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doing a fine business and today has a capital stock of $100,000 and surplus of $25,000. The American Bank is the largest bank in the state west of Kearney, which speaks well for the men who are in control and manage it. The deposits in 1921 were $1,000,000. In 1912, Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Helen Fowler, who was born in South Dakota, and they have two children, Virginia and Helen Jane. Mr. Johnson is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and a 32d degree Mason and Shriner. He was county chairman of the War Savings Stamps drives and took an active part in assisting the Government in its prosecution of the war. He is a Republican and has been City Treasurer for three years. He has severed active connection with the American Bank and is now in the insurance and farm loan business in Sidney, conducting the largest business of its kind in Cheyenne county. ALBERT N. MATHERS. -- The business, acumen that serves to make Albert N. Mathers a successful banker, extends to the many lines of activity in which he has been engaged for years, some of these being of a private nature, while others are of such public importance that he is welcomed as an assistant adviser by those who have high government problems to solve. Mr. Mathers is a Nebraska man and no one can question his devotion to the best interests of her people. His business capacity, his matured conservative judgment, his sterling honesty and high sense of personal responsibility are known and appreciated in many sections and particularly at Gering, where he is president of the Gering National Bank. Albert N. Mathers was born in Otoe county, Nebraska, February 9, 1882, the only son of John C. and Mary (Cowles) Mathers, the former of whom was born in Alsace Lorraine, France, the latter in the state of New York. They were married in the city of Chicago, Illinois, and Mrs. Mather's death occurred in 1911. They had but two children, Carrie and Albert N. The former is the wife of John S. McKibben, who is in a wholesale business at Kansas City, where John C. Mathers now lives retired. When six years old he accompanied his parents to the United States, and was reared in Illinois. He enlisted in the Union army at the beginning of the Civil War, leaving good farm prospects behind, and served four years and three months as a member of the Fourth Illinois Cavalry. After the war ended he came to Nebraska, acquired land which included the town site of Douglas, was one of the organizers of a bank at that place and in numerous ways became prominent in Otoe county. In 1888, he moved to Douglas but for some time afterward continued interested in farming. Albert N. Mathers completed his education in the University of Nebraska, from which he was graduated in 1906. For one year afterward he taught school, for three years following that was engaged in a mercantile business at Douglas and then went to Kansas City. In 1911, he came to Scottsbluff, Nebraska, as assistant cashier in the Scottsbluff National Bank, in which institution he is still interested. He became interested quite early in Gering with the result that in 1913 he bought a controlling interest in the Gering National Bank, became its president and has ably directed its affairs ever since. The latest bank statement shows the capital stock to be $40,000, with deposits $520,000, the deposits having increased under Mr. Mather's administration to that amount from $52,000 when he took charge. Mr. Mathers has taken pains to encourage home enterprises and with other concerns, he is interested in the Scottsbluff Creamery Company and other corporation enterprises at both Gering and Scottsbluff. He owns eight improved, irrigated farms in the county and is a heavy sheep and cattle feeder. He also has much city property, including lots and business buildings and is a booster for the city and county. He is associated with every enterprise for the good of the community. In banking circles, his standing is high and for a number of years he was a member of the board of directors of the Nebraska Bankers Association and during one year of his directorship, was president of the board. He is a member of the Federal Reserve board, was one of the organizers of the Scottsbluff country club and has been director and vice president since its organization. In 1907 Mr. Mathers was united in marriage to Miss Fern Johnston, who was born near Nebraska City, Nebraska. Her father, Albert Johnston, was a prominent stockman in Otoe county for many years, featuring Shorthorn cattle and exhibiting at many state fairs. He owns three valuable farms near Gering, to which city he retired in 1916. Mr. and Mrs. Mathers, have two children: Albert Lowell, who has reached his tenth year, and Elizabeth, who is four years old. In politics Mr. Mathers is a Republican. He was elected first mayor of Gering in 1916; the fine public school building was erected, the water works and sewer system were establish- |
