being a son of Hiram and Mary Wilson, both natives of the Keystone state. The parents of Hiram Wilson emigrated from Ireland in an early day and settled in Pennsylvania.
     When Jay E. Wilson was seven years old his parents moved to Iowa, and it was in the public schools of that state he received his education and there reached manhood. In 1885 he came to Wayne county and purchased a farm. he always carried on a general line of farming, with special attention to the raising of stock. He had the reputation of honesty and uprightness in all his dealings and was regarded as a desirable and public-spirited citizen. He took an active interest in the welfare of the community and he and his wife had many warm friends in the county, where both were well known. In 1888 Mr. Wilson was united in marriage with Miss Nettie LaPort.

 

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GOTLIEB SPRIECK.

     Among the adopted sons of Nebraska, there are none who have done more towards the development of the state than the Germans, with their thrifty, sturdy characteristics. Of these, Gotlieb Sprieck has made his influence felt in three counties.
     He was born April 26, 1844, in the village of Masbruch, Province of Lippe Ditwold, west Prussia, and is the son of William and Sophia (Brackmeyer) Sprieck. He was reared on a farm there, as his father owned forty acres--a large holding in that country.
     In 1867, with his brothers, Fred and Andrew, Gotlieb Sprieck sailed from Bremen Haven on the "Baltimore," landing in New York on October 1, after a voyage of thirteen days. He came on to Tazewell county, Illinois, and worked three years on a farm near Hopedale, receiving two hunderd [sic] and fifty dollars per year, which was regarded as extra good wages in those days.
     In March, 1870, Mr. Sprieck was married to Miss Matilda Ragoors, a native of the village of Sopil, West Prussia.
     In the spring of 1873, Mr. Sprieck came to Saunders county, Nebraska, and filed on a homestead six miles north of Mead. He put up a sod house and "batched it" for a time, putting up a good house in preparation for his marriage. Later on, he traded this farm and went to Cass county, where he first bought two hundred and forty acres, three miles east of Louisville, and a year or two later, bought one hundred and sixty acres more. He remained in Cass county until the spring of 1900, when he removed to Stanton, having bought a farm in this county for a son the year before. He bought a large two-story house in the east part of town, with enough ground surrounding for a large garden and fruit trees. He owns two farms in Stanton county, on each of which a son is located. He also owns four hundred and forty acres of timber land in the state of Louisiana.
     In 1900, Mr. Sprieck was again married, this time to Mrs. Augusta Miller Sprieck, the widow of his brother, Fred Sprieck.
     Mr. Sprieck is a staunch adherent of the democratic party, a member of the Lutheran church, and is also a prominent member of the Germanias Singing society.
     Mr. Sprieck is one of the old settlers of this part of Nebraska, and call tell many interesting tales of pioneer life. At that time, the nearest trading point was Wahoo, but a little earlier, there was no nearer market than Fremont. Soon after coming to the state, he had a hard fight with that scourge of the western states--prairie fire--and only a hastily constructed fireguard saved his buildings.
     He and his family also had some experience with blizzards. In the blizzard of February; 1869, one of his sons made his way from school, a distance of three miles, part of it through the timber, a feat that would have been difficult for a grown man. Mr. Sprieck also remembers very well the historic year when corn was used as a fuel, being worth only eight and ten cents a bushel.
     By thrift, economy and good judgment, Mr. Sprieck has acquired a competency and is now enjoying in ease the fruits of a well spent life. He is one of the well-known and respected citizens of this section of the state.
     Of the six children born to Mr. Sprieck, five are living: Julius, Pauline (deceased), Lena, now Mrs. C. M. Seybert, of Louisville, Nebraska; Otto, Eddie and Alma, now Mrs. Henry Keil, of Cass county.

 

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JOHN AUMAN.

