of the Modern Woodmen and Ancient Order of United Workmen lodges.

 

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JAMES T. BURDICK.

   James T. Burdick is a well known and highly respected citizen of Custer county, Nebraska, and had many varied experiences in different lines in several states. He was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, April 8, 1860, the eldest of six children born to Isaac Newton and Annetta (Wood) Burdick, who had five sons and one daughter. He was reared in the usual manner of farmers' sons, receiving his education in the public schools, and he remained in his native county until young manhood. October 14, 1878, he left home and came to Shelton, Buffalo county, Nebraska, reaching there October 17. He was employed on a railroad and at farm work three months and then found employment on a cattle ranch on the South Loup river, where he remained several months. In December, 1879 he returned to Shelton and worked on a farm near there until August, 1881. Then he came to Custer county and secured a homestead on section eleven, township fifteen, range sixteen, Sherman county, which remained his home until July, 1894.
   On April 21, 1889, Mr. Burdick married Miss EIlen A. Marsh, daughter of one of the old pioneer families, their union taking place in Custer county. In 1894 he and his family removed to Mitchell county, Iowa, where they remained until October, 1899, then went to Pennsylvania. Mr. Burdick learned the trade of mason as a young man, and besides farming, has also spent considerable time at his trade. In 1908 he brought his family from Pennsylvania back to Custer county, where he has since been engaged in farming and stock raising.
   Mr. Burdick and wife have four children: Myrtle B., born in Sherman county, wife of Charles Milks, lives on the farm and they have two children; Mabel May, also born in Sherman county, married Milton G. Crist, and they live Custer county; James Newton, and Arthur George, born in Custer county, are both at home.

 

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HEMAN TAYLOR.
(Deceased.)

   Pierce county, Nebraska, will long remember, for his many sterling qualities, the man of whom we write this brief review.
   Heman Taylor came to Nebraska in 1885, and from his advent proved himself to be a man of deeds. He was born at Yarmouth, Barnstable county, Massachusetts, March 9, 1843. His ancestors since colonial days had lived on Cape Cod and, perforce, were seafaring men. There were two Richard Taylors in the colony, and to distinguish them, one was known as Richard "Rock" Taylor, because he lived in a rock house, and the other as Richard Taylor, the tailor. Mr. Taylor descended from Richard "Rock" Taylor. His father, Heman, senior, and the grandfather were captains of the Yankee Clipper ships that in those days made American seamanship famous. Some of their vessels captured during hostilities left a claim that would have enriched the whole family, had they been allowed by the earlier sessions of congress or had the documents proving the claims not been lost or destroyed when a later congress did justice to those who suffered for their country's cause.
   In company with six other youths who desired to learn seamanship, Heman, junior, spent a year on the sea, sailing to London, thence to Callao, Peru, and back to Glasgow, Scotland. As he had had a taste of the sea, and the ship was bound for India, Mr. Taylor went to Liverpool, England, and embarked for home on a trans-Atlantic liner. Coming to Chicago, he secured employment with the Toby Furniture Company, rising in position from year to year until after seven years he was sent to Omaha as manager and partner of their branch house there, known as the Heman Taylor Furniture Company.
   After so many years under roof, he felt the need of life in the open, and so located at Red Oak, Iowa, where he bought and fed cattle on a large scale. Cattle growing scarce and his trips for stock growing longer, sometimes as far as Sioux Falls, South Dakota, he decided to move to some point nearer the ranges, renting a tract of land at Tilden, Nebraska, in 1885, where he fed and shipped cattle for two years.
   In 1887, he came to Pierce county, Nebraska, purchased a half section a mile south of Plainview, and developed it into one of the best stock farms in this section of the state. Here he prospered until his untoward death, February 9, 1909, in a blizzard that was raging at that time. He had ventured out into the storm to see that his cattle were faring well; heart failure in the suffocating storm is supposed to have caused his demise.
   Mr. Taylor's parents, Heman, senior, and Lydia (Nash) Taylor, were natives of Yarmouth and Boston, Massachusetts, respectively. The father had learned the cabinet-maker's trade, his father having had each son learn some handicraft, and when he quit the sea after many years in command of a vessel, he plied his trade in his native town, leaving in the family many specimens of his skill in furniture building.
   Mr. Taylor was a republican, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church in Plainview. In the east he had been a communicant of the Congregational church.
   Mr. Taylor was married at Creighton, Nebraska July 4, 1894, to Miss Mary Effie Reynolds, a native of Moravia, Iowa, born March 2, 1872. Her parents, Thomas Marshall and Emeline (Pollard) Reynolds, were natives of Indiana, and descended from old Virginia colonial families that

