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| Biography | 909 |
walked to Columbus through deep snow to engage in the practice of medicine.
For nine years after his arrival, he was the only physician in Platte County, and its vicinity. In 1866, he opened a drug store in Columbus which he operated successfully, having a large wholesale and retail trade.
He held the office of Registrar of Deeds of Platte County from 1858 to 1867. During his term, the offices of Registrar of Deeds and County Clerk were consolidated. Doctor Stillman held both offices until the end of the term. He was a contract surgeon of the United States Army for two years; served as Coroner and as Mayor of the City of Columbus.
He took a great interest in all public matters, having been a member of the School Board for several years. He was a prominent member of the Masonic, Royal Arcanurn and Knights of Honor Lodges. He held the office of treasurer in the Knights of Honor and Scribe in the Royal Arch Chapter. He was a member of the Grace Episcopal Church.
In 1871, at Columbus, Doctor Charles B. Stiliman married Celia L. Edwards, a native of Utica, New York. They had three children: Charles L., Albert E., known here as "Bert," and Lela, of San Diego, California.
Albert E. "Bert" Stillman, son of Doctor Charles B. and Celia Edwards Stillman, prominent early residents of Columbus and Platte County, was born in Columbus, in March, 1879, and died August 21, 1947, in San Diego, California. His father figured largely in the early history of Platte County. After receiving his degree as Doctor of Medicine, from the University of Iowa, in 1856, he came west to Omaha, and in March, following the severe winter of 1856-1857, Doctor Stiliman and George E. Hewitt walked to Columbus, through snow three feet deep on the level.
Doctor Stillman was the first doctor and pharmacist in Platte County. He served as the first Registrar of Deeds, and was an early mayor of Columbus. His first office and apothecary shop was a small "lean-to" on the log cabin home of the Catholic priest. His next location was a log cabin built by Charles A. Speice. In 1866, Doctor Stiliman built an office and opened the first drug store in the county between Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Avenues, on the south side of Eleventh Street. His son, Charles L. Stillman, took over this store in 1886, and later built the store now known as the Miessler Drug Store, at 2509 Thirteenth Street.
For several years, "Bert" Stiliman was associated with his brother, Charles, in the operation of the Stillman Drug Store. Charles H. Dack purchased the store from Charles Stiliman in 1903, and Bert remained with the Dack Drug Store for a short time, before going to California to make his home.
Due to ill health, he was unable to carry on his profession in California, and became a noted naturalist. He often contributed natural history to a children's magazine, edited by Grace Sorensen, in Omaha. He also organized boys groups for the study of nature. Bert Stillman was the originator of "Wild Flower Day," which is now observed by the State of California.
He attended the Columbus grammar schools, the Columbus High School, and was later graduated from the School of Pharmacy, in Omaha. On August 21, 1947, Bert Stillman died in San Diego, California. His father died in Columbus in 1894. His brother, Charles, bought a store in Lead, South Dakota, in 1903, and died there in 1912. His mother, Celia Edwards Stillman, died in San Diego, in 1912. His sister, Lela, the last of this Stillman family, lives in San Diego, California.
John Dayton Stires, a Columbus attorney and member of the Platte County Bar Association for forty years, was born in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, October 19, 1853, and died in Columbus, Nebraska, March 7, 1930. He was the son of John Taylor and Eleanora Krymer Stires.
J. Dayton Stires attended the rural schools in Hunterdon County, Pennington Seminary, near Trenton, New Jersey, and a preparatory school of Princeton University in New Jersey. He then went to Iowa City, Iowa, where he was graduated from the law school of the Iowa State University, in the class of 1882.
He practiced law for two years at Red Oak, Iowa, and later moved to Cedar Rapids, Nebraska, where he practiced law for several years. There he organized the Cedar Rapids Bank, a private banking institution, of which he was president. He sold his bank and other interests there in 1890, and moved to Columbus, where he established a law practice.
During the first year, he was in partnership with I. L. Albert and later, for several years, with Charles Woosley. After Mr. Woosley's death, Mr. Stires continued his practice alone until March 1, 1926, when he formed a partnership with J. L. Jiranek, under the firm name of Stires and Jiranek.
