IOUX
COUNTY history dates back to a period prior to the time of
invasion of the wide prairies by Jim Dahlman and other Texas
rangers. During territorial days preceding 1867 there were no
definite boundaries. The west section was known as Beauvais Terras
or bad lands and the "county" was much larger than at present but
it had not been considered of sufficient importance to be given a
name.On March 1, 1867 Nebraska became a state and by an act of the legislature Sioux County came into existence. From the original Sioux County thirteen county organizations were created. At that time there was no county government and few white people to need one.
The first white people to visit Sioux County were probably the Mallet brothers. Then came the trappers and as early as 1845 Sage made a visit here in the interest of the American Fur Company. Next was the establishment of Fort Robinson and in the late seventies the first ranchmen came.
Emmons and Brewster are credited with building the first ranch about 1878 and located twelve or fifteen miles northwest of the present site of Harrison.
As distinguished from the ranchmen, the first real settlers arrived approximately 1881. They settled in the vicinity of Fort Robinson because of the protection it afforded. L. E. Beldon was the first of these settlers. Not many arrived, however, until 1885, when they too located along White river near Fort Robinson and another group settled in the Hat creek region.
Harrison, the present county seat and first a tent town, was laid out in the summer of 1886. Building of the Chicago and Northwestern line brought the first railroad within the county limits. Competition, was very keen for its location and furnished the main topic of conversation among those several communities that were seeking the line of survey.
Bodarc, a little settlement about twelve miles north of Harrison, provided lively competition. Before the building of the railroad the people on Hat creek dreamed of a city-to-be. John W. Hunter and C. F. Slingerland operated a store there. They wanted a post office and it needed a name. Hunter's little daughter was named "Oressa" and this was suggested as a name for the postoffice. Down in Texas the people of a small community were also asking for a post office and requested that it be called Bodarc. Inadvertently the department at Washington crossed the names and gave the Texas postoffice the name Oressa and the Sioux County postoffice the name Bodarc.
In June 1886 the railroad reached Harrison, then called Summit because of its high altitude which is 4,877,802 (sic) feet above sea level. This name was changed to Bowen by the railroad company but there was another town of Bowen in Nebraska and the name was later changed to Harrison. Following the arrival of the railroad a number of temporary stores were built near the station. These were generally boarded up a few feet from the ground and had tents or canvas for the tops. The first permanent building for merchandising purposes in the town was the Ranch Supply Store, a store as characteristic of the times as its name.
The first election in which there was any real contest was for the location of the county seat. The election was held the first week of January 1887. Localities seeking the location were Harrison (Bowen at that time), Andrews, Bodarc, Montrose and the S-E Ranch (John Anderson's now). Harrison and Bodarc were the principal contenders.
In the autumn of 1886 Slingerland and Hunter established the Bodarc Record, first newspaper in the county. For a time they made this little community a scene of great political activity. Prior to the election representatives from these two towns campaigned the scattered communities and Bodarc was confident of success. The Bodarc Record did not possess a job press so Slingerland rode horseback to Crawford to have tickets printed. Shortly before the election the Bodarc campaign managers dispatched workers to several of the polling places.
As ways of transportation were limited to teams and horseback, the workers started two days before the election. One of these men was Tom Bingay, old time cowboy, who had been assigned to work at Whistle Creek, some fifty miles distant. His pockets were filled with printed tickets for Bodarc. On his way to Whistle Creek he stopped over night in Harrison. Of course his mission was known there and it was deemed necessary to prevent the success of his purpose;. He was kept at the card table all night and generously supplied with liquor. The next morning he was given an additional bottle, helped on his horse and sent merrily on his way. He arrived at his destination, distributed the tickets and presented as best he could the claims of
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Bodarc. Then it was discovered the tickets were for Bowen.
Needless to say, Bowen received a large majority of votes in that
precinct.
