 FRANK F. FISCHER. |
then taught two years in the city schools of Bayard, Nebraska. FRANK F. FISCHER. -- At the present time there are few lines of trade that demand more keen and careful business ability than the buying and distribution of groceries. At the close of a great war prices on all foodstuffs for a time are unstable and it requires good judgement (sic) and wise foresight to provide for present and future conditions. In this regard Scottsbluff is fortunate in many ways and attention may be called to a prospering grocery enterprise that has but recently entered the commercial field here, the Fischer Grocery Company, of which Frank F. Fischer is president and general manager. Frank F. Fischer was born at Humphrey, Platte county, Nebraska, October 12, 1894, and is a son of Jacob and Antoinette (Uphoff) Fischer. The father of Mr. Fischer was born in France and the mother in McHenry county, Illinois. They have had six children, Frank F. being the youngest of the three survivors. The others are: Anthony, who is a merchant at Humphrey, Nebraska; and Anna, who is the wife of Frank Hodgin, of Sioux City, Iowa. In 1873 the father of Mr. Fischer came to Nebraska and homesteaded in the eastern part of the state, and the mother's people came about the same time and homesteaded in Harrison county. Both parents now live at Humphrey, the father being a retired merchant, and they are faithful members of the Roman Catholic church. The father is affiliated with the Democratic party. Frank F. Fischer was graduated from the public schools of Humphrey in 1908, when but thirteen years old, and immediately sought employment, for a time actually earning his living by carrying brick. He had a natural leaning toward merchandising and while clerking for three years in a store at Humphrey, devoted himself closely to the interests of his employers and learned business details. In 1912 he came to Scottsbluff and was given charge of the Diers' Bros. Grocery Company, with which he continued until he entered the National army. He was sent to Camp Funston for training and served eight months, with rank of first sergeant in an infantry company. After his honorable discharge in January, 1919, he returned to Scottsbluff and embarked in business for himself, organizing the Fischer Grocery Company. This company is capitalized at $25,000. Mr. Fischer is president and general manager and has experienced associates with him. Excellent quarters have been secured, the stock is fresh and up-to-date, the management is courteous, and delivery prompt. Mr. Fischer is a member of the Roman Catholic church and he belongs to the Knights of Columbus. He is intelligently interested in public affairs but has not been personally active in politics. He is a member of the EIks lodge and was elected city treasurer in 1919. HIRAM W. MAXWELL has proved himself a man of boundless energy and resourcefulness during the years of his residence in western Nebraska, in which part of the state he is entitled to the fullest of pioneer honors, for here he has not only given forceful power to the promotion of agricultural and livestock enterprises but has also been a successful contractor and builder, his activities along this line having greatly conserved material advancement in connection with the splendid development of the country. He is still the owner of valuable farm property, was in earlier days influential in gaining many valuable settlers for this part of Nebraska; he is a stockholder in the farmers' grain elevator at Oshkosh, in which city he owns and occupies a modem residence, and he still continues to give no little time and attention to contracting and building. He was the first man to bring full-blooded stock into the Garden county region of the Nebraska Panhandle, and he has been prominent in community affairs of public order, as indicated by former service in the office of justice of the peace, and by fifteen years efficient service as deputy sheriff and constable. In connection with his civic liberality and loyalty he has never swerved from close allegiance to the Democratic party, of whose principles he is a staunch advocate. Hiram Wise Maxwell may well take pride in claiming the old Buckeye state as the place of his nativity, and in being the scion of one of the old and honored families of that historic commonwealth, of which his father, Dr. David Cyphord Maxwell, likewise a native, he having been reared and educated in Harrison county, that state, and having been a man of fine culture and professional attainments, as he was not only a physician and surgeon but also a dentist, his degree of Doctor of Medicine having been received from one of the leading medical colleges of Ohio. In addition to his successful professional activities Dr. Maxwell was closely identified with agricultural enterprise, and he was a resident of Holmes county, Ohio, at the time of his death, when seventy-three years of age. His widow, whose maiden name was Christina Myers, was born in Pennsylvania but reared and educated |
