Ulysses is situated on the Burlington & Missouri Railroad, in the extreme southern portion of the county, just half-way between Seward and David City, a distance of sixteen miles from either point; located in the valley of the Blue, just south of the two forks of the river, on a gradual inclined lay of land, overlooking the picturesque scenery of the valley. The surrounding country is beautiful in the extreme. Far as the eye can reach, a rolling, billowy landscape is seen, checkered with the squares of emerald wheat and waving corn, of finely cultivated farms, while good substantial homesteads indicate the homes of a refined, intelligent and well-to-do people. The valley attains its broadest extent at this point, and a prettier site for a town could hardly be found. The Blue on either side is lined with heavy timber, including a great many varieties. Its waters are well supplied with the smaller species of fish, and afford ample water-power at this point. In June, 1868, the town site was laid out in a romantic little nook among the trees on the south bank of the Big Blue, and has steadily improved during each succeeding year, being now second in size and importance. J. M. Palmer and George McCarty were the original owners of the town site, which was surveyed by W. T. Richardson. Messrs. George McCarty and Robert Reed opened the first store with a stock of general merchandise in 1868, and in 1871 a second store was inaugurated by Messrs. W. R. Davis and J. N. Batty. Mr. Robert Reed withdrew from the firm of McCarty & Reed in 1873, and opened a store with a stock of general merchandise, making the third business house. Dr. S. T. W. Thrapp was the first physician to locate in the southern portion of the county, and opened his office at Ulysses in 1873. Park O. Dobson erected the first frame house in 1870, and George Reed the first hotel (the Reed House) several years later.

Manufacturing interests are represented by the Ulysses Flouring-Mill. This mill is an excellent new-process grist and flouring mill. In size, it is 26x60, three stories in height. The river at this point affords a water-power of nine feet head, equal to seventy-five horse-power. It was built by Messrs. George McCarty and J. M. Palmer in 1868 as a saw-mill, and subsequently was furnished as a flouring and grist mill. It now has three sets of buhrs, and all machinery necessary for the complement of a full and complete mill of a capacity of 100 barrels per day. The present proprietor is Mr. Edward Cooper.

Banking interests are well represented by the Ulysses State Bank. It was incorporated July 15, 1881, with a capital of $50,000. S. D. I. Emmerson, of Milford, President; Cyrus F. Wyandt, Vice President; Arthur Hale, Cashier. This bank, in addition to its other business, has large real estate transactions.

One steam elevator, with a capacity for handling 9,000 bushels of grain per day, and one operated by horse-power capable of handling 4,000 bushels per day, indicate the principal business interest, but all branches of the trade are fully and impartially represented. To show the amount of business done, we present a statement of freight received and forwarded during the year 1881, as presented by Mr. C. M. Rice, station agent of the Burlington & Missouri Railroad, which does not include freight received by local cars:

Freights received per number of car-loads--Coal, 93; lumber, 72; stone, 22; emigrant outfits, 12; cattle, 7; horses, 3; hogs, 1; farm machinery, 1; brick, 6; corn, 5; salt, 4; total, 299.

Forwarded--Wheat, 99; corn, 108; hogs, 75; cattle, 4; emigrant outfits, 2; flax, 1; mill feed, 1; potatoes, 1; barley, 1; sand, 2; total, 294. The amount received for freights per month will average $3,000.

Ulysses was incorporated as a town June 2, 1881, with the following Trustees: A. N. Niles, President; George Reed, Jasper Roberts, C. B. Wilson, Samuel Strowman.

Ulysses possesses a school building erected in 1877 at a cost of $3,000, well furnished with patent desks and all necessary apparatus. It is now in charge of Prof. V. E. Reese, and has a full attendance of pupils.

The Ulysses Dispatch, a weekly journal published every Tuesday, issued its first number May 6, 1880, under the auspices of its present proprietor and founder, Mr. C. H. Challis. In political sentiment, it is an able supporter of the Republican standard, and its influence has done much in upbuilding the town.

