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Cook's command succeeded in tearing up the railroad and supplies. On their return, three hundred of their men were captured and taken to Andersonville. The remnant (sic) of the regiment was then sent to Nashville, remounted and ordered to Florence, Tennessee, for parole duty, and on the advance of Hood were driven into Nashville. The regiment to which Mr. Mickey belonged took an active part in the campaign between Hood and Thomas, including the battle of Franklin and the two-days engagement at Nashville. On the second day of that engagement our subject was stricken down with intermittent fever, and for two weeks was at Spring Hill in the hospital. He then reported for duty at Waterloo, took part in the Wilson raid south to the Gulf, and on arriving at Macon, Georgia, learned that the south had surrendered. In August, 1865, he was mustered out at Macon, and at Clinton, Iowa, was honorably discharged with the rank of corporal. He was never wounded or captured, and with the exception of the time spent in the hospital, was never off duty, but was always found valiantly defending the starry banner and the cause it represented.

      After his return home Mr. Mickey continued his education in the common schools for one term and then spent two years as a student in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. He was married September 10, 1867, to Miss Morinda McCray, who was born in Des Moines county, Iowa, April 8, 1849. In 1868 Mr. Mickey came to Nebraska and secured a homestead claim on Blue river, twelve miles southeast of Osceola. For four years he was engaged in the cultivation of that farm, and has always been an active factor in the development and progress of the county. In 1872 he was an active factor in laying out the town of Osceola, and the same year took up his residence there. He has since been actively identified with the its upbuilding--in fact, the town largely stands as a monument to his enterprise and energy. On the 26th of May, 1879, he opened the only private banking institution in Polk county, calling it the Osceola Bank. In 1881 it was incorporated as a state bank, with ex-Governor Albinus Nance as president and Mr. Mickey as cashier. Its present officers are: John H. Mickey, president; E. L. King, vice-president; Oliver E. Mickey, cashier; and S. A. Snider, assistant cashier. It has a paid up capital of $37,500, and under the able management of Mr. Mickey, has become one of the most reliable and trustworthy financial institutions in this part of the state. A general banking business is carried on, and in 1882 a commodious brick bank building was erected, and in 1893 it remodeled. In connection with his banking interests, Mr. Mickey has large farming interests in Polk county and owns much stock, having one hundred and fifty head of fine Durham cattle, and one hundred head of "feeders." His home is situated on a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres, which adjoins the city limits of Osceola.

      In 1886 Mr. Mickey was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 23rd of December. They were the parents of seven children, five of whom are living, namely: Oliver E., Harlan A., Evan S., Bertha E., and Mary N. Those deceased are John and Warren. The present wife of Mr. Mickey was in her maidenhood Miss Flora C. Campbell, daughter of Benjamin C. Campbell, of Osceola. She is a native of Iowa, and by her marriage has four children: Benjamin H., James H., who died September 14, 1893, Ralph D., and Flora E.*

      The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which Mr. Mickey takes a very active part, serving as steward, trustee, class leader and Sunday-school superintendent. In December, 1895, he was elected president of the board of trustees of the Nebraska Wesleyan University at Uni-
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*According to the cemetery extracts at Osceola Cemetery, it was Ralph D. Mickey that died, not James. H. Mickey.
James H. Mickey is with his parents for 1900 Census, and a daughter, Adeline (2 mos old) is added to the family.

versity Place, Nebraska, and has since filled that position. He was a lay delegate to the general conference in Cleveland, Ohio, in May, 1896, and does all in his power to promote the cause of Christianity among men. He is a charter member and Past Commander of J. F. Reynolds Post, No. 26, G. A. R. and in politics has always been a stanch Republican since casting his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln when nineteen years of age; his service in the war entitling him to the right of franchise. In August, 1870, on the organization of Polk county, he was elected county treasurer and filled that position with marked ability and fidelity until January, 1880, when an act was passed limiting the term of service to two terms. He is the present treasurer of the school board of Osceola, and in 1881-2 served as a member of the school board. He gives a generous support to every measure for the public good and his worth to Polk county cannot be over estimated. His public and private life are alike above reproach. Honorable in business, faithful in public office, tried and true in social circles, no man more justly deserves the regard in which he is held, and no citizen of Polk county enjoys the respect of his fellow citizens to a greater degree 

