Joy. For ten years our subject has been an honorable member of the School Board, and is at present filling the office of Moderator.  From the fact of his birth having occurred in so romantic a place we infer that he is, still loyal to his father's native country, but at the same time he has warmly espoused the cause of the country in which he lives, and has taken an active interest in the political affairs which govern it, being a member of the Republican party.

SAAC H. CLAYTON is a native of Peoria County, I'll., the date of his birth being the 10th of August 1844. He passed his younger days and grew up to the years of manhood in his native county on a farm, and loving the life so free from the cares and anxieties of a city business, he has continued to follow the pursuits of agriculture, except for one year in which he followed the fortune of a soldier's life during the war. His educational advantages being much limited, the schools being few and far between, and he busily engaged in labor at home, he was enabled to attend school no longer than perhaps six weeks in a year, yet he has so profited by the instruction which he received and his experience with the outer world, that he is amply qualified to attend to all the business necessary in connection with the carrying on of his occupation. On the 14th of February, 1865, he volunteered in Company A, 151st Illinois Infantry, with which he served for one year, and was mustered out in February of 1866.

On the 10th of October, 1866, our subject was married to Miss Emma Littell, and to them a family of nine children has been given, and whom we shall separately mention as follows: Addie, who was horn on the 30th of July, 1867, was married, on the 15th of October, 1885, to William I. Reed. Mr. Reed lives on section 26, on a farm adjoining the farm of his wife's parents; they have one child, named Ollie. Albert L. was born on the 20th of August, 1869; Hattie A., on the 11th of August, 1871; Freeman E., on the 30th of May, 1874; Phebe O., on the 18th of October, 1876; Charles W., on the 21st of September, 1879; Ella M., who was born on the 26th of November, 1880, was called from this world on the 12th of March, 1883; Josie B., whose birth occurred on the 12th of June, 1884, died on the 19th of July, 1885; Oliver Dean was born on the 17th of August, 1887.

 Mr. Clayton has a good and well-improved farm on section 26. township 2, range 6, in Sicily Township, on which farm he resides. He came to his present place on the 16th of March, 1883, having stopped for one year after leaving Illinois in Nodaway County, Mo. His parents, Ezekiel and Phoebe (Randolph) Clayton, were natives of New Jersey. The father died at Canton, Ill., on the 7th of May, 1879, at the age of sixty-four years. The mother still lives in Canton, Ill., to which place she and her husband came in the year 1868, having come to Peoria County in 1839, making the journey with a team from New York.

Mrs. Clayton, the wife of our subject. was horn in New York City on the 28th of November, 1845, her parents being Isaac F. and Addie Gibson. Her father was a native of New Jersey and her mother of New York, but they had for some time been living in Illinois. The father died at Hoopeston, Vermilion Co., Ill., on the 2d of December, 1887, at the age of seventy-seven years; the mother is still living in Illinois in her eighty-second year.

Our subject was married in the city of Peoria by the Rev. A. H. Stowell. Both he and his wife are members of the Baptist Church, of Wymore. He votes the straight Republican ticket, and is interested in the political movements of the day, as well as in the educational and general welfare of the community of which he is an esteemed member.

ACOB GEHMAN, an extensive farmer and stock-raiser of Hanover Township, operates 480 acres of land on section 3; it is known as the Sculley land. His career has been marked with ordinary success, and he possesses those traits of character which have made him a man useful in his community, and a leader in those enterprises tending to its advancement socially as well as financially. He is the

honorable stations in life, and is in the enjoyment of one of the pleasantest and most attractive homes in this legion.

The subject of this sketch was born in Bucks County, Pa., May 5, 1827, and is the son of Abraham and Mary (Finck) Gehman, the former of whom was a farmer by occupation, and died at the ripe old age of seventy-six years, in his native State. The mother passed away in 1864, aged seventy-three. Their family consisted of four sons and three daughters, five of whom lived to mature years. Those surviving are residents of Brooks County, Pa.

Jacob Gehman was reared to manhood in his native State, and although receiving but limited educational advantages, trained himself by a course of reading and study for the duties of a teacher, which profession he followed for a period of four years in Bucks County, beginning at the age of twenty. He had likewise become thoroughly familiar with farm pursuits, and at the age of twenty-two was prepared to establish a home of his own. On Oct. 2, 1849, he was united in marriage with Miss Barbara Angeney, a native of his own county, and born Aug. 29, 1831.