Fortitude Lodge, No. 69, A., F. & A. M., was organized under a dispensation issued from the Grand Lodge April 24, 1877, with the following members, viz: O. Bradson, Thomas Carr, Sumner Darnell, David Reed, George Miller, Madison Rodgers, A. Roberts. The officers appointed by the Grand Master were: George Miller, W. M.; Madison Rodgers, S. W.; S. Darnell, J. W.; J. W. Shields, Treasurer; Thomas Carr, Secretary; J. C. Sullivan, S. D.; W. T. Shields, J. D.; O. Bradson, Tiler. A charter was granted October 30, 1878, and its roll bears the names of the following charter members: A. Roberts, Sumner Darnell, Madison Rodgers, A. B. Jones, George McCarty, W. H. Dobson, J. W. Shields, W. T. Shields, George Lord, J. W. Thrailkill. The lodge is in good working order, with a membership of twenty-nine, under its present officers: George Miller, W. M.; Sumner Darnell, S. W.; A. C. Barrett, J. W.; Robert Reed, Treasurer: R. M. Rankin, Secretary; G. W. Barrett, S. D.; W. H. Bowett, J. D.; W. N. Reid, Tiler.

Lodge No. 68, I. O. O. F., instituted March 22, 1878, by Grand Master D. E. Cline, of the Grand Lodge of Nebraska, under a dispensation of the same date. The charter members are James Darnell, Stephen Roberts, George Reed, M. H. Mitchell, C. C. Davis, W. Y. Turner, P. G. Dobson, W. H. Dobson, Sumner Darnell, J. W. Shields. The officers elected at the first meeting of the lodge are: W. Y. Turner, Noble Grand; J. W. Shields, Vice Grand; Stephen Roberts, Secretary; James Darnell, Treasurer. This lodge is in a good working condition and extremely prosperous. The present officers are: W. Y. Turner, Noble Grand; J. W. Shields, Vice Grand; S. Roberts, Secretary; James Darnell, Treasurer.

Farnsworth Post, No. 73, G. A. R., Department of Nebraska, received its charter August 19, 1881, bearing the names of the following charter members: W. H. Stone, Company K, Thirty-fourth Illinois; F. M. Wimberley, Company H, First Iowa Cavalry; E. Holderness, Company B, Eighth Illinois Cavalry; Madison Rodgers, Company K, One Hundred and Fifty-second Indiana; D. A. Wynegar, Company G, One Hundred and Forty-seventh Illinois; Joseph C. Lockhart, Company B, One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Illinois; Thomas Allen, Company D, One Hundred and Forty-seventh Indiana; Andrew Lamb, Company B, One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Illinois; John D. Bonner, Company B, Eighteenth Michigan; Edward M. Pugh, Company D, One Hundred and Second Illinois; George W. Handy, Company F, Eighth Connecticut; Joseph W. Talmage, Company A, First Indiana Heavy Artillery; G. F. Cook, Company B, One Hundredth Indiana; J. C. Coleman, Company E, Two Hundred and Ninth Pennsylvania; Thomas J. Phelps, Company F, Thirtieth Iowa; Hiram H. Miller, Company C, Eighth Illinois Cavalry; David Warner, Company K, One Hundred and Seventy-fourth Ohio; Lebbeus B. Woods, Company K, One Hundred and Forty-eighth Pennsylvania; James Darnell, Company G, Sixty-first Illinois; Sumner Darnell, Company F, Eighty-sixth Illinois; G. W. Lord Company D, Second Maine; Harrison W. Greene, Company A, Third Ohio Cavalry; Elijah J. Davis, Company I, Eighty-first Ohio; Samuel Strowman, Company A, First Indiana Heavy Artillery; I. D. Chamberlain, Company B. Eighteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry; W. D Cox, Company D, Forty-eighth Illinois; William Crosby, Company C, Eighty-third Illinois; A. O. Bishop, Company G, Eleventh Michigan; Henry Tobey, Company D, Seventy-fifth Illinois; F. W. Ludden, Company H. fifty-first Wisconsin. The first officers were: H. H. Miller, P. C.; Sumner Darnell, S. V. C.; Madison Rodgers, J. V. C.; J. D. Chamberlain, Adjutant; F. M. Wimberley, Chaplain; G. W. Lord, Surgeon; Samuel Strowman, Q. M.; W. H. Stone, Officer of the Day. The post is named in honor of Brig. Gen. Elon J. Farnsworth, who enlisted as a private in the Eighth Illinois Cavalry, was promoted to Captain, and from the rank of Captain, to Chief of Gen. Pleasanton's staff. From this he was raised to the rank of Brigadier General, and placed in command of Brig. Gen. Kilpatrick's division of cavalry. This brave and honored soldier was killed at the battle of Gettysburg, July 4, 1864. The post has forty members enrolled, and has a good financial standing. The regular meetings are held the first Saturday of every month, The present officers are: Madison Rodgers, P. C.; H. H. Miller, S. V. C.; H. W. Green, J. V. C.; James W. Talmage, Adjutant; Samuel Strowman, Q. M.; W. H. Stone, Officer of the Day; F. M. Wimberley, Chaplain; Henry Tobey, Surgeon.

