est credit upon his thorough practical knowledge of agriculture, his industry and good management. Throughout all he has had the generous, unselfish aid of his devoted wife, who has from the first been all that a true helpmate could be. They are widely and favorably known as true, capable and worthy members of the community. They are members in good standing of the Christian Church, and take much interest in matters pertaining thereto. Politically, our subject is a Republican. For many years he has served his school district s Treasurer, and indeed was active in the organization of the district.

ILHELM NIEMANN, a representative German farmer of Spring Creek Precinct, purchased in the spring of 1874, 160 acres of land on section 6, where he has since labored industriously and with most excellent results. Upon it there had been little attempt at improvement, but it is now numbered among the valuable estates in the northeastern part of this county, which have been built up by the hand of industry and perseverance by the men to whom Johnson County is indebted for her present position among the communities of the Great West.
   The first home of our subject was on the other side of the Atlantic, in the Prussian Province of Westphalen, where his birth took place May 7, 1841. His parents were Herman and Lotta (Obermeyer) Niemann, whose household consisted of five children, namely: Wilhelm, Henry, Katie, Herman and Minnie. Of these all are living, and residents of Germany and the United States. The parents are deceased.
   Our subject spent his youth and early manhood in his native Province, and in common with the youth of the German Empire, was placed in school at an early age and received a fair education in his native tongue. As soon as old enough he employed himself at farming, and lived in Germany until a man of thirty years. Then, not being satisfied with his condition or his prospects, he resolved to seek his fortunes in the New World. Taking passage on an ocean steamer at the port of Bremen, in 1872, he landed thirteen days later in New York City, and making his way directly Westward crossed the Father of Waters into this State, and for about eighteen months was employed on a farm in McWilliams Precinct, Otoe County. At the expiration of this time he secured the land which he now owns and occupies. Later he was married, March 17, 1875, to Miss Louisa Palate, who was born in Gasconade County, Mo., April 21, 1850. Her parents were natives of Germany. The mother is deceased; the father is now a resident of Otoe County.
   To Mr. and Mrs. Niemann there have been born seven children, as follows: Mary H., the eldest, is deceased; William, born Dec. 17, 1876; Frederick, March 15, 1878; Harmon, March 16, 1880; Emma, Aug. 15, 1882; Minnie, July 15, 1884, and August, Oct. 31, 1886. Our subject and his estimable wife are both members in good standing of the German Evangelical Church, and Mr. Niemann, politically, votes with the Republican party. He has been quite prominent in local affairs, serving as School Director four years, and otherwise contributing as he has had opportunity to the moral and educational welfare of the people around him. The Niemann homestead with its appurtenances is a noticeable feature in the landscape of Spring Creek Precinct, having about it the air of peace and plenty which is most pleasing to contemplate.

OHN W. BRIDGES, of the firm of Pearson & Bridges, hardware dealers, is one of the leading business men of Sterling. He was born in Massachusetts in October, 1854, to Thomas and Anna (Richardson) Bridges, natives respectively of England and Vermont. By the death of his father when he was a little child, and of his mother a few years later, in 1869, he and his sister Ella were left orphans. He was thus early thrown on his own resources, and developed a manliness and self-reliance much beyond his years. In the spring of 1870, a lad of sixteen years, he came to Nebraska to try life in the West. He staid a year and a half in Beatrice, and from there went to Tecumseh, where he passed the next four years. In

1875 he came to Sterling. He owns a farm and has it well improved, and supplied with suitable buildings and everything necessary for carrying on agriculture. He lived on it until January, 1888, when he came to the city to make his home, and to establish himself in his present business with A. Pierson, an early settler and prominent business man of the place. They carry a general stock of hardware, queensware and harness, and do quite an extensive business. Mr. Bridges also has an interest in the Sterling Lumber Company, of which he is the Treasurer, having been elected to that office when the company was organized in 1887.
   Mr. Bridges was married in November, 1877, to Miss Flora E. Atkins, a sister of W. C. Atkins, whose biography appears in this volume. Their happy wedded life has been blessed to them by the birth of three children--Mabel, Walter and Thomas. Mrs. Bridges is a valued member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, while Mr. Bridges is connected with the Christian Church. They are quiet, unostentatious people, whose pleasant home is the center of genuine hospitality.
   Mr. Bridges is a man of culture and much and varied information, for though left an orphan at an early age he attended school white he lived in Massachusetts, and he continued to do so winters after he came to Nebraska, and thus obtained the preliminaries of a sound education, which he completed by a course at the Nebraska Normal, where he was a student for one year. He is a man of good business talents, and prompt and straightforward in his dealings.

