went to New York City, and for some time after was employed by the Government in the navy yard. He afterward moved to Ohio and opened a smithy in Muskingum County, subsequently buying a farm and establishing a forge at Otsego, the same county.
   Thinking to make money more easily and rapidly than at his trade, Mr. Milton engaged in the salt business, but was unfortunate, losing his entire capital, and had to resume his former occupation. In 1855 he pushed still farther West, coming by boat to Iowa, where he located on a farm in Louisa County, near Morning Sun, and there engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, in 1860, at the advanced age of seventy-three years. He was a man of sterling worth, and a member of the Baptist Church. The maiden name of his wife was Susan Dillon, who was a native of Muskingum County, Ohio. To her and her husband were born eleven children, as follows: Henry died in infancy; George, deceased; Mary lives in Iowa; Julia, deceased; Elizabeth lives in Ohio; Margaret, with our subject; James; Francis, deceased; Daniel, deceased, was in the late Civil War; Emily, deceased; John, with our subject.
   James Milton, of our sketch, received his education in Ohio, attending a subscription school. He early learned the trade of a blacksmith from his father, and at the age of fourteen years began earning his living away from home, usually doing light farm work. When twenty years of age he removed to Louisa County, Iowa, with his parents, and there, near Morning Sun, rented land in partnership with his father and engaged in farming. He continued thus employed until 1862, when, inspired by patriotic impulses, he enlisted in Company G, 19th Iowa Infantry, and was mustered into service at Keokuk. His regiment was assigned to the 2d Division of the 13th Army Corps, under Gen. Scofield, and ordered to the frontier in Missouri.
   Mr. Milton and his comrades were at first engaged principally in scouting, having an occasional skirmish with the enemy, until the battle of Prairie Grove, in which they took an active part. They were again engaged in skirmishing and bushwhacking until the spring of 1863, when their division was ordered to Vicksburg, and assigned a position on the extreme left, and during the siege did efficient service. Our subject was subsequently sent on a scouting expedition up the Mississippi River, and his company had a severe engagement at Morganza. Returning to Jackson, Miss., the men met the enemy at Black Rivet, where they had a skirmish, going thence to Port Hudson; then again they proceeded southward to New Orleans. With other members of his regiment Mr. Milton was sent from there to the mouth of the Red River on a scouting expedition, thence to Morgan's Bend to hold the rebels in check. They had a hotly contested battle Sept. 29, 1863, and our subject being taken prisoner, was sent to Tyler, Tex., where he was put into the stockade, and until the next July suffered the horrors of a rebel prison. On the 9th of that month he was exchanged, and returning to Now Orleans, joined his old regiment, which was soon after ordered to Pensacola, Fla., where he was put on picket duty to watch for blockade runners.
   In the winter of 1864 Mr. Milton was sent with his comrades to the defense of Mobile, and took part in the battle of Spanish Fort. Going from there to Ft. Blakely they had another engagement, Subsequently our subject was mustered out of service at Mobile, and received his honorable discharge at Davenport, Iowa. During his term of service in defense of his country Mr. Milton was not wounded, although at Vicksburg he received a severe strain while carrying logs.
   After leaving the army our subject returned to Louisa County and resumed his agricultural labors, staying there until 1867, when, accompanied by his brother John and sister Margaret, he came to Nebraska with a team, crossing the river at' Brownville, and came to this county. He took up a homestead claim of eighty acres of wild land, and became one of the first settlers of West Branch Precinct. He at once began the improvement of his farm, setting out fine groves of forest trees, an orchard, built a comfortable and convenient house, a good barn and out-buildings, hauling the lumber for them from St. Joseph. Mr. Milton was very prosperous in his undertaking, and to his original claim has added an adjacent tract of eighty acres, making him now the owner of 160 acres of arable hand, which is entirely improved and under excellent cul-

tivation. John Milton, the brother of our subject, as soon as twenty-one years of age homesteaded eighty acres of land, but afterward sold that and bought eighty acres adjoining that of our subject, and they now carry on in partnership the 240 acres of land, doing an extensive business in farming and stock-raising, having a large number of hogs, horses and cattle.
   Our subject is an intelligent, well-informed man, of high moral principles, prominent in assisting all schemes for public benefit. and his many virtues and pleasant ways have gained him a host of friends. Socially, he is a member of the G. A. R., and in politics he earnestly supports the Republican party.

