Miss Emma Oestreich, and Mr. and Mrs. Winter are the parents of six children, whose names are as follows: Henry, Edwin, Venus, Agnes, Linda, and Lenora. They are a fine family and enjoy the respect and esteem of all who know them, and their friends are many. They are members of the German Lutheran church, and Mr. Winter is a democrat.

 

---

LOUIS PIERSON.

   Louis Pierson, deceased, formerly lived in Sherman county, Nebraska, where he was held in the highest esteem and was accorded a high station as a public-spirited and worthy citizen.
   Mr. Pierson was born in Sweden on March 11, 1846. When a young man he engaged in farming, and in 1872 came to America. Like his brother Andrew, he worked for a time in the mines in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
   In 1876, he came to Burt county, Nebraska, where he farmed until 1882, then came to Sherman county, where he purchased a farm of eighty acres in section thirteen, township sixteen, range sixteen, and a few years later filed on a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres; after securing title to this, he sold and returned to his first purchase, which remains the family home to this time.
   On September 23, 1896, he was married to Miss Johannah Vinburg, also a native of Sweden who came to America in 1894.
   Mr. Pierson died on May 17, 1910, on his home farm survived by his wife and one son, Oscar who is still at home.
   Mrs. Pierson lives on the old home tract, surrounded by a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
   Mr. Pierson was well-known and highly respected by all with whom he came in contact.

 

---

JOHN McMANUS.

   One of the finely developed farms in Cedar county is owned and operated by Mr. John McManus, and lies in section thirty-five, township thirty, range three, east. Mr. McManus one of the worthy citizens and prominent old settlers of the locality, and is intimately identified with the growth and progress of the agricultural and commercial interests of the region.
   Mr. McManus was born in county Fermanha, Ireland, in 1841, to John and Elizabeth McManus, typical old countrymen, who came with their family to America about 1848. They crossed the sea in a sailboat, and were on the water for eleven long weeks and three days, embarking at Liverpool and landing at New Orleans, thence up the Mississippi river to Galena, Illinois.
   They settled in LaFayette, Wisconsin, remaining in that state up to 1894.
   In 1871 our subject went to Sioux City, Iowa, and after but a short time in that place, secured a team and drove through the country to Dixon county, Nebraska, and there filed on a homestead, built a shanty, and lived for many years.
   Mr. McManus came to Cedar county in 1894, and has developed a good farm, which he still occupies, and where he has passed through all the various phases of pioneer life. He has experienced the usual hardships that fell to the lot of every early settler, including suffering privation occasioned by loss of crops by storms, grasshopper raids, etc., but through it all has come out victorious, and has nothing but praise for the state of his adoption, believing, like every other loyal Nebraskan, that it is the golden state of the union, and well worth effort in the way of hard work and the discouragements attendant thereto in the realization of possessing a good home and competence for old age.
   Mr. McManus was united in marriage to Miss Ellen McCabe in 1863, the ceremony taking place at Benton, Wisconsin.
   Nine children have been born to them. They are named as follows: Mary Ellen, William Henry, deceased; William, Emmet, Elizabeth, Ann, George C., John Henry, Celia, Clara and Joseph Albert.

 

---

JOHN SEIM.

   As an old settler of Merrick county, Nebraska, an agriculturist of untiring energy and perserverance and a worthy citizen, the gentleman above named needs no introduction to the people of his locality. He has spent nearly forty years of his life in their midst, has gained a host of staunch friends, and incidentally acquired a good home and placed himself in position to enjoy his declining years in peace and quiet.
   John Seim was born in Germany, October 7, 1846, and was third of seven children in the family of Casper and Annie Seim, who had four sons and three daughters. Mr. Seim, his brother Casper who lives in Missouri, and a sister, Mrs. Fred Stratmann who lives in Merrick county, are the surviving children.
   Mr. Seim, with his sister, came to America in 1867, and first located in the state of Michigan where he remained five years, and while there was joined by his father and mother from Germany. He came to Merrick county, Nebraska, in May, 1872, taking up a homestead on section thirty-two, township thirteen, range eight, which is his present location. Mr. Seim was one of the original homesteaders in this neighborhood. His father and mother came here from Michigan in about 1874 and homesteaded on section twenty-eight, township thirteen, range eight near his son's land, and the homestead was his place of residence until the time of his death in 1878. The mother died in 1886.
   John Seim was married on his homestead farm October 12, 1878, to Miss Selma Wagner,

