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Potomac for three years and twenty-seven days. He took part in the battle of Gettysburg, and on the second day of that action was severely wounded.
After the war Mr. Hadley returned to his native state and remained for a year, then went to New York state and spent a year in the lumber woods. After that he went to Ohio, locating at Akron, and spent a year there, and from there to Gibson county, Indiana, where he lived for fifteen years, working in different saw mills running stationary and portable steam engines. For some time while living in that vicinity he was employed as a traveling agent for the Walter A. Wood Harvester Company. In 1886 Mr. Hadley first saw Box Butte county, landing here on September 30th. Hay Springs was his nearest railroad point and he was obliged to make many trips there and back for supplies, a distance of seventy or eighty miles. Mr. Hadley says he has seen as many as two hundred antelope in a drove, when he first came here in 1886, and has shot many a one to have meat for himself and family to live on. He filed on his present homestead in section 22, township 26, range 47, in 1886, and proved up on the claim. He built up and improved the place, and is now owner of one hundred and sixty acres, with forty of this under cultivation. Since locating in this region he has gone through many hardships and discouragements, suffering failure of crops, etc., but never gave up hope, and is well repaid for his efforts in the nice property he has gotten together. Mr. Hadley states that he went to school after he was forty years old at a college in South DaDakota (sic); says he did not think himself quite smart enough, so concluded he would attend college for a while.
J. C. David Markwardt, proprietor of a fine estate in Anderson township, is a prominent citizen of this locality, respected and esteemed by his fellowmen.
Mr. Markwardt came to America from Germany in 1855, where he was born near Mecklenburg, locating in Niagara county, New York, and through hard day labor in six years he had laid by three hundred and eighty dollars, and was swindled out of his hard earned money. His first vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln. In 1862 he came west to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where he worked out by the month and soon had enough money saved to buy forty acres of wooded land and went to work clearing this, working incessantly, often chopping down trees and grubbing by moonlight. In three years time he bought twenty acres more, and remained on this sixty for eighteen years, when his industry was rewarded, for he sold this property for four thousand dollars, and taking this money he came to Phelps county, Nebraska, in 1879. Through the Kearney bank failure he lost quite a sum, but he worked so hard and managed so well that he has accumulated a nice property comprising seven hundred and twenty acres of land to be divided among his three children.
Mr. Markwardt has been a great observer of men and events, and read a great deal so that he can in his old age clearly recall all public men who figured in the development and onward progress, politically and materially, of this county since he came to it in 1855, and can tell you what each man stood for. He, too, has his own opinions on all public questions, and to him the farmer is the foundation of all material welfare, and "as the horse that does the work should have the oats," so the farmer should have the most consideration in public affairs, and the laws should aid and prefer him along all lines. In his old age he says to all: "Keep on the level. If you should stumble you are not much hurt, and are up and on again. If you soar in ambition for riches and fame to the lofty heights, and stumble, you are lost. Be honest, sober and careful of debt." And this policy he has always followed. He also says that if he owes or ever cheated any man out of ten cents' worth he will give all he has on proof. He also can say that he was never the worse for liquor, and such men as he have in America added greatly to the reputation of the German people for thrift, honesty and contentment in their labors and lot.
Mr. Markwardt was married while still in Germany, to Miss Maria Dorothy Weckart. They have three living children, as follows. I. D., Maria Dorothy, now Mrs. Swartwood, and Emma Elizabeth, now Mrs. Snyder, all of Anderson township. Since coming to Phelps county three children have died.
Mr. Markwardt and his family are members of the Lutheran church, and earnest workers in that faith. They are esteemed highly as a family, and enjoy the friendship of all who know them.
August L. Ring, one of the leading old settlers of western Nebraska, was born in Skona, Sweden, in 1866. He was raised on
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his father's farm, and assisted in the work of carrying on their place during his boyhood, and at the age of seventeen left his native land and struck out for himself, coming to the United States. His father and mother lived and died in the old country.
