HELPS
County, like the other parts of Nebraska, was principally settled
under the homestead, timber claim and pre-emption laws. In
addition to those who came to acquire homes on free land, there
were many who purchased cheap land from the Union Pacific railroad
and established their homes upon that. The Union Pacific had been
granted alternate sections of land as a subsidy for building its
railroad, and this land extended south from the Platte river more
than half way into Phelps County.In April, 1830, the first emigrant train left St. Louis to make its way to Oregon across what was then known as the "Great American Desert." This trail became known as the Oregon Trail, and its route followed a course across the northern part of what is now Phelps County, and thus one of the notable events of pioneer history took place in the northwest corner of this county. On Aug. 8, 1864, on the banks of Plum creek, occurred the Plum Creek Indian Massacre. Here, while encamped on the trail, eleven white men were slain, and a woman and a nine-year-old boy were taken prisoners by the Indians. A plot of ground where the men's graves are located, one hundred feet square, was deeded to Phelps County in 1930. In that year a granite monument was erected to commemorate the massacre and to bear tribute to the slain pioneers, as well as to mark the spot as a point along the Oregon Trail. The inscription on the monument reads: "To the frontier men and women who lost their lives by hostile Indians in the Plum Creek Massacre along the Oregon Trail Aug. 8, 1864. Erected in remembrance by Phelps County, Nov. 9, 1930."
The first homestead in Nebraska was filed upon by Daniel Freeman near Beatrice on Jan. 1, 1863. In December of that year the Union Pacific broke ground at Omaha for its railroad. As the railroad built west, its construction crews needed food. To provide that food, William F. Cody--"Buffalo Bill" --- accepted a contract to furnish buffalo meat for the workers. How many times he and his men rode over the territory comprising Phelps County or how many animals they killed, we shall never know, but we do know that several years later many settlers in this territory obtained some of the necessities of life by gathering and hauling buffalo bones to Kearney for sale there.
The Homestead law was passed by congress on May 20, 1862, to grant homesteads entirely free to actual settlers on the public domain. Following the Civil War the settlers started coming into the county to secure homesteads, first taking claims in the north part of the county south of the Platte, and in the southwest corner of the county along Spring creek. The first two legal settlements in Phelps County under the homestead laws were in the northeast corner section of the county, and the third was on Spring creek, in the southwest corner. The first two filings as indicated by the records of the general land office are dated Aug. 13, 1872. The next filing is dated Oct. 2, 1872. In 1872 there were probably not more than a half dozen actual settlers in the entire county. The first filings were made at the land office at Lowell, which office was soon afterward moved to Bloomington. Spring creek was the only part of the county with any natural timber at that time, and the homes there were made of logs.
The rest of the county was mainly rolling prairie, covered only with buffalo grass, had no surface water, and was not at first looked upon with favor by the homesteaders, so that this table land, which later was to become the best agricultural part of the county, was not filed upon by the settlers until early in the spring of 1876. In 1875 Victor Rylander and Leander Hallgren became agents for the Union Pacific for the sale of its subsidy land. They selected for themselves land in Section 1, Township 6, North, Range 19, West. This was the exact center of the county. Here late in 1875 they started building a frame house, which afterwards was referred to as the Emigrant House, and they also dug a well. Frank Hallgren, a brother of Leander, came to Phelps County in January, 1876, to help his brother finish the house and also to locate settlers. Rylander and Hallgren, as land agents for the railroad company, went to Swedish settlements in Illinois and other states to interest people in the purchase of the railroad lands in Phelps County, and to solicit excursion parties of prospective settlers in the new territory. On March 6, 1876, a party of fifteen families left Illinois to immigrate to Phelps County. On March 14 they left Kearney (then a city of 500 population) and got as far as Williamsburg, the county seat of Phelps. Williamsburg at that time consisted of a courthouse, and two residences. A few days later they drove south from Williamsburg to a place near the center of the county, where their homes were to be located. A member of the party wrote:
As far as the eye could reach in any direction, not a sign of human habitation was visible except about three miles southeast where Rylander and Hallgren were building an Emigrant House and digging a well for the accommodation of the col-
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Phelps |
onists. Nothing but miles and miles of level prairie burned
black by the prairie fires. Hundreds of thousands of bleaching
buffalo skeletons are scattered over the plains, showing what a
terrible slaughter of these animals has been going on. In Kearney
I saw mountains of buffalo bones along the railroad track where
they had been hauled for shipment east.
