gave to his schoolmate the commission of Colonel of Militia, and at the head of his regiment Col. Collins fought in the War of 1812 with Gen. Winfield Scott, and, among other engagements, that of the terrible battle of Lundy's Lane. His military address and bravery were such in the estimation of his superior officers as to warrant special mention of the same in their dispatches. In 1834 he settled with his family near Ann Arbor, Mich., where they were in the midst of the hardships, privations and difficulties of pioneer life. He took all his family with him, and one child was born during their life there. He was a man very positive in both his belief and disbelief, and was an old-line Abolitionist. He died in 1878, with the distinctive honor of being the last of the veteran heroes of Lundy's Lane to pass through the "dark valley." This honor was at one time nearly being deprived him, owing to a duel he was to fight with one of the adjutants, but for the happy connivance of the seconds, who so placed the duelists that the shedding of blood was almost an impossibility. But for this his career might have been cut short in those years that supply the military experiences.

Our subject was the youngest son born to Col. Collins; this happy event occurred on the 21st of March, 1834, at Rose, Wayne Co., N. Y. He was eight months old when the family removed to Michigan, and the first impression upon his memory of places, events and people upon the revivable plates of memory, is connected with this Michigan home. His father, being very anxious that his children should receive a very good education, was especially careful to provide the same. He was first initiated into the classes of the common schools and subsequently attended the Ann Arbor High School. At the age of twenty-one he went to St. Clair, Mich., and there studied law with Marcus H. Miles, and after passing a rigid and lengthy examination he was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-four, and began immediately to practice law in St. Clair County, and it was not very many mouths before he had a very extensive clientage.

 The practice of law was not entirely congenial to our subject, although his mind was of that analytical cast that delights itself in the elucidation of difficult and often paradoxical points, and is never more at home than when following the ratiocination of evidence or argument. It was not very long, therefore, before be left his profession to enter upon a political career, which has in more than one instance surpassed his expectation. Previous, however, to this secession from the profession, he was elected Clerk of his county, in the year 1859, and was on record as the youngest to hold that position. This election was noteworthy because the county was strongly Republican, and he ran upon the Democratic ticket, and yet was elected by a large majority; and what is even more noticeable was that under similar circumstances he was re-elected by an increased majority.

As a result of unanimity of sentiment, our subject and Miss Elvira L. Gould entered the felicitous relation of husband and wife, March 23, 1854, at St. Clair, Mich., our subject being at that time twenty years of age. This lady is the daughter of Joseph and Elmira (Tolcott) Gould. Upon her mother's side she is of English extraction. It was her misfortune never to know her father, who died before she was born. By a previous marriage her father was the parent of three children; by this the wife of our subject and her twin sister. Elmira, who became the wife of George Carlton, whose home is near St. Clair, Mich. They are the parents of eight children. Mrs. Carlton died at Des Moines, in the year 1880. The wife of our subject was born June 22, 1833, at Williston, Vt. Her mother settled in Madrid Township, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., when her daughters were five years of age. Here they enjoyed the privilege of the rate schools until they were thirteen, after that attending a select school at Troy, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Collins are the parents of two sons, who have been named Charles F. and George C. The younger died at the age of eighteen months.

In the offices to which our subject was elected he so conducted affairs that he grew in public favor, and was shortly elected Supervisor, Circuit Court Commissioner and County Assessor. These offices extended over a long period of the nineteen years of his residence at St. Clair, and during that period it is needless to add his friends were very numerous. In 1870 he became the Secretary of the Michigan Midland Railroad Company, and served them

in that capacity until the financial crisis in 1873. in which he sustained a very heavy loss, and was the immediate cause of his determination to come West. In 1874, while it was yet spring. Mr. Collins came to this State and purchased 320 acres of unimproved land. His son was at that time a young man nineteen years of age, and this course of action was decided partly on his account.

