State, received a thorough groundwork of education in the common and High schools, and afterward took a full course in and graduated from the Northwestern Business College, of Naperville, Ill. When sixteen years of age he engaged in the grocery trade as clerk, continuing for three years. From that until he was about twenty-two he was engaged in attending school. About the year 1878, with his parents, our subject removed to Lancaster County, which has continued to be his place of residence ever since. He was united in marriage, on the 20th of July, 1882, with Eliza Reugnitz, a daughter of Charles and Mary Reugnitz, both of whom are deceased.
   From a local paper, which gives a very full and exhaustive account of the last hours and funeral services of Charles Reugnitz, we cull the following: "The gentleman was born in Waren, Mecklenburg, Germany, on the 27th of January, 1822. He received his early education in the Fatherland, and there learned the cooper's trade, which he continued to follow through life. He was married, Nov. 22, 1846, to Miss Mary Meder, of the same place. She had been the companion of his childhood and youth, and had grown up to maturity. by his side, and through the long years had been faithful and loving as wife and mother. They became the parents of eleven children, nine of whom are still living and grown to man and womanhood. His first wife died Dec. 12, 1879, and a few months before his death he was married a second time, the lady being Mrs. Elsie Scapper. Mr. Reugnitz had been sick for some weeks, but about the 10th of August, 1882, his illness assumed a more serious form, and he died at 2 o'clock, on Monday, Aug. 14, 1882, leaving a widow and nine children." The article above referred to is largely occupied with the very feeling, appropriate and impressive address, delivered at the obsequies, by Mr. J. F. Thompson, at the request of the family, which sketches the life, development and success of Mr. Reugnitz, and his success in life, linked with remarks of a more general, but no less opportune and happy nature.
   Mrs. Baker was born in Germany, Dec. 7, 1859, and five years later accompanied her parents to this country. Shortly after arrival they settled in Clayton County, Iowa, and there made their home until death. Her brothers and sisters numbered ten, of whom eight besides herself are living. Their names are as follows: Charles, George, August and Max reside in Iowa; Albert is in Wisconsin; Mary is the wife of O. D. Outhout, and is a resident of Iowa; Herman and Lewis live in Colorado.
   Our subject is the owner of 240 acres of well-improved land, the improvements comprising not simply the perfection of cultivation of broad acres in grain, but also horticulture, forestry and orchard trees, with the houses for storing and preparing the fruitful harvest of the same; barns, stabling and other buildings; and not excepting the pleasant, comfortable and convenient farm dwelling, which is his home, and of which an excellent view is given in this volume. Mr. Baker is in every regard a self-made man; that is to say, his start in life was the result of his own effort and energy, after the foundation had been laid for success by the education his parents were enabled to give him. He is highly respected as a citizen and as a man whether in social or domestic relations. He is not an officeholder, but at the same time realizes the privileges and duties of citizenship, and is loyal to the same. His political sentiments are in accord with those of the Republican party, and this receives his vote and support. Religiously, he is, with his wife, associated in the membership of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and they are accounted among the most consistent and devout, and are held in highest esteem.

ALTER J. HARRIS. To the energetic labors, enterprise and business tact of this gentleman and his associates, is Lancaster County indebted for her high position as one of the leading stock-growing and grain-raising sections of Nebraska. He is an extensive farmer and breeder of fine stock, and owns one of the largest and best managed farms to be found within a radius of many miles of the State capital. It is admirably located in Lancaster Precinct, town 10, range 7, southeast quarter of section 10, six miles from Lincoln, and embraces 160 acres of very fertile and highly cultivated soil. Mr. Harris also owns two farms in Stevens

