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instrumental in establishing different schools here. He has served as justice of the peace for a time and held other local offices. In politics he is an Independent voter.
Charles S. Reece. who makes section 6, township 30, range 28, the scene of his industrial activities, and the home that is dearer than all the world, was born in Andrew county, Missouri, on a farm, March 12, 1871, and comes of a lineage long identified with the best life of the south. His parents were born and reared in North Carolina. where his ancestors had long played a prominent part in industry, politics and society. His father, Alvis F. Reece. was a farmer, who was brought into Missouri by his parents while still young, and there he lived and died. Malvina Mackey, his wife, and the mother of the subject of this article, was reared to a rural life, and proved a worthy helpmeet to her honest and industrious husband. They were the parents of seven children, of whom Charles S. was the fifth in order of birth.
Charles S. Reece remained at home in Missouri until he reached the age of fifteen years, when he accompanied the family in its removal to Lincoln county, Kansas, where they spent the two years following in farming. Upon the death of his father, Charles S., now a well-grown lad of seventeen years, took upon himself the responsibility of the family fortunes, and with his mother set himself to a hard contest with an unkindly fate. In 1888 they removed to Cherry county, Nebraska, and settled on a homestead on the Snake river. They found shelter in a sod house, and did their first. farm work with a team composed of a horse and an ox, but later on he secured two oxen. Nicely started in the stock business, between May 7th and 10th, 1892, his entire herd of cattle perished in a terrible storm that swept for four days over the prairies. When he became of age, Mr. Reece took a homestead for himself in section 6, township 30, range 28, and at once began building up a stock farm. He has today twenty-seven hundred and twenty acres of good land and every modern improvement. His house is twenty-eight by twenty-eight feet, and the barns are large and roomy. There are three wells, equipped with separate windmills, and a generous garden with such fruits as the climate permits.
Mr. Reece was engaged in teaching school from 1890 to 1896, being employed during those years in only three districts. For two successive seasons he held the contract to furnish hay at Fort Niobrara, which he met to the perfect satisfaction of the army officials at that point. In March, 1898, he was appointed deputy county clerk., and was elected clerk in 1901, being re-elected in 1903, and serving two full terms in that position, to the eminent satisfaction of all who had to do business with him. In both. elections he carried every precinct in Cherry county, with only three exceptions.
The marriage of Charles S. Reece and Miss Harriet E. Thackrey occurred September 7, 1902. She was a daughter of Samuel and Ellinor (Grecian) Thackrey, farming people at Manhattan, Kansas, and descendants of long established American families. To this union have come three children: Francis M. and Hellen G., who was born in Valentine, Nebraska, and Leona R.
Mr. Reece is an active and public spirited
citizen, and ever ready to take hold of any business enterprise
that looks to the good of the community. He was one of the
incorporators of the Stockmen's Telephone Company, and for two
years was its president. At the various farmers' institutes he is
a prominent-figure, and has given many valuable addresses, which
have proved of deep interest to all concerned with the problems of
agriculture as presented to practical life on the Nebraska
prairies. Mr. and Mrs. Reece are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church at Valentine, where Mr. Reece holds membership in
the Modern Woodmen of America. One of the interesting
illustrations in this work shows a view of the residence of Mr.
Reece.
Samuel P. Jones, who for the past twenty-three years has resided in Cheyenne county,. Nebraska, and during that time has acquired a fine property as a result of his industry and good management, is widely known in his locality, as a substantial citizen, and highly esteemed by all who know him. He has a pleasant home in Eagle precinct, and is one of the prominent public-spirited men of his community.
Mr. Jones was born in Pennsylvania, October 13, 1861, and two years of his life were spent there. His parents then moved into Iowa and made that state their home for twenty-three years. About 1886 Mr. Jones came to Nebraska, traveling by wagon through the wild country, and located in Cheyenne
page 498
county, taking a homestead of eighty acres in section 34, township 17, range 47. There they went through all the experiences that fell to the people of those early days in that region in building up a home in the wilderness. suffering every form of hardship and privation, but after all sorts of discouragements have come out victorious and now own a fine ranch and have a pleasant and comfortable home. Mr. Jones has a fine ranch of thirteen hundred acres in Eagle precinct, with a fine stone dwelling on section 34, township 17, range 47, and on this runs about four hundred cattle. He also engaged in mixed farming, cultivating four hundred acres, and has thirty acres of good alfalfa hay. He is owner of a fine strain of roadsters and few in the country can show him a clean pair of heels; he is also engaged at present in breeding mules.