Mr. and Mrs. Gehman after their marriage settled on the farm belonging to the father of our subject, where they lived and labored until 1861. In the meantime they became the parents of six children, and in the spring of that year Mr. G., resolving upon a change of location, disposed of his interests in the Keystone State and removed with his little family to Northern Iowa, where in due time he became an extensive land-owner. From Fayette County, Iowa, he removed to Mahaska County, that State, thence to Jefferson, and later to Jefferson County, residing in the latter until 1882. In the spring of that year he took up his residence in Atchison County, Mo., and from there came to Nebraska in 1887. He was at once recognized as a valuable addition to the community of Hanover Township, where he is numbered among its most highly esteemed citizens. Wide-awake, liberal and public-spirited, he is ever ready to aid in those enterprises set on foot for the best good of the people.

 The household of Mr. and Mrs. Gehman was completed by the birth of twelve children, namely Abraham; Jacob and Elizabeth, who died when eight and six years old; Meno, Fanny, Rachel, Samuel, Sally, Leah, Emma, Benjamin and Mary. Fanny became the wife of Samuel Horning, a well-to-do farmer of Hanover Township, and is the mother of five children--Benjamin, Lee, Eddy, Jennie and Alice; Mrs. Henry Smith is a resident of Atchison County, Mo., and the mother of one child, a son, Ottia; Abraham is a professor of music at Fremont, Iowa; Meno and Samuel are operating a cattle ranch in Wyoming Territory; Sally married William Geber, a resident of Atchison County, Mo., and is the mother of three children; Leah is in Northumberland County, Pa.; Emma, also a teacher, is at present with her parents, as are also Benjamin and Mary.

In the operations of his farm Mr. Gehman gives employment to two men, and two teams are almost constantly required for the transaction of his business. Politically, he votes the straight Republican ticket, and with his excellent wife, is a devoted member of the Mennonite Church. The family is one of the most prominent in the county, where their intelligence and worth are estimated at their true value.

OMER J. MERRICK. We seldom visit a section of county without encountering those /' closely allied to persons prominent in history, poetry, politics or law. The subject of this sketch is one of those springing from honored antecedents, tracing his origin from the same source which gave to the world such persons as John G. Whittier, R. W. Emerson, and Frances Meriam Whitcher, the author of the "Widow Bedott Papers." Austin and Sylvia (Whitcher) Merrick, the parents of our subject, were natives respectively of Connecticut and Vermont. Grandfather Merrick was accidentally killed on the Erie Canal, while making his way to Western Pennsylvania. The Merricks were of English origin, and the first representative of the family in this country came over with the Pilgrim Fathers in the "Mayflower." The maternal grandparents of our subject, Stephen and

Esther M. (Emerson) Whitcher, were uncle and aunt to the poet, John G. Whittier. Grandmother Whitcher was also closely related to that other American poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Frances Meriam Whitcher, above spoken of, was own sister to the mother of our subject.

Austin Merrick, after his marriage, located in Pleasantville, Pa., where he carried on merchandising and farming the remainder of his life. He accumulated a good property, and departed hence in 1875, at the age of seventy-four years. The mother of our subject was his second wife; of the first there had been born one child: of the second marriage there were seven children, namely: Ellen, Austin W., Anna M., Francis S., Adeline A., Homer J. and Julia. Mrs. Sylvia Merrick died in July, 1849, at the age of forty years. Mr. Merrick was married the third time, and there was born one child, a son Herman, who is now in Kansas City, Mo.

The subject of this biography was born Nov. 18, 184, in Pleasantville, Pa., and attended school from the age of seven years until he was fourteen. Afterward he only attended in the winter season, After the outbreak of the late Civil War, when but a youth of seventeen, he determined to assist in the preservation of the Union, and accordingly enlisted in Company B, 111th Pennsylvania Infantry, in February, 1864, for three years, or during the war. His regiment was detailed to Bridgeport, Ala., where they arrived in time to join the Atlanta campaign, and participated in the battles of Resaca, Dallas, Kennesaw Mountain, Peachtree Creek, the siege of Atlanta, and wound up by going with Sherman on the march to the sea. Subsequently they went up through the Carolinas, and were present at the last grand review in Washington.