Pioneer life, although brightened by a thousand unexpected glints of the sunlight of happiness, is hard at the very easiest, even to those best prepared for and most inured to it. but in the case of Mr. and Mrs. Collins, whose acquaintance with farm life was practically nil, the transition from the gay, social city life of St. Clair to the comparatively lonely, unbroken prairie, was a transformation sufficient to discourage the stoutest heart and turn back the most resolute. It was in this hour that the sterling worth and affection of his faithful wife were revealed, and by the mutual inspiration and strengthening of purpose the original plan was adhered to, and after repeated failure, defeat and difficulty, the golden harvest of success was reaped. By the fall of that year he, who had never previously broken a single acre, had broken seventy; the reflex influence of this struggle and victory was such as to make itself felt in their home, and in the happy development and upbuilding of each in the individual character. Who but those who have passed through the same experience call realize the loneliness, the homesickness, the hardship and privation of that experience.

 Later, owing to the drouth and ravages of the grasshopper plague, our subject transferred his land back to the railroad company, from whom it had been purchased, and in 1882 purchased his present homestead, which comprises 168 acres on section 4 of Nemaha Township, subsequently purchasing also 165 acres on section 3, and 160 on section 5, all owned by our subject and his son Charles, and operated by them jointly. Despite all the experiences and disappointments, our subject retains all the vigor and activity of the days when he first started in life's race. He was deeply interested and proportionately energetic in his endeavors to introduce township organization in Gage County in 1884. He was elected Supervisor of his township in November, 1885, and has continued to hold the office ever since. His political sympathies and influence are always in the interest of the Democratic party, and. yet a all times his manhood determines rather upon the line of principle than party, where his suffrage shall be placed.

As before remarked, although living in the Far West, and in a country still largely undeveloped, and in the formative era of its history, thanks to the innate refinement arid love of the beautiful, the true esthetic, of Mrs. Collins, their home is in its arrangements and appointments upon a par with, if not in advance of, many in Eastern cities making far more pretentious to such effect. Socially, our subject is connected with the Masonic fraternity, and is a member of the Livingston Lodge No. 66, of Firth, and it is evident from his life that he has been ever mindful of and constantly walking in the light of its tri-luminous altar.

HARLES CRUSE. If the late war revealed nothing more, it certainly did make manifest the fact that the American people on either side of Mason arid Dixon's line were men of hearts, brains arid heroism. Among those who have borne the brunt of the conflict, toiled and suffered in camp and on march, in behalf of the Union, is the subject of the present sketch, now engaged in the more peaceful avocation of farming on section 21 of Liberty Township.

Franklin County, Ind., was the place where, upon the 23d of September, 1839, our subject made his debut into life. His father, Henry Cruse, now deceased, was a native of Germany, and emigrated to this country at an early day. The maiden name of his wife was Christina Miller. She was born in Germany, and there she was married to the father of our subject. They became the parents of five children. our subject being the youngest child.

The only education received by our subject was that obtainable in the public school, and of this he had full advantage, its tasks being supplemented by various "chores" and minor tasks upon the farm or among the stock, so that he was in some measure prepared for the battle of life. From the time of

his leaving school in Franklin County, Ind., until the outbreak of the war, he was engaged at farming in Indiana.

When the bugle note of war was heard throughout the land, in response to the reverberating echoes of the crashing thunder of the cannon and mortars before Ft. Sumter, Mr. Cruse was one to step forward in response. He enlisted on the 13th of October, 1862, in Company M, 3d Indiana Cavalry, for a term of two and a half years, and during that period was engaged in quite a large number of battles, beside lesser engagements. Among these might be mentioned the battles of Big Spring, Tenn., Wautauga River Bridge, Morristown, Resaca, Altoona Pass, Sand Creek Station, Jonesboro, Van Worth, Ga., Sisters Ferry and Eversboro, S. C. He served during the greater part of the time as Duty Sergeant, having received promotion to that grade. At Jonesboro he was one of the hundred who volunteered to cut the railroad near that place. This exploit was conducted from first to last under fire; the band divided into two parties, each of fifty men, the one to do their work of destruction upon the railroad, the other to do theirs upon the enemy. Their work was done and their object attained without the loss of one man, excepting that one was captured but effected his escape the same night.

