Lookout Mountain, Missoinary [sic] Ridge, Knoxville, Peach Tree Creek and Atlanta. He also took part in numerous minor engagements and accompanied Sherman on his famous march to the sea. At the close of the war he returned home and in 1868 removed to Michigan, where he lived several years.
   In the early seventies Mr. Booth came to Otoe county, Nebraska, shortly afterward moving to Iowa, and in 1888 he returned to Nebraska and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land in Custer county, and a tree claim of the same size near Broken Bow. He sold his farm, which he had developed and improved, in 1900, spent one year at Broken Bow, then purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land on sections thirty-three and thirty-four of township seventeen, range nineteen, which has since been the home place. It is a well-improved and equipped stock and grain farm and is in a pleasant location in the county. Mr. Booth has the esteem and friendship of his neighbors and associates and stands well in his community.
   Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Booth, as follows: Mrs. Electa Barrett, of Broken Bow, has two children; Edwin, married and living, in Custer county, has five children; Joseph, also married and living in the county, has three children; Mrs. Cora Heffele, of Custer county, has eight children; William, also of the county, is married and has one child; Ernest, of Custer county, has four children; Mrs. Grace Coulter, of the county, has two children; Mrs. Lizzie Shoup, also of Custer county, has two children; George has two children. The members of the family are well-known in Custer county for their uprightness and stability of character and their interest in every movement for the general good. There are twenty-eight grandchildren in the family.

 

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B. JENKENSON.

   B. Jenkenson, who resides in Washington township, on section two, township thirty, range eight,, is numbered among the old settlers of Knox county, Nebraska. He has been engaged successfully in farming for many years past, and while developing a comfortable home for himself, has done much to build up his locality, and now enjoys the esteem of a host of people.
   Mr. Jenkenson is a native of Ohio, where. his birth occurred in 1866, and he is the son of William B. and Irene (Foster) Jenkenson. His father was a native of Ireland and was born in 1819. His mother was born in Ohio in 1826. William B. Jenkensen died in Ohio in 1907, and his wife died in 1909, in the same state.
   B. Jenkenson came to Knox county, Nebraska, in the year of 1888, where he took up a homestead claim on section two, township thirty, range eight and on this land built a frame house. This old homestead still remains the home of Mr. Jenkenson, and having passed twenty-three years of his life here, the place seems very dear to him, although he has had many vicissitudes and hardships, experiencing the drawbacks of the early settler or this portion of the west.
   Mr. Jenkenson was united in the holy bonds of matrimony in 1890, to Miss Nora Grim, and Mr. and Mrs. Jenkenson are the parents of seven children, whose names are as follows: Joe, William, Helen, John, Cora, Edward, and Earl. Mrs. Jenkenson's father, Jacob Grim, was one of the first settlers of Knox county.
   Mr. and Mrs. Jenkenson and family are highly esteemed and respected by all who know them, and they have many staunch friends in their community.

 

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THOMAS M. WILLEMAN.

   Thomas M. Willeman, Merrick county, Nebraska, takes an honorable place among the early settlers of that section, and has enjoyed those rich rewards which agriculture is ever ready to render to those who engaged in its pursuit with foresight and industry. He has had much to do with the early settlement and general improvement of this part of the state.
   Mr. Willeman was born in Henry county, Ohio, August 7, 1847, and was the fourth of ten children in the family of David and Elizabeth Willeman, who had three sons and seven daughters. Mr. Willeman was brought tip on the farm in the Ohio woods, and lived in Henry county, Ohio, until coming to Merrick county, Nebraska, in August, 1872. Here he took up a homestead in the northeast one-fourth of section twelve, township fourteen, range seven.
   In the fall of 1873 Mr. Willeman returned to Ohio and was married to Alice McIntosh in Henry county, Ohio, February, 1874, and in the spring of that year, Mr. and Mrs. Willeman came to the homestead farm in Merrick county, Nebraska, to live, and this has been their home until the present time. Mr. Willeman is one of the few pioneer settlers that still live on the old original homestead farm. He has one hundred and sixty acres of land in this farm and several hundred acres in Merrick county, and also owns other Nebraska land. He is a successful farmer and stockman, and on his home farm he has good buildings and a comfortfortable [sic] home.
   Mr. and Mrs. Willeman have six children: Roy; Myley, wife of Joseph Emmert, and living in Merrick county, Nebraska; Lloyd, married, has one child and resides south of the home farm; Verdie; Sidney; and Ernest. Mr. and Mrs. Willeman are well-known and enjoy the respect and esteem of a large circle of friends.
   Mr. Willeman has passed through all the different Nebraska periods-from early days and land of small value to fine farms and large land values. He is a successful and prosperous farmer