Most of this group were financially unable to
buy and haul lumber from Kearney to build homes, but found a very
satisfactory substitute in the buffalo grass sod. One of the men
who helped build the first sod house in Phelps County described it
as follows:
First we broke sod with a breaking plow. This we
cut off into bricks which were two feet long, twelve inches wide,
and four inches thick. Of this we built the walls of the house. In
the center of the house is a big crotch. In this and on the end
walls rests the ridgepole. Next comes the rafters about one and
one-half feet apart, which are simply round poles of elm, ash and
cottonwood with the bark on. On top of this is a layer of willows.
On top of them a thin layer of sod, and over all about six inches
of dirt. We have a cellar and board floor, although it is
something unusual in a sod house.
By 1878 the homesteaders started coming in large
numbers. In that year there were only two postoffices in the
county, and they were kept in farm homes. By 1879 Phelps County
had two sizable inland villages, Phelps Center and Sacramento,
each with a population of approximately two hundred.
On March 1, 1867, President Johnson proclaimed
Nebraska as the thirty-seventh state of the United States and on
July 29, 1867, the state capitol was located at Lincoln. The
legislature of 1871 passed what was known as the Herd law, which
went far toward making the settlement of Nebraska possible because
it protected homesteaders and settlers from the roaming herds of
the cattle men. Phelps County was officially organized at the
request of the few people living in the northwest part of the
county. The fact seems to be that there were only seventeen voters
residing in the territory at the time, and so the organization of
a county then can be considered either as an absurdity or as an
expression of optimism on the part of a determined group of
pioneers. On Jan. 21, 1873, Representative J. E. Cramer of
Fairmont introduced in the legislature of Nebraska, House Bill No.
55, which was approved by Gov. Robert W. Furnas, on Feb. 11, 1873.
This act of the legislature defined the boundaries of Phelps
County, and appointed three commissioners, Edward Barnes, C. J.
Dilworth, and J. T. Musgrove, who were ordered within sixty days
after February 11 to qualify as commissioners, and within thirty
days after their qualification to call a special election to
"submit the question of the location of the seat of justice" to
the voters. A special election was held April 23, 1873, and the
record states that by unanimous vote (apparently of the seventeen
voters) the seat of justice was located in the center of Section
14, Township 8, Range 19, Williamsburg Township. This was just
south of the Platte river, and approximately in the center of the
county east and west, but in the northern edge of the county.
Phelps County was named after Capt. William
Phelps, who derived his title from having operated a Mississippi
river steamboat for many years. He was the father-in-law of C. J.
Dilworth, one of the commissioners appointed by the governor to
locate the county seat and who was an early resident and a
prominent attorney in the state. The first county seat was named
Williamsburg, after the only son of C. J. Dilworth. The son,
William A. Dilworth, was for several years a resident of Holdrege,
and a district judge in the Tenth judicial district. Judge William
A. Dilworth, during his lifetime, often told this writer that he
was appointed as deputy by all the first county officers and was
the only person actually in the courthouse, but because of his
many deputyships was able to transact all the county business.
In the beginning no courthouse was needed, and
since A. S. Baldwin, an early resident, owned or controlled much
of the land in Section 14, the county offices were located in his
residence. On Jan. 31, 1874, the county board of commissioners
rented the "entire house now occupied by Mrs. J. T. Musgrove" for
a courthouse. Later a bill was allowed to her for rental
commencing with Nov. 20, 1873. The last claim found in the minutes
for courthouse rent to her covers a period ending Aug. 20, 1874.
Apparently some time afterward, a two-room frame courthouse was
built. By 1879 practically all the prairie land of the county had
been filed upon by homesteaders, and it was natural that the
people desired to have their county seat more nearly in the center
of the county. By this time the village of Phelps Center was in
existence and ground was donated for a courthouse site. At the
regular election held Nov. 4, 1879, by a vote of the people, the
county seat was removed to Phelps Center. No official record of
the vote is available, but an early writer states that 404 votes
were cast, indicating that quite a number of new people had come
into the county. The little frame courthouse was moved across
country from Williamsburg to Phelps Center, and it remained the
county seat for the next five years. During that period Phelps
Center, together with Sacramento, a village of comparable size in
the southeastern part, were the only two towns in the county. The
buildings in Phelps Center were frame but many of those in
Sacramento were sod. Both old Sacramento and Phelps Center have
entirely disappeared and no trace remains of the first two
thriving villages of Phelps County.