Mr. Cruse became the husband of Sophia Clark on Sept 14, 1865, at his home in Indiana. This lady is the daughter of Thomas and Jane Clark, of Pawnee County, Neb., and was born on the 25th of December, 1843. Her parents were born in England. There have come to the home of our subject six children, whose names are recorded as follows: Melinda I., Elnora, Charles M., Mary E., Lula M. and Henry E. Their eldest daughter has become the wife of Edward Bookwalter, of this township, and has two children; Elnora is now Mrs. Jacob Patterson, also of this township, and is the mother of a little son.

 Our subject came to this county in the year 1866, and settled upon a branch of the Mission Creek in the township of that name, and removed thence to Liberty Township in 1883, and to his present farm in the month of May, 1887. He is the owner of 160 acres of fine land, admirably adapted to his requirements, and operated in the interests of grain and stock, He also holds a half-interest with William Garrison in a fine steam thrashing-machine, having a capacity of 2,000 bushels a day and with this he has quite an extensive business outside his own farm work.

Somewhat removed from the more busy circles of city life, our subject finds sufficient to absorb the greater part of his time and attention in the duties devolving upon him in connection with his chosen calling, and does not take any special part in political agitation. He is a gentleman of enterprise, energy and exacting perseverance, and is regarded as a worthy and valued citizen.

ILLIAM J. MAXWELL. Lincoln Township contained no more valued and respected citizen than the subject of this sketch, now deceased. This sad event occurred on the 23d of March, 1883, and about eight months after he had come to the State, but in spite of his short residence here his life and character had so commended themselves that he possessed many friends in the district. He was the owner of 320 acres of land on section 11. This he had paid for before he died. He took up this land when partly improved.

Previous to living in this State Mr. Maxwell had been a resident of Lenox Township, Warren Co., Ill., where he had lived for some twenty years, engaged in farming, and enjoyed unqualified success. He was born near Baltimore on the 10th of September, 1830, and is the son of Thomas and Margaret Maxwell, natives of Maryland. When his parents removed to Schuyler County, Ill., our subject was about six years of age; while living there the father of our subject died. William J. was reared to manhood, and from the time of receiving his education gave his attention to learning the blacksmith trade, but was compelled to leave work on account of weakness of the eyes, that was constantly irritated and made worse by the brightness and glare inseparable from forge work. While living in Peoria County, Ill., in the earlier settlement, they had complete knowledge of

the trouble with the Mormons, then prevailing in that section of the country.

It was the pleasure of our subject to meet and form acquaintance with a lady living near Yates City. Knox Co., Ill. This acquaintance rapidly ripened into a more absorbing sentiment, and they were united in marriage on the 22d of March, 1855. This lady, Mahalia M. Sayler, was born on the 30th of April, 1832, and is the daughter of John and Margaret (Miller) Sayler, natives of Somerset County, Pa., and of Dutch ancestry. Mr. Sayler was married in Pennsylvania, and there settled, but removed shortly after the birth of the fourth child, to Stark County, Ohio, where their daughter Mahalia was born, as noted above; there also her mother died, in 1841, aged forty-five years. In 1848 the father removed with his family to Illinois, locating near what is now Yates City, but then entirely minus anything indicating the presence of any such center. There the father died Sept. 1, 1849, aged about sixty-two years. Mr. Sayler and his wife were members of the Lutheran Church from childhood, in which they always continued. In his political position Mr. Sayler was identified with the Democratic party, and had continued so for many years.

Mrs. Maxwell. the wife of our subject, was the youngest of a family of twelve children, six of them being sons. Eight members of the family lived to come to years of maturity. Her parents afforded their daughter an opportunity of obtaining an English education in the common schools. She has presented her husband with six children, but two of them are deceased; viz George M. and William J., Jr. Those still living are: Edwin J., a thrifty and successful young man engaged in farming in Gage County; Lora M., now the wife of Lewis A. Maginnis, of Beatrice, who is by trade a plasterer; Charles G. and Cora B., at home.

