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GAGE COUNTY 573
stories in height, built of brick, its finishings and furnishings being everything required to make it attractive in appearance, and convenient for the purpose to which it is adapted. Scott Bros.' store is now located on North Sixth street, in the Spencer Block. Mr. Scott has invested largely of his surplus capital in Nebraska land, owning in Gage County alone 320 acres, which have been divided off into three good farms. He also has land in Kansas and Colorado.
OSEPH ELLIS. One of the most enterprising, prosperous farmers and largest landowners of Gage County, is the gentleman of whose life a brief sketch is here given. Mr. Ellis is the owner of 2,000 acres of land, and 480 acres under lease; 1,500 acres of this land are situated in Grant Township, of which over 500 acres have been brought to a high state of cultivation. This is situated on section 16, where he resides. His farm is thoroughly well stocked with a very high grade of cattle and thoroughbred Shorthorns. From his ranch he ships generally about twenty cars of stock annually. His farm buildings are unsurpassed, and his residence such as is befitting a man of his social status and financial ability. It is an elegant, two-story frame building with basement, and of some pretensions to scientific architecture. The appreciative reader will turn with pleasure to the double-page illustration, showing this property. and also to the portrait of the owner thereof.
Mr. Ellis is one of the Directors of the People's Bank, at Beatrice, his brother John being the President, Warren Cole, Vice-President, and H. L. Ewing, Cashier. Since 1872 our subject has been very active in every project that promised advantage to the district, and has brought to hear upon every undertaking the same energy, push, common sense and business integrity that have marked his life and made him the successful man he is, for in his earlier days he was quite poor, and by no means rich when he came to this place.
Our subject was born in Yorkshire, England, April 3, 1844, and is the son of John and Mary (Nettleton) Ellis. His father was by occupation a farmer, and one of the most practical and enthusiastic in his county. The family on both sides is of what would be called good ancestry, and their history can be traced without difficulty for many generations as natives of that district. The family included six children, all of whom came with their parents to the United States, and settled for a time in New Jersey, afterward removing to Woodford County, Ill., where Mr. Ellis, Sr., bought a new farm. In this country there have been two children (twins) born to them. The parents have since resided at that place, and the father, continuing his allegiance to the religious training of his youth, is identified with the Episcopal Church in the neighborhood. The mother belongs to the Methodist Episcopal communion.
The education of our subject was received in the Woodford County schools, and his knowledge of farming was largely obtained in the same county. When he became seventeen years of age he enlisted in August, 1861, in Company B, 47th Illinois Infantry, Capt. Miles and Col. Rush commanding. The regiment was attached to the Army of the West, and in it our subject fought at New Madrid, Island No. 10, Ft. De Russey, Pleasant Hill, Henderson Hill, Clowtinsville, Marksville, Pittsburg Landing. Farmington (where Col. Miles was killed), Luka, Miss., and shortly afterward the battle of Corinth, Oct. 3, 1862, where our subject was wounded in the right arm, with which he was confined in the hospital for some time; rejoining his regiment in time for the battle of Vicksburg, he was at its surrender. He was also at the battles of Lake Chicot (Ark.), June 6, 1864; Tupelo (Miss.), July 14 and 15, and Abbeville (Miss.), Aug. 23, 1864. In October, 1864, he received an honorable discharge at Springfield, Ill., after serving three years and two months. Our subject still feels at times the effects of a severe sunstroke received while guarding a battery at Rienzi, Miss.
Upon return to Woodford County our subject became the husband of Margaret Miller, a native of the Buckeye State. She was born in Butler County, in the year 1840, and went to Illinois with her parents while a child. She is the daughter of Alexander and Eliza Miller. She came to this State
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in 1872 with her husband; there have been six children born to them, and to them have been given the names here appended: Emery S., Frank O., Harry O., Otto and Lora E., all of whom are at home; also Edith M., now deceased.
