 JOHN H. ORR. |
lived in their covered wagon on the way. The first home was a dugout which soon fell in from rain; they then tried a tent and it blew over; then a cave was found and later a frame house was built. Indians were frequent visitors and the children were afraid at first but learned they were friendly. Water had to be hauled four miles; Central City, known then as Lone Tree, was nine miles north of Marquette and it was from that town that the lumber for the home had to be carried by wagon, fording the river, as there were no bridges. Crops were poor the first years and the family suffered from want of food, provisions and even clothes. Mrs. Stalnaker was much with her father in those days. When the railroad was built through near them the mother boarded some of the men for money to keep the family. Mrs. Stalnaker herded cattle where the present village of Marquette is and tells of the terrible prairie fire she saw there when the flames were sixty feet high. When Sarah Rosella Thomas was eighteen years old she married Charles Stalnaker, on September 30, 1884; he was the son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Ryan) Stalnaker, residents of Hamilton county, now deceased. Mrs. Stalnaker lived in Hamilton county forty-seven years and has seen all the marvelous changes that have taken place in this state covering nearly half a century. She became the mother of seven children, two of whom died in infancy: Cleveland, deceased; Grace, the wife of Ira Williams of Deuel county; Sylvia, the wife of Grover Moist, of Crawford, Nebraska; Vancil and Wilma, both at home. Mr. Stalnaker died November 23, 1913, and soon afterward Mrs. Stalnaker came to Deuel county with the two youngest children. She bought land seven miles north of Chappell where they ran a farm until the son enlisted in the army during the World War. Mrs. Stalnaker sold out to move to Chappell where she bought a home and building lots but recently traded the lots for a quarter section of land in Wyoming. She is a fine woman of great ability and resource; has played her part in the development of Nebraska and is an ardent worker in the Methodist church while the children belong to the United Brethren church. For years she has been affiliated with the Royal Neighbors. JOHN H. ORR is another of the sterling pioneer citizens of Garden county, where his energy, ability and progressiveness have gained for him substantial status as one of the representative agriculturists, dairymen and stock-growers of this favored section of the state. He is the owner of an extensive and well improved landed estate in Garden county, and is a man whose individual success and advancement have been attended with loyal and liberal support of those measures and enterprise that have been for the general good of the community. The honored pioneer whose name initiates this review was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, December 25, 1862, of staunch Scotch-Irish lineage. He is a son of John H. and Mary (McCormick) Orr, the former of whom was born and reared in Scotland and the latter in Ireland, where their marriage was solemnized. John H. Orr, Sr., was a young man when he removed from Scotland to Ireland, and on the fair Emerald Isle he continued to follow his trade, that of wheelwright, until 1867, when he came with his family to the United States and settled at Rahway, Union county, New Jersey, where he passed the remainder of his life and where he continued to work at his trade during the remainder of his active career. He passed away at the age of seventy-six years and his wife was sixty-seven years of age at the time of her death. They became the parents of nine children, and three of the sons, Calhoun, John H. and James W. became residents of Nebraska. John Orr acquired his early education in the public schools of New Jersey, and after coming to Nebraska he supplemented this training by completing a course in a business college at Crete. His first independent service was rendered by taking charge of one of the wards of the New Jersey State Insane Asylum at Morris Plains, where he remained three years. He then, in 1882, came to Nebraska and established his residence near Crete, where for four years he was employed on the Pleasant View stock farm of W. H. Smith. In 1886, he removed to Keith county, where he took up homestead and tree claims. He perfected his title to this land and met with excellent success in his activities as a farmer and dairyman. He was associated with A. D. Remington in establishing the first milk-skimming station in western Nebraska. On his original claims he continued in the dairy business twelve years, and in the meantime purchased the Spring Canyon Ranch, more familiarly known as the old Brand Hoover horse ranch. This he stocked with cattle and horse, and to this ranch, situated in the part of Deuel county now included in Garden county, he removed in 1894. He continued to reside on this place until 1912, since which time he has lived virtually retired, in his pleasant home |