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.ILTON D. CAREY, the ex-prosecuting attorney of Seward county, early won recognition, alike for his mastery of the science of law, and for his ability in its elucidation to judge and jury. In a county where the legal practice is graced by a bar that has taken on the proportions and character that individualize the bar of Seward county, it requires more than the usual ability to rise above the common run. And it is no exaggeration to say that Milton D. Carey stands well up in the profession.

      Mr. Carey was born in Fillmore county, Minnesota, February 24, 1863, and was a child of Daniel and Elvira (Smiley) Carey. They were natives of Pennsylvania, and were bred to an agricultural life. They changed their residence several times and moved from their native state to Wisconsin. From there they went to Minnesota, and finally settled in Hamilton county, Iowa, where the husband and father died in 1893, and where the mother is still living. They had six sons that grew to manhood, and five of these are still alive. The subject of this writing is the youngest of the family. His grandfather, John Carey, was a native of Pennsylvania, and late in his life moved to Iowa, where he died.

      Milton D. Carey was educated in Iowa, and at the age of eighteen entered DePauw University, a famous Indiana institution devoted to the higher learning, for the purpose of taking a full classical course. He graduated with the degree of A. B., in 1888, and two years later was a member of the graduating class of the law department of the same school. He immediately came to this county to which his attention had already been directed, and locating at Seward entered into partnership with Mr. Beggs, under the firm name of Beggs & Carey. This firm did not long continue, and upon its dissolution Mr. Carey continued his business without professional assistance until January 1, 1898, when the firm of Carey & Brodley was announced to the world, the junior partner, George Brodley, being a young man of unusual gifts. Mr. Carey was elected prosecuting attorney in 1896. He was married in 1894 to Miss Teresa Maxwell, a native of Iowa. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and is a leading spirit in that fraternal association. He is a Populist in his political affiliations, and is an active worker in the various agencies that conduce to the growth of that party. He is a man of great personal power, and is highly respected by the community generally.

ERDINAND STEFFEN, who for twenty-seven years has been identified with the agricultural interests of Waco township, York county, now owns, operates and occupies a fine farm on section 2, where he has three hundred and sixty acres of land. Of this, one hundred acres is under cultivation and the well-tilled fields with their golden grain give evidence of the thrift and enterprise of the owner. Good grades of stock are also to be found upon his place, together with a comfortable residence erected at a cost of twelve hundred dollars, and substantial barns and out-buildings. Thus all modern accessories and conveniences have been added from time to time, and the Steffen farm has become one of the best of the neighborhood.

      The owner is a native of Prussia, Germany, born on the 1st of June, 1833, and is a son of Peter and Dorothy (Voltmann) Steffen. They were also natives of Germany and spent their entire lives in that land. Reared to manhood in the place of his nativity, Mr. Steffen acquired a good practical education there, and for three years served in the artillery in the Prussian army, holding rank as an officer in war times.

      His youthful training was at farm labor, and throughout his life he has followed the same pursuit. He was married in 1857, to Caroline Weisenburg, also a native of Prussia, and in 1865 they came to the United States, locating first in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where for five years Mr. Steffen engaged in farming. In 1871 he came to Nebraska and located on his present farm, then a tract of wild land, destitute of all improvement. For four weeks he lived under a wagon cover, during which time he hauled lumber from Lincoln, Nebraska, and built a little shanty twelve by sixteen feet. That continued to be home for ten years, when it was supplanted by his present modern residence. During the first year of his residence here he broke about twenty acres of ground, and in 1872 raised some corn; the following year he raised his first crop of wheat, and in 1874 had to suffer the disappointment of seeing his corn and part of his wheat destroyed by grasshoppers. With resolute purpose, however, he worked on, laboring all the harder under discouraging circumstances, and to-day he has one hundred acres of land under the plow, the richly cultivated fields bringing to him good crops. He also engaged in stock-raising, which adds materially to his income.