Mr. Ring spent about a year and a half in New York state after landing in America, following farm work, then came to eastern Nebraska, and located in Burt county, where he followed farming for a short time. In the spring of 1886 he came to Sioux county, joining a camp on the White river, where he worked at cutting and hauling ties for railroad construction, and spent a few months. In June of that year. he settled on a tract of land on Antelope creek, building a log cabin and started a farm, "batching it" and living all alone. He spent most of the time in working on the railroad, going into Wyoming, at Cheyenne and Douglass, and in this way managed to earn quite a little money, which he used to build up his homestead. Eventually he proved up on the claim and remained on it up to 1890, then moved to his present location on section 12, township 34, range 56. He first tried to farm, but soon found that conditions were unfavorable, as he lost several crops during the dry years and from various causes, so he determined that the stock business was the only one for his locality and got together a small herd of cattle and began raising calves, gradually increasing his herd. He had good success from the start, and constantly improved his place and added to his acreage, so that he is now owner of one thousand four hundred and forty acres, and leases six hundred and forty acres besides, all of which is fenced and supplied with a good set of substantial farm buildings. He farms about fifty acres, raising small grain. Since settling, on this place Mr. Ring has built three dams in Antelope creek, and has a large patch of ground under irrigation. He has large fields of hay and alfalfa, cutting about one hundred tons of the latter each year; and fifty tons of wheat grass hay. Mr. Ring has had many losses since settling here, in 1892 suffering severe loss by fire, which consumed his crop of one hundred bushels of corn, machinery, sheds, thirty tons of hay and some hogs.
In 1887 Mr. Ring was united in marriage to Miss Alice Peterson, a native of his own land, who came to America with her parents and were early settlers in Sioux county. Seven children have been born to this union, namely: Lee E., Edna J., Minnie E., Lillie E., Amy M., Edith S. and Helen M.
Mr. Ring is a wide-awake citizen, of active public spirit, and a leading old-timer of his locality. Besides his ranching operations, our subject is the owner of a threshing outfit, which he runs each season, and is well-known to all in the county, as he has worked for many of the farmers and is known to all as an energetic, honest and hardworking citizen.
A leading old settler and one who has taken an active part in the development and growth of Keya Paha county from its beginning, is to be found in the person above named. Mr. Downing resides on section 29, township 33, range 23, McGuire precinct, where he has one of the valuable estates in this part of the country, and is highly esteemed as a worthy citizen and good neighbor.
Mr. Downing was born in Carroll county, Illinois, December 27, 1844. His father, Heman Downing, was a farmer and carpenter, who came from Massachusetts and settled in northern Illinois soon after the Black Hawk war, working in Chicago when there were only about three hundred inhabitants. The mother was Rachel Holbrook, from New York, and both the parents were of good American blood and they had a family of nine children, of whom our subject was the fifth. He was reared and educated in the state of his birth, Bureau county, Illinois, whither the family moved in 1855, and when a young man went to Topeka, where he spent a short time, then to Boone and Union counties, Iowa, clerking two years in the county treasurer's office and two years in a store, then followed farming up to 1884, having purchased a one hundred and twenty-acre farm. In the latter year he moved to Keya Paha county, locating on section 27, township 33, range 23, and still owns this place. Here he built a log house and went through the usual pioneer experiences, witnessing the dry seasons of 1893, 1894 and 1895, when he was unable to raise any crops. In 1885 a wind storm took the roof off his house, and did considerable damage besides. However, he stuck to the place through hard times and has built up a fine farm and home of six hundred and forty acres, nearly all fenced and with two hundred acres cultivated. He has six hundred fruit trees, all bearing, plenty of running water with a number of fine springs. He has good substantial farm buildings and all the necessary equipment for running his farm by advanced methods of agriculture, and is one of the progressive and up-to-date agri-
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culturists in this vicinity. A view of his large dwelling, new
barn and other buildings, with the magnificent landscape, is to be
found elsewhere in the work.