ILLIAM C. HANKINS. In the career here presented of the subject of this sketch we have that of one of the early representatives of the mercantile interests of Pawnee City. He has been a good business man in his day, having been fortunate in acquiring a competence, and is now enjoying the fruits of his labors in the peace and comfort of his home, surrounded by hosts of friends and many of the luxuries of life.
   Mr. Hankins began life near the Atlantic Coast, in Monmouth County, N. J., Sept. 3, 1836. His parents, Samuel S. and Ann P. (Gulick) Hankins, were natives of the same State as their son, and the father was there quite extensively engaged as a contractor and builder. In 1839 his attention was attracted to the young and rapidly growing State of Ohio, and he decided to emigrate thither. He took with him his little family, and located in the town of Charloe, Paulding County, where he prosecuted his vocation, superintending the erection of the county court-house and other prominent buildings, many of which still stand as monuments of his thoroughness and skill. There his death took place in 1852, when he was in his prime, having been born in 1806.
   The mother of our subject survived her husband a period of thirty-two years, remaining a widow. She spent her last days in Ohio, dying at the home of her daughter, in 1884. Four sons and five daughters came to bless this union, of whom William C., our subject, was the fourth in order of birth. He was three years of age when his parents removed to Ohio, and consequently remembers little of the journey, although it was performed in the most primitive style, overland with teams, before the days of railroads or hotels. He spent his boyhood and youth in Paulding County, obtaining a common-school education, and being trained to habits of industry. At the age of sixteen years he commenced learning the trade of saddler and harness-maker, at which he served the regular apprenticeship of three years.
   In the year 1856, being then a young man of twenty years, Mr. Hankins started on a trip to the Pacific Slope, and spent five years in the mining regions of California. He was not successful in this enterprise, and returned to Ohio in time to enlist in the defense of the Union, becoming a member of Company H, 14th Ohio Infantry, in the spring of 1861. His regiment was under the command of Col. Steadman, and they proceeded to West Virginia in time to participate in the battles of Philippi, Carrick Ford, Cheat River--this campaign being under the first call for 75,000 troops, who enlisted for three months. At the expiration of that time our subject received his honorable discharge and returned home.
   The war, however, was by no means ended, and Mr. Hankins was not one to stand idly by and watch the conflict, so he enlisted in Company H, 191st Ohio Infantry, which was assigned to the command of Gen. Sheridan, stationed then at Winchester. They operated in that region until the close of the war, were mustered out at Winchester and disbanded at Camp Chase, near Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Hankins then returned home a second time, and on Feb. 11, 1865, was married to Miss Elizabeth McCoy, of Paulding County. This lady was born in that county, and is the daughter of Jonathan S. McCoy, who was a native of Ohio, and spent his last days in that State.
   Mr. Hankins, in the spring of 1867, decided to seek his fortunes in the farther West, and accordingly made his way to the newly admitted State of Nebraska. Locating in Pawnee City, he was for five years thereafter engaged in the harness business, being the pioneer harness-maker of the city.

he then sold out and established himself as a general merchant, which business occupied his time and attention until 1885, when he retired, trading stock for farms in Pawner and Lancaster Counties, which he still owns. His family consists of his wife and six children, one son and five daughters. Katie, the eldest, became the wife of W. T. Jones, who is now deceased. The others are: Sadie, George, Dell, Bessie and Maude. Socially, Mr. Hankins is a member of the G. A. R. He has been a reliable business man, and is one of the stockholders of the Farmers' State Bank, which was organized at DuBois in 1886.
   The paternal grandfather of our subject was Thomas Hankins, one of the earliest settlers of New Jersey and of English ancestry. Grandfather Gulick served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and traced his ancestry to Scotland.