The first newspaper in Phelps County was
established in Sacramento in March, 1879, the first issue being
dated March 22, 1879, and in 1880 it was moved to Phelps Center.
Appropriately it was called the Phelps County Pioneer. The first
edition was a single sheet five by seven inches in size. The
printing office was built of sod, and the press was constructed by
the editor, B. O. Wilson. The
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Who's Who |
first effort of the newspaper was to fight a proposition to
vote bonds for the purpose of funding the indebtedness of the
county. The bonds were to be in the amount of $35,000. It is
reported that the opposition was successful, only twenty-one votes
being recorded in favor of the issuance of the bonds. At least one
fire, and probably two, occurred at Phelps Center, which destroyed
some of the county records and thereby some of the early county
history.
By the late summer of 1883 the Burlington
railroad had commenced to build its cutoff from Kenesaw to Oxford,
and a point which is now Holdrege was decided upon for the
location of a new town. The people of Phelps County had never had
any railroad and they had long wanted one, as it had been
necessary for them to haul their grain and other agricultural
produce either to Kearney on the north or Alma on the south to
secure a market. The people of Phelps Center and Sacramento were
offered free lots in Holdrege if they would move their homes and
businesses to the new town, and on Oct. 10, 1883, the first
building was moved into Holdrege from Phelps Center. As the
location of Holdrege was midway between Phelps Center and
Sacramento, and since it was to be a railroad town, it was not
long until many of the buildings from both of these towns were
moved to Holdrege. The first train in the history of Holdrege
arrived, according to newspaper account, at 5:35 p. m. on Dec. 10,
1883, a very memorable occasion indeed.
By Oct. 15, 1884, the people of Holdrege began a
campaign for the removal of the county seat from Phelps Center to
Holdrege. By that date they had acquired the present block of
ground on which the courthouse now stands and with calm assurance
of victory at the polls laid the cornerstone of a building which
they intended to present to Phelps County as a courthouse. A
special election to vote on the removal of the county seat from
Phelps Center to Holdrege was held Nov. 11, 1884. According to the
newspaper report the vote was 856 for removal and 520 against. As
near as can be ascertained, the actual removal of the books and
records was made Nov. 26, 1884, and Holdrege has been the Phelps
County seat since that time. The first courthouse in Holdrege, a
frame building, accommodated the county until 1910, at which time
it was torn down, while the officers moved into the two-story
brick jail building, which was remodeled for office use, and which
then stood immediately north of the courthouse. When the present
stone and brick courthouse was erected in 1911 the old jail
building was demolished.
The story of the homesteaders in Phelps County
is one of toil, hardship and privation. Water and fuel were
difficult to obtain. Transportation was mainly by ox team,
otherwise on foot. There was no other means of communication
either.
Neighbors were miles and miles away. People
lived in fear of prairie fires in spring and fall, drouth and
grasshoppers in summer, and blizzards in winter. They still could
be alarmed easily by rumors about Indians. In reality life was
crude, bitterly crude. There were no conveniences, no hospitals
and a doctor was a luxury. It was a civilization in which only the
strong could survive. One of the first severe winter storms was at
Easter, 1876. John M. Dahlstrom was one of the first settlers on
the divide. He lived on the South 1/2 Section 23, Township 7
North, Range 19 West, which had been purchased from the Union
Pacific. During this storm eighteen persons were sheltered in his
cellar for a number of days. The newspaper of Feb. 3, 1888, speaks
of the winter of 1888 as having been the most terrible in the
history of the northwest. The account reads: "Storm after storm
has swept over the plains; snow driven with resistless fury has
blinded and overwhelmed men and animals; and cold, reaching forty
and fifty degrees below zero, has made it quick death to be caught
out of doors. A newspaper account of an old settlers' reunion in
1886 states that persons then present reported the grasshoppers
appeared in such numbers in 1876 that the people first thought
them to be a cloud. They were so thick the sun was obscured and
they stripped the corn clean.
Probably more dreaded than either Indian scares,
grasshoppers, blizzards or drouth were the prairie fires. In those
days a prairie fire usually swept everything before it until it
reached the Platte river on the north or the Republican river on
the south. A settler might leave home in the morning to return at
night and find his humble home and all his possessions completely
wiped out by such a fire. These fires spread easily and rapidly
and the losses of persons and property occasioned by them were
tremendous.
