ments and skirmishes.
   Two children have been born to Mr. Potts and wife, namely: Maud, wife of Charles Luce, of Broken Bow, and Madge J., a student in the Lincoln University, taking a course in medicine. Mr. Potts is a member of the Masonic fraternity, having taken the initiatory degrees in 1877.

 

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C. C. BASTIAN.

   For more than thirty years the above-named gentleman has been a resident of Wayne county, during which time he has been closely identified with every movement which had for its aim the development and growth of the community or the betterment of its existing conditions. He is one of the most prosperous and prominent farmers and stock-raisers of his section of the state, and is the proprietor of one of the most valuable estates in the county.
   Mr. Bastian is a native of New York, where he was born in 1854. His parents, Philip and Bertha Bastian, were both natives of Germany, and both came over to this country when they were small children. When the subscriber was still an infant, in 1855, his parents came to Tazewell county, Illinois, and it was in this state that he received his education in the local district schools. Philip Bastian died in Tazewell county, Illinois, March 1, 1900, and his widow is still living there on the old home farm.
   In 1876, Mr. Bastian came to Wayne county, and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of his present farm. He passed through many hardships during those early days. He lived in a dugout for two years, but at the end of this time, was able to build a small frame house. Grasshoppers took most of his crops for the first few years, thus making it a difficult proposition to exist in the new country. Many times he was threatened by prairie fires, which he had to fight for hours before his dwelling was out of danger. During the winter of 1880 and 1881, there was so much snow that it, was impossible for him to go to the timber after wood, and so they burned weeds and cornstalks to furnish warmth and heat for cooking. The days of those hardships have long since passed away, however, and Mr. Bastian now is taking life very easily in his comfortable home.
   In 1876, Mr. Bastian was married to Miss Elizabeth Schreck, and of this union seven children have been born, whose names are as follows: Albert, Anna, Ottilie, Adam, Lennard, Martin and Antony.
   Mr. and Mrs. Bastian are members of the German Lutheran church, which the entire family attend. Mr. Bastian is a, democrat. He served as assessor of Plum Creek precinct one term, was road overseer several years, and has been a member of the school board most of the time since he came to Nebraska. He has usually served as a member of the election board.

 

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ROBERT ADAMS.
(Deceased.)

   The gentleman whose name heads this personal history was identified with the agricultural interests of eastern Nebraska for about a quarter of a century, and was well known as a prosperous, and successful citizen.
   Robert Adams, deceased, son of David and Matilda Adams, was born in Ohio, December 22, 1835, and was fourth in a family of nine children. He has one brother, J. D. Adams, residing in Palmer; one sister in Illinois. The parents are deceased, having died in Illinois. Our subject received his education mainly in Ohio schools, later going with his parents to Bureau county, Illinois.
   On February 7, 1865, Mr. Adams was united in marriage to Miss Amanda J. Sill, of Pennsylvania, and later of Illinois. In the fall of 1873, Mr. Adams came with his wife and three children to Merrick county, Nebraska, and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land in section fourteen, township fifteen, range seven, west, which remained the home place until time of his death, August 20, 1897. Mr. Adams was survived by his wife and eight children: Nora, wife of Marshall Prutsman, has two children, and resides in Illinois; Howard G., married, has one son, and lives in Idaho; Nellie, wife of O. E. Burton, has two children, and lives in Merrick county; Birdie, deceased in infancy; Eva, wife of F. E. Wymer, has one son, and resides in Merrick, county; Luella, wife of R. W. Wolcott, has one daughter and lives in Merrick county; Alvin, who resides in Idaho; and Blanche, who was married to G. M. Grimes, has one son, and resides in Central City (Mr. Grimes died in 1907, in Iowa); and Elmer S., who is married and lives in Idaho.
   In 1905, Mrs. Adams left the homestead, and moved to Central City, and built a good home, where she now lives, surrounded by a large circle of friends. She still owns her homestead.
   Mr. Adams has been a member of the Methodist church for many years, and, indeed, helped to organize the first church in his locality, and was steward of the same. He was a member of the United Brethren church in the early days.
   Mrs. Adams has one brother in Lincoln, Nebraska; one in Newport, Nebraska; two sisters in Oklahoma, and one sister in Missouri. Her father died in 1892, at Joplin, Missouri, and her mother in 1874, in Bloomington, Illinois.
   When Mr. and Mrs. Adams and their three children came to Nebraska, the trip was made a covered wagon, camping out along the way They were accompanied by two of Mr. Adams brothers, John D. and George W. Adams. When