EN F. HILDEBRAND, editor and proprietor of the Pawnee Press, is conducting with success the only Democratic paper in this county. He first set foot upon the soil of Nebraska Nov. 6, 1878, coming directly hither. Upon finishing his education at the High School in Pawnee City. He entered the Republican office, where he worked three years, learning the business, and later was associated with his brother, J. G. P. Hildebrand, the result of their united labors being the Press, at a time when there were but very few adherents of the Democracy in this region. From a small beginning this journal has grown to be one of the important institutions of the county, having the largest circulation of any paper printed within its limits. It is a bright and newsy sheet, a favorite with all, regardless of politics. Mr. Hildebrand, although young in years, is a thorough and capable business man, systematic and conscientious, and in connection with his job office receives the patronage of the best citizens of the county.
   Our subject is essentially a Western man, having been born in Keokuk County, Iowa, Feb. 14, 1864. He lived there until a lad of fourteen years, then, in 1878, came with his parents to this county, they settling on a farm seven miles south of town, where he lived until removing to Pawnee City to learn the printing trade. Ben F. attended the common school and assisted his father in opening up the new farm, in the meantime keeping his eyes open to what was going on around him in the world, and by reading and study securing a good fund of general information. When but a youth he became interested in politics, and has been quite active in local affairs, frequently serving as a delegate to the different County and State Conventions, and through his paper giving his best efforts to bring about the success of his party. The Press was the first journal to introduce the name of Mr. McShann, the first Democrat elected to Congress from this State. Mr. Hildebrand has held several of the local offices, but has very little ambition in this direction, preferring to give his. exclusive attention to his paper and his business interests.
   The marriage of our subject with Miss Minnie E. Moore, of Pawnee City, was celebrated at the home of the bride, June 14, 1888. Mrs. Hildebrand was born Oct. 4, 1865, at Darien, Wis., and is the daughter of John and Lorena Moore, who came to this county in the month of December, 1885. Mr. Moore, a native of New Jersey, was born in 1819, and moved to Wisconsin. He was married to a Miss Hart, in New Jersey, previous to removing to Wisconsin. They became the parents of nine children, two of whom died when young. Mr. Moore was a farmer by occupation, and carried on agriculture a year or more after coming to this county. He is now retired from active labor, and with his excellent wife, makes his home in Pawnee City. Unlike his son-in-law he is a. stanch Republican. The latter, in religious matters, is identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church.
   Henry Hildebrand, the father of our subject, was born in the Shenandoah Valley, Va., April 23, 1816, and lived there probably until 1854, carrying on farming and milling. He married Miss Elizabeth Whitzel, and to them there were born eleven children, eight of whom lived to mature years. Upon their removal to Iowa they settled remote from any neighbors, and the father constructed a comfortable homestead from a tract of wild land. He occupied this until 1878, then selling out, came to this State, and purchased a farm in South Fork Pre-

cinct, where he lived until the decease of the mother, which took place Aug. 10, 1882. Mr. Hildebrand then took up his residence in town. He has owned several different farms since disposing of his first purchase. The mother of Mrs. Hildebrand was born near Liola, Va., in 1820, and lived there with her parents until her marriage.