 Our subject entered the military service and continued for about nine months, and was in the battle of Nashville and all the engagements of that campaign. He was with Sherman in his march. For some time he lay in the hospital sick, and during that short time his health was completely undermined, and possibly supplied the genesis of his last sickness. He was all his life very stanch Republican, and cast his vote consistently for its candidates. In this example his sons are following him, planting their feet in the print of his footsteps, and seeking to fashion their lives after his.

Since the death of the husband and father the bereaved wife has nobly stood by her children and provided everything really needed by them. She has conducted in a most able and intelligent manner every department of the farm work, has undertaken and perfected quite a number of improvements, and has been enabled to educate her children and provide for their start in life. During the blizzard of 1888 Mrs. Maxwell's home was nearly bereaved of two other of its inmates. Upon the 12th of January of the present year the weather was unusually warm and bright for the season, and there seemed to be no indication of any immediate change. Edwin and Charles G., sons of our subject, were both away from home on business, the former having gone about six miles from home with a team and buggy, and on account of the mildness of temperature was not very heavily clad. The return journey was accomplished without accident until he was within about two miles from home, but upon a road that had not been much used, and had no side fence. There the storm struck him, and for some time was so intense and fierce as to make it well-nigh impossible for him to get his breath; blinded so that he could not see the team he was driving, he was forced to let them take their own way. Under these circumstances, and with every track obliterated by the falling, tossing, swiftly whirling snow, it is not to be wondered at that they missed the road, and by-and-by found themselves in a very heavy drift in one of the' frequent "draws" in the land. Here he left his vehicle and sought to lead his team out if possible; but again he was baffled, and his team becoming frightened he became separated from them, and it was beyond his power to find them in that raging storm. He wandered on, plunging, stumbling, falling through the snow, and presently by most providential good fortune happened to strike a haystack, a small part of the top of which the wind had blown off. Under this he crept, damp and almost frozen, but it afforded shelter enough to retain the animal warmth, and he became comparatively com-

fortable; by this means he escaped, but very narrowly, with his life, which was despaired of for some time after his rescue the next day. Even then it was supposed he would have to lose his feet, but here again his pluck, determination and force of will saved him, and he is fully recovered, so far as that is concerned, but his constitution has been permanently weakened by the strain. His team, which was quite valuable, and to which he was deeply attached, was frozen in one of the many drifts.

Charles G., the other son, also had a very narrow but happy escape, which he owes to the fact that he was on a better road, and on horseback. He succeeded in getting home late in the night, but only by an exercise of will power entirely beyond what could be expected of one of his years. Coming finally to a school-house which he recognized, he left his horse and warmed himself there, and rested until he was equal to a renewed effort; he then plunged once more into the midst of the storm, and by following the fence closely at last reached home and his mother's side. She was, of course, exceedingly anxious, well-nigh to despair, about her sons. Upon his arrival at home it was discovered that his clothing was frozen to him, and had to be literally cut from his almost frozen body. Only by strictest care, most careful nursing and medical attendance, was he saved from an awful death, but like his brother he recovered after a short sickness, but must many years, and perhaps for the remainder of his life, feel the effects of this exposure.

LAUS SIEMS. The subject of this sketch owns one of the most beautiful farms in Grant Township, lying on section 23, and comprising 240 acres of highly cultivated land. This he redeemed from a wild, unbroken tract, commencing operations thereon in the spring of 1881. Its appearance to-day indicates with what industry and energy he has labored, and is highly characteristic of the disposition and habits of the man, He came to this county in the spring of 1876, after a residence of ten years in Logan County, Ill., where he had been employed as a mechanic in the furniture house of Deming & Bree. He first leased a tract of land in Grant Township before purchasing, and thus gained a good insight into the general methods of agriculture.

 Our subject was born in the then Kingdom of Hanover, Germany, Feb. 11, 1841, and in accordance with the laws and customs of the German Empire entered school when a little lad six years of age, and continued his studies until fourteen. He thus obtained a good education in his native tongue. Upon leaving school he served an apprenticeship at cabinet-making, and followed this occupation until emigrating to America. After crossing the Atlantic he proceeded westward to Fond du Lac, Wis., where he secured employment in a door factory, and continued thus occupied for three years. He left the Badger State with the intention of establishing a homestead of his own in the agricultural regions of Southern Nebraska.

