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and was mustered into service as second lieutenant, being promoted in May, 1863, to the rank of captain for meritorious service at Monticello, Kentucky, which was his first actual engagement. He demonstrated his worthiness in more than twenty-five hard-fought battles, including the following: Monticello, May 1, 1863; Richmond, Kentucky, August 10; Calhoun, Tennessee, November 12; Campbell Station, November 16; Knoxville, November 17 and 18; Bean Station, November 15; Kelley's Ford, Janunry (sic) 4, 1864; Massey Creek, January 15, (all in Tennessee); Resaca, Georgia, May 14 and 15; New Hope Church, June 17; Pine Mountain, Georgia, June 19; Lost Mountain, June 21; Kenesaw Mountain, June 27; East Point, Georgia, August 6; Utoy Creek, Georgia, August 8, Jonesboro, Georgia, August 31; Columbia, Tennessee, November 30; Franklin, Tennessee, November 30; Nashville, December 14, 15, and 16; Fort Anderson, Old Town and Wilmington, North Carolina, all in February, 1865; and Goldsboro and Raleigh in March, 1865. He did gallant and effective service in the Atlanta campaign, and during a charge at Knoxville, Tennessee, was wounded while at the head of his company, against superior forces, receiving favorable comment for his bravery. He was again wounded at Franklin, Tennessee, and when the war was over he was mustered out at Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1865. being discharged at Chicago.Returning to his home in Henry county, Illinois, Mr. Mitchell continued to reside in that state until 1880, which year witnessed his arrival in Milford, Seward county, Nebraska. Here he conducted a drug store for some time, but is now engaged in the insurance and real estate business. He has taken an active and prominent part in political affairs, and in 1896 was elected as the Democratic candidate for the state legislature, being elected by a large majority. He proved an able representative of his district, and was a popular and prominent member of the assembly.
ESTON W. LA MUNYON has been a resident of Butler county, Nebraska, since February, 1871, and has a pleasing and remunerative farm on section 28, Summit township. He is a fit type of those strong and active men who have passed through the pioneer days, and live to enjoy the results of life in Nebraska. He is honest and upright, a man of integrity, and sure of the good opinion of all his neighbors.
Mr. LaMunyon was born in Pennsylvania, and was taken by his parents to Michigan at the tender age of five years. There he remained under the parental roof tree until he had grown to early manhood. And there the outbreak of the Civil war found him ready to respond to his country's call for help. He was a member of Company E, Twenty-ninth Michigan Volunteer Infantry. He was only sixteen years of age when he enlisted, but he was a brave soldier, and did good service for the Union. He returned to Shiawasse county, Michigan, when the war was over and after a number of years was the owner of considerable real estate. This he sold, and taking the proceeds came into Nebraska, confident that such a move would greatly improve his conditions of success. Bringing his family with him he located in the Platte valley, where he spent his first winter. He found it delightful, and has never ceased to sound the praise of the Nebraska climate. Securing his land he built a frame house, and put up the most substantial improvements. And here he lives to-day in the enjoyment of the rewards of a well spent life.
In his earlier life Mr. Munyon affiliated with the Republican party, but the reform movement of recent years found in him a
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strong advocate. He was one of the leading spirits in the organization of the Independent movement in this state, and was elected on the county board, where he has served for three years. He is now rounding out his second year in the responsible office of justice of the peace. Mrs. LaMunyon's maiden name was Mary J. Snedicker, and she is the mother of ten children, whose names are Nora, Hattie, Matie, Thomas H., Willard W., Hawley, Bessie, Garrett Wyman, Orpha and Justis Howard. His father, Ace LaMunyon, was born in Rhode Island and is still living.
HARLES Y. WARREN is among the older men who have made a home in Hays township, and is a man of whom York county might well be proud. He lives on section 17, and has fought a good fight against all kinds of obstacles and discouragements in the noble effort to win a home for his dear ones out of the wilderness. He has splendidly succeeded by dint of patience, hard work and persistence. These three qualities are woven into the innermost fibre of all successful pioneers, and the subject of this article shows them in large measure.