     Prominent among Antelope county old settlers is John Auman, who, since the fall of 1887, has made this region his home, and done his share in developing the agricultural resources of this section of Nebraska. Mr. Auman lives in section twenty, township twenty-eight, range eight, where he has built up a valuable property through his industry and good management.
     Mr. Auman was born September 27, 1853, and is a native of Somersett county, Pennsylvania, as is also his father, Emanuel Auman, who was born in 1829, and who is a descendant from Germany. Our subject's father served in the civil war, enlisting in Company K, Two Hundred and Sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers, and during his service went all through the south.
     In 1888 Mr. Auman took up a homestead in his present location, which as before stated is in section twenty, township twenty-eight, range eight, and on this land he built a house fourteen by twenty-two feet, and he now owns a fine home and five hundred and sixty acres of good land well improved, ten acres of which is set to trees,

making a fine grove. Mr. Auman has had his disappointments and drawbacks along with his success, and during the hail storms of 1893 and 1895 he lost all his crops, and the drouth of 1894 again ruined his entire crops.
     Mr. Auman was united in marriage in October, 1883, to Miss Maggie Shawlis. Mr. and Mrs. Auman are the parents of eight children, whose names are as follows: Lulu, wife of Charles Cline, they having two children; Etta, wife of Fred Maddox; Elsie, John, Agnes, Jennings, Roland, and Orval. Mr. and Mrs. Auman and family enjoy the respect and good will of a host of friends and acquaintances, and are highly esteemed by the entire community.
     Mr. Auman is actively awake to the interests of his locality, and aids materially in its advancement along commercial and agricultural lines.
     Mr. Auman served as postmaster of Barbour, on the old Star Route, from 1888 to 1892. He has been a member of the board of directors of school district number sixty-eight since 1889. He is a member of the United Brethren church and also holds membership in the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Politically he is a democrat.
     He follows diversified farming, including stock raising, and at present he has a splendid herd of fifty-three head of high grade Durham cattle and a fine herd of Duroc Jersey hogs. His farm is well improved and he is one of the successful farmers and substantial citizens of Nebraska.

 

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FRANK HODGES.
(Deceased.)

     The gentleman above named, who resided in Belgrade, at the time of his death, was widely known for the active interest he displayed in the development of the commercial and educational advancement of Nance county, where he spent many years, and enjoyed the reputation of doing more in the way of building up and improving his town than any other one man in the community. He also had the distinction of being among the very earliest pioneers of the county, and watched its growth and progress from the early days of its settlement by white men.
     Frank Hodges, son of John and Eliza Hodges, was born in New York state, on July 24, 1839, and lived in that state until he was sixteen years of age, receiving a common school education, and growing up on his father's farm. The family settled in Indiana about 1855.
     He enlisted in the First Indiana Battery of Heavy Artillery, and served until the close of the war. Receiving his discharge in September, 1865, he returned to his home in Indiana. During a furlough, in June, 1865, he was married to Mrs. Jane Caswell Taylor, a widow, who was a native of Ohio, and to them were born three children: Herbert H., and Hattie J., both married and living in Nance county at the present time; the third child, Francis E., who was the wife of Edward Oleson, and mother of one child, died in 1900.
     Mr. Hodges came with his family to Nebraska, in the fall of 1874, their first location being in Merrick county, where he filed on a homestead and after farming it for six years, pioneering, and having the usual experiences of the early settler in that region, left the place and came into Nance county. Here he purchased a tract of land after the reservation was opened for settlement, and built up a fine farm and home. He became one of the foremost agriculturists and stockmen of the county, accumulating a valuable property by his industry and good business judgment; at the time of his death being owner of four hundred and eighty acres of fine farm land, which is fitted up with every improvement in the way of buildings, and machinery, etc. Besides his farm he owns what is known as Hodges' Addition in the city of Belgrade, and had the reputation of having done more in the way of improving the town than any other one man in the community. In 1888, Mr. Hodges left the old farm and moved to another, which he owned, one mile west of Belgrade. He continued to reside on the latter place until July, 1893, and then moved to the village of Belgrade, which continued to be his home until his death, January 1, 1910.
     Mr. Hodges' first wife died in April, 1893, and about one year later he was united in marriage to Mrs. Anna J. Hoyt, who was a widow with one daughter, now Mrs. Clara G. Hutchison, of Nance county, Nebraska, they came from Michigan to Nebraska in 1889.
     Mr. and Mrs. Hodges had one daughter, Helen May. The family is popular and well known. The Hodges' home is a beautiful one, situated on a hill which overlooks the entire surrounding country, and is one of the prettiest spots to be found. Mrs. Hodges, since her husband's death, continues to reside in Belgrade. A portrait of Mr. Hodges will be found on another page of this volume.