and stockman, making a specialty of shorthorn cattle. He is prominent in his neighborhood.
   Mr. Willeman enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and Ninety-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in February, 1865, receiving his honorable discharge in August of that same year.

 

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ANTON KRIPNER.

   Anton Kripner, the subject of this sketch, has followed the vocation of farming nearly in his life and by his thrift, honesty, and integrity, has not only been successful as a tiller of the soil, but has merited the esteem and confidence of all with whom he has formed an acquaintance.
   Mr. Kripner was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1879, and is the son of Mike and Rosa Kripner, who are natives or Bohemia. In 1871, Mike Kripner left his native land and sailed for America, the land of promise to many thrifty and ambitious young men of foreign climes, and after a long voyage he landed in New York. Upon his arrival in the United States he came west as far as Chicago, Illinois, where he remained about eight years. In 1878 Mike Kripner was married, and while Mr. and Mrs. Kripner resided in Chicago, Anton was born. From Chicago the family proceeded farther westward. coming to Knox county, Nebraska, where they took up a homestead claim in section thirty-three, township thirty-one, range seven, on which they built a log house, and this place has remained the old homestead farm.
   In 1910, Mr. Anton Kripner was united in the holy bonds or wedlock to Miss Annie Thomeseak. Mr. and Mrs. Kripner are highly esteemed and well respected people, and are surrounded by a host of staunch friends and acquaintances. February, 1911, Mr. Kripner purchased a livery in Verdigris, where he and his estimable wife are now residing.

 

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FRANCIS L. SISSON.

   Francis L. Sisson, a well-to-do resident of St. Edward, Nebraska, is widely known and universally respected and esteemed in that part of Boone comity. Mr. Sisson and his family are among the earliest settlers of that part of Nebraska, and has done a great deal to help bring about the prosperity enjoyed in that region. He is a prominent member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is very proud of the fact that he has two brothers who served with him one of whom was a captive in Libby prison for some length of time.
   Mr. Sisson was born in Liberty, Jackson county, Michigan, on May 21, 1836, and was the fifth in order of birth in a family of nine born to Eurastes R. and Lois Sisson, who were old settlers in Michigan, the family later going to Nebraska, where the father died in 1870, and his wife passing away four years later, her death occurring in Wisconsin, they having located in the latter state when our subject was about seventeen years of age.
   On September 4, 1861, Mr. Sisson enlisted in the Fifth Wisconsin Battery, light artillery, and took part in the battle of Chaplain Hills, Stone river, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Resaca, Pumpkill Vine, Kenesaw Mountain, Chattahoochie river, Peach Tree Creek, Jonesborough, Bentonville, and many other minor engagements and skirmishes. He received an honorable discharge in June, 1865, and was one of those participating in the Grand Review held at Washington in May of that year.
   After the war Mr. Sisson returned to Wisconsin and started farming on his own account. He was married there on August 10, 1867, to Emma Hill, of Argyle, who had been a teacher in the Wisconsin schools for a number of years. In 1874 he came with his family to Nebraska, his first location being in Platte county, homesteading one hundred and sixty acres on the Boone county line. also took a timber claim of one hundred and sixty acres, making that his home for about six years, then sold out his homestead and moved to St. Edwards. There he built a good home and has lived ever since, Mr. Sisson following the painter's trade for the past twenty years.
   Mr. and Mrs. Sisson are among the earliest settlers in their part of Nebraska, and widely and favorably known. The former is an honored member of Hinsman Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and his wife is a member of the Womens Relief Corps. Her father and one brother served in the war, also her grandfather was a soldier in the war of 1812.
   Eight children have been born to our subject and his good wife, namely: Minnie, Lloyd, Luella, and Lester, deceased, the latter killed in the Spanish-American war, on April 23, 1899: Leon, Mattie and Mary are married and settled in different parts of Nebraska, while Bertha is at home with her parents.