The next election was rather quiet and nothing
out of the ordinary transpired. The real contest occurred in the
fall of 1890, the year following the incorporation of the town of
Harrison. The years 1887, 1888 and 1889 brought many settlers and
the factionalism which had its start between Ed Satterlee, county
attorney, and George Walker, who was also a lawyer. Satterlee was
identified with the so-called cattlemen, while Walker championed
the cause of the new settlers. Party policies were ignored, one
was either a "Holy Roller" or a "Mud Ringer," The former were led
by Ed Satterlee Judge Hunter and D. P. Davis and the latter by
George Walker, Con Lindeman and W. E. Patterson. The campaign was
very bitter and won by the People's Ticket or "Mud Ringers."
After location of the county seat had been
definitely settled, there came another election typical of the
west in the early days. It was proposed to bond Bowen precinct for
$10,000 to build a courthouse at Harrison. Bodarc had then become
a part of Bowen precinct, but they had not yet forgiven the people
of Harrison for the part they played in the election that won for
Harrison the county seat. They were therefore bitterly opposed to
this bond and gathered all their voters to go solidly against it.
Strange to say, when the votes were counted there were less than
ten votes against the bonds. It developed some years later that
this was what happened:
The election was held in the shoe shop of Mike
Brunck. When the polls closed at six o'clock in the evening, all
the members of the election board went to supper with the
exception of one who was left to watch the ballot box. The room
was dark, as the only light was from one small coal oil lamp.
Several interested men came into the shop under pretext of
learning the results of the election, but the count had not yet
been made as they well knew.
As they went out the door, the lamp was
"accidently overturned." There was a great deal of confusion in
attempting to right the lamp and prevent an explosion. In this
confusion the ballot box used in the election was exchanged for a
prepared box that contained the desired votes.
In 1888 the first courthouse in Sioux County was
completed, much of the lumber used was native material, and the
bricks were burned on one of the nearby creeks. The old building
weathered Nebraska storms and winds for a period of forty-two
years, and was not without its sentiments and memories. For
several years the courtroom provided a place for dancing. It was
the day of the square dance and loud were the calls of "Promenade
All" and "Cheat or Swing." Later the county commissioners declared
this to be an unnecessary strain upon the building and the
practice was discontinued.
When news of the Indian uprising reached
Harrison, many panic stricken homesteaders brought their families
to town and found protection within the brick walls of the
courthouse. The call went out for help and federal aid was
received in the form of heavy guns and ammunition. Some of these
guns are still in the community and in the possession of pioneers
who were here at the time. Fortunately the Indians were conquered
and the guns were not used for the purpose intended.
At this time the people who lived in the valley
north of Harrison constructed a fort at the Joseph Morris ranch
along Sowbelly creek and now known as the Nick Schaefer ranch. The
Morris family came here in 1885, their daughter Sadie being the
first white child born in Sioux County.
Built of logs, the fort was about sixty feet
long and thirty feet wide. Much of the material used in its
construction was donated as was the labor. When builders ran short
of material, the logs that were being used in the new schoolhouse
were removed and used for the fort. Among those who helped build
the fort were F. M. Hall, M. J. Carroll, John C. Eberspecher, Will
Hall, Albert Hill and H. T. Zerbe. It was the one place of
protection in the valley and large groups of settlers congregated
there. Mr. Morris made a trip to the telegraph office at Harrison
each day to learn the latest reports, thus keeping his neighbors
posted. A horse was kept saddled day and night to be used in the
event of an emergency.
A breastwork was also constructed at Montrose at
this time. A few years ago a monument was erected to designate the
spot.
Much of the history of Sioux County is recorded
in its newspaper records. As in many other frontier communities,
there were bitter feuds between rival newspapers. Ed Satterlee
established the Sioux County Herald in 1886. Under the direction
of W. E. Patterson The Sioux County Journal came into existence in
1888. About this time Slingerland of the Bodarc Record who was
referred to as "The Bucktown Dude" (because he wore a Prince
Albert coat) went east and his paper was merged with the
Herald.
Ed Satterlee and George Walker both aspired to
the office of county attorney. Patterson of the Journal championed
the cause of Walker and this added new fuel to the smoldering
fires of rivalry between the two papers. Even after Satterlee was
elected to the office, the feud continued to wax hot.
It was a day when personal opinions were freely
voiced in print. Bitter as the feud was between the two
newspapers, it was not without its amusing side. W. H. Davis set
the type for both papers and printed them on the same press.