in Ohio, she having attained the venerable age of eighty-five years. Of their children four sons are living at the time of this writing: A. D. is manager of the new employees of the Kelley & Springfield Rubber Company, at Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio; Robert M., a skilled mechanic by vocation, is a resident of Holmes county, Ohio; Hiram W., of this review, is the next younger; and Allen, an engineer by vocation, is now a resident of Ocean view, California, he being a veteran of the Spanish-American War. Hiram W. Maxwell was reared in Holmes county, Ohio, and there received the advantages of the public schools, including the high school. He was born in that county on the 28th of March, 1867, and there continued his residence until he had attained to the age of seventeen years, when he gained pioneer distinction in Kansas where he continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1888, when he provided for himself more strenuous pioneer experiences by coming to the comparative wilds of western Nebraska and establishing himself in old Cheyenne county, which then included Deuel, Garden and other counties of the present day. In the following year he filed entry on homestead and pre-emption claims, in what is now Garden county, and he has made excellent improvements on this property, which he still owns. For eight years he was actively engaged in contracting and building in Dawson county, as a skilled workman at the carpenter's trade, and he then returned to Garden county and engaged actively in general farming and in the raising of horses, cattle and hogs, with which basic lines of industrial enterprise he has here continued to be identified since that time, the while he has continued also to give considerable attention to contracting and building, in which field he has gained high reputation. In Cheyenne county, on the 4th of October, 1892, Mr. Maxwell wedded Miss Lottie Johnson, and she died at the age of twenty-four years, being survived by one child, Esther, who is now the wife of Walter Cooper, of Varney, Montana, and who has three children. At Lexington, Dawson county, on the 4th of October, 1900, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Maxwell to Miss Ida B Woody, who was born in Indiana but reared and educated in Nebraska, she having been a professional nurse prior to her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell have still as members of the happy home circle their fine family of eleven children, and it may well be imagined that the home in one of superabundant vitality and happiness. The names of the children are here given in respective order of birth: Melvin B., Bessie L., Minnie M., Christena A., Myra E., Fern J., Isabelle, Ruth, John, better known as Jack, Margaret, and Lucille. WILLIAM I. DYSON, who is serving his fourth term as sheriff of Morrill county, is well known all through this section of Nebraska for personal courage and his wise discrimination whereby many criminals have been brought to justice and the laws have been upheld. Aside from his high office, Sheriff Dyson commands the respect of his fellow citizens and enjoys their esteem. He homesteaded in Morrill county in 1906, and has been a resident of the state since 1883. He was born in Ottawa county, Missouri, September 9, 1869, the son of Thomas Dyson, who was born in Ohio, a son of Thomas Dyson, who was a native of Indiana. The grandfather died at St. Louis, Missouri, during the great epidemic of cholera. Sheriff Dyson's mother was born and married in Iowa and both parents died on the home farm in Ottawa county, Missouri. The father was a man of importance there, a zealous Republican and for years a county commissioner. He was a veteran of the Civil War, having served over four years in that struggle, being a member of Company H, Thirty-sixth Iowa infantry. At Blundy's mill, Arkansas, he was captured by the enemy and for a year was confined in a military prison in Tyler, Texas. For over sixty years he was a member of one Masonic lodge. Both he and wife were members of the Christian church. Of their seven children five are living, William I. being the eldest of the family. William I Dyson obtained his education in the district school of Nodaway county, Missouri. His early years were spent on a farm and he both owned and rented land in Missouri before he came to Johnson county Nebraska, where his father had purchased a farm. Sheriff Dyson lived on that farm until he came to Morrill, old Cheyenne county, in 1906. He homesteaded in that year and lived on the land for five years, then traded for property in Alliance, and moved from his homestead to Bridgeport in 1912. For six years, and while living on his homestead, he was in the employ of the Bridgeport Lumber Company. In 1911, he was first elected sheriff of the county and the high regard in which he is held is indicated by his subsequent elections to this responsible office. On September 29, 1892, Mr. Dyson was |
