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1863, in Missouri, and was a young girl when she was brought to Nebraska during the time of the war. She has received a very good common. school education, and possesses many charms as a lady of education and refinement. For one year after their marriage our subject and his wife remained on a farm in Otoe County, after which they came to Gage County, and have since resided on their present farm of 300 acres, of which they own 240 acres. The land is very valuable and our subject has been very successful in the cultivation of it, as well as in the use to which he devotes it as a stock ranch. He has 112 head of cattle and from thirty-five to sixty head of hogs. His farm appears to be in a splendid condition, and he may well feel gratified at its appearance, since the improvements have been mainly wrought by time labor which he has expended on it. Our subject and his wife have an interesting family of five children, on whom they have bestowed the names of Estella, Rosy. Carrie, Oliver and Nellie. With the careful home training of the devoted mother and the many advantages of education and society which the position of their father can secure for them, these children will undoubtedly become intelligent and noble men and women, and an honor to their parents. Our subject takes an active interest in the welfare of the public, as all right-minded and loyal citizens should, and the public is not slow to acknowledge his worth, having elected him Moderator of the schools, in which capacity he is now serving. He strongly advocates the policy of the Democratic party, and by his honorable and successful career he has won the esteem and friendship of the people of his community, who speak of him in terms of the highest praise.
Our subject as born on the 6th of January, 1860, near Plover, Wis., and when he was a babe his parents moved to Nebraska, in August, 1861. The educational advantages were but limited owing to the newness of the country, but by close application our subject secured a thorough education in the common-school branches, and naturally possessing an ingenious and inquiring mind, he accumulated a large fund of general information, which, united with the attainments of the school-room, marks him as a young man of more than ordinary intelligence and keenness of perception. He remained at home on his father's farm until he reached the age of twenty-one, when he went into a telegraph office of the Union Pacific Railroad, at Holmesville, and learned telegraphy. He soon obtained a situation on the Nebraska extension of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, at Padonia, Brown Co., Kan., where he remained for some time, but as his father was getting old our subject came home to take care of his parents as a dutiful son should. His father died on the 25th of May, 1884, at the age of seventy-two years. In 1883 our subject had a neat and attractive frame house built in Holmesville, to which he removed with his mother in March, 1886. He has been engaged in the mercantile business, and is at present the gentlemanly and accommodating clerk |
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OLAND
E. SHELLEY is the genial clerk of Rockford Township, and although a young and
unmarried man he is probably more widely and favorably known than any other
man of the township. He possesses a naturally pleasant and agreeable disposition,
which has gained for him a host of warm and admiring friends, and he may well
feel gratified because of his popularity, having twice been elected by a vote
far in advance of his party ticket. He is a son of Francis and Fanny (Hollingworth)
Shelley, who were natives of England, the former of Staffordshire, and the
latter of Derbyshire. The father followed the occupation of a shoemaker, and
came to America with his family of five children in 1855, making his home in
Portage County, Wis. He worked for a time on a farm near Stevens' Point, and
in 1861 he brought his family to Nebraska, with its two additional members,
and took up a homestead on section 19, Rockford Township, where he prospered
well. He died in 1884, at the age of seventy-two, but the mother of our subject
still lives in Holmesville with her son. There were six children in the family,
four of whom were born in England, and named Myra, James W.. Thomas and Francis
R. The remaining two, named Joseph A. and Roland E., were born in Wisconsin.
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of J. H. Fuller, dealer in general merchandise. His well-known efficiency secured him the election to the office of Clerk of the township, in which be is now serving his second term, giving general satisfaction. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is prominently identified with the work of the Sunday-school, having served as Superintendent of the school. He ardently advocates the policy of the Democratic party, and in the year 1887 he was sent as a delegate to the Democratic County Convention, where he was chosen delegate to represent his township at the State Convention. He is at present the delegate to the County Convention, his former service in behalf of his party having secured him this last election. In the Judiciary Court of September, 1887, he served with much credit on the Circuit Jury. He is an enterprising young man, and has the promise of a brilliant future before him, for which he is qualified by the possession of the virtue of true manhood.