The last buffalo hunt in Phelps County occurred
in the fall of 1873. A party of some 800 Pawnee Indians, who were
then wards of the govermment, were ordered out to kill their own
supply of meat for the winter. The party was mounted and armed
with bows and arrows. A herd was discovered grazing at the head of
Turkey creek in the south part of the county. The herd was
surrounded and kept on level ground so as to give the ponies a
better chance to run. The mode of attack was to ride up close to a
buffalo and shoot it in the flank just in front of the hind leg.
In this part of the body the arrow would strike no bones. One
arrow thus placed would soon tumble the best of them. The herd
consisted of fifteen hundred buffaloes and it seems almost
incredible that entire herds were killed, but when it is
remembered that this was less than two buffaloes to an Indian, it
can be understood. A few straggling buffaloes were seen in the
county later on but settlers commenced to crowd in so fast that
the buffaloes were driven further west.
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Phelps |
In 1888 crops were good and the general
business conditions of the whole country were such that a boom
became evident. The farmers built frame buildings and moved out of
their soddies and in Holdrege brick blocks were built to replace
the frame stores. Real estate increased rapidly in price and many
people from the east bought properties and moved to this new
country. Churches and schools were built, transforming the region
from a frontier country to a more civilized and comfortable
community. At one time six newspapers were being published in
Holdrege. This period of prosperity continued until it was stopped
by the drouth, hard times and business reverses of 1894.
Phelps County and Holdrege, its county seat,
have always been progressive and never afraid to undertake big
things. The city of Holdrege has always been municipal minded. In
1892 it purchased the waterworks from a private corporation; in
1905 the library was built; in 1907 the sewer system and sewage
disposal plant was started; in 1916 the auditorium was built; in
1918 the first paving was laid; in 1919 the light and power plant
was built; in 1922 the first part of the park was purchased; in
1924 came the new junior and senior high schools and the Lincoln
grade school. In 1939 one of the largest and most beautiful
swimming pools in the state was built, and a magnificent city hall
to house all municipal activities of the city is nearing
completion. In fifty-five years the city of Holdrege has emerged
from a buffalo grass beginning to the ownership of public property
valued at a million and a half dollars. The advance made by
Holdrege during this period is but a reflection of the progress of
Phelps County as a whole.
ANDERSON, ALGERNON L: Merchant; b Kearney Co, Neb Feb 8, 1907; s of William Anderson-Tillie Johnson; ed Minden; m Mildred I Malone Jan 18, 1929 Holdrege; 1926-27 traveling salesman in central Neb for Purina Mills; 1928-30 ptr of A W Swanson, produce & Maytag dirs, Holdrege; 1931 produce & electrical appliance dlr, Holdrege, discontinued produce bus July 1939; opr stores in Alma & Franklin; dir C of C; Rotary: Country Club; Presby Ch; hobbies, fishing, hunting; parents born in Sweden, father homesteaded in Kearney Co 1883, still living on same place; off 501 West Ave; res 508 Morton, Holdrege.
ANDERSON, FRANK A: Attorney; b Galesburg, Ill Apr 11, 1884; s of P G Anderson-Louisa Swanson; ed Holdrege HS; U of N, BA 1906, LLB 1908; Delta Upsilon; Phi Delta Phi; m Luella Lansing Sept 27, 1911 Ashland; s Lansing; d Eleanor, Louisa, Jessie Belle; 1908- prac law, Holdrege; 1910-13 Phelps Co atty; past city atty 2 terms; 1932- mayor, Holdrege; atty for bd of edn; Phelps Co Bar Assn, past pres; 10th Judicial Bar Assn, past pres; Neb St Bar Assn, VP; Amer Bar Assn; past pres League of Neb Municipalities; C of C, past dir; Rotary; past dir & past pres U of N Alumni Assn; dir U of N Foundation; trustee Hastings Coll; Uni Club, Lincoln; Country Club; past master AF&AM 146; Presby Ch, past elder; Rep; hobby, history; off 417 East Ave; res 721 East Ave, Holdrege.