The first Methodist Episcopal class organized near Ulysses was at Salem, about the year 1872, Rev. Mr. Burlingame in charge, and Rev. H. T. Davis, Presiding Elder. In the spring of 1873, Abraham Towner, a local preacher, settled at Ulysses and organized the Ulysses class, with J. H. Sherwood, Elizabeth Sherwood, Joshua Worley, Eliza Jane Worley and Hannah Smith as full members, and Dora Smith, Alice Sherwood, Catharine Strowman as probationers. Rev. J. R. Ried, the preacher in charge of the Ulysses mission, took up the work at this point and at Haynes, where a class had been formed during the previous year, as also at Carmel. Rev. Mr. Ried was in charge of this mission for two years and a half, and during this period, the time of meeting of the annual conference was changed from spring to fall.

Rev. A. J. Coombs succeeded Rev. Mr. Ried in the fall of 1874, but, early in his second year, was transferred to David City, and Rev. Joshua Worley, a local preacher, filled the appointments for the balance of the year.

Rev. D. C. Brannan was stationed here in 1876, and Rev. Dayton Andrus in 1877 and 1878. In the fall of 1879, Rev. W. T. Richardson, a local preacher, carried on the work until the spring of 1880, and Rev. Mr. Black, a local preacher, finished the year. In 1880, a lot was secured and a parsonage built.

The conference of 1880 sent Rev. J. G. Walker to Ulysses, who found the Salem and Carmel classes discontinued, and the Ulysses class holding their meetings in the schoolhouse, and trying to obtain a deed for the lot joining the parsonage, on which to erect a church; this was finally secured, at the fourth quarterly conference of this year, and the initiatory steps taken for building it.

Rev. M. Pritchard was Presiding Elder in 1877, and died while engaged in the work. He was succeeded by Rev. A. G. White in the fall of 1877, who had charge of the circuit until the fall of 1879. Rev. W. R. Jones was appointed Presiding Elder at the close of 1879, continuing his labors until the present Presiding Elder was appointed, in the fall of 1881.

The conference of 1881 divided the State into two conferences, the Platte River forming the dividing line, the southern portion still retaining the name of the Nebraska Conference. By this change, Ulysses was cut off from the Lincoln District, to which it had been attached, and made a part of the York District, with Rev. W. G. Miller, D. D., of Utica, as Presiding Elder.

The corner stone of the church was laid October 28, 1881, by Elder W. G. Miller, D. D., and is now nearly completed, the total cost reaching about $1,500.

The society at Ulysses has a membership of thirty, and the entire charge, seventy-five.

EDWARD COOPER, proprietor of the Ulysses Flouring Mills. This mill is situated on the west bank of the Big Blue River, three stories in height and 26x60 feet, furnished with three run of buhrs, and has a capacity of over one hundred barrels per day; is water-power, and has a head of nine feet fall equal to seventy-five horse-power. Mr. Cooper was born in Ohio March 24, 1839; came to Nebraska in the spring of 1874; in the spring following, he brought his family and settled in Seward, where he engaged at contracting and building; during this time he erected a large hotel at Seward, one of the finest in the State outside of Omaha or Lincoln, of which he was sole proprietor. In January, 1882, he traded his hotel with Mr. G. McCarty for his present mill property. Is a member of I. O. O. F., also Encampment, and K. of H. Was a soldier in the late war of the rebellion, enlisting at Davenport, Iowa, in August, 1861, with the Second Iowa Volunteer Cavalry, Company L, and served three years. Was married, in 1861, to Miss Emily J. Willis. Their family consists of five children, three sons and two daughters.