 

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EDWARD RINGER.

   It would be impossible to give a complete history of the state of Nebraska without including a sketch of the life of Edward Ringer, who is one of the most prominent of the old-settlers. Mr. Ringer resides on section twenty-six, township twenty-five, range six, Antelope county, where he has a beautiful home, and is surrounded by his family and a host of friends and acquaintances.
   Mr. Ringer is a native of Schoenebeck, near Storget, Prussia, Germany, his birth occurring in the year of 1851, he being the youngest of seven children. His father died when our subject was a small boy. After growing to manhood, Mr. Ringer followed the occupation of back driving, in which he was engaged at Stettin, Germany.
   In 1872, Mr. Ringer came to America, he, like so many sons of the German Empire, having heard of the grat [sic] land of promise in the new world where

land could be had for almost nothing, the price of purchase being the time spent in living on it to prove upon the claim. He sailed from Hamburg by way of Hull, England, to New York; and after landing in the United State he at once started for the great west to make a fortune for himself, and upon his arrival in Nebraska took up a homestead and also a pre-emption claim and built a dug out, later on building a log house. When Mr. Ringer first came to this western country, it was apparently a barren desert, peopled only with Indians, who were camping around on the bank, and who did not hail the white man's advent to their hunting grounds with any sign of pleasure.
   Mr. Ringer was united in marriage October 31, 1879, to Miss Carrie Ellis, and Mr. and Mrs. Ringer are the parents of six children: William, Walter, Ray, John, Lena, and Elsie. They are a fine family, beloved, and respected by all who know them.
   Mr. Ringer, having come to this western country at so early a period, has seen more hardships and experienced more danger than fell to the lot of the average pioneer of the western frontier; among other experiences, during the years of 1873-74-75, the grasshoppers destroyed the crops, making three successive years of crop failures, almost causing a famine; other losses occurred through hail, drouths, etc.; and not the least factor brought to bear on the trials of our subject were the prairie fires which raged for years around this section of the country, and which had to be almost constantly fought. But through all the years Mr. Ringer endured and stayed on, having implicit faith in the ultimate prosperity of the region; which belief has come true past all anticipation; Mr. Ringer is now a prosperous man, and as before stated, owns a beautiful home, with two hundred and forty acres of fine land, and substantial improvements.
   Mr. Ringer was a horse trader for many years, which accounts for his being so well-known. He, is highly respected and esteemed throughout this part of Nebraska, his business relations and transactions always having been of the most upright and honorable character.

 

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CHARLES KNULL.