in the village of Lewellen. His ranch comprises eighteen thousand acres where an average of one thousand head of cattle and one hundred and fifty head of horses are kept. Mr. Orr also has a well improved farm of three hundred and twenty acres that is given over to diversified agriculture, with irrigation from the Meeker ditch. He also has twelve hundred acres on the South Table, which is under the active management of one of his sons. Mr. Orr is one of the most substantial and influential pioneer citizens of Garden county, and his splendid success has been worthily achieved. He is vice-president of the Citizens' Bank of Ogallala; is president of the Orr Spindler Mercantile Company, at Lewellen; is treasurer of the Farmers' Life Insurance Company of Denver, Colorado; is one of the heavy stockholders of the Meeker Irrigation Ditch Company, and is a stockholder of the Blue Creek Light & Power Company, of Lewellen. All these associations indicate not only his aggressive and vital energy but also his civic loyalty and genuine public spirit. In politics Mr. Orr may be designated as an independent Democrat, and while he has had no desire for public office he served as justice of the peace and notary public during virtually the entire period of his residence in Keith county, as well as a member of the school board. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Woodmen of the World and the Modern Woodmen of America. His wife is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church. In the light of his broad experience in connection with industrial life in western Nebraska, Mr. Orr gives advice to those who are developing homesteads or Kincaid claims at the present time to take up the dairy business to a sufficient extent to defray expenses, and thus to save the increase and become a success. March 4, 1885, recorded the marriage of Mr. Orr to Miss Eleanor E. Smith, of Crete, this state. Mrs. Orr was born at Flint, Michigan, and is a daughter of Dr. William H. and Mary (Gordis) Smith, the former a native of Michigan and the latter of Holly, New Jersey. Dr. Smith, as an able physician and surgeon, continued in the practice of his profession in the state of Michigan until the early seventies, when his impaired health lead him to come to Nebraska, the family home being established near Crete, Saline county, where he engaged in the breeding and raising of thoroughbred stock, including Percheron horses, Durham cattle and Poland-China swine. He successfully followed this line of enterprise until his death, at the age of sixty-five years. He was one of the influential and honored citizens of Saline county. His widow, a woman of superior education and gracious personality, received collegiate training, and her memory is revered by all who came within the sphere of her influence; she was sixty-nine years of age at the time of her death. Mrs. Orr is the eldest and only surviving member of a family of three children, and was reared and educated in Nebraska, where she was graduated in Doane College, at Crete. Mr. and Mrs. Orr have a fine family of twelve children--nine sons and three daughters and all have received the best of educational advantages, the sons having attended the Grand Island Business College and all being in partnership with their father--in connection with his large and varied agricultural, live-stock and business operations. Joseph C., the eldest of the children resides at Lewellen, is married and has two children; John Wesley, of Lewellen, is married but has no children; Warren H, and his wife have one child; and the other children are not married at the time of this writing, their names being here entered in respective order of birth: James A., Burton F., Edith E., Andrew G., Mildred M., Nellie G., William T., Edward C. In thus giving twelve children as "hostages to fortune" Mr. Orr has demonstrated his repugnance to "race suicide" and he has reason to be proud of his children, as well as of the success which he has won during a life of signal activity and usefulness. PHILIP McCORMICK, the well known and popular owner of Sunnyside Ranch in Deuel county, and its present manager, was born in Loraine, Illinois, April 24, 1879, the son of William and Jane (Taylor) McCormick, the former a native of Illinois while the mother was born in Missouri. The father died in 1881, but the mother still lives at Chugwater, Wyoming. Mr. McCormick was a farmer all his life. After his death the boy, Philip, was reared by a Mrs. Craga, and saw little of the other two children in the family. He was educated in the public school of Loraine until he was fifteen years old, his education being cut short by the fact that he ran away then and went to Dakota to work on the farms of other for two years. Mr. McCormick came to the eastern part of Nebraska then and a year later to Julesburg, spending a few months there in 1897, before coming to Deuel county. Here he herded cattle for ten dollars |