Mr. Adams and family first located on their claim, they built a small log house, one room below and one above, and lived in it about seven years, when it burned, and the present frame house was built. In April following their arrival, the famous snow storm of that time occurred, and for the next three years, grasshoppers destroyed nearly all the crops.

 

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JOSEPH KURKA.

   Joseph Kurka, who has recently moved from his fine estate in section four, township thirty-two, range seven, Knox county, to a comfortable home in Verdigris, is one of the very earliest settlers of northeastern Nebraska. He has spent the past forty years of his career in this country, going through the pioneer days, and braving many hardships and privations in carving out a name and fortune for himself. He is now one of the foremost men of his section - prosperous, and a gentleman of firm characteristics, whose high standing in his community is well merited.
   Mr. Kurka is a native of Bohemia, his birth occurring in 1853, in Sac village. He was the sort of Wenzel and Matilda (Myer) Kurka, Our subject, with his parents, came to America in 1870, sailing from Bremen on a steamship, and landing in New York. From there the family proceeded westward, and finally settled in Knox county, Nebraska, where they took up a homestead in section four, township thirty-two, range seven, on which they built a log house. Later our subject took up a homestead in section thirty-one, township thirty-one, range seven, building a log house thereon, and also took up a tree claim. Here in the early days the family endured more than the usual hardships and privations related by the average old-timer, as the early date of their settlement in this region, when it was almost unknown to settlement, necessitated enduring dangers and discouragements not experienced by the later pioneer settler. The Indians were a menace to the peace and comfort of the early comer, often killing and carrying away cattle. Prairie fires also did their share in creating havoc among the handfull of brave sons of the western prairies, and our subject had to fight this danger many times to save lives, homes and property. Deer and antelope were plentiful in the early days, and were frequently seen grazing on the prairies.
   Mr. Kurka was united in marriage in 1881 to Miss Theressa Mady, and they are the parents of nine children, namely: Carl, who is married to Miss Barba Brant; Matilda, wife of Weitzel Dietz; Mary, wife of John Wright; Emma, now Mrs. Herb Baurf; Frank, whose wife was Miss Rosa Marshal; Rosa, wife of Victor Shryer; Bertha, wife of Rudolph Taucho; Julia, now Mrs. J. Sucup; and Earnest, who married Albina Shryer.
   Mr. Kurka now owns one thousand acres of good land, which estate is well improved, and a home, of which our subject may well be proud. As before stated, Mr. Kurka is a well known and prominent citizen of his community, and deserving of the success he has attained.

 

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FRITZ SCHNELL.

   Fritz Schnell, who owns and operates one hundred and sixty acres of land on section twenty-one, township thirty, range three, Knox county, Nebraska, is one of the substantial farmers and esteemed citizens of his community. He is a pioneer of his county, and has devoted his entire career to farming and ranching, making a success of the business.
   Mr. Schnell is a native of Germany, his birth occurring in the province of Holstine in 1855, and is a son of Fritz and Mary (Hanson) Schnell. Our subject's father served his fatherland during the war of 1848 between Germany and Denmark.
   Mr. Schnell remained at home with his parents, until 1872, when he and a brother, William, came to America, sailing from Hamburg, coming by way of Liverpool to Glasgow, an thence to New York. After landing in the new world Mr. Schnell went direct to Wisconsin, where he worked on a farm for three years. He then removed to Dodge county, Nebraska, remaining there until 1887. Mr. Schnell then came to Knox county, Nebraska, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres of the Gilman ranch, and since his possession of the same, has greatly improved his farm.
   Like so many of the first settlers in this region, Mr. Schnell has experienced many hardships and disappointments and crop failures. In the terrible blizzard of January 12, 1888, which will never be forgotten by those who were unfortunate to experience it, Mr. Schnell lost nearly all his stock.
   Mr. Schnell was united in marriage in 1882 to Miss Mary Dickman, and Mr. and Mrs. Schnell are the parents of three children, whose names are as follows: Fritz, Anna and Clara. They are a fine family, and enjoy the regard and good will of a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.
   In politcs [sic] Mr. Schnell is a democrat, and he and his family attend the German Lutheran church.