Mr. Warren was born at Cold Springs, Putnam county, New York, January 23, 1835, and is a son of John N. and Rachel (Davenport) Warren, who were also native to that state. His great-grandfather was that General Warren who was killed at the battle of Bunker Hill, and a cousin of his, General G. K. Warren, won high rank and honorable mention in the American Civil war. Samuel Warren, a brother of our subject, entered West Point at the same time. Both were wild and little inclined to the monotony of school work, and finding a favorable opportunity, ran away. The future general listened to the entreaties of his parents and returned to his duty, but Samuel was not open to persuasion, and would not return. John N. Warren was a blacksmith and was injured by a falling tree so seriously that his death soon resulted. His son, the subject of this writing, was only seven years old at the time of his father's untimely passing. He remained in his native state until he was twenty-one years old, and then came to Leland, Illinois, where he engaged in the grain trade with an older brother. In the meantime his mother had settled in the neighboring town of Earlville, where she died in 1868. When the war broke out, Mi. Warren, true to the soldierly instincts of his blood, promptly enlisted in the Federal army. He was a member of Company I, Fourth Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, and served some thirteen months, when he was discharged on account of serious disabilities. The Friday night before the battle of Pittsburg Landing, while on scout duty, he was shot in the right knee, and had his horse killed under him. He recovered from the wound, but it left him lame for life. He had participated in many important battles and skirmishes, and knows the smell of gunpowder on the field of battle.
After being discharged from the service, Mr. Warren returned to Illinois and entered into business at Earlville. He was married in 1867 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa,. to Miss Emma A. Fuller. She was born at DePeyster, New York, and is a daughter of John and Marietta (Wilson) Fuller. Her parents were native to New York, and settled in Michigan at an early day. They came to LaSalle county, Illinois, in 1862, and engaged in farming. At a later date they removed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where her father died June 7, 1881. Her mother passed away June 14, 1868.
Two years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Warren established themselves on a farm in Champaign county, Illinois, which they bought and retained as their home for
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CHARLES Y. WARREN
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several years. In 1878 they came into Nebraska and established themselves in Fillmore county. There they only raised one crop, and not feeling thoroughly satisfied with the location, abandoned it and entered York county, buying eighty acres where they are still living. Mr. Warren soon added a second eighty to his original purchase, and now owns and operates well-appointed farm of one hundred and sixty acres. He has in addition to this some very desirable real estate in the village of Lushton.Mr. Warren is an active member of the C. W. Hays Post, No. 306, Grand Army of the Republic, at Lushton, and is its first junior vice-commander, and one of its charter members. He took a prominent part in the organization of the post, and has always exhibited an unselfish interest in its success. He was on the building committee and did much to secure funds for the erection of a hall at Lushton for post purposes. The hall was recently dedicated with imposing and interesting ceremonies. Mr. Warren was president of the day, and took a leading part in the exercises. Mr. Warren is now serving the post as senior vice-commander, and is president of the board of trustees. He is the father of seven children, six of whom are living. Millie M., Mrs. S. Shaner, born November 22, 1867, and Harry F. was born April 2, 1870, and died January 13, 1873. The names and birth of the other children: Charles S., September 15, 1874; Pearl E. (now Mrs. Ohmar Hager), November 13, 1876; Susie E., July 21, 1879; Samuel J., October 23, 1881, and Alma I., August 12, 1884. Mr. Warren is a man who commands respect wherever he is known. He was an old soldier of the union, and can feel a noble delight in the service he rendered in defending the union. He stands well in the community, arid is known as a friend to all enterprises that look to the upbuilding and improvement of the neighborhood and county in which his home is found. His many friends will be pleased to find a portrait of this valued citizen on another page of this volume.
