a mason and stone-cutter by trade, and during early manhood carried a musket in the Mexican War as a member of an Ohio Regiment. After this conflict was ended he settled down to his trade again, until the outbreak of the Rebellion, when he again hastened to the rescue of his country, serving five years in Company H, 4th Iowa Infantry, and Company D, 7th Iowa Cavalry, as a non-commissioned officer, and operating mostly on the frontier, among the Indians of the Northwest. He received his honorable discharge at Leavenworth, Kan., in July, 1866, and returned to private life in Van Buren County, Iowa, where he remained with his family until the fall of 1875, when he changed his residence to this county, settling in Weeping Water, where his death took place three weeks later, on the 9th of November, when he was fifty-three years old. Reuben Sperry was a good man in the broadest sense of the term, kind in his family and toward his neighbors, making it the rule of his life to do unto others as he would they should do to him, and in his whole career exhibiting the example of the conscientious man and law-abiding citizen. In religious belief he was a Universalist. The family included nine children, five sons and four daughters, seven of whom are living and located mostly in Nebraska and Iowa. The mother is still living in Iowa, and is now the wife of James Hunt, of Davis. Her age is about sixty-one years.
   Our subject, in common with his brothers and sisters, was educated in the common schools, and at an early age was taught those habits of thrift and industry which have been the secret of his success. He was but a year old when his parents removed from his native State to Iowa, where he was reared to manhood and served his apprenticeship at the trade of mason under the instruction of his father. Imbued with the patriotism of his sire, he, upon the outbreak of the Civil War, enlisted when but a youth of seventeen, in Company H, 3d Iowa Cavalry, the regiment being assigned to the command of Gen. Wilson. Young Sperry, with his comrades, participated in most of the important engagements of that campaign, being in the fights at Selina, Ala., and Columbus, Ga., and on the tract of the rebel Gen. Price during his raid through Missouri, a campaign of ninety-six days, the most of which time he was in the saddle. He was later on the steamer "Maria" when she exploded near St. Louis, and had a portion of his hair burned off, besides being severely injured in his spine and scalded on his leg. Otherwise he came out of the army uninjured, after a service of nineteen months, and received his honorable discharge at Atlanta, Ga., Aug. 9, 1865. He was content to serve his country as a private all the way through, the consciousness of having done his duty being ample reward for his hardships and privations.
   After the war Mr. Sperry returned to his parents in Iowa, and later migrated to this country. He lost his heart in Avoca Precinct, and was married at the home of the bride, Miss Margaret J. McDermed, Nov. 29, 1874. Mrs. Sperry was born near Peoria, Ill., Nov. 17, 1852, and is the daughter of Alfred and Elizabeth (McFarland) McDermed, who were natives of Kentucky and Ireland, and came to Nebraska in the fall of 1866, settling in Avoca Precinct, this county, where the father carried on farming and where the patents still live. Mrs. Sperry is a very intelligent and amiable lady, and enjoys the friendship and respect of a large circle of friends. Our subject and his estimable wife began their wedded life together at the home which they still occupy, and which they have together built up with industrious care, gathering about them the many little comforts and conveniences indispensable to those who live properly and well. They have no children. Mr. Sperry, politically, is a sound Republican. It is hardly necessary to state he forms yet another example of the self-made man who has not labored in vain, and is held in due respect among his fellow-citizens.

HARLES SPOHN. Avoca Precinct has been particularly fortunate in the men who sought her borders during the pioneer days, selected their homesteads here and have been content to remain. The subject of this sketch, one of her most highly esteemed citizens, is pleasantly located on section 5, where he had formerly 140 acres of good land, but has parted with six acres on account of the construction of the Missouri Pacific