In the early days of settlement here bands of twenty-five to thirty Indians frequently passed through his place, crossing the river to hunt in the sand hills.
Our subject is a member of the school board and has always taken a deep interest in educational affairs. He is a Republican.
Rasmus Johnson, a progressive and highly respected farmer of Keya Paha county, Nebraska, has a well-kept and comfortable estate in section 6, township 34, range 22. He is one of the earliest settlers in this part of the state, and his property here has been gained only by the hardest work, strict economy and excellent management. The hardships which have fallen to Mr. Johnson would have heartily discouraged one of a less persistent nature, but have only tended to make him more determined and spurred him to stronger action. With undaunted courage he has faced misfortunes, sufferings and hardships incident to the life of a pioneer of the western states but has remained to enjoy a fitting reward for his labors.
Mr. Johnson was born in the village of Emegarde, Denmark, March 3, 1851. His father, a farmer, never left his native land, and died there when our subject was four years old, leaving his widow with a family of eight children to rear, and from the time Rasmus was six years of age he supported himself besides aiding in keeping the rest of the family. When he was fifteen he went to Copenhagen and learned the trade of a brick mason, and for fifteen years worked at this in Denmark. In 1881 he came to America, sailing from Bremenhaven in the vessel Hokenstaufen, and after landing in New York city, immediately started for the west, locating in Warren county, Indiana. He served as a farm laborer two years and was engaged in the same pursuit later in Illinois.
In 1884 Mr. Johnson came to Nebraska, and settled on his present farm in section 6, township 34, range 22, Keya Paha county. He first built a sod house, stable and chicken house. He did not have a cent of money to start with after getting his homestead, and worked at anything he could find to do while proving up on his place, remaining on it steadily from the first. He put in two tree claims for other men for which he received small pay, and for eighteen months "batched it", working at odd times in the improvement of his place. He was getting along fairly well until the dry years came, when he found it hard to make a living; after trying for four years to raise enough to keep himself and family from starving he decided to leave the place and locate elsewhere. Going to Colorado he tried irrigation, but did not like it in that country and returned after a year and a half, again attempting farming. He has prospered since that time, and now has five hundred and sixty acres of good land, of which he cultivates two hundred acres. He has erected a fine set of farm buildings, splendid grove and orchard, two wells and windmills, and altogether has one of the best equipped farms in the county. When he returned from Colorado he found the place dilapidated and found it difficult to get things into good condition again, but by hard work and perseverance managed to put it in first-class order and make a valuble [sic] property out of it. At the time when conditions were most distressing he offered to sell the whole place for a hundred dollars, and was unable to find a buyer.
Mr. Johnson was married in 1886 to Miss Anna Larson, a native of Denmark, near the former's birthplace; she came to America with her parents and family in 1884, settling in Nebraska. To Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have been born the following children: Goetchel, Anna, Lawrence, Hans and Henry, all of them born and reared in Keya Paha county.
Mr. Johnson has always been one of the foremost men in advancing the interests of the region where he chose his home. He was one of the organizers of the first school here, and gave land on which the first school house was built. In politics he favors the Labor party.
Noah Moss, the popular and efficient postmaster of Clinton, is one of the well-known business men of that village and a substantial citizen of Sheridan county, where he has resided for many years.