MANDA M. EDWARDS, superintendent of the Nebraska Industrial Home at Milford, is a woman whose influence for good is pronounced and far-reaching. The home over which she so successfully presides is the outgrowth of certain plans and purposes of Mrs. Dr. Dinsmore, Mrs. C. H. Gere, Mrs. O. N. Humphrey and others of Omaha, and was founded and sustained for some years by the Woman's Associate Charities of Nebraska. It is now a state institution, the Board of Public Lands and Buildings having assumed full control in 1897. The present officers of the home were appointed by the Governor, and represent the most active redemptive agencies of the state. Mrs. Edwards is the superintendent, Dr. Alma L. Rowe is the Home physician and Miss Nellie Reed is the matron. Mrs. Clara E. Carscadden was the retiring superintendent, and did much to prepare the way for the recognition of the Home as worthy of the name and support of the state.
Mrs. Edwards was born in Montgomery county, New York, and is a daughter of Isaac and Sarah B. (Bingham) Mereness, of that county. Her mother was born in Montgomery county, New York, and both lines of ancestry run back to Connecticut. The ancestors on her father's side trace back to Holland and were among the oldest Dutch families in New York state. She received her literary education at Ames Academy and at the Whitestown Seminary, both celebrated New York schools, and she is deeply versed in many studies. She married DeWayne Palmer in 1870. He died at New Hartford, New York, in 1874,
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and she maintained her widowed state for four years, when she became the wife of Ira Edwards. In 1885 she came to Fremont, Nebraska, and there she grew deeply interested in stock raising, and under her care the East Grove Stock Farm grew into one of the famous institutions of the state. As its founder and superintendent she was widely known throughout the west, and her peculiar ability was recognized by her appointment from this state as judge of awards at the World's Columbian Exhibition, where she served with honor and distinction. She was the only lady serving on the board of agricultural products, farm buildings, etc. She is a prominent club woman, and is thoroughly advanced and progressive in all her ways. It is, however, as superintendent of the home that her very gifts of heart and brain are displayed. She has to deal with wayward dependent girls, who are repentant of their evil ways, but without resources. She is a fine disciplinarian, and has great executive ability. Her sympathies are strong, and she gives her unfortunate wards a mother's care. Her only son, Everet S., has charge of the farm interests of the home, and is a stirring and energetic young man of good business qualities.
ILLIAM MAPPS, one of York county's most successful agriculturists, was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1827. His parents, William and Jane (Highlands) Mapps, were natives of New Jersey and Pennsylvania respectively. The father was a cooper by trade and followed that occupation, together with farming, during the greater part of his life. He went from Pennsylvania to Ohio, but after a few years he removed to Will county, Illinois, where he died at the age of eighty-two years.
William Mapps, the subject of this sketch, was reared and educated in Ohio, learned the cooper's trade, and pursued that calling for several years in Ohio, and afterwards in Illinois, to which state he removed in 1848. During a considerable portion of the time he followed farming in Will county, Illinois, until 1889, when he removed to York county, Nebraska, where he had purchased land as early as 1880. On his arrival in the county he purchased additional lands, and has been very successful, being one of the best known men in the county, not only on account of his enterprise and business ability, but for all those qualities which go to make a popular man and good citizen.
September 26, 1850, our subject was united in the bonds of wedlock with Elizabeth Kendrick. Mrs. Mapps is a native of Indiana. To this congenial couple have been born five children, named as follows: Samuel T., a sketch of whom will be found elsewhere in this volume, John T., James W., Elizabeth and Cora.
RANK KOZA is a well-to-do farmer and stock raiser on section 8, Skull Creek township, Butler county. He is one of the earliest settlers of the town, and has taken a deep interest in its welfare from the beginning. He has had many difficulties to contend against, and the experiences of a poverty-stricken Bohemian lad trying to make his way in a strange land are not very apt to be rose-colored. It was hard enough for those who were born to the soil and familiar with its laws and customs to make their way in the pioneer times. But it certainly required a peculiar heroism to undertake and accomplish what the subject of this sketch did naturally and easily, as it seems in the retrospect.