      The home of Mr. and Mrs. Steffen was blessed with six children, and with one exception all are married and have children of their own. They are Mrs. Minnie Neuyahr, who has nine children; August, who has eight children; Frank, who has two children; Mrs. Anna Gruber, who has three children; Louis, who has one child; and Mrs. Mary Schukneht. The parents educated their children both in the English and German schools, and thus fitted them for the practical and responsible duties of life. Mr. and Mrs. Steffen hold membership in the Lutheran church, and in politics he is a stalwart Republican, and a wide-awake, progressive citizen, who gives his support to all measures for the public good. 

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RANK STEINER. ---Among the foreign born residents of Butler county who are thoroughly identified with American civilization and progress, may be noted Frank Steiner. He owns a farm in section 27, of Savannah township, in what is known as the Luxemburg settlement. He came to Butler county March 18, 1872, and, as homesteads were already becoming scarce, he bought a claim from a Mr. Arnold.

      Mr. Steiner was born in Luxemburg, March 27, 1835. His father, Peter Steiner, died in the old country. Our subject was educated in the common schools of his na-

tive country, and, at the age of fifteen years he entered a foundry near Luxemburg, and learned the molder's trade, and followed that occupation as long as he remained in the old country. He migrated to America in 1853, or when he was eighteen years of age, and landed in New York. From there he soon moved to Albany and followed his trade in that city for nine years. In 1857, however, he went to Chicago, Illinois, for the purpose of seeing the country and learning what his prospects were for bettering his circumstances in that locality, but returned to Albany and worked in the large towns of New York until 1872.

      While living in New York, Mr. Steiner was united in marriage, in 1856, to Miss Emma Bartonett, daughter of Nicholas Bartonett, a Frenchman by birth, who died in New York. To this union were born the following children: John, Mary, Anna, Michael and Kate, were born in New York; and Nicholas and Lena were born in Nebraska. One of Mr. Steiner's brothers was already in Nebraska, having preceded him about one year, and this, together with the desire that his children should be reared in the country, induced him to move to that state. During his career in the west he has not only proved himself to be a successful farmer and increased his landed possessions to five hundred and fifty acres of fine land, and all well improved, but he has also become one of the prominent and useful member of the community. He has been loyal to the principles of Christianity, and has shown himself to be a man in whom all might place the highest confidence. He is one of the leading members of the Catholic church, and was one of the founders of the society in which he holds his membership. 

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UGH M. McGAFFIN, the gifted editor of the Gazette, which in his hands has become the leading paper of Gresham, Nebraska, is a native of Poughkeepsie, New York, where he was born March 28, 1872. He is a son of William H. and Margery (Martin) McGaffin, who were born in county Down, Ireland. They were married in their native county. The husband and father had a very good education, and he was a printer by occupation. They came to this country about 1870, locating in Poughkeepsie, where he found employment on the Daily News. He was afterwards engaged on The Eagle. They spent eight years in that city and then made an extended visit to the old country. They returned to Poughkeepsie, and have been across the ocean five times in all. They came to this state about 1886 and located at Seward. He worked on the Blue Valley Blade for two years, and then removed to Bellwood, Butler county, where he still resides. He is the father of thirteen children, eleven of whom are still living. Their names are William H., Hugh M., Robert, Margery, George, James, Joseph, Frederick, Walter, Maggie and Matilda.