united in marriage with Miss Anna M. Stevens, who was born in Iowa. Of their family of ten children the following survive: Rena F., who is the wife of Eugene Hall, a railroad man at Bridgeport; Amy, who is a teacher; Alta, who is the wife of Glenn Brown, a farmer in Morrill county; Thomas Allen, who has returned home safely from two years of military overseas service in the World War, was a member of the Thirty-second Division; Mildred and Walter B., twins, the former of whom is a student in the high school, and the latter of whom died at the age of three years; and Clifford, woodrow (sic), Leota and Phyllis. Sheriff Dyson and has family belong to the Baptist church. He belongs to the Woodmen lodges and is also an Odd Fellow, having passed the chairs in the local lodge in the latter organization. Ever since McKinley as elected he has been a supporter of the principles of the Democratic party. SAMUEL S. GARVEY. -- The grain and lumber interests of Morrill county are of great importance and when ably handled by men of sound judgment and business acumen, bring large returns that add to the wealth and commercial standing of the county. At the present time, perhaps no one man at Bridgeport is more profitably identified in this way than Samuel S. Garvey, who, in addition to having large individual interests is secretary and treasurer of the Bridgeport Lumber Company. Samuel S. Garvey was born in Lake county, Indiana, in December, 1861, the only son of Samuel and Julia (Halloway) Garvey. The mother was born in Virginia but was married in Indiana, in which state the father was born and died, his death preceding the birth of his son. Mr. Garvey has one sister, Nancy Hecker, who is the wife of a railroad man at Porter, Indiana. The father owned a farm in Lake county. His father, Duncan Garvey, as born in Ireland. Under his mother's tender care, Samuel S. Harvey grew into sturdy boyhood, attended the public schools and made himself useful on the farm. In 1879 he came to York county, Nebraska, where he was employed on farms for a number of years, then purchased land and carried on agricultural industries there until 1902, when he moved to McCook. There he went into the elevator business in which he continued for fifteen years and did well. In January, 1917, he came to Morrill county and soon bought an interest in the Bridgeport Lumber Company, becoming secretary and treasurer of the concern and also assistant manager. Additionally he owns an elevator and lumber yard at Dalton, Nebraska, his trade territory being all through the valley. In 1886, Mr. Garvey was united in marriage to Frances Kleinschmidt, who was born in Germany, in which country her parents died. They have one daughter, Cora, who is the wife of Hurley Dye, a merchant at Wyola, Montana. Mr. and Mrs. Garvey are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is influential in county politics and in the fall of 1918, was elected a county commissioner. He is a Knight Templar Mason and has served as high priest and eminent commander, and belongs also to the Mystic Shrine. Mr. Garvey is one of Bridgeport's upstanding, representative citizens. OVA N. THOSTESEN, the fortunate owner of one of the best improved irrigated farms in Morrill county located just one-half mile from Bridgeport, is a well known engineer on the passenger run between Bridgeport and Morrill, on the Burlington Railroad. Since he was nine years old, Mr. Thostesen has lived in Nebraska, but his birth took place in Illinois, March 27, 1871. Mr. Thostesen's parents were Zachariah and Annie (Miller) Thostesen, both born in Denmark. They came to the United States in 1865, and for a period of fifteen years lived in Illinois, where the father was a farmer. In 1880, they came to Nebraska and the father first bought a tract of land from the Union Pacific Railroad, but in 1883, moved from Minden, in Kearney county, to Custer county, where he homesteaded on what is known as West Table. He lived there for nearly twenty years and then moved to Broken Bow, where he and wife still reside. He brought some capital with him from Illinois and moved into Custer county with three yoke of oxen and two teams of horses. In politics he is a republican and he and wife are members of the Lutheran church. Of their six children Ova N. is the eldest, the others being: Miller, who made a fortune as a miner in Alaska, lives at Seatttle (sic), Washington; Barbara, who is the wife of J. A. Myers, a farmer near Broken Bow; Marie, who is the wife of Peter Hartvigson, a miner in Washington; Florence, the assistant cashier of the First National Bank of Bridgeport, is the widow of Fred Crom, formerly of Sargent, Nebraska, who was in the cattle business; and John S., who is a railroad engineer working out of Bridgeport. When Mr. Thostesen was a schoolboy in |