 Mr. Merrick was mustered out of service at Pittsburgh, Pa., and after returning home became a student of the State Normal School at Edinboro, where he attended one year. Thence he went to Cleveland, Ohio, entering there upon a course of study in Bryant's Business College. This completed he returned to his native State, and engaged as clerk in a store of general merchandise at Pleasantville, where he continued until setting out for Nebraska in August, 1869. From Nebraska City he made his way to Vesta by stage, and from there on foot to Adams Township, this county. He homesteaded 160 acres on the banks of the Nemaha, fashioned a dug-out for his first habitation, and thus began in earnest and alone the life of the pioneer. Some years later, at the time of the construction of the Atchison & Nebraska Railroad, this dugout being overgrown with brush and weeds, a Mr. Wyatt, the chief engineer, fell down the chimney of this primitive dwelling, much to the merriment of the rest of his party.

The year after his arrival in this section, young Merrick, having made some headway toward the establishment of a home, completed his arrangements by bringing to his humble dwelling a young wife, having been married, Dec. 21, 1870, to Miss Lucy A., daughter of John Lyons, a well-known and highly respected resident of this county, and whose biography appears elsewhere in this volume, Mrs. Merrick was the younger of the two children born to her parents. Her mother was in her girlhood Miss Almira Shaw. Mrs. M. was born in March, 1853, in Kenosha, Wis., and was a little girl four years of age when her parents came to Nebraska, and settled in the Nemaha Valley, where they were among the earliest pioneers.

Mr. and Mrs. Merrick throve and prospered, and by their united industry soon began to realize many comforts in the pioneer home, while their land underwent the process of careful cultivation, and developed an admirable and generous fertility. Their union was also blessed by the birth of four bright children. The eldest, however, a son, Frank, died at the age of ten years; those surviving are Julia and Ethel A.  John is deceased. The homestead now embraces 400 acres of land, upon which in 1877 there was reared a handsome and commodious dwelling, and a good barn, corn cribs, sheds, and all the other essentials of the country estate have been added by degrees, as the means and necessities of the proprietor suggested. Not the least among the embellishments and comforts of the place is an apple orchard of 300 trees, planted by the hand of our subject, and now in fine bearing condition. A lovely grove of maples and cottonwood adds to the beauty and value of the property.

Mr. Merrick, in addition to general farming, has

given much of his time and attention to stock-raising, handling large numbers of thoroughbred Shorthorn cattle and Poland-China hogs. Of the former he has a herd of fifty high-grades, including the bull "Ides," famous as a breeder throughout this section. It will thus readily be seen that his time has been fully occupied, but notwithstanding the multiplicity of his private affairs Mr. Merrick has ever signalized himself as the public-spirited citizen, willing and anxious to assist the prosperity of his adopted county. To this end he has been the encourager of its various worthy enterprises, its schools and churches, assisting by his labors and influence in their establishment and prosperity. He raised the large sum required in the erection of the Methodist Episcopal Church building, and, with his estimable wife, has been one of the most devoted members of the society. He cast his first Presidential vote for Gen. Grant, and has always been a stanch adherent of the Republican party. He has never sought office, but in the school district has served as a Director for many years.

OHN O. SAVAGE is in the front rank of general farmers of Grant Township in enterprise, practical knowledge, western vim and prosperity. His farm and residence are situated on section 20, where he is the owner of eighty acres of finely improved land, admirably adapted to agriculture, upon which he has lived since 1882. Previous to this he owned and operated another farm on section 11, comprising 320 acres, one-half of which was taken up in 1867, and settled on the following spring, the remainder soon after.

For ten years previous to the settlement of our subject in this State he had been a resident of Lee County, Ill., during the greater part of that time being engaged in farming, in which he was very successful. The place of his nativity is LaPorte Township, Sullivan Co., Pa., and he was born on the 22d of March, 1834, to Daniel and Nancy Savage. His father was born in New York State, of Irish parentage, and when he was a boy five years of age his parents removed to the adjoining State. where he grew up to manhood, was married, and continued to make his home until 1858. Then, with his family, Daniel Savage, the father of our subject, removed to Illinois and took up the Lee County property.