WILLIAM D. COX, Postmaster, came to Nebraska in 1871, and first settled in Seward County. Here he took up a homestead on Section 18, Town 12, Range 2 east, in Center Precinct; first starting in his sod house until he could earn means enough to make further improvements, passing through the critical period of the grasshopper pest with the rest of the old settlers. Here he resided until January, 1879, when he moved to Ulysses and took his present position. Was a soldier in the late war, enlisting at Washington County, Ill., in 1861, in the Forty-eighth Volunteer Infantry, Company D; served until the close of the war, and was commissioned to First Lieutenant during service. Is a member of G. A. R. and is a charter member of Farnsworth Post, No. 73, at Ulysses; is also a member of I. O. O. F., Ulysses Lodge, No. 68. Was born in Perry County, Ill., April 1, 1842.

WILLIAM CROSBY, general merchandise store, Ulysses, came to Nebraska in the summer of 1870, and located in Seward County, Center Precinct. Here he took a homestead. Here he resided improving his farm until the fall of 1879; then came to Ulysses and opened his present store, and was among the very first, to start a store after the completion of the railroad. He enlisted in the Eighty-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Company C, in 1862, and served until the close of the war. He is now a member of G. A. R., Farnsworth Post, No. 73, and was one of the charter members of said Post. Was born in Tazewell County, Ill., October 4, 1842.

FRANK A. DEAN, of the firm of Dean & Rankin, dealers in hardware and groceries, the firm consisting of Frank A. Dean and Robert M. Rankin. Mr. Dean being born in La Salle, Ill., September 28, 1855. Mr. Rankin was born March 2, 1852. These gentlemen came to Nebraska in January, 1880, and located at Ulysses, and opened a general merchandise store in February, 1880, in a building on the east side of the railroad track. Here they were engaged until September (the same year), when they completed their present building, which was the first store on the west side of the railroad, and is now the largest store building in the town--size, 22x60. This young firm, although they are but new beginners in the State, are among the leading merchants in the county. Mr. Rankin of this firm, is a member of A., F. & A. M., and is now Secretary of Fortitude Lodge, No. 69, at Ulysses.

D. C. HARRISON, school teacher and farmer, Section 19, Town 13, Range 3 east, Plum Creek Precinct, Butler County, was born in Scotland, March 20, 1848, emigrated to the United States with his parents in 1853, who settled in Cincinnati. Ohio. Went to Wisconsin in 1856, and removed to Hocking County, Ohio in 1858. Fall of 1863, D. C. enlisted in the late war of the rebellion at Nelsonville, Ohio, in the Ninety-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving one year. In 1865, removed to Iowa and followed freighting across the plains from Nebraska City to Denver during 1865 and 1866. Then he became a student in Tabor College. After leaving college, he engaged in teaching and farming in Iowa until 1878, when he removed to Nebraska, where he has since lived engaged in teaching school and farming.

ROBERT S. HIRSCH, M. D., druggist, Ulysses, came to Nebraska in 1873; settled at Seward, where he followed his profession a little over one year, when he went to Polk County, and took up a homestead. Here he remained improving his farm and practicing until August, 1879; then removed to Ulysses, and, in the spring following, started in the drug business, and is now the pioneer druggist of the town. Was born in Ladenburg, Germany, January 28, 1849. emigrated to the United States in June, 1867. Is a member of A., F. & A. M., Franklin Lodge, No. 447, of New York City; also I. O. O. F. Ulysses Lodge, No. 68.

HENRY HOPPE, manufacturer and dealer in harness and horse clothing, is a native of Germany, born April 7, 1854; emigrated to America in 1871, and came to Nebraska the same year, and located at Nebraska City. Here he learned his trade with the firm of Smith & McCollum; left them in 1874, and was engaged to work at his trade in various places until August, 1881, when he came to Ulysses and started the shop where he is now, and does a splendid business, and furnishes nothing but first-class work.