Mr. Moss was born in Green county, In-
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diana, in 1850. His father, Jonathan J. Moss, and his mother, Priscilla Doughtry Moss, were both born and raised in Indiana. When he reached the age of eighteen he struck out for himself, working on farms in the neighborhood in which he lived by the month, and followed this occupation until after his marriage in 1869. In 1885 he came west and located in Sheridan county, Nebraska, two miles northeast of Clinton. He built a sod house and lived in this until after proving up on his homestead, then moved nearer the school, but never left the locality. In 1899 he bought his present home of three hundred and twenty acres, well improved, and since then has added to it considerably. This is all good farming land and he has it well stocked and fitted with all kinds of machinery necessary for operating the farm. In addition to this he conducts a general merchandise store and runs the postoffice in Clinton, also being a grain buyer for the firm of Nye, Snyder & Fowler Company. When he started in this locality he had little or no capital to begin on, besides having a large family to support, and for some years he worked at teaming, driving oxen. He has seen some hard times since coming here and gone through some tough experiences as a homesteader, but never has seen the time when he felt like giving up and leaving the country, but says he has been just as happy with a single dollar in his pocket as he is now amid peace and plenty. He has worked hard for the success he has attained and well merits the high standing accorded him as one of the leading men of his community.
Mr. Moss was married August 1, 1869, to Miss Sarah E. Moss, born in Indiana in 1851. Her father was a native of Indiana and came to Nebraska in 1884, where he died seven years later. Twelve children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Moss, who are named as follows: Mary A., Priscilla, Laura E., Charles O., William L., John J., Effie I., Emmet O., Bessie, Blanche, Frank and Ina B., all of whom are now grown. They also have seventeen grandchildren.
Mr. Moss has met with pronounced success in his different lines of work and has built up a fine home and gained valuable possessions by dint of his own labors and good management, supplemented by strict integrity of word and deed. He has an extended acquaintance and is universally esteemed as a friend and citizen. Since 1888 he has voted the Populist ticket, and has always taken an active interest in politics, at different times holding local offices.
The gentleman above named is one of the earliest settlers of Perkins county, and a prosperous business man of the town of Elsie. He was a homesteader here and improved a large tract of land in Marvin precinct, coming to Elsie several years ago, and is now engaged in the buying and shipping of stock. He occupies a comfortable residence here and is one of the well-known and highly respected citizens of his community.
Mr. Rees was born in Delaware county, Indiana, in 1846, and was reared on a farm. Both his father and mother were natives of West Virginia, settling in Indiana during their youth, where they built up a good home. Our subject received his education at the district schools, remained at home until during the Civil war, when he enlisted in the One Hundred and Forty-seventh Indiana Infantry and served six months. After returning from the war he bought a small farm in Indiana and lived on it up to 1882, then emigrated with many other newcomers to the state of Nebraska, settling at first in Saunders county, where he spent three years, coming to Perkins county in April, 1885. He made the journey from Saunders county with a team and covered wagon, following the course of the Platte river, and then across from Paxton. He immediately filed on a claim on section 35, township 9, range 35, built a sod shanty after living for a time in a tent during the summer, and began to break land for sod crops.
All his supplies had to be hauled from North Platte and Ogallala, and he made many trips to those points through all sorts of severe weather, often camping out along the way and experiencing every form of exposure, He had many hardships to contend with during the first few years, going through the drouth seasons when he was unable to raise a crop, and often suffered privations and discomfort, but overcame all obstacles and succeeded in improving his farm in good shape, remaining on it up to 1906, when he owned three hundred and twenty acres of good land, well improved and stocked up in fine shape. He then came to Elsie. He has bought stock all over the country and is familiar with every corner of the county and surrounding region, and enjoys an enviable reputation as a squaredealing business man and shrewd trader.
In 1869 Mr. Rees was married in Indiana to Miss Margaret Carmichael, born and reared in the same county with our subject. They have a nice family of eight children, all now
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settled in good positions. They are named as follows: William, Roscoe, Minnie, Tasey, John, Harry, Frank and Maud, the last named a teacher in Lincoln, Nebraska. William was for several years an instructor in the Chillicothe Business College, and is now at Florence, Colorado, connected with one of the large oil companies at that point.
Mr. Rees is one of the best known old settlers in this part of Nebraska, and has always been found a worthy citizen, laboring at all times for the development and advancement of his locality. He held the office of county assessor for some years, and for twenty years was on the school board.