 

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JOHN PETERSON.

   The gentleman above mentioned is classed among the substantial and practical agriculturists of Antelope county, Nebraska, and is proprietor of a valuable estate of three hundred and sixty acres, which is located in section thirty-six, township twenty-six, range six. He has been a resident of northeastern Nebraska for the past thirty years, ten years of which he has passed in Antelope county, and during his residence here, he and his family have acquired a host of friends, enjoying the respect and esteem of all who know

them. He settled in Platte county in 1880, then moved to Boone county, and came to Antelope county in 1901.
   Mr. Peterson is a native of Sweden, being born in Foncliepene village, near Guttenburg, February 18, 1857. He is the son of Gustave and Charlotte Peterson, the father being born in 1837, and, after reaching manhood, followed the occupation of farming on a large farm in Sweden. In April, 1880, Mr. Peterson left his native country to come to America, and to the west, where he could get cheaper land. He came by the way of Hull, from there to Liverpool, England, taking passage on the steamship "Indiana."
   Mr. Peterson came to Antelope county, Nebraska, in 1901, from Boone county, where he had resided for some twenty years. Mr. Peterson took up a homestead on section ten, township twenty, range five, and there built a sod house. Here Mr. Peterson went through all the hardships and drawbacks incidental to the tiller of the soil in the early days, and during the dry year of 1894, lost his entire crops by the hot winds, which prevailed at that time. Mr. Peterson now owns three hundred and sixty acres of good land, and two acres of orchard trees.
   Mr. Peterson married Miss Gusa Johnson, who was born in Guttenburg, Sweden, March 29, 1857. They are the parents of ten children as follows: Charles, who married Miss Jessie Dodds, and who has three children, now lives in Brunswick, Nebraska; Oscar; Henry, who married Miss Pearl Allen, is now a resident of Clearwater, township, they have three children, all boys; Anna, now Mrs. Gus Forsett, lives in Holt county, Nebraska; Edward, Grant, Edith, William, Wilhelmina and Cecilia.

 

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E. M. DODGE.
(Deceased.)

   E. M. Dodge belonged to an old family of Custer county. He was a native of Fulton, Illinois, born January 9, 1859. He received his education in his native state, and there attained his majority. In company with his parents and sister, he made the trip from Indiana to Fillmore county, Nebraska, in the fall of 1883. They made this journey in typical emigrant style, with a covered wagon and horses, and were six weeks on the way. They engaged in farming in Fillmore county, and in the summer of 1886, Miles Dodge came on up into Custer county. The following summer his parents also came to the county, where they spent the remained of their lives. One of their daughters, Mrs. Cosner, lives in Merna, and another, Mrs. Samuel Trot, in Anselmo, Nebraska.
   Mr. Dodge was married, February 21, 1887, to Maggie, daughter of Joseph B. and Emma (Bristow) Smith, old settlers of Fillmore and Custer counties. A sketch of Mr. Smith appears in this work, with extensive mention of his family, which has been prominent in many circles in central Nebraska. Five children were born to Mr. Dodge and wife: Glenn, living in Seattle; Jessie, Kenneth, Bertie and Marvel, all at home. Mr. Dodge was a representative citizen, and was identified with the progress and upbuilding it his community.

 

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CHRISTIAN H. AHRENDT.

