miles before burning itself out. Mr. Clemmensen has tasted life in a dugout, having occupied a log dugout when felling timber during the first few winters in the west.
   Mr. Clemmensen is held in high esteem by his neighbors and business colleagues; he has won the confidence of his patrons by his courteous manner and sterling honesty in all his dealings with them. He is a republican in politics, a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church, and of the Odd Fellows.

 

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WILLIAM B. SHOEMAKER.

   The gentleman above named is a representative Nebraskan and one of the progressive farmers and stockmen of Merrick county. He is the owner of a fine estate of seven hundred fifty-six acres, four hundred seventy-six acres of which is the homestead place in section twenty-six, township twelve, range eight. He well merits the success he has attained as an agriculturalist and stockman and worthy citizen.
   William B. Shoemaker, son of Jacob and Sarah (Brunt) Shoemaker, was born in Keokuk county, Iowa. August 11, 1850, and was eldest of twelve children. He received his education in the schools of his home state, and in the fall of 1871 came overland to Merrick county, Nebraska where he homesteaded eighty acres and timber

claimed one hundred twenty acres of land. He has been prosperous and successful and now owns, as before stated, seven hundred and fiftysix acres of land. His homestead consists of four hundred seventy-six acres, well improved, and a finely equipped stock farm. He has served fifteen years as director of his school district number two.
   In 1872, Mr. Shoemaker prospected for six months in the Black Hills and then returned to Nebraska. In 1880 he did government survey work in California one year, then again returning to his Nebraska homestead which has since remained his home place.
   On September 2, 1884, Mr. Shoemaker was married to Miss Mary Neth of Ohio, and later of Illinois. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Shoemaker: Evelyn, teacher in Chapman city school; Beatrice, wife of Frank Ritter, lives in Chapman, Nebraska; Inez, a teacher in Nebraska schools; William N., who resides at home; an infant, deceased; and George and Sarah, who reside under the parental roof.
   Mrs. Shoemaker's parents, George and Saloma (Stonebarger) Neth, live in Oklahoma; she has one sister residing in Chapman, Nebraska, and a brother in Oklahoma.
   Mr. Shoemaker is one of the earliest settlers of his locality, and has passed through all the ups and downs of frontier life. He is well and favorably known.

 

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FRED KYRISS.

   Fred Kyriss, proprietor of one of the most valuable estates in Knox county, Nebraska, has been a resident of that locality for some thirtynine years, residing in section fourteen, township thirty, range five. He is prominently known throughout the northeastern part of the state as one of the foremost farmers and stockmen in Nebraska; and after many years of hard labor in building up his farm, is now prepared to enjoy the remaining years of his life in peace and comfort surrounded by a host of good friends.
   Mr. Kyriss is a native of Germany, being born in the province of Wurtemburg on the Rhine, in the year 1840, and he is the son of Conrad and Susanna Kyriss, the mother having died when our subject was thirteen years old. Our subject grew to his young manhood in his native country and came to America in 1864 to make a fortune. He first landed in Philadelphia, where he remained four and one-half years, and then worked on a farm in Pennsylvania for two years.
   In 1872 Mr. Kyriss came to Knox county, Nebraska, having heard of the golden opportunities offered to the venturesome tiller of the soil who for almost the asking could secure good land in the west; here he took up a homestead, pre-emp tion, and tree claim of forty acres, and on this land first built a log house in which he lived for three years, then building a good log house. In the first years of his residence there, Mr. Kyriss experienced many hardships and losses, through various causes, among which was that of the grasshopper raids which destroyed all his crops for three consecutive years.
   Mr. Kyriss was united in marriage to Miss Christina Plieninger in 1864, and Mr. and Mrs. Kyriss are the parents of twelve children, named as follows : Katie, Annie, Emma, Caroline, Minnie, Charles, Henry, Fred, William, Louis, George and Harry-all living.
   Mr. Kyriss, as before stated, is a wel known man in his community, and owns a fine estate of five hundred and eighty acres of land; he is a man of sterling qualities, and is one of those sturdy sons of the fatherland who have helped so much to make Nebraska the prosperous state it is today.