Mr. Ellis saw sufficient during the war to satisfy him that the only political party he could affiliate with was the one for which he fought, and he has ever since continued consistently in his adherence to the same. He is recognized as a stanch and influential friend of the party and an energetic worker in its interests. By reason of his military experience he is an enthusiastic member of the G. A. R. at DeWitt, and is held in high regard by his comrades of the post. His name is and has been prominent before the people as one having the progress and advancement of the township and county at heart, and he has done much to this end. As a man and citizen he has been true, upright and loyal; in society at large he is received as a generous friend and gentleman, and in every relation has won for himself the respect and admiration of his compeers.
Mr. Ellis is one of the representative men of the county, and his portrait is very appropriately given in connection with this outline sketch of his life.
ENRY WAGNER, a public-spirited and wide-awake citizen of Clatonia Township, came to this section of country during the period of its early settlement, and is now in the enjoyment of a good home on section 15. His infant years were spent on the other side of the ocean, in Baden, Germany, where he was born Nov. 8, 1841. His parents were John and Catherine (Bence) Wagner, and they are now deceased. They emigrated to America with their family, and took up their abode in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. After a year's residence there they migrated to Dearborn County, Ind., where the father engaged in farming, and where they lived seven years. They then returned eastward as far as Lawrence County, Ohio, where our subject continued until reaching manhood. He received but a limited education, and at an early age entered the iron mines, where he labored for a number of years, then began farming. Subsequently he worked in a coal mine, and after the outbreak of the war was in the employ of the United States Government in the building of temporary bridges for the use of the army, mostly in Tennessee and Alabama. He thus spent two summers, while in the winter he staid with his parents in Ohio. We next find him in Washington County, Mo., where he was employed at the Ironadel furnace two years. From there he recrossed the Father of Waters, and took up his abode in Montgomery County, Ill., where he carried on farming a period of five years.
Our subject while a resident of Missouri was married, Dec. 3, 1868, to Miss Eliza Barron, who became the mother of two children: Eliza J., now deceased, and Frederick V., a resident of Nebraska. The wife and mother departed this life in 1872. Mr. Wagner was the second time married, Dec. 24, 1874, to Miss Maggie, daughter of Robert and Mary A. (Crofford) Lowry, who are natives of Ireland, and are now residing near Cortland, this State. Of this union there were born five children, namely: Robert H., William J.; John, who died when nineteen months old; Thomas E. and Lewis F.
In the spring of 1875 Mr. Wagner came to this county and made arrangements for future settlement, laboring here on a tract of land two years before bringing his family. He purchased a quarter-section of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad Company, in Clatonia Township, at $7 per acre, taking possession and commencing in earnest the cultivation of the virgin soil. Not a furrow had been turned, and there was no other sign of improvement. He labored amid many disadvantages after the manner of the early pioneer, and was in due time compensated in the possession of a farm and all the comforts of life. He was appointed the third Postmaster of Clatonia post-office, which office, now, however, is extinct. Politically, he is an earnest supporter of Republican principles. He has labored intelligently, and been careful to encourage those enterprises which would aid in the progress and development of his adopted county. He is one of the worthiest representatives of the men who struck out boldly without other means
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than their own resources, and by a course of rigid economy and untiring industry, built up from first principles a homestead which forms a nucleus from which their posterity will reap many advantages.
HOMAS R. ZIMMERMANN. In the subject of this sketch we have an example of the progressive and aspiring qualities of manhood which have enabled him to become one of the most successful and prosperous farmers of Logan Township, having worked his way up from a lowly position to one of wealth and influence. He is the owner of 1,560 acres of well-improved land, devoted to the purposes of farming and stock-raising. He is a son of Rankin and Anne Zimmermann, who were natives of Germany, the death of the former occurring in 1842 and that of the latter in 1835. There were five children of that household, who were named Tillie, Claus, Rachael, Fannie and Thomas. Our subject, the youngest of the family, was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1833, and suffered the loss of his mother when he was about two years old, scarcely old enough to realize what a great loss it was.