Creek Precinct, three miles from his homestead, comprising altogether 460 acres. His favorite breed of cattle is the Hereford grades, also Poland-China hogs, and poultry of the best breeds.
   Our subject is of mingled Scotch-Irish ancestry, his grandfather, Walter Harris, being a native of Scotland, who came to this country and settled near Martinsburg, Va., prior to the Revolutionary War. He subsequently migrated to Cincinnati. Ohio, in the very early days of its settlement, and actively engaged in the Indian War that followed the Revolution during Washington's administration. He married Elizabeth Reed, a widow, and they had three children, two sons and one daughter. His wife had four children by. her first marriage, and the seven children were brought up harmoniously in the same family.
   0ne of these, Thomas, the father of our subject, was born April 23, 1803, in Butler County, Ohio. His father died when he was but three years old, and he lived with his mother until he was twenty-three years old. He married in April, 1829, Miss Eliza Emmons, daughter of John and Johanna Emmons, of New Jersey. He continued to live on the old homestead until after the birth of three of his children, when he removed to Vermillion, Ind., where the remaining five of his children were born. He was a man of sound, practical wisdom, and was influential and prominent in public affairs, and while a resident of Indiana was a Justice of the Peace for eight years. In politics he was an uncompromising Democrat. He died revered and lamented, June 28, 1844, on the farm that he had improved from a wild tract of Government land, located in Vermillion Township, Vermillion County, near Newport, the county seat, and only three miles from the Illinois line. His estimable wife survived him ten years, and then died on the home farm Nov. 10, 1854. Six of their eight children grew to maturity, as follows: Joanna H. became Mrs. French; at his death she married Mr. Lannen, and died at Beaver Crossing, Seward Co., Neb. James E. lives in Idaho; Elizabeth is Mrs. Southard, of Vermillion County, Ind.; Mary Jane is Mrs. Jackson, of Colorado; Hannah was Mrs. Clarke, who died in Indiana, and Walter J.
   The subject of this biographical sketch was born March 5, 1832, in Trenton, Butler Co., Ohio, and when four years of age accompanied his parents to their future home that they planted in the wilds of Indiana. He lived at home until twenty-two years of age, attending the public schools during the winter terms, where he obtained a very good education, and, after the death of his father, actively assisting in the maintenance of the family. He established a home for himself at the age mentioned having been united in marriage, March 23, 1854, to Miss Charlotte Frances Shaw, daughter of Jesse and Mary (Harris) Shaw. She was born Nov. 3, 1832, at Rushville, Ind., and there died March 5, 1861, at the age of twenty-nine years, leaving two children--Florence E. and Frances H. The former married Orin Richey. of Indiana, and the latter was united in marriage with Nathan Burris, a resident of Dayton, W. T.
   After his marriage Mr. Harris had moved to Crawford County, Wis., where he engaged in farming for six years. In 1860 he removed to Rushville, Rush Co., Ind., and his wife dying in the following year, on the 5th of March, thus ending a happy wedded life and breaking up his home, he was ready to respond to his country's first call for assistance at the outbreak of the war, and on the 22d of April he enlisted in Company C, 16th Indiana Infantry. In June, 1861, he was transferred to the 13th Regiment for the three-years service, and fought bravely under the old flag in its defense until July, 1864, when he was honorably discharged, having undergone all the trials and hardships incidental to a soldier's life. He was in the Army of the Potomac when McClellan commanded it, but was under the immediate command of Rosecrans at Rich Mountain, which was the first battle he took part in. He at one time served as guard of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. He took part in thirty-two battles and skirmishes with his regiment and was wounded but once, when he was disabled by a spent ball, and was thereby confined in camp in front of Petersburg until his discharge., The chief battles in which our subject engaged were: Winchester, Rich Mountain, Cheat Mountain, Greenbrier, Allegheny, Port Republic, Harrison's Landing, Battle Deserted Farm, siege of Suffolk, Hanover Run and Hanover Junction, siege of Ft. Wagner,

Burmuda Hundred, Chester Station and many others, besides numerous skirmishes.
   After his retirement from the service Mr. Harris made his home in Indiana for awhile, and was there a second time married Feb. 23, 1865, Miss Emily J. Hocker, daughter of Uriah and Frances E. Hocker, of Parke County, Ind., becoming his wife, a woman of much ability, who has greatly helped him in building up their pleasant and cozy home on the prairies of Nebraska. Four children, two sons and two daughters, complete the household, of whom the following is the record: Thomas U., born Jan. 4, 1866; Charlotte E., born June 14, 1867, is now the wife of George J. Johnson, and they reside in Lincoln; John R., born Feb. 8, 1871; Hannah Augusta J., Feb. 25, 1874. Three are living at home with their parents.
   Soon after marriage our subject and his wife came to Nebraska, June 5, 1865, and he took up 160 acres of land under the provisions of the Homestead Act, located on the corner of Thirty-third street, and now near the heart of the city of Lincoln. In the same year he bought the northwest quarter of section 17, township 10, range 7 east, which he owned until November, 1886, when it had so increased in value that he sold it for $110 per acre. His home farm he sold for $30,000. On the 25th of the same month he bought the southwest quarter of section 10, township 10, range 7, paying therefor $44 per acre, and has since made his home here. A view of the residence and its surroundings, which the artist enables us to present to the reader, will bring these within the mental grasp better than any verbal description, though ever so complete and graphic.
   Mr. Harris is a shrewd, far-seeing man, of a keen and resolute nature, and of more than ordinary capacity, which places him among the leading citizens in public and social affairs. In 1867 he was elected Assessor for one year for Lancaster Precinct, which office he held altogether sixteen years., discharging its duties efficiently and with due regard to the interests of his fellow-citizens. He is a charter member of the F. & A. M., No. 19, and is also the oldest initiated member of Capitol Lodge No. 11, I. O. O. F.; he is likewise a member of the Encampment of Odd Fellows, and of Farragut Post No. 25, G. A. R., Lincoln. In politics Mr. Harris has emphatically placed himself on record as a Protectionist, and he firmly supports the principles of the Republican party as applied to national affairs, but in local matters he is independent. voting for whom he considers the best man, irrespective of party.

