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land, also two and a quarter sections of other land. He takes all his cream to Maxwell Station, and now receives each month one hundred and fifty dollars during summers from the creamery at Beatrice, Nebraska. His herd is composed mostly of Shorthorn cattle, which he finds to be about the best grade for the production of cream and butter. He has a fine patch of alfalfa on his farm, and considers this one of the best grasses to be used for feeding cattle. Mr. Geise was married in 1888 to Miss Laura Miller, a daughter of C. A. Miller, of Lexington, Nebraska. They have six children, as follows: Joe, aged nineteen years; John, seventeen; Arthur, fifteen; Minnie, thirteen; Oshia, eleven; and Charlie, eight.

     Mr. Geise is a man much above the ordinary in intelligence, possessing a fine education. He is a hustler, a man of fine appearance and great strength, and his present success is due alone to his energy and industrious habits.

     Thomas Katen, a prosperous and much respected farmer of section 18, township 29, range 48. Dawes county, Nebraska, much deserves the abundant success that has come to him as a reward of industry, economy and thrift. He is an old settler in this region, and has always taken an active and commendable interest in public affairs of his locality.

     Mr. Katen was born in Richardson county, Nebraska, in 1864, in the town of Rulo. His father, John Katen, was a farmer by occupation, of Irish stock, and he married Johannah Godfrey, also of Irish descent, the young couple settling in Nebraska during their early married life, where our subject was reared and educated. In 1885 he left home and started to make his own way in the world, spending one year in Chadron, and then taking up a homestead twenty-five miles south of that city. Here his first dwelling was made of logs, and he began to break up land and start a farm, remaining on the place for several years and proved tip. He went through a good many hard times in getting started and for a time did fairly well, sticking to it until 1891, then the dry seasons began and he was unable to raise scarcely any crops. He was obliged to work in the woods, getting, out timber and hauling wood in order to make a living for himself and family. On first coming to this section all he had in the world was three dollars in money, and remained on this place for fourteen years, then left it and settled on his present homestead in 1900, locating on section 18, township 29, range 48, an there began putting on permanent improvements, building a good house, sheds, barns and corrals. His ranch is situated on Cottonwood creek, and he has a fine supply of good water the year round for his stock and other purposes. He has seventy-five acres under cultivation, but most of his time is devoted to stock raising, operating about twenty-one quarter sections for that purpose, and also leases two quarters of school land for grazing land. About the year 1901 his house was utterly destroyed by fire and he lost part of his household goods, which was a severe loss, but he has erected in its place a commodious dwelling, and has a pleasant home.

     On February 15, 1885, Mr. Katen was married to Miss Mary Kennedy, and of this union thirteen children were born, who are named as follows: Josephine and Genevieve (twins), John, Edna, Will, Thomas, Lester, Hazel, Ruth, Fannie, Donald, Lottie and a baby named Odonald.

     Mr. Katen has held different school offices and takes an active interest in local affairs, voting the Democratic ticket.

     James E. Kirkwood, one of the extensive land owners of Rock county, Nebraska, has one of the finest farms and homes to be in this county. He is a man of untiring energy and perseverance, and through capability and good management has become one of the foremost men in this section of the country. He is well known as a public-spirited citizen and is universally esteemed and respected.

     Mr. Kirkwood was born on a farm in Iowa in 1861, and raised and educated in that state. His father, Robert Kirkwood, was a native of Scotland, and after coming to this country located at Council Bluffs, where he followed farming for many years. He was married in Scotland to Mary Muir, and they were the parents of nine children, all of whom except our subject remained in Iowa.

