 CHARLES H. FLOWER AND FAMILY. |
marked the earlier period in the history of Nebraska and other western states, and he reverts with special satisfaction to the service which he gave as a cowboy on the open ranges. He also was engaged in mining and prospecting, and is at the present time financially interested in mining and oil properties. Mr. Plummer was born at Des Moines, Iowa on the 17th of March, 1861, and is a son of Ezra and Lena (Garrett) Plummer, both natives of Ohio, where they were reared and educated. They were very early pioneer settlers in Iowa, where they established their home in 1842 and where the father developed a productive farm, both he and his wife having been residents of Fort Collins, Colorado at the time of their death and both having been members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he was a stalwart Republican. Of the children the eldest was Emma, who died in childhood; John W., of this sketch, was the next in order of birth; Vernon is a resident of Fort Collins, Colorado; Luella is the wife of Harden Puckett, of Orange Junction, Wyoming; Denver, the fifth child, is a resident of Scottsbluff county, Nebraska; Effie is the wife of Frank Moore and they are residents of the state of Montana; and Rose Glenn resides at Adel, Iowa. John W. Plummer was about seventeen years of age at the time of the family removal to Colorado, where he was reared to adult years and where he acquired his youthful education by attending the public schools whenever opportunity was presented. His preliminary education was acquired in the schools of his native state. As a youth Mr. Plummer lived up to the full tension of the free and sturdy life of the cowboy on the range, his service in this capacity having been in Colorado. In personality he stands as a fine type of the western pioneer citizen, strong and vigorous, keen of mind and honest and upright in thought and action. In the year 1905 Mr. Plummer filed entry on a homestead in Scottsbluff county, where he now owns and occupies a finely improved farm of one hundred and twenty acres, the property having greatly increased in value under his admirable management, as evidenced by the fact that he was recently offered $37,000 for his farm, the same being provided with excellent irrigation facilities and otherwise havng (sic) modern improvements that were installed by him. He has given his attention to diversified agriculture and stock-raising, and has been one of the specially successful sheep feeders in the northern part of Scottsbluff county, He is liberal and loyal as a citizen and in politics classes himself as an independent Republican, implying that in local politics he supports men and measures rather than holding close to partisan lines. He and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church at Morrill. On the 15th day of May, 1887, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Plummer to Miss Carrie B. Seydell, who, like himself, claims Iowa as the place of nativity. Of their four children the first born was Ethel, who died at the age of seven years; Eugene and Nellie remain at the parental home; Edith died in infancy; and Lavinia and Howard are the younger members of the cheerful home circle. CHARLES HENRY FLOWER, who has been a resident of Nebraska for thirty-two years, now owns a large body of land, giving his main attention to the cattle business. He has been identified with many things of importance in the development of Scottsbluff county and in earlier years served as county commissioner. Mr. Flower was born in New Hampshire, June 24, 1860, and accompanied his parents first to Iowa and later to Madison county, Nebraska. They were Charles I. and Mary A. Flower, natives of New Hampshire, the former of whom lived to the age of eighty-six and the latter to eighty years. The father was a veteran of the Civil War. Mr. Flower has two sisters and one brother. In 1887 he secured a preëmption and a tree claim in what is now Morrill county just north of Bayard, and proved up on both. He attempted farming but drouth and storms destroyed his crops and as no irrigating had been done at that time, he decided to go into the cattle business and has continued to be interested ever since. He did some freighting in early days and remembers when he carried goods from Ft. Sidney to Minatare for twenty-five cents a hundred weight. Times have changed vastly since then. For the last eighteen years Mr. Flower has been a member of the Ditch board and a member of the Drainage board since organization and has had much to do with irrigation projects in this section. He came to Scottsbluff county seventeen years ago and owns 691 acres here and 2480 acres in Banner county. He has three sets of improvements on his land, all made by himself. Mr. Flower's present farm was school land and wholly unimproved. On March 25, 1883, Mr. Flower was married to Miss Mary I. Clark, who was born in Illinois, a daughter of A. C. and Mary Clark, and they have two sons: Lorenzo, who con- |