CHARLES A. HOWE, furniture and undertaker at Ulysses, came to Nebraska in the spring of 1871, and took a homestead in Union Precinct on Section 2, and has lived in Butler County most of the time since. In 1877, he made a visit in Schenectady County, N. Y., to his only brother, William Howe, whom he had not seen for twenty-nine years. He returned to Nebraska in 1880, and began his present business October 1, same year, He was born, January 16, 1848, at Waukegan, Ill.

GILALMOUS McCARTY, dealer in general merchandise, came to Nebraska in 1856, and located at Plattsmouth, where he engaged in various occupations until May 1, 1862. He took up a homestead there, which he continued to improve until the spring of 1869, at which date he removed to Butler County, and settled on Section 28, Town 13, Range 2 east, upon the present site of the village of Ulysses, of which Mr. McCarty has the honor of being the first settler and the founder of the town, and also being the first merchant and Postmaster, establishing the store the same year he located there, and has continued that business since. He founded the post office in the fall of the same year, and acted Postmaster up to 1879, when he was succeeded by William Cox, the present Postmaster. Mr. McC. is not only the pioneer merchant of Ulysses, but the oldest merchant in Butler County. In the fall of 1868, David Read came to Ulysses and erected a saw-mill on the site of the large grist mill, in which enterprise Mr. McC. became a partner, and August 26, 1874, he became sole proprietor, said mill being the first grist-mill in Butler County, which was changed from a saw-mill to a grist-mill in the year 1870. He enlisted as a soldier in the late war in the Fifth Missouri Volunteer Cavalry, in June 1862, and served about one year. Is a member of A., F. & A. M., Fortitude Lodge, No. 69, at Ulysses. Was married in 1857 to Miss Matilda Reed, who was born in Ireland, and has always been his constant companion in early pioneer duty, and ever ready to assist and comfort when at times, in the first settlement of the county, disadvantages arose which had a tendency to discourage them. Mr. McCarty is a native of Indiana, being born in Greencastle, Putnam County, October 16, 1839. It is worthy to note here that Mr. McCarty has always been willing to put a shoulder to the wheel and aid all public enterprises for the good of his county, and worked with that untiring energy that few men possess, and, as according to the old proverb, his reward will follow him to that eternal lodge above.

GEORGE MILLER, of the firm of Miller & Sons, proprietors of Surprise Flouring Mills, situated on the Big Blue River on Section 15, seven miles west of Ulysses in Read Precinct, P. O. Ulysses. This mill was erected by the above firm in 1881; is three stories high, 24x50, is furnished with three run of stone with all of the later improved machinery, and has fourteen feed head of power, equal to seventeen horse-power, with a capacity of thirty barrels per day. Mr. M. was born in Cumberland County, Penn., February 2, 1827; came to Nebraska in the fall of 1872, first locating at Seward, where he engaged at farming; this he followed for two years; then sold out and moved to Ulysses, and took charge of the Ulysses Flouring-Mills, remaining there for two years, afterward engaged in the millwright trade, working at various places until he erected their present mill. He is a member of the A., F. & A. M.; was a charter member of Fortitude Lodge, No. 69; was the first Master of said lodge when it worked under its dispensation.

HIRAM H. MILLER grain and stock dealer, was born in Trumbull County, Ohio, November 11, 1840; came to Nebraska in 1878, and located at Seward, where he followed various occupations until he came to Ulysses and engaged at his present business. He was married, in 1869, to Miss Anna Tobey, of Providence, R. I., who is now proprietress of the Ulysses millinery establishment and dress-making. Mr. M. was a soldier in the late war of the rebellion, enlisting September 1, 1862, in the Eighth Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, and served until July 22, 1865; was slightly wounded at the battle of Beverly Ford June 9, 1863 and again October 11, 1864 while in an engagement with the guerrillas at White Plains, Va.

HANS NELSON, pioneer hardware store at Ulysses, was born in Denmark April 10, 1841; emigrated to the United States in 1872, working in various places at common day labor until the spring of 1873, then came to Nebraska and settled in Seward County, where he bought a farm. This he continued to operate until the fall of 1879, when he came to Ulysses and opened the first hardware store in that town.