It was upon the 27th of September, 1844, that our subject was born in the old farmhouse in Menard County, Ill. He continued at home until he was twenty-two years of age. His education was commenced at about the usual age, and continued until he had passed through all the classes of the common school, after which he attended the complete course at the High School of Washington County, Iowa. In 1866 he came to this county, and on the 13th of July entered a homestead on section 10, where he continued to reside until 1885, when, having a good offer, he sold it and purchased one-half of section 14, his present property. There are no especially dramatic events or adventurous phases in the life of our subject; it is rather the story of the quiet, somewhat retiring, but prosperous life of the busy, intelligent, practical farmer, with very little of care or anxiety outside the circle of his occupation and his home. To this latter, however, it is his endeavor to bring a wealth of all those parts, points and attributes that go to make it the perfect haven of rest and abode of true domesticity it was originally designed to be. In 1874 Mr. Wright married Clara Wickham, who has exhibited those womanly graces and matronly qualities that make her name a pride and delight to her family and friends. This lady was born in Andrew County, Mo., July 27, 1847. It was her misfortune to be bereaved of her father in the year 1853, and her mother now makes her residence in the home of our subject. Mrs. Wickham presented her husband with thirteen children, seven of whom are living, Mrs. Wright being the youngest of the family. Our subject and wife are the parents of three children, who have received the names Francis A., Elizabeth and Frederick A. One of the most interesting memories of the past of our subject is that connected with his earlier life |
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MOS
L. WRIGHT. Our subject, one of Sherman Township's valued citizens, resides
upon section 14, and is the owner of one-half the section. James Wright, the
father of our subject, was born in Ohio, and there spent the first twelve years
of his life, when he accompanied his parents when they removed to settle in
Menard County, Ill. In that State he made his home until 1855, and then went
to Keokuk County, Iowa, remaining there until he came to Nebraska, in 1867,
and settled in Saline County, which was his place of residence until his death,
which occurred in the spring of 1882. He was a man of active habits, bright
and hopeful, but when he made up his mind upon a point, quietly determined
to effect his purpose. His death was generally lamented by all the large circle
that comprised his relatives, friends and acquaintances. His wife was Elizabeth
Offield, a native of Kentucky, in which State also her parents were born. She
was united in marriage to Mr. Wright in 1843, while residing in Menard County.
Their family circle included eight children, all of whom are still living.
Amos, our subject, was the firstborn; the other members of the family received
the names subjoined: William, who is a carpenter in Scott County, Iowa; John
D.; a mason at Wilber, Saline County; Ira S., who is a farmer at DeWitt, of
the same county; Edward, a professional musician in DeWitt; James H., a farmer
in this county; Hannah, the wife of Selden Lupher, a farmer in Saline County,
and Elizabeth, who is still unmarried, and lives at home.
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in the State, and concerns the following incident: In 1867 the Indians made a raid upon the settlement, leaving their track marked with blood, violence and destruction. The Governor called upon the settlers for help; among those who responded with alacrity was our subject, and he was one of the party to discover and identify some of the slain, and rescue certain captives. Mr. Wright has for many years been associated with the Republican party, and still continues his adherence to the same. He has been called upon to fill the office of Assessor, and did so with much credit. For four years he served most worthily as a member of the School Board. With his family, as before remarked, he enjoys the highest regard of his fellow-citizens, which he values and appreciates most highly.
Our subject was born on the 15th of July, 1919, in Ohio, at the time of the three-years residence of his parents in that State, but his earliest recollections are of the scenes in his Kentucky home. His father met with an accident while quarrying rock, and was crippled so that he was no longer able to attend to the supervision of his large plantation, and our subject, as the eldest son, was early called upon to assume the responsibilities of manager of the estate. He received his education from the common schools of that time, and continued in charge. of the homestead until 1842, when he was married to Miss Maria Miller. After his marriage he lived on a farm in the vicinity of his old home for seven or eight years, and then went to Macoupin County, Ill., where he bought a farm and was prospering well until the second year, when his wife died. Her death was a sad bereavement to him, as they had been married but ten years, and she was only twenty-four years old when she left him her five children, whose names are Mary Jane, Louisa, Jacob, Ann and an infant. With the exception of the last-named child the children of our subject and his first wife were married and established in homes of their own, and had about them their own children. Mary Jane became the wife of W. H. Stults, a blacksmith, and they reside near Waverly, Macoupin Co., Ill. In their family they have five girls and five boys, whom we name as follows: Luther, Mettie, Pearlie, Lou, Ella, Eugene, James, Butler, Elberta and Alfred. Louisa married John Beard, but she died in 1869, at the age of twenty-three years; she was the mother of one child, Frankie, who is also deceased. Jacob resides in Nemaha Township, and is a prosperous farmer; he married Martha Nibert, and is the father of four children--Charles, Frank, Walter and Adah. Ann married Joseph Stidley, and resided in Adams Township until the time of her death in 1885, leaving, motherless the following. seven children: Mathew, Maud, Ella, Joseph, William, Charles and George. Our subject continued to reside on his farm in Macoupin County, and was married on the 15th of January, 1854, to Miss Eliza Baggerly, a daughter of Jonathan and Cassandra (Bailey) Baggerly. Her parents were born in Shelby County, Ky., and both the paternal and maternal grandfathers were soldiers in the Revolutionary War. The parents lived in Shelby County, where the father was engaged in farming, and afterward they removed to Clark County, Ind., where they lived a long time and |
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SAAC NAYLOR is an industrious and prosperous farmer residing on section 17, Nemaha Township. His father, John Naylor, was a native of Kentucky; his mother, Barbara (Corman) Naylor, was a native of Maryland, and they were married in the first-named State, making their home in Fayette County. The father's ancestors were natives of England, who had come to America during the Colonial times, and at the time of the War of 1812 the father of our subject participated in some of the engagements. He was a farmer, and lived in Fayette and Jessamine Counties the greater part of his life, but although he had a large plantation and prospered well, he would keep no slaves even during slave time. Unfortunately he did not live to see the abolition of slavery, his death occurring before the war, when he was sixty-two years old. The mother of our subject died in 1869, in her eighty-fifth year, and had borne a family of eight children, four girls and four boys, all of whom grew to manhood and womanhood, and whose names are Mary, Elizabeth, Nancy, Isaac, John, James, Jane and Benjamin.