[The BRIDGES article above was typed for NEGenWeb Project by Beth Atkins-Gatewood <pepper1@sunset.net>. Her genealogy research includes the surnames: ATKINS, BRIDGES, KRAUSE, MACY & McCLINTOCK in Johnson County. Thank you, Beth.

HRISTIAN POHLENZ is prominently identified with the wealthy and enterprising farmers and stock-raisers who have done so much to develop the vast agricultural interests of Johnson County, and his large farm in Helena Precinct, with its broad, well-tilled acres, its fine orchards, and its substantial buildings, is one of the most valuable estates for many miles around.
   Mr. Pohlenz was born in Prussia, May 9, 1823, and there grew to manhood. He early learned the trade of blacksmith, which he followed in his native country six years. He was married to Caroline Schubine, and in 1859 came to the United States with his wife and three children. He had but $80 with which he bought a cow, a cook stove, and some flour, and thus he and his family began their life in this country. He located in Waukesha County, Wis., and there worked for eight years at his trades of blacksmith and cooper, having learned the latter trade after settling in Wisconsin. In 1867 he resolved to move to Nebraska and avail himself of the cheap and fertile lands that were for sale by the Government, and make his home in the future under its sunny skies, and receive the benefit of its genial climate. After coming here he purchased, under the provisions of the Homestead Act, 160 acres of land, which is located on section 15, and on this he has erected a fine large brick house, a commodious barn, extensive corn cribs and granaries, and windmills, with large stock tanks. His house, which is of a good style of architecture. and is neat and well-arranged inside, was built at the cost of $2,000. He has seventeen acres in orchards, from which he derives a good income, and he has six acres of forest, which he planted himself, and from which every year he sells a number of cords of wood, besides devoting a large supply to home uses. He bought 240 acres of school land on section 16, shortly after coming here, which he has under good cultivation, and has it well fenced with hedge. His farm now comprises in all 400 acres of rich and productive land, located on sections 15 and 16, Helena Precinct, and under his skillful management it has been brought to a high state of tillage, that which was once wild prairie land when it came into his possession, now yielding bountiful harvests. This has been brought about only by the quiet force of persistence and well-directed toil, as Mr. Pohlenz's earthly possessions when settling here consisted of $300 in money, a team of horses and a wagon. Mr. Pohlenz has met with gratifying success in raising stock, to which he devotes much attention. Every year he raises some Norman horses, some Poland-China hogs, and he has a fine herd of cattle of a good grade, mostly Short-horns. Mr. Pohlenz has, with characteristic shrewdness and enterprise, invested some of his wealth in real estate in the

growing and prosperous town of Sterling, and he also has $500 worth of stock in the Sterling Lumber Co. He has erected in that town a large brick business house, at a cost of $5,000, and a residence house, costing $400.
   The following are the seven children born of the happy wedded life of our subject and his estimable wife: August; Paul; Augusta, living in the Black Hills; Aurelia, living in Wymore, Gage Co., Neb.; these are all married; George, Edward and Mary are still at home. Mr. Pohlenz and his family are members of the German Lutheran Church, and they stand high in this community for their sterling worth and many pleasant social qualities.
   Mr. Pohlenz may well take pride in his splendid farm and in the fact that his fortunes are of his own building, that he is, indeed, a "self-made" man. Also that he has been able to contribute so much to the advancement of Helena Precinct and Johnson County, his liberality and public spiritedness making him vie with his neighbors in promoting all schemes for the material advancement of both. He is a man thoroughly to be depended upon, as his honesty and integrity are beyond question, and his kind heart and genial manners have won him many warm-hearted friends. Mr. Pholenz (sic) and family lived the first thirteen years after coming to Nebraska in a dug-out.