 

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ERWlN M. LaGRANGE.

   Erwin M. LaGrange, who carries on a lumber and coal business in Fullerton, is one of Nance county's substantial citizens. He has been in the above business for the past twenty-six years and enjoys the distinction of being the pioneer merchant of his town He owns and occupies a handsome residence, surrounded by beautiful lawns, plentifully supplied with shade trees, which makes it one of the show places of the pretty little city. Mr. LaGrange and his family are among the best known and most popular in the locality.
   Mr. LaGrange is a son of Moses and Nancy LaGrange. He was born in Vestal, New York state, September 4, 1848, and received his education in his home state, completing his studies at Eastman's Business College, in 1870. After leaving school he accepted a traveling position with a prominent steel firm, being in their employ for about seven years. He left New York state in 1883, coming to Nance county, Nebraska, accompanied by his family, and immediately purchased the business he now owns, which he has built up in fine shape, his patronage having more than trebled during this time. He has the largest lumber yard in the county, and it is the only one that is entirely protected by a roof. He is a thorough judge of his business, and his honesty and integrity in dealing with his customers have won for him a high reputation. Mr. LaGrange has owned considerable land in this section, but at the present time has no farm interests.
   Our subject was united in marriage while still living in New York, in 1878, to Jeanette Newell, also a native of that state. Mrs. LaGrange has been a faithful helpmeet in every sense of the word, and they have raised a family of three children, Hattie. who is the wife of Wood Smith, they living in Fullerton, parents

of one daughter; Nettie and Frank living at home. Mr. LaGrange was the third member in a family of five children. He has one brother in Redlands, Cal., who owns large land interests in Nance county, a sister, Mrs. Mary Griffis, also of Redlands, Cal., another sister, Mrs. Ella Davis, who lives in Pennsylvania, and one, Miss Harriet LaGrange, who for the past thirty-five years has been a missionary in Syria. Their father died in New York state in 1873, while the mother's death occurred there in 1905.
   In the early days Mr. LaGrange was chairman of the Fullerton city council, and for two years he served as alderman.

 

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F. E. McKENZIE.

   From early childhood, Mr. Frank E. McKenzie has been a citizen of Nebraska and has been a witness of the growth of the state from the open, boundless prairies to the thickly settled, highly cultivated commonwealth that it is today. His father, Dr. H. E. McKenzie, was a native of Ohio, while the grandfather was a " hill man," as the Highlanders of Scotland were familiarly known among themselves. The mother, who before her marriage was Olive Jane Leech, was born in the state of Michigan, of Scotch and Irish descent.
   F. E. McKenzie was born in Clayton county, Iowa, twenty miles north of Dubuque, December 26, 1865. In migrating to Nebraska with his family, Doctor McKenzie came by rail from Dubuque to Vermillion, South Dakota, and crossing the big muddy Missouri near that point settled at the old town of St. James, in Cedar county, in 1872. Here he began the practice of his profession, which he has continued upwards of forty years, and for nearly that length of time has occupied the same house.
   F. E. McKenzie started out for himself at the age of fifteen, as most western youths do, filling a man's place, riding the range after cattle in the open country, both in Nebraska and on the Dakota side. After marriage he engaged in farming in Cedar county on a fine eighty acre tract which he still. owns, three and one-half miles from St. James. Here he lived until the close of the year 1904. Coming to Spencer, January 1, 1905, Mr. McKenzie opened a restaurant which he conducted until joining a large colony of Boyd county people in a settlement east of Rapid City, in Pennington county, South Dakota. There were over thirty families of them, some driving overland in their wagons, while the others occupied a train of fifteen cars that pulled out of Spencer for the new Eldorado, April, 1907. When Mr. McKenzie settled on his homestead, there was a school house within sight of his dwelling about a mile away. He came out one morning, looked at the vacant place and learned that it had been placed on trucks one night and hauled four miles further away. The disrict was about ten by twenty miles, and having but one building it was carted around at the whim or desire of first one and then another faction. Not wishing his minor children to suffer such meager educational advantages, Mr. McKenzie commuted his homestead at the earliest possible moment and returned to Spencer. Here he has since been engaged in buying and shipping stock.
   Mr. McKenzie was married at St. James, September 25, 1889, to Miss Lucy Dickinson, of St. James, who was born at Elk Point, South Dakota. Her parents, W. L. and Angeline (Zigler) Dickinson, came from Virginia and settled in Cedar county, South Dakota, in 1869. To Mr. and Mrs. McKenzie four children were born: Olive, Angeline, Homer Edward, who is farming one hundred and sixty acres of land southwest of town; Julia, and William Louis.
   Mr. McKenzie is politically a republican and fraternally an Odd Fellow, and Mrs. McKenzie is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
   Mr. McKenzie was on his father's farm in Cedar county at the time of the disastrous blizzard of January 12, 1888; he remembers well the electrical manifestation of the storm, something unusual in mid-winter. He was getting in his cattle at the time the storm struck, and in going to the farm gate, stumbled over something he discovered to be a man, who insisted that he must go on home and that he was on the right way-as a matter of fact, he was attempting to go in the opposite direction. The timely discovery of the prostrate form is all that saved the neighbor's life.
   Mr. McKenzie lived in a "soddy" while on his homestead near Rapid City. He well remembers the years when grasshoppers devastited the country, although he was only a small boy at the time.