and to them ten children have been born: Anna, who is married to Mr. Will Bruns, has four children and lives in Merrick county, Nebraska; Mary, married to William Jess, has two children and resides in Merrick county; Elsie, is married to Charles Rovert, has two children and lives in Hall county; and John, Edward, Frank, Clara, Amanda, Carl, and Hilda, the latter seven being unmarried. All of the above named were born in Merrick county. Mr. and Mrs. Seim and children are a pioneer family of the county, well known, and have the respect and esteem of their many friends.
   Mr. Seim has four hundred and eighty acres of good land in his farm, on which he has erected substantial buildings and a fine residence, and is known as a successful man.

 

---

DR. WM. HAZEN.

   Dr. Wm. Hazen has been a resident of Creighton for the past twenty-seven years, and a well-known Nebraskan since 1876, at which time he settled on a homestead at Walnut Grove, Knox county. His first dwelling there was a dug-out built in the side of a bank, with a front of logs fitted with a window and door, furnished with an elevated oven stove, bed, table, and practically nothing else, all of the rudest fashion imaginable. He at once began the practice of medicine through the country, and soon became famed far and near as a practitioner, particularly in diptheria cases, before the discovery of serum had robbed that disease of its terrors. At different times he was called into Iowa when this malady became prevalent, and by preventative measures he usually checked the spread of the disease in a family. He came in the fall of 1884 to Creighton, from where he has a wider field of practice, no condition of weather or roads keeping him from answering a sick call. He comes of a sturdy race and is almost beyond physical fatigue. He has walked from Walnut Grove to Yankton, a distance of sixty-five miles, in a day, and often to Niobrara and return, a little 'hike" of fifty miles. Frequently in these journeys he would out-distance a horse and rider, seldom accepting a ride on a loaded wagon, giving as a reason that "he was in a hurry," and he has had many amusing experiences of this kind.
   Dr. Hazen was born near Deerfield, Dane county, Wisconsin, on April 13, 1850. He began the study of medicine at the age of fifteen, under the tutelage of an uncle, removing with the latter to Iowa and locating near Early, in Sac county. Later he practiced for short periods at Odebolt.
   Since coming to Nebraska, Dr. Hazen has acquired considerable property, proving up on a homestead, and is now one of the prosperous and successful men of his state. He has been through every change that has come to Nebraska, experiencing blizzards, droughts, etc. Wild game was abundant in those days, and at one time with a friend, he counted a herd of over three hundred deer and antelope on the prairie between O 'Neill and Walnut Grove. Prairie fires were then a common occurrence. At one time when on a hunting trip with some freinds, Dr. Hazen and party were obliged to dodge around the end of a prairie fire and several times to dash through the flames to get to a clear spot. His original homestead contained considerable good timber, and an abundance of fine water from the East Branch stream. He had two acres laid out in garden, which were at different times almost ruined by deer running through it.
   The doctor has always been particularly fond of floriculture and tree culture. He has planted seeds of all the different fruits, also various kinds of nuts, all aloug the streams of Knox county, covering some thirty square miles, which some day will be appreciated by the coming generations. On the lot adjoining the one on which his house stands, he has planted over four hundred rose bushes, comprising forty or more varieties, also many other flowering shrubs and plants, making of it one of the most beautiful spots imaginable during the season.
   Dr. Hazen was married in Niobrara, in 1887, to Emma Walsh, who is a native of Tennessee. Five children were born to them, namely: Floyd Orris, who runs his father's farm ten miles north and east of Creighton; Elsa May, graduating from the high school with the class of 1910; Elmer, Waymond and Edith, all attending school at present.
   Dr. Hazen is a republican. He is a leading member of the Independent Order Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and with Mrs. Hazen is prominent with the Degree of Honor.