While a resident of Lincoln, Ill., Mr. Siems was married, Feb. 19, 1873, to Miss Linie Weltzien, who was also of German birth and parentage, her early home having been in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg, and the date of her birth Aug. 18, 1849. Her father died in Germany when comparatively a young man, and she accompanied her mother to America when but a child five years of age. Like our subject they at once made their way to the young State of Wisconsin, whence they removed subsequently to Lincoln, Ill., where Mrs. S. made the acquaintance of her future husband. Of this union there have been born seven children, all living, namely: J. Henry, C. Louis, W. F. Herman, Frank O., Anna M., Louisa S. and E. William. They are growing up healthy in body and mind, and are being taught those habits of industry and sound principles morally which will make of them reliable citizens, an honor to their parents and useful in the stations to which Providence assigns them. Mr. Siems after becoming a naturalized citizen identified himself with the Democratic party, whose principles he uniformly supports at the general elections. During his five years' residence in this county Mr. Siems has identified himself with its agricultural interests in a most praiseworthy manner, and the farm on which he has effected marked improvements is the best monument which can be reared to his industry and thrift,

those elements of character transmitted to him from his excellent German ancestry. He has a comfortable dwelling, ample and commodious outhouses, suitable for the shelter of stock and the storage of grain, and the machinery necessary for carrying on agriculture in the most profitable manner.

OLNEY S. WHITTEMORE is numbered among the early settlers of Nebraska, having made his advent into this county in 1860, just three years after it was organized as a county, with Beatrice for its county seat. He was born in the town of Rindge, Cheshire Co., N. H., on the 15th of March, 1838. His paternal ancestors were natives of England, who had come to the United States soon after the landing of the Puritans on the rocky coast of Massachusetts. His maternal ancestors were from the celebrated Highlands of Scotland, and were also early settlers in America, the great-grand father of our subject having served as an officer in the Revolutionary War. Among the engagements in which he participated we mention the following: The battle of Trenton, which occurred on the 26th of December, 1776, in which Washington captured 1,000 Hessians; the battle of Monmouth Court-House, on the 28th of June, 1778; and the siege of Yorktown, by Washington and Count DeGrasse, which ended in the surrender of Cornwallis, with 7,000 men, on the 19th of October, 17 The maternal grandfather of our subject was also in the Revolutionary War, serving as a waiter boy for his father. His name was Ebenezer S. Geer, and he is buried at Worcester, Mass., having died in the year 1818.

The father of our subject, Prescott Whittemore, was born in Massachusetts, in which State he spent his early years, and was married to Miss Lucy Rebecca Geer. They made their home in their native State and New Hampshire until 1838, when they came to the great undeveloped West, and settled on a farm in McHenry County, Ill., where they shared the hardships of pioneer life with the other early settlers. They resided in Illinois until 1861, at which time they came to Nebraska, and made their home for the remainder of their days in this county. Their family comprised thirteen children, of whom our subject is the youngest, and all were born either in Massachusetts or New Hampshire. Young Volney was but nine weeks old when his family moved to Illinois, but there he grew to manhood and developed a splendid and healthy physique, as is generally the case with farm boys.

In 1859 our subject went as assistant wagon-master with a company of men to Salt Lake City, and returned to his home in the fall of the same year. The year following this journey he came to Nebraska, and having friends in this county he naturally preferred to make his home among them rather than among strangers. For a time he engaged as a farm hand, then in freighting, and for several years he had charge of a threshing-machine, in connection with which he fed the first bundle of wheat ever fed into a threshing-machine in this county. In 1864 he lost some of his friends in the Sioux massacre, on the Little Blue River, an event which will always be remembered in connection with the early settlement of this State. The same year he purchased some land, having previously pre-empted a piece, which he then began to improve. A portion of the land now owned by our subject was first claimed by a man named Joseph Proud, who was a peddler, and frequently received gold dust in exchange for his wares. His "shanty" was burned in February, 1860, and in the spring of 1887, while a son of our subject was walking over a piece of plowed ground he picked up a piece of glass. He happened to drop it and it broke in two, and out of a fissure there came a piece of gold, which had been melted into the glass twenty-seven years previously, or at the burning of the shanty.