     James attended school at Iowa City four years, receiving a good education, and then followed teaching as a profession part of the time, later starting in the stock raising and farming business when about twenty-nine years old. He stuck to that for a time, then went into the land and stock business in Missouri valley, which he carried on for twelve years. In 1904 he came to Rock county, set-

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tling on section 12, township 29, range 20. Here he put up good buildings, planted an orchard of two hundred apple trees and other fruits in proportion, and has one of the finest orchards in this section of the state. He has added to his land until he now owns twenty-four hundred acres of fine farming and hay land, runs about five hundred head of stock, besides fifty horses. He raises annually two hundred acres of corn and small grains, and has good success with his crops. He is also seeding quite a lot of his land to tame grasses. Besides his large interests here he has farms in Iowa and Canada, and personally superintends the management of those farms.

     Mr. Kirkwood while living in Iowa served a term as representative in the state legislature, and was active in politics there, but since coming to Nebraska has devoted his time to his farming interests. He is a Democrat.

     In 1890 he was married to Miss Ollie Morgan, whose people were early settlers in Missouri Valley, Iowa, and still reside there. Her father served in the Fifty-first Iowa Infantry during the Civil war. To Mr. and Mrs. Kirkwood the following children were born: Nellie M., Mary I., Ollie M. and James M.

     George Gregg, one of the oldest residents of Perkins county, Nebraska, has had a varied and eventful history, and the story of his life is interwoven with the narrative of facts as they have transpired in the western part of Nebraska. It is a most interesting past to which such lives as his link us, and never will be repeated in this western country.

     Mr. Gregg was born in Kirklington, Yorkshire, England, in 1838. His father, Robert Gregg, was an innkeeper in that country, and followed that business nearly all his later years, his tavern being one of the well known stopping places for travelers through that vicinity. Our subject grew up in his native village, attending the public schools, and remained at home until he was fourteen years of age, then entered a grocery store and served an apprenticeship of five years and a half, locating in Liverpool, where he spent ten years in that work. He came to America in 1869, settling on a farm in Ontario, Canada and there spent seventeen years. The locality in which he lived was a rough country, with miles of timber land, and he did plenty of grubbing and clearing to get the land in shape for crops. During the time he was in that vicinity he went through hard times, but managed to make a living and get a little ahead, building up a fairly good home, but was not very favorably impressed with the opportunity for advancement, so came to the United States, traveled west until he came to Nebraska, and there decided to stop and look over the country. He arrived in Perkins county in April, 1886, and as he liked the appearance of things, filed on a homestead on section 28, township 10, range 35, built a sod shanty and started to establish his farm, his family joining him in the fall of that year. They began on a small scale, suffering hardships and privations during the first few years while getting their home started, their only team a pair of oxen, with which Mr. Gregg broke up land for a few crops and worked hard to make a living. He bought his team on two years' time, and in one year he plowed up sixty acres with these faithful animals, doing all his own work of breaking, etc. He had no well on the place, and for five years hauled all the water for household use a distance of a mile and a half. He put in considerable corn each year, and during 1887, 1888 and 1889 raised a good crop, but the following year had a total loss on account of the drouth. Then. for one year he had a fair crop, and again in 1893, 1894 and 1895 everything he planted failed, and in the spring of 1896 he found himself worse off than nothing, being in debt over eight hundred dollars. He had a few cattle and gradually grew into the stock business, and after three years had a pretty good herd, and as land was cheap he had added considerable to his homestead and improved it as rapidly as possible.

     Mr. Gregg is now the owner of a ranch consisting of nine quarter sections, on which he has every improvement and convenience for its proper operation, and has about three hundred acres under plough. He has at the present time a herd of fifty cattle, twelve good horses and about fifty hogs. He had good wells drilled on the place, which furnish a good water supply the year round, and has windmills, etc., his ranch being one of the best equipped in the county.

     Mr. Gregg was married in 1864 at Liverpool, England, to Miss Annie Hume, who was born and raised in England, and to them have been born eight children, who are named as follows: Isabelle, Robert, Willie, Emma, Mary, Annie, Charlie and George.

     Our subject has always been a foremost, leading citizen of his locality, taking an active part in every movement for the develop-

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ment and advancement of the region, helping build up schools, etc. In political sentiment he is a Democrat.