Railroad across it. He dates his residence here from 1861, although he secured the land two years prior to that time.
   The farm of Mr. Spohn was but slightly improved when he took possession of it, but by a course of improvement and thorough cultivation it has been made valuable, having upon it good buildings and receiving the requisite moisture from a branch of the Weeping Water. A notable feature in the farm is three or four acres underlaid with stone suitable for building purposes, which not only furnishes the owner with this material, but his neighbors around. Mr. Spohn is a child of the Fatherland, having been born in the Grand Duchy of Baden, Aug. 30, 1836, and is of pure German ancestry for generations back.
   Upon emigrating to the United States our subject settled with his parents first in Pike County, Ohio, where he lived from 1843 to 1859. He emigrated to America in 1843, with his parents and their four other children to the United States, and they made the voyage on a sailing-vessel, occupying forty-five days in the passage across the Atlantic. After landing in New York City they proceeded directly to Pike County, Ohio, where the father began farming, and was thus occupied on the soil of the Buckeye State until the death of the wife and mother, which occurred in the spring of 1859. In the meantime the family had been enlarged by the birth of one child. After the mother's death the father and children came to Nebraska, and the elder Spohn occupied himself in farming as before. He lived to be ripe in years, having passed his eighty-third birthday at the time of his death, which took place in the fall of 1877.
   The parents of our subject were active, industrious and hard-working people, careful and conscientious in their lives, and to the last remained faithful adherents of the Lutheran Church, in the doctrines of which they had been trained from childhood. Charles, our subject, was the youngest but one of the family, and attained his majority in Pike County, Ohio. He was there educated in the public schools and came West a single man. He assisted his father in the development of the new farm in Avoca Precinct after their arrival in Nebraska, and remained single until July 2, 1869, when he was married to Miss Sophia L. Dow. This lady was born in Illinois, May 14, 1854, and is the daughter of Frederick Dow, of Otoe County, a sketch of whose life is given elsewhere in this volume.
   Mrs. Spohn was a child four years of age when her parents came in 1858 to this country. Her mother died eight years later, and she remained a member of her father's household until her marriage. She was a lady of many excellent qualities, and after becoming the mother of five children departed this life at the homestead in Avoca Precinct, April 25, 1887. Two of her children are since deceased, namely: Albert and an infant unnamed. The survivors are Tilda A., Charles, Jr., and George, all of whom are at home with their father. Mr. Spohn, politically, is a sound Republican, as was his father before him, after becoming a naturalized citizen. The latter, Mathias Spohn, was a cabinet-maker by trade, which he pursued in his native country during his early manhood, and was there also married to Miss Lena Winters. After their marriage the parents of our subject located in the town of Haagen, Baden, where the father followed his trade until deciding to emigrate to America.

ACOB STULL is a native-born citizen of Plattsmouth, and is still an honored resident of the city. He is a son of John Frederick and Agatha Stull, well-known pioneers of this township and county, whose biography appears elsewhere in this volume. Our subject was born Aug. 26, 1858, on the paternal homestead. He early commenced attendance at the local schools, receiving a substantial education in all common branches. He grew to a strong and self-reliant manhood amid the pioneer scenes that surrounded his early home on every hand. He obtained a sound, practical knowledge of agriculture in all its departments, while assisting his father in the care of his extensive farming and stock-raising interests, and continued to He an inmate of the parental household until he was twenty-four years old. He

then established a home of his own, marrying, Sept. 29, 1883, Miss Ella, daughter of P. S. and Olive Wheeler. Two children have blessed their wedded life, Olive and John F. The latter died in infancy, Aug. 21, 1888, and his death has been the sorrow of an otherwise happy married life.

    "Tis a weary world, at best,
      This world that he will not know.
   Would we waken him out of such perfect rest.
      For its sorrow and strife? Ah! No.

   Escaped are its thorns and harms;
      The only path he has trod
  Is that which leads from his mother's arms
      Into the arms of God.

   Mr. Stull was born when Nebraska was under Territorial government, and nearly the whole of its wonderful development has taken place within his remembrance. He is now numbered among the young men who of recent years have identified themselves with the pioneers and later comers of their native State in sustaining its various interests and in advancing its prosperity. He owns a good residence and house lot, pleasantly located in a desirable quarter of Plattsmouth. He is an energetic, enterprising young man, of sound habits and excellent business talents, so that his success in life is assured. He and his wife are esteemed members of the Presbyterian Church, and in their daily lives they endeavor to carry out the precepts of their religion. Mr. Stull is an emphatic believer in the policy pursued by the Democratic party.

