 WENZEL HIERSCHE. |
Garden county, then a part of Deuel county, where he took up a homestead eight miles northeast of the present village of Lisco. He proved title to his claim and continued his activities as an agriculturist and stock-raiser for five years. He then removed to government land two miles north of his original claim and began operations in the cattle business, besides purchasing two hundred acres and developing the tract for agricultural uses. Under the provision of the Kinkaid act he finally secured four hundred and eighty acres of land, which constitutes his present home place. Drouth nullified his labors on this place the first two years, but later years have given to him a generous return, and he is now one of the substantial men of the county, where he owns twenty-five hundred acres of valuable land, two hundred of which are under cultivation. He runs an average of a hundred head of cattle and thirty head of horses. Mr. Buske has always been a loyal and public-spirited citizen, his political allegiance being given to the Republican party and both he and his wife belong to the Lutheran church. He is a stockholder in the farmers' elevator at Lisco, and takes lively interest in all things pertaining to the welfare of his home county. In Germany, November 15, 1878, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Buske to Miss Minnie Kruger, and she accompanied him to America, where she has been his companion and helpmate in the years that have marked his rise to a position of independence and substantial prosperity. To Mr. and Mrs. Buske have been born six children: August, Jr., of Lisco, is married and has one child; Mrs. Emma Barnwell is deceased and is survived by two children; Henry met a tragic death when he was sixteen years of age, having been accidentally shot by a boy friend; Mrs. Dora Morris and Mrs. Rosa Onston reside at Lisco; and Harry married Gladys Lisco and now lives near Oshkosh. WENZEL HIERSCHE, who has long been identified with important industries and worthy enterprises in Nebraska, came to the United States in 1877 and to Scottsbluff county, Nebraska, in 1885. He is now a resident of Scottsbluff and devotes a large portion of his time to the management of the Farmers Union Exchange. Wenzel Hiersche was born in Bohemia, Austria, September 2, 1859. His parents were Wenzel and Anna (Engle) Hiersche, who spent their lives in Austria. They were the parents of nine children, seven of whom lived to mature years. Besides Wenzel, three others came to the United States, namely: August, who homesteaded in Scottsbluff county in 1885; Frantz, who is a farmer in Scottsbluff county, and Anton, of whom mention is found elsewhere in this volume. In his native land Mr. Hiersche learned the trade of glovemaking. He was eighteen years old when he came to the United States where his brother, August, had come the year before. They located in Clinton county, Iowa, where they worked as farmers for their uncle until 1876. Subsequently they went to Texas, where they engaged in farming until 1880, when they came to Nebraska. Here they purchased some railroad land in 1882 and farmed until 1884, when they sold and returned to Texas. In the spring of 1885 they preëmpted land and took timber claims five miles southwest of Gering in Scottsbluff county. Mr. Hiersche proved up on same and also on homestead. He has sold all but the 320 acres he now owns. On this farm 160 acres are irrigated and he also has an entire school section leased. He has operated his land mainly as a ranch and at first raised cattle and horses, at one time having 180 head of the latter. For some years before leaving the ranch he made a specialty of sheep, having 4000 head at one time, and still has 200 head of full-blooded Merinos on his land, which he has under rental. Mr. Hiersche is an able, influential man in many directions. Formerly he was active in the Populist party but later identified himself with the Republican forces and from 1893 until 1896 was a member of the board of county commissioners. In late years he has become interested in such movements as the Non-partisan League and the Farmers Union, and on March 12, 1919, came to reside at Scottsbluff in order to take charge of the Farmers Union Exchange here, which deals in farm implements, feed and grain. He has additional interests, being vice president of the Farmers Union Transfer & Storage Company, and vice president of the Water Users Association, of which he is a director. He is prominent also in fraternal life, being a charter member of the Scottsbluff lodge of Knights of Pythias, of which he is past chancellor, and was noble grand of the lodge of Odd Fellows at Gering, and a charter member and the first noble grand of the lodge at Scottsbluff, of which lodge he was secretary for one term. Few men in Scottsbluff county are better known. GEORGE P. RUMER who conducts a prosperous automobile garage in Lisco, Garden county, was about two years old at the time |