On March 10, 1880, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, John Dayton Stires was married to Helen H. Lamb, the daughter of Charles Carswell Lamb. Mr. and Mrs. Stires had two sons: Ferdinand Taylor and Harrison LeRoy.
Ferdinand Taylor was born in 1882, in Red Oak,, Iowa, and died in Columbus, Nebraska, in 1920. Harrison LeRoy was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1885. Ferdinand was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and practiced in Philadelphia. H. LeRoy was graduated from the Columbus High School and attended the University. He was married to Bertha Chapin, the daughter of Charles and Sarah Jane Wood Chapin, of Oconee and Columbus. H. LeRoy and Bertha Chapin Stires have one son, C. Chapin. They live in Baltimore, Maryland, where H. LeRoy Stires is General Claim Agent for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
For many years, J. Dayton and Helen Lamb
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Stires owned the Stires Millinery Store in Columbus, and Mrs. Stires managed it. They were members of the Grace Episcopal Church in Columbus. J. Dayton Stires was affiliated with the Republican Party.
Charles Stone, early Walker Township settler, son of John and Christine Stone, was born in Sweden, August 12, 1848, and died July 10, 1928, in Walker Township. After his father's death, his mother married John Anderson. Charles immigrated to the United States in 1867, with his mother and stepfather. They went first to Wisconsin, and in 1868, they came to Platte County, Nebraska, and located on a one hundred sixty-acre homestead in Walker Township.
The first house Charles Stone built on his homestead was a crude hut with a grass roof. He set to work at once to cultivate the land.
In 1875, he married Carrie Jensen, daughter of Henry and Mattie Jensen. Mr. Jensen died in Denmark, and Mrs. Jensen married Carl Steiner, and after their marriage, they came to the United States, and settled in Platte County.
Charles and Carrie Jensen Stone had nine children: Henry, now deceased, was married to Minnie Owen, and farmed in Canada; Alfred, deceased, was married to Nellie Rood, and farmed his grandfather's homestead, in Walker Township; Edward, deceased, married Gertrude Nelson, farmed and later ran an elevator near York, Nebraska; Arthur married Annie Rood, and farms part of the grandfather's homestead in Walker Township; Anna is the wife of Nels Nelson, of Valley, Nebraska; Daniel married Minnie Schutts and farms near Madison, Nebraska; Maynard married Minnie Miller and farms in Walker Township, near the home place; Cora, deceased, was the wife of Edward Olson; Frederick married Caroline Nordgren and is farming the old homestead of his father.
Throughout his lifetime, Charles Stone was interested in the progress of Platte County and the affairs of Walker Township. Politically, he was a Republican. He lived to see many changes in Walker Township. The sparsely settled frontier gave way to a thickly settled and prosperous farming region. In 1868, when he settled here, his nearest neighbors were a number of miles distant, and the usual hardships of pioneer life had to be met. However, Charles Stone, together with other early settlers in Walker Township, succeeded, and by their courage, determination and industry, developed the present community.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Charles Stone died in 1928.
Arthur Martin Stone, son of Charles and Carrie Jensen Stone, was born in Walker Township, August 25, 1886. His father was born in Sweden, August 12, 1848, and died July 10, 1928, at his home. His mother was born in Denmark, December 18, 1858, and died January 6, 1928, on a farm near the Looking Glass.
Arthur Martin is the fourth child in a family of nine children and was born on the farm four miles south and two miles west of Lindsay, Nebraska. He attended the District 40 rural school for eight years, after which, he learned the business of farming. He has lived both on the place homesteaded by his father, and on the farm homesteaded by his grandfather, John Anderson, in Walker Township.
On July 28, 1909, in Albion, Nebraska, Arthur Stone was married to Annie Rood, the daughter of John and Julia Plant Rood. Mr. and Mrs. Stone had six children: Vernon Verle, born January 20, 1918, died February 16, 1919; Harland Adlai, born August 28, 1910; Edwin Vernard, born April 54, 1912; Irene LaVerna, born September 17, 1914; Stacia Analine, born September 23, 1920 and Howard Daniel, born December 23, 1924. All of the Stone children attended the District 40 School and the Newman Grove High School. Harland attended high school at St. Edward, Nebraska. Irene and Stacia taught in the rural schools for several years. Edwin Vernard served thirty-nine months in the United States Navy, during World War II. He received nine battle participation stars.
