months along the Platte, opening up the roads between the Missouri River and Denver, which was obstructed by the Indians, doing good service and only being discharged on account of physical disability that was the result of exposure to which he had been subjected during his military service. Leaving the army, he returned to his squatter's claim, that lay to the east of the Pendleton farm in Otoe Precinct. and once more went to work for himself. Subsequently he traded his farm for his present home of 160 acres.
   On the 23d of April, 1868, our subject was united in wedlock with Miss Elizabeth Stevens, a native of Howard County, Ind., where she was born Feb. 7, 1843. She came to this State with her uncle, and made her home with David Watkins and family. They have become the parents of four children, viz.: Minnie A.; Emma, who died when eleven months old; Urseba and Spencer. Minnie is a resident of Nemaha, and is married to Mr. Grant Gates. The other two are at home.
   Mr. Pratt is a believer in the Universalist doctrine, while his wife is a member of the Christian Church. They are much esteemed members of society; the political principles of Mr. Pratt are those that govern the Republican party, of which he has for many years been a stout defender and ardent supporter.

EUBEN F. BAKER. In this biographical sketch is presented an outline of the history of one of the prominent citizens of Belmont Precinct, one who stands in the front ranks of the successful farmers and stock-raisers of the county. His home farm lies on section 16 and is 320 acres in extent. His entire landed estate comprises 800 acres: 160 acres lying on section 9, 160 on section 17, and 160 on section 18. This land Mr. Baker has redeemed acre by acre from the wild waste of prairie presented to his eye during the period of his pioneership, and he has accomplished his Herculean task only by the exercise of the most incessant industry. After bringing his land to a thorough state of cultivation he turned his attention to the feeding and raising of stock, making a specialty of Short-horn cattle and Poland-China swine. The land is splendidly improved and beautified by groves and orchards of the present proprietor's own planting. The barn and all the other outbuildings are among the best in the county. The dwelling is pleasantly situated, and constitutes a home bright and comfortable in the extreme.
   Mr. Baker was born in Shelby County, Ind., on the 24th of January, 1844. His father, John L. Baker, a native of Covington, Ky., was born in 1803. While quite a young man he crossed the river into Hamilton County, Ohio, and was employed afterward with an older brother, running a flatboat between Cincinnati and New Orleans for a number of years. Later he migrated to Shelby County, Ind., and finally settled upon a tract of land in Sangamon County, Ill., in a region which was then but a wild border country.
   The mother of our subject was born in Shelby County, Ind., in the year 1803, and was the daughter of Ephraim Biggs, named after her mother, Rachel. Her parents were pioneers of Indiana, her grandfather having settled there long before it was actually opened for settlement. She became the mother of eight children, of whom our subject was the third. The latter, Reuben F., upon reaching manhood, was married, Sept. 13, 1856, to Miss Mary E., daughter of John and Mary K. (Patterson) Mahard, natives of Maryland. She was born in Maryland and educated in the city of Baltimore. With her parents she afterward lived in Cincinnati, Springfield and in Old Berlin, Ill. Mrs. Mahard is still living; making her home with her children in Missouri.
   There have been given to Mr. and Mrs. Baker nine children, of whom seven are living, namely: John M., George L., Horatio S., Mary A., James P., Othello C. and Arminda. John, the eldest son, became the husband of Elizabeth Nicholson, and lives in Republic County, Kan.; they have two children, who bear the names Bertha and Roy. George was married to Ida Wright, of Osawatomie, Kan.; they reside in Belmont Precinct, and are the parents of three children -- Reuben, Franklin and Grover. Mary A. is the wife of John Duncan, of Delaware Precinct, and they have one child, a daughter, Mary Lenora.
   Mr. Baker settled on his present property in

1871. When it is remembered that he began life a poor boy, deprived of those aids and comforts usually looked for by children from parents and friends, it is both surprising and gratifying to note the successes which have attended his efforts, and to bear in mind that the same successes await those who will as honestly strive to attain them. Mr. and Mrs. B. with three of their children are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church at Dunbar, with which church our subject has been connected about thirty years. Mrs. Baker has been identified with this church since a maiden of seven. teen years.
   Our subject is a stanch member of the Democratic party, and has been its supporter since it was his right to use the ballot box. The family represents the most solid and reliable elements of this county and it is eminently fitting that the portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Baker should embellish these pages.

R. J. W. CHADDUCK, the leading and oldest dentist not only in Nebraska City, but in the State, was born in the Shenandoah Valley, Va., Feb. 4, 1831. His ancestors for several generations back were also natives of the Old Dominion. His grandfather, Charles Chadduck, was left an orphan at an early age and obliged to look out for himself. The patronymic was originally spelled in a different manner. The grandfather when a boy was engaged in taking tobacco to market, and one day the weigh-master in writing out the weigh bill appended to it the name "Charles Chadduck," and that spelling has since been in general use among his descendants.
   Grandfather Chadduck in due time married, and became the father of Eli, the father of our subject. The latter obtained a good education, developed into a school teacher, and also carried on farming. He was a man of more than ordinary abilities, and achieved considerable fame as a local politician. He turned his attention later to civil engineering, becoming County Surveyor. He spent his entire life upon his native soil. He married Miss Catherine Botts, who, like her husband, was born in the James River Valley, and whose ancestors crossed the Atlantic in Colonial times. Both Eli Chadduck and his wife, Catherine, lived to be more than threescore years and ten. The latter after the death of her husband came to Nebraska, where she spent her last days.
   Of the eight children comprising the parental houshold (sic) of our subject, three were sons and five were daughters. The two eldest, Mary C. and Susan V., are deceased; Emily J. and Laura E. are residents of Nebraska City; Caroline C. is the wife of James A. Matthews, of this county; George B. is the Treasurer of Holt County, Mo.; Charles T. follows the profession of a teacher in his native Virginia. James W., our subject, was the youngest born. He grew to manhood on the farm and pursued his early studies in the common school. He was married in his native county, June 12, 1855, to Miss Eliza M. Colvin, who was born in Culpeper County, Va., and whose acquaintance he made when she was a young lady of nineteen years.
   Dr. Chadduck taught school about two years after his marriage, then removed to Holt County, Mo., where he entered upon the study of dentistry, a profession in which he had for several years been interested and which he had decided to make his life occupation. He found, however, that the American professional man as well as the laborer needs bread, and having no capital while pursuing his studies he worked as a carpenter and brickmaker, also at other pursuits to provide himself and family with the necessaries of life. Leaving Missouri in 1862 he took up his abode in Glenwood, Iowa, having then one child. Here he was enabled to devote himself to his profession, but the year following he changed his residence to Nebraska City, and opened the first dental office in the place. Since that time his interests have centered here. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and a charter member of Lodge No. 12 in Nebraska City. He has passed the various chairs of his lodge and served as Master a number of years. He belongs to the Nebraska Dental Association, of which he is a charter member and of which he has been the presiding officer. He is also connected with the Missouri Valley Dental Association. A Democrat, politically, he has been quite prominent