 S. N. LARSON AND FAMILY. |
also Melbeta; a stockholder in the Western Nebraska Telephone Company, and is also a stockholder in the Higgins Packing plant at Omaha. He has always been a hard worker and a careful business man. On January 4, 1890, Mr. Hendrikson was married to Miss Louise Rasmussen, a daughter of Lewis and Catherine Rasmussen. The parents of Mrs. Hendrikson were early homesteaders in Kansas, settling in Republic county in 1867, before the hostile Indians had been expelled to the reservations, or the rough element following the close of the Civil War, had been brought to a sense of law and order. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hendrikson, namely: Henry, who resides at home; Ida, who is the wife of Alec Trostrum, of Denver, Colorado; Alfred, who resides at home; Agnes, who is the wife of Paul Hendrikson, living near Potter, Nebraska; and Isaac, Mabel and Emily, all of whom reside at home. With the help of his sons, Mr. Hendrikson carries on his large farming operations very profitably. At one time he, was interested in the Populist movement and served on that political ticket as county commissioner from 1892 until 1898, but since then has voted the Republican ticket. He has filled numerous local offices and for many years has been road overseer and assessor of his precinct, and at all times displays such good judgment and marked public spirit, that his fellow citizens have confidence in his opinions. SWEN N. LARSON. -- To mention the name of the late Swen N. Larson in Banner county, is to hear of one of the best known and most highly esteemed men who ever lived here. He was a man of real worth in every relation of life. Not only did he provide well through his industry for his own family, but took an interest in the welfare of others who had no claim on him except humanity, and was never so happy as when rendering assistance of some kind. He was universally respected and trusted by his fellow citizens, and was greatly beloved by those who knew him best. Swen N. Larson was born in Sweden, January 4, 1854. His father's name was Nicholas and both parents lived and died in Sweden, Swen N. being the only one of the four children to come to the United States. He had some schooling there, but his youth was one of hard work spent in assisting his father on the little home farm and in the charcoal pits, the burning of charcoal being the latter's main business. In the meanwhile Swen learned the carpenter trade and made some money as a salesman of timber. By the time he was twenty-four years old he had saved enough to warrant his emigrating to the United States. The Mattsons, old neighbors of the Larsons, in Sweden, had gone to America and were well established at Galesburg, Illinois, and this fact led to Mr. Larson making his way also to Galesburg, where he remained for the next five years, finding employment on neighboring farms and in selling cattle. On September 4, 1883, Mr. Larson was married to Miss Emily Mattson, who survives him. Her parents, Benjamin and Pemellia (Anderson) Mattson, came from Sweden to Knox county, Illinois, at an early time of settlement there, making the voyage to the United States in a sailing vessel that was on the ocean for thirteen weeks. They found no railroads completed to Galesburg, which was but a little settlement. Some years afterward Mr. Mattson removed to Knoxville, Illinois, where he operated a brick kiln and farmed. Both parents of Mrs. Larson died there, but one day apart, and their burial was in the same grave. Of their nine children four are living. At one time a brother of Mrs. Larson filed on a homestead in Banner county but later relinquished it and returned to Illinois. To Mr. and Mrs. Larson the following children were born: Burt W., who was born June 5, 1884, married Edith L. Neely, and they live at Kimball, Nebraska; Annettie, who was born March 25, 1886, is the wife of George A. Jones of Gering, Scottsbluff county; Ralph E., who was born September 29, 1888, married Margaret A. Coleman, and they live at Kimball; Minnie, who was born September 20, 1892, is the wife of George W. Leafdale, of Banner county; Josephine, who was born June 29, 1895, is the wife of Earl F. Jones, of Banner county; Josephine, who was born August 9, 1898, resides with his mother; and Pearl D., who was born June 7, 1905, also resides at home. Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Larson moved to Kansas. He engaged in farming there for five years, during which time the delicate health of their little son gave them uneasiness and when the family physician suggested moving into a different climate, Nebraska for instance, they determined to take his advice. In the fall of 1887 Mr. Larson homesteaded in Banner county, Mrs. Larson is still residing on that land, the southeast quarter of section six. In early April, 1888, the family reached here, Mrs. Larson and the children coming to Potter by railroad, and stopping with the family of Alfred Olson un- |