a month and sheep for twenty, feeding himself. To add to this income he played a violin for dances and made as high as fifteen dollars a month that way. Following this Mr. McCormick accepted a position to ride the irrigation ditch south of Big Springs, being the second man employed in that capacity after the ditch was completed, and remained with the irrigation company over two years. October 9, 1904, Mr. McCormick married Miss Maude Morrison, at Big Springs, the daughter of John and Amanda (Tigard) Morrison, pioneer residents of Deuel county, who homesteaded southwest of the town and now live retired in Big Springs. Two children have been born to this union: Hattie and Harvey, both at home. When Mr. and Mrs. McCormick came to the Sunnyside ranch in 1906, Mr. McCormick says he had just eighty dollars and cleared eight hundred the first year. He entered the employ of Peterson and Loveland, proprietors of the ranch, as foreman but a year later bought a third interest in it and in 1914, a half interest which he still owns. Sunnyside ranch consists of over twenty-seven hundred acres, where a specialty is made of rearing and breeding Hereford cattle, Belgian horses and Poland China hogs. The herd of cattle is considered one of the finest in this section of the country. Mr. McCormick has made a study of his business, is naturally able as a business man and it has been largely due to his policies that the ranch is one of the highly developed and profitable one of the Panhandle. He is the manager and ably handles all the business of the place as well as carrying on the necessary farming industries. Mr. McCormick is a Republican and his wife is a member of the Methodist church. He is a progressive man in his ideas and methods, uses the latest machinery and devotes his entire time to the many branches of his business. WILLIAM H. WINTERBOTHAM, the owner and manager of the largest and most popular grocery and feed business in Julesburg, Colorado, is a man of varied experiences, as he crossed the plains in the early days to seek gold in California, but did not go that far as the party stopped in Colorado. Mr. Winterbotham was born in Savannah, Missouri, December 26, 1845, the son of Samuel and Mary (Strouble) Winterbotham. The father was a farmer in the early days, then a miner and prospector; the mother died in 1847 and the children were left with friends while the father went west. Later he returned and the family moved to Iowa, where he was employed in the State Penitentiary. When the son William was old enough he and his father became partners in a mercantile business in Iowa; moved from there to Columbus, Nebraska, where the father died in 1876. William Winterbotham continued in the hardware business in Nebraska until 1902, when he located in David City to, open a store which he conducted until 1909, the year in which he established himself as a grocer in Julesburg, where he is regarded as one of the leading merchants of the city. Mr. Winterbotham has always been in the mercantile business since first forming a partnership with his father, except for a few years which he devoted to mining. He is a man of great bodily and mental vigor and looks twenty years younger than he is. He owns the largest and best equipped store in this section of the country, which he runs with the assistance of his two sons-in-law and daughter, Maude, who is the bookkeeper. In 1874, Mr. Winterbotham was married at Columbus, Nebraska, to Miss Lillie Hudson, the daughter of H. J. and Sarah (Shefford) Hudson, the former being judge of his county and clerk for many years. Three children were born to this union: Maude, the wife of Ray C. Johnson, of Julesburg; Blanche, deceased; and Hazel, the wife of C. W. Larabee, of Julesburg. Mr. Winterbotham is a Republican and in years past took an active part in politics, attending the state and county conventions but never would accept public office, devoting his time to his growing business. In an interesting manner, Mr. Winterbotham recounts how, in the spring of 1859, he with his father and brother started from Fort Madison, Iowa, for the gold fields of California to prospect and mine. They joined a large party going west, each small section driving a wagon drawn by oxen and he says that he walked most of the way from Iowa to Pike's Peak. He was only a boy of fifteen at the time and enjoyed the adventure. The route lay over the famous California Trail, the "Crossing" of which lies just a short disance (sic) from Big Springs, Nebraska, where the trail split, the north branch led to Cheyenne and Laramie, the south to Denver. Ash Hollow was on the first and there the party camped, being visited by friendly Sioux Indians. The party continued by way of Cheyenne Pass and on to Golden Gate--Golden, Colorado--Manitou and South Park, where they mined for two weeks but did not get much gold so |