     Leonard W. Riggs, a well known resident and prominent business man of Dunning, Blaine county, Nebraska, has won for himself a good standing where he is highly respected for his many excellent qualities and manly worth.

     Mr. Riggs was born in Kankakee county, Illinois, April 28, 1861. His father was Porter Riggs, born in West Virginia, a farmer by occupation, and followed that calling all his life. He married Mary Swan, a native of Indiana. They settled in Illinois in the early days, and there our subject was raised and educated, attending the common schools, receiving his education in the familiar old district school. He remained with his parents up to his twenty-second year, then came to Nebraska, teaming through from North Loup, and his first settlement was made in the northwestern part of Blaine county. Most of his first summer was spent in Loup county following farming, haying, ranching, etc., in order to earn a little money. He filed on a homestead and put up a sod shanty, "batching it" there for about three years, doing mostly farm work, roughing it a great deal of the time, camping out on the plains, etc. He built up a comfortable home and remained in that vicinity up to 1894, then moved to Brewster and spent about eight years, engaged in farm work, blacksmithing, etc.

     Mr. Riggs located in Dunning in 1902, where his brother had bought a store, and he took charge of it, managing it for the past six years. They handle a general line of merchandise and have an excellent trade throughout the surrounding country. He is well liked by all with whom he comes in contact in a business or social way, and is recognized as a gentleman of excellent business ability and progressive habits.

     In 1886 Mr. Riggs was married to Miss Nannie Martin. Her father was Christian Martin, a pioneer in Nebraska. They were the parents of four children - Lillian May, deceased; Karl, deceased; Porter C. and Charles W. The mother died in 1894, and shortly afterward Mr. Riggs was burned out, losing about everything he had, including horses, grain, machinery, etc., being left with practically nothing and obliged to start over again. He and his faithful wife had managed to build up a good home and were just about able to enjoy life, when these misfortunes overtook him and he was compelled to work out by the day in order to make a living for himself and children. Mr. Riggs spent some time in Montana during the year 1891, where he was engaged in freighting and general work. He is one out of three men who settled in Blaine county in 1883, and has always done his share as an old-timer.

     William Mount, for the past quarter of a century one of the well known pioneers of Nebraska, settled in Buffalo county about 1884 where he remained for about two and a half years. For a time he lived in Weld, Logan and Sedgwick counties, in Colorado, then again came to the western part of Nebraska in 1894, going through pioneer experiences in both sections. He is proprietor of a good estate in Camp Clarke precinct and enjoys a comfortable home and pleasant surroundings.

     Mr. Mount is a native of Shelby county, Illinois, born on May 2, 1849, where he lived until he was thirty-five years of age, following farming during all of that time. On his return to Nebraska he took up land under the Belmont Ditch and farmed for six years, then filed on a homestead on section 10, town ship 20, range 50, in Cheyenne (now Morrill) county, on which he proved up in due time, and improved. He, together with his sons owns four hundred and eighty acres of land, which is used for mixed farming and stock raising, running about one hundred and fifty head of stock. They raise considerable hay, and have eighteen acres devoted to beet raising, which nets them a nice sum each season.

     Mr. Mount was married in Christian county, Illinois, on February 9, 1871, to Miss Sarah M. Stumpff. Mrs. Mount is a native of Fairfield county, Ohio, and was reared there until about ten years of age, when the family, moved to Shelby county. The have had nine children, as follows: Hattie, married to E. C. Porter, living on Pumpkinseed creek; Carrie died in infancy; Laura, widow of A. H. Kortz, now living in Bridgeport; Charles, deceased; Jessie, married and living in Bridgeport; Clarence, married, farming in Cheyenne county; James Dwight, single; Lulu, wife of Harry Desch, living in Alliance; Elma, single, living at home.

     Mr. Mount is a Republican politically and takes a firm stand for the principles of his

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party. He takes a commendable interest in local affairs, and is at present holding the office of school director of district No. 6.

