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Kearney, Sydenham, then called by Moses H. Sydenham, Centoria, the center of the United States of America, the future capital of the state and of the United States. After carrying mail a month he filed a soldier's homestead claim on lots 1, 2, 3 and 4, in section 6, township 8, range 18 west, in Buffalo county, near the station of Elm Creek, which claim he was obliged to sell on account of bad luck and sickness. Then he filed a pre-empted claim on the southeast quarter of section 30, township 9, range 18, in the fall of 1883, on which he made final proof May 25, 1885, and on which he still resides. Has been a resident of Elm Creek since 1879, except two years during the Black Hills excitement, which time was mostly spent in the employ of the Black Hills transfer company called the Pratt & Ferris, or P. & F. Outfit, the largest company hauling freight to the Hills. The years 1881 and 1882 were spent in a trip through Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah and Colorado for health. He worked most of the winter of 1881 for the Rufus B. Hatch Company in getting out material for the first hotel built at the Mammoth Hot Springs in the National Park, Wyoming. A Mr. Hobart was foreman, a brother of the company's president, Mr. Hobart, of New York City.
MRS. MARY BARRON. There is, perhaps, none more worthy of special mention in this work than Mrs. Mary Barron. Her parents were natives of Ireland and devoted members of the Catholic church, and both were highly esteemed by rich and poor alike, for their kindness and generosity to those in need or distress. The father, John Powers, was a thrifty, frugal farmer. Her paternal grandfather, Patrick Powers, was also a native of Ireland and a farmer, and her paternal grandmother, Bridget Cunningham, was likewise a native of the same country. John Powers married, in Ireland, Miss Kittie Kennedy, and died in 1864 at the age of seventy-five years. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Powers came to America and remained five years, then returned to Ireland. To her union with Mr. Powers were born eight children, viz. -- Edward (deceased); Patrick and Thomas, who live in Ireland; John (died at Vicksburg, Miss,); Martin, living in New York City; Margaret (deceased); Bridget, living in Australia; Johana (deceased), and Mary, the subject of this memoir. In 1863, at the age of seventeen, she came to America from her native country, stopping first in Clinton county, Pa.; there she remained one year; and after a trip west returned to Pennsylvania and was married to Mr. William Barren, also a native of Ireland. Mr. Barren was born in 1840 and when twenty-three years of age immigrated to America, locating in Pennsylvania. Soon after his marriage he moved to Omaha, Nebr., and from there to Elm Creek, where his widow still resides. He was a devoted and consistent member of the Catholic church, and every one who knew him esteemed him highly for his kindness of heart and honorable dealing. Those persons who tried to honestly help themselves, always found a good friend and helper in Mr. Barren. For fifteen years he was section boss on the Union Pacific Rail-
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Road but in 1872 he pre-empted and turned it into a timber claim, in '74, what is now a well improved farm. He began life with nothing. In polities, Mr. Barron was a democrat; was a member of the Order of United Workmen and also the Grange. While Mr. Barron was working on the railroad, he narrowly escaped death at the hands of the Indians. One morning upon reaching their place of work, he and a few others with him, discovered that seven Indians, not far away, were endeavoring to surround him and his companions so as to cut off all chance of escape. The section men immediately started back toward Elm Creek. Mr. Barron had with him his gun and two bullets; one he fired at the Indian in front of him, but did no serious damage; the second bullet did not kill the Indian, for he did not fire to kill, but to scare away, and it did scare. They then made their escape to Elm Creek.
FREDERICK DAUL is a native of Germany--a country proverbial for the industry, thrift and frugality of its people--and was born in the year 1818, in Baden. He is the son of Frank and Urcbale (Felming) Daul --the former born in 1775, the latter in 1780. Both were natives of Germany, and members of the Catholic church from childhood. Mr. Frank Daul's occupation was farming. Frederick Daul came to America at the age of twenty-two, locating first in York State. From there he moved to Wisconsin, and in 1873 came to Nebraska, locating on section 31, township 9, range 18 west. Soon after, he went across the line into Dawson county, homesteading on section 2 township 8, range 19, where he now resides. In politics, Mr. Daul is a democrat. While in Wisconsin he served as township assessor for two years; also held the office of township treasurer. Mr. Daul was twice married. His first wife was Anna Dengal; the second is Mary Martener, both natives of Germany. Five children were born by the first marriage, viz.--John, living in Buffalo county; Adam, at home; Anna (Mrs. Nickle), living in Kearney county; Catharine (Mrs. Milbourn), living in Buffalo county; Maggie (Mrs. Milbourn), living in Dawson county. When Mr. Daul came to Buffalo county there were only fifteen houses in the city of Kearney, and the Indians and buffalo roamed over the prairie.