Frank Hodges (Deceased).

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ROBERT KORTH.

     In reviewing the history of Pierce county, Nebraska, the citizens who have contributed to her welfare must be given special mention, and a prominent place among the number is given the gentleman above named.
     Mr. Korth is a native-born Nebraskan, having first seen the light of day in Pierce county, June 21, 1872, and is the son of William and Wilhelmina (Paul) Korth. Our subject's father was born in Germany, in the year 1837, and came to America in 1870, followed one year later by his wife. He settled in Pierce county, Nebraska, east of Pierce City, where he and a brother took up claims adjoining, and together built a log house. Here the father endured many hardships and discouragements; the nearest market place was Wisner, and during the grasshopper raids of 1873 and 1874, they lost their entire crops; in the blizzard

of 1873 they lost considerable stock. In the hailstorm of 1906, Robert Korth, our subject, lost his crops. In the blizzard of January 12, 1888, he was at school when the storm came up, and had great difficulty in getting to a place of safety. He dragged his sister by the hand the half-mile that lay between the school and home, their father meeting them half way.
     Mr. Korth was married February 25, 1897, to Miss Katherina Herboldssheimer, who was born in Iowa. To this union four children have been born, whose names are as follows: Herman, Leila, Willie, and Zelda.
     Mr. and Mrs. Korth are members of the German Lutheran church, and are bringing up a fine family. Mr. Korth votes the democratic ticket.
     Mr. Korth gives his entire time to the work on his farm, and takes a keen interest in all affairs of the county and section in which he lives. He is one of the leading citizens of his locality, and has added materially in the upbuilding of his community, where he owns two hundred and forty acres of good land, one hundred and sixty acres in section thirty-two and eighty acres in section twenty-nine, township twenty-eight, range one. This he bought in the fall of 1890 and moved on March 7, 1901. Most of the buildings he has erected, and otherwise very much improved his farm. Not a fence post had been set, nor a tree planted when he took possession.

 

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ELIAS L. HEDGLIN.

     Among the successful self-made men of Howard county, may be truly noted the gentleman above mentioned. Mr. Hedglin and his wife are among the earliest pioneer settlers of that section and have passed through every phase of Nebraska history. They are widely and favorbaly [sic] known, and have an enviable reputation as worthy citizens and good neighbors.
     Elias L. Hedglin was born in Sussex county, New Jersey, on April 5, 1848, and is a son of George and Mary Hedglin, who were the parents of fourteen children, of whom our subject was the twelfth in order of birth. When he was three years of age the family emigrated west, settling in Boone county, Illinois, where Elias grew to manhood, following farming during most of that time. He is a veteran of the war of 1861, having enlisted May 27, 1864, in Company C, One Hundred and Forty-second Illinois Infantry, and serving for about six months with that regiment, then received his honorable discharge on account of sickness. He returned to Illinois after leaving the service, and in the spring of 1872, went to Iowa, locating on a farm near LaPorte City. On March 10th of the following year he was marired [sic] to Miss Cecelia Cleveland, and they made that place their home for a little over one year, then came to Nebraska, and settled in Howard county, where Mr. Hedglin filed on a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in section twenty-one, township thirteen, range twelve. Mr. and Mrs. Hedglin occupied this place up to 1901, then, retired from farming, removed to Boelus, where they have since resided in a very comfortable home.
     During his career as a farmer, Mr. Hedglin was very successful financially, increasing his land holdings from time to time until he was owner of two hundred and seventy-five acres, all well improved, with about one hundred and forty acres under cultivation.
     Mr. and Mrs. Hedglin have an interesting family of nine children, eight of whom are living, named as follows: Henry, married Norma De Conner, and is the father of three children. He is in the ministry, at present serving as pastor of a Congregational church in Jameson, Oregon. Bert R., cashier of the Eddyville State Bank, at Eddyville, Nebraska; he married Miss Minnie Ayers, and they have a family of two children. Eulalie, lives at Oconto, Nebraska. Levie L., married Gertrude Ryan, of this county and they have four children, and now own and live on the original Hedglin homestead. Francis E., a barber, resides in Grand Island with his wife and three children. She was formerly Emma O'Neil, of Howard county. Willis, married Martha Von Krosigk, they living in Boelus, where he is clerk in a stroe [sic]; they are the parents of. three children; George L., a railroad man, living in Lincoln, traveling through Nebraska, who married Eva Aulstrom, and Clarice G., formerly a teacher in the public schools and now the wife of H. D. Morris, a railroad man also, and they live at Grand Island. All are bright and industrious young people, comfortably settled in life, and esteemed by all who know them.
     Mr. Hedglin is a prohibitionist politically. In the years 1875-'76, he held the office of postmaster at Loup Fork, and during his early residence in this locality, served for a number of years as road overseer. He has also taken an active interest in the establishing of schools, and during the late seventies, held the position of director of district number twenty-eight.
     Mr. and Mrs. Hedglin are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