had successfully migrated to Kentucky and then across the Ohio river. They were married at Albia, Iowa, whither the bride's parents had moved by wagon from Indiana about 1850. Mrs. Reynolds came here about 1859.
   In 1861, Mr. Reynolds enlisted in the Third Iowa Cavalry, and served to the close of the war. Soon after reaching the front, he, with many others of his regiment, contracted measles, which so wasted his strength that he was unfitted for the field. He was often offered a disability discharge--twice General Noble, who was later secretary of the interior under McKinley, offered to secure his release, but he declined, serving in the hospital, hoping to be able to again mount his horse, which he kept, and join his comrades at the front.
   After the war, Mr. Reynolds farmed in Iowa until 1877, when he removed with his family to Douglas county, Nebraska, locating at a settlement known as Elk City. In 1881 they removed to Knox county, where the father died, March 25, 1889, at the age of forty-nine. The mother is living at present at Creighton.
   Mr. Reynolds' family endured all the privations of the early days in northern Nebraska. For a year or so they burned hay, sometimes varied by cornstalks or corn. At one time their supply of twisted hay, lying near the stove, was ignited by a spark, and came near burning the house. During the blizzard of 1888, Mrs. Taylor was a student in the Creighton High school, and was rescued by the citizens, who, taking two children at a time, found their way through tile storm to the various homes. So thick was the air with snow dust that the children's eyes were frequently frozen shut with a coating of snow.
   To Mr. and Mrs. Taylor one son was born, Melville Heman Taylor, a student in the Plainview schools.
   The Taylor residence is one of the most pretentious residences in the county, furnished in quiet elegance. One of the chief treasures is an old colonial hall clock that, despite its many years of service, is as accurate as a chronometer. All the fine elms surrounding the residence, together with the orchard, were put out by Mr. Taylor's hands, and the home place was always kept trim and tidy, as were the tenant houses on the place.
   Mr. Taylor has left his impress on northern Nebraska, and a tender memory to all who had the privilege of calling him friend.

 

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FRANCIS O. JUDKINS.

   Francis O. Judkins, who is classed among the largest land-owners in his section, is a popular and esteemed citizen of Fullerton, having spent the past many years in Nance county, and previously in adjoining counties. He has been engaged in the stock business, also being an important factor in the upbuilding of the farming interests of his locality.
   Mr. Judkins is a native of New Hampshire, born, in Unity on March 16, 1844, and is a son of Joel and Betsy W. Judkins, the youngest of their four children, and the only one now living. The father died in Missouri in 1869, and the mother in Red Oak, Iowa, in 1876. Francis was reared and educated in his home state, attending a private school during 1862 and 1863, and afterwards engaged in farming.
   In 1866, in company with a brother, Jasper W. Judkins, he went to Missouri, and began farming and stock raising, continuing in the work there for five years, then the two brothers removed to Red Oak, Iowa, at which place they opened a meat market, and run it for about two years. They next built a hotel, and carried it on successfully up to 1885, then sold out. In 1882, Francis had bought a controlling interest in the street car line at Red Oak, and he was acting manager of the same up to 1886. In that year be disposed of all his holdings in Red Oak, and came to Fullerton, having, two years previously purchased, with his brother, sixteen hundred acres of land, the latter locating in Nance county at the time. They engaged in the cattle business on an immense scale, running fifteen hundred head of cattle on the ranch, also buying and shipping to the markets, and carried on the business for fifteen years, being known as the largest feeders and shippers in that part of Nebraska. In 1890, Mr. Judkins retired from the stock business, and turned his attention entirely to his land interests, in which he has been successful, owning at the present time one thousand acres of fine land in North Dakota and considerable in Nance county.
   On April 12, 1870, Mr. Judkins was united in marriage to Miss Kizie Day, of Wellsville, Missouri, a charming and accomplished woman, she, having been a teacher in the Wisconsin schools for a number of years prior to her marriage. Mrs. Judkins died in Fullerton on November 16, 1890. In 1901 Mr. Judkins was married the second time to Mrs. S. H. Bennett, who was a widow with two children, and well known in Fullerton. One son, Joseph Bennett, is married, and lives in Springfield, Mississippi, while Millard S. Bennett, the younger son, is editor of a newspaper in Fullerton.