For nearly a quarter of a century the gentleman whose name heads this review has been identified with the history of the development of western Nebraska, and his large property interests in Cherry county evidence his early labors during these many years.
He has succeeded in building up a good home and is one of the highly esteemed citizens of his township.
Mr. Young was born in Camden, Maine, in 1856. His father, John W. Young, was an American, a fisherman by occupation, born in Lincolnville, Maine, in 1818; was married to Lyddie Richards, of Lincolnville, and to this union were born eleven children: Clarenda E., Mary J., Lois A., Herbert L., Linley E., Wilber E., Roscoe J., Calvin H., Louis E., Allie and Freddie Young.
Wilber E. Young at the age of fifteen moved to Lowell, Massachusetts, and there began learning the carpenter trade. In 1875 he moved to Butler county, Nebraska, working at his trade. Here he was married to Alice A. Smith in 1888. She was the daughter of Chauncey and Melvina Smith, natives of New York and Ohio. They are the parents of five children: Arvilla (deceased), Alice A., Lucy E., Alva, Goodell B. and Guy A.
In 1879 they moved to Grenola, Kansas, and remained there two years, and during that time he built a town of seven hundred population. Then, on account of his health, they returned to Bellwood, Nebraska. They remained there until 1885, when they moved to Gordon, Sheridan county, Nebraska. There he took a homestead. He located here just before the railroad was built through this section, and when he landed on his homestead his entire capital was three horses and thirty cents in money. He remained there and proved up, then moved to Cherry county, Nebraska, and lived on a pre-emption claim, where he was living at the time of the Wounded Knee battle. A good many of the neighbors fled to Gordon for safety, but they remained on their ranch and looked after their property and cattle. After the Kincaid homestead act was passed he took his additional right, and is still living on this place. He has improved his property with the best buildings in this part of the country.
Mr. and Mrs. Young are the parents of five children: Addie N., Irvie H., Bertha M., Myrtle B. and Dale R., all born in Nebraska.
William H. Peters, residing on section 7, township 29, range 43, Sheridan county, was born in Calumet county, Wisconsin, in 1869, and was raised there on his father's farm. He is a son of Peter Peters, of Holland birth, who came to America in early pioneer days, locating in Wisconsin when a young man. The mother was also a native of Holland, coming to America when a child of ten. There was a family of eleven children, of whom our subject was the sixth member, and he started out for himself at the age of twenty-one. He had worked out quite a good deal before that time, but was obliged to give his wages to his father to help in the support of the family. He was employed for three years prior to his coming of age in a cheese box factory in the vicinity of his home, and afterward worked for the same length of time in the factory for himself.
In February, 1893, Mr. Peters came to Nebraska, locating in this county, where he bought his present home of one hundred and sixty acres, paying eleven hundred and seventy-five dollars cash for the land, and enough left with which to start his farm. The first year he put in a crop of one hundred and twenty-five acres and had a good yield, then for several years had poor luck, but during all the time he kept picking up cattle and gradually increasing his herd up to 1901, then traded his cattle for a large herd of sheep. His first venture in this line was with a bunch of sheep on shares, as he had very little money left by this time, and he was moderately successful from the first. He kept on farming a little each year, getting some crop, and always managed to raise enough feed for his stock and plenty of corn. He has eight hundred acres of land now, cultivating one hundred and fifty, but intends farming on a larger scale in the
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future. Most of his time is devoted to the raising of sheep and horses, running eight hundred of the former and about fifteen horses. He is a great lover of good horses, and were it not for the money in sheep would prefer to handle horses altogether. During the year 1906, which was an unusually good one, he cleared fifteen hundred dollars on his bunch of eight hundred sheep, and will continue in that work as long as he is on his present place. He also deals in hogs, and last year sold three hundred dollars' worth of them. Mr. Peters has seen the ups and downs of pioneer life, and although he has never had to go through the hardships and privations which fell to the lot of his parents in the early days, he has done much better here than he could had he stayed in Wisconsin.