 

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GEORGE THORNGATE.
(Deceased.)

     For about fourteen years the above named gentleman, now deceased, was one of the most influential and prosperous farmers in Valley county. He was a man of sterling character, with a heart filled with sympathy and kindness, and his generosity and good deeds are still remembered by those among whom he worked and lived. He was a prominent member of the Seventh Day Baptist church, and his loss was sorely felt by that organization.
     Mr. Thorngate was born in Cattaraugus county, New York, on August 6, 1834, and was the

youngest of the six children born to George and Matilda (Blanchard) Thorngate. Only one brother, Henry, and a sister, Mrs. Marianne Rood, both of whom live in North Loup, remain of all that large family.
     In the childhood of our subject, the family went to Wisconsin, and here he grew up on a farm in Waushara county, securing the foundation of his education in the local schools. Later on he attended Milton College, at Milton, Wisconsin. While he was a student here, the civil war started, and on the 9th of May, 1861, Mr. Thorngate, like many another enthusiastic, patriotic student, threw down his books and shouldered a musket in the ranks, a private in Company E, Fifth Wisconsin Infantry. After about two years' service, he was discharged owing to a disability, but he could not remain out of the struggle very long and soon re-enlisted in the Light Artillery of Wisconsin, and served until the close of the war. During his service, Mr. Thorngate took part in the bloody battle of Antietam, was wounded in the battle of Williamsburg, and participated in many minor engagements.
     After his final discharge at the close of the war, he returned to Wisconsin and at once began teaching. On November 15, 1865, he was married to Miss Arlorena Crandall of Dakota, Waushara county, Wisconsin, a native of Cattaraugus county, New York.
     In the following March, Mr. Thorngate and his bride went to Missouri where he became principal of the schools in St. Catherine. They remained here for about thirteen years.
     In 1877, Mr. Throngate and his family came to Valley county, Nebraska, where they took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres near North Loup. Ten years later, the family moved into the city of North Loup, where he lived at the time of his death, which occurred on December 13, 1891. He was survived by his wife and two sons, Ray G., and Charles W., both of whom are engaged in farming near North Loup.
     Mrs. Thorngate is still living in North Loup, surrounded by a large circle of friends and relatives. One brother, William P. Crandall living near is given more extended notice elsewhere in this work. One sister lives in North Loup with Mrs. Thorngate, and another in Denver. Another brother lives in Kansas.

 

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W. F. F. WINTER.