John, the eldest son, was born in 1852, in Washington county, Wisconsin. When twenty-one years of age he came to Nebraska, settling in Buffalo county. He now resides on section 3, township 9, range 18 west. His farm is well stocked with horses and cattle, and, together with his father, and brother Adam, he owns over 1,000 acres of land. Politically, he is a democrat. In 1880 he married Miss Addie Milbourn, a native of Illinois, but then residing in Buffalo county, Nebraska. Two children have been born to them, viz.--Johnnie, in 1881, and Freddie, in 1884.
GEORGE W. WITMER is the son of Jacob A. and Caroline (Swanger) Witmer, the former a native of Blair county, Pa. Jacob A. enlisted at Shippensburgh, in the Third Penn-
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sylvania cavalry, Company H, and was in the engagement at Williamsburgh and Antietam and in the Seven Days' fight. He was injured in the back by the falling of his horse, when crossing a trench, and this so disabled him that he received his discharge. He next enlisted in the Twelfth Pennsylvania, and was in the engagement at Winchester. He was mustered out at Philadelphia in 1865. He then returned to Blair county, Pa., where he remained until coming to Nebraska, in 1881, settling in the northern part of Elm Creek township. He was married to Miss Caroline Swanger, a native of Pennsylvania, in 1850. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and was a kind, exemplary christian woman, not known to have an enemy. She died in 1880, followed by her husband four years later. G. W. Witmer's paternal grandfather was Jacob Witmer; his paternal grandmother was Catherine Airsman) Witmer; his maternal grandfather was Peter Swanger; and his maternal grandmother was Mary (Donohue) Swanger, all natives of Pennsylvania. Geo. W. Witmer, our subject, was born in Cumberland county, Pa., in 1853. In 1865 he moved with his parents to Blair county, and for a number of years was engaged in the plumbing and gasfitting business in Altoona, Pa. At the earnest solicitation of his father, he came to Nebraska in 1882, and settled on section 2, township 9, range 18 west, in Elm Creek township, Buffalo county. Mr. Witmer is favorably known throughout the county as an intelligent, hospitable and prosperous farmer. He was married, in 1877, to Miss Elizabeth Lathero, a native of Huntington county, Pa., Rev. Lackey performing the ceremony. To Mr. and Mrs. Witmer two children have been born, viz.--Frankie H., August, 1885, and Carrie E., born December 8, 1887. Mr. and Mrs. Witmer are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Politically, Mr. Witmer is a democrat.
JOHN I. ULRICH, an industrious and thrifty farmer of Elm Creek township, Buffalo county, was born on the third of March 1834, in Prussia, of German parentage. His father, Joseph Ulrich, was a man who commanded the highest respect of every one. He was a wagon maker by trade, and also engaged in farming. For over twenty years he faithfully served the public as justice of the peace. He was a good man, and from childhood was a devoted member of the Catholic church. In 1828, at the home of her father, he was married to Miss Margaritte Meir, who was born in Prussia, in 1801, and, with her husband, was a very consistent member of the Catholic church. She was a very kind, tender and loving wife and mother.
John I. Ulrich came to America in the summer of 1850, and worked at his trade in Dayton, Ohio, and at Fort Wayne, Ind. When the cholera broke out at the latter place, he went to Green Bay, Wis., and there continued at his trade for sixteen years. In 1873 he joined the tide of emigration, and settled in Elm Creek, Buffalo county, on section 6, township 8, range 18 west. He shared the common fate during "grasshopper times," and was left so destitute that he would very quickly have returned had it been possible. But he staid through, and since then has had
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good crops every year but one. He has owned 1,340 acres, including the 880 acres given to his two elder sons, and upon which he has built two houses, and provided each son with all necessary farming implements. Politically, Mr. Ulrich is independent. In January, 1858, Mr. Ulrich was married to Miss Euphrosina Karcher, a native of Baden, Germany. She was born in 1836, and came to America in 1857, settling in Green Bay, Wis., and was married at New Franken, Brown county, that state. Both she and her husband are devoted members of the Catholic church, and at the present writing, Mr. Ulrich is causing to be built an addition to the church, which has become too small for present use.
Mt. and Mrs. Ulrich are the parents of eleven children, viz.--Joseph, in Buffalo county; Caroline (Mrs. Riger), in California; August, in Buffalo county; Anna (died 1861); Theresa (Mrs. Swayne), in Dawson county; one still-born; Conrad (died 1867); and Mary, Ursula, Eva and William, still at home.