 

---

CLARK NEWCOMER.

   For over thirty-eight years the gentleman here named was closely identified with the agricultural interests of Merrick county, Nebraska, and during this time he acquired a valuable estate by dint of his industry and honesty. His death occurred October 27, 1910, and was mourned by a host of friends and neighbors. A portrait of Mr. Newcomer will be found on another page.
   Clark Newcomer, son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Hershey) Newcomer, was born in Pennsylvania, October 27, 1835, and was fourth in a family of ten children; one of the brothers resides in California; three in Pennsylvania; one in Spokane, Washington; a sister in Pennsylvania; and the others being deceased, as are also the parents, both having passed away in Pennsylvania, the father in 1868, and the mother in 1898.
   Our subject received his education in the home state, and later went to Illinois, where he

followed farming for almost a year and a half, when he returned to Pennsylvania, and in August, 1861, enlisted in Company B, Twenty-second Pennsylvania Cavalry, serving something over three years. Much time was spent in skirmishing, but the most important battles engaged in were at Greenbriar, Rumney, and Winchester, all in West Virginia; and Cedar Creek, and Falling Water, Maryland. At the latter place Mr. Newcomer was wounded, being shot through the shoulder, after which being unfitted for regular service he was employed at headquarters. Our subject returned to Pennsylvania after the war, receiving his honorable discharge in the fall of 1864, at Pittsburg; and on February 22, 1865, was married to Caroline Boyd, also of Pennsylvania. In 1867 Mr. and Mrs. Newcomer went to Tennessee where they engaged in farming, and in August of 1871, came with family to Merrick county, Nebraska, homesteading one hundred and sixty acres of land in section thirty-two, township fourteen, range six. Mrs. Newcomer died December 5, 1879, on the homestead farm, survived by her husband and one child, Cora, who is married to George Baker and resides in Central City, and has eleven children. Mr. Newcomer sold his homestead in 1884 and purchased at various times and in various tracts something over five hundred acres.
   On October 14, 1886, Mr. Newcomer was united in marriage to Mrs. Elvira J. Porter Nash, who was born in Illinois, but who later came to Nebraska. Mrs. Newcomer's father, S. W. Porter, died in 1881, and her mother, Mrs. Mary Porter lives in Central City at the advanced age of ninety-six years; two brothers reside in Nebraska.
   Mrs. Newcomer's father enlisted at the beginning of the civil war in Company A, Nineteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, served until the close of the war and then went to the Black Hills to fight Indians; serving over five years. Mrs. Newcomer had three brothers in the service, Richard, Charles Henry and Lewis. The last named died in the army. Mrs. Newcomer's first husband, Benjamin Franklin Nash, came with his family to Nebraska in 1873. He died in 1884. Mr. Nash had two brothers who served in the civil war, Lemuel and John. Lemuel was killed at Perryville. Mrs. Newcomer had ten children by her former marriage, two of whom are living: Arch M., who lives in Montana and Frank R,., who is married, has two children and resides in Central City.
   Mr. Newcomer served as director of his school district number nineteen, for some years, also as treasurer of same. Indeed Mr. Newcomer was instrumental in organizing the district and the school building was erected when Mr. Newcomer's daughter was the only pupil in the district. In 1909, our subject returned from the farm and moved to Central City, where he purchased a good home. His death occured October 25, 1910.
   Mr. and Mrs. Newcomer were among the earlier settlers of the county and passed through all the trying experiences and hardships of frontier life. Mr. Newcomer was a member of the Odd Fellows, Masonic and Grand Army of the Republic fraternities and was a man of prominence and influence in the community in which he lived.

Clark Newcomer, Deceased.

---

DAVID M. DOLBEAR.