EROME SHELLHORN. There are few citizens of Pawnee Country residing here any length of time who are not familiar with the name of this honored pioneer. He first set foot upon the soil of Nebraska in the spring of 1855, taking up his abode on a tract of land in Richardson County, where he sojourned a period of nine years. Thence he removed to Nemaha County, living there also nine years, and in the fall of 1873 took up his abode in Pawnee City, of which he has since been a resident. He has had a ripe experience in mercantile business and farming. In 1882 he purchased ground within the corporate limits of the city, underneath which there lay a strata of sand to the depth of fifteen feet. From this he supplies all the sand for building purposes that is used for miles around. Later he dug a large well which is kept supplied to the depth of twelve feet with living water, and from which, during the dry season, he supplies the citizen by the barrel, it thus proving an inestimable boon to them and the source of a handsome income to the proprietor. Plasterers, builders, fair associations, etc.. are supplied from this source.
   The reliable old Keystone State gave to our subject his first impressions of life, he having been born in the village of Berlin. Somerset County, Oct. 28, 1826. His father, Henry Shellhorn, in 1854 removed to Nebraska and settled on South Fork, two miles east of DuBois, where he lived until May 4 of the following year, when he died, He was a native of Maryland, and married Miss Anita M. Lour, who was born in Somerset County, Pa., and was the daughter of Henry Lour, who spent his last years in Ohio.
   To the parents of our subject there were born twelve children, six sons and six daughters, who, with one exception, all lived to mature years. Of these Jerome, our subject, was the sixth in order of birth. When a mere lad his parents removed to Knox County, Ohio, where he spent his boyhood and youth, acquiring a common-school education, and served an apprenticeship of two years at the weaver's trade. His principal business in connection with this was to make coverlets. At the age of twenty-four years he was wedded to Miss Rachel A. Moore, the daughter of Thomas Moore, Esq., of Knox County, Ohio. In the fall of 1852 the young people decided to seek the further West, and moved across the Mississippi into Andrew County, Mo. Two years later they came to Nebraska, as we have already indicated. There have come to their fireside eight children, of whom the record is as follows: Thomas H. is at home; Alice I. is the wife of John H. Cummins, and they live in Pawnee City; Elizabeth Eldora married John W. Fisher, of Pawnee City; the others, who were named respectively: Theodore Sigel, Amanda Belle (1st), Amanda Belle (2d), Theodore Sigel and Lily May, are deceased.
   Mr. Shellhorn, while a resident of Richardson County, was somewhat prominent in local affairs, and represented his precinct in the County Board of Supervisors one year. He uniformly votes the Republican ticket, and is a member in good standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His paternal grandfather, John Shellhorn, was a native of Maryland, following the occupation of a teamster, and lost his life by drowning while attempting to ford the Potomac River during the breaking up of the heavy ice.

ILLIAM A. SHANNON is prominently identified with the pioneer history of Pawnee County, as having been one of its earliest settlers. He pushed his way into Nebraska Territory as one of the advance guard, and has maintained his residence here in spite of the difficulties and hardships which were endured in common by those adventurous spirits who sought their home on the frontier before the era of either stage or railroad. He was born in Hendricks County,

Ind., Jan. 4,1834, and is the son of Thomas R. Shannon, a native of Giles County, Va. The latter married Miss Sally M. Allen, also a native of Giles County, and they became the parents of five children, all sons, of whom William A. was third in order of birth.
   The father of our subject carried on farming on the soil of the Old Dominion until about 1858, and the fall of that year found the whole family journeying westward to Nebraska Territory. The father took up a homestead claim of 160 acres, upon which he labored a period of ten years, building up a good firm and resting from his toils in the October of 1868. The mother survived her husband a period of eight years, passing away in 1875. William A., our subject, was married in May, 187 1. to Miss Mary E. Scott, who was born in Hendricks County, Ind., in 1836. Her father, Shannon Scott, was a native of Virginia, and removed first to Indiana and thence to Iowa, spending his last days upon the soil of the Hawkeye State.
   After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Shannon settled on a tract of land in Nebraska, where our subject operated first as a renter, and then purchased 160 acres which is included in his present farm. From this he has constructed a good homestead, and is now giving his attention largely to stock-raising. His family consists of one child only, a daughter, Minnie May, who was born March 18, 1876. Two of their children died in infancy. Mr. Shannon, in political matters, affiliates with the Republican party, and religiously, is a member in good standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church, attending regular services in Pawnee City.