The Arthur Stone family are members of the Swedish Methodist Church on the Looking Glass in Walker Township.
Frederick Carl Stone, son of Charles and Carrie Jensen Stone, was born May 8, 1903, on his father's homestead in Walker Township.
Frederick attended the District 40 rural school, for eight years. He has always been a farmer and stock raiser, and lives on the old Stone homestead, in Walker Township.
On February 1, 1928, Frederick C. Stone was married to Caroline Nordgren, the daughter of Fred and Anna Louis Peterson Nordgren. Mr. Nordgren, a farmer, was born in Sweden, about 1861, and died in Waterloo, Nebraska, January 10, 1941. Mrs. Nordgren was born May 25, 1864, in Sweden, and died November 6, 1926, in Walker Township.
Caroline Nordgren Stone has two brothers and four sisters: August E. married Lillie Carlson, and lives at Waterloo, Nebraska; Alma is the wife of A. E. Swanson, and lives in Polk, Nebraska; Anna is the wife of Fred Anderson, and lives in Walker Township; Ruth is the wife of V. E. Lunquist, of Laurel, Nebraska; Esther is the wife of Earl Hoogner, and lives on a raisin ranch near Kingsbury, California; Rudolph is an auditor for McKesson-Robbins, in Omaha. He was with the United States Air Forces, during World War II.
Frederick and Caroline Stone have six children, all born in Walker Township: LaRene Ann, born January
| Biography | 911 |
12, 1929, was graduated from the Newman Grove High School, in 1946; Joyce Lorraine, born May 16, 1930; Betty Lois, born July 31, 1931; Janice Mardell, born April 18, 1933; Merle Fred, born November 8, 1934; and Leil Arthur, born April 4, 1936. They all attended the District 4° School through the tenth grade, then the Newman Grove High School, and all were active in 4-H Club work. The two boys assisted their father on the farm.
Mr. Stone takes pride in his purebred stock, he raises Hereford cattle and Poland China hogs. Besides being a farmer and a stockman, he is a member of the Looking Glass Club, a social club. He is a Republican and has served that party as the Republican Committeeman for Walker Township.
The Frederick Stones are Methodists and are members of the Looking Glass Methodist Church, of Walker Township.
Clarence Louis Stone, County Judge of Platte County, is the son of William M. and Elizabeth Owens Stone. He was born April 1, 1896, at Central City, Nebraska. His father, a native of Chatsworth, Illinois, was born January 26, 1869, and spent most of his active years as a real estate and insurance broker. He died June 24, 1940, at Fremont, Nebraska. Mrs. Stone was born September 28, 1872.
Clarence Stone received his early education in Central City and Greenwood, Nebraska, and was graduated from the Greenwood High School. He later attended the Fremont Normal School and the Creighton University, of Omaha, from which he received his Bachelor of Laws degree. He was admitted to the Nebraska Bar in 1925, and in that year, he became associated with the law firm of W. S. Stillman, in Omaha. In April of 1926, he started his own law practice, in Humphrey, and remained there until he was appointed to fill the vacancy on the county bench, on the death of judge W. I. Speice in February, 1941. He has held the office since that time.
During World War I, Mr. Stone served for nine and a half months as a musician in the Army bands at Fort Riley, Kansas, and Newport News, Virginia.
On October 24, 1941, Judge Clarence L. Stone was married at Omaha to Iola M. Robinson, the daughter of A. B. and Ida May Gutru Robinson, of Newman Grove, Nebraska. The Stones have one son, Charles L. Jr., born February 11, 1943, and one daughter, Kathleen M., born June 10, 1945.
Judge Stone is a member of the Knights of Columbus, the F.O.E. (Eagles), the American Legion, the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, and the Izaak Walton League. He served for several years as chairman of the Platte County chapter of the American Red Cross. He is an accomplished musician and takes a great interest in piano and violin music. Politically, he supports the Democratic Party. He is a member of St. Bonaventure's Catholic Church, of Columbus.