Mr. Koza was born in Moravia, Austria, in December, 1856, where he passed the first fifteen years of his life. He had two
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younger brothers and five older sisters, and in 1871, upon his father's death, these eight children accompanied their mother to Nebraska. She saw an opportunity for them on this side of the ocean, and though it required the undergoing of every kind of privation it meant life and knowledge for all her children, and she was willing to face the dangers of the new world for the sake of what it meant in the future for those she loved. They were among the earliest settlers of Butler county, and endured all the privations and hardships that were incident to those pioneer days, but her action was justified in the very substantial prosperity and comfort which her boys and girls have attained.Mr. Koza is located on a fertile farm which he has won by his own exertions, and where he lives securely intrenched in the esteem of his neighbors. Miss Katie Fleming, a daughter of Frank Fleming, herself a pioneer, became his wife in 1885, and has borne him three children, Elizabeth. Annie and Louis. She is a good housewife and a kind neighbor. Mr. Koza has a farm of two hundred and eighty acres, which is provided with all the modern appliances to lighten the labor of the husbandman and increase the productiveness of the soil. He is a Republican in his political affiliations, and a member of the Catholic church in his religious associations.
ILLIAM M. STRICKLER. --Mr. Strickler is a progressive and public spirited citizen of York county, and is generally recognized as a representative farmer of the state. He is the proprietor of a farm containing one hundred and sixty acres, which is a delight to the critical eye. He is still in the prime of life, and anticipates many pleasant years to be spent by him and his family on his highly cultivated acres in section 16, Waco township.
Mr. Strickler was born in Adams county, Illinois, January 25, 1852, and the house of his nativity was rudely constructed of logs with hickory puncheon floors. It was but a humble home, and yet it nourished a strong man who was able to make a home in the fertile regions of a state then given over to the Indian and the wild beast. His parents, Abraham and Lucinda (Washington) Strickler, were both natives of Pennsylvania, and there they were married with no capital but trusting hearts and brave spirits with which to face the future. They loaded their simple outfit for housekeeping on a small boat, and pulled around to Quincy, Illinois, where they had selected a location about thirty miles northeast of the city. The young husband had no money to pay for cartage and he hoed corn at twenty-five cents a day, until he had accumulated money enough for transportation. He was industrious and persistent, and in a few years he became the owner of a small farm. In 1859, however, he sold it, and removed to a stretch of raw prairie in the same county, where his money secured him a larger and better-located farm. Here he remained until his death in 1884, outliving his wife twenty-four years. He was a man of a strong and positive character. He was a member of the Christian church, and participated in the Mormon war. He was an honest hardworking man all his days, and left his children the inheritance of a good man. He was the father of five children who lived to attain maturity. Sarah Hoyt was the first-born, and the subject of this writing was second. Harriet Kerr and Caroline Cram are younger daughters, while the youngest girl, Amanda, died after reaching womanhood.
William M. Strickler grew to manhood under the parental roof and received such educational advantages as the rude society of the times afforded, which, as may be imagined, were neither very broad nor deep.
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But he made such use of the privileges he could command as would fairly fit him for the duties of a broader life. He remained at home until he had reached his thirtieth year, when he came to this state, and married Miss Edna Lancaster, a daughter of E. Lancaster, of Waco township. Like his father, he was devoted to farming and securing a farm established himself where he now is. There was nothing on it then but about one hundred rods of wire fencing with 2 x 4 posts, and some thirty acres of broken ground. He put up a house 14 x 28 feet the following spring, and twelve years ago built his present residence. The farm buildings are commodious and sufficient to every requirement, and in these present surroundings he carries on a system of mixed farming that gives him the command of the market, and he is always ready to profit by an upward turn in prices. He has tried a specialty of shorthorn fine stock but likes general farming better. He is the father of two bright boys, Carleton A. and Harry Edward. His wife is a member of the Baptist church, while he is a loyal and devoted member of the Masonic order at York, and of the Modern Woodman of America at Waco. He affiliates with the Republican party in national affairs, but inclines to broad views of home matters, and favors good men for town and county offices. He has himself served his community as a member of the county board of supervisors and as director of school district number 51.