ANDERSON, OSCAR T: Farmer; b Chicago, Ill Oct 22, 1877; s of A J Anderson-Caroline Peterson; ed Phelps Co; bus coll, Chicago; m Anna D Christianson Apr 10, 1902 Victor Colo; 1883 came to Neb; 1902-03 farmer, Phelps Co; 1903 mcht, Navina, Okla; 1904- farmer & stockman, Phelps Co; 1929 supvr farm ints, Holdrege; dir Equity Elevator CO; dir Co-op Oil Assn; dir Scandinavian Mutual Ins Co; 1934- an org & dir Central Neb Pub Power & Irrigation Dist; active 25 years in development of Tri-Co Pub Power & Irrigation Dist; Trinity Evang Ch; hobby, farming; parents born in Sweden came to Phelps Co 1883; res 622 West Ave, Holdrege.
ATEN, WILBER STREMMEL: Attorney; b Ragan, Neb May 19, 1903; s of Wilber W Aten-Eliza Elizabeth Stremmel: ed Holdrege HS; U of N, LLB 1924; Phi Alpha Delta; m Irma Yolanda Hulquist June 29, 1927 Holdrege; 1924 adm to Neb bar; 1924- prac law, Holdrege, 1924-38 ptr of Clarence A Davis; 1935-38 Phelps Co atty; pres Phelps Co Bar Assn; mbr, past secy 10th Judicial Dist Bar Assn; 1937 pres Neb Assn of Co Attys; past mbr exec & legal edn coms Neb St Bar Assn, mbr inquiry com; Amer Bar Assn; past pres Kiwanis; past dir & VP C of C; past pres Country Club; Uni Club, Lincoln; U of N Alumni Assn, past pres Phelps Co; AF&AM, past master; Meth Ch; Rep, past mbr Phelps Co Central Com, chmn Phelps Co Y R Club; hobby, photography; off 417 W Ave; res 821 East Ave, Holdrege.
BAKER, CLIFFORD A: Funeral Director; b Galesburg, Ill Mar 20, 1862; s of Morvan Baker-Alida Lansing; ed Abingdon Ill HS & Coll; m Cora Luther Sept 1, 1881 DeWitt Neb (dec); s Ralph B; Ramey M; d Fay, Claire C, Haddie (Mrs Andrew Kalblinger); m Emma Cramer June 6, 1936 Omaha; 1879 came with father to Neb, settled at DeWitt; 1881-94 farmer near DeWitt; 1894-1907 cash & pres Bank of Swanton; 1907- funeral dir, Holdrege, 1908-10 also oprd furn bus; treas Neb Funeral Dirs Assn; C of C; Kiwanis; AF&AM 146, past master; KT, past comm; res 718 E Ave, Holdrege.
BERRY, MRS HELEN S: Homemaker; b Vicksburg, Miss Oct 6, 1897; d of George H Smith-Elizabeth Clarke; ed Vicksburg Miss HS 1915, highest honors; secretarial work under priv instr at Vicksburg Miss; m John Wesley Berry Dec 9, 1920 Holdrege; d Joan Elizabeth (dec 1929); served as secy to attys R L MeLaurin & A A Armistead, Vicksburg, Miss; later secy to attys Ault, Anderson & Chase, Calexico, Cal; secy to attys Harry H Ellis & Clarence Davis, Holdrege; worked at various times in off of Phelps Co, clk of dist court; 1920- homemaker; OES 97, past worthy matron; secy Amer Leg Aux, 10th dist secy 1934 & 1938; treas womans orgn Holdrege Country Club; Womans Club, mbr finance com; Episc Ch, past pres St Elizabeths Guild; Dem, Phelps Co vice-chmn; hobbies, reading, flowers, politics, duplicate bridge, home; res 407 Morton, Holdrege.
BEST, ROBERT PARKS: Physician; b Frontier Co, Neb Apr 13, 1902; s of Charles Robert Best-Ethel May Parks; ed Neb Sch of Agr, Curtis; KSTC, BA 1927, mbr football team; U of N, MD 1934; grad work U of Vienna, Austria 1937-38; Nu Sigma Nu; m Elizabeth Jane Titus May 2, 1939 Holdrege; 1927-28 HS tchr & athletic coach, Wilsonville; 1928-30 tchr & athletic coach, Culbertson; 1934-35 interne Douglas Co Hosp, Omaha; 1935 phys & surg at Holdrege, 1936- eye, ear, nose & throat specialist; 1st lt in US army med res, 7th corps area; dir Rotary; C of C; Country Club; pres Phelps Co Med Soc; Neb St Med Assn; Dem; hobbies, hunting, fishing, golf; off 4101/2 East Ave; res 923 Logan, Holdrege.