   Another one of the successful and prosperous agriculturalists and stockmen of Nance county, Nebraska, who has passed through all the good, bad, and indifferent times of that state, is found in the person of David M. Dolbear, the subject of this personal review.
   Mr. Dolbear was born in Wayne county, Ohio, on January 30, 1865, and was the youngest of four children in the family of David and Sarah Jane Dolbear. When our subject was five years of age his parents moved to Bureau county, Illinois, where he received his education and grew to manhood, following farming and stock raising with his father during those years. In 1887 the family came to Nebraska, the father purchasing a tract of land on section eleven, township fifteen, range seven, which has been in the Dolbear family since that time, now being the home of David and Emerson Dolbear. David Dolbear, Sr., died on the home farm in 1897, and the mother followed him seven years later. Their two sons now occupying the homestead have worked faithfully and succeeded in building up a splendid farm, having erected fine farm buildings, planted groves, fruit trees, etc., making it one of the best improved farms in the region. They have passed through all the various phases of pioneer life in Nebraska, and in the possession of this fine farm and home, are classed among the well-to-do residents of their locality.
   Neither David or Emerson are married, and while they are deeply interested in the welfare of their county and state, have never sought public preferment, preferring to devote their entire time and attention to the work of developing their farm. David M. Dolbear attended Omaha Medical College two years. He has held numerous township offices.

 

---

C. GUY CROSBY.

   Of the younger citizens of the state who have been witnesses of the growth of the northwest from the primeval prairies, may be mentioned, C. Guy Crosby, cashier of the First National Bank of Naper. All of his conscious years have been spent in the state, and he lacks but a few months of having been born there. His birth occurred in Sac county, Iowa, November 26, 1883.

His father, R. L. Crosby, a native of Illinois, moved to the Hawkeye state in the seventies, settling in Sac county, where he was married, and resided until the spring of 1884. He made a tour of inspection to the northeast part of Nebraska in the fall of 1883, and found in Keya Paha county, a location that suited him. In the spring of the year following, he drove through from Sac county to his homestead claim three miles west of Springview, and eight years later came to Boyd county as the west end of the new state division was coming in for its share of settlers. He had abandoned his rights to homestead Keya Paha county, but had them restored by act of congress, and filed on a quarter section two miles east of Naper, where he lived five or six years before moving to town. He organized the Bank of Naper and resided in the town until 1906, when he retired from active business and took up his residence in Bonesteel, South Dakota where he has financial interests.
   Guy Crosby was reared in Keya Paha and Boyd counties and is a typical son of the west. He began business life for himself in 1900 as cashier of his father's bank, in which he had an interest. Their shares were sold in July 1909, and, in September, a consolidation with the other bank was effected in which the Crosbys took a large share. Guy became cashier of the newly organized First National, the result of the consolidation, which post he has since filled with credit to himself and satisfaction to the stockholders.
   Mr. Crosby was married in Butte, January 21, 1903 to Miss Clara E. Currey, a native of Nebraska. Her father, Milo Currey, married Miss Christena Engstrohm, and after living in Nebraska six years, moved to Gregory county, and later to Trip county, South Dakota, in 1909. Mr. and Mrs. Crosby are the parents of two sons, Gains, born August 25, 1906, an unusually bright child the pet of Naper and the mascot of its baseball team, and Justin, born March 10, 1911.
   Mr. Crosby is a democrat in politics, a member of the Odd Fellows and of the Modern Woodmen of America.
   Mr. Crosby well remembers the notable blizzard of January 12, 1888 but, being a child under school age he was at home and was in no danger, as were others of a greater age He has had a taste of pioneer life on the frontier, in fact until well along toward manhood knew nothing else; they lived in a log house in Keya Paha county, and in a "soddy" in Boyd, which makes him eligible to any society of early settlers.

 

---

NICKOLAS OTTELE.