OHN E. HALL. Among numbers of other resolute and energetic men, who, in the fall of 1866, made their way to the Territory of Nebraska, the subject of this sketch wended his way to Johnson County with his wife and children in the fall of that year, and homesteaded 160 acres of land on section 13, Spring Creek Precinct, where he is still located. They made the journey from Michigan, and found here not a shelter for their heads, nothing but a tract of uncultivated prairie, with few indications that the eyes of white men had ever been turned in this direction. Their first shelter was a plank house, and after gathering about himself and little family the things which they most urgently needed for their comfort, Mr. Hall applied himself with energy to the cultivation of the soil and the development of his farm. The success with which he labored is indicated in his present surroundings, which compare admirably with those of his neighbors.
   Our subject began life at the modest homestead of his parents in Wayne County, Ohio, May 3, 1825. His father, Nathan Hall, was a farmer by occupation, and in early manhood had married Miss Permelia Stanley, with whom he trod the journey of life until they were separated by the death of the wife in 1863.
   Nathan Hall was a native of Monongalia County, in West Virginia, and his wife Permelia was born in Berkshire County, Mass. They were of Scotch and English ancestry, and the elder Hall served under the grandfather of the President-elect, Gen. Harrison, familiarly known as Old Tippecanoe, in the War of 1812. This branch of the Hall family had its representatives in America prior to the Revolutionary War, they settling first in New Hampshire, whence they emigrated at an early day to the soil of the Old Dominion. There they were closely allied to the F. F. V.'s, people of good standing in their community and generally well-to-do.
   To the parents of our subject there were born nine children, six of whom are living, namely: Nabbe M., the wife of F. O. Johnson, of Barry County, Mich.; Elizabeth P., Mrs. Anway, a widow, also of that county; Esther C., Mrs. C. H. Brewer, of Ulster County, N. Y.; Jonas A., a resident of Michigan; Amos C., of Phillips County, Kan.; and John E., our subject, the sixth child. The deceased were Minerva S., Ezra S. and Joanna M. The parents removed from Virginia to Medina County, Ohio, in 1817, and. two years later to Wayne County, taking up a tract of Government land, and settling among the earliest pioneers of that region, lived in Wayne County until 1834. They then returned to Medina County, where they continued to reside until about 1852, then moved to Michigan, and in Barry County repeated the experiment of pioneer life. The mother rested from her earthly labors in Michigan, in 1863. The elder Hall survived his estimable wife a period of ten years, his death taking place also in Michigan, in 1873.
   John E. Hall was reared to manhood amid the

pioneer scenes of the Buckeye State, receiving his education in its primitive schools, which, it is hardly necessary to say bore little comparison to the advantages of the present day. He, however, was ever a thoughtful and studious boy, and made the most of his opportunity in the perusal of good books, and has always kept himself well informed upon topics of general interest. He has followed farming mostly, but has also worked as a carpenter considerably, laboring in his field very successfully, although never professing to be a skilled mechanic. 1852 found him in Barry County, Mich., where he took up 220 acres of Government land, upon which he operated until 1865, when he sold out preparatory to coming to Nebraska. In that county also he found his wife, formerly Miss Lucy A. Hamilton, to whom he was married May 3, 1860.
   The wife of our subject is the daughter of James S. and Caroline (Colton) Hamilton, who are now residents of Spring Creek Precinct, and of whom a sketch appears elsewhere in this volume. Of this union there have been born ten children, nine of whom are now living, namely: Ernest S., Emmett E., Helen M., Cora I., Hattie A., Albert S., Guy E., Vesta A. and Nathan. Four of these were born in Barry County, Mich., and the others in this county. They are bright and intelligent, and form a group of which their parents may be reasonably proud.
   The property of Mr. Hall is the accumulation of his own industry, and he may most properly be classed among the self-made men of Johnson County, who, in the building up of their homesteads, have erected for themselves an enduring monument, and whose record may be looked upon with pride by their children after them. Mr. Hall, politically, first identified himself with the Whig party, but is in full sympathy with the working element of the county, and now lends his support to the Union Labor movement. He has served as School Director in his district a number of years, and socially, belongs to the Masonic fraternity, being a member of Tecumseh Lodge No. 17. While a resident of Barry County, Mich., he was elected to the office of Sheriff, the duties of which he discharged in a satisfactory manner two years, besides representing Hope Township on the County Board of Supervisors. He has also served as Township Clerk and Treasurer, and occupied many positions of trust and responsibility among his fellow-citizens wherever he has been. Both he and his estimable wife stand high in the social circles of their community, and have gathered around them hosts of friends wherever they have chanced to reside.