Mr. Jones was married in Oskaloosa, Iowa. December 27, 1888, to Mary E. Evans, a native of Mahaska county, Iowa, born April 27, 1866. After their marriage our subject returned to Cheyenne county with his bride, and together they started out to make a home and accumulate a competence, and well have they succeeded, as a glimpse of their well appointed ranch would show any observer. To them have been born the following children: Mary Jane, born in 1890; Margaret Sarah, born in 1891; Ina Pearl, in 1893; Thomas S., born in 1896, died in 1907; Bessie May, born in 1898, and Harriet Ann, born January 2, 1908. The parents of our subject, Thomas S. and Sarah J. Jones, both of English nationality, are now deceased, as are also Mrs. Jones' parents, who were Evan J. and Mary (Edwards) Evans.
George E. Shepard, residing in Logan township, Franklin county, is a successful and prosperous farmer and stockman of that vicinity who has built up a fine estate through industry and good management, and is one of the substantial and worthy citizens of his community.
Mr. Shepard was born in 1856 in Hennepin, Illinois. His father, Thomas W. Shepard, settled in Illinois in 1833, having moved there from Indiana. Our subject grew up in Illinois, and in all spent thirty-five years in that state. He was in the farming , and stock raising business in Putnam county, and came to Nebraska in 1893, having purchased part of his land here in 1885. He started in farming here, getting high grade stock on his place, and now has from ninety to one hundred good Shorthorn cattle, each year selling a number of thoroughbred bull calves to farmers throughout the locality. He also deals in high grade Poland China hogs, for which he finds a ready market. Only enough horses are kept on his farm for his own use, and he engages in mixed farming on quite a large scale, his crop of wheat usually amounting to four thousand bushels and corn up to five or six thousand. He feeds all of the corn he raises, and often is compelled to buy more. His farm comprises five hundred and eighty acres, three hundred and twenty acres being pasture, which makes a pretty good sized place.
Shepard states that this country is far ahead of Illinois for farming and stock raising and from his long experience in both states he is in a position to know whereof he speaks. On the same investment here twenty per cent. is earned, against about four per cent. in Illinois. In 1906 and 1907 he paid a visit to his old friends in the latter state, and found them practically standing still, while here those who came a few years ago and took up land have steadily forged ahead and are now in very comfortable circumstances.
In 1881 our subject was united in marriage to Miss Emma L. Devereux, of Downer's Grove, Illinois. To Mr. and Mrs. Shepard have been born the following children: Charles E., who is married and lives on a farm in Furnas county, owned by our subject; Thomas W., Percy, Dave, Will, married; Frank, also married, and Ellen, the last named is the wife of Otto Lynch, of Macon, this county. Five of these children are from Mr. Shepard's present marriage and two from a former.
Mr. Shepard is an active man of his township, and for fourteen years served as clerk of the school board. He is president of the Franklin county fair association, which was organized thirty-two years ago; he having acted in this capacity for the past three years. Mr. Shepard is an active politician, has served on the Republican central committtee (sic) for his township, and lends his influence for the bettering of conditions in his community. He was assessor for one term, and is held in the highest esteem by his fellowmen and associates.
A. S. Cannon, a prominent and well-to-do farmer and leading citizen of Phelps county, resides on section 32, Lake township, where he has a pleasant home and highly improved farm. He has a valuable estate and is one of
page 499
the substantial men of his locality and held in the highest esteem by all.
Mr. Cannon was born in Illinois. He is a son of E. H. Cannon, of Prairie township, a sketch of whom appears in this work on another page. Our subject located in Lake township in 1896, at that time purchasing one hundred and sixty acres of improved property, and has been engaged in mixed farming and stock raising since that time. He has made a success of the work in all its branches, and applies every modern method in his operations, succeeding in obtaining the best possible results from his labor. He usually has a drove of fifty head off pure bred Duroc Jersey hogs, and high grade cattle, and takes especial pride in keeping up the standard of his herd. In addition to his farming operations. Mr. Cannon owned and operated a threshing outfit, and carried on this work all during the season, but he has since sold that business and outfit.
Mr. Cannon takes an active interest in all local affairs, and is one of the politically prominent men in his section. He has served as supervisor of his township, and a member of the county board, being on the claims committee, elected in 1903 for an unexpired term and re-elected the following year. He was clerk of Lake township for five years prior to 1903, and has gained the confidence and respect of his fellowmen by his thoroughly honest dealings and integrity. He is now, and has been for the past ten years, secretary of the Phelps County Insurance Company, a very successful concern. Mr. Cannon is an Independent in politics, and a wide-awake, active young man, with any amount "of go-ahead-ativeness" in his make-up, and a first class business man.
Mr. Cannon was married in 1896 to Miss Nellie Carpenter, of Harlan county, daughter of A. Carpenter. To Mr. and Mrs. Cannon have been born four children, namely: Virgil, Roscoe, Denzil and Mary. The family are active members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
William H. Maiden holds a prominent place among the foremost agriculturists of Dawes county, Nebraska. His home is on section 5, township 34, range 47, where he has been located for many years past, and his well appointed home and well cultivated fields bespeak the man of taste and progress, and no one stands higher in the estimation of his fellowmen and associates than he. He is among the leading old settlers in this region who has take an active part in the development of the section from its very beginning, and richly deserves the success which has come to him.