     W. F. F. Winter, residing on section three, township twenty-four, range one, Madison county, Nebraska, is regarded as one of the leading citizens of his locality. He has always been one of the important factors in the upbuilding of his region, aiding materially in its development and growth from its early settlement.
     Mr. Winter is a native of Jefferson county, Wisconsin, his birth occurring October 31, 1864; he is a son of Carl and Caroline Winter, both of whom claim Germany for their native home. Our subject's father came to Wisconsin in 1864, from Germany; they embarked in a sail boat at Hamburg and were nine weeks on the sea, and after landing in America came direct to Wisconsin state, as before stated.
     In 1866, with a colony, they left Wisconsin for Nebraska to take advantage of the homestead law that had been passed in 1865. Upon their arrival in the far west, as it was then known, the father took up a homestead claim in section three, township twenty-four, range one, which is the present abiding place of our subject; on this land a good log house was built which served as the family residence for ten years, when it was replaced by a substantial frame dwelling.
     To turn back in memory for the space of forty-four years and picture Nebraska as it was at that time, would seem quite a task to some, but our subject has heard his father relate many incidents and experiences, as well as conditions of that date and period. When Carl Winter, father of the subject of this sketch, first came to this locality, forty-four years ago, the country was nothing but a raw, unbroken prairie, with a vista of waving prairie grass for miles in any direction; the virgin soil had scarcely felt the cut of a farm implement, nor rarely felt the pressure of a white man's foot. When vegetation and crops had been planted and cared for and gave such splendid promise of a bountiful harvest, the grasshopper pest swooped down upon them and destroyed every blade of green to be seen in the country round; this was repeated three or four seasons, and our little family suffered many hardships and privations for the lack of harvest. But those early days of the western frontier have passed into history, and the great prosperous country with its wide fields of plentiful crops would scarcely be recognized as the wild, unsettled, uncultivated country of forty years ago.
     Mr. Winter, our subject, now owns two hundred and twelve acres of choice land, ten acres of which are given to a fine orchard and grove. This land is finely improved, and will compare favorably with any in that locality.
     Mr. Winter was united in marriage June 11, 1895, to Miss Ida Tiegs, a native of Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Winter had one child, a fine boy, Ernest by name. Mrs. Winter died in the year of 1900, deeply mourned by her husband and family and a host of loving friends and acquaintances.
     Mr. Winter was again married June 18, 1911. He is a member of the Lutheran church, and is a democrat.

 

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GEORGE W. BROWN.

     George W. Brown, retired from active life and occupying his present home in Sargent, Nebraska, is an early settler of Custer county, and well remembers the trying conditions to be met in his first years there. He is now a prosperous and suc-

cessful man and the owner of twelve hundred acres of fine farm and stock land, which is well improved and equipped. He has been an extensive stock dealer and made a specialty of Hereford cattle. He was born in Clark county, Illinois, August 8, 1842, third of the eight children born to Samuel and Mary (Howell) Brown. Of the other children in the family, two sons, F. Marion and R. G., live in Clay county, Nebraska, one son in California, one daughter in Denver and one daughter in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The father, a native of Virginia and of Scotch descent, died in Illinois about 1855, and the mother, a native of Kentucky, died in South Dakota, May 14, 1897.
     Mr. Brown grew to manhood on the Illinois farm, and received his education in local schools. In the spring of 1871 he sought the larger opportunities offered in the west, and took up a homestead of eighty acres near Sutton, remaining there nine years. He came to Custer county in 1880 and secured a timber claim of one hundred and sixty acres of land and pre-empted a like amount of land adjoining. He was married at Broken Bow, October 20, 1884, to Miss Amy Lovejoy, a native of Orford, New Hampshire, who had been a teacher in the schools of her native state and of Nebraska, a daughter of John H. and Mary (Lamprey) Lovejoy. Her parents were also natives of New Hampshire, and they took up a homestead in Custer county, in 1870. The father survives and lives in Sargent, but Mrs. Lovejoy died in Custer county in 1886. Mrs. Brown has a sister, Mrs. Hattie Wittemeyer, living in Sargent; a brother, Frank Lovejoy, in Custer county, a sister in New Hampshire and another in Kansas.
     Mr. and Mrs. Brown made their first home on the claim in Custer county, where they continued to reside until the fall of 1910. He then retired from the farm and purchased their present nice residence in Sargent. In early days Mr. Brown helped organize the school district in his neighborhood (number seventy), and for many years served as treasurer of the board. Five children were born to him and his wife: Mary E. and Inez H., teachers in Nebraska schools; Nellie B., Edith M. and Robert G., at home. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have given their children excellent educational advantages and some of them have attended college. The family are prominent in religious, social and educational circles and have a large number of friends.

