was reared to manhood. He was married in Ohio, on the 12th of January, 1843, to Miss Savilla Egger, who was born in Monroe County, that State, on the 24th of October, 1822, to Samuel and Susanna Egger. Her father was a native of Switzerland; her mother of Mifflin County, Pa. Her father had emigrated to this country in the seventeenth year of the present century, here settled, and afterward married. Of six children who were born to them five survived. The names are as here recorded--Savilla, Mary, Nancy, Rebecca, Noah, and Jacob (deceased). To Mr. and Mrs. Peter have been given three children: Mary E., born Dec. 23, 1843, died in 1876; George, born in 1845; and Saloma, Sept. 12, 1858.
   For about two years after his marriage our subject made his home in Guernsey County, Ohio, after that for quite a number of years in Pike County, and then in Tazewell County, Ill. In 1870, accompanied by his family, he came to this county, purchasing 240 acres of railroad land, for which he paid $11 per acre. The difference in the present condition and that at the time of his settlement is the difference between the wild, rough Prairie and the well-cultivated, carefully tilled farm, the result of unremitting effort and intelligently bestowed labor. Throughout the whole of his wedded life he greatly prized his home and its relations, and found in his wife a true helpmate and faithful companion; very frequently, indeed, she inspired him to renewed effort and ultimate success.
   Mr. Peter left to his wife and family a home upon 320 acres of land, with all the usual buildings well built and in good repair, and upon his death the loss was felt by a large number outside the family circle, for the community seemed to realize that in him it had lost one of its best friends. In the Civil War our subject served for about two months, and although his term of service was short he saw considerable fighting, and was so severely wounded in the battle of Franklin as to necessitate the amputation of his right arm. Upon leaving the service he was honorably discharged, and continued his feeling of patriotism and loyalty until the last.
   Mr. and Mrs. Peter were members of the Congregational Church, and were regarded among the most devoutly consistent of the communion. In political matters he was connected with the Democratic party, and was always deeply interested in every question which concerned the welfare of the people, consulting this and the ability of the official candidate, and governing his actions accordingly. Mrs. Peter, the widow of our subject, still resides at the homestead on section 23, in company with her daughter, and enjoys in this home the fruits of trouble and labor of previous years. In addition to this property she is the owner of 430 acres of land, in her own right. Both Mr. and Mrs. Peter were accorded the highest esteem and fullest confidence of all who knew them, and the widow of our subject is the recipient of the deepest sympathy in the sorrow that has darkened her life.

AMES L. PORTER. In entering upon active business life, some men find their pathway marked out, smoothed and rolled like a tennis lawn; others find it rough and rocky like a mountain path. One of the latter is the subject of this sketch; nevertheless, he has faced the rocks, and has struggled upward despite all the ruggedness and difficulty, snatching success from the clutch of defeat. His grandfather, Adam Porter, was born in England, but came to America while yet a young man, accompanied by two brothers, who settled in New England. To him, however, Maryland seemed to offer greater advantages; there he took a tract of land, cleared a farm, and continued to reside thereon, making from time to time such improvements as he saw were wise and within his power, until, at the ripe age of ninety years, he passed to his long home.
   At this homestead was born John Porter, the father of James L., and its surroundings formed the environment of his childhood, youth and early married life. In after years this home was also the birthplace of the gentleman whose name is at the head of this sketch.
   In the year 1830 John Porter and his family, which included his wife and seven children, started westward, and two wagons drawn by their six horses were sufficient to convey their belongings to their prospective home. Traveling by day, encamping

in some inviting nook by night, as they journeyed in this somewhat primitive way, they presently arrived, without meeting, as far as is known, any special incident or any adventure, in Montgomery County, Ind. The land of this district, although heavily timbered, was rich and fertile, promising abundant recompense for any labor intelligently directed that might be bestowed upon it. Here, then, the family determined to settle, and procured a tract of land about eight miles from Crawfordsville. Speedily trees were felled, logs were hewn, and a primitive mortar manufactured. Then, with strong hands and hopeful hearts, they raised their cabin--the home in the wilderness. That pioneer home presented a striking contrast, we would not say to the palatial residences upon the boulevards of our great cities, but the present pioneer homes of such districts as Montana, Dakota or Idaho. Its furniture, like its walls, doors and roof, was the work of their own hands, and a thousand and one conveniences and necessaries, as we call them, were conspicuous by their absence. Nevertheless, it was, in the truest sense, "home."
   Of work there was plenty for each and all to do. The fathers and sons were employed, even to the youngest, in clearing and preparing the ground for the reception of seeds and cuttings, the mother, besides her household and dairy work, in spinning and weaving material for clothing and other purposes. At that time deer, wild turkeys, and a large variety of other game, abounded in the district; naturally, therefore, James became a very expert hunter, and doubtless learned in this school lessons of self-control, caution, tact and patience, no less valuable because not learned, as were his other lessons, from a well-thumbed speller and reader in the log school-house. School-house, did we say? It were hard to recognize in that little log cabin, with its rough door and rougher benches, an institution of learning; and yet, 'tis even so, and, day by day, the sunlight struggled to gain an entrance through the oiled paper that served for a window, if, by any chance, it might aid in illuminating the undeveloped but capable intelligences there present, many of them destined to make their mark in the days of larger opportunity and horizon.
   When twenty-five years of age James L. Porter left home for Missouri, where he made good progress, working as a carpenter in Lawrence County. He continued to reside in that State for some twelve years, and in 1851 proceeded to Iowa, where he purchased a tract of wild prairie land in Harrison County, and gave his attention to agricultural pursuits. Having built his house and farm building, he made various and important improvements from time to time, and continued to make that his place of residence until 1866, when he sold out and came to Nebraska. This removal, similar to that of his earlier recollections, was made in primitive style, by team, for, unlike the pioneer of the present date, he found no bands of steel, lightning express and vestibule train, to carry him to the door of his "claim shanty." He now bought land west of Lincoln, but after a time took up a homestead four miles south of Lincoln, living first in a sod house until he could erect more substantial buildings. Upon this farm he continued to make his home until the fall of 1870, when he again sold out, and settled where he now resides, on section 29, Middle Creek Precinct.
   In Phebe McMullen, a native of Ohio, Mr. Porter found a lady who possessed every qualification to adorn his home and complete his life's interest. Accordingly they were married Sept. 29, 1842. They are both members of the Primitive Methodist Church, in which communion they find congenial surroundings and thought, which harmonize with their religious convictions. Mr. and Mrs. Porter are the parents of six children, three of whom are living, named as follows: John R., Francis M. and Scyrus N.; the two last named are married, and live in Middle Creek Precinct.
   As we have already noted, as a necessary result of his pioneer life, the educational advantages enjoyed by Mr. Porter were very few and limited in scope, but being the happy possessor of a studious mind, logical thought and retentive memory, we see him grasping every opportunity., using the same to the fullest extent, until he has educated himself for business and social life, not forgetting also fitness for the duties and responsibilities of citizenship. His orchards are among the finest in the country, containing upward of 300 well-selected trees. In addition, he has also an extensive seed