Our subject remained in his native country until he was twenty-two years old, receiving but little instruction from text-books, but having an experience in the world which enabled him to cultivate shrewd and careful business habits. Thinking that in America there would be better opportunities for him to exercise his talents he embarked from Bremerhaven in 1853, and landed in New York City after a long voyage. He made a short visit to various cities, including Cleveland, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pa., and St. Louis, Mo., stopping for one year at Belleville, Ill., and at Petersburg, Ill., for three years. In 1861 he went to Ritzler County, Neb., and from there removed to this county and made his home on section 4, Logan Township, for eight years. He then sold his farm and bought another on section 7, consisting of 200 acres, on which he has made very many improvements and has been more than ordinarily prosperous, as much so perhaps as any farmer in the county. At different times he purchased land, until now he is the owner of 1,560 acres, all of which he rents excepting the farm on which he makes his home.
On the 28th of January, 1861, our subject was united in marriage, in Petersburg, Ill., to Miss Catherine Miller, who was born in Hanover Germany, on the 6th of January, 1843. Her parents, Elliot and Abby (Johnson) Miller, were natives of Hanover, in which country the mother died, the father afterward coming to America, and departing this life in Lebanon, Ill. There were four children in their family, whom they named Elliot, Mattie, Catharine and Albert. After their marriage our subject brought his wife to his attractive home, which she has graced by her charming and womanly presence, and, as she shares with her husband the desire to progress and improve, they have together labored toward the same end, and are now rewarded for their industry and careful management. Their buildings are all in excellent condition, and the farm being in a fine state of cultivation yields excellent harvests of grain and general farm produce.
The home of our subject and his wife has been the birthplace and shelter of five children, named Annie, Abby, Fannie, Elliot and Matilda, three of whom have already left the parental roof and are nicely established in their own homes. Annie married Herman Dorn, and with their three children, named Thomas, Rankin and Hannah, they live on a farm in Logan Township; Abby married Henry Mintz, and with their two children, named Criss and Tena, they live on a farm in Logan Township. Fannie is the wife of Edward Boughman, living in Hanover Township, also engaged in farming; they have two children deceased: Rachel, born April 10, 1865, died Aug. 28, 1865, and Rankin, born Oct. 1, 1875, died April 5, 1876.
Part of the land belonging to our subject lies in Hanover and part in Logan Township, and from its abundant harvests he receives a large income, which enables him to rank with the wealthy farmers of the township. He takes an active interest in the public welfare, and has been for one year Road Overseer, discharging the duties of that position with credit to himself and satisfaction to the public. Politically, he favors the Democratic party, and his religions sympathies are with the Evangelical Lutheran Church, both he and his wife being esteemed
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members of that church in Hanover. By their affable and pleasing manners and kindly courtesy they have won a large circle of admiring friends and acquaintances, who speak of them in terms of the highest respect, and they are well worthy of an honorable mention among the best citizens.
AMES RATHBUN, a well-to-do citizen of Glenwood Township, and the owner of 320 acres of fine farming land, comprising the greater portion of section 12, is pursuing the even tenor of his way as a peaceable and law-abiding citizen, devoting his attention to agricultural pursuits and making a specialty of stock-raising. He came to this State from Henry County, Ill., in the fall of 1881, settling where he now lives, and where he has effected many improvements and is contributing his share toward advancing the interests of one of the most progressive communities of the West.
The Rathbun family have for several generations traced their ancestry among the people of New England, and the father of our subject, Ebenezer Rathbun by name, was born in Vermont, where he was reared to manhood, and whence he migrated to Washington County, Ohio; thence he removed to LaSalle County, Ill., settling in Ottawa; afterward he lived in both Peoria and Henry Counties, and with his excellent wife spent his last days in the latter, passing away about 1874. The mother of our subject was in her girlhood Miss Martha Hall; she was born in Ireland and crossed the Atlantic in her youth, settling with her parents in Ohio. She became the mother of ten children, and accompanied her family in their various removals until their final settlement in Henry County, Ill., where her death took place Oct. 5, 1878.