BORCHERT, ERNEST F: Civil Engineer; b
Holdrege, Neb Sept 8, 1894; s of Rudolph G Borchert-Emma M Young;
ed Holdrege HS: U of N, BSc 1918; m Gladys L Peterson July 5, 1928
Marysville Kas; 1920-22 draftsman & estimator for The Concrete
Engineering Co of Chicago, 1922-24 estimator & designer at
Detroit; 1924-26 project engr, Neb St highway dept; 1925 Phelps Co
highway commr; 1924 resident engr, Neb St highway dept, Holdrege;
Aeronautical Assn of Neb; during World War Oct 1917-July 1919 with
Co D 28th engrs, 1st army corps, AEF 12 mos; res ofcr, 1st lt in
engineering corps, US army; Amer Leg; Amer Soc of Engrs; C of C;
AF&AM 146, past master; Presby Ch; Dem; hobbies, shooting,
aviation, is solo pilot; off State Capitol; res 916 Tilden,
Holdrege.
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Phelps |
Who's Who |
BORG, EDGAR M: Farmer; b Phelps Co, Neb June 19, 1892: s of Alfred Borg-Lydia Schwalm; ed Holdrege HS; m Verna I Moore Oct 23, 1913 Holdrege; s Warren E, Kenneth E, Daryl M; d Margaret I, LaDonna Mae; 1913-15 shipping clk for Universal Film Co, Omaha; 1913-17 with father in Holdrege News Co & Crescent Theater; 1917- owner & opr 160 A irrigated farm, Phelps Co; 1922- lineman, Funk & Capitol Hill Tele Co; helped secure right-of-way for Rural Electrification Administration; past mbr dist sch bd; chmn Soil Conservation Com, Divide twp; twp 4-H club committeeman; pres Phelps Co Jr Fair Assn; pres Phelps Co Agrl Soc; Neb St bd of agr; Meth Ch; hobbies, 4-H Club work, hunting, baseball, football; grandparents homesteaded in Phelps Co 1879; res Funk.
BREWSTER, FRANK A: Physician & Surgeon; b Beatrice, Neb Aug 7, 1873; s of A Brewster-Elvira Tanner; ed Beatrice HS; Western Normal, Lincoln; Omaha U, MD 1900; m Verna S Maple Aug 6, 1903 Beaver City; s Wayne, Donald E; 1894-96, tchr, Gage Co; 1900 prac med, Fillmore Co; 1901-23 prac med, Beaver City; 1923 prac med, Hastings; 1924- phys & surg at Holdrege, specialist in surgery; 1926 estab Brewster Hosp, also owner & opr, hosps at Oberlin Kas & Beaver City; 1987 estab Brewster Clinic; said to be first doctor in Amer to use airplane in bus; Paramount Pictures filmed short movie of an airplane flight to a patient in series "Unusual Occupations;" first phys to buy auto in Furnas Co & built first Furnas Co Hosp; Phelps Co Med Soc; Neb St & AMA; Country Club; AF&AM 93, past master at Beaver City; Scot Rite; Shrine; Meth Ch; hobby, aviation; parents homesteaded in Gage Co; off Brewster Hosp; res 612 Tilden, Holdrege.
BROWN, C A: Merchant; b Joplin, Mo May 11, 1898; s of John W Brown-Effie J Kilts; ed Magnolia Ia HS; m Hazel E Briggs Oct 15, 1919 Omaha; d Betty Lou, Mary Jane; 1915-17 electrician for Owens Engineering Construction Co, Missouri Valley Ia; 1919-28 salesman for Brown Fruit Co, Grand Island; 1923-28 salesman for Nash-Finch Co, Hastings; 1928-32 dist sales mgr, Nash Coffee Co, Oklahoma City; 1932- owner & opr O P Skaggs System Store, Holdrege; 1938-39 Neb St baseball commr; mbr sch bd; during World War Sept 1917-Jan 1919 in Co C, 219 field signal batt; Amer Leg, past post comm; past Phelps Co chmn ARC; Fedn of Neb Retailers; dir Phelps Co Jr Fair Assn; dir Holdrege Welfare Assn; C of C, chmn retail com; dir Kiwanis; AF&AM 146, Scot Rite; Tehama Shrine; Presby Ch, trustee; hobby, baseball; off 411 W Ave; res 128 Fourth Ave, Holdrege.