   Christian H. Ahrendt, of Callaway, Nebraska, is a self-made man, and successful in life through energy and economy. He and his wife came to Custer county wholly without financial resources, but possessed of ambition to get ahead, and a willingness to work hard. He was born in Germany, May 22, 1849, third in the family of eight children born to Henry and Minnie (Butefur), Abrendt, natives of that country. He has two sisters in New York, two in Colorado, one brother in New York, one in San Francisco, and another in Germany. The father came to America in 1876, locating in New York, where he died in 1884. The mother died in Germany in May, 1877.
   Mr. Ahrendt grew to manhood on a farm in his native country, and there received his education, fitting himself for the profession of teacher. On December 21, 1877, at Micklenburg-Schwerin, Germany, he married Wilhelmina Wallenburg, also, of German birth, who was for several years a kindergarten teacher. In December, 1883, they came with their two children to America, locating in Buffalo county, Nebraska, and in February, 1885, came to Custer county, and secured a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of land in section ten, township fourteen, range twenty-three. Later they pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres. In 1891, they purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land in section thirteen, township fifteen, range twenty-three, which has since been the home place. They were among the earlier settlers of the county, and have passed through an important stage of its history. They met many discouragements in their early years on the farm reaching the Custer county homestead with but thirty-five cents in money. They were full of courage, however, and lived for a time in a dugout, and later in a sod house. In the fall of 1911, they retired from the farm, and came to Callaway, where Mr. Ahrendt erected a comfortable and modern residence, their present home A family group portrait will be found on another page of this volume.
   Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Ahrendt, of whom three now survive: Anna Mary, wife of Phil K. Hoffman, has two children; Hulda Christina, wife of George A. Huff, of Kansas, has three children; Otto P., married to Miss Nora Weaver, September 10, 1911. Mrs. Ahrendt's father died in 1904 in Brown county,

Nebraska, and her mother lives in Brown county. She has one sister and three brothers in Nebraska, and one brother in Kansas.
   Mrs. Ahrendt was always accustomed to the usages and ways of a large city until coming to the western states of America, and her resourcefulness was a dominant factor in the success which they have attained. Both were trained to the work of teachers in the fatherland, and it gave them, the advantage over the average emigrant of their time, in that it sharpened their wit so that they readily improvised methods of procedure to meet and overcome emergencies of all kinds. A notable instance may be mentioned of their first night's experience on their Custer county homestead. Overtaken by a blizzard as they arrived at their destination on a day in January, a few household effects and one pig constituted the entire worldly possession of the family, which at that time numbered two infants, besides themselves. Experience alone can tell what it means to successfully cope with the ferocity of such a storm. The warmth from an enfolding feather bed as it lay on the ground protected the infants, while father and mother did the work of excavating in the side of a bluff that made the temporary habitation, using such material of their furniture as would constitute shelter. The one small stove that burned cornstalks for fuel, and the protecting bodies of the parents, supplied warmth during this night of storm, which made the dugout tenable. Later in the spring, a sod house was built, the sod being turned by a neighbor, who was more fortunate in the possession of a team of horses, Mrs. Ahrendt carrying the sods and the husband doing the actual construction. Close attention is given to the influences that uplift, in the Ahrendt family, and we herewith quote the language of a document awarded to one of its members: "Diploma of Honor, awarded to Hulda Ahrendt for excellence in deportment and recitations, and for regularity of attendance in the Grammar Department School, during the term ending June seventh, 1895. Given at Callaway, State of Nebraska, this seventh day of June, 1895. Signed - Belle L. Cole, Teacher."

Christian H. Ahrendt and Family.

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FRED SCHWARZ.