Four of the brothers and sisters of our subject are yet living, mostly in Nebraska. James was born in Washington County, Ohio, Dec. 28, 1830, and was the seventh child of the family. He was reared to farm pursuits, educated in the district school, and continued under the home roof until twenty-six years of age; then, crossing the Mississippi in quest of a location for a home of his own, he selected Southern Nebraska as his abiding-place, locating upon his present farm in Glenwood Township. Here he has erected a good house and effected other improvements, indicating him to be a man of perseverance and industry, one who has a proper appreciation of those things which shall be for the comfort of his family and his own reputation as a member of the community. In addition to other pioneer labor he has set out a goodly assortment of fruit and other trees, cultivated the soil in a judicious manner, and lives independently and in a manner befitting a lord of the soil.
Mr. Rathbun assumed matrimonial ties Feb. 25, 1858, the lady of his choice being Miss Mary Ann Wolf, born in Knox County, Ohio, June 24, 1836. Peter and Jane (Biggs) Wolf, the parents of Mrs. Rathbun, were natives of the same county as their daughter. They left the Buckeye State about 1839, and are now residents of Washington Territory, where the father carried on farming. Their family consisted of ten children, all of whom are living. To Mr. and Mrs. Rathbun there have born eleven children, eight of whom are living, namely: Frank, George, Lewis, Charles, John, Alice, Carrie and Lizzie. The deceased children died in infancy.
Mr. Rathbun cast his first vote in his native State for Pierce, and has since given his support to the Democratic party.
NDREW WALKER. The northwest quarter of section 24 in Clatonia Township, which is owned and operated by the subject of this sketch, is noticeable on account of the thoroughness with which it has been cultivated, its comfortable buildings, and the general air of thrift and industry which surrounds it. Mr. Walker was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Jan. 8, 1859, and is the son of Herman and Sarah (Blum) Walker, the father deceased and the mother a resident of Lincoln, Neb.
Herman Walker was a native of Germany, whence he emigrated in early life, and his wife, Sarah, was born in Dayton, Ohio. Andrew was their only child, and in 1868 came with his parents to this county, they settling among the earliest pioneers
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of Clatonia Township. The father only lived a few years thereafter, dying when comparatively a young man, in 1859 or 1860. The mother subsequently married Lewis Drewing, and was again left a widow, Mr. D. passing away on the 3d of May, 1884.
Andrew Walker was reared to manhood in this county and educated in the common schools. On the 13th of November, 1883, he was united in marriage with Miss Louisa Keller, who was born in Iowa, Aug. 20, 1857. Her parents were natives of Germany. The father is deceased and the mother lives with our subject. Mr. and Mrs. Walker are the parents of two children: Waldo W., born Feb. 16, 1885, and Margaret S., Feb. 15, 1888. They are members in good standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. Walker, politically, is a Republican with Prohibition tendencies. He is serving as Moderator in his school district, was elected the first Clerk of Clatonia Township after its organization, and re-elected twice since. During his younger years he attended school at Mt. Pleasant. Iowa, a year, and by the reading of the current literature of the day keeps himself well posted upon matters of general interest. He is a man intelligent to converse with, straightforward and prompt in his business transactions, and in all respects a valued citizen.
ILAS S. SPIER is a well-known and representative farmer residing on section 36, Paddock Township. His father, Isaac Spier, was born in Columbia County, N. Y., and his mother, Laura (Spaulding) Spier, was born in Chester, Mass. After their marriage they settled in Canaan, Columbia Co., N. Y., in which place the husband died on the 26th of August, 1867. The wife died at the residence of her son, our subject, in Paddock Township, on the 8th of January, 1887. They had a family of three children, of whom Sarah A. became the wife of Joseph Bunnell, and Edith M. became the wife of W. H. Kirk.
The only son, our subject, was born in Canaan, Columbia Co., N. Y., on the 27th of April, 1846. He spent the early years of his life on a farm, and received the principal part of his education in the common schools. He lived at home until he was eighteen years old, when he came to Nebraska, and spent six months of the year 1866 in Omaha. He afterward went to LaCrosse, Wis., at which place he remained about one and a half years, being employed as a book-keeper in a fruit store, he then went to LaGrange County. Ind., and was engaged in farming from the fall of 1868 until the spring of 1877, when he went to Black Hawk County, Iowa, and remained for one year. In the spring of 1878 he came to Nebraska, and settled in Paddock Township, in which he bought 200 acres of land.