Custer county he received instruction in a sod house, similar to the one in which the family lived, for this was the usual type of dwelling in that section in early days. He worked on his father's homestead, and in fact continued to farm until 1899, although in 1890, he had begun to work on the Burlington Railroad as a fireman. Through faithful attention to duty he received promotion, in 1895 was made engineer, and since 1913, has been passenger engineer between Bridgeport and Morrill. In 1897, Mr. Thostesen was united in marriage to Miss Katie Reeder, who was born in Iowa, a daughter of Henry Reeder, who came to Custer county in 1892, and now lives retired at Bridgeport. Mr. and Mrs. Thostesen have the following children: Zeta, who is in the employ of Armour & Co., at Denver; Ivol, who is attending college at Hastings, Nebraska; Elna and Uena, both of whom are students in the high school at Bridgeport; Dean and Byrl, both of whom are in school, and Gayl, who has not yet outgrown babyhood. The family belongs to the Presbyterian church. Mr. Thostesen belongs to the independent wing of the Republican party. Since coming to Bridgeport, in 1907, he has taken an interest in public matters, especially in regard to the public schools and has served on the city school board. He is a member in good standing of the Railway Brotherhood of Firemen and Engineers. Mr. Thostesen is an honorable and upright man and is very highly esteemed by everyone and is very popular with the patrons of the Burlington whom he carefully and safely carrier back and forth daily. CLARENCE S. CHAMBERS, one of the younger business men of the Panhandle who has made a name for himself as a ranchman and is now a manager of the Central Graineries (sic) Company of Lincoln, having charge of the branch in Sidney, is a native son born in this city December 25, 1885, the son of Judge Chambers, a sketch of whom appears in this volume. Clarence Chambers was reared and educated here, attending the public schools until he graduated. The life of the cowboy appealed to him and he engaged in the cattle business for several years until familiar with all its phases. This led to his becoming a ranchman. He began farming and carried on extensive operations upon a fifteen hundred acre ranch. There Mr. Chambers was successful, made considerable money and became a well recognized figure in farm and ranch circles. He was a successful grain man and so was chosen to handle the extensive grain business of the Central Graineries (sic) Company in Sidney when wheat became one of the great products of this section. His able management has built up a fine business for he is naturally constructive, is a buyer of ability and today is one of the representative men in business circles of the Panhandle. He has all the push, aggressive ability and progressiveness accredited to the native sons of Nebraska not only in business but in his efforts to build up Cheyenne county and Sidney. Mr. Chambers was married November 27, 1909, at the bride's home near Sidney, Nebraska to Pauline Wolfe, who was born in Sidney. She is the daughter of Frank and Caroline Wolfe, both of whom were born in Germany. Mrs. Chambers is the second of the three children in the Wolfe family, the other two being boys. Mrs. Chambers has four half sisters and one half brothers (sic). Her father died when she was two years old, and the mother married Otto Kurz and continued to live on the old home place, located southwest of Sidney. Mr. and Mrs. Chambers have four children, two boys and two girls. Mr. Chambers is a member of the Odd Fellows and he and his wife are members of the Episcopal church. They are building a beautiful, modern home in Sidney. Mr. and Mrs. Chambers are well and favorably known and they are members of the younger social circles of Sidney and have a host of friends. THOMAS C. MINTLE has indubitably shown his potency for achievement in connection with the basic industries of agriculture and stock-growing, of which he was a well known and highly successful exponent in Scottsbluff county, where his well improved ranch property, comprising two hundred and forty acres was situated in section twenty-two, township twenty-three, range fifty-five, six and a half miles distant from the city of Scottsbluff. Thomas Clark Mintle was born in the exceptionally beautiful little city of Glenwood, Iowa, and the date of his nativity was September 28, 1867, which shows that his parents were numbered among the pioneer settlers of that favored section of the Hawkeye state. He is a son of William H. and Mary (Clark) Mintle, each of whom has passed the psalmist's span of three score years and ten, their home now being in Glenwood, Iowa, where the father and mother live in well earned retirement, after many years of earnest and fruitful endeavor. William H. Mintle was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and his wife |
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