      Hugh M. McGaffin spent the first fourteen years of his life in Poughkeepsie, during which time he made four trips across the Atlantic ocean with his parents to visit his grandparents, and since reaching that age he has been a resident of this state. He was very thoroughly educated in the east, attending a private school in the city of his birth. At sixteen he entered the Bellwood Gazette, and under his father's instruction became a practical printer. He was in David City for a short time, and he came to Gresham April 1, 1894. He bought the Review, and changed the name to its present title. He continues it as an independent publication, and has become an influential editor. He was married in November, 1894, to Miss Nellie May Derby, a daughter of C. W. Derby, of David City, Nebraska. Her father was an early settler in Butler county, and is the present proprietor of the

Derby house at David City. Mrs. McGaffin was born at Bellwood, where she was educated. She is the mother of two children, Ruth C. and Nellie May. They attend the Presbyterian church, and are deeply devoted to religious and educational interests. He takes a leading part in various fraternal organizations and is a prominent figure in the Modern Woodmen, the Royal Neighbors, and the Royal Highlanders of Gresham. He is independent in politics, and believes in a combination of the best man and the measures. 

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AMUEL R. ANSTINE, was for several years successfully engaged in the practice of law in this state, but owing to ill health was obliged to lay aside the arduous duties of the profession, and is now giving his attention to the lumber business in Tamora, Seward county. He is a true type of western progress and enterprise. His intellectual energy, professional integrity, prudent business methods and reliable sagacity have all combined to make him an able business man as well as a successful attorney.

      Born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, April 30, 1855, Mr. Anstine is a son of John and Ruth (Robinson) Anstine, natives of Pennsylvania and Virginia, respectively. On the paternal side he is of German descent, the family having been founded in this country in 1750. His grandfather, John Anstine, was born in Pennsylvania and died in Illinois. When a child John Anstine, Jr., was taken to Champaign county, Ohio, where he grew to manhood, and was married in 1854. The same year he removed to Wisconsin, and in 1865 became a resident, of McDonough county, Illinois, where he made his home until coming to Seward county, Nebraska, in 1882. He settled upon land in E township, where he resided for some years, but is now living in Tamora. Five children constitute his family, two sons and three daughters, and all reside in Seward county with the exception of one daughter, and the family is one of prominence in business and social circles.

      After attending the public schools for some time, Samuel R. Anstine entered the McDonough Normal and Scientific College at Macomb, Illinois, where he was graduated in 1875. After teaching school for one year he read law at Roseville and Macomb, and in 1878 was admitted to the bar. He then engaged in practice in Illinois until coming to Nebraska in 1880, and after following farming for two years he opened an office at Albion, Boone county, where he soon succeeded in building up a large and lucrative practice. He was the first county attorney of Boone county and was one of its leading lawyers until the spring of 1890, when he removed to Omaha. Four years of uninterrupted practice in that city broke down his health and he returned to Seward county and embarked in the lumber business at Tamora, in which he still engaged and is meeting with marked success in his new venture.

      Mr. Anstine was married at Macomb, Illinois, in 1878, the lady of his choice being Miss Mary E. Norris, a native of Missouri, and a daughter of Jacob and Abigail Norris. To them have been born two daughters, Leona M. and Annie L. The Democratic party has always found in Mr. Anstine a stanch supporter of its principles, and he is now an influential member of the county central committee. Fraternally he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. 

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HRIS F. GUNLACH is a fit type of that strong and reliable German-American element of the American population that has given a positive flavor to that unique article we call the national character.

 

He owns and tills a productive farm on section 30, Beaver township, York county, and the history of this part of the state could not be justly written without paying tribute to the character of a host of such men who have gathered from every country under the sun to make Nebraska great and rich and powerful alike in industry and commerce.

      Chris Gunlach is a native of German soil, where he was born February 11, 1847. He is a son of Christian and Minnie (Toice) Gunlach, and was brought by them to this country in 1856. They spent a year in Milwaukee, another year in Humboldt, and then located in Oconomowoc, where the boyhood days of our subject were mainly spent. He received a common-school education, and at the age of eighteen years began to care for himself. He sought employment among the neighboring farmers, and for a time was busy on the railroad. He came into Nebraska in the spring of 1870, and located where this history finds him. He was then far out in the wilderness and no other civilized habitation was in sight. There was but one thoroughfare, a rough wagon road that led by his house to the mountains, and the prairies were infested by bands of Omaha Indians, who, however, were more annoying than dangerous. He put up a dug-out, "bached (sic)" it, worked out and succeeded in breaking up ten acres the first summer he spent in the state. The first simple shelter lasted four years, and was then replaced by a structure that seemed quite a palace in those days, a one-story frame building, 16x24 feet. This was in anticipation of his marriage, which occurred March 10, 1878, to Miss Matilda Widle. She was a daughter of John Widle, who came here in June, 1870, and is now dead.