In the early days of Sioux County before the
Kinkaid Law of 1904 was enacted, this was the cattleman's
paradise; old time cattlemen say it was the best cattle country in
the world. It was the day of the open range, large ranches, and
great herds of
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cattle unhampered by fences roamed the prairies at will.
The first of May marked the official opening of
the General Spring Roundup. It was open to all who cared to
participate in this annual event and was for the purpose of
gathering in all the stray cattle. One of the worst blizzards in
the history of Sioux County occurred on the day of the General
Roundup in 1887. Hundreds of cattle were lost and stockmen
suffered large financial losses. One old cow puncher gave vent to
his vexation by pelting a chirping meadowlark with snowballs. He
said "the bird had no right to be so happy on such a mournful
occasion."
In the fall all the outfits went out on the
cattle roundup and drove in their beef cattle for market. It was
not uncommon for one hundred fifty to three hundred horses to be
used in these roundups. Each rider, because it would be necessary
to change horses three times during the day, was provided with a
string of seven to eleven horses. Each cowboy usually owned one
horse; however, he was never required to take that on the roundup.
Representatives, or "Reps" as they were known, came from ranches
as far north as Montana and took part in these roundups. Often
there would be only one from each ranch. After his employer's
cattle had been gathered up, he would begin the long drive home,
stopping at the scatered (sic) ranch houses along the way for a
few days rest.
The strays in the roundup were purchased by
stockmen and the money derived from these sales went into the
funds of a Stockmen's Protective Association to pay salaries of
cattle detectives. An unbranded calf separated from its mother was
known as a "maverick." Any person who was known to pick up
unbranded stock was considered a rustler. It was impossible for
him to find a job and even the hospitable chuck wagon denied him
welcome.
For a time the herd or fence law was optional.
Sioux County defeated an attempt to pass the herd law by importing
a number of Wyoming cowboys to vote against it, but the big
cattlemen were playing a losing game. The coming of the new
settlers had forced many of them to move their herds westward.
When the herd law was repealed by the state it marked the decline
of the old time cattle king.
The first years of settlement from 1885 to 1888
were good years and Sioux County was looked upon as an excellent
country for farming, but the years following 1899 brought
prolonged dry weather and discouragement. A few of the settlers
grew tired of the struggle and returned east but most of them
remained because they did not have the money to leave. Despite the
so-called depression, few people were in debt; it was impossible
to borrow enough money to be in debt.
The story is told of one family who found
themselves in such financial straits they were unable to purchase
a postage stamp when they wished to write relatives for aid. They
remembered a penny had been dropped through the cracks in the
floor into the cellar below the house. In their efforts to recover
the lost penny, they sifted all the loose sand in the cellar.
Many of the men and boys were forced to seek
employment in the coal mines in the winter or work in the timber
during the summer months and a few found work putting up hay. This
was before the day of alfalfa and the scattered patches of native
grass provided this work for only a limited time.
At that time a land tax was not levied. Most
people were unable to pay their personal taxes and this resulted
in a very small state apportionment for schools which were of
three or four months terms. Teachers' salaries ranged from $25 to
$30 a month and in order to cash their warrants at all, they often
discounted them to the bank for as much as 25 percent.
There were few commercial amusements and little
money to spend had there been any of our present day
entertainments, so they created their own. On the Fourth of July
1887, all roads led to Harrison. Pine trees were brought in from
the canyons and set up around the streets to provide shade for the
many who had gathered to celebrate. The program consisted of the
usual "speakin'." The Declaration of Independence was read and
again pronounced the world's greatest masterpiece. In the
afternoon a ball game between the "Sowbelly Nine" and the "Town
Nine" was the center of attraction. The day would not have been
complete without a dance. Pine boughs roofed the bowery and here
to the tune of old time "fiddlin'" the "young bucks" danced into
the wee small hours of the morning.
Nor was Sioux County denied the pleasures of the
well known literary society. People traveled many miles to attend.
Spelling bees, recitations and debates were the order of the day.
The champion speller was soon discovered and then was hard put to
defend his laurels. Such poems as "The Ride of Paul Revere" and
"The Boy Stood on the Burning Deck" were delivered with great
dramatic appeal.