     Henry Branz was born in the small village of Nieder Aula, in the province of Kuhr Hessen, Germany, in 1858, his father being Nicholas Branz, a shoemaker by trade, who lived and died in the fatherland. The mother was Annie Barlet in her youth. She died at the home of a daughter in Iroquois county, Illinois, in 1874.

     Our subject lived in the land of his nativity until he was eleven years of age, when, with his mother, two brothers and a sister, he came to America, sailing from Bremen Haven in an old sailing vessel Familia, landing in New York city after a voyage of six weeks with seven hundred other immigrants on board. They came west to Peoria, Illinois, where Henry worked two years for his board and clothes and did not get an over supply of either. He then went to Iroquois county, where his sister was living after her marriage, and worked there by the month for two years. He then began farming for himself on rented land, living at various times on farms in Tazewell, Woodford and Livingston counties.

     Mr. Branz was married in Illinois Thanksgiving day, November 27, 1878, to Miss Anna Martha Nieding, a native of the village of Ansbach, province of Kuhr Hessen, Germany. Her father, Henry Nieding, died while she was an infant and her mother six years later. A married sister in Tazewell county, near Peoria, sent for the child and she crossed the ocean with strangers, who placed her in charge of the conductor at Baltimore. Mr. and Mrs. Branz have three children - George Herman, who has a homestead adjoining his father's on the west; Maggie, who married Ell Gilner, who has a homestead nearby, and Christine, who has proved up on a homestead which adjoins part of the home farm.

    In the year 1890 our subject brought his family to Keith county, Nebraska, locating on a homestead in section 20, township 14, range 40. They had but little to start on and saw very hard times. The first crop of twenty acres of wheat never came up, and all the water had to be hauled six and a half miles. They lived in a sod house, which still stands, and it was a task to make a living. For three summers Mr. Branz worked on the section for the Union Pacific Railway Company and in this way was able to get a few head of cattle and thus made his start in the stock raising business. In this line he has made a splendid success and now has two hundred head of cattle. His ranch embraces six hundred and forty acres, well improved with a good house, well, windmill, gasoline engine and a barn with a capacity for fifteen head of horses and thirty-five tons of hay. He also leases other land, which he needs in his stock business. For a number of years they sold the cream of thirty cows, but the dairy has been reduced to one-third of that number. Mr. Branz successfully coped with the difficult problems of pioneer life and is thoroughly established on a fine financial basis. He is a man of strong capabilities and is one of the influential old settlers of the locality in which he lives. He is a Democrat in politics.

     Chalmers A. Lovejoy, one of the most widely known and successful stockmen of western Nebraska, resides on his large estate in sections 17, 18 and 20, township 32, range 28, Cherry township.

     Mr. Lovejoy was born in White county, Indiana, March 6, 1854, and came to Iowa with his parents when he was one year old. His father, H. R. Lovejoy, a native of Indiana, was a prominent merchant in Monticello, that state, for ten years, and later in Des Moines, Iowa, where he was in business twenty-five years. He married Isabella Shonts, a native of Virginia, of Irish and German parentage, and died in Des Moines in 1876. In a family of ten children, six boys and four girls, our subject is the second member. He was reared and educated in Iowa, and began life for himself at the age of twenty-one, following farm work for some years. Mr. Lovejoy first came to Nebraska in April, 1886, and here took up a pre-emption and later a homestead in section 17, township 31, range 27, Cherry county, and to both these tracts he still holds title. By industry and economy he gradually added to his acreage until he is now proprietor of six thousand five hundred acres of land, most of which is in meadow and range. One tract extends for five miles along the south side of the Niobrara river near Valentine, and another tract in township 31, range 27, comprises twenty-two hundred and forty acres, while in the home place there are ten hundred and forty acres of good land. He is engaged principally in stock raising and mixed farming, having nearly three hundred and fifty acres under cultivation, raising fine crops, all of

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which he feeds to his extensive herds of cattle. He keeps at all times about a thousand head of cattle and a few hogs, together with a goodly number of horses, and is well satisfied with the reward of his labors since coming to this section. He never suffered much loss through the dry years, and, indeed, states that he made his best money during those times, as he was not engaged in farming to any great extent, and his stock having sufficient grazing were productive of profitable returns on the market.