BROWN, RICHARD CARNEY: Store Manager; b Holdrege, Neb July 8, 1906; s of Eben E Brown-Edna Elvira Carney; ed Holdrege HS; U of N, BSc 1927; Alpha Kappa Psi; Sigma Chi; Phi Beta Kappa; m Frances Hooper July 8, 1930 Holdrege; s Richard H; d Susan, Mary; 1928- with Brown-McDonald Co, 1928-30 at Holdrege, 1980-32 store mgr, Hastings, 1932- store mgr, Holdrege; dir Brown-McDonald Co, Inc, Hastings; pres C of C; Rotary; Country Club; Presby Ch, trustee; father came to Phelps Co 1884, pres Brown-McDonald Co; off 707 Fourth Ave; res 202 Fourth Ave, Holdrege.
BURGESON, PAUL R: Merchant; b Holdrege, Neb Feb 3, 1898; s of John Burgeson-Ida Johnson; ed Holdrege; m Annita Christensen Apr 7, 1921 Hastings; s John Dean, Paul Roger; d Delores Elaine; 1912-23 with father in feed bus, Holdrege, 1923- owner & opr Burgeson's Store, grocs, produce & feed; also opr stores at Oxford & Orleans; dir Holdrege Savings & Loan Assn; 1926-30 & 1936- mbr city coun; 1916- mbr vol fire dept; past dir C of C; IOOF, past noble grand; Presby Ch, trustee; Dem; hobbies, baseball, football; parents born in Sweden, came to Holdrege 1889 & 1890 respectively; off 311 East Ave; res 812 Blaine, Holdrege.
CARLSON, SWAN: Farmer & Stockman; b Sweden Mar 23, 1877; s of Carl M Svenson-Magdalena Svenson; ed Sweden; m Anna M Olson Mar 13, 1901 Holdrege; s Adolph, Harry A, Walter A, Phillip, Paul R, Edwin L; d Melanie H, Ann Margaret; 1893 came to Amer; 1893-98 emp on farms, Phelps Co; 1898-1901 farmer, Phelps Co; 1901 pur 320 A Phelps Co farm, now owner & opr 1120 A farm; 1935, 1937, 1939 mbr Neb St legislature; 1927 Master Farmer; pres Farmers Elevator of Funk, 20 years; past mbr sch & twp bds; past J P; during World War mbr coun of defense; hon mbr Lincoln C of C; Luth Ch, past trustee & past deacon; Dem; hobby, fishing; res Funk.
CHADDERDON, NORRIS: County Judge; b Stockville, Neb Aug 18, 1905; s of George D Chadderdon-Sarah A Solvester; ed University Place HS; Neb Wes 1923-25; U of N, BA, LLB 1929; lettered in track & cross country 1927 & 1928; Acacia; Phi Delta Phi; m Merna A Wolff Sept 16, 1927 Marysville Kas; d Peggy Jean; 1929 adm to Neb bar; 1929- prac law, Holdrege; 1933- Phelps Co judge; mbr sch bd; 1939 pres Neb Assn of Co Judges; dir 10th Judicial Dist Bar Assn; Phelps Co & Neb St Bar Assns; VP Kiwanis; C of C; UCT, jr councilor; worthy patron OES; past master AF&AM; Meth Ch, trustee; hobby, hunting; father homesteaded in Frontier Co 1886, was Phelps Co supt of schs & newspaperman; off Courthouse; res 405 Norton, Holdrege.
EKBERG, HARRY W: Secretary-Treasurer of Auto Co; b Galesburg, Ill Oct 9, 1876; s of John S Ekberg-Julia Nelson; ed Phelps Co; m Edna E Brown Mar 14, 1907 Holdrege; s Kenneth; d Mary, Pauline; 1879 came with parents to Neb; 1900-10 sales & service mgr Deisher & Kronquest impl co, Holdrege; 1908-10 in hdw bus, Holdrege; 1910-12 blockman, Inter-Harvester Co; 1915-34 secy-treas Brown-Ekberg Co; 1934- secy-treas KK Co, Inc; pres bd of edn; past pres C of C; Rotary; Country Club; Presby Ch, elder; Dem; parents born in Sweden, homesteaded in Phelps Co 1879; res 905 East Ave, Holdrege.