his parents came to Nebraska from Iowa. He was born in Jefferson county, Iowa, September 1, 1878, a son of James P. and Mary (Gilbert) Rumer, both natives of Iowa, where their parents settled in the early pioneer days. James P. Rumer was reared and educated in the Hawkeye state and there learned the painter's trade, at which he became a skilled workman. In 1880, he came with his family to Hastings, Nebraska, the county seat of Adams county, and began to work at his trade and still continues to make that city his home, his wife being at the present time in Fresno, California. George P. Rumer gained his early education in the public schools of Adams county, and at the age of eighteen years found employment at farm work, in which he continued until he had attained the age of twenty-five years. Subsequently he had engaged in independent farming in Custer county, and in 1905, filed entry on a homestead claim in Garden county. He began the improvement of his land, to which he eventually perfected his title, and actively engaged in general farming and stock-growing for a period of eight years. He then removed to Comstock, Custer county, where he remained about four years, at the expiration of which he returned to Garden county and established his present business enterprise at Lisco, his garage being well equipped and controlling a substantial patronage. In politics Mr. Rumer is a Democrat, and in a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and belongs to the Masonic lodge at Oshkosh. November 9, 1904 Mr. Rumer was united in marriage, at Comstock, Custer county, to Miss Lydia Allen, who was born in Iowa but reared and educated in Nebraska, her parents, Benjamin and Melissa (Curfman) Allen, having been pioneer settlers in Custer county, where the father developed a productive farm, both he and his wife being now residents of Comstock Mr. and Mrs. Rumer have three children: Melissa Emma, Bruce E., and Alden William. WILLIAM BARNWELL, one of the influential citizens and representative agriculturists and stock- growers of the Lisco district of Garden county, was a mere boy when he came with his foster parents to western Nebraska. In his youth he was a cowboy on the range, besides which he was actively concerned in the construction of early irrigation ditches in this section of the state. By his own energy and ability he has pressed forward to the goal of prosperity. Mr. Barnwell was born in eastern Pennsylvania, on January 1, 1876, a son of Patrick and Mary Barnwell, both natives of Ireland. Mrs. Barnwell died when her son William was but five years old, and at the age of seven years he was doubly orphaned, his father having been killed as the result of an accident at the smelter where he was employed, at Pueblo, Colorado. William Barnwell was young when he came with his foster parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Broughton, to the wilds of western Nebraska, and here he was afforded the advantages of the pioneer schools. Mr. Broughton established a home in that part of Cheyenne county that now constitutes Morrill county, and there young William Barnwell finally found employment on the ranch of Mrs. Elizabeth Smith, on Greenwood creek, twenty-five miles north of Sidney, Cheyenne county. About six months later he began to work on the construction of the Belmont irrigation canal, remaining two months. Later he was employed about a year in construction work on the Farmers' irrigation ditch, after which he put in one summer in farming on Pumpkin creek. His next occupation was found on the horse ranch of Barnhart & Thompson, where he remained one year. For twenty years thereafter he lived the free and vigourous life of a cowboy, in the employ of various outfits, his last employer, in 1904, having been Reuben Lisco, in whose honor the village of Lisco, Garden county, was named. In 1904, Mr. Barnwell took up a homestead claim about eight miles north of the present village of Lisco, and in this locality he has since risen to prominence and prosperity as a representative of agricultural and live-stock industry. He is now the owner of eight hundred acres of land, of which two hundred are farmed, the remainder being pasture land. In 1919-20, Mr. Barnwell had on his ranch fifty head of cattle and twenty head of horses, and he takes pride in keeping his live stock up to high standard. He is president of the Farmers Mercantile Company of Lisco, and a director of the Farmers Elevator Company. He has taken a lively interest in community affairs, had the distinction of being one of the first county commissioners of Garden county, and served thirteen years as school director of his district. His political views are shown in his stalwart support of the cause of the Republican party, he is affiliated with Oshkosh Lodge No. 286, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, his wife is a member of the Presbyterian church. In June, 1905, Mr. Barnwell wedded Miss Emma M. Buske, a daughter of August Buske, of whom individual mention is made on other |