Frequently a meeting of this kind turned into a
dance. Everyone contributed something for refreshments and the
musicians took turns fiddling. After the Indian scare, the old
fort at the Joe Morris ranch became a favorite place for
dances.
There was little formality about most of these
early dances and typical western hospitality prevailed. One old
timer issued his invitations by placing the following notice in
the newspaper:
"Jacob Marking will give a genuine German Ball
Monday evening, March 4 to which all are invited who will be
gentlemanly and conduct themselves as gentlemen should. Free beer
will be furnished the guests. Good music and a genuine good time
is sure to be had."
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Sioux County was part of that last great
frontier, an earlier America than we have today, it was a part of
that phase of our national life we shall never experience again.
Many of the old pioneers have passed on and we see them today as
moving shadows across the pages of a book, or in the voices of a
legend. But they will remain because their lives have made
history. Despite the many hardships and privations which those
early settlers endured, the first old timer is yet to tell you
these were not the happiest days of his life. They enjoyed life
because they lived each day to the best of their ability and
thanked their Creator for the promise of a tomorrow.
ANDERSON, JOHN A: Rancher; b Oslo, Norway
July 8, 1866; s of Andrew Leeden; ed Colo; m Emma Walker Feb 15,
1892 Harrison; d Mable (Mrs Max Federle), Nell (Mrs Vern
Marstellar), Laura (Mrs Philip Unitt), Jess (Mrs W B Newell),
Grace (Mrs Jess Gerlach); 1881 came to Neb; 1881-98 emp by War
Bonnet Livestock Co; 1898-1916 owner & opr War Bonnet ranch;
1916 moved to Harrison, continued to opr ranch until 1933; now
leases ranch; AF&AM; hobby, reading; res Harrison.
ASHBROOK, HARRY HOUSTON: Rancher &
Stockman; b St Louis, Mo Dec 18, 1873; s of Levi L Ashbrook-Julia
Letcher; ed St Louis; Kas St Agr Coll, Manhattan 1890-92; m Myrtle
Douglass Oct 8, 1913 Denver; 1888-92 with brothers in cattle bus
near Douglas Wyo; 1892-96 moved to Niobrara River Valley &
oprd Ashbrook Brothers Flying V ranch; 1896-1902 emp by livestock
commission firms in Kansas City stockyards; 1902-12 with brothers
in cattle bus Sioux Co; 1912- mgr cattle bus; owns 900 A &
leases other lands; specialist in high grade Hereford cattle;
1934- resides in Mitchell; Neb Stockgrowers Assn; Sandhill Feeder
Cattle Producers Assn; BPOE; Episc Ch; Dem; hobby, baseball; res
2002 Broadway, Mitchell.
COFFEE, GUY HYMAN: Rancher; b Sioux Co,
Neb Dec 7, 1893; s of Samuel Buffington Coffee-Elizabeth Tisdale;
ed Chadron HS; CSTC 1911; U of N 1912-13, football man 1913; Alpha
Tau Omega; m Ila Florence Conn Oct 12, 1915 Pine Ridge S D;
1913-15 ranched; 1915- VP & gen mgr of Coffee Cattle Co,
Chadron; V O N brand in Coffee family since 1885; specialist in
registered Hereford cattle; Neb Stockgrowers Assn; Amer Hereford
Assn; Sandhill Feeder Cattle Producers Assn; Amer Natl Livestock
Assn: Meth Ch; Dem; hobbies, football; fishing, hunting; res RFD
Harrison.
COFFEE, JOHN TONEY: Banker & Rancher;
b Cheyenne, Wyo June 23, 1882; s of Charles Franklin
Coffee-Virginia Ashland Toney; ed Chadron Neb HS; Chadron Acad;
Bellevue Coll 1897; Doane Coll; m Emma Martha Sagert 1910 Omaha
(dec 1914); m Hazel Berry Feb 25, 1921 St Charles Mo; s John T,
William B; d Jane Mardell; 1888 came to ranch near Harrison with
parents; 1897-1902 emp on ranches; 1902-35 opr Hat Creek ranch
with father; holds controlling interest; 1935 pres Sioux Natl Bank
of Harrison; interest in Wyo ranches; breeds Hereford cattle; Neb
Stockgrowers Assn; Wyo Stockgrowers Assn; Sandhill Feeder Cattle
Producers Assn; mbr town bd; past mbr sch bd; AF&AM
32o; Dem; office Sioux Bank; res Harrison.