In 1868 Mr. Whittemore married Miss Susan M. Sherrill, who was born in Missouri on the 26th of August, 1847, and is a daughter of Thomas N. and Mary A. (Blodgett) Sherrill, who are natives of Kentucky and Massachusetts respectively. They moved to Missouri and thence to Nebraska in 1860, making their home in this county, of which they are still respected residents. After his marriage our subject settled on his farm, now consisting of 260 acres of well-improved land in Midland Township, on which he has erected a good residence, but as yet no barns. Aside from the general produce

of the fields, he gives attention to the raising of cattle, hogs and live stock in general.

Six children have come to brighten the home of our subject and his wife, and they have received the names of Edna, Charles Henry, Lucy E., Edward Herbert, Ernest and Eunice. Mr. Whittemore has served as Assessor of his township, and in all public affairs he is desirous that what is done shall he done for the benefit of the community in which he has long held an interest. He is a member of the Democratic political organization. but votes independently of his party when he finds a man of superior attainments or morality to be the candidate of the opposing party. Recently the farm belonging to our subject, situated on section 24. Midland Township, has given some evidence of being enriched by a bed of coal, but as yet it has not been found in paying quantities, though about the sum of $600 has been spent in prospecting for it.

ILLIAM W. LEIGHTON. Section 15, Logan Township, is the property of the gentleman whose life is herein succinctly sketched, and is occupied by him in the interests of stock-raising and grain farming, and is one of the best cultivated and well-stocked farms in the county. Mr. Leighton has not spent his years in vain, and he is to-day enjoying in his beautiful home the results of former years of labor. His success in life must be attributed to the restless energy that was continually working out the plans conceived in the brain which had been by education, thought and meditation, rendered more acute, clear and forcible, and since his marriage this has been supplemented by the elevating, cheering and sustaining influence that has been brought into his life by his companion and life partner, a lady of more than usual education, culture, and innate refinement.

 The father of our subject, Enoch Leighton, was born in Narragansett, Me., in the year 1797. In 1814 he removed to New York State, where he followed farming until 1835, when he removed to Lagrange County, Ind., where he died on the 5th of November, 1856. The maiden name of his wife, the mother of our subject, was Phebe Cowan, who was born in Providence. R. I., in 1799. Her father, David Cowan, was a private in the Revolutionary War, and did his manly and honorable part in the establishment of the Republic of Liberty that enlightens the world. Of this union there were born seven children, who are recorded as follows: David. Nelson and another child are deceased, Elisha, William W., Nancy and John. Nelson enlisted in the 88th Indiana Infantry, in August, 1863, was mustered in at Lagrange, lad., and served through the Civil War until the battle of Murfreeshoro, immediately after which he was taken sick, and died in 1864.

In Lima, Ind., was born, upon the 15th of April, 1836, the subject of this sketch. The days of his boyhood and youth were devoted to the acquirement of knowledge, in order to a more successful life and brighter experience. His home being upon a farm, in the natural course of events he became quite intimate with its duties, responsibilities and work, and before he attained his majority he was competent to take charge and manage the entire farm. Upon attaining his majority he started in life for himself, continuing as his chosen occupation agricultural pursuits. In 1872 he started West, crossing the prairies of Illinois and Iowa with a small wagon and team, and continued his journey until he came to Beatrice, then a rising, but not very imposing, young city. He had previously purchased section 15, and proceeded to settle upon it. He has the distinguished honor of being one of the first actual settlers in Logan Township, and every settler since that time has recognized in our subject and his family friends to the incoming stranger about to begin life again in an unknown country, amid new surroundings and strange faces.

What a change has passed over the laud since that day! How vastly more beautiful! How diverse its scenery! How filled is the smiling landscape with garden-like farms and flourishing, fruit-laden orchards! It seems incredible that so few years could have passed away, and everything be so altered. It is a monument of American vim and intelligent labor. What is true of the township as a whole is equally so of section 15, for our subject has erected a very beautiful residence, and has supplied his farm