pages of this work. Mrs. Barnwell died in 1912, and is survived by two children: Glenn, who remains with his father, and Erma, who lives in the home of her maternal grandparents. February 16, 1916, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Barnwell to Miss Laura E. Davis, who was born and reared in Buffalo county, this state, and who was a popular school teacher in her native county, as well as in Colorado, as was she also at Lisco, Garden county, at the time of her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Barnwell have a winsome little daughter, Ruby Jeanette. SEWELL E. BENNETT, has been a resident of Garden county since 1908, and developed and improved one of the excellent farm properties of the county, consisting of three hundred and twenty acres situated about nine miles from Lisco. Mr. Bennett is one of the substantial citizens of Garden county and his career has been one of signal industry. Mr. Bennett was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, May 12, 1849. His father, George W. Bennett, was born at Little Washington, Pennsylvania in 1821, and was but six months old when his parents became pioneer settlers in Guernsey county, Ohio. The father took up a pre-emption claim of one hundred and sixty acres and reclaimed the forest, making it into a productive farm. On this old homestead his parents passed the remainder of their lives, his father having attained the patriarchal age of ninety-seven years. George W. Bennett was reared and educated in Guernsey county, and in 1852, when twenty-six years of age, he removed to Monroe county, Ohio, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits and where he passed the remainder of his useful life, being seventy-one years of age at the time of his death. His wife, whose maiden name was Olive Payne, was born in Vermont and was a child at the time of her parents' removal to Ohio, where she was reared and educated and where she was for two years engaged in teaching school at Little Point Pleasant, Guernsey county, prior to her marriage. Mrs. Bennett died in November, 1920, at her home. Sewell E. Bennett was reared in Monroe county, Ohio, and after attending public school at Malaga, he was a student for one term in the normal school at Hopedale, Ohio. After that he taught school one term, at Boston, Ohio, and the following summer he assisted his father on the home farm. He then entered Hiram college, where General James A. Garfield and many other distinguished men were graduated, and of which General Garfield was for a time president many years prior to his election to the presidency of the United States. In this institution Mr. Bennett continued his studies one term, and for one year engaged in farming in Monroe county, Ohio, and four years in Guernsey county. He then, in 1881, removed to Iowa and became a farmer in Adair county, where he remained for twenty-five years. From Iowa Mr. Bennet returned to Ohio, but two years later he again responded to the call of the west, by coming to Nebraska in 1908, and taking up the homestead on which he has since resided and upon which he has developed a prosperous enterprise in diversified agriculture and the raising of hogs, cattle and horses. He is a man of broad views, is a Republican in politics, and he and his wife are members of the Seventh Day Adventist church. On February 25, 1875, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Bennett and Miss Rachel Naylor, who was born and reared in Ohio, a daughter of Louis and Rachel (Bailey) Naylor, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of Ohio. Louis Naylor was born in 1819, and was about four years old at the time of his parents' removal to Ohio, and the greater part of his active life was devoted to work at the carpenter's trade, in connection with which he became a successful contractor and builder. He died at the age of eighty-seven years, in Belmont county, Ohio, and his widow died in January, 1919, at the venerable old age of ninety-seven years. There were the following children in the Bennett family: Roy L., who resides in Morrill county, Nebraska, is a widower and has two children; Albert Oscar and his wife reside in Morrill county, and they have seven children; Mrs. Lena Patrick, of Lisco, Garden county, has two children; and Mrs. Belva L. Carrigan, or Lisco, has one child. CHARLES T. SCHLOSSER, has been a resident of western Nebraska since 1891, and is now one of the extensive landholders and representative agriculturists and stock-growers of Garden county. Charles Theodore Schlosser was born at Pittsfield, Illinois, August 5, 1876, and was about seven years old when his parents came to Nebraska and settled in Harlan county, where his father engaged in farming. Mr. Schlosser is a son of Earnest and Harriet (Lakin) Schlosser, the former born in Germany and the latter born and reared in Illinois. The father was a young man when he came to America, and began to farm in Illinois, whence |
