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see on October 21, 1921. He was by occupation a mechanic, but spent the later years of his life on a farm. He was a soldier in the Union Army in the Civil War, in which he had the rank of lieutenant. He was a staunch Democrat, and in his home community he served in various offices of public trust. Both he and his wife were earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and in connection it may be noted that the sons of Kendrick Baldwin, three in number, became pioneer clergymen of the Methodist Church. At the time of his death, William Wiley Baldwin was one of the venerable and honored citizens of Grandview, Tennessee. His wife died there on November 14, 1909.
Nancy Matilda Ann Pearson was a daughter of Joseph and Temple (Clark) Pearson who were pioneer settlers in middle Tennessee, the family lineage tracing back through Mississippi to Irish origin.
The public schools of Tennessee were the medium through which Joseph Pearson Baldwin acquired his early education. He afterwards attended the Grandview Normal Institute in Grandview, Tennessee. Later he carried forward the study of law under the effective preceptorship of John C. Locke of Spring City, Tennessee and was admitted to the bar in Tennessee, on July 3 1894. He thereafter engaged in the practice of law at Dayton, Tennessee, until December, 1901, when he engaged in practice in Claude, Texas, for a short time.
In 1902, he came to Nebraska, was here admitted to the bar, and here he has continued his professional activities during the intervening years. His marked success stands in evidence of his ability, his integrity and his personal popularity. He served four terms (1907 to 1915) as prosecuting attorney for Thayer County, Nebraska. He is a Democrat, and in 1928, represented the Democrats of the 4th Congressional District of Nebraska as delegate to the Democratic national convention at Houston, Texas. He and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian Church.
In the World War period Mr. Baldwin was active in patriotic service in his county where he was a member of all local committees in charge of various war activities. He is a veteran of the Spanish-American War in which he served with the rank of sergeant in the 4th Tennessee Volunteer Infantry with which he saw active duty in Cuba, and was honorably discharged in the spring of 1899.
On the 30th day of January, 1902, at Chattanooga, Tennessee, he was married to Lydia Jane Franklin. She was born and reared in that state, where she was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Maryville College as a member of the class of 1895. Mrs. Baldwin gave eleven years of successful service as a teacher in the public schools and in mission work in the Presbyterian and Congregational churches of Tennessee and North Carolina. She is a daughter of John and Nancy Isabel (McAdoo) Franklin. Her father was long engaged in business as a carpenter and builder, and was a Confederate soldier in the Civil War. Of the same ancestral line a distinguished representative was Benjamin Franklin.
Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin have three children, all of whom were born in Hebron, Thayer County, Nebraska. Robert Morton, eldest of the number, was born May 26, 1903, and he is now prosecuting attorney of Thayer County, and is engaged in the publishing business. He married Sara A. Mullin, who is a lawyer. They are the parents of a daughter, Ritchie, born May 4, 1932. Robert was elected delegate to the Democratic national convention at Chicago, from the Fourth Congressional District in 1932. William Orville, the younger son, was born February 1, 1905, and is now engaged in the practice of law with his father in Hebron. He married Iris Miller of Omaha. They have a son, William Orville, Jr., born September 12, 1931. The only daughter, Helen Franklin, as born January 5, 1908, and married William S. Sherman. She has a daughter, Robert Jo, born January 25, 1929. Residence: Hebron. (Photograph on Page 68).
Lydia Franklin Baldwin
Early in the 19th century Bennett C. Franklin left his native North Carolina and crossed the great Smoky Mountains into Tennessee. He settled in the fertile valley of the Tennessee River in what is now Rhea County, and there married Lydia Tunnell, whose family came from Kentucky. To these pioneer parents was born, in 1838, John K. Franklin.
Lydia Jane Franklin is the daughter of John K. Franklin and Nancy Isabelle McAdoo, who was descended from the same branch of the McAdoo family as William Gibbs McAdoo, secretary of the treasury under Woodrow Wilson. Her mother died in 1877. Altho his sympathies were with the Union cause, John K. Franklin was conscripted into the Confederate Army and forced to take the field. He died in 1892. The Franklin family is of Scotch-Irish descent, the first settlers coining to America about the end of the 17th century, several members serving in the Revolution. The McAdoos have been prominent in Southern history for more than two centuries.
After completing her preliminary work in Grand View and Spring City, Tennessee, Lydia Jane Franklin entered the preparatory department of Maryville College in 1887. During the next seven years she completed the regular preparatory course, taught school part of each year, and in 1895 was awarded the Bachelor of Arts degree. Having completed her college course she taught mission schools of the Presbyterian and Congregational churches in the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina.
On January 30, 1902 she was united in marriage to Joseph Pearson Baldwin whose family had lived in the same county with hers for many years. The ceremony was performed at Chattanooga, Tennessee, by Dr. E. A. Elmore, who was one of the south's leading Presbyterian clergymen, and a trustee of Maryville College. Mr. Baldwin preceded his wife to Nebraska, entering the practice of law at Hebron in the summer of 1902; Mrs. Baldwin joined him a few weeks later.
To their union the following children have been born: Robert Morton, May 26, 1903; William Orville, February 1, 1905; Helen Franklin, January 5, 1908. Robert Morton is county attorney of Thayer County and William Orville is associated with his father in the law practice at Hebron. Robert married Sara A. Mullin of New York, and they have a daughter, Ritchie, born May 4, 1932. Orville married Iris Miller of Omaha. They have one son, William Orville, Jr. Helen married William Seward Sherman, and is the mother of a daughter, Robert Jo "Bobbie Jo."
Since coming to Nebraska Mrs. Baldwin has taken active part in the civic, religious and educational life of her community. A member of the Presbyterian Church, she has worked regularly in the Sunday School and other church organizations, and has served as delegate to various religious conventions. She is a charter member of the Hebron Woman's Club, and has held the offices of president, vice president, and parliamentarian. She has also represented her club at various state, district and county conventions. Residence: Hebron. (Photograph on Page 70).
William Emit Bales
William Emit Bales, postmaster, was born at Venus, Texas, December 27, 1897, and has resided in Nebraska for the past 12 years. He is the son of William S. and Elnora (Futhey) Bales, the former a native of Illinois. The father is of Welch descent and the mother of French descent. They reside at Ardmore, Oklahoma.
Mr. Bales attended the public and high school at Lindsay, Oklahoma, graduating from the latter in 1913. He is at the present time owner and operator of the Hershey Telephone Company and for the past eight years has served as postmaster. He is a Republican. From
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© 2005 for the NEGenWeb Project by Ted & Carole Miller