   In reviewing the history of Boone County, Nebraska, the citizens who have contributed to her welfare must be given special mention; and a prominent place among this number is given the gentleman above named. Mr. Ottele is a pioneer settler, and is perhaps one of the best known men of his locality. He is a prosperous farmer and business man, and has gained his success by the exercise of business tact, supplemented by the strictest integrity of word and deed.
   Nickolas Ottele was born in Luxemburg, Germany, April 7, 1856, the youngest of nine children in the family of Nickolas and Barbara Ottele. In the month of May, 1874, Mr. Ottele, with his father, mother, and sister Annie, came to America, going to Dubuque, Iowa, where they joined our subject's brother Mike and a married sister, who had came to America about one year previous. Mike Ottele and wife, Nick Henn and daughter, in company with the subject of this sketch, came overland by team and wagons, to Boone county, April 21, 1878. The three men took up adjoining homesteads in section twelve, township twenty-two, range seven, Nick Ottele locating on the southwest quarter, and his brother Mike on the northwest quarter, where they both reside on their original homesteads. Mike Ottele has a family of thirteen children, and has retired from the farm, now making his home in Elgin, Antelope county.
   Mr. Nicholas Ottele was married to Miss Annie Heinz in Ray Valley church, April 10, 1883. Mrs. Ottele is a native of Germany, and came to America in December, 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Ottele have had eight children, seven of whom are living Alvis N., and Emil J., who reside at home Jennie, wife of Herman Kueter, has one child and lives in Antelope county; and Mary, Matilda, Charles John, Emma Mary, and William F., all living under the parental roof. They are an interesting family, energetic along all lines, the older boys being good business men and capable managers.
   Mr. Ottele is a successful farmer and business man and owns three hundred and twenty acres of choice land in Boone county, one hundred and sixty acres in Antelope county, and six hundred and forty acres in Texas. For a number of years Mr. Ottele was in business in Petersburg, but has always retained his farm interests and given his farm and stock a goodly portion of his time, assisted by his sons.
   Mr. Ottele's father died September 21, 1891, and the mother died January 31, 1892, at the home of their son Nicholas.
   Mr. Ottele passed through the usual experiences of a pioneer farmer and business man of early Nebraska years from the sod shanty time to the modern farm home, automobile, and other modern improvements.

 

---

ERNEST A. MILLER.

   Ernest A. Miller is one of the leading German-American citizens of Wayne county, Nebraska,where he has lived since he was a few weeks old.

He is a native of western Prussia, Germany, born in 1872, and a son of Gustave and Minnie Miller, who came to America in 1872, sailing from Hamburg to Baltimore. The father had served in the Franco-Prussian war, and also in the war with Austria. They spent ten weeks and three days on the ocean, and after nine months in St. Louis, Missouri, came west to Nebraska, where the father took up a homestead and tree claim. He first built a dug-out, which served as their home a few years, being replaced by a mud house, which in turn gave place to a substantial brick house which the father erected from brick that he manufactured on his farm.
   They were greatly troubled by the destruction of a large part of their crops by the grasshoppers during several of the early years of their residence there and also had hard work to protect their possessions from prairie fires, but though these things made it hard to furnish a living for the family and make the necessary improvements, they were able to overcome all obstacles and steadily progressed towards developing a fine farm and establishing a most comfortable and pleasant home. Their nearest market for some time was at Columbus, Sioux City or Wisner. During the first few years of his residence in Nebraska, Mr. Miller found it necessary to leave home and work for others, and for some time worked in Omaha, and sent his earnings home to provide for his family. He was one of the eighteen earliest settlers of the county and one of the best known men in his part of the state, where he was universally esteemed. Gustave Miller died October 1, 1905, and his widow is still living, and makes her home at Hoskins, Nebraska.
   When Ernest Miller was old enough to help with the work on his father's farm, he began to perform his share of it, and has always followed agricultural pursuits. He was educated in the county and has always been much interested in everything pertaining to its advancement and welfare. He inherited and bought a part of his present home from his father and has since made many additional improvements, now living a nice, comfortable residence and a good grove of shade and fruit trees.
   He is a progressive farmer, and has been very successful in his operations.
   In 1896, he was united in marriage with Miss Hulda Eckert, and they are the parents of seven children, namely: Martha, Clara, Ewald, Theodore, Richard, Billie and Robert. Mrs. Miller was born in Stanton county, Nebraska, and is a daughter of Julius and Augusta Eckert. Mr. Miller owns one hundred and sixty acres of land of his father's old place and in March, 1911, purchased nine hundred and sixty acres in the western part of Knox county.