In 1893 Mr. Peters was married to Miss Elizabeth Schmitt, a native of Sheboygan county, Wisconsin. She is a daughter of Joseph Schmitt and Mary (Ramer) Schmitt, both natives of Germany, the father dying when Mrs. Peters was a young girl. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Peters, as follows: Joseph, Martin, Anton, Albert, Minnie, Esther and Frank, all born and raised in this locality. The family enjoy the best of health, and since coming here have never had to call a doctor to the place. At one time one of the children dislocated a shoulder in an accident about the farm, and this cost them two dollars, which is all they have ever paid for a doctor's services.
Mr. Peters is a Populist, but has never held any office, devoting his entire time and attention to the building up of his farm and home. He is well posted on current events and keeps abreast of the times in affairs of state and national questions. He is in favor of government ownership of the railroads, and a Bryan man, but not so strong as he was some years ago.
An interesting picture of Mr.
Peters' sheep ranch will be found on another page of this
work.
Hon. I. W. Marlatt, one of the leading citizens of Kearney county, Nebraska, resides in Newark township, where he has a fine farm and home, and is a gentleman of high accomplishments, esteemed and respected by all who know him. Mr. Marlatt was elected on the fusion ticket as representative in the state legislature in 1906, and again in 1908, and is a worthy representative of his party.
Mr. Marlatt is a native of Indiana, born in 1852 on a farm in Tippecanoe county. His father, George Marlatt, was born in New Jersey and taken to Ohio by his parents when a very small boy, where he grew up. In 1852 he moved to Stark county, Illinois, where our subject was reared, in 1886 coming to Nebraska and settling in Clay county. In 1893 Mr. Marlatt came to Lowell township, Kearney county, Nebraska, and after living there for seven years moved to Newark township, where he now resides, and is the proprietor of six hundred acres, all good valley land, which he devotes to mixed farming. He raises small grains and deals to quite an extent in stock. He is a member of the Farmers' Grain and Live Stock Association, which was organized in this county at Lowell by himself in 1895, and the society reaches all over the state of Nebraska.
Mr. Marlatt has always been prominent in public affairs, and has held all the local offices. He was chairman of the township board about ten years, and takes a deep interest in all movements which tend to the betterment of conditions in his community.
Mr. Marlatt was married in 1879 to Miss Ida May Cain, born in Indiana in 1858, of Scotch descent. This union has been blessed with nine children: Harry, Curtis, Jay, Willie, Earl, Guy, Grover, Hazel and Dorothy. Harry is married and is a farmer in Kearney county. The balance of the children are at home with their parents.
The farm operated by this gentleman is located in section 17, township 29, range 53, in Sioux county, and there he enjoys all the comforts of rural life, together with many of its luxuries. He owns a tract of eight hundred and eighty acres of good land, and his place is one of the best appointed in this locality, every corner of it showing good management and painstaking care.
Mr. Shipley was born in Green county, Tennessee, in 1858. His father, W. K. Shipley, was a farmer who came north in 1863, settling in Illinois, and later moved to Iowa, where our subject was raised on a farm and since he was nine years old he has made his own way in the world. In 1886 John came to Nebraska, first settling in Buffalo county on a farm, and lived there for three years. He then came to Sioux county, and was the first white man to settle in section 17, township 29, range 53. His first dwelling was a log
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cabin with a dirt roof and floor. He had absolutely nothing to start with except his strong hands and brave heart, and during the first few years went through hardships of every nature, losing crops for several seasons and meeting with every discouragement. He gradually worked into the stock business, and was able to get along better and develop his farm, putting up good buildings, etc. His ranch contains eight hundred and eighty acres, and he operates besides this six hundred and forty acres of leased school land, having it all fenced, and is one of the well-to-do men of his locality.