 

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WILLIAM B. FRYMIRE.

   William B. Frymire, proprietor of The Pioneer Hardware Store at Bloomfield, Nebraska is truly the pioneer hardware dealer of the place having purchased his lot on the fourth day of October, 1890, the day of the first sale of lots the new town. He at once erected a build and installed a stock of hardware, to which has added new lines from time to time, until. now he has one of the best equipped establishments of its kind in Nebraska.
   Mr. Frymire was born in Navarre, Stark county,

Ohio, June 26, 1863. In 1869, his father moved with his family to Paris, Edgar county, Illinois. Here the boy attended the public schools until 1873. His mother died that year, and he, with his his sister, returned to Navarre to make their home with their grandparents. When the father remarried, he sent for the children. The youth attended school until the age of seventeen, when he entered his father's store, learning the tinner's trade. When he was of age, his father gave him a third interest in the store, sold a third interest to his tinner, who had been with him many years, and enlarged the business under the firm name Frymire, Bovell & Company, William B. being the junior member of the firm. The business continued under this management until 1888, when the stock was divided, and the father and son shipped their two-thirds to Pierre, South Dakota, and engaged in business there until coming to Bloomfield, on the founding of the town in 1890. At Pierre, Mr. Frymire voted in the first election of the new state in 1888, and helped elect Governor Malette to his term as first executive.
   Mr. Frymire is a son of Benton J. and Emma (Bell) Frymire, natives of Stark and Holmes counties, Ohio. The father was born in 1843 at Navarre, a son of old Pennsylvania Germans, and here he grew to manhood, and served through two years of the war, in the One Hundred and Sixty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and then entered a mercantile life in Navarre. He was proprietor for many years of a hardware store at Navarre, Ohio; Paris, Illinois; Pierre, South Dakota, and Bloomfield, Nebraska. In 1900, he moved to Oklahoma, and, in 1905, retired and took up his residence in Santiago, California, where he has a thriving and profitable lemon grove.
   William B. Frymire was first married, February 29, 1893, in Sioux City, Iowa, to Miss Nora B. Hunt, a native of Iowa, and daughter of N. G. Hunt. She died, May 24, 1903.
   His second marriage took place January 30, 1904, Laura J. Cooper, a life-time friend and schoolinate of his first wife, becoming her successor. She was born in Minnesota, where her father, Ezra A. Cooper, was one of the early settlers of Mankato. They are the parents of two daughters, Emmavee and Billie B.
   Mr. Frymire has been a life-long republican. He has been a member of the Masonic order since 1884, when he joined Paris lodge, number two hundred and sixty-eight. He dimitted to the Bloomfield lodge, and later attained the chapter degrees, those of the council and commandery, and also the Shrine of Tangier Temple, Omaha. He was a member of the Pythian Knighthood as long as he resided in a town where a lodge existed.
   Mr. Frymire well merits his success as a merchant. He is affable in his manner, strictly honest in his dealings, and keeps on hand only the highest quality of goods. A man so equipped cannot fail of success in any community. He is public-spirited, and takes a deep interest in promoting the welfare of his home town and the surrounding community.

 

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RASMUS HANSEN.

