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	146 GAGE COUNTY
	. old flag floats over all, the same glorious ensign of one Government and one Union, but fraternal love does not return to the people of the two sections so recently arrayed against each other in civil strife. The kind offices of the peace-maker avail not, and the olive branch is cast aside, a withered and useless thing. How can our beloved country be reunited in fact as well as in form ? How can the Union be securely re-established in the hearts and affections of the people of all sections? For the patriotic love of the people is the soul of the Union, its preservation is essential to the very life of the Nation itself. I do not think this can be done by indulging the spirit of crimination and recrimination for the errors, the weaknesses, or the crimes of the past. I do not believe it can be done by depriving eleven States of loyal representation in the National Congress, when representation is the very germ and essence of union. It certainly cannot be done by extreme and irritating demands on the one side, which are sure to be followed by increased contumacy on the other. I fear it will never be done by constitutional amendments containing what are considered impossible requirements by those most deeply interested. But, whichever way it is to be done, it must be done speedily. Evils, disasters and ruin wait not for the termination of long contentions in a house divided against itself. The energies, the productive industries of the South, are paralyzed by the incertitude of its political situation. This unsettled condition of affairs not only intensifies the feeling of hatred for the Government and for the Union there, but it seriously affects the commercial prosperity of the whole country. Every motive of patriotism, and every consideration of political economy, demand an immediate termination of this unhappy condition of things. If the constitutional amendment will not accomplish this, but if, on the contrary, it threatens to perpetuate hatreds, strife and discord, it should be abandoned at once, whatever sacrifice of cherished political dogmas or partisan prejudices are involved. However wise, just and necessary the guaranties sought to be obtained by this amendment may now appear to be, if they can only be secured by the entailment upon the Union of the eternal hostility of eleven States, they will certainly prove a source of sorrow and trouble to the Nation. Only that which will win back the hearts of the Southern people will give stability and enduring peace to the Republic. If the constitutional amendment will do this, and do it speedily, I will cheerfully unite with you in giving to it a cordial and earnest endorsement." At the close of the session the council recognized the efficiency of a faithful officer in the following resolution passed unanimously "Resolved, That the thanks of this council be, and the same are hereby tendered to the Hon. A. S. Paddock, Secretary of the Territory, for his uniform courtesy and kindness extended to the members of this body in his official communications with the members thereof. "O. B. HEWETT, Chief Clerk.” Mr. Paddock was married to Miss Emma L Mack, formerly of St. Lawrence County, N. Y., Dec. 22, 1869, daughter of Daniel Mack, of Canton, N. Y., who was a prominent citizen and an eminent Mason; an intimate, personal and political friend of Silas Wright, and a man of great worth and intelligence. EORGE GALE, of Adams Township, deserves special mention as one of the pioneer settlers of this county, having come here as early as 1858, at the very commencement of its development. His has been the career of an honest. upright, self-reliant man, who, all his life dependent upon his own resources, learned at an early age the art of "paddling his own canoe," and also to be of material service to those less gifted by nature for battling with the elements of the world. Mr. Gale is the offspring of a substantial family of the Empire State, his parents, Alonzo and Phebe (Peck) Gale, having been born in Dutchess County, the former in time to take an active hand in settling the troubles of 1812. He was of Irish descent, while the mother traced her ancestry to England and Holland. Alonzo Gale was a farmer by occupation, and only lived to be middle-aged, his death occurring in Salisbury, Conn., when he was forty-four years old. The mother only survived a