 

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PETER FRANCIS O'GARA.

   Frank O'Gara, as be is popularly called, is one of the rising young attorneys of Cedar county. A portrait of him appears on another page. He is the second son of Roger T. O'Gara, who was for years the efficient county superintendent of schools, and was born in Cedar county, September 23, 1874. He attended the country schools and then took a business course in the Grand Island Commercial college; this was followed by a course in the Normal school at Wayne, and a year in the University of New Mexico, at Albuquerque, before he entered the law and literary department of the new state university at Lincoln. He graduated from the law department in 1906, lacking but one year in completing the literary course as well. After admission to the bar he went to Seattle, Washington, opened an office and for three years practiced his profession there. He returned to Hartington in October, 1909, and at once received a goodly amount of legal work in his old home county. In the fall

of 1910 he was elected county attorney without any opposition by the other party, so great is the good feeling toward him and his family.
   Mr. O'Gara has been a student all his life. From his ancestors he inherits a receptive mind and love for learning. As a child he was not allowed to waste his time in idle games; his father kept the children amused and occupied with good books, magazines, and papers when they had time to spare from their work. It seemed hard to them then to miss much of the sport other children enjoyed, but the benefits they have since derived from constant study is a great recompense for the loss of idle games in their earlier years. Mr. O'Gara is a member of the Catholic church, the Paladian literary society of the university; and of the "Barbarians," an anti-fraternal association of his college days. Mr. O'Gara was partly reared in a German community, that of Lawn Ridge, and acquired a fluent use of the Teutonic tongue with an accent hardly to be distinguished from the native German.
   The blizzard of October 15 to 17, inclusive, of 1880, is well remembered by an incident of the storm. A neighbor fearing for the safety of his children, came for them at school, and took Frank O'Gara home as he passed that way; this was the winter of the deep snow and the elder O'Gara found it difficult to make his rounds visiting the schools of the county that winter. In the fearful blizzard of January 12, 1888, the boy remained all night in the school house, hungry, but safe. Mr. O'Gara has seen antelope running wild on the plains, though they disappeared before he was a half-grown lad; and grey wolves, the big ones from the timber, occasionally strayed this far from the river and its big trees. His first recollections of home are of a sod house which was later replaced with a log dwelling before lumber was plentiful enough to make their later residence, a fine frame structure.
   Mr. O 'Gara has a pleasing personality, is a "good mixer," and a most excellent conversationalist; to sum him all up, one can do no better than quote the remark of one of his colleagues in court: "Mr. O'Gara is thoroughly a gentleman in all that the word implies."