til Mr. Larson arrived with the livestock and household goods. He was three weeks making the trip from Kansas with two covered wagons and teams, a saddle poney (sic) and a few cattle. Mrs. Larson says that in the drive from Potter to the Olson homestead, a distance of twenty-six miles, she saw but one house, that standing on the old Bracken place, now the property of Grant Brady. In speaking of the great blizzard that swept over this section shortly after the family came here, Mrs. Larson gives many interesting details of how the pioneers had to meet such disasters, and in speaking of Mr. Larson's heroic efforts, she mentions his going as far as twelve miles to drive home his bewildered cattle, and carried the young calves on his back, bringing them into the dugout to warm them by the fire. In the following summer the family moved into a sod house, Mrs. Larson losing all interest in the dugout after finding a mouse and a rattlesnake there, and later they had a comfortable log house constructed with a carpenter's skill by Mr. Larson. At first they hauled water either four miles from the south or the same distance from the north, but Mr. Larson had about the first satisfactory well in this section. He practically laid out all the roads here, for when he came there were no landmarks by which a driver could shape his course. On his first trip to Kimball and other points he carried stakes with him and like other trailmakers before and since in a new country, thus "blazed" the path. In early days he hauled his wheat to Sidney, a distance of forty-five miles and accepted twenty-two cents a bushel for it. He lived to see wonderful changes take place and to be the owner of over twenty-five hundred acres of fine land, all well improved. This property is now known as the Little L. ranch, and is managed and operated by Mrs. Larson with the help of her son and her son-in-law, Earl F. Jones. It is a profitable enterprise both as to stock and grain. In 1919 the five hundred acres devoted to wheat growing yielded from eighteen to twenty-five bushels an acre. In many ways Mr. Larson was a prominent man in Banner county, not because of any claims he made himself, but on account of his upright, sterling character that marked all his dealings with his fellow men. For twenty-eight years he served as postmaster at Heath, appointed under a Republican administration but never disturbed by political changes, and after his death, on December 20, 1917, was succeeded by his daughter Minnie, now Mrs. Leafdale, who served until the office was discontinued a year later. He operated a general store at Heath for many years also, and during the most of this time served as treasurer of the Heath school district. While the family lived in Kansas, they were united with the Methodist Episcopal church, but Mr. Larson was a man who needed no church creed to impel him to do deeds of justice and charity. The only fraternal organization. that he ever joined was the Modern Woodmen of America. RALPH E. DUBBS, who is numbered with the substantial farmers and ranchmen of Banner county, lives on the place he homesteaded in April, 1888, to which he has from time to time added, until now he has one of the largest ranches in this part of the country. Mr. Dubbs has made his own way in the world and is an example to which attention may be called, of the sure reward that follows persistent effort in a country where the work of one's hands, in itself, is honorable. Ralph E. Dubbs was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, December 12, 1886. His parents were William and Mary (Coy) Dubbs, natives of Ohio. Of their fourteen children, eleven are living, Ralph E. being the only one in Banner county. The father was a farmer and stock raiser in Ohio until 1870, when he removed with his family to Hall county, Nebraska, where he died in 1909, having survived the mother for three years. She was a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he was a Republican and after coming to Hall county served two terms as county supervisor. Only four years old when his parents brought him to Nebraska, Mr. Dubbs has never had any divided state loyalty. He was reared, educated, given business opportunities and married here, and it is in Nebraska that his interests are centered. He remained at home assisting his father until twenty-one years old, then started out for himself and accepted work of all kinds that was not dishonorable, thereby providing well for his own necessities although because of small wages paid in those days, it was difficult to accumulate much capital. He helped to build a number of log cabins after coming to Banner county and dug numerous wells, the deepest one of which he has recorded being one hundred and eighty- four feet in depth and twelve feet in circumference. In April, 1888, he filed on his homestead in Banner county and then returned to Hall county to take care of a ninety acre field of corn, thirty-six hundred |