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	few years, her death taking place in Eaton County, Mich., in 1854, at the age of fifty-two. They were the parents of seven children, all of whom lived to mature years, four sons and three daughters. Of these three are now living, and are residents of Nebraska and Michigan. The subject of this biography was the eldest child of his parents, and was born May 27, 1828, in Columbia County, N.Y., twelve miles from the beautiful Hudson. When about six years of age his parents removed to Connecticut, where he was reared and educated, he was a youth of sixteen years at the time of his father's death, and remained thereafter the support of his widowed mother until his marriage at the age of twenty-two. Soon after this event he emigrated with his young wife to Eaton County, Mich., where he rented a tract of land, and cultivated it for a term of years. The death of his mother occurred at Delta, Eaton Co., Mich., in 1854, and George thereafter provided a home for his brothers and sisters, who removed with him to Kenosha County, Wis., in 1854. In what is now the Badger State Mr. Gale operated a small farm for a party there four years, but believing he could do better upon the soil of Nebraska he disposed of his interests in Wisconsin, and, with his wife and three children, crossed the Mississippi and landed in Nebraska City on the 14th of November, 1858. He made his home with his brother a part of the time that winter, chopping wood, and earned $13 and his board. The people of this region had suffered with others the results of the panic of 1857, and many were the shifts and turns they were obliged to make to keep their heads above water; but perseverance with our subject met its legitimate reward, and he made sure, if slow, progress toward the goal of his ambition, which was to establish in earnest the basis of a future home and competence.  In the fall of 1860 Mr. Gale made his first purchase of land--forty acres at 1.25 per acre. The Homestead Law going into effect about this time allowed him an additional 120 acres, the patent being signed by Abraham Lincoln. There was, however, with this stroke of fortune the great drawback of the war, which kept the pioneers of Southern Nebraska in constant dread of being surprised or overrun by rebels or Indians, one to be dreaded about as much as the other. This period passed, however, without the disasters they apprehended, and in 1865, besides effecting many improvements on the property already secured, Mr. Gale added forty acres to that which he had already, and thus gradually enlarged the sphere of his labors, together with his income. The farm of Mr. Gale lies along Nemaha Creek, thus being well watered, and producing in abundance the rich crops of Southern Nebraska. At the time of his taking possession there were only a few small trees, which have now developed into valuable timber, and besides these he has planted quite a large number which have become an item of value on the farm. Besides the family residence Mr. Gale has erected a tenement house, barns, sheds, and the other structures necessary for the carrying on of the modern and well-regulated farm. A fine orchard of about seventy trees in good bearing condition adds to the enjoyment of the family provisions, and leaves something over for the market. He has also instituted a vineyard of probably 150 vines. One of the most interesting and important events in the life of our subject was his marriage, which was celebrated in Salisbury Township, March 26, 1850, with Miss Margaret A. Shaw, who was born Oct. 16, 1827, and is the daughter of the well-known Stephen P. Shaw, one of the honored pioneers of this county, whose history appears elsewhere in this work. The 200-acre farm of Mr. Gale, situated in a region which at one time was looked upon as lacking the elements of the fertility of the land of Illinois and Iowa, now yields its full quota of the products of either region. Much is due to the careful and judicious manner in which it has been operated, and the perseverance of Mr. Gale in fighting drouth, prairie fires, and the other little diversions generously furnished the farming community. The harvests of 1862-63 brought in exceptionally heavy yields, arid their proportionate encouragement to the agriculturists of the Nemaha Valley. Mr. Gale, aside from distinguishing himself as a thorough and skillful farmer, has kept pace with the

	148 GAGE COUNTY
	world's progress, and perhaps has collected the best array of facts in regard to the early settlement of this county in existence. In 1876 he prepared an extensive history of Clay County, in the shape of an address delivered by him at the centennial celebration, July 4 of that year. This embodied many incidents of great interest and not commonly known. He states that his first experience with grasshoppers was in 1866, and they visited this region also the following year. In 1874 they repeated their ravages, and were also accompanied by a drouth, which incurred great loss to the farmers, and had its effect upon business generally. The Indians, also, during the early settlement of Mr. Gale in this county, frequently relieved the monotony by their thievery and general mischief. Seven representatives of the Otoe tribe came upon one occasion to his farm with the intention of carrying off something valuable, but their reception by our subject was such that they decided discretion was the better part of valor, and quietly retired before his leveled musket. Mr. Gale in 1856 voted for John C. Fremont, and since that time has been a stanch supporter of Republican principles, although now identified with the Prohibitionists. No man has been more warmly interested in the establishment of schools, churches, and the various other institutions calculated for the moral and intellectual welfare of the people. He has been a member of the School Board of his district for a period of twenty years. He was the second County Assessor of Gage County, being elected to the office in 1869; he has held the same office in Adams Township. The result of his upright life and his arduous labors in the community, who have known him to his credit so long and well, will shape the course of those who shall come after, long after the mortal semblance of this excellent man shall have crumbled into dust. ILLIAM C. HILL. In the early years there resided in Eastern Pennsylvania Mr. Nathan Hill, who for the benefit of his family moved westward to the then developing Territory of Ohio; he settled finally in what is now Miami County. Here he was one of the first of the pioneers and settlers. In the Miami County homestead of this gentleman there was born to him a son, who received also the name Nathaniel. As this son grew to years of manhood he took his place with his fellows, and became a prosperous farmer and merchant. He was united in marriage with a most estimable lady, Martha Jones, a native of Nashville, Tenn. To them was born a son, who received the name William C., and in this sketch it will be the endeavor succinctly to state some of the more prominent points in his life. Our subject was born in the above-named county on the 21st of November, 1849. He was educated in the usual institution of his native county, and continued with his father in farming until about 1869, then started in life for himself. In 1873 he came to this county, and settled in Blue Springs Township, taking up 160 acres on section 18, where he engaged in general farming, and has so continued until the present. In August of 1888 he began business as a coal merchant, and later also launched into the business of a real-estate and loan agent. In his coal trade, which has become quite extensive, he supplies all kinds of anthracite and bituminous coal, and also the usual varieties of wood handled in connection therewith. Our subject was elected County Supervisor in 1885 and served one year; then, in 1887, was again elected. For the past three years he has been School Treasurer of Blue Springs, and is at present before the people as candidate for their suffrage for the office of Representative to the Legislature from Gage County, and it is confidently expected that he will be elected by a very large majority, as he is the Republican candidate, which party is very strong in the district. Our subject entered into a matrimonial alliance with Lula B. McCardy, the amiable, refined and estimable daughter of James (deceased) and Mary McCurdy. This lady was born in Miami County, Ohio, Feb. 18, 1852, and made her home with her parents until her marriage. Of this union there have been born three children, two of whom survive, viz: Harry L., aged seventeen years, and Leafie F., aged nine. Harry, who has developed somewhat of an inclination for commercial life,

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