   Persistent industry has placed this gentleman among the prosperous agriculturists of eastern Nebraska.
   Fred Schwarz, formerly of Osmond, first came to Nebraska with his parents in 1871. He was born in Hancock, Michigan, November 2, 1864. His father, Hy Schwarz, came from Upper Hessia, Germany, and was employed in the mines of Michigan, where he died when Fred was a small lad. The mother, who was Elizabeth Faubel, a native of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, married George Schwarz, a brother of her first husband, and, with him, migrated to Nebraska in 1871. They came by rail to Fremont, Nebraska, and thence by ox team to a farm, three miles north of Wisner, Nebraska. Here Fred grew to manhood, and remained with his parents until his twenty-second year, when his step-father gave him a team of colts. He rented a farm near home some three years, and then bought a quarter-section, eight miles northwest of Norfolk, which he cultivated two years, and then sold. Moving back to Wisner, he purchased a quarter-section near town, and for ten years farmed near the home of his childhood.
   In March, 1902, he came to Osmond, and bought a farm, north of town, on which he lived two years, then sold, and bought a farm of one hundred and twenty-six acres to the west of Osmond, and within the corporate limits. Here he raised stock, feeding all the grain he cultivated, and so managed that he needed little hired help, except in the rush season in the middle of summer. On February 22, 1911, he moved to the old place on which he was reared, which he purchased of his step-father, paying one hundred and tweny-five dollars per acre. The farm contains two hundred acres.
   Mr. Shwarz [sic] was married at Wisner, February 27, 1890, to Miss Henrietta Brandes, who was born March 4, 1872, near Scribner, Nebraska, and a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Dobelstein) Brandes, natives of Hanover and Holstein, Germany, respectively. They came to America in 1871, and settled eventually near Wisner, Nebraska, where the father still lives. The mother died, March 9, 1908.
   Mr. Schwarz is a democrat in politics, but has no lodge affiliations. Mr. Schwarz well remembers the deep snow of the winter of 1881 and 1882. A drift formed at their corncrib nine feet high, until chickens, pigs and other stock could walk up the drift and help themselves. In contrast, the family were often called upon to fight prairie fires. Game was plentiful in the country when Mr. Schwarz first came - so much so, that he has seen twenty to thirty deer in a herd. His step-father killed but one, however, the only venison they had. Times were so hard during the early years that there was no money to buy ammunition, to say nothing of a rifle in which to use it. A few wild turkeys were seen from time to time in those days. The first years they lived in a dugout, and for one year lived in the house of an uncle, whose wife had died. They returned to the dugout, and later built a good residence. When Fred was fourteen, he hired out at ten dollars per month, and bound grain on a harvester with a school ma'am. Mr. Schwarz was not out in the notable blizzard of 1888, but Mrs. Schwarz was kept in the school house all night. She started to go home, contrary to warnings, and got outside the door, which opened to the north. The blast struck her, and threw her

against the coal house, whence she made her way with difficulty back to the school room, where she was content to remain the rest of the night.
   Hardships were endured in those early days that would appall the younger generation of today. But those times are past. Railroads bring to our doors, lumber, coal and, provisions, and carry out grain and stock and produce. The isolation of the earliest settlers is a thing of the past.

 

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PETER S. PETERSEN.