 

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GEORGE CARMACK.

     Very nicely situated in section thirty-six, township thirty-one, range one, is to be found the estimable gentleman whose name heads this review. He has been a resident of this part of Nebraska since 1890, coming into Cedar county in the month of October, and has remained through the good, bad, and indifferent times which have attended the settlers of the region from an early date.
     Mr. Carmack was born in McHenry county, Illinois, in 1847, and is a son of Christ and Louise Ann Carmack, natives of Scotland.
     Our subject first came to Nebraska about 1885, settling in Clay county, where he remained. for six years. He then returned to Iowa, where he formerly lived a number of years, and after seven years spent in farming near Mapleton, again landed in Nebraska, this time taking some land in Cedar county which he started to farm, later purchasing his present homestead in the twelfth precinct. While Mr. Carmack lived in Clay county, he bought railroad lands and made some improvements on it, but through failure of several crops, and loss occasioned by bad storms, etc., he finally gave up the idea of remaining on the land, and this was the main reason for his changing his location to Cedar county.
     Mr. Carmack has been exceedingly fortunate during his residence here, and especially the past number of years, as he has been quite heavily interested in stock raising and has also raised fine crops of grain each year. His farm is considered one of the valuable properties in his locality, and this is improved with substantial buildings of all kinds, including a handsome residence, surrounded by beautiful trees and having good growing groves, plenty of water, etc.
     In 1869, Mr. Carmack was united in marriage at Harvard Junction, Illinois, to Miss Savilla L. Wilson, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Cady) Wilson. Her parents were natives of Cattaraugus county, New York. They came to Illinois in 1833, where Mrs. Carmack was born.

 

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JAMES ROSS.

     For over thirty-five years the gentleman whose name heads this review, has been identified with the development of different parts of the state of Nebraska, and the past eight years has been passed in Central City, Merrick county, where he has gained a high station as a citizen and become one of the substantial men of his community, taking an active part in every movement for its betterment.
     James Ross, son of Benjamin and Ruth (Corwin) Ross, was born near Chili, Ohio, July 8, 1837, and was fifth of eleven children, one sister resides in Ohio, one in Portland, Oregon, one in Missouri, and another in Iowa, the others being deceased, as are also the parents; the father having died December 25, 1850, in Ohio, and the mother, October 26, 1873, near Fairfield, Iowa. In 1854, our subject went to Fairfield, Iowa, where he engaged in farming. In May, 1861, Mr. Ross enlisted in Company E, Second Iowa Volunteer Infantry, for three months, and then re-enlisted in the same company and regiment for three years, in Fairfield, Iowa; the second regiment being the first in the United States to be recorded for the three year service. Decisive battles engaged in were at

Fort Donaldson, Shiloh, besides numerous skirmishes. Mr. Ross received his discharge in May, 1864, at Louisville, Kentucky, and after the war paid a visit to his mother in Ohio, then returned to Fairfield, Iowa, and again engaged in farming.
     On December 29, 1864, Mr. Ross was united in marriage to Miss Eugenia Gro, who was born in France and came to America in 1846 with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Ross have had four children: Alonzo, married, has four children, and resides in Central City; Elmer, married, has four children, resides in Central City, and has just completed a term as county attorney; Mary, wife of Claude Combs, has two children, and lives in South Omaha, and Laura, wife of P. H. Cowgill, has two children and resides in Colorado.
     In the fall of 1875, Mr. Ross came with his wife and three children to Hastings, Nebraska, taking eighty acres as a tree claim, making their home on this place for several years. Then Mr. Ross purchased one hundred and sixty acres near Clarks, Merrick county, Nebraska, moving on to the same, which remained the home place until 1900, when Mr. Ross retired from the farm, moved to Central City and purchased a good home where they now live. Mr. and Mrs. Ross are among the early settlers of Nebraska, and are widely and favorably known.

 

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E. PERRINE.