   Prominent among Madison county old settlers is Charles Knull, who since the fall of 1887 has made this region his home and done his share in the development of the agricultural resources of this section of the country. Mr. Knull lives in section two, township twenty-two, range two, where he has built up a valuable property through his industry and good management.
   Mr. Knull is a native of Germany, born May 5, 1858, and is a son of John and Sofia (Schrader) Knull, natives of Pomerania, Germany. Our subject received his early education in his native country, and grew to a young lad of fourteen years there. In 1872 he, with his parents, came to America, embarking on a steamship from Hamburg, Germany, and landing in New York.
   After reaching the United States, the family at once proceeded to the west, locating in Wisconsin and living there seventeen years, then moving to the state of Illinois, remaining there but a short time, as hearing of the splendid opportunities to obtain land in Nebraska, they journeyed to the far west, settling in Madison county in 1887, where the father took up a homestead claim in section two, township twenty-two, range two, which, as before stated, is the home place of our subject at the present time. Mr. Knull is one of the few who are still living on the original homestead farm, and now has one of the finest farms in the county; he has seven hundred and twenty acres of good land, and on this has twelve acres of fine orchard and grove trees.
   In the earliest days of settlement on the western frontier, the family suffered many hardships and dangers; they were often compelled to burn hay and corn to keep warm in the winter, as fuel was scarce in this region, the distance to haul it being so great, and it commanded such an extremely high price it was out of the question to use it. As late as 1894 all the crops were destroyed by the hot winds that burned to a crisp all manner of vegetation in that locality, owing to the terrible drouth of that season. But through all this, Mr. Knull has prospered and has a well-improved farm, and now lives in a beautiful home, where he is surrounded by a host of good friends, and many kind neighbors and acquaintances.
   In 1882 Mr. Knull was united in marriage to Miss Lena Smith, a native of Germany, and a daughter of William and Sophia (Harder) Smith. Mr. and Mrs. Knull are the parets [sic] of five children, whose names are as follows: Edward, Alma, Frank, Burnham, and Mabel. They are a fine family and enjoy the respect and esteem of all in their community, where they are well known.

 

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JOHN GARNISS.

   John Garniss is one of the younger men among the early settlers of Custer county, Nebraska, and lives on the homestead which his father secured in 1882. Mr. Garniss is a native of Canada, born September 10, 1867, third of the five children of Henry and Ellen (Drury) Garniss. He has two sisters in Custer county, Mrs. Hannah Scott, and Mrs. Harriet Scott, the latter living in Ansley, and both are mentioned further in connection with the sketches of her husbands, found elsewhere in this work. Others of the children are deceased. Both parents were born in England and they came to America in 1851, settling in Cheatham, Huron county, Canada. In 1877 the family came to Howard county, Nebraska, and in 1882 located in Custer county, where the father died in 1899; the mother now resides in Ansley. The father who

built the first frame house on Dry Creek, secured a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres af [sic] land in sections two, and three, township seventeen, range eighteen, and lived there until his death.
   Mr. Garniss was about ten years of age when his parents brought him to Nebraska, and he accompanied them to Custer county in 1882. In 1888 he pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres of land on section eleven, township seventeen, range eighteen, on which he afterward secured a homestead right, and lived there until 1902, when he purchased his father's homestead, and this has since been his home. He has been actively interested in the welfare and development of the community and is recognized as a public-spirited, useful citizen. He helped very materially in the organization of school district number one hundred and four, and has for some time past served as moderator of the board.
   On December 22, 1897, Mr. Garniss was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth J. Collier, at the home of her parents in Custer county. She is the daughter of John and Jennie (Todd) Collier, an early and prominent family of the county. Mr. Garniss and wife have had four children: Jennie, who died in infancy; Henry J., Elizabeth E. and Margaret G. M. at home.
   Mr. Garniss owns a four hundred and eighty acre stock and grain farm, well improved and equipped for successful operation, has a modern home and other new buildings, and his success is very gratifying from the fact that it has resulted from his own energetic and well planned efforts. In politics he supports the democratic candidate in state and national elections.
   On the pre-emption claim, Mr. Garniss, and family lived in a "soddy" until 1900, when he built a comfortable frame house, to which additions have been made. We show a view of the home and its outbuildings, with the broad outlook across the beautiful valley, elsewhere on another page.
   Mr. Garniss was at home at the time of that worst of late blizzards, January 12, 1888, but his father and brother were at a sale and were compelled to remain over night. During the dry year, 1891, nothing but fodder was raised on the place, and hail destroyed the crops in 1895, but since that time prosperity has crowned his efforts. Deer and antelope were plentiful in the country when the family first came, but soon passed on to the west, where settlers were not so thick as in the region here.

Residence of John Garniss.

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PERRY PIERSON.