OHN H. CROW, dealer in coal and wood, weigher. etc., is upholding a portion of the business interests of Tecumseh with credit to himself and satisfaction to all with whom he deals. A native of Cass County, Ill., he was born March 14, 1826, and received his education mostly in the schools of his native township. He was reared a farmer's boy, and when setting out in life on his own account occupied himself as a farmer in Sangamon County, Ill., of which he was a resident for a period of twenty years. There also he became an extensive land-holder, being owner at one time of about 1,000 acres, most of which was improved land. He also engaged quite extensively in stock-raising and accumulated a snug property. A sudden fall in values was the occasion of great loss, and he finally decided to repair his misfortunes on the other side of the Mississippi.
   Mr. Crow came to Richardson County, this State, in the fall of 1869, and purchased a tract of land near the rising town of Humboldt, upon which he lived four years. Then selling out he came to Tecumseh, of which he has since been a resident, and until 1883 was mostly interested in live stock. In the summer of that year he established his present business. He is rapidly placing himself upon a solid basis, and is the owner of a good home just outside the city limits on Second street. The city, however, is rapidly growing up around him, and his property will in consequence increase in value.
   Mr. Crow in 1865 entered 10,000 acres of land within twelve miles of Tecumseh, for the sum of seventy cents an acre. Had he retained possession of this he would have had far more than enough and to spare for his declining years. He has been prominent in local affairs, and in the spring of 1874 was elected Mayor of Tecumseh on

the Republican ticket. A man genial and companionable, he has hosts of friends among all classes of people. His career has been that indicative of a gentleman by birth and breeding.
   Our subject on the 5th of September, 1849, closed one of the most important contracts of his life by his marriage with Miss Sarah F. Dillon, of Sangamon County, Ill. The young people commenced the journey of life together in a snug home at Ashland, Ill., and their household was completed by the birth of three children, one of whom, Henry L., died in Nebraska, March 13, 1874, when twenty-two years old; Elizabeth is the wife of Albert Harrison, a railroad official residing at White Pigeon, Mich., and the mother of four children; Robert married Miss Louise Campbell, is a printer by trade and an editor by profession, and makes his home in Sturgis, Dak. The mother of these children departed this life at her home in Illinois, Jan. 19, 1855.
   Mr. Crow contracted a second matrimonial alliance, with Miss Parthenia R. Dillon, a sister of his first wife, March 23, 1862. Of this union there have been born two children, Sarah and Lilly R. Mrs. Parthenia Crow was born Nov. 1, 1841, in Sangamon County, Ill., and is the daughter of Joshua and Elizabeth Dillon. The father is still living, making his home with his youngest son in Vesta. The mother is deceased, dying Oct. 27, 1888. The 23d of March, 1889, would have witnessed the sixtieth anniversary of their marriage, had the mother lived a few months longer.
   William Crow, the father of our subject, was born March 5. 1793, in Wythe County, Va. He left the Old Dominion when a child with his parents, they removing to Barren County, Ky., where William became familiar with farm pursuits and developed into manhood. Subsequently he occupied himself as farmer and minister combined, and spent the remainder of his life in Morgan and Cass Counties, Ill. He became a resident of the Prairie State in 1819, and was one of the earliest pioneers of Morgan County, where he carried on farming extensively. His first wife became the mother of two children and died. He was married a second time in 1824, to Miss Susan Hall, and of this union there were also born two children, our subject and his sister, Mary A., who is now the wife of James L. Beggs, of Ashland, Ill. The mother departed this life at the homestead in Illinois, April 10, 1845. William Crow survived his wife a period of twenty years, passing away on the 22d of August, 1865.
   John Crow, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was also a native of Virginia, where he lived and carried on farming until a few years before his death. He then removed to Kentucky, where he died about 1810, when still a young man, being only thirty-eight years old. Miss Sarah Crow, a daughter of our subject, March 4, 1883, was married to William Wheatley, of Tecumseh, and is the mother of one child, a son Frederick. Mr. Wheatley is a native of Ohio, an honest, industrious man and a reputable citizen.