ed during his administration. For a number of years he has been chairman of the board of education. He has been an active and efficient official of the Gering-Fort Laramie government ditch and worked hard to get the land signed up, making two trips to Washington, D. C., to present the matters to legislators, at his own expense. He was elected treasurer of the irrigation company, an office which he has filled to the entire satisfaction of the association. Recognizing his fitness for such public service, Governor Neville named Mr. Mathers as one of the committee of five representative men to go to Washington to confer with Food Commissioner Hoover respecting the serious condition confronting sheep and cattle feeders in the state. He has taken an active part in government war work; was vice chairman of all four bond floatations, chairman of the publicity committee of the county; local chairman of the War Savings Stamps issue and a director of the Red Cross. Wherever he was needed he responded to the call and was one of the most effective four-minute speakers on the Nebraska list. Mr. Mathers has a beautiful home at Gering. He was reared in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church. JOHN T. McINTOSH, postmaster of Sidney and one of the younger business men of Cheyenne county who has made a name for himself in financial circles, was born in Potter, April 9, 1871, the son of James J. and Mary (Heelan) McIntosh, the former a native of Canada while the latter was born in Ireland. The father was a pioneer settler of this county, a prominent man here whose sketch appears in this volume. John McIntosh was reared in Cheyenne county and received his education in the public schools of Sidney. After graduating from the high school he entered Notre Dame University, of Indiana, took a special commercial course and after receiving his degree returned to Sidney. His father was one of the influential men who started the American State Bank, and the young man went into that institution of which his father was president. This was just a few months after the bank was started. Mr. McIntosh proved to be an efficient official, holding the office of assistant cashier. He learned the banking business from the ground up and soon was made cashier, holding office eleven years, and it was due to many of the policies that he and his father instituted that the bank was so successful. He became well and favorably known in banking and financial circles in the Panhandle as a sound, conservative banker. Re-signing from the bank, Mr. McIntosh accepted a position with the Union Pacific railroad, where his knowledge of finance was of great value, and he gained as high place with that road as he had with the bank, and only left because of a more advantageous offer from the Burlington Railroad. There he remained until appointed postmaster in 1911, an office which he has since held, to the entire satisfaction of the residents of Sidney. Today Mr. McIntosh is regarded as one of the substantial and reliable business men of this section, and is one who always helps in the upbuilding of Cheyenne county and the Panhandle which has always been his home. October 25, 1899, Mr. McIntosh married Miss Mary McFadden who came to Cheyenne county with her parents when six months old and was reared and educated here. Two children have been born of this union: James Clifton and Jean Heelan, both at home. Mr. McIntosh is a member of the Knights of Columbus, belongs to the Catholic church and is a Republican. He is one of the men who believes in the future of the Panhandle and like his father, is a constructive builder when it comes to county and civic affairs. JAMES L. McINTOSH is a native son of Nebraska. He resides at Sidney, the county seat of Cheyenne county, where he is engaged in the practice of law, and also in the real estate business. In his professional business alliance he is senior member of the firm of McIntosh & Martin, and formerly was associated in law practice with George W. Heist, at Sidney. He has proved himself one of the most aggressive and loyal supporters of progressive movements that have conserved the civic and material advancement of Sidney and Cheyenne county and had the distinction of serving as the first mayor of Sidney. He represents most fully what is known by the characteristic American expression of "live wire," and is one of the leaders in community thought and action at Sidney. He is a stalwart in the local camp of the Republican party, is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus and both he and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church. Mr. McIntosh was born in that part of Cheyenne county, Nebraska, that is now comprised in Kimball county, near the old town of Antelope, now Kimball, and the date of his nativity was April 11, 1874. He is a son of James J. and Mary Helen McIntosh, and on other pages will be found a review of the ca- |