   Among the oldest settlers of eastern Nebraska who have taken an active part in the development of that region and have gone through many bitter experiences in building up a home and competence, the gentleman above named deserves prominent mention.
   Perry Pierson was born near Liberty, Sullivan county, New York, December 13, 1857, and was fifth of thirteen children in the family of E. Sanford and Harriet (Griswold) Pierson, who had eight sons and five daughters. Mr. Pierson was a farm boy receiving the ordinary school adtages [sic], and in his twentieth year left the old home farm in the month of March, 1878.
   Coming to Howard county, Nebraska, he made this his headquarters for several years. He also came into Valley county in 1878, but not until 1880 did he make Valley county his home, having filed on a timber claim in the winter of 1879. Mr, Pierson, farmed and raised stock in the western part of Valley county from 1881 until the purchase of his present farm in section twenty, township nineteen, range thirteen, where he owns eighty acres of fine farm land well improved. A view of his substantial home and buildings is to be found on another page of this work.
   Mr. Pierson was married to Miss Rosa B. Smith in Geranium township, Valley county, April 17, 1887. Miss Smith is a native of Indiana, a daughter of Adam and Catherine Smith; the family came into Valley county about 1883. Mr. and Mrs. Pierson have two children: Bessie, wife of Lewis Holloway, lives in Riverdale, Buffalo county, Nebraska; and Clarence, who resides at home with his parents.
   Mr. Pierson has had much to do with the development of Valley county, it being a raw, undeveloped county when he first came to this locality; he has passed through the adverse years of the county but now enjoys its prosperity. In political views he is a supporter of the republican party.
   Several brothers of Mr. Pierson came into Nebraska in the early years, but Mr. Pierson is now the only member of his family living in the state.
   During his bachelorhood, Mr. Pierson lived for two or three years in a sod house on his timber claim, but built a better residence before his marriage. Of the many blizzards of the earlier years he has the best recollection of the sudden storm of January 12, 1888; he had hitched the team to a wagon to go to a neighbor's, and returned to the house for a few minutes; on coming out again his team was not visible at arm's length--nothing could be seen for the gray mist of fine snow.

Farm Residence of Perry Pierson.

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MORGAN DIBBLE.

  Among the New Yorkers who have given the best years of their lives to the west, may he mentioned Morgan Dibble, now retired from active labors and residing in the eastern suburbs of Plainview.
   He was born at Summit, Schoharrie county, New York, on February 12, 1841. His parents, Ambrose and Armena (Crapser) Dibble, were both natives of the Empire state and spent their entire lives, there, the mother dying when our subject was but six years old. He remained in his native state

during childhood, and as a youth spent some years in Waterbury, Connecticut, where he learned the blacksmith's trade. He later worked for two years in a carriage factory at Plainville, Connecticut, making parts of the "fifth wheel" for carriages and buggies in a factory there.
   Mr. Dibble started for the west in 1869, stopping at Galesburg, Illinois for a time, then crossed the Mississippi to Davenport, Iowa, where he worked at his trade some months, beginning farming in Scott county along in the latter part of the year. He was married there, and with his wife, joined a party of several families who were migrating to Sioux county in 1871.
   On reaching their destination, he filed on a homestead of eighty acres, and for eleven years cultivated it, improving the place with substantial buildings. In 1882, together with two of his neighbors he again loaded his goods into a covered wagon, and set his face toward the west. On March 11, 1882, he reached Clearwater, Antelope county, Nebraka [sic], where he pre-empted a quarter section two and a half miles from the village, and farmed for eighteen months, then locating a more desirable tract near the town, he sold his original farm and purchased the relinquishment of a tree claim of eighty acres on the edge of the village, planted the required number of trees, and made that his home up to 1891. He then rented his farm and removed to Randolph, where he remained for two years, finally returning to Clearwater, and from there came to Plainview in 1894. Here he rented the Johnson farm situated about four miles north of the town, cultivated it for one year, and then took the Charles Mullikan farm, remaining on it for a year.
   In 1897, Mr. Dibble located permanently in Plainview, and with his wife had charge of the commissary department of the Plainview Normal Institute, occupying the lower floor of the building. He later purchased a dwelling of George W. Box which was located in the central part of the town, making that his home up to 1907, when he bought his present residence, in the extreme east made a most comfortable and pleasant home.
   During their residence in the west, Mr. Dibble and his wife have witnessed many severe storms that have visited the country. The worst winter they ever experienced was that of 1880-1881, while living in Sioux county, when the ground was covered with snow practically from October to the following May. Fuel was so scarce that corn was used for fires, and the snow came so early that they were obliged to wander over the cornfields and gather the corn that was protruding above the the snow, and the last of it was not gathered until the snow had melted away in the early summer. One other winter, while Mr. Dibble was twenty miles from home getting a supply of wood, a severe blizzard came on, and while he made his way home, though warned by his friends not to attempt to brave, the weather--he suffered intensely and had about all he could do to find his way there. He also suffered at different times from the grasshopper pests, and while living in Iowa, lost all entire crop by their voracity, and at other times had hard work to keep them from destroying his grain. At times they were so plentiful that they were heaped up in mounds two or three feet deep, but when a favorable wind came they vanished in a few moments, leaving a barren waste behind them. Most of the big game had left the country before Mr. Dibble came to Nebraska but he enjoyed an occasional elk hunt, running the game on horses, and dividing the prize with his friends who participated in the capture.
   Mr. Dibble was married at Lyons, Iowa, May 5, 1870, to Miss Flora V. Johnson, a native of Thompkins county, New York. They are the parents of seven children, named as follows: Ernest J., in Kansas; June Adelbert, in Plainview; Maude Myrtle; Etta Edna, wife of George Bresler, of Prosser, Nebraska; Helen J., wife of H. L. Buckingham, postmaster of Plainview; Firman M., on his father's farm; and Ina N., married Joseph Oswald, of Keystone, Nebraska. They are all well settled in life.
   Mr. Dibble has always affiliated with the republican party, and with Mrs. Dibble, is a member of the Baptist church.