     Mr. Lovejoy was married December 6, 1876, to Miss Jennie H. Harr, born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of Jacob and Rosina (Baker) Harr, who for many years were respected residents of Des Moines. Mr. and Mrs. Lovejoy have a family of ten children, all of whom were reared in Cherry county. They are named as follows: Fred S., Benjamin C., Annie, Robert, Daniel, John, Charles, Halsey, Jennie and Walter.

     All of Mr. Lovejoy's time and attention are given to building tip and improving his home and ranch, and he is well informed on all topics pertaining to his business. He has never had any time to devote to active politics, and has never held office, but in political sentiment he is a Republican.

     The subject of this review is one of the largest stock dealers and shippers in Lincoln county, Nebraska, and resides in Maxwell, where he has a pleasant home and enjoys the confidence and esteem of all of his associates.

     Mr. Dolan is a native of Maxwell, and was raised and educated there. His father, Peter Farrell Dolan, was a native of Leitrim county, Ireland, and came to America when sixteen years of age, and his wife was Miss Anna G. Kelliher. She resides at the present time in Chicago with her daughter, who is a teacher in the public schools in that city. Our subject received his later education at Saint Mary's College, Kansas, and after graduating was a teacher in the schools in Lincoln county for four years, and also taught in Idaho for two years. His brother, F. Farrell Dolan, is yardmaster for the American Beet Company at Grand Island, Nebraska. The father came west and located at Maxwell in 1871. He was connected with the Northern Pacific railway for twenty-five years, and his death occurred in 1901, at the age of sixty-five years. Our subject ships about one hundred and sixty cars of stock each season, marketing most of this in Denver. A great deal of hay is raised around Maxwell each year, and between three and four thousand tons are shipped from Maxwell during each year, which brings in a snug sum to the farmers in this locality. Mr. Dolan and his mother are joint owners of a ranch of about nineteen hundred acres in this county, which was formerly owned by his father, nearly all of this being valley land located near Maxwell.

     Mr. Dolan was married in 1903 to Miss Mary E. Nugent. Her father, John W. Nugent, came from Illinois to Nebraska in 1888. Mr. Dolan and wife have one child, Viola.

     Frank E. Phillips, one of the leading pioneers of Box Butte county, resides on his well improved and valuable estate in township 24, range 48, where he is well and favorably known throughout the locality..

     Mr. Phillips was born in Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, in 1854, on a farm. His great-grandfather settled in that state before the beginning of the Revolutionary war, having been born and raised in Vermont. Our subject's father was a farmer and lumberman and he married Miss Elizabeth Norton, of English blood, who died when Frank was but seven years of age, and two years later he was left an orphan, being compelled to start out for himself at the age of nine years and from that time on made his own way in the world. He went on a ship as a cabin boy when but eleven years old, and spent over three years as a sailor, traveling through many foreign countries, and on these trips visited South America, sailed around Cape Horn, coasted along Maine and Massachusetts, and while still a boy had seen more of the world than many who have lived four-score years and more.

     Mr. Phillips returned to Pennsylvania and worked as a lumberman rafting, running stationary engines and, in fact, doing all the work to be found in the lumber camp for about five years. He left Pennsylvania and struck out for the west in 1878, finally settling in Fillmore county, Nebraska, and there was among the pioneer settlers of that region and when he landed in that vicinity his entire cash capital was seventy-two cents, and he was obliged to go to work immediately to make a living, and secured employment as a farmer. He lived there up to 1883, then moved to

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