old, and he came to Aurora, Nebraska, in 1879. In 1888 he came to Hyannis, where he was the first resident, and his youngest daughter the first native of the town. He established a general merchandise store and is still in that business. He is affiliated with the Republicans. His wife's maiden name was Nina Chapin, and they were married in 1881.

      S. S. SEARS came to Aurora, Nebraska, in 1881, where he farmed for ten years, and then came to Grant County. He is a lumber, coal, grain and hardware dealer, and is also engaged in ranching. He attended school at Sandwich High School, Illinois, at Valpariso, Indiana, and at the Northern Indiana Normal and Business Institute. He has been a member of the County Democratic Central Committee and is now Chairman of the Hyannis Town Board.

      C. ABBOTT was born in 1822. He came from Ireland to Canada at the age of twenty, and a year later came to the United States and located near Chicago. After a residence of about ten years here he removed to Minnesota. He next lived in Kansas and finally came to Nebraska in 1887, where he has since resided. In 1854 he married Miss Mary Woods at Chicago,, and has two children living. While in Kansas one of his sons was killed by the Indians, and he came near losing his own life in the same manner. Politically he is an Independent. He resides at Hyannis.

 

      Hall County is made up of rolling prairie land with long slopes leading to the higher parts. The Platte River enters at the southwest corner of the county, passing out in the northwest. The course of the river is very broad here. The water forms two channels, between which is a productive island, called Grand Island. Both valleys and upland have a fertile soil from two to three feet in depth. Apples, cherries, plums, grapes and all small fruits do well here. The raising of sugar beets and alfalfa are growing industries, and the beet sugar factory at Grand Island has a daily capacity of 350 tons. During the past few years land has increased in value $5 to $10 an acre. Hall County was first settled in 1857 by a colony from Davenport, Iowa, which was composed mostly of Germans. A. H. Barrows was at the head of the colony and he had an extravagant purpose in regard to the town which he intended to found. He firmly believed if a town were located about in the geographical center of the United States that it would be only a question of time until the national capital at Washington would be moved to that place. Impractical as his ideas were, they obtained credence, and a town company was formed. An agreement was entered into by which each settler was to have, in addition to his individual claim, ten town lots. A town was laid out almost, on the present site of Grand Island. In 1858, another party came from Davenport, and in this same year a company of Mormons made, settlements along Wood River. On Jan. 18, 1859, there was a terrible prairie fire in which eight of the large houses of the Grand Island Settlement were burned. This fire was maliciously started by a traveler who had quarreled with some of the settlers. In 1859 the great overland travel commenced. This was a great agent in the prosperity of the county because the settlers found such ready sale for their produce among the emigrants. The early settlers spent much of their time in hunting wild game. There were buffalo, elk, antelope, deer and wild turkeys, besides wolves, foxes, wildcats and badgers. Wolf skins were sold at 75c to $3 each. Hall County is populated with 17,206 people. It contains one of the large Nebraska towns, Grand Island, which has a population of 7,554. The county has 5,955 children of school age.

     J. LUE SUTHERLAND was born September 23, 1854, in Shelbyville, Indiana, from whence his parents moved to Marion County, Iowa in 1855, where they resided until Mr. Sutherland grew to manhood. He was educated in the Central University of Iowa, Marion. County, and Rush Medical College of Chicago, graduating from the latter in 1882. Mr. Sutherland has been practicing medicine since coming to Nebraska in 1882. He is a Republican, serving his first term as County Coroner of Hall County, which position his father held before his election to' the office. In 1882 he married Miss Emily F. Kleeverger of Youngstown, Ohio and has one daughter aged fifteen. Mrs. Sutherland died in March of 1903.