 

---

DR. WILLIAM L. BOWMAN.
(Deceased.)

   One of the earliest and best-known of Staunton county pioneers was Doctor William L. Bowman, who was for over forty years a resident of this section.
   Dr. W. L. Bowman was born in Ross county, Ohio, on September 11, 1825. His father, Benjamin Bowman, was born in Pennsylvania about 1787 and died in 1832; he was a farmer and moved into the Scioto valley in the days when that country was on the frontier. The mother, who was Sarah Loney in her girlhood days in North Carolina, moved with her family to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, a few years after her husband's death, and it was here that Doctor Bowman grew to manhood. At the age of twenty-four he began the study of medicine under the tutelage of Doctor J. M. Boyd of Thornetown, Indiana, and remained a student in his office for three years. At the end of this time, he began the practice of his profession in Clinton county, Indiana, and remained here until coming west, with the exception of one year spent in Clinton county, Wisconsin, in partnership with Doctor McCarthy.
   In the fall of 1868, Doctor Bowman came to Staunton county, Nebraska, and settled in Hoosier Hollow, three miles from Staunton, where he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres. The Doctor's first residence was a dug out in which he and his family lived for three years when a good frame house was built. This was their dwelling until they removed to town. The doctor set out an orchard and groves around his place, but the grasshoppers destroyed the orchard, as well as the crops, during the three years they infested the region.
   In 1878, Doctor Bowman came to Staunton and opened a town office. Some time before his death he retired from general practice, but met with signal success in his treatment of special cases.
   Doctor Bowman was married in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, to Miss Mary A. Wiley on the 17th of April, 1856. Twelve children were born to them, of whom the following nine are living Luther W., now a Doctor of Medicine; Frank, Andrew, William, Myrtle, Matilda A., Murray Cleever, Arizona, and Fannie.
   In politics, Doctor Bowman was a staunch republican. He was a member of the Congregational church, and also a member of the Masonic order at Staunton.
   During his many years of professional practice in this new country, Doctor Bowman, of course, met with many experiences, both uncommon, interesting, and sometimes disagreeable. One of his worst experiences was in the blizzard of April, 1870. He had made a professional call and was just starting home when it began to snow;

he was urged to remain until the storm abated, but he refused, thinking to reach home before noon. Before he had gone a quarter of a mile, the storm turned into a blinding blizzard through which it was difficult, almost impossible, to make any headway. Knowing of an old house near, he managed to find the straw shed and got his horse under cover. At first he tried to protect himself in the same place, but finding the wind getting colder, started to make his way to the house. It was deserted, and the door was locked with a padlock, which he succeeded in breaking off. Upon entering, he found to his dismay, that his matchbox was empty. However, he found two matches on the chimney piece, and succeeded in starting a fire with some hay, but the chimney smoked. In dislodging a board from the top of it, he spilled snow on the fire and extinguished it. The one last match did not fail him, however, and he soon had a fire built by which he warmed his stiffened limbs. Later in the day, he managed to reach a neighbor's home a short distance away, and remained there for the night. His horse was covered with snow the next morning and had to be dug out with a shovel. It was uninjured, though cold and hungry.
   In the January blizzard of 1888, several of the children were at school, and Murray Cheever succeeded in getting his sister safely home, which was quite a feat for a boy.
   Deer, elk and antelope were abundant when Doctor Bowman came to Nebraska, and three years before a herd of buffalo had passed through the county. On one occasion, Doctor Bowman killed a deer, and while he came to town for a wagon to haul it in, the Indians found the carcass and carried it away before his return.
   Doctor Bowman's experience well-fitted him for the work of preparing a volume treating on the early history of the Elkhorn valley, which will be of inestimable value to the future historian of the state of Nebraska.
   Doctor Bowman occupied a place in the foremost rank of his profession, and numbered his friends in the surrounding country by the hundreds. His death occurred February 4, 1911.