bushels of the yield being his share, which he sold for fourteen cents a bushel. Mr. Dubbs returned then to Banner county, with a cash capital of fifty dollars, a team of mules and a buckskin mare. In the first year on his homestead he broke sixty acres of ground and sowed wheat in the following spring, harvesting twelve hundred bushels, that brought sixty cents a bushel, and that crop was the nucleus of his present fortune. In later years wheat fell to twenty-two cents, butter brought only ten and even six cents a pound, and he has hauled a load of wood many miles and exchanged it for one sack of flour. During his first year here he planted sod corn and traded a part of his crop to the late Swen Larson for a hog. In later years as he had the capital, Mr. Dubbs added to his holdings and now has deeds for nineteen hundred and twenty acres, and leases three hundred and twenty acres of school land. He breeds White Face and Polled Durham cattle, averaging fifty head yearly, fifty head of horses and many head of Duroc-Jersey hogs, especially in recent years. In addition to his well conducted farm and stock industries, Mr. Dubbs has been a pioneer orchardist and small fruit grower. He takes a justifiable pride in his beautiful fruit-bearing trees, cherries, plums and apples all doing well under his careful cultivation. On March 3, 1895, Mr. Dubbs was united in marriage to Miss Mary Leftwich, who is a daughter of James E. and Catherine (Nelson) Leftwich, and a sister of Mrs. Philip R. Barkell, of Banner county. The parents of Mrs. Dubbs were natives of Kentucky and later were residents of Missouri. The mother died when she was young and when her father was obliged to leave home for a year to work at another point, he left little Mary with an elderly lady of the neighborhood. This lady not only cared kindly for the child but provided her with clothes and school books while her father was away, and put here under such a debt of gratitude that Miss Leftwich felt she could never discharge it. When the opportunity came some years later she did not hesitate to discharge this debt. At that time she. was employed by a firm near Lake Superior and was doing very well. When she received a letter from the elderly lady mentioned, asking if she would not join the lady's lonely and homesick daughter, away out in Banner county, Miss Leftwich only waited long enough to make hurried preparation before she was on her way. It was thus that she met Mr. Dubbs and they were subsequently married. They have the following children: Harry E., Harriet C., Florence I., James W., Philip R., and Margaret E. They reside at home, an intelligent, happy united family. Mr. Dubs is a Republican in politics but is no seeker for public office. He belongs to the Modem Woodmen of America, attending lodge at Kimball. GEORGE N. BENNETT, who is one of Banner county's solid, reliable citizens and good farmers, might also be named as the pioneer orchardist, for he was one of the first to take a pracital (sic) interest in fruit growing and apply scientific methods for the preservation of his trees. George N. Bennett was born in Hardin county, Ohio, March 5, 1861. His parents were John A. and Mary (Roberts) Bennett, the former of whom was born in Logan county, Ohio, in 1845, and the latter in Hardin county in 1847. They had four children, namely: George N., who grew up in Ohio; James E., who died when eight years old; John E., whose death occurred when traveling on a railroad train near Alliance, Nebraska; and Jesse, who lives on the old home place in Ohio, The father was a farmer in Ohio until 1884, when he came to Colfax, Nebraska, but not being satisfied with conditions there, in a few months returned to his old place in Ohio. The mother died in 1893 and the father in 1912. Equipped with a country school education and excellent home training, when twenty-one years old George N. Bennett started out for himself. As a farmer he worked near Council Bluffs, Iowa, Omaha and Schyler (sic), Nebraska, reaching the latter place on August 16, 1883. After working there for a time he went to Fremont, Nebraska, and ranged seven hundred cattle for their owners, then was employed by Frank Isabelle. In the following year he started to farm for himself, but lost his crops through hailstorms, and somewhat discouraged sold his team for three hundred dollars--that is, such was the price agreed upon, but after, many years Mr. Bennett is still waiting the payment of two hundred and fifty dollars. After that Mr. Bennett worked for others for four years. In Colfax county at that time he could have bought land at from ten to twenty-five dollars an acre, but he did not take advantage of it and the price soon went higher. In the meanwhile he married and came to Banner county. Here he bought out John Trowbridge, which transaction placed him in debt and it was a number of years |