COOK, HAROLD JAMES: Paleontologist,
Geologist; b Cheyenne, Wyo July 31, 1887; s of James Henry
Cook-Kate C Graham; ed U of N, 1907-08; Columbia U 1909-10; lab
research Amer Museum Natural History N Y 1909-10; Sigma Gamma
Epsilon; Phi Sigma; Delta Sigma; m Eleanor Barbour Oct 13, 1910
Lincoln; d Margaret, Dorothy, Winifred, Eleanor; rancher in Neb
since boyhood; 1906- Neb St geological survey; 1909 field staff
Amer Museum Natural History; 1925-30 curator paleontology, Colo
Museum Natural History, Denver; 1925-26 special lecturer CSTC,
1929 Western St Coll, Colo; part owner & dir Cook Museum of
Natural History; 1934-35 custodian Scotts Bluff National Museum;
consulting geologist; co-author Fossil Vertebrates in Amer Museum
of Natural History, 1915; also articles giving results of
discoveries made by himself & others in fossil fields of Neb
& Colo, among them New Trails of Ancient Man, New Geological
& Paleontological Evidence Bearing on the Antiquity of Man in
Amer; discovered in Neb Hesperopithecus haroldcookii Osborn,
"oldest known near relative of the human race"; Neb St Park Bd;
Neb Academy of Science; Colo, Wyo Academy of Science; Neb St Hist
Soc; Southwestern Colo Archeological Soc; Natl Inst Social
Sciences; Amer Assn Petroleum Geologists; Amer Inst Mining &
Metallurgical Engineers, Soc Economic Paleontologists;
Archeological Inst Amer; Paleontological Soc Amer; Internatl Soc
Archeology; Amer Nature Assn; Amer Soc Mammalogists; hon life mbr
Amer Museum Natural History; fellow AAAS; hon mbr Tex
Archeological & Paleontological Soc; U of N Alumni Assn; res
Agate.
COOK, JAMES HENRY: Rancher; b Kalamazoo,
Mich Aug 26 1857; s of Henry Cook-Elizabeth Shaw; father was capt
Royal British Navy; grandfather South Seas explorer; ed Kalamazoo;
m Katherine Graham Sept 28, 1886 Cheyenne Wyo; s Harold James,
John Graham (dec 1919); at age of 11 expert rifle shot &
tester, Mich; at age of 12 shipped as sailor with Capt Charley
Sands from St Joseph, Mich; spent several mos as sailor, then left
ship at Chicago; joined another boy in Ind, went to Fort
Leavenworth, both obtained job at Port Harker as cattle herders;
1870-77 worked in Texas as cowboy, hunting wild cattle for
slaughter holdings; made 3 major cattle drives from Tex N on old
Chisholm trail & other routes, helped lay out some of major
cattle trails from Tex; helped drive first herd of beef cattle to
Fort Robinson, Neb 1874; 1877 quit trail on last trip to Ogallala,
went to Cheyenne, became market hunter; with "Wild Horse" Charley
Alexander as ptr, supplied meat for RR house & hotels in
Cheyenne during bldg of UP RR; became guide for numerous hunting
parties of English sportsmen, including Paul du Chaillu, Harold C
Wilson; 1882 with latter & Montague Stevens owner & mgr
ranch in N M, Socorro Co; guided U S troops in Mogollon Mts during
Apache Indian wars & during campaign against Geronimo; 1886
pur 0-4 ranch on Niobrara R, then in Cheyenne Co, renamed Agate
Springs ranch, now 13,000 A Sioux Co, son Harold now ptr; 1886
married & took wife to ranch 1887, res there since; 1891 scout
under Gen Miles when battle of Wounded Knee occurred: owner famous
collection Plains Indians trophies, largely gifts from groups of
Cheyenne & Sioux Indians who have made annual trips to ranch
since 1891; res Agate.