P. F. O'Gara.

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ROBERT E. CASE.

   Robert E. Case, dealer in pumps and windmills, is a son of Samuel S. and Nancy (Poe Kepler) Case, was born in Defiance county, Ohio, March 7, 1863, and was sixth in a family of seven children. In infancy our subject moved with his parents to the state of Michigan, where they lived some years and then went to Indiana. In the fall of 1875 the family came to Boone county, Nebraska, and engaged in farming. The father died in 1903, and the mother in 1905.
   About 1880 Mr. Case purchased two hundred and forty acres of land in section one, township eighteen, range five, and later purchased a half interest in one hundred and seventy acres. While he has owned splendid farm interests, he has always lived in St. Edwards, engaged in the implement business until 1907, when he established himself in the pump and wind-mill business he is still conducting. He feeds a goodly number of cattle, and also buys and ships them.
   On November 25, 1885, Mr. Case married Elizabeth Schucker, who was born in Pennsylvania.
   They have had five children, whose names are as follows: Nannie E., Maggie M., Vern D., and Anna H., who reside under the parental roof; and one son who died in infancy.
   Mr. Case has served several years on the St. Edwards city school board, and also three years on the city council, which record speaks for itself to the effect that Mr. Case has been an efficient and worthy citizen of his community.
   Mr. Case's parents have been dead a number of years. He has one brother who resides in New Jersey, one sister in Michigan, one in Nevada, one in California, and two sisters deceased.
   Mr. Case is one of the substantial men of his county, and is widely and favorably known. He is one of the foremost men in all matters which tend to advance the agricultural and public interests of his community, as stated before, having held public office, and lends his influence for the betterment of conditions wherever needed. Mr. Case and his family are pleasantly situated in their comfortable home in St. Edwards, surrounded by friends and acquaintances.

 

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OTTO MILLER.

   Otto Miller, residing on section thirty-two, township twenty-five, range two, of Wayne county, Nebraska, is regarded as one of the leading citizens of his locality and has always taken a leading part in promoting its growth and welfare, since attaining his majority. He is a native of the county, born in 1876, and a son of Gustave and Minnie Miller. The parents were natives of Prussia, Germany, and came to the United States in 1872, on a sailing vessel, spending over ten weeks on the voyage from Hamburg to Baltimore. After remaining in St. Louis, Missouri, for about nine months, they came to Wayne county and took up a homestead on the southwest quarter of section thirty-two. Their son, Otto, now lives in the northwest quarter. They built a dugout, and this was their residence for several years. They then erected a mud house, and some time later the father made brick a erected a substantial house with them.
   In the early days of their residence in the new home, their nearest markets were Columbus

and Sioux City, and they were obliged to undergo many hardships and privations. In sharp contrast to their early struggles may be considered the conditions that surround the farmer of the present day. They needed much faith to look forward and believe in the good things which the future has brought. For the first several years, the ravages of the grasshopper greatly interfered with raising crops, and they were many times obliged to fight prairie fires which threatened to devastate their homes and produce, as well as their stock. In the early days deer and antelope were fairly plentiful and helped supply meat for their larder, but gradually early conditions have given way to advancement of the state and the agricultural and commercial prosperity of today.
   Otto Miller received his education in the early schools of the county, and was reared to farm work. He has had ample opportunity to study agricultural conditions in Wayne county and to appreciate the possibilities of the soil and climate. He is engaged in a general line of farming and pays considerable attention to dairying.
   Mr. Miller was married in 1900 to Miss Anna Schultz, a native of Stanton county, Nebraska. and a daughter of John Schultz. She was reared in Stanton county. Four children have been born of this union, namely: Winfred, Pearl, Adelina and Lloyd.