JAMES B. PARDOE, of the firm of Johnson & Pardoe, grain and live stock dealers, etc., and proprietors of the Ulysses Steam Elevator. The subject of this sketch came to Nebraska in 1871, first engaging in the lumber business with his father who furnished lumber all along the line of the B. & M. R. R., out as far as Hastings from Missouri River; this he followed until 1876; then went to Franklin County, Kan., and started in the grain business. Here he remained until he removed to Ulysses. This firm shipped the first car of grain out of that station December 10, 1879, to St. Louis, and received the first car of merchandise. The above firm have shipped 150 cars of grain and about twenty cars of live stock from September, 1881, to January 1, 1882. He was born in Westchester County, N. Y., February 16, 1855.

JAMES M. PALMER, farmer, Section 21, Ulysses Precinct, P. O. Ulysses; came to Nebraska, in 1867, when he took a trip across the plains with his own team, starting for Pike's Peak, but on his road he met lots of teams returning, pronouncing the country a failure, so they changed their course for California and Oregon, when on nearing the Pacific Coast the party divided, some going to North California, and the rest to Oregon, James S. taking the former course, and resided on the Pacific Slope for over seven years in Northern California and Oregon, engaged in various vocations until the fall of 1866, when he returned to Cass County, Neb., and, for the winter of 1866 and 1867, he spent in visiting his relations in the East. In the spring of 1867, returned to Nebraska; located on the farm he now owns on Section 22, Town 13, Range 2 east, Ulysses Precinct, where he has made his home since; was the second white settler in the precinct. He was elected County Commissioner in the fall of 1879. Has served as School Treasurer ever since the district was organized, except one term of three years. Was born in Windham County, Conn., January 27, 1835. Was married in Seward County, July 2, 1868, to Miss Prudence C. Roberts, daughter of John and Susan Roberts, who were among the early settlers of that county. Their family consisted of five children, three sons and two daughters.

GEORGE REED, farmer and proprietor of the Reed House at Ulysses, came to Nebraska in 1857, and settled at Plattsmouth, where he engaged at freighting across the plains from Plattsmouth to Denver in company with his brothers, in which business they had employed sixteen ox teams, six yoke of oxen making a team, taking usually about two months to make the trip. This he followed until 1864, when his brother Robert and himself bought 250 cows, for the purpose of taking them across the plains to go into stock-raising, but was compelled to abandon that on account of the Indian troubles which broke out in 1864 and 1866; so they brought them out on the Big Blue River for the purpose of wintering them, and, in the spring, they were so well satisfied with the country that they concluded to stay where they were; so they bought a large tract of land near the present town of Ulysses, where he still owns 640 acres, they being among the very first settlers in that part of the county. In 1874, Mr. George Reed built the first hotel at Ulysses. He was born in Ireland in 1836; left his native country with his parents, who located in Liverpool, England, when he was fourteen years of age; came to America in 1851 with his oldest brother, William. In the summer of 1855, his father and mother started for America, and upon arriving at New Orleans they both were taken sick with the yellow fever and died the same hour. The subject of this sketch was married June 17, 1864, to Miss Annie Dobson, who was also born in Ireland. His family consists of three sons. He is a member of I. O. O. F., and is a charter member of Ulysses Lodge, No. 68.

ROBERT REED, grocery store and real estate dealer at Ulysses. Mr. R. came to Nebraska in 1856, and settled at Plattsmouth. Here he first engaged at farming, which he followed until the spring of 1861; then engaged at freighting across the plains, this he continued for six years, and, in 1868, he moved to Butler County; settled near Ulysses, and was one of the very first settlers in that locality. Was born in Ireland in 1838; came to America in 1851 with his parents who died at New Orleans in November, 1852; came up the Mississippi River to Dubuque, Iowa, where he remained until he came to Nebraska. Was married at Savannah, Butler County, in 1870, by Judge B. O. Perkins. Is a member of A., F. & A. M., Fortitude Lodge, No. 69, at Ulysses.

RICHARD M. SIBBETT, lawyer, of the firm of Sibbett, Fuller & Randall, offices at David City and Ulysses. Mr. S came to Nebraska in 1879; located at David City, opened a law office, and soon afterward the present firm was organized. He was born in England December 6, 1847; emigrated to America in 1869; settled in New York City; here he engaged in merchandise business until 1873; then went to Pennsylvania and began his law studies in Fayette County, starting to read law with Hon. J. B. Grove; was admitted there to practice in 1879; came in the same year to Nebraska; was re-admitted to practice in the State before Hon. George Post, Judge of Fourth Judicial District.