     Few men living have seen the west in so many phases as has Mr. E. Perrine, now of Creighton. Born in Jefferson county, New York, on November 21, 1847, he came into Wisconsin with his parents when an infant two years of age, and was reared there. He started for himself at sixteen by enlisting in the army against the will of his parents, his father having him released three times because he was under age. However, he succeeded in getting safely away, and was mustered in at Chicago early in 1865, entering Company B, Fifty-third Illinois regiment, and served the remaining two months of the war, then enlisted in the thirteenth regiment of the regular army, from which his father had him released and took him home. As soon as he earned enough money to get away, he went to Freeport, Illinois, and again joined the army, this time the Twenty-second regulars, his enlistment dating from February 7, 1867, and was stationed at Newport, Kentucky. He was then sent to Fort Snelling, Minnesota, going by boat from St. Louis to St. Paul, and after a short stay there, the company embarked on a river steamboat for Clinton, Iowa, whence they were shipped by rail to Denison, Iowa, marching across the country to Omaha, which was then a small and rough frontier town. The Fourth of July was celebrated at this point, and the camp being near a brewery, many of the celebrants spent the night scattered along the road between the two points, paying the penalty for this "sport" by doing extra duty and curtailed privileges for some weeks after. Expecting to be stationed at Fort Leavenworth, the regiment was sent up the Missouri river instead, and reached Fort Rice in October. This fort was incomplete, and the troops were set to work finishing it, getting timber along the river bank, which they ran through a sawmill and erected a stockade and barracks for the men and officers. The barracks were built of adobe, covered with a good shingle roof, making very comfortable winter quarters. Their commander was Colonel Otis, who was later Major General in the Philippines. The regiment was afterwards stationed from time to time at Forts Randall, Sully and Stephenson, on the Upper Missouri. After three full years' service in the west, Mr. Perrine was discharged. During those times the Indians were thick around the posts and were eager traders, exchanging a well tanned buffalo skin for a loaf of bread or a pound or two of sugar, and Mr. Perrine has a fine buffalo coat made from a skin bought with a loaf of stale bread. He was present at the time of signing the treaty of 1868, between General Hancock and Sitting Bull, and frequently saw that famous chief.
     After leaving the army Mr. Perrine visited his parents, but the lure of the west was strong and drew him back to the prairies, so he spent some time on a Sioux City boat, running between that point and various posts up the "Big Muddy." stream, occasionally making its way to Fort Benton, but owing to low water the boat usually unloaded at Musel Shoals, from where the supplies were freighted by ox teams to their destination. Old Niobrara, in Knox county, Nebraska, was the last settlement along the river at that time. From there on, all was wilderness in the possession of red men. Deer and antelope were plentiful, and vast herds of buffalo still roamed the grassy plains. While grey wolves were plentiful, none ever crossed his path, but he saw them in small numbers when a boy, in Wisconsin.
     Mr. Perrine returned to Wisconsin in 1872, and was married there in September, to his boyhood sweetheart, Retta Smith, and two children were born to them, Bruce S., and Hale, the former of Creighton, while the latter is traveling in different parts of the country. A few weeks after his marriage, Mr. Perrine migrated to Nebraska and took possession of a farm he had previously purchased, located five miles east of Wisner, with eleven hills between his place and town. Mr. Perrine reached Wisner February 22, 1872, in time to attend a stag dance at the hotel. There were but two women present, daughters of the landlord, while the male attendants was forty. Mr. Perrine immediately began to build his house, bringing the lumber from Clinton, Iowa, and soon was in shape to go ahead with his farming operations. During the first seven years, the family passed through all the losses and discouragements usual to the pioneer in that section, and had our subject not had a father back east to supply the