 

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DAVID JENKINS.

   David Jenkins, retired, and a prominent and highly esteemed citizen of Schuyler, Nebraska, is a son of John and Hannah Jenkins, and is a native of Wales, his birth occurring in Montgomeryshire, February 4, 1828. He received his education in the local schools of his home place, and later learned painting, plumbing, and glazing.
   On May 22, 1852, Mr. Jenkins was married to Miss Margaret L. Owen, also of Welch birth. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins came to America in August of 1852, locating in Utica, New York; and seventeen years later moved to Chicago and after two years residence there went to Watertown, Wisconsin always working at his trade of painting.
   In 1861 Mr. Jenkins enlisted in Company K, Third Wisconsin Cavalry, serving until the close of the war. He participated, among other engagements, in the battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas. He received his honorable discharge at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and then returned toWisconsin for six years, coming on into Butler county, Nebraska, in 1870, where he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land near Linwood, residing here until 1884, when he moved to Schuyler and built a. good home where he now lives.
   Mr. Jenkins, though much advanced in years, is remarkably active, and until the last few years has been engaged in painting. Mrs. Jenkins died September 1, 1903, at her home in Schuyler, survived by her husband and four children: David A., is married, has two children, and resides in Chicago; John E., also married, has four children and lives in Central City, Nebraska; Walter S., is married, lives in Butler county, and has eight children ; Isabella, deceased February 27, 1868; and Charles R., also married, and living in Schuyler.
   Mr. Jenkins' sons, all like himself, are painters by trade. Mr. Jenkins is one of the earliest settlers of this part of Nebraska. He is a progressive man of affairs and prosperous, is a selfmade, and one who is widely and favorably known. He has traveled extensively, and when a young man in Wales was a member of Montgomeryshire Yoeman Cavalry. Mr. Jenkins was born within twenty miles of Shakespeare's birthplace.

 

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PETER JENSEN.

   Peter Jensen, who resides on section twentytwo, township twenty-seven, range five, in Antelope county, Nebraska, is one of the leading old timers in this section who has always done his full share in the bettering of conditions throughout the region in which he lives.
   Mr. Jensen was born on Loland Island, Denmark, September 28, 1840. His father, Jens Jensen, a farmer by occupation, was born in 1796, and died in 1880, having reared a family of eight children. Mr. Jensen's early life was spent at farm labor in his native country, and in 1877 he emigrated to America, crossing the North Sea from Copenhagen to Hull, whence he proceeded by rail to Liverpool, and from that port took passage to Portland, Maine. He at once came west to Detroit, Michigan, where he found farm work near the city for about six months, then migrated to Marshall county, Iowa, where he remained for three years and a half, engaged as before in farm labor.
   Mr. Jensen moved to Antelope county, Nebraska, in 1881, taking up a homestead on the section mentioned above, and early begun to improve the tract. For some time he boarded with a neighbor who lived in a sod house, and went through the usual hard experiences incident to the life of the pioneer, though at the time these discouragements did not daunt them. Although during the first years he suffered loss of crops from hail, droughts, etc., he stuck to farming, at which he has made a very satisfactory success, at the present time being proprietor of a good home and estate consisting of one hundred and twenty acres of land, ornamentedwith fine groves of trees, also several small orchards containing nearly all varieties of fruit

which supply a large part of their living, and furnishes no small part of the income from the farm.
   Mr. Jensen was muted in marriage April 6, 1891, to Miss Anna Jensen, who was born in Germany and came to America in 1888. Her father was a blacksmith by trade. He died in the " old country'' in 1890.
   Mr. Jensen is a democrat in polities, active in local affairs, and with his good wife enjoys the respect and esteem of all who know them.

 

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G. HENRY KRUEGER.