ADAM E. SPURCK, farmer, Section 8, Plum Creek Precinct, P. O. Ulysses, came to Nebraska in 1868, and first located at Nebraska City, where he remained until February, 1870, when he moved to Butler County, and took up a homestead on Section 14, Town 14, Range 3 east, in Center Precinct, here he resided for five years; then moved to the piece where be now resides, which precinct was formerly named after him, but has since been changed to Plum Creek. He makes a specialty of raising stock, and owns now 700 acres of land in Butler County, and also 160 acres on North Loup River, where he has a large stock ranch. Was born at Zanesville, Ohio, October 25, 1840, but was raised in Illinois. Mr. S. met with a very serious accident with a thrashing-machine, which resulted in the loss of his left arm. Was married in Jackson County, Kan., in 1870, to Miss Mary Thompson. He opened the first farm in the territory of Plum Creek Precinct.

WILLIAM H. STONE, farmer and graded stock raiser, Section 9, Ulysses Precinct, P. O. Ulysses, was born in Mount Vernon, Knox Co., Ohio, August 18, 1839, is a son of P. C. and Philadelphia Stone, the former of Vermont and the latter of New York, who settled in Ohio at an early day, and afterward moved to Illinois. Here the subject of this sketch remained until he came to Nebraska, which was in February, 1881, and settled on the place where he now lives, where he owns 160 acres. Now keeps on hand nearly one hundred cows for breeding purposes. He was a soldier in the late war, enlisting in 1861 with the Thirty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Company K, and served four years and six months. Is a member of the G. A. R., Farnsworth Post, No. 73, at Ulysses. Was married, January 28, 1863, to Miss Mercy A. Blair, by whom he has four children, two girls and two boys.

LEWIS SWANSON, hardware dealer at Ulysses, came to Nebraska in 1871 with his parents, Andrew and Carrie Swanson, who settled in C Precinct, Seward County, where they purchased a farm. Here the subject of this sketch remained until he came to Ulysses and formed a copartnership with H. Nelson in the first hardware store in the town. This firm dissolved in May, 1881; then he started for himself, where he now is. Was born in Livingston County, Ill., April 20 1857.

S. T. W. THRAPP, M. D. and loan agent at Ulysses, was born in Wayne County Ohio, March 25, 1833, received a common school education in his native State, and in 1853 the Doctor took his first step westward, making a journey through Iowa, Missouri and into Kansas, and in spring of 1854 landed at Plattsmouth, Neb.; here he started speculating in lands, and in 1855 was connected with stock company that laid out a town on the site of the present city of Lincoln. In 1859, he went to Fort Kearney, as appointed by the Governor, and afterward went to Fort Randall, D. T., as Hospital Steward. Here he remained until 1863; was married at Plattsmouth to Miss Margarette Reed. About this time he engaged with the regular army as contract physician with Batteries H and E, of United States Regular Artillery, and in September, 1863, was captured by the rebels, and was prisoner of war nine months, when he retired from service, and came back to Nebraska; then in 1865 came to Butler County, where he has remained since.

Mc D. TOWNER, foreman and head clerk of the firm of Joel Teshue, of Seward, came to Nebraska in the fall of 1854, with his parents, Abraham and Hester Towner, who first located in Cass County, six miles south of Plattsmouth, and was among the very first settlers of that section of the State. Here they resided until 1867, when they removed to Butler County, and located on farm four miles west of the present village of Ulysses. In fall of 1869, Mr. Towner went to Colorado, where he remained until 1871 then returned to Ulysses. He took up a homestead on Section 21, Town 13, Range 2 east, where he remained until fall of 1879 when he moved to Ulysses and took his present position; was born in Bates County, Mo., in 1843, November 16, and served four months in late war of rebellion, in Second Nebraska Volunteer Cavalry, Company H; was married in Cass County, Neb., to Miss Lucy A. Davis. Mr. Towner was born in Bradford County, Penn., June 13, 1806.