before Mr. Bennett could extricate himself and find the road to prosperity. Since then he has never had a complete crop failure but has had a few lossess (sic) of cattle from lightning and blizzards, but better than that, in his opinion, is the fact that in a residence of twenty-two years in Banner county, a physician has not been called in more than a dozen times to prescribe for the family. In the fall of 1889, Mr. Bennett was married to Mrs. Ada E. Thinehardt, a widow and a daughter of William and Eveline (Stevens) Stevens, of Schyler, Nebraska. The father of Mrs. Bennett died in 1890 but the mother survives and resides with Mr. and Mrs. Bennett. The latter have three children, namely: Perlie V., who is the wife of John R. Johnson, of Banner county; Ethel, who is the wife of Alfred Sterner, of Madison, Nebraska; and Mary, who is the wife of Ralph Randall, lives on her father's farm. For three years after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Bennett resided on the Stevens homestead. Then he bought a hay baling outfit and worked with that for five years. On February 16, 1897, Mr. Bennett came to Banner county and bought one hundred and sixty acres for three hundred dollars. This property was well improved for the times, having a good well, comfortable residence and sufficient fencing, and the family has resided on the place ever since. Ten years later Mr. Bennett bought another tract of one hundred and sixty acres, cornering on the first tract, for which he paid sixteen hundred dollars, and nine years afterward purchased three hundred and twenty acres, for which he paid twenty-eight hundred and eighty dollars. He carries on mixed farming, raises hogs for his own use and turns off quite a few head of cattle yearly. Mr. Bennett is a lover of both shade and fruit trees. He has one of the best orchards of ten years standing in Banner county and succeeds where others fail, in growing fine cherries, apples, pears and plums, his cherry trees yielding fifty bushels of fruit last season, all being sold at the farm. His varieties of fruit are the best and his apples compare favorably with the great apple products of the Northwest. He protects his orchard with a surrounding grove of other trees. Mr. Bennett is intelligently interested in many other lines. He has a collection of Indian relics that would be creditable in a city museum, and scientists would be very apt to envy him the possession of the jaw bone and thigh of a mastadon, unearthed in Banner county. Mr. Bennett and his family belong to the United Brethren church. In national affairs he votes with the Republican party, but in local issues uses his own excellent judgment in political action. FRANK PETERSON, who is numbered with Banner county's substantial farmers and stockmen, was born in Sweden, August 1, 1864. He is a son of Nels and Bertha (Nelson) Peterson, who came to the United States in 1886. They lived two years in Iowa, then came to Banner county, Nebraska, in 1888, homesteading on section thirty-four, near Heath. The mother died July 11, 1891, when the father came to the home of his son Frank and resided with him until death, which occurred January 14, 1911. Both parents were members of the Lutheran church. Of their six children Frank was the fourth in order of birth, the others being as follows: Helena, who is the wife of Claus Peterson, of Banner county; Alma, who is the widow of John Carlson, lives in California; Claus, who lives at Greeley, Colorado, married Hilda Johnson; Victor, who lives in Banner county, married Emma Swanson; and Mary, who is the wife of Theodore Carlson, of Minatare, Nebraska. Frank Peterson obtained his education in the common schools of his native land. He had some military training there also, spending one year in the Swedish army and afterward giving seventeen days of service each year. He worked on his father's farm in Sweden and in 1886 accompanied him to the United States. When he came to Banner county in 1888, he homesteaded and still owns this land, to which he has added much land, now owning sixteen hundred acres, two hundred and fifty acres being devoted to crop raising, the rest being fine pasture land. He breeds White Face cattle, about one hundred and forty head annually, raises also about twenty-five head of hogs and horses and poultry for home use. While Mr. Peterson is now financially independent, with well improved and well stocked farm, it was not always so, and his success may be attributed to his good judgment and continued industry. His first expense after locating on his homestead was the necessary purchase of a team of oxen and a breaking plow, the cost being seventy-five dollars. Considering the farm implements that he owned, his first crop of wheat was satisfactory and Mr. Peterson believes that just as bounteous a yield of grain could have been secured then if the pioneer farmers has such modem farm machinery as is used at present. Money was very scarce and prices for farm products were low, and after his father came to live with |
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