      Mr. Gunlach began in a most modest way, gradually bringing his farm into more complete shape, and has to-day two hundred acres, one hundred and twenty-five acres under high cultivation. He planted a grove of quick-growing trees, and has a beautiful orchard. Here he carries on a mixed husbandry of grain and stock interests, to which he devotes his entire attention. He is the father of four children, Fred, Lillian, Della and Elmer. He is a member of the Evangelical church, and of the Maccabees at Waco. He is a man of considerable prominence in local affairs, and has been tax collector of Beaver township for several years. He is one of the school officers in district 58, and has served his neighborhood in that capacity for eighteen years. He has passed through hard and toilsome years, and is now enjoying the ease and comfort that should naturally follow industry, honor and integrity. 

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OSHUA FINECY has for many years been one of the highly esteemed and valued citizens of Polk county, owning and operating a farm on section 31, township 15, range 3, and since 1890 he has been interested in merchandising. He is a native of Somerset county, Pennsylvania, born May 5, 1844, and is a son of William and Catherine (Brant) Finecy, who always made their home in that state. The father, who was a faithful defender of the Union during the Civil war, went to St. Louis in 1866 and was there burned to death in the destruction of a livery stable. The mother still makes her home in the Keystone state. Their children were Hattie, Joshua, Frank, George, John, deceased, and Wesley. Of these Joshua and Frank were also numbered among the boys in blue during the Rebellion.

      The subject of this sketch was reared in his native county until eighteen years of age, when he responded to the country's call for aid, enlisting August 5, 1862, in Company D, One Hundred and Thirty-third Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, which, at Washington, District of Columbia, was as

signed to the Army of the Potomac. He participated in the battle of Fredericksburg under General A. E. Burnsides, and was afterward confined to the hospital with measles. On the expiration of his term of enlistment he was discharged May 26, 1863, and on the 26th of September, 1864, was drafted, this time being a member of Company I, Fifty-second Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He joined his regiment at Morris Island, where he remained until after Sherman captured Charleston, and then went up the Santee river, but subsequently returned to Charleston, where he was on picket duty for eight days. By boat he went to Beaufort, South Carolina, thence to Goldsboro, North Carolina, and later joined Sherman's army at Raleigh. He was mustered out at Salisbury, North Carolina, and finally discharged June 23, 1865, having never been wounded or captured.

      Until the following fall Mr. Finecy remained at his old home in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and then went to El Paso, Illinois, where he was employed at carpenter work for five years. The following two years he engaged in farming at Dixon, that state, and in 1872 came to Polk county and secured a homestead on section 6, township 14, range 3. That winter he lived in his wagon, although the snow lay on the ground to the depth of eighteen inches. In the spring he constructed a sod house, which proved very unsatisfactory, as water would often cover the floor to the depth of six inches, and the next year he erected another dwelling, which was not much better. In the third sod house he erected he lived for four years and then built a frame residence, 14X20 feet. The first spring spent here, he hauled hay from Butler county, a distance of twenty-four mile, giving in exchange for his load a Buffalo robe. After living upon that place for twenty years, he sold it and removed to his present home in 1890. Opening a store at this place, he has since successfully engaged in merchandising in connection with agricultural pursuits.

      In Pennsylvania, Mr. Finecy married Miss Susannah Lohr, a native of that state, and they have become the parents of eight children: Eugene, Ada, Mary, Benjamin, John, Frances, George and Florizella. The parents are worthy members of the United Brethren church, in which Mr. Finecy is serving as trustee, and he also belongs to Silver Creek post, G. A. R. Politically he is a Republican, and has been honored with a number of official positions, being postmaster of Beulah eight years, assessor of Platte precinct two years, and a member of the school board. He was also twice elected justice of the peace, but refused to qualify. 