DAVIS, ARCHIE CLARENCE: Abstractor; b
Ord, Neb Nov 15, 1886; s of John S Davis-Alice A Hutchins; ed
Harrison HS 1904; Grand Island Bus Coll 1904-06; m Nell Mae
McClerey Oct 25, 1911 Harrison; d Thea Fay, Bonnie Jean; 1906-10
clk in father's store; 1910-16 partner in Davis & Sons Merc;
1916 sold store; 1916-17 collector; 1917-18 dep co clk & emp
by abstracting co; 1919-21 pur abstract co of Pontius &
Schnurr, renamed A C Davis Abstract; 1921-39 Sioux Co clk &
clk of dist court; 1939- abstractor; Neb Title Assn; Amer Title
Assn; Neb St Assn of Co Commrs, Co Clks, Co Registers of Deeds
& Co Highway Commrs; Comm Club; Harrison Golf Club; past
master AF&AM; IOOF; MWA; Rep; hobby, baseball; off Courthouse;
res Harrison.
DAVIS, GEORGE W: Rancher; b Jackson Co,
Ia Feb 22, 1868; s of Henry W Davis-Catherine O'Conner; ed Ia; m
Elizabeth Sutton Mar 26, 1890 Sioux Co; s George Lewis (dec); d
Helen (Mrs Forest Porter), Cora Ellen (dec); 1878 came to Neb,
stayed with uncle at Cambridge; 1880-82 emp on ranch near Platte
City; 1882-83 worked for cattle cos in Dawes Co & Mont;
1884-87 worked for cattle co near Lusk Wyo; 1885 filed on
homestead in Sioux Co; 1888 worked for cattle co, Wyo; 1888-1904
homesteaded on & near Wyo St line; 1904- rancher near
Harrison; Cheyenne Stockgrowers Assn; past mbr sch bd several
years; Sioux Co commr 4 years; MWA; Meth Ch; Rep; hobbies, riding,
horses, cattle; res Harrison.
HALL, FRANCIS MATHEW: County Treasurer; b
Steamboat Rock, Ia Nov 16, 1867; s of Samuel W Hall-Eliza M
Coleman; ed Lehigh Ia HS 1886; m Sarah Ann Rickard (dec); s Floyd
L, Frank W; d Nellie M (Mrs Robert J Rymill), Sarah Belle; m
Minnie E Crane Sept 23, 1924 Julesburg, Colo; 1887-1930 ranched
Sioux Co; 1930- Sioux Co treas; Neb Assn of Co Treas; past
master
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Who's Who |
AF&AM; Rep; office Courthouse; res Harrison.
HANSON, JOHN A: Rancher; b Jonkoping,
Sweden Mar 9, 1867; s of Hans Jonason-___; ed Sweden; m Ida Sides
July 1, 1896 Chadron; s Guy W, Frank; d Ruby (Mrs Harlan Labor),
Florence (Mrs Wayne Heckert), Helen (Mrs Neil Holmes), Clara (Mrs
A C Tibbets), Edna; 1880 came to USA with brother, res Ia; 1888-98
emp by FE& MV RR as section foreman; 1898- ranched &
raised Hereford cattle, Sioux CO; WOW; IOOF; Luth Ch; hobby,
ranching; res Harrison.
LACY, JOHN H: Rancher; b Ontario, Canada
Jan 7, 1867; s of Patrick Lacy-Elsie Hudgins; ed Story Co Ia; m
Matilda Dieckmann July 26, 1892 Ida Grove Ia; s John Henry,
Chester, Lloyd L; d Elsie May (dec); 1893-94 farmer, Ida Co Ia;
1895-1902 ranched in Sioux Co; 1902-03 farmer, Kas; 1903-12 in
lbr, hdw & impl bus, Harrison; 1912- rancher, Sioux Co; past
mbr sch bd several years; org sch dist & built schoolhouse
during first 7 years of res in Sioux Co; 1912-21 Sioux Co commr;
1921-27 highway commr; raised Belgian draft horses several years;
IOOF; hobbies, horses, reading; res Harrison.