   Rasmus Hansen, a well-to-do farmer of Stanton county, has been a resident of the state since 1884, and has become widely known as a man of untiring energy and honest principles. For about twenty years he has lived in this county, where he has built up a fine property through his industry and good management. He has a comfortable home in section thirty-three, where he is now enjoying his ease, after years of toil.
   Mr. Hansen is a native of Denmark, where he was born in 1862, the son of Hans and Votel Hansen. The first twenty years of his life were spent. in his native land, where he received his education.
   In 1882, the subscriber left Denmark for America, where opportunities for advancement were more numerous than in his native village. He came at once to Illinois, where he remained only two years, at the expiration of which time he moved to Douglas county, Nebraska. Mr. Hansen remained in this locality until 1892, when he came to Stanton county, and bought his present farm, which has been his home ever since. He now has two hundred and forty acres under full cultivation, and his estate shows the careful management of a thorough farmer.
   In 1889, our subscriber was united in marriage to Miss Saline Hansen, a native of Denmark. Nine children have come to bless their home, upon whom they have bestowed the following names: William, Hans, Maggie, Frank, Rachel, Harry, Fred, Otto and Lillie.

 

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WILLIAM MOSSBARGER.

   Among the leading old settlers of Antelope county, Nebraska, William Mossbarger is entitled to a foremost place. Mr. Mossbarger is a man of active public spirit, always lending his aid and influence for the bettering of conditions in his community. He has served as school director of his district for many years past. Mr. Mossbarger resides in section twelve, township twenty-four, range five, where he has a pleasant home and a valuable estate.
   Mr. Mossbarger, a native of Gallia county Ohio, was born February 2, 1848. His father, Jacob Mossbarger, was a native of Germany. His mother, Nancy (Cherrington) Mossbarger, died when our subject was but eighteen months old, after which he was raised by his grandparents.
   In 1871, with his family, Mr. Mossbarger came to Wisner, Nebraska, where he bought an oxen team, and on the tenth of April, 1871, came and

took up a homestead in section twenty-five, township twenty-five, range five, on which land he built a log house, the roof of which was made of earth. He also took a tree claim on Willow creek.
   Mr. Mossbarger has passed through many vicissitudes and hardships, and in the first days of settlement suffered losses through the various causes of grasshoppers, hail, hot winds, blizzards, etc. In 1895 he lost all his grain by the memorable hail storm of that year; in 1894, the drouth and hot winds completely destroyed his crops; during the years of 1873-74-75 the grasshoppers ate all his crops, and in the memorable blizzard of 1873 they experienced many hardships.
   On September 14, 1870, Mr. Mossbarger was united in matrimony to Miss Fannie Russell. Mr. and Mrs. Mossbarger are the parents of two children, whose names are as follows: Ellen and Laura, who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Mossbarger and family enjoy the respect and esteem of a great many friends and acquaintances, having lived in Antelope county for the past thirty-nine years, and in their present location for the past twenty years. His farm consists of four hundred and forty acres, on which he has built a beautiful home and made fine improvements.

 

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BENARD BEECHLER.

   Benard Beechler, who has recently erected a splendid modern residence in Callaway, Nebraska, and retired from farm life, is well known in central Nebraska as a prosperous and successful farmer and ranchman. He is the owner of thirty-three hundred acres of fine stock and grain land, and has long been closely identified with the progress and development of his county and state. He is a native of Luxemburg, Germany, born January 17, 1851, third of the eight children of John and Angeline (Fisher) Beechler, both of German birth. The parents died in their native country, the father in 1899 and the mother in 1866. Mr. Beechler has one brother, John, living in Custer county, and the other surviving members of the family live in Germany.
   Mr. Beechler reached maturity in his native city, and there received his education, later spending two years in France, where he worked on a farm. In 1870, at the age of nineteen years, he came to America, and on to Iowa county, Wisconsin. He went on to St. Louis soon after, and there spent two years working in a large wholesale house. Returning to Iowa county, he was for eight years connected with a grain elevator business.
   Mr. Beechler was married at Mineral Point, Wisconsin, July 28, 1875, to Miss Kate Bloom, a native of Nassau, Germany, who came to America in infancy, and located near Mineral Point. The father, George Bloom, died in Germany, and the mother, whose maiden name was Katherine Horn, who made her home with Mrs. Beechler, died November 14, 1911. Mrs. Beechler has a brother, who resided in Longmont, Colorado, who met his death in a runaway accident, November 2, 1911, and a sister in Fillmore county, Nebraska.
   In June, 1983, Mr. Beechler decided to seek the larger opportunities offered in the west, and made a trip to Nebraska, looking for a location. He filed on a homestead and timber claim, aggregating three hundred and twenty acres of land, in section three, township sixteen, range twenty-three, which has since been the home place, and later he pre-empted one hundred and eighty-two and one-half acres. He was instrumental in the organization of school district number one hundred and two, and for some years served as treasurer of the board. He also helped establish the road, district in his neighborhood, and has filled various town offices. He developed his farm into a splendidly improved-and equipped stock and grain farm, and for the last twelve years has specialized in raising Shorthorn cattle. He has seventy-five acres of natural timber in his ranch, which is well located in the midst of a rich farming region. He retired from active life in the fall of 1911.
   Mr. and Mrs. Beechler have three children: Lena, wife of H. M. Davenport, of Custer county, has three children; Katherine and Benard J., live at home.