AVIS GALLAGHER, a veteran of seventy-five years, and one of the earliest pioneers of this county, established himself on the west side of the Missouri thirty-four years ago, in the spring of 1855. His experience has been one replete with scenes of great interest connected with life on the frontier at a time when few white settlers had ventured to this region. The Indian trail was yet visible and the savages looked upon the white invaders with no friendly eye. There was no indication of railroads or bridges, scarcely even a wagon track to mark the path of the emigrant. No man of an effeminate disposition would venture to this section at that time, for it required more than ordinary courage to risk life and property in the Western wilds.
   Mr. Gallagher, however, was a man more than ordinarily brave and resolute, and he came to stay, The first years of his residence, which were spent in Richardson County, were employed in bringing a portion of the new soil into cultivation, and upon the land which he then secured he spent a period of two years. Upon selling out, in the spring of 1857, he came to this county and purchased 160 acres, one mile west of the present site of Pawnee City, there being then no indications of the present flourishing town. Here he has carried on the cultivation of his farm, planting fruit and shade trees, erecting buildings, and laboring diligently until 1881, when he sold this farm and purchased a farm four miles south of the city, on which he continued until advancing years advised him it would be wise to retire. He accordingly, in 1884, left the farm in the hands of a renter, and took up his residence in Pawnee City, where he occupies a pleasant home and is surrounded by all the comforts of life.
   The early home of Mr. Gallagher was in Chester County. Pa., where his birth took place March 27, 1814. His father, William Gallagher, was a native of New Hampshire and a blacksmith by trade. In early manhood, leaving New England, he migrated to Pennsylvania, and was there married to Miss Mary Davis, a native of Chester County, Pa. They settled not far from the early home of the wife, and there spent the remainder of their days, passing away under the roof-tree which sheltered them when they began life's journey together. They were the parents of seven children, two sons and five daughters, of whom Davis was next to the youngest. The mother of our subject died when he was a little lad three years of age, and he was reared by his aunt and grand mother, the latter Mrs. Susan Davis, with whom he lived until a youth of seventeen.
   Our subject was the child of his father's first marriage. He also served an apprenticeship at the

blacksmith trade, at which he worked in Muskingum County, Ohio, and when twenty-one years old was married, in 1835, to Miss Elizabeth Morrison, of that county, where she had been born April 22, 1817, and reared to womanhood. Mrs. G. is the daughter of Nathaniel and Anna (Yauger) Morrison, whose family comprised eleven children. After their marriage our subject and his wife settled in Blue Rock Township, Muskingum Co., Ohio, where he engaged in different employments. In the fall of 1853 he decided to seek the more western country, and moved with his family to Andrew County, Mo., where they lived two years. Next they took up their residence in Nebraska, and their subsequent movements we have already indicated.
   In due time there came to the household of Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher seven interesting children, the eldest of whom, a daughter, Ann, became the wife of Daniel Lemming; Mary married Samuel Howard; Hannah is the wife of John Ward; Susan was married, and died when about thirty-two years old: John D. is a resident of Colorado; James M. is at home with his parents. The political sentiments of our subject coincide most emphatically with the principles of the Republican party. He and his estimable wife present the extraordinary picture of a couple who have lived amicably together for a period of fifty-three years, both young looking for their age and in good health. Mr. Gallagher cast his first vote for Martin Van Buren, being a member of the old Whig party until its abandonment by the organization of the Republican. He owns his town residence and also a good farm in Clay Precinct.

OTTFRIED BUROW. In the life history of the subject of this record is presented an illustration of strength of character, patience and resolution not often to be met with. He is a man who has battled with great difficulties in life, and one who has achieved more than ordinary success amid discouragements and trials that would have dismayed most men. From a modest beginning, unassisted, he has accumulated a fine property, being now the owner of 748 acres of valuable land lying on sections 1, 2 and 10, Table Rock Precinct. The whole of this is enclosed with neat and substantial fencing, largely of hedge, and none of it is waste land. The buildings are neat and substantial, and the entire estate reflects great credit upon our subject, who built it up largely from an uncultivated tract of land. Of late years he has been extensively interested in stock-raising, keeping excellent grades of horses, cattle and swine. He is a man widely and favorably known throughout Pawnee County as one having been no unimportant factor in the development of its great natural resources.
   Mr. Burow first set foot upon the soil of Nebraska in the spring of 1857. Not provided with any very great amount of means, he took eighty acres of Government land, most of which was prairie, although there was upon it some timber. He turned the first farrow himself, and as rapidly as possible effected the improvement of his purchase, by putting up the buildings most needed, and planting fruit and shade trees. He had only labored a few years, however, when the notes of war began to resound throughout the land, calling upon every good patriot to shoulder arms in defense of the Union.
   Mr. Burow now laid aside his personal plans and interests, and in the face of what he knew would prove a great detriment to his property by his absence, enlisted in Company E, 13th Kansas Infantry, at Marysville, in August, 1862. His regiment was assigned to the army doing duty along the Arkansas River, meeting the enemy at Prairie Grove, Van Buren and Port Smith, and reaching Little Rock just as the place was taken by the federals. There was still, however, fighting to do, and Mr. Burow, although frequently in the thickest of it, received only a slight wound in the finger from a spent hall. Later he was in other important engagements, his army service comprising two years and eleven months. The hard marches and exposures of camp life so told on his constitution that he almost lost his hearing, and is now quite deaf.
   Our subject entered the ranks in perfect health, but the hardships and privations incident to the life of a soldier resulted in his contracting an in-