NDREW McDIVITT. The homestead of this gentleman forms one of the most attractive spots in the landscape of Grant Precinct, and embraces 240 acres of finely cultivated land on section 1. The hand of thrift and industry is everywhere apparent, from the neat and substantial buildings to the fertile fields, which are neatly laid off with well-kept fences, while the farm stock is of excellent grades and the machinery for carrying on agriculture after the most approved pattern. It is evident that the owner of this property has the true conception of what rural life should be, and presents in the result of his labors a phase of it in its most attractive form.
   Andrew McDivitt, Sr., the father of our subject, was, it is supposed, of English ancestry, and was born near Steubenville, Ohio. He married Miss Eliza Corkhill, who was born on the Isle of Man, and came to the United States in her youth. After marriage they turned their faces to the farther west, and crossing the Mississippi settled in Henry County. Iowa, among its earliest pioneers. The father built up a good homestead from an uncultivated tract of land, and there spent the remainder of his days, his death taking place in 1872. The mother still survives, and is living with her children at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.
   The parental household of our subject included five children, all of whom are living, and residents of Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado. Andrew was the fourth in order of birth, and first opened his eyes to the light in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Feb. 23, 1853. His early life was spent in his native county of Henry, mostly on a farm, while he studied first in the common school, and completed his education in the Iowa Wesleyan University, at Mt. Pleasant, where he was a student two years. Upon laying aside his books. like the sensible youth that

he was, having no foolish city longings, he returned to the farm pursuits in which he had been reared, and carried on agriculture in his native county until the spring of 1880.
   Our subject now resolved upon a change of location, and coming to Otoe County, this State, purchased a quarter-section of land, where he lived until selling out, in 1882, and taking up his residence at his present homestead. Here he has effected many of the improvements which the passing traveler now looks upon with admiration. He makes a specialty of stock-raising, and has been uniformly successful as the result of his long experience and thorough knowledge of his calling.
   Our subject sought for his wife one of the most attractive maidens of his native county, Miss Elizabeth Fullerton, to whom he was married in Mt. Pleasant, Jan. 31, 1878. Mrs. McDivitt is the daughter of William and Margaretta (Lamb) Fullerton, who were natives of Ohio. The mother died in Mt. Pleasant about 1878. Mr. Fullerton is still living, and is a resident of Lincoln, this county. Mrs. McD. was born in Warren County, Ohio, Feb. 12, 1854, and came with her parents to Iowa in 1869. Of her union with our subject there halve been born three bright children: William E., Jan. 19, 1879; Frank K., Nov. 17, 1881, and Charles F., Aug. 17, 1883. Our subject. votes the straight Republican ticket upon all occasions, and, with his estimable wife, belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, to the support and maintenance of which they are cheerful and liberal contributors. Their home is noticeable at once as the abode of culture and intelligence, and they enjoy the society and friendship of a large circle of acquaintances.