 

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CLARENCE R. BRISTOL.

   Clarence R. Bristol is one of the few original homesteaders of Custer county to hold continuous residence on their farms, and was one of the first half dozen early settlers in the neighborhood of his present home. He and his family still use part of the old sod shanty that was put up on the homestead. They passed through the pioneer days, and experienced many hardships through reason of the years of drouth and hard times. Mr. Bristol was born in Port Jervis, New York, August 25, 1855, the youngest of the three children of Horace and Anna (French) Bristol, who had one son and two daughters. He and his sister Anna, now Mrs. Charles Davis, of Elgin, Washington, are the only two now surviving. The father served three years in the Civil war as Captain of Company B, First New Jersey Volunteer Cavalry. His first wife died when Clarence R. Bristol, the youngest child, was but three years of age, and he married a second time. He removed with his family to Iowa in 1869, at that time taking his second wife, three children by his former marriage, and three by his second marriage. The father died in Iowa about 1873.
   Clarence R. Bristol was reared and educated in the east, and accompnaied [sic] his father and stepmother to Iowa in 1869. He was there united in marriage, November 1, 1877, with Miss Nancy A. Patrick, whose parents, George and Emily (Herndon) Patrick, came to Custer county to live in 1890, and both died there, the father, who was

a native of Kentucky, in April, 1911, and the mother, a native of Indiana, in June, 1909. Mrs. Bristol has a brother, Levi Patrick, Iiving in Mason City, Nebraska; one brother, William, lives in Kingman, Kansas, and her sister, Mrs. Dora Rhodes, wife of John Rhodes, in Ansley. In 1884, Mr. Bristol brought his wife and four children, with a team and wagon, to Custer county, starting from Minona in October, camping along the way; averaging over forty miles a day, they made the trip in about eight days. He took up a homestead on the south half of the southwest quarter of section thirty-one, township fifteen, range eighteen, and the east half of the northwest quarter of section six, township fourteen, range eighteen, and has since resided on the former section. To this tract he has added two hundred acres of adjoining land. He has been closely identified with the progress and welfare of his community, and served several years as a member of the school board. He and his wife are among the highly-respected pioneers, and, have a large number of friends. They have three hundred and sixty acres of land in the home farm, and have substantial and suitable buildings thereon. They have clung to the comfort of the sod house, in which Mrs. Bristol's fine collection of flowers flourish luxuriantly throughout the winter. We give an illustration of the home and surroundings on another page.
   Of the eleven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Bristol, ten now survive: Bertha, wife of George F. Dewey (a sketch of whom appears in this work), was born in Iowa, and she and her husband have two children; Flora Belle, a native of Iowa, is the wife of Earl Hiser, of Custer county, and they have three children; Clara, wife of Anton Dobesh, lives on a farm in Custer county, and they have two children; Clarence, born in Iowa, is married, lives in Custer county, and has one child; Ernest, born in Custer county, is married and living there, and has three children; Emily, is deceased; Myrtle, is married to Grover Holman, and lives in Ansley; George, Clyde, Cleo and Lawrence were born on the homestead. Clyde and Cleo are twins. Four of the children were born in Iowa; the remaining ones are natives of Nebraska. All the family are members of the Baptist church. In politics Mr. Bristol is independent; he is a great admirer of Roosevelt and Bryan.
   During his early years in Nebraska, Mr. Bristol and family endured great privations. Drouth killed their crops in 1890 and again in 1894, while hail, in 1893 and 1895, were equally destructive. Hail the former year was so deep that in favored places remnants of it were to be found two weeks after it fell, and enough to make ice cream was secured seven days after.

