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ily in 1885, his sketch appearing elsewhere in this volume. The mother was Roxalina Woodworth in her youth.
Our subject was ten years old when the family came to Keith county, where he was reared, helping his father on the farm and receiving a limited education. He was in partnership more or less with his father in the cattle business, and located his present homestead on section 34, township 16, range 41, in 1899. He planted trees early and some are now twelve or fourteen inches in diameter and adorn and beautify the premises. Our subject has been industrious and progressive and has made a fine success. He has eight hundred acres with about seventy-five acres under cultivation, and also has other leased land which is needed in his extensive stock raising on which he runs a hundred head of cattle and twenty-five horses.
Geo. H. Williams was married May 22, 1899, to Miss Lena M. Thies, daughter of Peter Thies, a leading old settler of the county and whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume. Miss Thies taught school in the early days and has been deeply interested in the educational work of the community. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have been blessed with three children: Lucy, Marguerite and Edwin.
Mr. Williams has always taken a deep interest in affairs of general importance in his locality and has held various offices of trust and responsibility. He stands high in the regard of his fellows as a successful and progressive farmer and a public spirited member of the community; he is Republican in political beliefs.
Mr. Campbell was born in Mills county, Iowa, in 1858, and raised on a farm in that locality. His father, Adam Campbell, was a native of Kentucky, of English-Scotch descent, and was a farmer by occupation. His mother, who was Sarah E. Rankin before her marriage, was also a native of Kentucky. Our subject is the seventh member in a family of ten children, and when he was sixteen years of age his parents moved to Kansas, and he remained with them until he was twenty-six. His father was engaged in the stock business in Kansas, and our subject started in this line for himself at that time in Norton county. In the fall of 1885 he came to Deuel county, Nebraska, with his family, and located on his present homestead, driving the entire distance, and bringing thirty-two head of cattle with them. Previous to this time, in the spring of that year, he had made a trip here looking for a ranch location, and had picked out this place. He went to work at once, built a sod house and barns and began improving the place. During the first year he was obliged to haul all his supplies for the family use and also for his ranch from Ogallala, a distance of eighty miles away, which was also his postoffice. The road for a part of the way was of heavy sand, which led through a wild country, the trips being hard to make and consumed quite a long time. Part of the way there were no roads at all, he being the first to travel that way, together with two other men who had settled in the hills during the same year. The neighbors were very far apart, and the settlers often went forty miles to see friends. When he first came here there was a great deal more grass in the valleys than in these days. He at first tried to farm some, but soon saw that it would not pay and devoted all his attention to the stock business, always having had plenty of range for pasture and good hay valleys. He has found this good cattle country, and although he had been troubled considerably with cattle rustlers in the early days, they have not bothered him much of late years. At one time they took twenty-one head from him, but he had been used to wild countries, Kansas having been newly settled when the family moved there.
Mr. Campbell now has a ranch of one thousand and forty acres of deeded lands, most of this being valley lands. He runs four hundred head of cattle and about one hundred head of horses, and he, together with his son, does all the work of operating this place with the exception of the haying season. He also keeps a few goats, and these pay out fairly well. He is well satisfied with this region and would not care to sell out until he gets what he thinks his place is worth. Would not care to go east to live, as here the family have always enjoyed the best of health and have everything that goes to make up a comfortable and pleasant rural home.
Mr. Campbell was married March 4, 1883, to Miss Josephine F. Stonehocker, born in Iowa. Her father, Perry Stonehocker, was a farmer, of German descent, also her mother. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell have five children, named as follows: William T., Sarah E., Jesse O., Mabel F., and Perry, the two oldest born in Kansas, and the younger children in Nebraska. For four years after settling here there was no school in their vicinity, but there is now a good school one-quarter of a mile from their home, and their
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nearest mail station is Mumper postoffice. Mr. Campbell is a Democrat, but has never held any office except local, as he has devoted his entire time and attention to the building up of his farm and home.
May 26, 1908, Mr. Campbell
suffered the sad loss of his wife. Three of the children are
living with him, and two are married, one living in California and
the other adjoining his estate in Deuel county, Nebraska. On
another page we present a picture of Mr. Campbell and family.
---->o<----
Mr. Anderson is a native of Helsingborg, Sweden, where he was raised until he was nineteen years of age. His father, Andreas Anderson, came to America in 1882 and homesteaded land on section 23, Laird township, residing on that place up to about 1901. His death occurred in 1905, aged eight-five years. Our subject's mother, who was Christine Erickson, was a native of Sweden, and is now a resident of Holdrege, aged sixty-nine. One brother, Charles Anderson, went to Colorado where he studied mining, working his way through the best schools there, obtaining the degree of M. D. He afterwards went to Mexico where he engaged in mining, and through his business qualities and knowledge of the subject has made a success. He is now cashier of the United States Banking Company at Parral, Mexico. Another brother, Oscar Anderson, owns and operates a general store at Stamford, Nebraska, and although still a very young man, is a successful merchant and has established a large trade throughout that section of the country. Mr. Anderson also has one sister, who is the wife of C. L. Granlund, deputy county treasurer of Phelps county, formerly county treasurer for two term. Mr. Granlund and our subject now own a hardware store in Holdrege which engages their time. This partnership was formed in January, 1907.
Mr. Anderson went to Loomis in 1886, in the year the town started. He first engaged in buying grain for the Scott Elevator Company, and continued at that business up to 1893, then formed a partnership with J. W. Jackson, engaging in the lumber business at Loomis. Since locating at Loomis he has been one of the active citizens of the county. He has been successful in business, and also owns land in Kansas. In January, 1907, he removed to Holdrege, where he now resides.
Mr. Anderson has always been a strong Republican, active in parity politics. For the past four years he has been a member of the county central committee.
Mr. Bruns was born in Germany, December 25, 1859, and came to America when about ten years of age, the family settling in Hancock county, Illinois. There were ten children in his father's family, Jacob being the second in order of birth, and they settled on a farm where he grew up, while a mere boy learning to do all sorts of hard farm work. He received a common school education, and remained in Illinois until he was about twenty-seven years of age, then came west, locating in Cheyenne county, landing here in March of the year 1886. He at once filed on a homestead situated in section 8, township 15, range 47, and went to work to build up a good home. He has succeeded remarkably well, although during the hard times that have struck the region has met with many discouragements and reverses financially, but finally was able to add many improvement to his farm, also has added to his original homestead so that he now owns a fine ranch of one thousand two hundred and eighty acres, which is used partly for farming and partly as a ranch. He has about one hundred and thirty acres cultivated, plenty of hayland and pasture, and runs one hundred head of cattle and a small bunch of horses. He has good buildings of all kinds on the place, and altogether one of the best equipped ranches in the vicinity.
Mr. Bruns was married on March 2, 1886, at Carthage, Illinois, to Hannah M. Wenhoner, who was born in Germany, and came to this country in 1879. Both of Mrs. Bruns' parents are dead, but our subject's father is still living in Hancock county, Illinois, the mother's death having occurred June 19, 1892.