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reared a family of eleven children. With but one exception the children were spared to become useful men and women, bearing the names of Elizabeth. Charlotte, Nancy; William, who died when he was seven years old; Eliza, Joseph, Isaac, Louis, Melvina, Clinton and Benoni. Mrs. Naylor, the fifth child in her father's family, was born on the 25th of October, 1829, and was a babe when her parents moved to Indiana. She enjoyed good advantages from attending the common schools, but as they were conducted on the rate or subscription system she could not attend until she acquired a thorough education. She went to visit her uncle and some relatives in Macoupin County, Ill., and there our subject made her acquaintance which resulted in their marriage. Mr. Naylor has resided in Macoupin County over thirty years, for twenty-seven years of which time Mrs. Naylor has been his faithful companion and devoted wife. They had a family of thirteen children, eight of whom died in infancy, and the names of the surviving members we mention as follows: Malissa, Emily, Cassandra, Allen and Martha. Malissa, the eldest daughter of our subject and his wife, was married to Mr. A. West, and they reside in Red Willow County, this State, the parents of one child, named Johnny; Emily married M. F. Shores, and they with their four children, Roy, Freddie, Louis and Adelbert, reside in Nemaha Township; Cassandra married Thomas Windle, but after becoming the mother of one child, named Zelma, she died in the year 1886; Martha married Thomas West, and they also reside in Red Willow County, this State; Allen has charge of the homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Naylor came to Nebraska in 1881, and have been very successful in their business, our subject now being the owner of one and a half sections of land in Nemaha Township, besides having given each of his first children forty acres of land as a marriage portion. They are members of the United Baptist Church, and are among the influential society people of this section. Mr. Naylor is a Democrat and a thoroughly good man, possessing excellent traits of character and enjoying the confidence and esteem of his fellowmen. His wife possesses many personal charms, and is a talented and estimable lady, who has proved herself a devoted wife and mother, and a worthy copartner in the accumulation of his wealth, having many times aided him in his business transactions by her sympathy and advice given with sound judgment. Together they are enjoying the fruits of their industry, and take rank among the influential families of this community.
The first twelve years of the life of our subject were spent at home, and to its pure and elevating influences and surroundings is doubtless due the character which is today possessed by him. He was but three years of age when his father died. Some time after her bereavement his mother removed to Madison County of the same State, where she made her home for some years, and then went to Union County, where our subject worked for three years in connection with farming. From there he went to Clinton County., Ind., being occupied in the same line. In 1858 he came to Nebraska, and remained one summer prospecting, and in the fall returned to Indiana and rented a farm. During |
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HOMAS
M. MARTIN is widely and favorably known as the enterprising and successful
farmer whose property is situated on section 19 of Sherman Township. Thomas
Martin, his father, was born in Scotland in the year 1809. When fifteen years
of age he left his native hills and braes, and with his father and two brothers
came to the United States and settled in Louisville, Ky., being the youngest
of the family. Later his father removed to Indiana, purchased a tract of land
and divided it among the boys, thus giving each a small start. The maiden name
of his wife was Mary Miller, a daughter of Peter and Kate (Hafford) Miller.
This lady was born in Pennsylvania in 1812, and went to Indiana soon after
the close of the war of that date. Her death occurred in 1876; that of her
husband in the year 1838. They were the parents of seven children, only one
of that number being a daughter. Our subject is the sole surviving child, and
was born in Union County, Ind., on the 20th of December, 1835.