OHN LINDQUIST, who is a thorough and systematic agriculturist and a man of more than ordinary business capacity, owns and successfully operates a fine farm on section 21, Stewart township, York county. Like many of the best citizens of this region, he is of Swedish birth, born February 26, 1837, in Skarrborsland, Sweden, and is a son of Andrew and Anna (Anderson) Siefried, also natives of that place. At one time the father owned a good farm in his native land, but on selling it purchased a smaller place. Both he and his wife were faithful members of the Augustana Lutheran church, and are now deceased. Of their six children, Anika, Hannah and Anders still reside in Sweden; John is the next of the family; Swan lives in Bureau county, Illinois; and Jonas in Stockholm, Sweden.
On the home farm in his native land John Lindquist grew to manhood, and in the schools of that country obtained a good practical education. It was in 1864 that he crossed the broad Atlantic and took up his residence in Princeton, Illinois, where he worked at farming until coming to Nebraska in 1880. He secured his present farm, which at that time was all wild land, and the first year spent here he raised a crop on rented land and also broke forty acres of his own property. The following year his crops were-doing nicely until destroyed by a hail storm, but since then he has met with success in his chosen calling, and now has eighty acres of the one-hundred-forty-acre tract under cultivation and well improved with good and substantial buildings. He began life in this state with five hundred dollars in money and a team of horses, and the success that has come to him is due entirely to his own well directed efforts, perseverance and industry.
In 1887 Mr. Lindquist led to the marriage altar Miss Emma Anderson, a native of Sweden, and to them have been born five children, namely: Anna Josephine, Ida Christina, Harry Siefried, John Emil and Frank Arthur. In connection with general farming our subject is interested in stock raising, and has upon his place four horses, twelve head of cattle and seven hogs. He advocates the free coinage of silver and religiously he and his wife are identified with the Swedish Methodist Episcopal church, of Gresham, in which he has held office, and
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is now serving as trustee. The children are being well educated in English, and the family is one of prominence in the social circles of the community.
ON. DEWITT EAGER, whose home is at Beaver Crossing, Nebraska, has been a resident of Seward county for something like eighteen years, and in that time has achieved a large success. He is not yet fifty years of age, but in that time he has run an extended and exciting career. He has tried different occupations, and has proved himself a versatile character. In him appears the typical American, who can do many things well, and is at a loss to know what he can do best.
Mr. Eager was born in Oneida county, New York, in 1850, and was a child to William and Caroline (Northrup) Eager. His father came from Massachusetts, and his mother from New York. She died when he was less than a year old, and his lines fell in unpleasant places. He lived among strangers in his youth, and received but a limited education. He is a self-made man in every respect, and while he is not particularly proud of his handiwork, yet he has a certain satisfaction in considering the obstacles that have hindered his progress and what he has been able to do in spite of them. He was brought to Wisconsin when only five years old, and when only eighteen he made the trip to Montana, where he spent five years in the mines. In 1873 he set foot for the first time on the soil of Nebraska, and filed a homestead claim in Polk county, where he secured a good farm. In 1880 he moved into Seward county, and here he owns a farm, and is engaged in several important business enterprises. He went into business at Beaver Crossing, where he bought out a general store This store has grown under his hands, and has secured a wide patronage, making the venture very profitable. In 1888 he put up the large brick block, which he still occupies as a store building, and in which he carries one of the largest stock of goods in the county. He has recently broadened his interests, and is now carrying a large stock of lumber. He has gone into it very extensively, has put up new buildings, and has one of the most complete lumber yards to be found along the line of the Elkhorn road.