Our subject has made improvements on his farm and has erected a number of necessary and convenient buildings. He gives his attention to general farming, and makes a specialty of raising sheep and horses, keeping considerable live stock. He was married in Alden, Erie Co., N. Y., on the 9th of November, 1870, to Miss Lucinda L. Oaks, a daughter of Samuel G. and Luana (Lewis) Oaks. The father of Mrs. Spier was born in Bridgewater, Oneida Co., N. Y., on the 1st of January, 1800, and her mother was born in Herkimer County, of the same State, on the 18th of January, 1808. By that marriage they had a family of five children--Samantha L., Abraham, Mary E., William G. and Lucinda L. The father died in the city of his birth on the 24th of April, 1851, and the mother died in Allegany, Cattaraugus County, on the 25th of September, 1884.
Mrs. Spier was born in Clarendon, Orleans Co., N. Y., on the 31st of May, 1847. She is an accomplished and excellent woman, a sympathizing wife, and a devoted mother to her children, of whom she has three, their names, Anna L., Marion W. and Isaac. They have enjoyed the advantages of receiving a good education, making excellent use thereof, and are distinguished for their intelligence, genial dispositions and pleasing manners, and are ornaments to their home and the young society of the neighborhood.
Our subject has taken an important part in the public affairs of his township, having served in an office most of the time since his removal to this county. He has been Assessor for two terms, Treasurer for the same length of time, and is now the in-
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cumbent of the latter office. He is a member of the A. O. U. W., and is a Republican in politics. He and his family are attendants on the services of the Presbyterian Church, and are well known as an estimable family.
ILLIAM H. STOCKTON, who is operating a livery and sale stable at Beatrice, has his headquarters on West Court street, and is in the enjoyment of a generous patronage from the people of the city. He keeps a goodly assortment of horses and road vehicles, and conducts his business in that straightforward manner which commends him to his fellow-citizens as a man worthy to be numbered among those who by their enterprise are contributing to the general advancement of its interests. This stable was established by Mr. Stockton in March, 1881, and is now numbered among the leading enterprises of the city.
Our subject was born near the town of Greenbush. Warren Co., Ill., April 14, 1850, and is the second child of James and Jane (White) Stockton, who were natives of Indiana and early settlers of Warren County. The father was a farmer by occupation, and after many years' residence in Warren County, removed across the line into Fulton, where his death took place in May, 1865. The mother survived her husband but little over twelve months, passing away in June of the following year. Their other children are residents of Nebraska and Iowa.
William H. Stockton early in life became familiar with the various employments of the farm, and acquired his education mostly in the district school. He remained under the parental roof until a youth of nineteen years, then with very little capital started out on his own account. In 1873 he began operations as a stock-dealer, and six years later crossed the Mississippi into Warren County, Iowa, and continued the shipping of cattle and swine to Chicago. He was thus occupied in that region until 1881, when he came to Beatrice and began trading in horses, soon afterward establishing his stables. In August. 1887, he put up the building which he now occupies, and which covers an area of 32x120 feet. He gives employment to four men.
Mr. Stockton while a resident of Warren County, Iowa, was united in marriage with Miss Mattie Evans, the wedding taking place in December, 1879. This lady is the daughter of Charles and Bettie Evans, natives of Indiana, and now of Kansas. Their family consisted of five children. Of this union there has been born one child, a daughter, Mabel, who is now eight years old. Mr. Stockton is conservative in politics, usually giving his support to the Democratic party.
The parents of our subject had each been married before uniting their fortunes, and the mother had three children by her first husband, Mr. White, one son and two daughters--Thomas, Sarah and Eliza. The father by his first marriage had two sons--Thomas and Aaron. These are now mostly residents of Missouri. The paternal grandfather of our subject, Thomas Stockton by name, was a native of Indiana, and spent the last years of his life in Illinois.