   Peter S. Petersen was born, September 13, 1861, in Jylland, Denmark, on a farm near the city of Thisted, and attended school about three years in Denmark. He came to America in 1872 with his parents, two brothers and one sister, and lived in Chicago, Illinois, about two months, where, shortly after, his mother and youngest brother, one year old, died. He left Chicago with the rest of the family on his eleventh, birthday, and arrived at Dannebrog, Nebraska, September 16, 1872, where, two days later, his father filed on a homestead six miles west of Dannebrog, and which is now owned by his son, a brother of P. S. Petersen.
   Peter was sent out to earn his own living among strangers at the age, and worked a year for a bachelor farmer, about seven miles northeast of Grand Island. From that time until the spring of 1883, he was at home about half the time, the other half working for neighboring farmers. His schooling was very limited. From the time he arrived in America he did not attend over six months, divided into three terms of about two months each. In the spring of 1883, he went west, and worked on the section for the Union Pacific railroad in eastern Wyoming, returning late in the fall, and for the next three years worked on a farm near his home. In the spring of 1887, he went to Wyoming again, worked on the railroad two months, and on a ranch near Cheyenne about eight months, then returned to Dannebrog, where he worked a year in the lumber yeard [sic]. In the spring of 1889, he began in a general store as clerk, and the next fall went to Grand Island, and worked a few months in one of the larger stores there. Again he went to Wyoming, and was employed on the same ranch as formerly until July 1, 1890, when he returned to Dannebrog, resumed his old position in the same store he had worked in first. That same fall his employer moved to Rock Springs, Wyoming, and Peter was connected with another firm in Dannebrog for a few months, then went to Rock Springs and worked about eight months for the merchant whom he had first clerked for in Dannebrog. Returning in the fall, he was associated for a year with the firm he was with before going to Rock Springs. He resigned this position, and took a position as clerk for C. C. Hansen, who at that time owned a general store and bank in Dannebrog, being in the store a couple of months, and February 1, 1893, went to work in the bank as cashier and bookkeeper.
   October 5, 1893, Mr. Petersen was married to Miss Kristiane S. Kjeldsen, who came to America from Jylland, Denmark, in 1888. They have seven children, four boys and three girls, the oldest born July 31, 1894. About the middle of December, 1897, be resigned his position in the bank, and moved to St. Paul, where the family resided three and a half years, during which time he was deputy county clerk two years, and book-keeper in a wholesale grocery house one year and a half. This position he resigned in the spring of 1901, and returned to Dannebrog. Here he worked for his old employers in a general store for four years, then left them, going to Rock Springs, Wyoming, where he spent four months, leaving his family in Dannebrog. While in Rock Springs he worked for the same man he had worked for there in 1891. He returned to Dannebrog in September, and on October 1, 1905, bought the "Dannebrog News," a weekly newspaper, of J. M. Erickson. November 20, of the same year, he succeeded Mr. Erickson as postmaster at Dannebrog.
   Before going to St. Paul in 1897, Mr. Petersen, had been village treasurer, and had served for some time as a member of the village board, to which position he was again elected for two years in 1908. He was clerk of the local camp of the Modern Woodmen of America for several years. While in Rock Springs, Wyoming, in 1891, he joined a lodge of the Danish Brotherhood as charter member, and the next year, with permission from the supreme officers, organized and installed a lodge at Dannebrog. Most of the time since, he has held the office either of treasurer, secretary, president or ex-president of this lodge, in 1902 was its delegate to the convention at Racine, Wisconsin. Mr. Petersen was candidate for county clerk in 1899, on the republican ticket, and again in 1901, but the country was so strongly populist that he was defeated, together with the rest of his ticket.

 

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WILLIAM H. SCHULTZ.

   For a quarter of a century, William H. Schultz has been a resident of Valley county, Nebraska, and during this time has acquired a fine as a result of his industry and good man He is widely known in this locality, and the prominent men of his community.
   Mr. Schultz was the second of four born to John D. and Martha (Phillips) Schultz, natives of New York and Maryland, respectively. The mother died in 1866, when our subscriber was but ten years of age. Mr. Schultz was born Ogle county, Illinois, January 10, 1856. In September, 1869, Mr. Schultz and his father went to

Marshall county, Iowa, to live, and there the latter died, April 1, 1879.
   William Schultz grew to manhood on the farm in Iowa, and received his education in the local schools of that state. In the spring of 1887, he first came to Nebraska with a brother, having a sub-contract for a mile of the Burlington and Missouri grade in Wheeler county, another mile in Greeley county, and a third in Blaine county. Later on in the year, he came to Valley county, and remained a year or two, expecting the railroad to extend its line west. In 1889, he purchased eighty acres in section eight, township seventeen, range thirteen, which was his home until March, 1911, when he moved to a residence on forty acres of land adjoining North Loup, purchased in the spring of 1910.
   On January 10, 1894, Mr. Schultz married Jennie B. Preston, a native of Jones county, Iowa. Her parents, Robert and Loretta (Bryan) Preston, natives of Ohio and Illinois, came to Nebraska during the early eighties. After a winter in Council Bluffs, they came on to Valley county, and settled four miles southwest of North Loup. Here they built a sod house, and for a number of years lived in true pioneer style. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Schultz: Ruby E., Olive M. and William H., junior.
   From time to time, Mr. Schultz has added to his original land, until now he has a fine estate of over five hundred acres. Besides the usual farm crops, he has for some years devoted considerable attention to stock raising. He is a successful business man, and for some years has served as treasurer of school district number three. He has also been called upon to serve the township in other capacities upon several occasions.
   Mr. Schultz is one of the younger men among the early settlers, and is held in the highest esteem as a farmer and citizen. He is independent in politics voting for the man and not the party. Mrs. Schultz is at member of the Friends' church.