In 1879, while living in Iowa, Mr. Shipley was married to Miss Mary E. Ratcliffe, daughter of Thomas J. Ratcliffe, a farmer and old settler in that state. Her mother's name was Jane Ann (Boswell) Ratcliffe. Her father died January 15, 1896, aged sixty-one years, eleven months and two days. Her mother still lives in Corrydon, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Shipley have had a family of eight children, who are named as follows: Jennie, Laura, Benjamin, Fred and Maud, five living, and three dead. Daisy, who married Mr. Lacrone, died in Boone county, Nebraska, February 10, 1902; Emma, who married Mr. Smith, died in Crawford, Nebraska, June 13, 1908, and Lee, who died at home in Sioux county, Nebraska, February 14, 1906.
Mr. Shipley has always displayed commendable public spirit, taking part in all local affairs, helping to establish the schools of his locality, and has been school director for the past sixteen years. He has also served as assessor in his district for two terms. He is a stanch Democrat.
In the commercial and public affairs of Lincoln county, Nebraska, probably no man is better known than the gentleman whose life history is here presented. Mr. Hinman was a man of unusual business ability, and has an enviable reputation as a citizen of active public spirit and one of those who helped build up this part of the country and make it the prosperous section it is today.
Mr. Hinman first passed through this region in 1849 on his way overland to California. He was a native of Bradford county, Pennsylvania, born at Wysox, September 14, 1819, and a son of Abner Curtis Hinman and Augusta York Hinman, the former having been grand master of Pennsylvania for the Independent Order of Good Templars for many years. The Hinman family were pioneer settlers of that state, all of the male members taking part in the Revolutionary war, Indian wars, etc. Our subject's brother, Hon. Beach I. Hinman, was the pioneer attorney of North Platte, Nebraska, and represented the district in the Nebraska state legislature. Two brothers served the Union in the Civil war, and lost their lives in battle or in prison.
Mr. Hinman was one of those who were seeking the gold fields in 1849, and this was the first time he saw Nebraska. A St. Louis firm had employed him to go to Vancouver and Oregon to set up and install steam sawmills, paying him for this work sixteen dollars per day. These mills were shipped around the Horn, and this trip took him all along the coast from British Columbia to Panama in those pioneer days, and he saw a great many interesting sights and had many exciting experiences. He afterwards was sent by the United States government to install a steam sawmill plant at Laramie, Wyoming. He returned from California in 1854, and two years later located at Cottonwood Springs, near Fort McPherson. On his ranch four miles east of the Springs he opened a general supply store for the travelers passing over the California trail, and also installed a steam saw and shingle mill and blacksmith shop on his farm, often employing many men in this business. From 1864 to 1867 he held the position of Indian interpreter at Fort McPherson, attending all conferences between the chiefs and the government. He had the contract for supplying beef for the fort, and also for sawing all the shingles used on the buildings at that place. One voucher now in possession of the family is made out for fourteen thousand dollars. He also had a subcontract to supply wood to Fort A. D. Russell in 1867 and 1868.