OHN C. KNABE, of Avoca Precinct, bears the distinction of being one of its oldest and most prominent German settlers. He has reason to be proud of his nationality, for his brethren of the Fatherland have borne no unimportant part in the development of the great West. Mr. Knabe is a farmer in good circumstances and makes a specialty of stock-raising.
   The property of our subject, which he preempted from Uncle Sam in the winter of 1858, while Nebraska was it Territory, is located on section 12. He first secured 160 acres, but has gradually added to his possessions until he is now the owner of 504 broad acres. He arrived in Cass County on the 1st day of January, 1855, when there were no settlers in the neighborhood and when it required no little determination to make up his mind to begin the construction of a home on what was then a barren waste, with the exception of prairie grass. He did not, however, take up land until three years later, in the meantime employing himself at farming. He came to this locality poor in purse, having nothing to depend upon but his own exertions, and at a time when there was not even a road to be seen and no neighbors but Indians. These, however, could not be called neighbors, as they only went strolling through the country, keeping an eye out for what they could carry off. Mr. Knabe, however, had no trouble with them -- in fact the newly-arrived white man and his Indian neighbors seemed to regard each other with a sort of friendly curiosity.
   Mr. Knabe worked among the farmers in another part of the County until he could get a little money ahead so as to purchase farm implements and begin the cultivation of his land. It has taken years of labor and thousands of dollars to bring his land to its present state, the whole being now in productive condition. Upon it he has erected a set of substantial buildings and added one improvement after another until the homestead has become an object of admiration to all the country around. The fat cattle and the well-fed horses always associated with the well-to-do German farmer, the sheds, corn cribs and pens and the comfortable dwelling, altogether form a goodly sight to the eye. Mr. Kindle improved his first quarter section before he attempted to add to his real estate. He has wisely invested his surplus capital in a manner which cannot be carried off by the defaulting bank cashier.
   The Duchy of Holstein, Germany, was the early home of our subject, and where his birth took place Oct. 1, 1824. He was the youngest of five children, two sons and three daughters, the offspring of Henry and Margaret (Grofe) Knabe, who were natives of the same province, good, honest people, but poor in purse, the father mak-

ing a living for his family by hard labor. In early manhood Henry Knabe served in the Danish standing army and spent his entire life upon his native soil, passing away after he had reached his threescore years and more. The wife and mother died along in the fifties. The parents in religion were German Lutherans, and trained their children carefully and conscientiously in their own religious faith.
   Our subject remained a member of the parental household until reaching his majority, and for eight years thereafter employed himself at farming. He was not satisfied with his surroundings or his prospects, and finally decided to seek his fortunes on another continent. He accordingly gathered together his personal effects, and in March, 1852, set sail from the Port of Hamburg, and after a voyage of seven weeks and two days landed in the city of New Orleans. Thence he made his way up the Mississippi River to Davenport, Iowa, arriving there June 20 of that same year. He began working as a farm laborer and was thus occupied until coming to Nebraska. Up to this time he had been a single man, but he met his fate in Avoca Precinct, being married Nov. 22, 1857, to Miss Anna Lohse. The parents of Mrs. Knabe, Henry and Catherine (Hamsheldt) Lohse, natives of Holstein, came to America with their family in the spring of 1858, and took up their home in Avoca Precinct, where they spent the remainder of their lives. The father, however, only lived a short time thereafter, passing away Sept. 21, 1859, at the age of fifty-nine years. The mother survived her husband nearly nine years, her death taking place Feb. 4, 1868, she being of the same age as her husband at his death -- fifty-nine. They also, like the Knabe family, were excellent Christian people, and Lutherans in religion.
   The wife of our subject was born in Holstein, Feb. 4, 1836, and was the youngest of the two children comprising the parental family. Her sister Lena is now the wife of Conrad Mullis, a sketch of whom is found in the history of Otoe County, in this volume, and of which they are residents. Mrs. Knabe was a young lady of twenty-one years when coming to America, making the journey alone, but was soon afterward joined by her parents. She has proved the true and efficient helpmate of her husband in his labors and struggles, working bravely by his side in the accumulation of their property and the building up of their homestead. They are the parents of four children, all living. The eldest daughter, Margaret C., is the wife of John Buhrns and they live on a form in Avoca Precinct; Henry J. married Miss Louisa Heepner, who is also farming in this precinct; Helena, Mrs. Charles Brandt, lives with her husband on a farm in Liberty Precinct; John C. remains at home with his parents and assists his father in the management of the farm. Mr. Knabe, politically, votes the straight Republican ticket and takes an interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of his adopted county. Both he and his excellent wife are members in good standing of the Lutheran Church, attending services at St. John's, in Avoca Precinct.