Mr. Eager was a newspaper man for a number of years and edited and managed the Beaver Crossing Bugle for several years. He was formerly a Republican, and acted with the party until 1890, when he became interested in the Independent movement, and his recent political activities have been along the line that organization travels. He has always been a man of large caliber and broad views, and has the courage of his own convictions. He was elected to the state legislature in 1896 on the Fusion ticket. He took a leading part in its proceedings, and was the author of a bill to secure the teaching of music in the public schools. He was married at Central City, Nebraska, in 1874 to Miss Ella Taylor. The fruits of this union are Edna, Elmer, Earl, Alta and Oliver. He is an ideal type of the western business men, open-hearted, brainy, an exhaustless friend and an open, candid foe. He has done much to promote the growth of the community in which he lives, and has the entire confidence of all who know him.
. HONESS is one the representative citizens of Polk county who devotes his energies to agricultural pursuits, successfully carrying on operations on section 14, township 13, range 4. He was born in County Kent, England, in 1831, a son of Robert Honess, who came to America in 1843, and located in New Jersey, where his death occurred. The mother died in England about
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1839 or 1840. In native land our subject grew to manhood, and at the age of twelve years began earning his own livelihood as a stable boy, afterward helping the teamster to drive four horses.It was in 1852 that he crossed the broad Atlantic, and for six years he made his home with his father in New Jersey, but at the end of that time came west, and until the outbreak of the Civil war he worked at farming in Jackson county, Iowa. On the 2nd of December, 1857, he was united in marriage with Miss Harriet Maria Sealey, who was born in Hudson county, New Jersey, in 1841, and is a daughter of John Sealey, a native of Yorkshire, England, who in 1854 removed to Jackson county, Iowa, and in 1880 came to Polk county, Nebraska, where his death occurred in October, 1881. After his marriage our subject bought a few acres of land in Jackson county, Iowa, and erected a little house, in which the family made their home while he was away at the front.
In August, 1862, Mr. Honess enlisted in Company I, Twenty-fourth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, as a private, and with his regiment proceeded to Helena, Arkansas. He took part in the battles of Magnolia Church, Port Hudson, Champion Hill, Jackson, Mississippi, and from there went to New Orleans, where they spent the winter after having participated in the Opelusus raid. After the Red River expedition the regiment was sent to the Shenandoah Valley, and took part in the battles of Fisher Hill, Cedar Creek and Winchester. After driving General Early from the valley, they were ordered to Savannah, Georgia, and with Sherman's army marched to Goldsboro, North Carolina, after which they returned to Savannah, where Mr. Honess was discharged July 17, 1865, being mustered out after his return to Iowa, on the 3rd of August. He was never wounded nor captured, but at Champion Hill had his gun all shattered by a musket ball, and it was at this place he was promoted to the rank of sergeant for meritorious conduct and bravery on field of battle.
Returning to his home in Jackson county, Iowa, Mr. Honess continued to live there until 1869, when he removed to Lynn county, that state, where he purchased a farm. There his barn and its entire contents were destroyed by fire. On selling that place he operated rented land in Gentry county, Missouri, for three years, and in 1872 came to Polk county, Nebraska, where he secured the homestead on which he still resides. His first home here was a rude sod house, which was replaced by a better one the following year, at which time he also broke some land; in 1874 he raised eighty bushels of wheat, but the grasshoppers destroyed the rest of his crops; but in 1875 his harvests were good, and he has since steadily prospered, so that he is today one of the well-to-do farmers of the locality. His farm comprises one hundred and sixty acres of rich and arable land, and he has placed one hundred and twenty acres under a high state of cultivation, making many valuable and useful improvements thereon, including his present pleasant dwelling erected in 1888. He raises a good grade of stock and all the cereals adapted to this climate.
Mr. and Mrs. Honess have a family of five children, namely: Hannah May, now the wife of John D. Brown, by whom she has two children, Irvin and Marietta; Mary Luella; Frank J.; Ettie J. and Robert William. The parents are active and prominent members of the Pleasant View Methodist church, in which Mr. Honess serves as trustee, steward and Sunday school teacher, while his wife is president of the Ladies Aid Society, and is also a Sunday school teacher. They have provided their children with good educational privileges, and he is an efficient school director in district No. 26. He is a member of the Grand
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