that the gold seekers began to doubt if there was gold and sought the advise of Horace Greely (sic) who was in the locality. The elder Winterbotham was elected spokesman and Greely (sic) gave him much encouragement and the party struck off for Pike's Peak, went to Denver, then a tent city, then on to Gregory and Gold Hill, camping at Boulder creek, where they built a dam and mined some gold but there was not enough to pay them and they started back east following the Arkansas river route. They saw many buffalo, killed some and met with a few hostile Kiowa Indians but had no serious trouble. Returning home the family became established in Iowa where the father and son later entered business. HOMER J. SPILLMAN, one of the prosperous general farmers of Garden county is a native son of Nebraska, born in Lancaster county, October 23, 1873, the son of Henry and Hannah (Dolcater) Spillman, the former a native of Pennsylvania while the mother was of German birth. He died in 1889 and she in 1918. They were the parents of five children: Emma, deceased; Harry, of Julesburg; Homer, of this sketch; Curtis, deceased; and Irwin, of Garden county, now in partnership with his brother. The father was a farmer and stone mason when a young man. The family came to old Cheyenne county--now divided and the part where they settled is known as Garden--in April, 1886; they took up a homestead where they lived until Mr. Spillman died. The mother then sold the farm and moved to Julesburg. Mr. and Mrs. Spillman started for their homestead from Big Springs, as there were no roads or trails Mr. Spillman knew only the general direction in which to drive. With them they had five cows, four horses, a span of mules and the wagon. A storm came up while they were on the way which clogged the wheels making progress slow; finally they reached the shack, which was only sixteen by twenty feet and were snow bound for some days. The first year in the new home their crops consisted of watermelons, potatoes and squash which grew so large that Dr. Babcock took some to the State Fair at Lincoln where they took the prize. Mr. Spillman was a Republican, with his wife was a member of the Methodist church and they helped organize the Froid church and school, which were the first in their part of Garden county. Mr. Spillman had practically no education and knowing the necessity of schools, it was through his efforts the first school was established. William Barbee was clerk and Mr. Spillman director, serving until his death. The first church services were held in his house. Water had to be hauled five miles at that time but later the Spillmans had the first well in the locality. At the time of his death Mr. Spillman owned a homestead and tree claim; was just nicely started to raise cattle and make money when overtaken by death. The first plow lathe ever sharpened in Julesburg was owned by Mr. Spillman and he did his first threshing by horse power. Homer Spillman was educated in the public schools of Garden county, worked on the farm and when old enough took up his present homestead northeast of the Froid church. He and his brother Irwin are now in partnership, owning eight hundred acres of arable land where they engage in general farming, have well built and convenient farm buildings; use modern methods, and are regarded as two of the progressive business men of this section of Garden county. Mr. Spillman is a Republcan and a member of the Methodist church. March 24, 1891, Mr. Spillman married Miss Grace Daniels, the daughter of John and Isabella (Kearney) Daniels. The mother is deceased and the father now lives with Mr. and Mrs. Spillman. Mrs. Spillman was a school teacher in Garden county before her marriage, teaching part of the time in a dugout, part sod, known as the Simpson school. She drove to the school from her home with a pony and cart and sometimes was lost but the pony would always find the way. The Spillmans have one child, Hazel. OLA CHRISTENSON, one of the progressive farmers of the Panhandle whose business ability has placed him in the front rank of farmers in the Chappell district where he has made good as a stockman, was born in Sweden, February 23, 1863, the son of Christian and Uellreka (Landeen) Christenson both natives of the same country, where the father was a butcher. They passed their entire lives in their native land. Nine children made up the Christenson family but Ola, of this review, is the only one in this part of the United States. He was educated in the public schools of Sweden and came to this country when twenty years of age, locating in Polk county, Nebraska, in 1883, where he lived until 1908, then came to Deuel county to buy land. The first quarter cost fifteen dollars an acre but that purchased later was higher. His property is well improved, fine buildings have been erected and the Christenson farm is one of the finest in the locality, for Mr. |
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