ducts a store at Bayard, and Louis C., who is a farmer near the home place. EDWARD W. TROUT. -- From a homestead upon which he filed entry in 1908 and to which he has added until he is now the owner of a valuable property of two hundred and twenty-four acres, Mr. Trout has developed one of the fine farms of Sioux county, the same being situated in the southern part of the county, about five miles distant from Morrill and in section 31, township 24-56. As may well be understood the intrinsic and industrial value of the property is greatly enhanced by reason of its having excellent irrigation facilities--and it would be difficult to find anywhere more productive soil than these irrigated tracts in Platte Valley. Mr. Trout has erected good buildings and made other modern improvements on his ranch and is here gaining substantial returns from his progressive activities as an agriculturist and stock-raiser. He is animated by loyal communal spirit, gives support to the various undertakings advanced for the general good of his home county and in politics he is not constrained by strict partisan lines. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian church and are popular and valued citizens of the community. Edward W. Trout was born in Atchison county, Missouri, on the 12th of January, 1875, and is a son of Abraham and Mary Trout. He was a boy at the time of his parents' removal to Valley county, Nebraska, where he was reared to adult age and where he profited duly by the advantages afforded in the public schools. He has been continuously identified with farm enterprise during his entire active career, and through the medium of the same he has achieved definite success. The year 1898 entered record of the marriage of Mr. Trout to Miss Nettie Darrow, and the home circle is brightened by the presence of their four children--Merville, Virgil, Clifford and Wallace. PETER JANSSEN. -- It is pleasing to note the success which has attended the well directed activities of this sterling citizen since he identified himself with the great basic industries of agriculture and stock-growing in Scottsbluff county. He is the owner of a well improved irrigated farm of one hundred and sixty acres in the northwestern part of the county, the place being in section 27, township 24-57, and about four and one-half miles distant from Morrill. Mr. Janssen came to Sioux county in 1907 and here filed entry on the homestead which has since been the stage of his progressive and successful activities as a farmer. He has not only brought his land under effective cultivation but has also erected good buildings and made other substantial improvements on the domain, the value of which has been greatly enhanced under his able management. He is always ready to lend his cooperation in the furtherance of measures projected for the general good of the community, is independent in politics, is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of the World and is a citizen who enjoys unqualified popular confidence and esteem. Mr. Janssen was born in Hanover, Germany, on the 6th of December, 1877, and is a son of Harm and Franke (Peters) Janssen, of whose seven children he was the second in order of birth, the eldest, John, being now a resident of Idaho; Renske is the wife of John Heirl and they reside in Connecticut; Wilhelmina is a resident of Dubuque, Minnesota; and August, Fred and Henry live in northwestern Canada, as do also the parents. Hann Janssen, who was a farmer in Germany, immigrated with his family to the United States in 1890, and settlement was first made in Illinois, whence he later removed to Minnesota. Still later he became a resident of Colorado and finally he established his home. in one of the provinces of western Canada, where he is successfully engaged in farming. Peter Janssen gained his rudimentary education in the schools of his native land and was a lad of thirteen years at the time of the family immigration to America. He was with his parents in Illinois and Minnesota and in the meanwhile he gained intimate experience in farm industry. He came from Colorado to Sioux county, Nebraska, in 1907, and here he has worked zealously and indefatigably, regulating his activities with excellent judgment, with the result that he has achieved independence and prosperity as one of the representative farmers of the county. He is independent in politics and in a fraternal way is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World. The year 1903 recorded the marriage of Mr. Janssen to Miss Clara H. Schmutzler, who was born in Saxony, Germany, and who was a girl at the time of her parents' immigration to America. Mr. and Mrs. Janssen have three children--Emil, John and Minnie,-- and they are being given the educational and home advantages that will fit them for honorable and useful citizenship. Otto A. Smutzler, a brother of Mrs. Jans-