Mr. Maiden was born in Whiteside county, Illinois, in 1848. His father, George Maiden. was a farmer and old settler in Illinois, and was one of those who lived in that section of the country at the time of the Black Hawk massacre. He married Sarah Templeton, American born, of Scotch blood.
In 1856 the family moved to Tama county, Iowa, and there our subject grew to manhood, remaining at home with his parents up to the time of his twenty-first birthday, assisting in the farm work, and attending the country schools, where he received a fair education, for those early days. He left home in 1877 and came into the Black Hills, working for different freighting outfits in that vicinity, and part of the time being manager of the mail route from Fort Pierre to Deadwood, remaining here up to 1880. He then returned to Iowa, where he was married to Miss Dora E. Derrick, whose father, John C. Derrick, was a farmer of German descent, and her mother was Adelia Kellogg, raised in New York state. One son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Maiden, William J., now twenty-one years of age and living on a farm adjoining that of his father.
Mr. Maiden and his family lived in Iowa up to the spring of 1886, farming there in Carroll county, then came to Dawes county, Nebraska, and settled on his present homestead, landing here on March 8th. This farm was located in section 5, township 34, range 47, and he at once began to build up a home, putting up a dugout, in which they lived for two years, then built a better house of the same kind and lived in that for nine years. During the first years they went through many hard times, witnessing the drouths, and was obliged to work in the roundhouse at Chadron and any odd work he could get to do in order to support his family. He kept on improving his place, however, and has now a ranch of eight hundred acres, about seventy acres of which is in alfalfa and plow land, with the balance in hay and pasture, as he engages extensively in the stock business, raising a large number of cattle and horses for market each season. The ranch is located on White river, and is well supplied with natural timber of all kinds, and he has it well improved, all fenced, and everything in first-class order.
Mr. Maiden is a strong Democrat and an ardent admirer of William Jennings Bryan,
page 500
and takes a keen interest in local and national politics. He has served as school director for four years, also as school treasurer for five years.
Eugene F. Moon, one of the successful and progressive agriculturists of Prairie township, Phelps county, Nebraska, is owner of a well improved farm and highly esteemed in his community as an energetic and industrious citizen. Mr. Moon was born in Michigan, 1869. His father, Horace Moon, formerly of Prairie township, now of Holdrege, was supervisor for several years in the township, and came here from Van Buren county, Michigan. The mother Susan Ensign, was also a native of that county.
In 1890 our subject began on his own account, settling on a one hundred and sixty acre farm in Albany township, Harlan county, which was owned by his father, and there he made a success from the start, purchasing the farm, which he afterwards sold. While living on that place he had plenty of pasture and kept about sixty head of cattle and a large drove of hogs. The year he sold this farm his corn crop went as high as sixty bushels per acre, which was a pretty good yield. He now rents eighty acres, farming two hundred and forty acres in all, and keeps twelve horses, and sixty hogs. These he finds pay best of anything on the farm, and he has had excellent success in every enterprise of this nature.
Mr. Moon was married in 1893 to Miss Katie Cannon, daughter of E. H. Cannon, whose sketch appears in this book. Mr. and Mrs. Moon are the parents of four children, named as follows: Jessie, Otis, Claude and Elsie.
The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Holdrege and are held in high esteem by all. In political faith Mr. Moon is an Independent.
Among the old settlers of Brown county Nebraska, none is better known or more highly respected than the subject of this review. Mr. Cole was born in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, December 23, 1869. His father, Ishmael Cole, was a farmer and an old settler in Seward county, Nebraska, who came of old Yankee stock. Our subject was partly reared in Wisconsin, and grew up accustomed to hard farm work. When he was seven years old, his parents moved to Seward county, and were among the old pioneer settlers of that state. Here they spent some eight years, then settled on a farm near Ainsworth, and remained there until 1883, at that time moving to Chadron, Nebraska, where his father homesteaded and proved up, living on the farm for four years. Our subject started out for himself when fourteen years of age, working on different farms all over Brown, Keya Paha and Cherry counties, and for four years was engaged in the livery business in Ainsworth. At the end of this time he settled on a homestead in section 28, township 31, range 21, Brown county, here proved up and gradually added to it, until he now has a farm of three hundred and twenty acres. The estate is a valuable one, well improved with a good house and all farm buildings. It is located on Oak creek, which furnishes a good supply of water the year round. There is a fine natural growth of timber on the land, mostly of oak and ash, which makes it one of the most desirable places in the locality.