John Stovicek, Sr., was born July 18, 1838, in Austria. When he was a young man, he served his country as a musician in the Regimental Bands, during the war against Italy and Germany.
In 1882, he immigrated to the United States from Austria, with his wife and family. Upon their arrival in this country, they came directly to Columbus.
Mr. and Mrs. John Stovicek had five children: Mrs. Therisa Hock, Mrs. Louis Maier, Sr., Joseph, John, and Frank Stovicek. Mrs. Louis Maier, Sr., Joseph and John Stovicek live in Columbus.
John Stovicek, Sr. was a member of the Columbus Fire Department and the Columbus Band in the early days.
He died in Columbus, March 28, 1903.
John Stovicek, son of John and Mary Benda Stovicek, was born in Austria, August 20, 1880, and came to the United States in the fall of 1882. He has been a resident of Columbus since that time. His father, born in Austria, in 1838, died in Columbus, in March, 1903. His mother, also a native of Austria, was born in 1836, and died in Columbus, in March, 1920. Jack has two brothers and two sisters: Mrs. Louis Maier, Mrs. Therisa Hock, Frank J. and Joseph Stovicek.
He attended the Columbus public schools. Following this he was employed by the Henry Gass Company, when the firm was both an undertaking establishment and a furniture store. At the time the Gass Undertaking Company was made a separate business, Mr. Stovicek remained with the Henry Gass Furniture Company. For a short time after the Henry Gass and Company Furniture Business was sold to the Alexander Furniture Company, in 1943, Mr. Stovicek worked with them. Since 1944, he has been associated with the Gass Funeral Home.
On July 15, 1915, in Columbus, John Stovicek was married to Ethel Novell, the daughter of Fred G. and Mary Haney Novell. Mr. and Mrs. John Stovicek have three daughters, all of whom were born in Columbus: Theola is married to Armando Solar, and lives in Columbus; Charlotte is the wife of John Kuharek; and Marion is the wife of Kenneth Johnson. The Johnsons have a son, Kenneth LeRoy, born October 2, 1945. All of the Stovicek girls were graduated from Kramer High School, in Columbus.
John Stovicek has been a member of the Columbus City Band for forty-eight years.
William T. Strother, veteran printer and newspaper man of Columbus, was born July 13, 1839, in Licking County, Ohio. He was the son of John and Margaret Moody Strother. His father, a farmer, died in 1864, and his mother died in 1844.
The father moved from Licking County to a farm in Hancock County, Ohio, where William lived until
| 912 | The History of Platte County Nebraska |
his seventeenth year. During this time, he attended public school and worked on the farm. In 1856, he left the farm and went to Van Buren, Ohio, where he was employed in a store as clerk for two years and then learned the printer's trade.
On April 22, 1861, he enlisted in Company G. 14th Ohio Infantry for three months and then transferred to Company D., 21st Ohio Infantry, where he served to the end of the war. He fought in several battles including Stone River, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, the Atlanta Campaign, and was with Sherman on his historic march to the sea. At the close of the Civil War, Mr. Strother marched in the grand review at Washington, D. C., May 17, 1865, and received his honorable discharge with the rating of sergeant, August 26, 1865.
He then came west to Nebraska City, and walked from there to Omaha, and then to Columbus. In 1866, he took a homestead in Platte County, one mile west of Monroe. During this time, he worked on the Golden Age, one of the first newspapers published in Columbus. He moved to Columbus in 1870, then went to Fairmont and bought the Fairmont Bulletin, later the Fillmore Chronicle, which he conducted for five years. In 1878, he went into the grocery business in Fairmont. He remained there for ten years. In 1888, he came back to Platte County to farm near Oconee, having previously sold his homestead. In 1889, he went into the mercantile business in the village of Monroe, where he operated a store until 1904.
On November 27, 1867, he was married to Adeline E. Gerrard, a member of the pioneer Platte County Gerrard Family. The Strothers had two sons and one daughter: Robert C., of Monroe, Nebraska; Frank K.; and Mrs. A. E. Matson, of Genoa, Nebraska.