ON. WILLIAM FREEBURN, a well-known pioneer of Johnson County, is one of the foremost citizens of the town or Sterling, of which he was an early settler. He is President of the Sterling Lumber Company, is Vice President of the Bank of Sterling, of which he was one of the founders, and he is a member of the City Council. He is a native of Scotland, born in that country Oct. 7, 1828. When a boy of thirteen years he came to the United States with his parents, Robert and Elizabeth (Laird) Freeburn. They located in what is now West Virginia, where the father died in 1856, and where the mother still makes her home with her daughters.
   Our subject was thus for the most part reared and educated under the Democratic institutions of this country, and he has proved a loyal and worthy citizen. In 1855 he came as far West as Iowa, and after a stay in that State of two years, he came to Nebraska in 1857. This part of the country was then under Territorial government, and presented a wild and uninhabited appearance, although there were a number of Indians here who devoted the land to hunting purposes, as wild game was plentiful. There were only three white families on the river from Tecumseh to twenty miles further up the stream; these being the families of a Mr. Darby, who lived three miles northwest of Tecumseh; a

Mr. Hertz, who lived here, and who had earlier laid out Sterling, and D. J. Baker's family, five miles to the north. Mr. Freeburn located in Johnson County, about six miles northwest of the present site of Sterling, and there he bought 160 acres of land of the United States, took up eighty acres under the provisions of the Homestead Act, and bought forty acres of an early settler. In the years that followed, by persistent labor and able management, he brought this land under a high state of cultivation, provided it with good buildings, and when he sold it, about three years since, it was one of the best improved farms in this part of the county. and brought a round sum of money, much above its original cost. Mr. Freeburn early came to Sterling to work at his trade of carpenter, even before the town was laid out, and five years since he came here to make his permanent home. He built a number of the houses of Sterling, and laid out that part of it called Kneeland's Addition. Besides being such an important factor in the upbuilding of the town as a carpenter, as a capitalist, he has entered heartily into the various schemes for its improvement. He is very liberal, and has contributed generously to advance any good cause, and thus, although not a member of any religious organization, he has helped to build and sustain churches. We have referred to the part that he takes in city affairs as one of its civic officers. He is one of the organizers of the bank of Sterling, and in 1881 was elected to the present position that he occupies among its officials. As President of the Sterling Lumber Company he has directed its affairs with great vigor and wisdom, and has greatly extended its business, which amounts to from $50,000 to $60,000 a year, the expenses being about $100 a month. Aside from his interest in this company he has some valuable pieces of residence property in the city.
   Our subject has worked his way up to a position of wealth by his indomitable will, seconded by industrious habits and a sound judgment, as when he came to Nebraska City he was a comparatively poor man. Mr. Freeburn is one of the leading Democrats of Johnson County, and his popularity and the confidence in which he is held by his fellow-citizens far beyond the limits of his home are indicated by the fact that he was elected to the State Legislature in 1882, to represent a constituency strongly Republican, being the first Democrat ever elected to that position from this county. He is prominently identified with the Masons of this locality, being a member of Sterling Lodge No. 70, A. F. & A. M.

ARCUS WALKER. This gentleman, a very successful farmer and stock dealer, whose residence is upon section 8, Western Precinct, and who makes his headquarters at Crab Orchard, was born in Clermont County, Ohio, on the 12th of September, 1836. His father, William C. Walker, was a Kentuckian, and was born fit Fleming County. He was one of the early settlers of Clermont County. His son, the subject of this writing, was reared upon his father's farm and from his boyhood has been thoroughly conversant with all the various parts and points connected with this calling.
   The subject of our sketch received a very limited education in his native county. He migrated to Pike County, Ill., in 1854, settling first in Summer Hill and later in New Hartford. He came to this county in March, 1864, and made his home on his present property. At that time the face of the country was unchanged from what it had been for ages and there were very few settlers in the district. He went 100 miles west to Ft. Kearney to sell his grain, and to St. Joseph, Mo., a distance of 113 miles, to buy his goods. Whenever he had occasion for blacksmith work a journey to Pawnee City, distant twenty-five miles, was necessary. He homesteaded 160 acres of land and has been very successful, both as a farmer and stock-raiser, in the latter department giving attention more especially to the higher grades of cattle. He is now the owner of 400 acres of improved land, which is provided with the large majority of implements necessary for the successful operation of the same.
   On the 24th of August, 1858, Mr. Walker became the husband of Martha M. Hoskins. The father of this lady, Henry William Hoskins, resided during the latter years of his life in Pike County,

Ill. There also his daughter Martha was born and reared. Mr. and Mrs. Walker are the parents of thirteen children, ten of whom are living. Their names are recorded as follows: Lucy, George H., Henry W., Ida M., Sarah A., Elmer, Oscar, James M., Marcus E. and Charles. Lucy is now the wife of Warren L. Marshall, of Crab Orchard, and is the mother of three children, viz: Ralph, Beatrice and an infant unnamed; George is happily married to Ida Barham, and resides on section 5 of this precinct, and has one daughter, to whom was given the name Eva.
   Mr. Walker is a member in good standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is also a firm supporter of the Prohibition party. He is not prominent, however, in political circles, being somewhat retiring in disposition, and for the same reason does not seek offical honors, but is highly respected in the community, as he is also in religious circles.