 

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CHARLES CLINTON SCHULTZ.

   Among the prominent farmers and stockmen of Valley county may be mentioned the above gentleman. He has been a resident of the county for many years, and is now the proprietor of a fine stock farm of over four hundred acres, located in sections sixteen and seventeen, township seventeen, range thirteen. He has made a specialy [sic] of raising thoroughbred Poland China hogs, and animals bred on his farm have made a name for themselves in that locality.
   Mr. Schultz was born in Ogle county, Illinois, on the fourth of March, 1858, and was the third of four children born to John D. and Marth (Phillips) Schultz. When ten years of age, he went with his parents to Marshall county, lowa, in which state he received his education. Later he taught for some time in that state.
   On the twenty-first of June, 1882, Mr. Schultz married Miss Lizzie Preston, a native of Bureau county, Illinois. For a few years the family lived in Iowa, and during 1885 to 1887, Mr. Schultz was in Nebraska, doing contract work for the Burlington and Missouri railroad. In 1888, he brought his family, consisting of his wife and two children, to Greeley county, Nebraska, where they lived for about a year and a half.
   In 1890, he finally settled permanently in Valley county, where he purchased a quarter-section of fine land, which is still in his possession. Through shrewd management, and the exercise of thrift and industry, Mr. Schultz has been enabled to add to his original purchase, until he now has one of the largest and finest stock farms in the country. His success has been well deserved. He has been a resident of the county since his first arrival, with the exception of possibly two years, when he was located in Central City, engaged in promoting the interest of the Friends' College at that place.
   Mr. and Mrs. Schultz are the parents of five children: Lou F., Gertie May (Mrs. L. D. Stewart, of Valley county), Charles C., a student at the Central College at Central City; Florence T., and Martha C., both of whom are at home. The family have taken an important part in the social life of the community, being members of the Friends' church. Mr. Schultz is a republican in politics.
   Mr. Schultz is one of the most prosperous and influential men of the community, and his friends are only limited by the number of his acquaintances. He has always been intensely interested in local public affairs, and has served the public well. He was at one time township clerk.
   During the dry year of 1894, his entire crop consisted of sixty bushels of corn on sixty acres, and fifty bushels of corn on twelve acres. In 1907, he lost all his crops by hail.

 

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HERMAN SAARE.

   Herman Saare, one of the early settlers and prosperous retired merchants and business men of eastern Nebraska, resides in his pleasant home in Newman Grove, and enjoys the respect and esteem of a large circle of acquaintances.
   Mr. Saare was born in Prussia, March 4, 1844. coming to the United States with his parents in 1854, settling in Jefferson county, Wisconsin. He was second of four children in the family of Ferdinand and Wilhelmine Saare who came to America in 1854 with their family of two sons and one daughter, another son being [born] in the United States.
   Herman Saare, the subject of this sketch, lived in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, until about his fifteenth year, then went to Sauk county, Wiscon-

sin, with his parents and family. He enlisted in Company G, Forty-second Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, in September, 1864. At the close of the war, he was mustered out in Madison, Wisconsin, returning to Sauk county and the farm.
   July 17, 1869, Mr. Saare was married to Miss Louise Mollin at her home in Dane county, Wisconsin. With his wife and one son, he came to Nebraska in June, 1872, settling in the town of Aspinwall, Nemaha county, and engaged in the general mercantile business. They remained there until 1877, when they returned to Baraboo, Wisconsin, going into the mercantile business in that city, and in January, 1880, came to Barada, Richardson county, Nebraska, where he was one of the firm of H. Saare & Company, and remained there five years. He moved to Genoa, Nance county, Nebraska, in 1885, and engaged in the general mercantile business with G. A. Mollin, and in March, 1887, came to Newman Grove, Madison county, again going into the mercantile business. Here he has remained, and has been retired from active business since January 20, 1906. Mr. Saare is a successful man of affairs, and is widely known. He has a comfortable home in Newman Grove, extensive land and property interests in Madison and adjoining counties, as well as interests in other states.
   Mr. and Mrs. Saare have four children living: Louise, wife of J. L. Barnes, has three children, and lives in Kansas; Augusta, wife of C. C. Crowell, junior, has four children, and resides in Omaha; Alfred, resides in the state of Washington, and has two children; and Pauline, who lives at home.