HILLIP F. HARRISON, one of the self-made men of Plattsmouth, is a native of the Old Dominion, having been born in Upshur County, now West Virginia, June 17, 1854. His father, Selden Payton Harrison, was a native of France, whence he emigrated to America early in life. He was a brother of President William Henry Harrison. His parents, the paternal grandparents of our subject, crossed the Atlantic prior to the beginning of the nineteenth century, and settled in Loudoun County, Va., where they spent the remainder of their lives.
   The father of our subject was reared in his native province, and learned the trade of cabinet-maker. After coming to the United States he enlisted as a soldier in the War of 1812, and at the close of the struggle lived with his parents in Loudoun County, Va., for a number of years. He then removed to Upshur County, following his trade in the village of Buchanan, where he spent the remainder of his days, his death taking place in August, 1854.
   The maiden name of the mother of our subject was Mary B. Roberts, who was born in Loudoun County, Va., and was the daughter of John Roberts supposed to have been also born in Virginia. He

spent his entire life in the Old Dominion. Our subject at the time of his father's death was an infant of a few weeks old. There were six other children in the family, namely: Elizabeth, William, Francis, Sarah, George and Robert. The mother kept the family together until they were enabled to look out for themselves, and in May, 1871, left Virginia, coming to Nebraska, and is now living with her daughter in Plattsmouth, and is sixty-eight years old. Her husband received a land warrant for his services as a soldier, and Mrs. H. draws a pension from the Government.
   In March, 1871, young Harrison, then seventeen years of age, came to Plattsmouth, and for awhile was engaged in teaming. Later he secured a position as clerk in a general store, where he remained two years, then entered the employ of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad Company, being for a time in the shops at this place, and finally was promoted to a position in the office of the Master Mechanic. Upon leaving this position, three years later, he began buying and shipping grain.
   In August, 1877, Mr. Harrison established a dray line, and in time built up an extensive business in general teaming, which he has continued until the present time. That year also he became interested in blooded chickens, Black Cochins and Light Brumahs being his favorite breeds. At the county fairs he has exhibited some of the finest specimens of the feathered race to be found in the West, invariably carrying off the blue ribbons.
   The marriage of our subject was celebrated at the home of the bride in Plattsmouth, on the 3d of May, 1876, the maiden of his choice being Miss Elmira Hollister. Mrs. Harrison was born in Walworth County, Wis., on the 10th of June, 1860, and was the daughter of Herbert H. and Nancy (Bush) Hollister, the former a native of New York State, and the latter of Germany. Mr. Hollister was reared to manhood in his native State, whence he migrated to Wisconsin and settled among the pioneers of Walworth County. He purchased a tract of prairie land about sixteen miles west of the present site of Delevan, from which he improved &good farm, and where he lived until about 1869. Then coming to Nebraska, he settled in Plattsmouth and entered the employ of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad Company, with which he has been connected since that time. Mrs. Hollister emigrated to America with her parents when quite young. She died in Walworth County, Wis., in the year 1854. The parental family included two children only -- Albert and the wife of our subject. Mr. Harrison is a stanch Republican in politics.

EV. ALPHA WRIGHT, who died Nov. 30, 1888 better known as "Chaplain Wright," was an honored citizen of Plattsmouth, where he formerly lived in the enjoyment of an ample income and in one of the pleasantest homes in the city. He was chaplain of a Missouri regiment during the late Civil War, and during the contest was promoted to places of honor and trust, at one time serving on the staff of Gen. Ewing, After peace was declared he became a chaplain in the Regular Army, and acted in that capacity on the frontier for several years, and subsequently was stationed at Fort Omaha, finally retiring on three-fourths pay, with the rank of Captain.
   Our subject was born in the town of Wilmington, Windham Co., Vt., April 16, 1814. His great-grandfather, Silas Wright, was, so far as known, a native of New England, and his grandfather, Martin Wright, likewise a native of that part of the country, is thought to have been born in Rhode Island. He served in the Revolutionary War, and his widow, who survived him a number of years, was a pensioner. He was an early settler of Windham County, Vt., where he spent his last years. The father of our subject, Erastus Wright, was reared on the old homestead in Vermont, and resided in Windham County until 1814, when, with a colony, he started for the wilds of Central New York, the removal across the mountains and through the wilderness being made with ox teams. The colony located in that part of New York now included in Steuben County, being among the earliest settlers there. The father of our subject bought a tract of timbered land, on which he erected a round log house with a slab roof. Hav-