OSHUA H. BUEL. Among the old settlers of Centerville Precinct, whose work upon his own property and in behalf of the precinct and county so far as opportunity has offered for the same, and whose own personal character and financial success require some notice in order to have anything like a complete history of the precinct, is the subject of the present sketch, whose well-tilled and fertile farm is situated on section 28.
   Mr. Buel is a native of Licking County, Ohio, and reckons the years of his life from the 14th of November, 1843. His parents, Joshua and Lucy Buel, were natives of New York State, and were members of a family not unknown in the history of the Eastern colonies in the pre-Revolutionary era. On his father's side the ancestry were English. His great-grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War, and his son, the father of our subject, went through the War of 1812. The family of which our subject was a member comprised ten children, besides the father and mother. The names of those living are as follows: Mary, living in California, is now Mrs. M. Harker; Lucy, the wife of J. B. Johnson, of Lincoln; Edwin, living in Licking County, Ohio; Joshua, our subject; and Minson P., of Chicago.
   Our subject was reared to manhood in his native State and county. His education was more extended than usually obtained by young men of that section in those days. After completing the course of the common school he attended and graduated from an academy, and in 1861 was a graduate of Hiram College, Ohio, the same institution in which the martyred President James A. Garfield, was first a student and afterward professor and President. Our subject for about six months received his instruction from Mr. Garfield, who has always been remembered more on account of his qualifications as a teacher, the sympathy, interest and friendship extended by him to his students, than on account of any political reminiscence.
   After leaving the above institution our subject was engaged in farming and stock-raising, and these have been the business of his life, linked necessarily with that of stock-raising, stock dealing and shipping. In the spring of 1886 our subject came to Lancaster County, and settled upon the farm that is still his home. All the improvements which appear in buildings or fields are the result of his thought and labor. The farm includes 272 acres of admirably situated arable land, and is cultivated upon the line of general farming and the provision of feed for his stock. He is the owner of a good herd of Short-horn cattle of nearly 100 head, and Highlander and Red Morgan horses.
   The home of Mr. Buel was lacking in beauty and tone until the 28th of January, 1868, when he was

united in marriage with Fanny Cake, a native of Knox County, Ohio. Their happiness has been increased and the bonds uniting them have been more firmly welded by the birth of nine children, of whom the following survive: Fred, Helen, Musa, Lacy, Joshua, Clare, Myrtle and Pearl. Mrs. Buel was born April 6, 1848, and was the daughter of Samuel and Ann Cake, both natives of Berks County, Pa. Her father was of German descent, and her mother of Scotch-Irish, thus forming an amalgam of the Teutonic, Gallic and Celtic races. She was the thirteenth child born to her parents, the family circle including thirteen children, of whom the following are now living: Sarah, wife of H. K. Robinson, of Anderson County, Kan.; Susan, now Mrs. Chauncey, of Lincoln, Ark.; Jennie, who is married to Albert Hildreth, of Knox County, Ohio; Erastus, a Christian minister in Missouri; Ella, now Mrs. R. N. Smith, of Abilene, Kan.; Anna, now Mrs. Graham of Ohio; Howard, a farmer in Miami County, Kan., and Fanny, the wife of our subject.
   In political matters our subject is loyal to the responsibilities of citizenship, but is not prominent in official circles; he is a devoted friend and admirer of the Republican party, is an advocate of social enterprise and good morals, and both as a man and citizen receives the unqualified esteem of his fellows.

OUIS C. MEYER. In the northern part of the Empire of Germany, about seventy miles from the mouth of the River Elbe, there lies a city crowded with historic memories. At one time it was strongly fortified, and has withstood the shock of assault and the lingering terrors of the siege. To-day the visitor to this city, Hamburg, finds upon the site of the old fortification a most pleasant drive after the style of the boulevard, with broad plank walks beautifully shaded. Around the old city has grown up a newer surrounding, the whole about four miles in circumference. To its ancient, but still sustained, reputation of learning must be added that of a manufacturing center of importance, and being, perhaps, one of the most important of shipping points of Germany, it sustains a very extensive mercantile connection, and is a port for the North-German Lloyd trans-Atlantic, and Red Line Company steamers, also several other important steamship lines to all parts of the world.
   In this city, Hamburg, was born Louis C. Meyer. His father, Henry Meyer, was born in 1800. He received a fair and practical education in the city schools. As a young man he married and settled in life. Louis C. Meyer, the subject of this sketch, was the second son of this gentleman. He was born May 11, 1836, and afterward attended the school of his native city, and continued in the same until he was fourteen years of age, when he was apprenticed to learn the trade of brush-maker, being articled to his uncle, whose residence is near the city. After a service of six years in his uncle's factory he determined to emigrate to America.
   In 1856 our subject sailed via Bremen, and arrived in Baltimore seven weeks from the time he started. Bewildered by the strange experience of the preceding voyage, hardly recovered from the problem of perpetual motion, his confusion is by no means decreased by being thrust suddenly into the bewildering vortex of strangenesses in a strange city of a strange land. To this was added the difflculty of language, and the fact that he was still somewhat in debt for his passage. He was not of that class who face their difficulties backward; neither did he find a place among those whose method of facing difficulty is to sit down before them, with brooding and tears. He was made of better stuff. Knowing he had to fight a battle he had counted the cost beforehand, and was not prepared to give up thus early in the campaign. With hope in his heart he set out for Wheeling, Va., hunted up some work, and kept at it until he had sufficient to carry him to Cincinnati, where he began to work at his trade, which he continued prosperously for twelve years.
   The next home of our subject was Clayton County, Iowa, where he established a brush factory, where for sixteen years prosperity was his close friend. Time rolled along until the calendar marked the year 1885, when he removed to Malcolm and engaged in mercantile pursuits. After it short time