reer of his father, so that further data concerning the family history are not demanded in the present connection. After due preliminary discipline in the schools of his native state James L. McIntosh entered Notre Dame University, Indiana, and after taking an academic course there he was matriculated in the law department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1893, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Upon his return to Nebraska he was admitted to the bar of his native state and forthwith engaged in the practice of his profession at Sidney, where he formed a partnership with Henry St. Raner, who is now a resident of Portland, Oregon. Later he was similarly associated with George W. Heist for some time, and his present professional and business coadjutor is Paul L. Martin. The firm has a substantial and representative law business. In 1898 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. McIntosh to Miss Rose Pavla, a native of Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. McIntosh have three children: Mary, who won a scholarship at the time of her graduation in the Sidney high school; McKinley, who is a member of the class of 1920 in the high school; and James G., who is attending the public schools of Sidney, the family being one of marked popularity in connection with the representative social activities of the community. MYRTLE J. LANCASTER, treasurer of Cheyenne county is one of the native daughters of Nebraska who has made a marked success in business life through her own ability and high standards. Miss Lancaster was born in York county, Nebraska, the daughter of John P. and Madge E. (Miller) Lancaster, the former a native of Illinois and the mother of Pennsylvania. They were married in Illinois and became the parents of four children: Clyde W., who lives in California; William L., deceased; Myrtle, of this review, and Helen who married Mervin E. Oliver, and lives in Sidney. Mr. Lancaster was a farmer who came to Nebraska at an early day, locating first in York county and then coming farther west in 1886, to settle here in Cheyenne county. He took up a homestead, proved up on it and engaged in farming until 1891, when he went to Colorado and became a gold sampler at Victor, Colorado, for the Taylor and Brunton Sampling Company, later returning to Sidney he became a railroad man and is now connected with the Union Pacific Road. Miss Lancaster received her education in the public schools of Sidney, where the greater part of her life has been spent. After finishing her education she entered business life, being bookkeeper for some years for a firm in Sidney. Later she went into the county offices, where she showed marked ability in handling the work, became familiar with many branches of county administration and was appointed deputy under W. R. Wood, county treasurer, and S. Fishman, county treasurer., After serving under them she ran and was elected treasurer of Cheyenne county in 1918, the first woman to ever hold that office in Cheyenne county. Miss Lancaster was thus thoroughly acquainted with the administration of the county funds and her election proves in what high standing she is held by the people of the county. For nine years she has been working in some official capacity in the court house and is regarded as one of the most able and efficient officers that the county has ever had. Miss Lancaster is a member of the English Lutheran church, of the Rebeccas (sic) and is vice-president of the State Association of County Treasurers. CLAYTON RADCLIFF, county attorney of Cheyenne county, is a native son of the Panhandle, born at Ogallala, March 16, 1889, the son of Mack and Bertie (Gasp) Radcliff, to whom were born three children: Harriet, of Sidney; Clayton, of this review and Anna, also living in Sidney. The father was a native of Ohio who ran away from home when a boy of fourteen years and went to Texas, staying there five years. When Mr. Radcliff came to Cheyenne county in 1872, with a "trail herd" from Texas, he was about nineteen years old. He found work as a cow boy which he followed for some time, then engaged in ranching business for himself, at the Ogallala ranch. Later he took up a homestead and the log cabin which he built is still standing today with the loop holes through which to fire at the Indians, when the whites were attacked. There is a picture of this cabin in the history of the Panhandle. Sidney, the nearest postoffice, was thirty-five miles distant and the nearest neighbor was twenty miles away, which shows the condition of the country at the time. Mack Radcliff still owns and operates this ranch consisting of about seven thousand acres, located on Cedar creek in Morrill county. Sidney was the great town of the Panhandle at that time, the outfitting place for the northwestern section of the state and also for the Black Hills. Mr. Radcliff was foreman |