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ILS B. SWANSON.-=The subject of this sketch, a man of more than ordinary intelligence and business capacity, is prominently identified with the agricultural interests of York county, contributing largely to its reputation by building up one of the most desirable homesteads within its borders. This fine farm is pleasantly located on section 17, Baker township, adjoining the village of Charleston. He is in the prime of life, and in the midst of his usefulnesss (sic), admired and esteemed by his friends and neighbors, and enjoying, as he deserves, a generous portion of this world's goods.

      Mr. Swanson was born in Sweden, March 4, 1848, a son of Swan and Karna (Jepson) Nelson, who lived and died in that country. The father was a prosperous farmer of his native land; while he owned what would only amount to about fifty acres of land in the United States, it was considered a good-sized farm and was very valuable. During his minority our subject remained under the parental roof and received a good common school education. Deciding to try his fortune in America, he

left home at the age of twenty-three years, and landed in New York on the 1st day of May, 1871. He went immediately to Johnson county, Iowa, where he had an acquaintance living, and there secured work on a farm. For four years he was similarly employed in that county and in Illinois, and then operated a rented farm in Henderson county, Illinois, for two years, and one in Johnson county, Iowa, for the same length of time.

      In the spring of 1879, having saved some money, Mr. Swanson came to York county, Nebraska, and bought eighty acres of railroad land in Baker township, upon which the village of Charleston now stands. He improved the place, but in the fall of 1877 when the Northwestern Railroad was built, he sold his land to the railroad company for a town site. About two years before he had purchased eighty acres on section 17, Baker township, and to that place he removed, making it his home ever since. It is now one of the best improved farms of the township, a fine residence having been erected thereon in the fall of 1887, and since enlarged and improved. As his financial resources have increased, Mr. Swanson has added to his possessions until he now has two hundred and eighty acres of valuable land, all the result of his own industry, enterprise and good management, for he has been the architect of his own fortune, having landed in this country with a capital of only two dollars and fifty cents. He possessed, however, a good constitution, an unlimited amount of energy and good executive ability.

      On the 6th of October, 1877, Mr. Swanson was united in marriage with Miss Carrie Pierson, who was born in Sweden, October 24, 1849, a daughter of Pear and Martha (Olson) Hanson, who never left the land of their birth. Being left an orphan, Mrs. Swanson came to the United States with her brother in 1875, and located in Burlington, Iowa. By her marriage she has become the mother of nine children: Hulda; Selma and Oscar, both deceased; Alma; Mabel; Viola; Clara; and two who died in infancy, unnamed.

      Mr. Swanson is to-day one of the most prosperous and influential citizens of his community. He is independent in politics, although he always takes a deep interest in public affairs, and wields his influence and casts his ballot for such persons and measures as he considers will best advance the interest of the people as a whole, regardless of party affiliations. He has served as a member of the county board of supervisors, besides holding several minor positions of honor and trust. Socially he is identified with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and religiously both he and wife are members of the Evangelical Lutheran church. 

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OSEPH W. STRICKLER is an old-time resident of Nebraska, and is now comfortably located on section 31, Waco township, where he expects to spend the remaining years that the good Father will allow him on earth. He is a hardworking and painstaking farmer, and has had an extensive mercantile experience, that has thoroughly educated him in business methods. He was in the Federal army, and has seen so much of the world that his experience and observation have more than atoned for any lack of early education.

     Mr. Strickler belongs to a Pennsylvania family, and was born in Fayette county, September 19, 1837. He is a son of John and Sarah (Woodward) Strickler, both of whom are natives of Pennsylvania. His father was of German descent. The Strickler family left Pennsylvania in 1855, and came into Adams county, Illinois, where they located on a farm of wild land in the northeast part of the county. He lived and died there, while his wife, the mother

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