curable disease, from which he suffers to the present day. He has expended hundreds of dollars in treatment with comparatively little relief, and has never since been in the enjoyment of good health. Notwithstanding this affliction told greatly upon his mental and physical powers, his wonderful energy and perseverance kept him up, and he has all along managed his business affairs with the good judgment seldom seen in men in perfect health. After receiving his honorable discharge at Little Rock he proceeded to Leavenworth to be paid off. Then returning to Nebraska, he, in company with his brother William, took up 160 acres additional land, which he likewise improved. When returning from the army he could not have purchased a box of matches, and the fact that he is to-day a well-to-do man, is a forcible illustration of what may be accomplished by sturdy perseverance and good management.
   The Burow homestead is considered one of the finest in Pawnee County, and the family one of the wealthiest and most honored. The first dwelling of our subject and his estimable wife was a small log house in which they lived until 1874. The summer following this was replaced by a fine large dwelling, two stories in height, and was at that time considered the finest residence in this part of the county. Such was the nature of its construction, that it still retains its original solidity, being placed on a solid stone foundation, the walls filled in with concrete. The residence with its surroundings forms one of the most attractive pictures in the landscape of this region. Its surroundings, fruit and shade trees, with the neat and convenient out-buildings, the stabling for cattle and horses, the live stock and the farm machinery, complete the idea of the modem country home.
   The first windmill put up within ten or twelve miles of here was erected by the enterprise of Mr. Burow. Later he purchased another, and has all the other machinery required for the successful prosecution of agriculture and stock growing. A school district was not organized until ten years after his settlement here. In this project he was one of the leading men, and was also active in the erection of the first school building. He is a believer in education, and in giving to the young all the advantages which shall make of them, reliable and worthy citizens. For two years a school was conducted in his house. He was at an early date selected to discharge the duties of the various local offices, as a man of ability and integrity, and one who had the. interests of the people ever in mind. He, however, has never been an office-seeker, but has been willing to do what he could for the good of his community, just as he left his farming business and went to the war from pure patriotism. Nebraska then not having been admitted into the Union as a State, there was no law which could have compelled him to serve in the army.
   Many and interesting are the tales which Mr. Burow can relate of pioneer days of Pawnee County. The first grain which he raised was transported to Nebraska City, the nearest market, and he was obliged to repair to Brownville for groceries, a journey occupying from two to eight days. This trip he at first made with a yoke of yearling steers through snow several inches deep, and all he was able to buy upon that occasion was two sacks of flour. For several years afterward the nearest mill was Blacklaw's, eight miles from him, the home of his nearest neighbor, and in order to get there he was obliged to ford the Nemaha, there being no bridge. Upon one occasion, while crossing the river with lumber, his wagon was capsized and his lumber floated into the water, while he came near losing his life. Later he had the satisfaction of assisting to build the first bridge on the Nemaha. When he came here there was not a bridge in the precinct. Shortly after his first settlement he purchased of a friend a yoke of cattle for $100 on time. These he employed in transporting produce to Nebraska City. Not long afterward one of the animals lost its hoof and had to be shot. This was only an illustration of the difficulties and discouragements which beset our pioneer.
   Afterward Mr. Burow and his brother purchased for $300 a span of mares, one of which was accidentally killed. He was then $400 in debt for one horse and one ox, for which he had not even been required to give a note. The people, trusting to his honesty, permitted him to keep his land, which might have been taken to liquidate these debts. Upon the heels of these disasters came the grass