 

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JUDGE JOSIAH A. ARMOUR.

   Judge Josiah A. Armour was the first lawyer to establish a practice within the limits of Custer county, Nebraska, and is one of the best known men of that region. He is a native of Macoupin county, Illinois, fourth of the nine children of Josiah and Eliza (Rhoads) Armour, natives of Kentucky. He was born July 14, 1854. The father was of German and Scotch descent, and the mother of German and English, and he died at Medora, Illinois, while she survives him, and lives at Medora, being eighty-two years of age. Several of their children are deceased, and those now surviving are: Josiah A.; Mrs. Melissa Chandler, of Ansley; Charles B., of Ansley; Mrs. Julia Huffman, of Gering; Mrs. Delia M. Duty, of Medora, Illinois.
   Mr. Armour received his elementary education in the country schools of Illinois, and grew to young manhood on a farm. Later he attended Shurtleff College for six years, and graduated therefrom in 1878. The following year he read law with General I. A. Rinaker, and afterwards attended Washington University, where he took a law course. In June, 1880, he located in Edgar, Clay county, Nebraska, and entered upon the practice of his profession. In September, 1881, he removed to Westerville, Custer county, where he remained until the spring of 1887, and then moved to Ansley. He was married in Westerville, March 19, 1882, to Miss Etta Varney, a native of New York state, and a daughter of Edgar and Amelia (Tiffany) Varney, both also natives of that state. The father was born near Saratoga Springs, and served in a New York regiment during the Civil war. He brought his family to Custer county in an early day, and his death occurred in September, 1908, in Ansley, where his widow still resides. Their children are: T. T., S. P. and J. H., living in Ansley; Mrs. Clara Gaines, of Ansley; C. E., of Callaway; Mrs. Millie Brega, of Callaway; Mrs. Lavina Wilkison, of Grand Island, and Mrs. Armour.
   In 1884, Mr. Armour secured a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of land in the southeast quarter of section fourteen, township eighteen, range eighteen, and also secured a timber claim of the same size. In the fall of 1897, he was elected county judge, and, through successive re-elections, served eight consecutive years, during which time he lived in Broken Bow. He is one of the oldest settlers of his part of the state, and has had an extensive law practice since coming west. He is a prosperous and successful business man and has secured some nice properties in the county. He is actively identified with the best interests of his county and state, and is held in high regard and respect by all who know him, having a high standing in his profession. For four successive years he served as worshipful master of the Masonic lodge in Ansley, and is well known in Masonic circles in his part of the state. Four children have been born to Judge and Mrs. Armour, namely: Ray, of Great Falls, Montana, married Miss Gertrude Hall, of Broken Bow, and they have one child; Effie I., died March 2, 1888; Roscoe A., is a student in the Chicago Dental School; Avis A., is now attending school.

 

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WILEY E. VAN PELT.

   Wiley E. Van Pelt, the hustling real estate dealer of Bloomfield, has been in Nebraska a shorter time than many, but he accomplishes more in one year than do many in from three to five years. He is a native of Shenandoah, Iowa, born September 9, 1875. His parents, Evan D. and Melissa (Broyhill) Van Pelt, are natives of Illinois, the father of Fulton, and the mother of descent Tazewell county. The family is of Holland descent, but the immigrant ancestor came in Colonial days, long before the Revolutionary war.
   The senior Van Pelt moved to Shenandoah in 1873, living part of the time in the city and part of the time on his farm. Wiley E. Van Pelt

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