Mr. Cole was married in October, 1900, to Miss Pearl E. Swett, a native of Iowa. Her father, Alanson Swett (of whom a sketch appears in this volume), an old settler in Brown county, lives on an adjoining farm. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cole, who are named as follows: Kennerd, Laura and Glenn.
Mr. Cole has a wide circle of acquaintances and is held in the highest esteem by all who know him. He is a Socialist in political sentiments, and fraternally a member of the Modern Woodmen of America camp at Ainsworth.
That diversified farming may be carried on successfully in Dawes county, Nebraska, has been demonstrated beyond doubt by the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this review. For many years Mr. Riesche has followed farming and has built up a fine farm and comfortable home, stuck to his farm through many discouragements and come out ahead, and he is now recognized as one of the foremost citizens of his locality, highly esteemed and respected by all.
Mr. Riesche is a native of Newport, Kentucky, born in 1858, of German descent. His father, who was a blacksmith by trade, was born in Germany, as was also his mother, whose maiden name was Louisa Taschner. Our subject was raised in Kentucky and in
page 501
early youth learned the cigarmaker's trade and followed that work for ten years in Cincinnati and Newport, Kentucky. In 1883 he came to Nebraska, locating in Lyons, Burt county, and there worked on farms for three years, then moved to Dawes county, landing here in June, 1886, and settling on his present homestead in section 5, township 30, range 48. He first put up a rough frame building as a dwelling place, and later a log cabin was added to it, and he "batched" it for several years. The dry years soon came on and he lost four or five crops in succession. and was also hailed out one season, and it seemed to him that he could not get a start. However, he stuck to the place, and steadily improved it with fences, good buildings, and kept on trying to raise crops, until he has seventy acres under cultivation, and about one hundred and seventy acres in hay and pasture land, and keeps quite a number of head of stock.
Mr. Riesche was united in marriage in June, 1899, to Mrs. Jane Rimmer whose parents were old settlers in Nebraska. Mrs. Riesche was a widow with one child, Isaac Osborne Rimmer, and one child has also been born to our subject, a daughter named Mary, born in July, 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Riesche have one adopted son, James Henry Riesche.
Mr. Riesche takes an active interest in local
affairs and has served as a township official at different times,
now holding the office of moderator of school district No. 78, in
which he lives. A picture of Mr. Riesche and family will be found
on another page of this volume.
V. A. Klein, one of the leading business men of Lodgepole, Nebraska, is a prominent citizen of that thriving town. He has been a resident of Cheyenne county for many years, and has become closely identified with the commercial and social interests of the locality where he makes his home. Mr. Klein is a gentleman of sterling worth, and well merits his success and high standing in the community. He is well known in musical circles, taking a deep interest in that subject, and is leader of the Klein orchestra, also of the Lodgepole band, both of which he organized.
Mr. Klein was born in Frauenthal, Bohemia, on September 10, 1862, receiving a fair education as a boy, and during his young manhood worked with his father and brothers in their flour mill. In November, 1882, he left his native land and came to America with his parents, the family locating in Rosedale, Kansas, where our subject remained for about five years, during which time he lived mostly in Kansas City, and was connected with different musical organizations, doing orchestral and brass band work. In March, 1887, he came to Cheyenne county and homesteaded in section 2, township 12, range 48, which place he later sold. The father died in Rosedale in the spring of the year, 1887, the entire family moving to Nebraska with our subject. There were four brothers and two sisters who settled in that region, one other brother locating in Brainard, Nebraska. He was a Catholic priest, and the entire family were devout Roman Catholics. For a time our subject was employed as a clerk in the Pacific hotel in Sidney, and at the end of two years went to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he spent several years engaged in different business enterprises, all of the time being more or less engaged in music, and was a member of the leading orchestra and band in Cheyenne.
In 1898 Mr. Klein returned to Nebraska, engaging in business in Sidney, coming here as instructor of the Sidney brass band. He only remained a short time, then moved to Lodgepole, and started in the saloon business, which he followed for two years, then established a mercantile business, and has continued at it ever since. He has built up a fine trade, and is now proprietor of a constantly increasing trade, having a nice large store and carrying a complete line of general merchandise. Besides his business enterprises Mr. Klein owns a good ranch and farm situated twelve miles south of Lodgepole.
Our subject was married in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1891, to Florence A. Scherer, who was born in Montgomery county, Ill., in 1868, coming to Cheyenne county with her father and family in 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Klein are the parents of two children, Ethel aged sixteen, and Clara E., aged fourteen, both living at home.
Mr. Klein is an active man in public affairs in his community, and is at present acting as treasurer of Lodgepole village. Politically he is a Republican.
Should the reader ask for a representative old settler of Dawes county, and who has grown up in a new country and acquired valuable property by dint of his own energy and despite the trials and privations which at
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