 

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EDWARD L. VOGT.

   Amog [sic] the younger professional men of Howard county, Nebraska, who has risen rapidly in his chosen vocation, the name of Edward L. Vogt takes high rank as an educator and prominent resident of the locality. He is at present filling the office of county superintendent of public instruction, and his work is highly apreciated [sic] by the entire population of the section over which he has control.
   Mr. Vogt was born in Howard county, February 26, 1874, and comes of a pioneer Nebraska family. He received his early education in the country schools, later attending the Elba high school, from which he was graduated in 1896. The following year he spent as a student at the Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan, then returned to Howard county and taught school for one year. During 1899-1900 he attended the Nebraska State Normal School at Peru, after which he spent another year teaching in his home district. In 1901 he received the appointment as principal of the Elba high school which he held for one year, going from there to Nysted where he filled the same position the following year. In 1903 he was appointed principal of the Dannebrog public school, remaining there for five years. In each and every instanc [sic] his work has been of the highest order, and he is known as one of the most brilliant instructors in this part of the state. His entire time is given to the work, and the county has never had so cap-

able a man in charge of its schools as he has proven.
   Mr. Vogt was elected county superintedent [sic] of public instruction in 1907, taking charge of the office January 1, 1908, and was re-elected in November, 1909, and is now filling the position with great, satisfaction to all.
   Politically Mr. Vogt is a democrat.

 

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WILLIAM G. FORWOOD.