 In 1861, when the cry of rebellion rent the air, and the stars and bars were waved over against the only flag of liberty, unity and peace, both Daniel Savage and his son, our subject, enlisted among the boys of blue in Company E, 37th Illinois Infantry, under command of Capt. Rust and Col. White. The regiment became part of the Army of the West and part of Maj. Gen. Black's command. Among the many engagements in which they were actively engaged may be mentioned those of Warrensburg and Springfield, Mo., and Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove, Ark., which were fought in December, 1862. At one point in the battle the father of our subject was in the front rank, and the notes of the bugle rang out the command to charge. This was the last command heard, and the last cheerfully responded to by Daniel Savage. In the rush forward a bullet pierced his body and he fell like the brave soldier he was, with his face to the foe, in the execution of his duty.

Not long after the death of his father, our subject, who had been fighting by his side, was taken severely ill, and in consequence thereof he received an honorable discharge from further service, and returned to Illinois to support and, perchance, comfort his widowed mother. In 1868 he brought her with him to Nebraska, and until her death, in 1874, smoothed as far as possible every ruggedness from the path of her declining years, bestrewing it daily with the perfumed blossoms of affectionate, dutiful and attentive care. She went to her last rest after spending sixty-two years of life, and, like her husband, had been all her days a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

While a resident of Lee County our subject was happily united in marriage, the lady of his choice being Cynthia Carpenter. The union was celebrated on the 11th of May, 1867. Miss Carpenter was born in Albany, N. Y., in the year 1843, and accompanied her parents to Illinois in 1861. She is a daughter of James and Julia (Foster) Carpenter, both of whom died at their home in Lee County, the father about eighty and the mother about sixty years of age. For many years previous to her de-

mise Mrs. Carpenter was a member of the Baptist communion.

The wife of our subject was brought up at the house of her parents, where she made her home until her marriage. Her education was received in the common school of her native place, and was as complete as was usual at that time. Her married life has been brightened and the current of its joys deepened by the birth of two children; one, however, of these she was only permitted to retain for two years, when she was removed by death. The name given to her was Julia. That of her living child is Frank, who has entered upon an honorable career and has developed a manly character that is the pride of his parents.

The religious home of Mr. and Mrs. Savage is in the church of the Latter-Day Saints, to which they have been attached for many years, our subject having been ordained a priest of his church while residing in Illinois, in which office he has continued ever since. He has been called upon at different times to fill township offices, and is at present serving as Clerk of the township. He is devoted to the interests of the political party under which he and his father served in days gone by, and has always remained its stanch friend and faithful adherent.

Their son, Frank M., was married, Oct. 29, 1887, to Miss Hattie Kindell, who was born in Illinois, in July, 1867. They have one son, John Walter, born July 20, 1888. They reside in Grant Township and are farming.

LFRED CONINE. Among those who have come from the older and more established Eastern settlements, bringing with them the wealth of their experience wherewith to endow the newer country of Nebraska, is the subject of this writing, whose farm occupies the northeast quarter of section 14. Midland Township, which is worked along the line of general mixed farming. His residence in this State dates from the year 1867, and in this county from 1870.

Our subject is the son of Richard and Mary (Herrun) Conine, who are natives of New Jersey and Ohio respectively. Upon their marriage they settled in Ohio, and followed agricultural pursuits. The mother of our subject died when he was quite a small boy, leaving three children, who had received the names of Alfred, Elizabeth and Harmon. Harmon enlisted in Company C, 27th Ohio Regiment, and fell while serving his country, in 1864, at the battle of Atlanta, Ga.; Elizabeth married E. O. Arrison, of Ohio. The father of our subject married a second time, taking as his wife Hester A. Boylan, and by this union became the parent of one son, Richard, who is living upon the homestead.

Upon the 14th of April, 1839, our subject was ushered into life, in Licking County, Ohio. In due time he was a candidate for the instruction of the common school, and entered upon the duties incident to that institution. The time thus occupied was spent in such employment on the farm as made him thoroughly acquainted with its varied tasks and responsibilities, fitting him for the life in the future. He continued to make his home with his parents until 1861, when he enlisted with his brother in Company C, 27th Ohio Infantry, and served for a term of three years as a private, he was one of the command of Gen. Sherman, and was with him throughout his campaign. The first part of his army experience was that incidental to the army teamster, but it was not long before he was promoted to the position of wagonmaster, and given charge of a train of wagons. He was mustered out of the service, and honorably discharged in August, 1864.