Residence of Clarence R. Bristol.

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ROBERT CLINTON THOMPSON.

   Robert Clinton Thompson was born near Dwight, Livingston county, Illinois, September 15, 1865, and was second of eight children in the family of Thomas and Mary (Murphy) Thompson, who had five sons and three daughters. The parents were natives of Ohio, but were married in Illinois, where they resided several years. Mr. Thompson, our subject, was born and raised on an Illinois farm, receiving the usual school advantages, and lived the life of the pioneer farm boy, going out in life for himself in his twenty-flrst year.
   The entire family of father, mother and the children, except one son, Thomas, junior, who came about a year later, came to Valley county in 1883. They lived on rented land for four years, then moved to Box Butte county, Nebraska, Mr. Thompson, senior, taking up a homestead. Since 1898 he has been proprietor of a big ranch in Duell (sic) county, fourteen miles southeast of Alliance; All the family reside there, except a son at Arcadia, a daughter in Garfield county, and the subject of this sketch.
   Robert Thompson lived in Box Butte county until 1896, proving up on a homestead, and during this time lived in a "soddy." He then returned to Valley county, and followed farming and stock raising for two years, and in 1908 purchased the farm on which he now lives, the east half of section eighteen, township twenty, range thirteen, where he has a fine farm and comfortable home. An engraving of the dwelling and surroundings, situated on its hillcrest, with a commanding view of the surrounding country, is to be found adorning another page of this work.
   Mr. Thompson was united in marriage on July 4, 1887, at Ord, Nebraska, to Miss Vesta Virginia Dye. The Dye family came from Ohio in 1878, and settled three miles from Lincoln. In 1881 they went to Marshall, Kansas, where they lived an equal period. The father, Thomas C. Dye, was a native of Ohio. He was killed in a wreck near Mason City. The mother, Jerusha M. (Forest) Dye, was born in Iowa a short time prior to the family's return to Ohio, where she was reared. Her death occurred in Garfield county. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have had five children born to them, all of whom are residing under the parental roof. Their names are as follows: Beulah, Charles E., Millie Fay, Mary Fern and Arlos.
   Mr. Thompson and family have seen much of the early pioneer life. While they were living in the west end of the state, they hauled all their lumber and wood from the Pine Ridge in Dakota, fifty miles away. Deer and antelope were plentiful in that region during their residence there. They escaped the severe drouth of 1894, that being one of the best crop years of that region since it was first settled. The father of Mrs. Thompson drove his cattle to that region for the winter, finding abundance of fodder and grain. Many in the east part of the state had to sacrifice all their herds for lack of anything to sustain them.

Residence of R. C. Thompson.

HENRY D. BRUEGMAN.