   William G. Forwood, a prosperous and successful farmer of Custer county, is well and favorably known as a progressive and enterprising citizen, who is interested in the welfare and devlopment [sic] of his community. He has a well equipped stock and grain farm, and in 1908 erected a modern residence. He has good substantial barns and other buildings and is progressive, in his ideas and methods. He was born in Macoupin county, lllinois, January 20, 1874, fourth of six children born to Gideon and Melissa (Armour) Forwood, the father a native or Delaware and the mother of Kentucky and both now living in Macoupin county. Several of the children are deceased, one daughter, Mrs. Anna Haycroft lives near Mason, and two sons live in Illinois.
   Mr. Forwood reached manhood in his native state and was educated in the public schools and Shurtleff College. In 1892 he came to Custer county, Nebraska., where his father had come a short time prior, and purchased a half-section of land, which is now the home place of William G.
   On May 1, 1895, Mr. Forwood was married at the Copsey home in Custer county, to Miss Clara E. Copsey, a native of Wisconsin, who came to Nebraska in 1882 and became a teacher in the public schools. She is a daughter of Alonzo H. and Anna (Wallin) Copsey, early settlers of Custer county, and the latter a native of New York City. The father came near losing his life in the blizzard of January 12, 1888, an Indian pony he was riding bringing him to the house through the blinding storm. The parents now live in Lincoln and of their children besides Mrs. Forwood, three daughters live in Nebraska, one son, Vernon R., is in the United States Navy, and four sons-Herbert A., Milton F., Harvey and Robert-live in Nebraska. Seven children have been born to Mr. Forwood and wife, six of whom survive, namely; Gideon A., died in April, 1902; Esther M., Anna., Richard, Harry, Mabel M. and Elmer L., at home.
   In 1902 Mr. and Mrs. Forwood purchased his father's farm, comprising three hundred and twenty acres in section twenty-two township seventeen, range eighteen, and he has since devoted his attention to its improvement and cultivation. Mr. Forwood is one of the younger men among the early settlers of Custer county, and he and his wife have a large number of warm friends. He is independent of party lines in local politics, voting for the man he considers best fitted for the office.
   He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen of America. In Illinois Mr. Forwood was a member of the Baptist church, but in Nebraska he became identified with the Methodist Episcopal church of Westerville.

 

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J. W. REIGLE.

   Prominent among Madison county old settlers is J. W. Reigle who has, since the fall of 1870, made this region his home and done his full share in developing the agricultural resources of this section of the country.
   Mr. Reigle is a native of Jefferson county, Pennsylvania, where he was born February 3, 1849; he is a son of Amos T. and Mary (Wingerd) Reigle, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter of Germany; the mother came to America on a sailboat when she was but a small girl.
   In 1870, our subject, with his father, came to Madison county, Nebraska, where they could get land cheap, coming to what was known at that time as Bell creek, on the railroad; from here they drove to where they took their homesteads. Mr. Reigle's father took up a homestead in section eighteen, township twenty-two, range two; and our subject took a homestead joining on the south. The father first built a frame house sixteen by twenty feet, and the son a house of like material twelve by sixteen feet, they hauling the lumber from Columbus. The father also took up a timber claim.
   In 1870 Mr. Reigle was united in marriage to Miss Lavinia Wensel, and Mr. and Mrs. Reigle are the parents of six children, whose names are its follows: Rose, Thomas, Mary, John, Ellen, and Henry.
   Forty years ago, when our subject first came to the western country, Nebraska was an open prairie with scarcely anything to be seen for miles except the waving grasses and wide stretch of plains. Deer and antelope were plentiful in those early days, and could be seen in large herds grazing around the country; prairie fires were a source or great danger to the first settlers of this region, and many times had to be fought to save their homes and lives. In 1894 our subject lost every vestage or crops by the hot winds that burned all vegitation for miles in extent, and during the very first years of residence here, lost all his crops for five seasons by the grasshopper pests that devasted the western country at that time, which was very discouraging to a stranger just settling in an uncultivated and unsettled country. But those days have passed to history, and Mr. Reigle can now look back to these incidents as experiences that have helped to build his character and qualities as a worthy citizen and good neighbor.
   Mr. Reigle was united in marriage a second time, the ceremony taking place in the year 1901. The bride was Miss Christina Larson, a native of

Sweden, and a daughter of Andrew and Ellen (Anderson) Larson, natives of Sweden.
   Mr. Reigle lives in his comfortable home surrounded by a host of good friends and neighbors, and is highly respected by all.

 

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ALONZO FREEL INGRAHAM.