After his term of service expired our subject returned to Ohio, and assisted in the farm work until 1867; that year was doubly eventful to him. First, because it was wherein he moved West, and laid the foundation of his present prosperity; secondly and chiefly, because it brought to him the life companionship and inspiration of Miss Mary Palmerton, to whom he was united in marriage on October 2 of that year. She also was born in Ohio, and was educated and brought up at Etna, Licking County, and made her home with her parents. Benjamin and Susan Palmerton. They are time happy parents of four children, whose names are here appended--Elmer, Elizabeth, Alfred and Grace.

In the new State of Nebraska Mr. Conine first settled in Richardson County, remaining there for

three years upon rented land. Thence he came to this county, and purchased the 160 acres of unimproved land he to-day occupies, but which has passed long since from its original condition to one of almost perfect agricultural efficiency, and he has upon it some excellent farm buildings, besides the pretty and comfortable farm dwelling. Besides the grain interest, our subject is every year increasing his reputation as a stock-raiser, comprising draft and road horses, and high-grade cattle.

Mrs. Conine is devotedly attached to the communion of the Presbyterian Church, in which she is an untiring worker when opportunity presents. Her husband, although not connected with the church, is a true friend of higher morality, and sympathizes with every movement, religious or otherwise, that will assist in its attainment and progress. He takes much pleasure in all matters of education, and is a member of the School Board. His political connections are with the Republican party, and he is regarded as a strong supporter and constant friend by the members of his party.

OHN MAGUIRE is a son of John and Jane (McMalle) Maguire, who were natives of Ireland, and there spent the whole time of their lives. They had a family of ten children, of whom our subject is the sixth, and was born on the green and lovely "Emerald Isle" on the 22d of March, 1819. He remained in his native country until he was twenty-six years of age, and had grown to be a strong and healthy man, receiving his education during his younger years from the parochial schools. He had long possessed a desire to visit America, and in June, 1845, with the expectation of gratifying his desire, he embarked on a vessel sailing from the port of Liverpool, and after an ocean voyage of twenty-eight days he reached the harbor of New York.

Our subject remained for ten years in that city, during which period he was engaged in Cooper's glue factory. He then went to DeKalb County, Ill., where he remained for a like period of time, and then went to Boone County. During the time of his residence in Illinois, he was engaged in farming, and in 1868, thinking that he would accept the generous offer of the Government to supply him with a farm of his own, he came to this county and took a homestead of 160 acres. He was then one of the early settlers of this county, and in common with them he experienced the hardships and difficulties necessary in the transforming of a piece of wild, unbroken prairie land into a smiling and cultivated landscape farm. He now has it all well improved, with neat and attractive buildings, and has been in the main successful. although he has experienced some misfortunes from the failures in crops.

In the year 1846 our subject was united in marriage with Miss Alice Salleen, who was born in Ireland on the 19th of May, 1824. She is a daughter of John Tebon and Jane (Linchey) Salleen, who were also natives of Ireland, and were the parents of eight children. She came to America in the year 1843, and made her home in New York until the time of her marriage with our subject. By this marriage they have gathered about them a family of seven children, all of whom have been blessed with health and spared to the present time, and are married and established in homes of their own. The names of the members of this family are: John. William, Thomas (of whom a sketch appears in this ALBUM), James, Albert, Frances and Charles. Thomas and Charles have their homes in this county.

While our subject and his wife are entitled to a share of the honors which are willingly bestowed upon and justly deserved by the early settlers of this county, his natural reticence has prevented him from seeking public honors, and he has not been the incumbent of any of the offices of the township. He bears an excellent reputation among his fellowmen, and is well and favorably spoken of by them. He is a member of the Democratic party.

ENJAMIN F. PITTENGER, a representative farmer of Blakely Township, owns and occupies the southwest quarter of section 32, which he has transformed into a good farm, and effected the improvements naturally brought about by the intelligent and progressive