   Among the successful self-made men of Pierce county may be truly noted G. Henry Krueger. He came to the new world from his mother country in the year 1883, and since his residence here has displayed an enterprising spirit and the exercise of good judgment in a manner that commends him to all as a worthy citizen. He now resides in section twenty-six, township twenty-seven, range two, and is one of the prosperous farmers of his locality. He came to the region as a pioneer, has accumulated good property and applied himself closely to his calling.
   Mr. Krueger was born in the province of Hanover, Germany, September 22, 1860, and is the son of John Krueger, who died in 1890 at the age of sixty-four years, and Mary Warnek, who died in 1907, at the age of seventy-five years. Our subject received his schooling in Germany, and later followed the occupation of farming.
   In coming to America, Mr. Krueger crossed the Haven of Bremen, to England, and from there sailed to New York, whence he came to the west and settled in Pierce county in 1883. Here he bought land in section twenty-six, township twenty-seven, range two, which is his present location, as before stated.
   In the year 1890, Mr. Krueger was married to Miss Amelia Siedshlack, a native of the province of Pommerania, Germany, whose parents caine to America in 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Krueger have had five children born to them, whose names are as follows: Ella, Arthur, Ida, Otto, and Lena.
   Mr. Krueger is a member of the German Ltheran church, and votes the republican ticket.
   He owns one hundred and sixty acres of good land. He is prominent among the old settlers, and is respected as a man who has done his part in adding to the material development of the community in which he lives.

 

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LARS PETERSON.

   Among the members of the farming community in Howard county, who own well improved estates, is the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this review. For many years he has been engaged in agricultural pursuits, is thoroughly versed in this line of work, and has met with prononuced success in his chosen career. He has a pleasant home in Posen precinct, and is one of the well known and highly respected men of his locality.
   Lars Peterson was born in Denmark on September 10, 1848, grew to manhood there, and came to the United States at the age of twenty-two. The entire Peteison family, with the exception of one sister, who died in Denmark, settled in America, Mr. Peterson being the fifth child in a family of seven.
   Our subject first located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, spent about three years in that vicinity, then came to Howard county, where he took a preemption on section six, township fourteen, range eleven. This tract is now a part of Farwell's townsite, our subject selling it out when the city was first laid out. He later bought land adjoining, and owns, altogether, about four hundred and twenty-two acres of fine land right near Farwell, his homestead being in the suburbs, and making one of the pleasantest homes imaginable. he has erected a modern residence, and the place is supplied with every improvement necessary for running a model farm.
   Mr. Peterson was married on August 4, 1874, to Miss Lena Akren, the ceremony taking place in Grand Island, Nebraska. Mrs. Peterson is a native of Norway, coming to America in the fall of 1870, in company with two sisters. Her mother lived in the old country until January, 1911, when her death occurred. Mrs. Peterson's father died some years ago. Mr. Peterson's parents are both dead. Seven children have blessed the union of our subject and his esteemed wife, named as follows: Olaffina P., Ralph L., Otto A., Giftha M., Stephanus, Martha Octavia, and Clarence Leo. Martha Octavia and Otto A. are now deceased, while all the rest are married, and settled in comfortable homes of their own, with the exception of Clarence Leo, who remains with his parents.

 

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NELS NYGREN.

   Nels Nygren, a prominent Swedish - American citizen of Arcadia, Nebraska, now retired from active life, is well known for his integrity and reliability in all his dealings and for his generosity in furthering the cause of any movement for the development and upbuilding of his community. He was born near Lund, Sweden, February 27, 1850, received his education in his native country and there reached his majority, at which time he had served one summer in the Swedish army. In 1871 he came to America, sailing from Copenhagen to London. going by rail to Liverpool and sailing thence to New York in the "Minnesota," the entire trip occupying