ing no stove the mother of our subject used to cook the meals before the fireplace. The father kept sheep and raised flax, and the mother used to spin and weave for many years, and her children were all clothed in garments of which the material was the skillful product of her own hands, the woolen cloth being colored with butternut bark. There were no railways or canals in that section of the country, and Baltimore was the most convenient market for grain. The settlers used to raft lumber down the Coshocton and Chemung Rivers, thence to the Susquehanna, and thence to the seaboard. They used to build boats that they called arks, each boat holding 1,000 bushels of wheat, which sold for thirty cents a bushel in Steuben County and would bring $1.00 a bushel in Baltimore. After they had sold their wheat in that city they would sell the boats for lumber and return on foot to their homes in Steuben County. Mr. Wright cleared three farms in that vicinity and erected good frame buildings, continuing to live there until feeble health compelled him to retire, and he spent his lost years in the home of our subject, where he died in 1858. The maiden name of his wife was Lydia Wheeler, And she was born in Connecticut. She was a daughter of Jeremiah and Mary (JoseIyn) Wheeler, natives of Rhode Island. She died at the home of a daughter in Steuben County. There were ten children born to her and her husband, seven of whom grew to maturity.
   "Chaplain" Wright received the preliminaries of his education in the pioneer schools of Steuben County, generally attending in the winter season, and the remainder of the year helping on the farm or in the timber. When he was nineteen years of age his father gave him his time, and he started out on foot with a small bundle of clothing and some food and made his way to Lima, N. Y., where he entered the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary. He studied there one year and then returned to Steuben County to teach school, receiving as compensation $12 a month and board, boarding around at the homes of his pupils, as was customary in early times. He taught in Steuben and Wayne Counties until 1836, when he joined the Methodist Episcopal Conference and was ordained as a preacher in that denomination at Angelica, Allegany Co., N. Y., by Bishop Morris. He became well known in that part of the country, and held several pastorates in different parts of the State, including one of four years at Rochester, and another of the same length of time in Buffalo. In 1856 he was called to Cleveland, Ohio, and from there he went to Sandusky to preach, and thence to Milwaukee. In 1861 he went to St. Joseph, Mo., where he received the appointment of chaplain of the 25th Missouri Volunteer Infantry, and was stationed a short time in New Madrid. In December, 1863, he was detached from that regiment and sent to Pilot Knob to take charge of the refugees and contrabands. His administration of affairs there was so satisfactory in every way that in May, 1864, he was promoted to the staff of Gen. Ewing, and was given charge of all refugees and contrabands in the department of Missouri, his office then being in St. Lotus, Mo. His duties in that responsible office were to furnish provisions, clothing, transportation, etc., to those requiring them, and to see that the sick were cared for. He remained at his post of duty until the close of the war, having his headquarters at St. Louis. He proved to be the right man in the right place, looking after his charges with the uttermost care and tenderness, and doing all that his large heart prompted for their comfort, and many a poor, forlorn being had reason to bless him. After the cessation of hostilities he was appointed chaplain in the regular Army, and was stationed at Fort Laramie for four years. He was next sent to Fort D. A. Russell, Wyoming Ter., where he remained two and one-half years. After that he was stationed at Fort Omaha seven years, and at his own request was then retired on three-fourths pay, with the rank of Captain, and since that time lived in retirement here until his death. In 1868 he severed his connection with the Methodist Church, joined the Presbyterians, and from 1879 until 1882 he preached with great acceptance in the Presbyterian Church at Bellevue. In 1866 he bought a fine building site in this city and erected the home in which the remainder of his life was passed. He subsequently purchased an entire block of land, on which he afterward built six houses, which he rented to good advantage.
   Chaplain Wright was married Sept. 15, 1835, to