 

---

MAYHEW M. HEMENWAY.

   Among the leading old settlers and public spirited citizens of Antelope county, Nebraska, the gentleman above mentioned deserves a foremost place. Mr. Hemenway has aided in no slight degree in the development of the commercial resources of this region, and has done his full share along educational lines, and has been a prominent factor in building up the schools of this region; and has always done all in his power for the betterment of conditions socially and politically, he having always been a good republican. Mr. Hemenway is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having held all chairs and also been in the Grand Lodge. He is also a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
   Mr. Hemenway is a native of Wayne township, Dupage county, Illinois, born January 25, 1856, his father, Charles Hemenway, was born May 12, 1815, and is of English descent. Three brothers of his ancestors came to America early in the eighteenth century. Our subject's mother, Lucy (Fay) Hemenway was born in July, 1820. Mr. Hemenway came to Nebraska in 1877 from Illinois, arriving in Wisner, December 1st, and from there going by stage to his brother's homestead claim which he had taken up five years previous. He first filed on a timber claim in section twenty-four, township twenty-six, range eight, and later he took a claim in section thirty-three, township twenty-six, range eight.
   Mr. Hemenway "batched it" until December 4, 1889, when he was married at Neligh, Nebraska, to Miss Myrtle McKimm, who was born at River Falls, Wisconsin, June 15, 1870, and to this union were born three children: George, Carl, and May, who reside with their father. Mrs. Hemenway died February 28, 1907, deeply mourned by her husband and family and many kind neighbors and friends.
   It is hard for the present generation to understand the hardships that the first settlers were compelled to undergo, all because of the changes brought about in a fertile country in a few short years. At the time of the great blizzard in January, 1888, Mr. Hemenway was assisting in making the grade for the Fremont & Elkhorn railroad which was then being built near his home. However, he escaped without severe loss from the effects of the storm. At that time, severe hailstorms were common and on several occasions his crops were injured or destroyed from this source. Another source of trouble and danger was the prairie fires that were common in the early days. In October, 1878, a particularly severe prairie fire swept the country, but by hard work, Mr. Hemenway saved his property from destruction.
   Mr. Hemenway is one of the most successful and well-to-do agriculturists of Antelope county, and has gained prominence by his progressive methods, and has made a mark in his community as a man of strong convictions and fearless adherence to the right as he sees it. Mr. Hemenway now owns four hundred and eighty acres of land, fifteen acres of which are set to trees. including five acres of orchard.

 

---

CURTIS BISHOP, SR.
(Deceased.)

   Curtis Bishop, senior, deceased, first came to Nebraska soon after the civil war, and for a season or two lived along the North Platte river