   Alonzo Freel Ingraham, now living retired from more active life, at Broken Bow, Nebraska, is a prosperous and successful man of affairs, owning considerable well improved land and fine stock and being interested in various business enterprises. He is one of the early settlers of his region and has been all interested witness of the great changes wrought by settlement and progress in central Nebraska, since locating there in 1883. Mr Ingraham was born in Wood county, West Virginia, October 5, 1857, and is a son of Rufus P. and Eliza (Ralston) Ingraham being second of their eight children. He has two sisters in West Virginia; one sister in Cincinnati, another in Pittsburg; two brothers in Washington county, Ohio, and one in West Virginia. Rufus P. Ingraham, also born in Wood county, was of German and English extracation and died in West Virginia in April, 1897. The mother, also born in West Virginia, is of Irish extracation [sic] and still lives in the old home in her native state.
   After being educated in the school of his native state, Alonzo F Ingraham engaged in farming there. In the spring of 1882 he made a trip west in search of a desirable location, made a short stay in Lancaster county, Nebraska, coming on to Custer county in the following spring. He secured a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of land near Broken Bow, and this place, which was the southeast quarter of section twenty-two, township seventeen, range twenty-one, was the home of the family for many years. He was married in Thomas county, Nebraska, December 5, 1888, to Miss Susan M. Cowles, who was born in Massachusetts, and for sometime taught school in Illinois. She also homesteaded in Custer county. Her father, William W. Cowles, was born in Belchertown, Massachusetts, served in the civil war as a member of Company M, Fourteenth Illinois Cavalry for four years, and now lives in Peoria., Illinois. The mother, whose maiden name was Lucy C. Wood, was a native of the same place as her husband and still survives, living in Illinois, and two daughters are living in that state. Two children were born to Mr. Ingraham and wife: Cordelia E. and Alonzo Fred, both at home.
   In 1901 Mr Ingraham left the farm and brought his family to Broken Bow, where he owns seven acres of land and a nice home, their house being modern and fitted with many conveniences and comforts. The family stand well in social circles and have a wide circle of friends. They are interested in various public measures and have the welfare of their county and state at heart. Mr Ingraham is a member of the Royal Highlanders and of the Tribe of Ben Hur.

 

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ANDREW PARKER McDONALD.

   Andrew P. McDonald, popularly known as "Park" McDonald who has a fine estate on section twenty, township twenty-eight, range two, east, Cedar county, is one of the leading citizens of the county and has since its early settlement been one of the leading factors in the upbuilding and advancement of the region. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1843, son of Joseph and Nancy McDonald, his grandfather being a native of Scotland. Mr. McDonald received a common school education and as a young man enlisted for service in the union army, serving from 1861 to 1865, under Captain Patterson. He participated in many important engagements and was with Sherman in the march to the sea.
   In 1881 Mr. McDonald came to Dakota county, Nebraska, and the following year to Cedar county, where he secured the homestead which has since been his home. He erected a frame house twelve by sixteen feet, and also took up a tree claim, improving and developing his land until he has a well equipped farm and substantial buildings. He carries on general farming and stock raising and has met with gratifying success. In the early days he had to contend with the ususal hardships and discouragements of pioneers and often burned hay and weeds to keep warm, as coal was scarce and expensive.
   In 1869 Mr. McDonald was united in marriage with Miss Mary Fultz, and they are parents of the following twelve children: Joseph, Thomas, John, James, William, Lizzie, now Mrs. Thomas Wilcox; Charles, Nannie, now Mrs. Clyde Hoar, of Ardmore, Dakota; Leona, Edward, Etta and George.

 

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JOHN FLYNN.

   John Flynn, who owns a comfortable home and well-equipped farm on Elk creek, is the only one of the early settlers of his part of Custer county who have held continuous residence there since coming to the county. At the time he came the nearest trading point was Kearney, and he has passed through the various trials and privations incident to pioneer life. His earliest days in the neighborhood were the times of the sod shanty and the grinding of corn in a coffee mill. Mr. Flynn was born in Red Mills, Putnam county, New York, August 6, 1851, the eldest child of the seven sons and two daughters born to Michael and Catherine (Leary) Flynn. The parents are deceased but all the children survive, one being a resident of California, one of Nebraska, and the remainder of Iowa. When John Flynn was a small child his parents removed to Scott county, Iowa, near Dixon, and his father entered a homestead, which he developed and improved into a good farm.

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