he came with his family to Nebraska in the pioneer days, the remainder of his life being passed in this state, where he died at the age of seventy-seven years, his wife passing away in 1916, at the age of seventy-three. Charles Schlosser gained his education in the public school of Harlan county, and in the meanwhile began to assist in the work of the home farm. At the age of fifteen years he found employment at farm work in his home county, and after working one summer came, in 1891, to that part of Deuel county that is comprised in Garden county. For the ensuing five years he was employed by various ranch concerns in the north part of Garden county, and he then took up a homestead and began farming, giving special attention to the cattle business. In 1904, he obtained a Kinkaid claim, where he still resides, besides which he has purchased two thousand acres of ranch land and thus is the owner of two thousand six hundred and forty acres. He raises cattle on an extensive scale. He is a stockholder in the farmers' grain elevator and general merchandise establishment at Lisco, and also in the Higgins Packing Company at South Omaha. In politics he is aligned with the Republican party, and as a reliable and popular citizen he takes interest in all things pertaining to the welfare of his home county and state. On October 9, 1918 Mr. Schlosser married Mrs. Anna (Vandford) Ames, who was born and reared in Missouri. They have one child, Virginia Evaline. LOUIS M. MEYER, is one of the representative agriculturists and stock-growers of Garden county. He has proved alike his energy and his resourcefulness and has gained independence and prosperity. Mr. Meyer was born at St. Charles, Missouri, on July 11, 1865, a son of Louis and and (sic) Barbara J. (Hintzelman) Meyer, both natives of the province of Lorraine, France. Louis J. Meyer accompanied his parents on the immigration to America. They settled at St. Charles, Missouri, where the parents passed the remainder of their lives. Louis J. Meyer learned the carpenter's trade, to which he gave his attention in Missouri until 1868, when he came with his family to Nebraska and settled at Nebraska City, where he became a leading contractor and builder and where he continued to reside until his death, at the venerable age of eighty-six years. His wife was seven years old when she came with her parents to America, and was reared and educated at St. Charles, Missouri, where her marriage was solemnized. She died at Nebraska City, when seventy-two years of age. This sterling pioneer couple became the parents of nine children, of whom four are now living. Louis M. Meyer was about three years old at the time of the family removal to Nebraska City, where he was reared and received good educational advantages, including those of Albert Hall College, which was founded by J. Sterling Morton. At the age of twenty-one years, in 1886, Mr. Meyer initiated his pioneer experience in western Nebraska, which section of the state at that time was but sparsely settled and practically undeveloped. He came to Cheyenne county and took up homestead and tree claims in what is now Scottsbluff county, and in due time he perfected his title to this land, upon which he made the necessary development and improvements. He then entered the employ of the owners of the Cedar Creek ranch, and for six years he was foreman. He then purchased a ranch on the south side of the North Platte river, in what is now Morrill county, and resided there, engaged in the cattle business about six years. He then bought a tract of eighty-seven acres close to Lisco, where he has made good improvements and has since maintained his home, his attention being given to diversified agriculture and raising hogs, shipping about eight carloads annually. He is affiliated with and carries insurance in both the Modern Woodmen of America and the Woodmen of the World. He is a Republican. Mr. Meyer has been successful and among his investments is stock of the Lexington Milling Company, at Lexington, Dawson county, three hundred and twenty acres of land, and sixty acres in Texas. The religious faith of Mr. Meyers is that of the Catholic church, of which both he and his wife are earnest communicants. At Weyerts, Cheyenne county, October 15, 1895, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Meyers and Miss Alma C. Johnson, who was born in Sweden. Her family came to America and settled in Iowa, and in 1888, came to Cheyenne county, Nebraska, taking up land near Broadwater, in what is now Morrill county, where the father engaged in farming and stock-raising, he was seventy-five years of age at the time of his death, in 1915; his wife died in 1913, at the age of seventy-four years. Mr. and Mrs. Meyer have one daughter, Daisy D., who is at home. She graduated in St. Bernard Academy at Nebraska City, and later from the Nebraska State Normal School at Chadron, as a member of the class of 1919. |
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