hunting and trapping, at that time game being more plentiful than now. Mr. Bishop in the spring of 1869, came to Madison county and took up a claim two miles south of Norfolk, securing work in the construction of the mill-race, one of the first enterprises of the new town.
   He resided there some seven years, during which time he was married, and then moved to Staunton county in an effort to escape the grasshopper pest which destroyed their crops for five seasons; but they were followed by disaster and when, after two years more of loss, they succeeded in harvesting a crop, they used the proceeds from it to move to Putnam county, Missouri. Two successful crops here put them in more comfortable circumstances, and, as the pests had subsided in Nebraska, they returned to Staunton county, where Mr. Bishop died in 1881.
   The family moved to Pierce county, where they farmed for two years, four miles northeast of Plainview, and then moved to a farm six miles northwest of Royal, Antelope county, where they resided until 1902, removing to Plainview at that time.
   Mr. Bishop was the son of Daniel and Esther (Smith) Bishop, natives of New York and Vermont, respectively, and was born at Marietta, Ohio, where he grew to manhood and lived until the lure of the west drew him to the plains to hunt and trap along the streams of this wild country, when hostile Indians were still to be feared.
   Mr. Bishop was married in Staunton county, July 18, 1870, to Miss Eliza McFarland, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Wykoff) McFarland, who were living near Indianapolis when her father died. The mother joined a colony of six other families who were coming into the west, and settled with them in a valley northwest of Staunton, to which was given the name of Hoosier Hollow. This colony had a remarkable trip. Starting at Frankfort, Indiana, the emigrants camped for six weeks along the way through Illinois and Iowa, crossed the Missouri river at Omaha, and finally reached their destination in Staunton county, in September, 1868, and entered land under the homestead act.
   To Mr. and Mrs. Bishop four children were born: Asa B., living in Plainview; Thomas, mail carrier out of Gross, Boyd county, where he owns a farm and town property; Frank, a resident of Plainview, a mason and plasterer, and Curtis junior, who owns a section of land in Garfield county, under the Kincaid Homestead Act.

 

---

GEORGE C. LOTHROP.

   The gentleman whose name heads this review is a prominent pioneer of Howard county. He has passed through all the early Nebraska times, and during his residence here has accumulated considerable property, including some fine farming lands and good town property in St. Paul, in which he makes his home.
   Mr. Lothrop was born in Jamestown, Wisconsin, on February 13, 1840, and received his early education in the country schools there. As a boy he worked in the lead mines, also followed farming up to 1862, then enlisted in the army, joining Company I, Twenty-fifth Wisconsin infantry, and served until the close of the war. The principal battles in which he took part were the Siege of Vicksburg, which lasted over one hundred days, terminating on July 4, 1863, the Meridian Expedition in Mississippi, Resecca, Georgia, in 1864, and at Dallas, Georgia, in the same year. Also at Big Shanty, Georgia, Kenesaw Mountain, June 15, 1864, Atlanta, July 22, 1864, Ravis Bridge, South Carolina, February 3, 1865, and at Bentonville, North Carolina, on March 20 and 21, 1865, this being the last battle fought before marchiug in to Washington at the close of the war. He received his discharge on June 7th, and immediately returned to Wisconsin where he worked on his father's farm for one year.
   On March 25, 1866, Mr. Lothrop was married to Caroline Richards, of Plattville, Wisconsin, then in company with his father, they went to Lancaster, Wisconsin, purchased a farm in partnership, and operated it for six years. In April, 1873, our subject, wife and two children emigrated to Nebraska, settling in Howard county, homesteading one hundred and sixty acres, situated one and a half miles north of St. Paul, and later purchased additional land in the vicinity. Here the family experienced all the pioneer hardships in building up their home, but after many discouragements managed to come out victorious, owning at the present time a fine three hundred and twenty acre tract of farming land. This is well improved, and Mr. Lothrop is counted amoung the foremost men of his locality. For a number of years after retiring from the army Mr. Lothrop was in very poor health and was obliged to give up active farm work, although he superintended all operations, and in 1886 took up his resideuce in St. Paul, where he has since lived.
   Mr. Lothrop was the second in a family of seven children. Both parents are deceased, the father dying on February 22, 1909, at the age of ninety-five years. His mother died in 1875, both passing away at Lancaster, Wisconsin. Mrs. Lothrop was one of a pair of twins; is a native of Plattville Wisconsin, and her parents are also dead. Our subject has two children, Ollie, married to J. W. Gilman, they living in South Omaha, and Walter, who is also married and resides in St. Paul, both of whom are the parents of two children.
   While Mr. Lothrop is a staunch supporter of the republican party, he does not take an active part in public affairs.

 

---

EDWIN J. BABCOCK.

   Edwin J. Babcock was born in Dakota, Wis-

---

© 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 for NEGenWeb Project by T&C Miller, P Ebel, P Shipley, L Cook