   Henry D. Bruegman, a prosperous farmer of Osmond, first set foot on Nebraska soil March 1, 1879, when he rented a farm near Pilger, and when his crops were most promising, saw them completely devoured by a horde of grasshoppers, the last flight of the pests that for a series of years had wrought havoc to the settlers of those times in the west. Seeing his prospects vanish, Mr. Bruegman abandoned the place early in July, and a few days afterwards purchased the farm of August Ruepke, lying northwest of Osmond, and one of the two that were first settled in the north part of the county. Here he lived until 1891, when he removed to his present farm, adjoining Osmond on the south, on which he built a large, two-story, eight-room house, which is one of the finest farm dwellings in the county.
   Mr. Bruegman was born in Probsteihagen, Holstein, Germany, on December 6, 1852, and is a brother of Frank F. Bruegman, whose sketch appears on another page. Like Frank, he followed farming in his native land, also after coming to America in 1872. He settled in Davenport, Iowa, with scarcely a penny in his pocket, his railroad fare from New York having been advanced by an old couple to whom he had shown kindness on the voyage across the ocean. His wages for his first year's work were one hundred and sixty dollars, and he worked in the harvest fields during the summer of 1873, saving his earnings, and going to Minnesota in the later fall, winding up with more money in his pocket than he had ever had in his life before, having received most of the time four dollars a day. During that winter he worked in Davenport for a low wage and his board, in the spring going to Mercer county, Illinois, where he remained for five years farming, his wages being two hundred and thirty dollars per annum, and he was treated as one of the family by his employers. During this time he was married at Davenport, Iowa, to Minnie Huwaldt, daughter of W. H. Huwaldt, a sketch of whom appears in this volume. She died after a married life of two years, leaving two sons, one of whom survives, he now perfecting title to a homestead in Stanley county, South Dakota.
   During the first few years of Mr. Bruegman's residence in Nebraska, the principal fuel used was twisted bay, and at times corn was also burned, wood and coal being too scarce and high priced. Wisner was their nearest trading point the first two years, and often on the trip home, Mr. Bruegman would be in sight of his home, and then find the creeks surrounding his place too high to cross. On one occasion he drove eastward to find a crossing, and was obliged to go clear to the headwaters of the stream in Cedar county, returning along the north bank, which made a distance extra of nearly twenty-five miles. He also had an exciting experience during the blizzard of 1888 that few passed through with their lives.
   He had started out from home to Pierce with a load of hogs and was about four miles from his farm when the storm broke. Turning, he tried to retrace his steps, but the horses were unable to face the storm, so again turning south he made his way as rapidly as possible. One of the horses fell and refused to rise, and on getting out to find out the trouble, Mr. Bruegman saw that long icicles were hanging from its nostrils, while its eyes were covered with ice. Breaking the ice off, and, resting the horse a few moments, gave it new courage, and he urged it to its feet, then continued on his way through the blinding blast, finally reaching Pierce in a state bordering on exhaustion of both man and beast, at about five o'clock in the afternoon. All who saw him were astounded that one could survive the terrific storm, as few were able to even travel a short distance without severe suffering.
   Mr. Bruegman was married the second time, in October, 1884, in Pierce county, to Fredericka Jurgens, who is a native of the Island of Femarn, province of Holstein, Germany, coming to this country when a young girl. Eight children were born of this union, seven of whom are living, namely: William, a homesteader in South Dakota; Netta and Ida, both graduates of a business college at Des Moines, Ida now holding a lucrative position in that city, while Nettie resigned such a position for one at Lewiston, Montana, where she has homesteaded a half section of good land; while Alfred, Gertrude, Harry and Laura are students in the Osmond schools. The family have a very pleasant home and are well liked by all, taking a prominent part in the social affairs of their city.
   Mr. Bruegman is a republican and a member of the Masonic lodge, and of the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

 

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CURTIS A. CALVIN.

   Curtis A. Calvin, one of the prosperous younger members of the farming community of Howard county, is a worthy representative of a well known pioneer family and enjoys an enviable reputation as a worthy citizen and successful self-made man.
   Our subject was born in Howard county, on October 17, 1878, and received his early education in the local schools. He is truly a genuine native production, his father, David Calvin, having come into the vicinity with his family in 1873. As a young man Curtis worked on the home farm, later locating on section twenty-four, township fifteen, range twelve, which he occupied as his home place for many years. He improved it in splendid shape, erected a fine dwelling house, substantial barns, etc., and had everything in the best possible condition. The farm contained two hundred and forty acres of good land, and he was engaged in mixed farming and stock

raising, meeting with decided success in both lines.
   In November, 1909, Mr. Calvin sold his farm in section twenty-four, township fifteen, range twelve, which had been his home for seven years. In March of that year he had bought his present farm of two hundred and eighty acres on sections seventeen and eighteen, township fourteen, range ten, and moved to this place February 28, 1910. His property is situated three and one-half miles southwest of St. Paul.
   Mr. Calvin was married February 8, 1899, to Margaret Bertha Welsh, at the home of the latter's mother, Elizabeth Welsh, in this county. Mrs. Calvin was born in Toronto, Canada, coming to Nebraska as a babe, with her mother, arriving here in Howard county about 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Calvin have two children, George Earl and David Alfred, both sturdy boys and typical western youngsters, full of health and good spirits, and the pride of their parents.
   The Calvin family have an exceptionally pleasant home and enjoy a host of friends throughout the entire country, taking an active part in the social life of their community.