In 1864 Mr. Hinman was called to Fort McPherson, Nebraska, and while there he lost over one thousand dollars in merchandise through theft by Sioux Indians under Sitting Bull. The government allowed Mr. Hinman the one thousand dollars for these goods, but Democratic influence has deferred this payment and the widow of Mr. Hinman may yet be able to secure the money. He was intimate with all the great Indian chiefs, among whom was Sitting Bull. In 1860 Shorter county (at present Lincoln county) was organized, with Mr. Hinman as county treasurer, but this organization never went into effect, and in 1866 the name was changed to Lincoln and the county properly organized with the county seat at North Platte, and our subject being
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elected as county commissioner, which position he held for many years, For a long time he held the office of probate judge, having been elected on the Republican ticket. In the fall of 1867 thousands of Indians met at North Platte, where Mr. Hinman had resided since 1866, having sold out his ranch and taken his mills to South Pass, Wyoming, afterwards bringing them back to the Republican valley, where he had homesteaded and preempted four hundred acres two and a half miles west of Indianola. This band of Indians went through the town, camping where Fruit and Locust streets now intersect. General Sherman and the peace commissioners met them and the redskins promised to remain peaceable and go away without any trouble in the spring of the year if they were provided with rations throughout the winter. On Sunday, April 7, 1868, there was a great commotion in town when the citizens discovered that the Indians had moved their squaws and effects to the north side of the river. The braves returned in a short while, riding through the town and shooting into stores and raising a disturbance generally. Mr. Hinman at once turned all papers relating to civil affairs of Lincoln county over to the military and saloons were closed and squads of soldiers put out to guard lives and property. The Indians then went southeast of the town, and near Fort McPherson, in Snells canyon, on the 8th of April, they came upon seven men who were employed by our subject in getting out wood for his subcontract to supply Fort A. D. Russell, and the redskins murdered them, taking the scalps of every man. One of the horses belonging to the men returned home with the scalp of his owner tied to its saddle. The soldiers immediately went in pursuit of the Indians and found one white boy pinned to the ground with an arrow through his heart, still alive, and he survived for two days.
In 1876 Mr. Hinman and his family moved back to North Platte to live. He had bought land near this town until he owned in all eleven hundred acres, a portion of it being in town, and the greater portion of it directly adjacent. He held the office of senior county commissioner of Lincoln county, and in 1873 he locked up the Union Pacific Railway roundhouse at North Platte and took possession on account of the railway having as yet paid no taxes, which amounted to a good round sum and these were shortly paid. In 1879 he moved out to his farm, just west of the town.
Mr. Hinman was married March 11, 1867, to Miss Rebecca Franklin Vaughan, daughter of Elias Vaughan, Jr., and Susan Franklin Dodge, of Connecticut. The Vaughan and Dodge families were both pioneers of Connecticut, the latter being related to Benjamin Franklin, and also William Penn. Captain William Vaughan, of the United States navy at Watertown, on Lake Erie, who was an officer in the War of 1812, was an uncle of Mrs. Hinman. Mrs. Hinman is a very bright and active lady, of great intelligence, and is now seventy-three years of age. They raised a family of three children, namely: Vaughan Elias Hinman, of North Platte. He was born in this town and was the first white child born here, and the second in Lincoln county. He married Miss Minnie Distel, daughter of Frederick Distel, a native of Germany, who came to Omaha in 1873, and later to North Platte, where he built and operated a brewery, and became well known all over western Nebraska. One child was born of this union, Charles Vaughan Hinman. The second son of our subject is York Abner Hinman, also of North Platte, who was married to Miss Daisy C. Crusen, daughter of W. J. Crusen, of North Platte, a sketch of whom appears in this volume. They have three children, namely: York A. Hinman, Jr., Elizabeth Franklin Hinman and Dorothy C. The third child of our subject is Suezilla Hinman Eves, wife of George Eves, of Stockton, California. They have a family of five children living, as follows: William Vaughan (dead) and Washington York, twins; Girard Wesley, Margarette Reba, Arthur Glenn and Harold Hinman.
Mr. Hinman died at his farm home January 27, 1904, at the advanced age of eighty-four years. The year prior to his death a prairie fire swept the vicinity of his home and burned to the ground a good residence containing valuable records, papers and all personal property. With the business methods and energy which still characterize Mrs. Hinman, she had a short time previously effected a partial insurance upon the home, so it was not a total loss.
Mr. Hinman was a thirty-second degree Mason, having been admitted into the order when he was twenty- one years of age. He was high priest of the chapter here, and a devoted member of the lodge. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, and an earnest worker in that religion.
Nat Broadhurst, one of the representative farmers and old settlers of western Nebraska, resides in section 36, township 32, range 51,
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