cash when hard times came, on, they might have suffered considerably, but after better times prevailed they were able to save money and came to be numbered with the prosperous settlers in their locality. In 1880 they moved to Knox county, where Mr. Perrine purchased a relinquishment of one hundred and sixty acres near Creighton, to which he acquired title under the homestead law. He planted a grove in the open prairie which may now be seen from the town and is a veritable beauty spot in the prairie landscape. He sold this place during 1892, and from then on spent most of his time up to 1894, in Montana, engaged in mining, moving his family there, but the panic of '93 played havoc with his business and he lost considerable money.
     Mr. Perrine returned to Creighton for permanent residence about 1894. He still owned a quarter section of land here, purchased in 1886, and put his capital into the real estate and land business, being representative of the Perkins Syndicate Land Company, of which George B. Perkins, president of the Burlington & Missouri railroad, was then the head. He has always been interested in the stock business, raising and shipping cattle, etc.
     Mr. Perrine has a very pleasant and comfortable home. Mrs. Perrine died September 8, 1910. She was particularly gifted as an artist, this talent having been developed by such teachers as the locality afforded, and some very creditable specimens of her work in oil as well as china paintings, adorn the home. Since the death of Mrs. Perrine, the son Bruce S. and his wife have lived with him.

 

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JOHN N. DEAN.

     Among the prosperous and successful farmers and stockmen of Nance county, none deserve more credit for their energy and perseverance, than the gentleman whose name heads this review, since he has spent the greater part of his career in that region and has been instrumental in a large measure in promoting the general prosperity now enjoyed by the residents of the section.
     John N. Dean was born in New Jersey, June 2, 1858. He is a son of Isaac N. and Elizabeth Dean, and the second youngest of their four children. He grew up in New Jersey, until his thirteenth year, when the family settled in Rock Island, Illinois, and his time was spent in helping carry on the farm until his twentieth year, at which time he began for himself. In the spring of 1883 himself, wife, his father and mother settled in Whiteside county, Illinois, and followed farming there for about three years, then came to Nance county, Nebraska. Here our subject settled on a farm and began raising stock and grain. He at first purchased eighty acres situated on section six, township sixteen, range five, which remained his home farm up to the year 1910, when he sold and bought one hundred and forty acres on the northeast quarter of section twenty-two, Cedar township where be now resides.
     The father and mother of our subject made Nance county their home for a number of years, the former dying here on January 8, 1892, at the home of another son, W. D. Dean, while the latter died March 10, 1887, both sincerely mourned by the family and many warm friends.
     Mr. Dean was married in Rock Island county, Illinois, on December 29, 1880, to Elsie A. Ryder, at the home of her parents. They have one son, Ralph William Dean, who was born on the anniversary of his parents' marriage, in the year 1893. He lives at home. The Dean family are prominent in their community, have a very pleasant home, and active in all social affairs. Mr. Dean was for eleven years a member of the board in school district number thirty-seven.

 

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JOHN P. WOOD.

     Among those who have lived since childhood along Nebraska's northern border line and have seen it develop from a wild open prairie into a highly developed farming community, may be mentioned Mr. John P. Wood, the progressive hardware and implement dealer of Butte. He was a lad of but a few years of age when his father settled in the then unoccupied portions of Nebraska included in Keya Paha county.
     John P. Wood was born in Foxburg, McKean county, Pennsylvania, June 30, 1875. His parents, Frank B. and Elizabeth (Allen) Wood, were residents of Bradford at the time of their migration to the west. A colony of sixteen or eighteen families was formed in the spring of 1882 and came in a body to Stuart, Nebraska, which was at the time but a small station on the new line of railroad pushing to the west, and was not equipped to entertain so large a body of settlers. John Skervin, a merchant of the place, gave the colonists the use of the upper floor of his store building, and here they lived in a tribal way until other provisions could be made. A long table was laid of rough boards through the middle of the room, and for sleeping quarters they crowded down in blankets on the floors or got what rest they could sitting in chairs. After the comforts of a Pennsylvania home, where everything had for a century or more been established, the crudeness and discomfort and the monotony of the wide, dreary, treeless prairie was too much for some of them. Part of the colony returned at once to their native region to begin again where they left off, with their resources reduced by the amount of their expensive trip to the plains. About twelve families had the courage to persevere and, while they suffered many privations during the early years, have prospered to a greater degree than the average family who remained in the crowded east.
     The remaining colonists found a tract of land to suit their purpose in Keya Paha county, near the north line of the state, and here the elder

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