of the Ogallala Cattle Company for a number of years, one of the well known cattle men of this section. Clayton Radcliff's grandmother on his mother's side ran the first hotel in Ogallala and at the time of one of the Indian uprisings was the only woman left in the town. Just after the Indians had left Mack Radcliff came very near capture by the Indians when he rode to the Keystone ranch on North Platte river to warn them of the coming Indians and a few days later Mr. Radcliff acted as guide and scout for the cavalry from Fort Sidney, who pursued the Indians into the sand hills. The following winter Mr. Radcliffe (sic) was in Fort Robinson--1878--when the Indians made their last final and fatal effort to escape, which resulted in the death of most of them when they were held as prisoners at Fort Robinson. The story of this Indian fight is well told in Edgar Bronson's Cow Boy Life on the Western Plain. The following year Mr. Radcliff, as foreman for Bill Shadley, trailed the first herd of Mormon cattle from Utah to western Nebraska. Clayton Radcliff was educated in the public schools of Sidney, graduated from the high school and then entered the State University at Lincoln where he took a course in the law school, receiving his degree in 1913. He was at once admitted to practice in Nebraska and came back to Sidney to open a law office where he has since been engaged in his professional work. Mr. Radcliff was elected county attorney in 1914 and has been re-elected to that office and is serving at the present time, which testifies to the faith and confidence which the people have in his ability. In 1918, Mr. Radcliff married Miss Merna Swartzlander, a native of Iowa whose father is a doctor. Mr. Radcliff is one of the younger members of the Cheyenne County Bar who bids fair to go far in his chosen profession. He is a Mason and an Elk. NELS JOHNSON, represents the progressive, sturdy type of citizens which has been furnished Cheyenne county by Sweden. Mr. Johnson had had some experience in agricultural industry in his native land, but farming is conducted in a much different manner in Europe than in America and the crops grown in that country are of another character so that he was forced to work out his own problems. He possessed willingness, inherent ability and a determination to succeed, and so well has he directed and managed his affairs that today he is one of the largest landholders in Cheyenne county; is accounted one of the substantial and progressive citizens of his community and held in high esteem by his business associates and the many friends he has made in the land of his adoption. Nels Johnson was born in Sweden. September 23, 1862, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Jons Monsen, who were natives of that land where they were reared, educated and married. The father was one of the successful small farmers of Sweden, who are known the world over for thrift, industry and the good living they are able to make of the small farms that lie between the mountain ranges, for the land of the valleys is very fertile and the husbandmen of this far northern country was able to win a comfortable living on an amount of land that is inconsiderable in our own country of broad prairies. Nels grew up on his father's farm, attending school, which is under government supervision in Sweden, until he had gained a good practical education. He assisted as a boy with such tasks as were not beyond his strength, and as he grew to manhood assumed more and harder work. He was an ambitious youth, and had heard from many of his returned countrymen of the opportunities to get ahead in American, so determined to come here for that purpose. In 1882, while not yet of age, he embarked for the New World, the "Land of Promise" which in reality has become one to him. Landing in Portland, Maine, he came west and was employed on a farm in Illinois, for five years before he accumulated enough capital to really engage in independent business as a farmer. During this time Mr. Johnson had made inquiries about the different sections of the country, where the best land was to be obtained and after long consideration chose Nebraska for his permanent home. Coming to the Panhandle he located in section 8, township 14, range 48, on a hundred and sixty acre claim, and that the location has proved satisfactory goes without saying when we learn that this is still the family home. In addition to this first tract Mr. Johnson filed on a tree claim. He proved up on all his land within the time required by the government. Mr. Johnson had some small capital, which, with his native thrift, he had been able to save from his earnings--enough at least, to make a substantial payment on the land he had selected. There he at once began permanent improvements; at first they had the usual sod house of the pioneer, but it was a warm comfortable home when the terrible winter blizzards swept across the prairies. As soon as possible he erected buildings for his stock so that they too would be protected alike from winter cold and summer heat. As Mr. John- |
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