twenty-two days. Locating at Omaha, he worked for the Union Pacific Railroad Company, being a painter by profession.
   April 5, 1876, Mr. Nygren married Caroline Nelson, also a native of Sweden, who was brought to America in early childhood. The first home of this young couple was in Saunders county, Nebraska, where they purchased eighty acres of railroad land, and in 1880 they removed to Valley county, where they secured a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of land, and a timber claim of the same size adjoining, on section thirty, township eighteen, range fifteen, which was their home for twenty-three or four years. They subsequently lived on various farms for short periods, and eventually purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land a mile and a half north of Arcadia, which was their home for some time. He has owned and sold several other tracts of good Nebraska land. In March, 1909, Mr. Nygren retired from more active work and purchased four and one-half acres of land within the city limits of Arcadia, where he has a comfortable dwelling and enjoys the fruits of his former hard work and industry.
   While living on a farm, Mr. Nygren was instrumental in organizing the Yale school district, of which he served many years as treasured and director. He was also the first postmaster in Yale township and prominent in all local affairs. He also helped organize the first church in the township and for years was superintendent of its Sunday school, giving one and one-half acres of his farm land for the building site of the Lutheran church. He is regarded as a public-spirited and useful citizen and has a large number of warm friends. He now owns one hundred and sixty acres of land which he has developed into a fine stock farm, besides good city property. He has passed through all the trying experiences and privations of pioneer life and is better able to enjoy his present comforts and freedom from care for having lived through those strenuous years. He is one of the early setlers of the state and one of the best known men of his part of it.
   Nine children were born to Mr. Nygren and wife: Lily E., wife of F. C. Williams, of Valley county, has two children; Minnie C., wife of Victor Rosenquist, of Valley county, has two children; Rose Nellie, wife of Henry Cremeen, of Valley county, has two children; Annie N., wife of Oliver Terhune, of Valley county, has two children; Daisy M., died at the age of two years, March 5, 1887; Hattie E., married Leo Lindley, and they live in Ord; Charlie William, Mabel Ruth, and Monna Z., at home. In politics he is a republican and is a member of the Congregational church.
   Mr. Nygren's first residence was a dugout with a sod front, against which he later built a frame addition which was the family residence until he was able to build a more pretentious residence some ten years later.

 

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CHARLES F. WINTER.

    A typical pioneer of northeastern Nebraska is represented by the gentleman above named, Charles F. Winter. He has lived many years in this section of the country and has been a part of the growth and development of this region, building up for himself a substantial home and fortune by his perseverance and thrift, becoming one of the foremost citizens of Madison county.
   Mr. Winter is a native of Jefferson county, Wisconsin, in which state he was born April 24, 1865, a son of William and Minnie (Stark) Winter, both natives of Prussia, Germany. The father served his native land in the war of 1848, and in 1856 left Germany and came to America, setting sail on a sailboat and spending eleven weeks on the water. Upon arriving in New York, they immediately proceeded westward, settling in Wisconsin, where they lived nine years. It was while residing here that the father served in the civil war, enlisting in the Twenty-seventh Wisconsin Infantry.
   In 1866 our subject's father and family came to Madison county, Nebraska, making the journey in the usual manner of those days-by ox team and covered wagon-the trip consuming about six weeks. The object in coming to this far western country, as it was then known, was to obtain the cheap lands that were then offered to the public. Upon arriving at their destination, the father took up a homestead claim on section ten, township twenty-four, range one, which is the present home of our subject's brother, Frank Winter, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. The first house erected on this land was built of logs, and was later replaced by a substantial frame residence.
   Deer and antelope were plentiful in those early days on the western frontier; many hardships and privations were suffered at that time, and among other dangers that of the prairie fires that swept the open prairies were not the least, as many times they had to be fought to save their lives and property. In 1874, our subject then but a lad of about nine years, and his cousin, who was near the same age, wanted to cook some eggs, and fuel not being convenient, they took down the barn door which they used for wood to feed the fire, and the barn became ignited and burned down. Among other losses our subject's father endured was that of some stock in the memorable blizzard of January 12, 1888. But those times have passed to history, and remain but a faint recollection, and happier and more prosperous times are now here.
   In 1890 Mr. Winter was united in marriage to

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