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sen is making his home with this family. He was born in Kansas, October 4, 1892. He enlisted at Wausau, Wisconsin, July 15, 1917, and went overseas March 4, 1918, with the Thirty-second division. He lost an arm and two fingers at the battle of Soissons August 3, 1918. He returned to the United States on October 16, 1918, and was discharged from a hospital February 11, 1919, at which time he came home. He has surely proved his loyalty to the country of his adoption. JOSEPH G. WOODMAN is a native of Illinois and his paternal and maternal ancestors were numbered among the early settlers of New England, that stern but gracious cradle of much of our national history. He has been a resident of Scottsbluff county, Nebraska, since April 8, 1907, and has here reclaimed and developed one of the fine farms in the vicinity of the thriving village of Morrill, his homestead of eighty acres being eligibly (sic) situated in section 3, township 23, and being supplied with excellent irrigation facilities. On his arrival in the county Mr. Woodman took up his homestead, which was entirely without improvements, and in the intervening years his vigorous efforts and good judgment have affected its development into a model farm that is devoted to diversified agriculture and the raising of high-grade live stock. He gives his undivided attention to the management of the place and is making a specialty of raising fine Jersey cattle for breeding purposes. He is one of the alert and progressive men of the county and is honored and valued as a loyal and public-spirited citizen. Joseph G. Woodman was born in Kane county, Illinois, on the 3d of June, 1854, and is a son of Joseph and Eleanor (Barnard) Woodman, both natives of New Hampshire, where the respective families were founded many generations ago. Of the six children the subject of this sketch was the sixth in order of birth: Freeman is a resident of Santa Anna (sic), California; Juliet is the wife of Joseph Gray and they maintain their home at Portland, Oregon; Iva was a resident of Ramona, California, at the time of his death; John, who met his death while serving as a youthful soldier of the Union in the Civil War, was a member of Company A, Fifty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry; and Elizabeth is the wife of Simon Chaffee, of Santa Anna, California. The father, Joseph Woodman, became a successful farmer in Illinois, and died at the age of eighty-six years, in Orange, California, in 1896, his widow having likewise been venerable in years at the time of her demise, in 1901, both having been devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Woodman having been an uncompromising advocate of the principles of the Republican party. In addition to receiving the advantages of the public schools of his native state Joseph G. Woodman completed a higher academic course of study, in Northwestern University, at Evanston, that state. Thereafter he resumed his active association with agricultural industry, but eventually he assumed the position of state grain inspector in Illinois, an office of which he continued the incumbent for seventeen years. In 1907 he came from his native state to identify himself fully with the new and progressive county of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, and well has he justified his presence on this stage of activity, for he has achieved gratifying success as a farmer and has also been influential in those community undertakings that have conserved civic and material advancement. He is a staunch supporter of the cause of the Republican party, is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Modern Woodmen of America, and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Presbyterian church--active in the various departments of its work. Mr. Woodman has been specially influential in Sunday-school work and was president of the Panhandle Sunday School state convention held at Scottsbluff in 1920. The year 1878 recorded the marriage of Mr. Woodman to Miss Alice J. Davis, who was born in Milton, Wisconsin, her grandfather (Joseph Goodrich) being the founder of Milton and Milton college, their marriage having been solemnized at Davis junction, Illinois, a town named in honor of the father of Mrs. Woodman. Mr. and Mrs. Woodman have four children: George is a successful grain broker in the city of Toledo, Ohio.; Harold J., a skilled civil engineer, entered the government service in connection with the activities of the American forces, and was assigned to professional service in France, honorably discharged at Camp Dodge, Iowa, June, 1919; Genevieve J. and Chester G. are at the parental home, both are students in Hastings College, at Hastings, this state. WILBERN ROBERTS was born in Lee county, Iowa, January 10, 1857, and died at his home south of Bayard, Nebraska, April 9, 1916. |