[The WALKER article above was typed for NEGenWeb Project by Deb Hoskins <dhoskins@windstream.net>. Thank you, Deb.
She adds the following notes:
1. My Johnson County families include: Hoskins, Loper, Walker, and related families. Martha Hoskins father's name was Henry Welch Hoskins, not Henry William. Her mother Cymantha Hoskins also resided in Johnson Co., and her (Cymantha's) daughter Luranye Adams was the first person to be buried in the Crab Orchard Cemetery, which was donated I believe, by Marcus Walker for this purpose. I also have reason to believe that Sarah Jane (Loper) Hoskins, and her husband, Sylvester Hoskins are buried in the Crab Orchard Cemetery.
2. From a newspaper article Crab Orchard-Aug 21, 1890:
DIED--At her home in Crab Orchard, Aug. 20th, 1890, Jane, wife of Sylvester Hoskins. The people of the community sympathize with the bereaved husband and family. Although the weather was quite unfavorable, the funeral services held at the M.E. church were well attended.
From the same area of the paper it mentions:
H.H. Haskins (should be Hoskins), editor of the Norcatur Register (Norcatur, KS), is in town today. Also, Mrs. Melissa Kelsey (niece of Sylvester Hoskins) of Glen Rock (should be Guide Rock), returned to her home Monday after a short visit with friends and relatives at this place.
If you run across these names, I would be glad for the info. Thanks, Deb Hoskins]

OB ARMSTEAD. Among the prosperous, well-to-do citizens of Lincoln Precinct is the subject of this sketch, whose beautiful farm of 160 acres of tillable, fertile land is situated on section 33, township 6 north, range 12 east. He is a native of what is now Fulton County, Pa., and was born Jan. 14, 1827, to Jacob and Rebecca (Knable) Armstead, both natives of Pennsylvania, but of Scotch and German extraction. His maternal great-grandfather, Mr. Laverne, served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. An uncle, Enoch Knable, was also a soldier, and served throughout the Black Hawk War, while yet another uncle, Daniel Knable, fought in the Seminole Indian War in Florida.
   When our subject was about six years of age he accompanied his parents, who removed to Maryland, where the father died within a few months after their arrival. Our subject remained with his mother until he came of age, who gave him every possible opportunity in her power to give him that home and school training which she realized was necessary if he were to fulfill her hopes in future years. His youth was spent upon the farm, and he thoroughly understands all the minutia and detail of farm work. As the result of his own efforts he has become a well-informed man, and capable of handling current topics with ease and ability.
   The marriage of our subject with Rachel Hoof was celebrated at Bath, Va., on the 23d of May, 1850. The lady of his choice was born in Germany on the 21st of March, 1819, and is the daughter of Conrad and Catharine Hoof, by whom she was brought to this country when an infant. The ocean voyage, of which necessarily she has no recollection, excepting as it has been supplied by her parents, occupied over nineteen weeks. They finally landed at the city of Baltimore, and from there went to Virginia, where her parents died.
   To Mr. and Mrs. Armstead ten children have been born; five of these survive, whom we mention as follows: Alexander, now in Missouri engaged in farming; Catharine, who was married to Charles Waterworth, of Mason County, Ill.; William, a resident of Thayer County; Rebecca and Susan, who are at home. Besides these there is an adopted son, Daniel R. Dawson. The deceased children were named as follows: Mary I., Sarah E., John and Harriet M.
   With the intention of migrating westward our subject and family left Virginia in the spring of 1864, locating in Peoria County, Ill., and resided there until the spring of 1866, when removal was made to this county. Here a homestead claim of 160 acres situated as mentioned above was taken up, and upon it he has continued to reside from that time. It was, of course, in a virgin state, and it remained for him to develop its resources and bring it to a condition of cultivation that would render it profitable to him. This he has done with gratifying and more than expected success. Throughout the years of their companionship he has always found in his wife a faithful and devoted helpmate, having their truest interests at heart, one in whom he could confide and with whom he could counsel.
   Mr. Armstead is a true and loyal citizen; his political associations are with the Democratic party. Religiously, both he and his wife are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, where he