William T. Strother served for many years as a member of the Platte County Soldier and Sailor Relief Commission where he retained his membership.
Adeline Gerrard Strother died July 4, 1912. William T. Strother died in July, 1923.
Judge John J. Sullivan, the son of John and Margaret Sullivan, was born on April 11, 1855, in Harvard, Henry County, Illinois. He received his elementary education in the Harvard public schools, after which he took an examination for a teacher's certificate and passed it. He taught in the rural schools in Henry County until he acquired enough money to enter the Metropolitan Business College, in Chicago, which he attended for several months.
He then worked in a Chicago store for two years, and following that, entered the office of Attorney John B. Lyons, as a student. After two years he entered the University of Iowa, at Iowa City, from which he was graduated.
In 1879, his brother, William Sullivan, and his brother-in-law and sister, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Keating, moved to Columbus, Nebraska. The Keatings and William Sullivans located on adjoining farms at what was later known as Sheldonville.
In Columbus, John J. Sullivan began his practice of law in the second story of an old building on Eleventh Street. Shortly after his arrival there, he formed a partnership with another attorney, William Cornelius.
In the fall of 1882, Mr. Sullivan, a Democrat, ran for the office of District Judge, but was defeated in this election because the district was Republican at the time. In this same year, however, he was elected County Judge of Platte County, and held that office for one term, of two years.
In 1886, he was elected representative of Platte County. Also in 1886, he formed a law partnership with Judge J. G. Reeder, which lasted until 1892, when Judge Sullivan was elected District Judge. He was elected again to the same office in 1895, and during the last term of this office, he was elected Judge of the Supreme Court, on the Democratic ticket. In 1903, he again ran for office, but was defeated by Judge Barnes, of Norfolk, Nebraska.
In 1904, when his term expired, Judge Sullivan resumed his practice of law in Columbus, where he became associated with Judge Louis Lightner. In 1908, Judge Reeder, after the completion of his second term as District Judge, joined them, and the firm became known as Sullivan, Reeder and Lightner.
In 1909, Judge Sullivan moved to Omaha to practice law. He was appointed to the Supreme Bench by Governor Sheldon. He qualified, served one day, and resigned. Again in 1915, on the death of Justice Conrad Hollenbeck, Governor Moorehead tendered the justiceship to Judge Sullivan, but he declined.
In the 1880's, Judge Sullivan was married to Katherine Landers, of Columbus. They had been married over forty years when Judge Sullivan died in San Diego, California, on February 17, 1926.
C. J. Garlow said of him in his History of the Platte County Bar:
"Judge Sullivan was one of the best known attorneys in the state of Nebraska and ranked among the topmost. When he commenced his practice in Columbus, he practiced with and against some of the greatest lawyers such as Judge .J. G. Higgins, Colonel Whitmoyer, A. M. Post, Byron Millet and others, all outstanding men both in their ethical conduct as well as legal ability. It was not long before Judge Sullivan was considered the equal of any of them."
When he left Columbus and went to Omaha, he secured some of the most lucrative cases that have been handled in that city. Judge James A. Donahoe said that while on the district bench, he was tolerant but strict to the application of the law when called upon to make a decision. All of the lawyers were his friends and he treated them all alike, it made no difference whether they were just beginning or had been in practice for many years. and whenever the opportunity presented itself, he aided the beginner.
He had a fine legal mind, and some of his opinions given on the Supreme Bench are among the finest and most significant and are known for their brevity and clearness.
| Biography | 913 |
The Daily Telegram of March 3, 1939, said: "William Swan," for whom the Swan Theatre in Columbus was named, "had a very colorful life and was a successful man in his career as a lifelong and typical showman."
He was born August 10, 1866, in London, England. His mother died when he was a small boy. After her death he took to roaming around and running away from home. When he was fourteen, he stowed away on a freighter bound for New Orleans. Discovered before the freighter docked, he was sent back to England. This time he remained in England until he was eighteen years old, and then stowed away again on a freighter headed for Baltimore. Successful in this try, but nearly starved, he escaped the ship and the immigration officers, and got into the country unnoticed. He worked his way from Baltimore to New Orleans, where he made a connection with a circus outfit, and in a short time, became the advance bill poster man for the circus. He traveled all over the United States and Canada with Barnum and Bailey and the Ringling Brothers circuses.