He was the son of John and Mary (Gilchrist) Roberts, his father being a farmer in Iowa. There were eleven children in the family. He was educated in Iowa and took up farming in that state after completing his schooling, and stayed in his native state until he arrived at the age of 30 years, when he came to western Nebraska. This was in 1887. He took a government homestead of land that lies just south of the present town of Bayard. He followed farming and stock-raising and was very successful, being the owner, at the time of his death, of six hundred acres of land, having sold forty acres of the homestead to the town site of Bayard. Mr. Roberts was married September 12, 1879, to Nancy A. Duncan, a native of Wayne county, Kentucky, who had moved with her parents to Iowa when she was seventeen years old. Ten children were born to this union, namely: Elizabeth, deceased; Mary Etta, now Mrs. John R. Duncan, living in Wyoming; Edith Anna, who married Chester Morgan, and lives in Wyoming; Viola Ethel, now Mrs. Orville Smith, of Morrill county, Nebraska; Delia Amber, the wife of Charles Wilcox, of Morrill County, Nebraska; Raymond Rasson, a rancher, residing in Wyoming; Myrtle, deceased; Minnie U., now Mrs. Alvin Einsel, living at Bayard; Marie Ida, at home; Lila J., at home. Mr. Roberts was a member of the Modern Woodmen and of the church of the Latter Day Saints. He was a Democrat in politics and took and intelligent and active interest in public affairs, although not engaged in politics himself as a candidate for office. He was a man who enjoyed a high reputation among all who knew him, as an industrious, honorable and progressive citizen, who prospered in his business and reared a large family who are a credit to his name and memory. His widow also survives him. Mr. Roberts lived to see the country that he found in the state of undeveloped prairie grown to a condition of wealth and prosperity, in which he received and was justly entitled to a considerable part. He leaves behind him a name that is honored and had proved a success when he laid it down. STEPHEN SMITH, was born March 28, 1851, in Whippoorwill county, Kentucky, and died July 27, 1917. He was the son of Mark Anderson and Elizabeth (Taylor) Smith, who were both natives of Kentucky but moved to Indiana in 1860. Stephen was educated in Indiana and came to western Nebraska in 1887 and took a homestead. He followed farming and stock-raising until failing health compelled him to retire from active business. He was married in 1872 to Amelia Wiley, who was born in Colfax, Illinois and who survives him. To them were born eleven children, namely: Pearl, now Mrs. William Pullen, living in Morrill county, Nebraska; Homer William, who lives southeast of Bridgeport; Orville, living in Morrill county, Nebraska; Clarence, deceased; John, residing at Liberty, Missouri; Mark, living in Morrill county, Nebraska; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Clarence E. Roberts; Nancy, deceased; Stephen, living in Morrill county, Nebraska; William, who lives at home; George, and Nannie, deceased. Mr. Smith was a Republican in politics and a member of the Methodist church. He raised a large family and was respected as an upright and honorable man. He was one of the early settlers in his community and saw the country grow from a raw state to its present position of prosperity and wealth. He leaves an honored name and a family that is a credit to his memory. GEORGE L. WHITMAN was born in Iowa on August 1, 1864, the son of George and Marie (Davis) Whitman, both the parents being natives of New York. There were ten children in the family six of whom are living. Their names are: Ella, now the wife of B. M. Odell, residing at Normal, Illinois; Martin, who lives in Fresno county, California; Charles, living in Morrill county, Nebraska; George L., the subject of this sketch; Ieora, deceased; Burton, living at Normal, Illinois; Ralph, living at Berwick, Illinois; the other three children died in infancy. The famly (sic) moved to Nebraska in 1871 and settled in Fillmore county, where the father engaged in farming. He was a Republican in politics and belonged to the Methodist church. He died in 1909, his wife having died in 1897. The subject of this sketch, George L. Whitman, was educated in Nebraska, and after the completion of his schooling he engaged in farming and was also in the feed business. In the year 1900 he came to Morrill county and took a homestead, on which he followed farming and stock raising until 1915, at which time he and his persent (sic) partner started at Bayard the feed business which is conducted in the name of Walford & Whitman. Mr. Whitman and his brother-in-law, Mr. Fulton, former a partnership in the farming |
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