GALLOWAY, CHARLES A: Lumber Merchant; b Xenia, O July 28, 1860; s of Washington Galloway-Mary Jane Anderson; ed Xenia O; Wiltz Bus Coll, Dayton O; m Emma L Davis Aug 2, 1887 Gibbon; s George (dec), James W; d Blanche, Lucy M; emp in drug store, Xenia O; 1880-81 emp in drug store, Gibbon; 1882-83 emp in L R Moore coal co, Kearney; 1883-85 emp in lbr co, Kearney; 1886-90 mgr Bogue-Sherwood Lbr Co, Broken Bow, 1891 mgr at Ord, 1891- mgr at Holdrege, 1896- owner & opr C A Galloway Lbr Co; past mayor; past mbr city coun; past mbr bd of edn; dir Neb Lbr Mchts Assn; past pres & past dir C of C; past pres & ch mbr Country Club; past master AF&AM 146; KT; Rep, hobbies, golf, hunting, fishing; res Holdrege.
GILLETTE, EDWARD: County Treasurer; b San Diego, Cal Oct 26, 1895, s of Edward P Gillette-Elinor J Armstrong; ed Holdrege HS; U of N; Alpha Sigma Phi; m Helen Hope Hildreth Oct 25, 1919 Lyons; s Edward Hildreth; 1919-34 farmer & dairyman, Phelps Co; 1935- Phelps Co treas; 1935 state sen from 28th dist; World War Veteran, 20 mos service, commd 1st lt of inf; 1923-33 capt US army inf res; 1933- maj in NNG, QMC; Amer Leg, past post comm & past cc comm; UCT; AF&AM; secy Neb Service Mens League; Rep; hobby, NNG work; off Courthouse; res 721 Hancock, Holdrege.
GUSTIN, H A: Superintendent of Children's Home; b Bay City, Mich Aug 22, 1884; s of Alexander Anderson Gustin-Sophia, Johnson; ed Southwestern U, Georgetown Tex; m Ruby Anderson Jan 25, 1911 Manor Tex; m Ruby Anderson Jan 25, 1911 Manor Tex; s Dr Henry M; d Dorothy P; 1914- supt of Christian Children's Home, Holdrege; new $185,000 bldg erected; home usually cares for 100 children of all creeds & nationalities; Evang Free Church of Amer, mbr ministerial assn; res Holrege.
HAMILTON, HAROLD J: Hospital & Clinic Manager; b Oberlin, Kas Oct 21, 1910; s of Arthur E Hamilton-Myrtle M Hilton; ed Decatur Co Kas HS; m Caroline E Williams May 19, 1935 Norton Kas; 1934-36 emp in construction dept, Kas St highway commission, 1936-37 emp in administration dept at Norton Kas; 1937- mgr Brewster Hosp, Holdrege; 1938- mgr Brewster Clinic; C of C; Country Club; Kiwanis; AF&AM 146; Rep; hobby, golf; res 3 Park Ave, Holdrege.
HAMMOND, JAMES W: Publisher; b Nemaha
Co, Neb Apr 25, 1872; s of Robert Hammond-Martha Jane Hurst; ed
Cook HS; PSTC. m Charlotte; Wilcox Feb 8, 1899 Cook; s Dean 21; d
Opal (Mrs Warren A Girch, dec); 1892-94 publisher Fairbury
Journal; 1897-1904 publisher Cook Courier; 1904- 1921 publisher,
Cambridge Clarion; 1917 & 1919 Neb state sen; 1923- publisher
Holdrege Citizen, weekly paper when pur, 1932 tri-weekly, 1936
daily; NPA; past pres Rotary; Past dir C of C; Country Club; past
master AF&AM 146; IOOF; Rep, past chmn Phelps Co Central Com,
Rep' nominee for US Congress in 1934; hobbies, hunting, fishing;
parents homesteaded in Nemaha Co in 1871 & oprd Frontier Co
ranch 1882-1900; off 410 West Ave; res 301 Arthur, Holdrege.
Part 1: County history, bios (Anderson-Hammond) | Part 2 (Hanson-Winquist)
Who's Who in Nebraska (introduction & directory, list of abbreviations)
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