MUMBY, WENDELL E: County Attorney, b
Saline Co, Neb Mar 16, 1906; s of George H Mumby-Emma Truka; ed
Sterling HS 1922; U of N, LLB 1928; Pi Kappa Phi; Phi Alpha Delta;
m Edna Dorsh June 3, 1928 Sterling; s Keith, Charles; 1928- prac
law, Sioux Co; 1930- Sioux Co atty; -mbr law firm of Schurr &
Mumby, now city atty; 16th Judicial Dist & Neb St Bar Assns;
mbr city coun; bd of edn 2 years; chmn Sioux Co ARC; Comm Club;
IOOF 318; trustee Meth Ch; Rep, co chmn; pres Sioux Co Y R Club;
hobbies, fishing, golf; office Courthouse; res Harrison.
PONTIUS, MRS MAUDE: Homemaker; b Crete,
Neb Aug 16, 1879; d of John Biron-Mary Pflager; ed Crete HS 1897;
Doane Coll, Crete; LBC; m William Elmer Pontius May 21, 1908
Douglas Wyo; 1900-02 emp by Griswold Seed Co, Lincoln; 1902-08
secretarial work, Omaha, Denver, Chicago; 1909-11 merc bus, Orin
Wyo; 1911-29 homemaker, co assessor & abstractor; 1929-38 P M
Harrison; 1933-homemaker; chmn, secy, treas of Harrison ARC since
orgn; chmn Project Club 3 years.; OES Crawford; treas Ladies Aid
Meth Ch; hobby, reading; res Harrison.
POWELL, TRESSIE MERWIN: Hardware &
Implement Dealer; b Knoxville, Ill Feb 29, 1884; s of John J
Powell-Ione Lotts; ed Pawnee Co; m Edith Collamore Aug 21, 1911
Hot Springs S D; s William M; d Georgia A, Arline; 1906-08 emp on
ranches; 1909-19 emp by C H Unitt hdw & lbr bus; 1919-owner
& opr J H Bieser Hdw & Impl Store, Harrison; mayor &
councilman 25 years; treas Sioux Co Fair Assn; Comml Club; IOOF
218; AF&AM 277; Meth Ch; hobbies, hunting & fishing; res
Harrison.
ROHWER, EGGERT: Rancher; b Rendsburg,
Germany June 16, 1857; s of Henry Rohwer-Anna M Sievers; ed,
Germany; m Maria Louise Schwartz Nov 4, 1884 Atlantic Ia; s Edward
E, George V; d Elsie M (Mrs Albert Schnurr), Edna H (Mrs Cyrus
Wertz); 1874-80 came to U S, located & farmed near Atlantic
Ia; 1880-84 in hotel bus; 1884-87 various jobs; 1887-97 opr hotel,
grain store, meat market, harness shop, Harrison; 1897 sold hotel,
retaining other businesses until 1904; 1898-rancher & stock
raiser; in state militia during Indian wars; mbr village bd; mbr
co bd several years; dir sch bd; WOW; Luth Ch; hobbies, trees,
birds; res Harrison.
SANDFORD, JOSEPH LA COUNT: Banker &
Retired Rancher; b Sullivan Co, Mo June 30, 1865; s of William
Sandford-Barbara Fairley; m Dilla Kinner Jan 19, 1887 Terre Haute,
Mo (dec 1926); s Joseph W: d Bessie F (Mrs W M Lee), Grace M (Mrs
F M Elliott); 1886-96 in cattle bus, Neb & Black Hills S D;
1896- built up extensive holdings in grazing lands & Hereford
cattle; 1939- ret, turned bus over to children; 1925-37 dir First
Natl Bank, Morrill, 1937- pres; 1925- pres First Natl Bank,
Mitchell; past mbr exec bd, mbr 40 years Neb Stockgrowers Assn;
Sandhill Feeder Cattle Producers Assn; past master 3 times
AF&AM 263, Scot Rite, Tangier Shrine; Rep; off First Natl
Bank; res 1727 Broadway, Mitchell.