 

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JUDGE AARON WALL.

   Judge Aaron Wall is one of the most prominent members of the bar in the state of Nebraska, being licensed to practice the profession of law in all Nebraska courts and in the United States supreme court. He is especially prominent as a criminal lawyer and in the earlier days of his residence in central Nebraska had many exciting and dangerous experiences. He has always been active in the interests of the republican party, and served as delegate to the national convention held in Chicago in June, 1888, and as chairman of the state convention held in Lincoln during the same year; he has attended the state convention as delegate nearly every session since 1886. In 1896 he was the candidate for congress from the sixth district, being the highest man in the convention for seventy-seven straight ballots, when his name was withdrawn. He is a citizen of whom his state is proud and in his public service has been actuated by the highest principles and motives.
   Aaron Wall was born in Lancashire, England, August, 1849, the oldest of thirteen children born to Edward and Agnes Wall. The Wall family came to the United States in 1854 and located in Michigan. They first lived in the town of Kalamazoo and later in Allegan county - as Judge, Wall speaks of it, "settling in the woods." They took up a squatter's privileges there. Aaron Wall left his home in 1865 and came to Chicago, where he intended enlisting in the army, but was too late. He drifted into Iowa and thence as far west as Omaha. In the fall of 1867 be returned to Albion, Michigan, where he attended college two years, after which he taught one year in that state, during which time he first entered upon the study of law. He came to Saline county, Nebraska, in 1870, and there continued his studies, being admitted to practice in 1872 and remaining in that county until 1875. He located in Lincoln Center, Kansas, in the summer of 1875, and there entered upon the practice of his profession. In 1877 he came to Loup City, Sherman county, and in the fall of that year was elected probate judge of the county, serving ably four years, and then upon his retirement from office, resuming private practice, which he, has since continued.
   Mr. Wall was married in Lincoln county, Kansas, in 1876, to Miss Addie Van Hessen. They have no children. Mr. Wall has always been prominent in social, educational, legal and political circles, and has friends in all walks of life. He has been connected with some of the most important cases ever tried in the state and had much to do with the early court history of Sherman county, his life many times being held in the balance.
   An incident which not only illustrates Mr. Wall's decision of character and coolness in times of stress, but also gives a vivid picture of some of the most impressive conditions in the early days of Sherman county, is given below. The Olive gang were very active and powerful and much feared by the peaceful and law-abiding citizens. Jim Roberts, living on Beaver creek, was arrested by this gang in April, 1878, charged with stealing cattle, and Mr. Wall was acting as his council, the case being brought before Captain Hutchinson, a justice of the peace of that locality. The Olive gang tried to keep Judge Wall out of the room where court was held, standing around the walls with revolvers cocked. He managed to get inside, however, but was unable to get a fair hearing, although he asked to see the justice's docket, which was refused him. He then told the court that if he were allowed to talk a few minutes with the prisoner he would then go away. As the gang wished him out of the way, Judge Wall was allowed to consult with his client and they repaired to a point near the barn where the judge had his buggy, the gang standing guard with cocked weapons. During the talk they hit upon a plan that at a given signal Mr. Roberts should jump into the buggy and the judge should cut the horses loose. When anyone came near they were talking earnestly about the case, but they carefully watched their chance, and although it hardly seemed possible, they were taken by a spirited animal safely to Loup City. They were pursued some distance, but thought their pursuers had given up the chase before they reached their destination. They had hardly got into the house and got the team unhitched when Mrs. Roberts came in from the Roberts ranch saying Bob Olive and his cowboys were coming. They had with them a warrant from Justice Hutchinson for the arrest of Mr. Wall and intended taking him back for trial.
   Upon hearing a gentle rap on the door, he

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