In his travels William Swan reached Broken Bow, Nebraska, and there met Sophia Witte, to whom he was married. About that time the moving picture business was becoming popular, so they decided to settle down in Broken Bow, Nebraska, where they started a motion picture theatre. They worked the business up, and when it was a thriving enterprise, sold it out and moved to a new location. This was repeated many times and took them to various points in Iowa and Nebraska. In 1912, they came to Columbus where they purchased the old Lyric Theatre.
In about 1916, Mr. Swan built the Swan Theatre, which building he retained ownership of and leased. At one time he also owned the North Opera House Theatre, which was later sold to Otto Walter and Harold Kramer, who rebuilt it for the Montgomery Ward's Stores.
Probably the keynote to Mr. Swan's success was his first hand knowledge of the show business gained from so many years with the circus, plus his careful supervision. Mrs. Swan always worked faithfully and untiringly at his side.
William Swan had little, if any, "book learning," and made a success of his life the hard way through experience. He never learned to read and write, except to sign his name. Uneducated as he was in the ordinary sense of the term, he negotiated all of his business deals himself, and was always successful. He had his own way of figuring things out.
In 1924, he retired and that year he and Mrs. Swan went to London, England. This was his first visit to his native home. While there he influenced his niece, Mrs. John Fairbairn, and Mr. Fairbairn to come to this country. They came to Columbus in 1925. Mrs. Swan died November 8, 1933, and Mr. Swan made his home with the Fairbairns until his death, March 3, 1939. John Fairbairn is deceased and his widow, Mrs. Rose Fairbairn lives in Columbus.
Isaac Newton Taylor, known in history as I. N. Taylor, was born September 8, 1817, on a farm in Ross County, Ohio. Both his father and mother were born in 1776, the year of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. His father, a descendant of exiled Presbyterians, was born in New Jersey. His mother was born at Harper's Ferry, Virginia.
After their marriage, prior to 1800, the Taylors established their home on a farm in Ross County, Ohio, a wilderness at that time. Here they reared a large family in accordance with the stern principles of their Presbyterian faith.
I. N. Taylor received his early training on the farm and in the rural school. A frail youth, he was then sent to Athens, Ohio, to prepare for teaching. Receiving his degree from the Athens University in 1836, he began teaching, and for a number of years made careful investments of his earnings. These investments yielded him a fortune which he reinvested in corporate stocks. A sudden decline in the market cost him both his money and his health.
About this time, there was much agitation over the "get rich quick" method through buying Nebraska land. I. N. Taylor, then nearing fifty, in poor health and penniless, was lured west to recoup his fortune.
In Omaha, he found too many promoters ahead of him. Columbus claimed his attention as it was thought then to be the logical center of population, also the place where the capital would be located after Nebraska Territory became a state. I. N. Taylor, wise to the intricate plays in the promotion game, entered the field of politics in Columbus and was elected to an office. He also became aligned with all the worthy causes.
His skill in gaining power through leadership was comparable to the pattern of the 1940's. For example, we find the name of I. N. Taylor appearing in the articles of incorporation of the Congregational Church filed in Columbus, September 4, 1865. Then the Golden Age of July 18, 1866, carried an article on I. N. Taylor, who was then employed in Omaha. His name was listed as the collector of one hundred filly-one dollars in cash for a church from several Omaha men. He also secured for the First Congregational Church both a discount on the lumber bill, and a grant by S. B. Read, superintendent of the Union Pacific Railroad, for the hauling of this lumber free of charge.
In 1875, I. N. Taylor returned to Columbus from Omaha. The Columbus Journal, dated April 21, 1875, stated, "I. N. Taylor, a real estate dealer, has moved his headquarters from Omaha to Columbus, and in connection with John G. Routson, will occupy a new office near the depot, hotel and banks."
The next week, a mention was made in the Columbus Journal of I. N. Taylor's association with the "Black Hills Promotion Company," also his appointment as its secretary.
During this time, there was much excitement over the possibility of the removal of the state capital from Lincoln to Columbus.
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