SAAC N. YOTHER has been a resident of this county since the year 1872, and in the time of his residence here he has built up an enviable reputation for integrity and enterprise, and has taken an active interest in the public affairs of his township. His father is Henry Yother, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1809, and has been a clergyman all his life, combining with that noble profession the occupation of a farmer. He married Miss Catherine Myers, the mother of our subject, who died in Pennsylvania in the year 1861, and in 1864 he left his native State, and moved to Livingston County, Ill. In 1871 he came to this county, and still makes his home here.
Our subject is the fourth child of a family of twelve, eight sons and four daughters, and was born in Fayette County, Pa., on the 29th of September, 1842. He remained at home until he reached the age of twenty-one years, receiving his education from the schools of his native town, after which he was engaged in farming. In 1872 he came to this county, and made his home near Blue Springs, remaining there until 1883, at which time he bought a farm of 120 acres on section 13, Island Grove Township. The farm is now in a fine state of cul-
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tivation, and presents an attractive appearance, with its nicely arranged cluster of convenient farm buildings, and its fields of waving green, separated by rows of substantial and well-kept fences.
On the 15th of December, 1870, Mr. Yother was united in marriage with Miss Mary Loucks, a daughter of Henry and Barbary Loucks, who were natives of Pennsylvania. She was born on the 18th of July, 1835, in Westmoreland, Pa., and remained in her native State until the year 1870. By her marriage with our subject she has become the mother of three children, one son and two daughters, to whom have been given the names of Henry L., Carrie Elizabeth and Annie Winnifred. These children are now verging on young manhood and womanhood, and are fitting themselves to relieve their kind parents of many of the burdens of domestic duties, and to become useful and honorable members of society. Mr. Yother warmly advocates the policy of the Republican party in politics, and is gratified to hear of the public improvements in educational and religious matters, as well as of those relating to the government of the country. For five years he has been an honorable member of the School Board, and has proved himself an enterprising and loyal citizen.
AMES KINZIE. Of Grant Township's veteran pioneer settlers, the subject of this sketch is one of the most worthy of introduction to the readers of this volume. Since his establishment in the county he has been unremitting in his efforts and most unwearied in his endeavors to advance the interests thereof in every possible manner. His first entry of land dates from the year 1861. He is the owner of 280 acres of most excellently improved and cultivated land, and is certainly to be numbered among the best farmers of the county. His property and residence are situated upon section 8, his home being beautifully located, and affording the necessaries of comfort and convenience, and not a few luxuries of life. His property is well stocked with timber and well supplied with water.
The father of our subject, William Kinzie, welcomed his son to the present life on the 22d of December, 1816, at his home in West Virginia. The grandfather of our subject, John H. Kinzie, was born of Scottish parents, in New York City, and until this time the name had been prefixed by the syllable, Mac, represented in the usual manner. He was one of the heroes of the Revolutionary Army, and also of the War of 1812. He saw much of military life and was a recognized able soldier and officer. He was one of the first to be in what is now Chicago, being Indian agent for that district, and making it his headquarters. The well-known, important business thoroughfare in that city, Kinzie street, received its name in his honor. He died at a very advanced age, while that town was still known by the name of Ft. Dearborn, his death being very sudden and caused by heart disease.
William Kinzie, the father of our subject, was born in what is now Detroit, Mich. He grew to manhood in the State of Ohio, and served through the War of 1812. His chosen occupation in life was that of farming. The maiden name of his wife was Rebecca Martin, whom he met and married in the southeastern part of the State. After this important and interesting event they continued to make their home in Ohio until 1832. They then removed to Elkhart County, Ind., took up land and improved a new farm. His wife died in 1842, somewhat past middle life; somewhat later the widowed husband came to Nebraska, and in the year 1869 died at the home of our subject, where he had been residing for some time, in his seventy-eighth year.