he received the appointment of Postmaster, which position he has since held. His business is constantly increasing, and he is rapidly becoming one of the well-to-do citizens.
   In May, 1858, Mr. Meyer was united in marriage with, Anna Luebbe, a native of Germany, and after a happy union of twenty years she died in Clayton County, Iowa. In 1880 our subject contracted a second alliance, the lady being Augusta Pischke, likewise a native of Germany, but reared in this country. There are three children living by his first wife: Amelia, wife of James V. Willman; Amanda and Alma. By the second two, Amy and Louisa. The family of our subject enjoy the esteem of the community, and he, also, both in commercial, political and social circles. His political sentiments are Democratic.

HARLES D. STEVENS. "There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune." Few realize the truth of this more than the pioneers of the Western Territories and States. With many the tide is at its lowest ebb in the genesis of their history and effort, but presently it turns, and if by intelligence they are enabled rightly to read the progress of that tide, and recognize its flood, then, boldly and with determined effort, push off their hark from the shore, keep the prow cutting the waves, heading for the more open waters, then they find themselves speedily, and almost before they are aware, across the bar of adverse circumstances, and pass lightly upon their voyage to ultimate success.
   The above might serve to sum up in one parabolic sentence the history of our subject, one of Denton's prosperous farmers, whose property is situated on section 6, and comprises 160 acres of well-tilled laud. He a native of Henry County, Iowa, where he was born Aug. 14, 1858. In his parents the star-spangled banner and the Canadian ensign met in kindred folds; the States and the Dominion clasped hands. The father was born in Ohio, the mother in Canada; the latter's maiden name was Elizabeth Cox.
   Thomas E. Stevens, the father of our subject, settled about the time of his marriage in Henry County, Iowa, at the time when settlers were just coming into the county. The story of his life there is that oft-told but always interesting one, the tale of the pioneer, in which we strip the country of its broad acres of grain, its pretty homes, churches, towns, railroads, and other recent innovations, and re-people it with the wild, uncouth creatures, or more graceful deer and antelope, in imagination rear again the tall forest trees, bringing them thickly together, until they are well-nigh impassable, bear again the ringing of the woodman's ax, the sharp report of the rifle, quickly followed by the baying of the hound, make our way down to the little log cabin, where the young, healthful, happy housewife is busy at her spinning-wheel or bustling about preparing the evening meal, peep down into the cradle with its precious little treasure, reposing in sweetest slumber, and, as we turn away, muse upon the unwritten history of its future, and ask ourselves the question, "What will he become?"
   The union of the parents of our subject was richly enhanced by the birth of four children, two of whom are now living, our subject and his brother William T., an attorney-at-law, resident at Lincoln. The parents of our subject are both devout members of the Baptist Church, and find their chief delight and prime enjoyment in a life which might be characterized by the words "doing good," for this seems to be their every desire, and their happiness is that of making others happy.
   The environment of the early days and young manhood of our subject was that of his native state, and there he received the somewhat meager, though practical, education furnished by the common school. He was married, Sept. 10, 1879, to Josephine Parriott, in Henry County, Iowa, and found in his wife the one who could bring into his life and home those elements without which it would have been incomplete. This lady was born Oct. 1, 1859, in Des Moines County, Iowa, and is the daughter of Turner and Adeline Parriott, who were among the earliest pioneers of Des Moines County.
   To Mr. and Mrs. Stevens has been given the happiness of a complete home. We are often met upon entering the house by the legend. beautifully engraved, artistically mounted, and suitably framed,