SERRES, JOHN: Rancher; b Luxemburg,
Germany Feb 2, 1852; s of Andrew Serres-Margaret Merch; ed
Germany; m Mary Katherine Ruffing July, 1881 Milwaukee Wis; s John
S, Edward John; d Emma Mary (Mrs M J O'Connel), Hattie Ann (Mrs L
F Gayheart), Lena K (Mrs Barney Zum), Elizabeth Ann (Mrs P J
Konrath), Rose Theresa; 1872 came to Milwaukee from Germany with
brother Stephen, emp on farms, Waukesha Co Wis; 1879-80 worked on
farms in Neb; 1880 logger in Mich; 1880-85 farmer, also street car
conductor, Milwaukee; 1885-90 farmer & cattle raiser Sioux Co;
1890-1937 rancher; 1937- ret, son Jim now opr ranch; Sioux Co Agrl
Assn; past co treas; past appraising assessor; past dir sch bd;
Cath Ch; Dem; hobbies, ranching, reading; res Harrison.
UNITT, PHILIP HENRY: Hardware &
Lumber Dealer; b Harrison, Neb Apr 20, 1896; s of Charles Henry
Unitt-Clara Jane Melosh; ed Harrison HS 1916; m Laura Anderson
June 6, 1920 Harrison; s Philip Henry Jr; 1920-36 with father in
hdw & lbr bus, Harrison; 1936- opr bus indep; during World War
1917-19 mbr 338th field arty U S army; Amer Leg; mbr city coun;
treas & mbr municipal band; Comml Club; mbr vol fire dept;
AF&AM 277; Meth Ch; hobbles, hunting, golf, music; res
Harrison.
WHITEAKER, EMMETT E: Clothier; b
Maysville, Mo Dec 3, 1901; s of Emery C Whiteaker-Lucinda Redman;
ed Maysville Mo HS 1921; Chillicothe Mo Bus Coll 1922-23; m Mary
Elaine Reed Nov 5, 1928 Beatrice; s Robert R, Donald E, Joe L;
1923-24 ptr of Homer P Yeater in Maysville Drug Store; 1924-25 mgr
clothing dept for H Swike Merc Co, Maysville Mo; 1925-28 clk,
Golden Rule Store, Crawford; 1928-30 mgr Golden Rule Store,
Harrison; 1930-32 mgr Crawford Golden Rule Store; 1932- owner
& opr Whiteaker Store, Harrison: pres Comm Club; pres Lions;
Harrison Golf Club; past mbr town bd; AF&AM; trustee Meth Ch;
Rep; hobbies, guns, hunting, fishing; office Whiteaker Store; res
Harrison.
WILHERMSDORFER, JUSTIN HENRY: County
Judge; b Henderson Co, Ill Oct 16, 1866; s of Solomon
Wilhermsdorfer-Mary Martha Kness: ed Fairfield Ia; m Zua Bowman
Oct 24, 1893 Fairfield Ia; s Moritz N; 1883-1901 farmed in Ia;
1901-04 homesteaded under Kinkaid Act in Sioux Co; also in harness
& saddle bus, Harrison; 1904-08 & 1919- Sioux Co judge;
1907-11 P M, Harrison; past mbr sch bd, Ia; mbr town bd, Harrison;
Comm Club: org IOOF, Harrison 318, past noble grand 2 times, 1906-
secy; AF&AM 277, master; Chris Sci Ch; Rep; hobbies, hunting,
fishing; off Courthouse; res Harrison.
ZERBE, HARRY THOMAS: Retired Rancher; b
Westmoreland City, Penn Feb 2, 1849; s of Michael Zerbe-Susan
Moatz; ed Stark Co, O; m Alice Elizabeth Bixby 1878 Nevada Ia; s
Glen M, Loren H (dec), Frank; d Allie May (dec), Mable L, Ruth V;
1867-76 farmer in Ohio, learned carp trade, Canton O; came west
& worked as carp; 1876-79 with brother Frank as contr &
builder in Des Moines & Nevada Ia; 1879-86 contr & builder
in Marshalltown & Estherville Ia; 1886 located in Sioux Co
near Harrison; 1891-1938 builder in S D, opr first lbr yards at
Harrison & Whitney, contr & builder; 1938 ret; past mbr
AOUW; past dir sch bd dist 6; Dem; hobbies, contracting, building;
res Harrison.
1062
Who's Who in Nebraska (introduction & directory, list of abbreviations)
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