Our subject was the third child and first son of a family of ten children, fonr of whom were daughters. One of the sons died from sickness during military service. The subject of our sketch was reared in Ohio and Indiana, and entered upon his majority in the latter State. There, also, in 1848, he became the husband of Lydia E. Hatch, who was born in Pennsylvania, in the year 1831. She is the third daughter of Albert and Sally A. (Wood) Hatch, both of whom are now deceased. They departed this life at LaPorte, Ind. They were natives of New York State, and after their marriage made their home there until after the birth of two children, then removed to Pennsylvania. In 1837 they
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went to the Hoosier State, making their home at Elkhart for a time, but the father, who was by trade a millwright and a skilled workman, not long afterward removed to Chicago, and was employed in the carshops of that city. He finally removed to LaPorte, where he established a foundry, and invented and brought out the first corn sheller in the country for the use of Messrs. Peck & Co., the extensive grain dealers in that city.
Lydia Kinzie, daughter of the above and wife of our subject, received a good education in the Indiana schools. This was subsequently supplemented by her own most laudable, ambitious efforts at self-improvement, which have made her a well-educated lady, and have also given her a perfect command over what she has learned, and made it possible for her to utilize the same at any time. She has become the mother of eleven children, and it is her happiness to have them all living; seven of them are married and have homes of their own, and fill honorable and responsible positions in life. They are as follows; Mary E., the wife of John Wehn, Jr., editor of the Opposition, at Wilber, Neb.; William, who is married to Sarah Barnhouse, and living upon a farm in Grant Township; Laura J., the wife of Calvin C. Goodhart, an engineer on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad, and resident at Wymore; John D., who is still at home; Sally A., now Mrs. James Clary, and living in Jefferson County, Neb.; Agnes, the widow of Peter Shawm, at present residing with her parents; Alice, happily married to Charles Morris, a farmer in Grant Township; Emma R., wife of Tom Collister, of Frontier County; James E. and Erastus E. (twins), still at home; and Clarissa B., also still with her parents.
Upon the roll of the Methodist Episcopal Church, at DeWitt, are found the names of our subject, his wife, and several members of their family. They are among its most able supporters, stanch friends and consistent members, and as a result are very highly esteemed. The subject of our sketch is not in the front rank of politicians, but is ever ready to do his full duty as a citizen with all loyal eagerness, he usually votes with the Democratic party. Although not much found political circles, his bright, genial smile is seldom missed from any gathering, religious, social or otherwise, where projects and plans are to be perfected or carried out for the benefit of the community or even a more prescribed circle, if only the object be right, honorable, charitable or beneficent. Both himself and wife have always been the true friends of such enterprises, and hold a very warm place in the hearts of those who know them.
AMUEL E. RIGG, Postmaster at Beatrice, and also carrying on a flourishing drug business, stands well among the citizens and business men of this part of the State, as one intimately identified with its most important interests. He comes of substantial German ancestry, who settled in the Keystone State during the Colonial days and engaged mostly in agricultural pursuits. He was born near the town of Washington, in Washington County, that State, May 20, 1852, and his parents were Joseph and Catherine (Earhart) Rigg, descended from Quaker stock, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter of Athens County, Ohio. Joseph Rigg, in 1867, migrated to Illinois, locating in Champaign County, where he operated as a miller, and where his death took place Sept. 22, 1882. The mother, after the death of her husband, joined her sons in Beatrice, Neb., where she now resides.
To Joseph and Catherine Rigg there were born two children only, Charles M., and Samuel E., of our sketch. The elder is now engaged in the real-estate business in Beatrice. Samuel pursued his early studies in the common schools of Ohio and Illinois, and later was a student in the Illinois State University at Urbana. He began his business career as clerk in a drug-store at Champaign, Ill., and later, going South, was employed in the same capacity in a drug-store at Hot Springs, Ark., where he sojourned for a period of five years. He has also been a resident of the States of Georgia and Ohio, being in the former at the outbreak of the late Civil War. He had been there about one and one-half years, and from there returned to Ohio.
Mr. Rigg, in May of 1879, migrated to this county, and began clerking in the drug-store of Hinkle & Jackson, at Beatrice, with whom he re-
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