JOHN DEMUTH was born in Prussia in 1855. His father, John Demuth, Sr., was in comparatively good circumstances, and was a man highly respected for his manly virtues. He came to America in 1856, locating first in New York, thence moving to Brown county, Wisconsin. He is a stanch democrat in politics, and has been a devout member of the Catholic church from childhood. His wife was Elizabeth Lieser, before marriage, a native of Germany, and also a devout Catholic. To Mr. and Mrs. Demuth have been born four children, viz. -- Matthias, lives in Fort Howard, Wis., John; Elizabeth, lives in Green Bay, Wis., and the youngest died in infancy.
John, our subject, immigrated to America in 1867, settling in Brown county, Wisconsin; thence he came to Nebraska, in 1878, locating on section 10, township 9, range 18 west. Mr. Demuth began life in Nebraska in 1878 with comparatively nothing, but now has three hundred and twenty acres of well improved land, well stocked and supplied with all necessary farming implements. His success is due to his giving attention to the details of his business, economizing time as well as money. In 1887 he was married to Miss Anna Nitshe, a native of Austria, born in 1870. They are both connected with the Catholic church. To them one son has been born -- Willie John, born December 27, 1888.
GEORGE W. SNYDER was born in Lyons, Wayne county, N. Y., in 1849. He is the son of Sidney W. Snyder, of the same place, and a resident until 1850, when he moved to Branch county, Mich., where he resided until 1876, engaged in farming and black smithing. From Michigan he moved, with his family, consisting of wife and two children, to Buffalo county, Nebr., locating on section 20, township 9, range 18 west. For years S. W. Snyder bas been an active member of the Methodist Episco-
190BIOGRAPHICAL SOUVENIR OF BUFFALO COUNTY
pal church and was a local preacher for about fifteen years. Mr. Snyder is a republican in politics. In 1848 he was married to Miss Susan Gordon, a native of Lyons, and a very exemplary lady. She was also a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, a quiet but active christian woman. She was born in 1830 and is the mother of four children, viz.-- George and Adelbert, living in Buffalo county, Nebr.; Myron and Sarah, who both died when young. George Snyder, the subject, was about one year old when his parents moved to Michigan, where they remained until 1876. He began for himself as an engineer, when twenty-two years of age. For three years he had charge of an engine in a saw-mill and then, for four years, was on one of the steamers plying between Chicago and Buffalo. He was once on a vessel that was wrecked near Ashtabula, Ohio and out of the crew of eight, five were lost. The steamer was out from twelve o'clock at night until three o'clock the next afternoon in cold November weather, and only one half a mile from shore. Mr. Snyder is a member of the masonic order and, in politics, is a republican. In 1879 he was married to Miss Laura Magden, of Buffalo county, Nebr. She was born in Wayne county, N. Y., in 1842, and lived there till five years of age, then came to Nebraska in 1878; has taught school in four states, namely--Michigan, Indiana, Iowa and Nebraska. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and a great worker in the church and Sunday school. To Mr. and Mrs. Snyder have been born three children, viz.--one that died before being named; Robert, born in 1883, and Gordon, born in 1887, both living at home.
DAVID McCOMB was born in Dane county, Wis., in 1858. The father, Robert McComb, was a native of Ireland, was born in 1807 in county Down, and migrated to America, settling in Dane county, Wis. There he engaged in farming until 1872, when he immigrated to Furnas county, Nebr. Here he became very prosperous in stock-raising and speculating, and in 1889, while on a business trip to Wisconsin, he sickened and died. For years he had been an active and energetic member of the Christian church, and his presence and counsel were deeply missed. He was a good man and very kind to the poor and distressed. He was so devoted to his church that he would often walk six or seven miles to attend service. In 1850 he was married to Miss Catherine Patterson, a native of Pittsburg, Pa., where she resided until her marriage. She was born in 1824 and is the mother of ten children, viz. -- William, in Furnas county, Nebr., farming and stock raising; Maggie (Mrs. Crooks), in Kearney, her husband being a carpenter; James, in Furnas county, farming and stock-raising; John, in Furnas county, farming and stock-raising; Robert, living in Wisconsin; Nancy (Mrs. Downing), in Kearney, her husband being in the lumber and grain business; Charles, in Furnas county, stock-raising; Amazon (Mrs. Banister), in Kearney, her husband being a speculator, and Mary (Mrs. Tuttle), whose husband is in the livery business. In 1875, after three years of traveling, David McComb located in Furnas county, Nebr. In 1883 he moved to Elm Creek, to take the management of the Downing Elevator Company, where he still remains. He is a master workman of the A. O. U. W. In
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1879, at Wilsonville, Furnas county, he was married to Miss Clara Backus, a native of Iowa and born in 1862. She had been a teacher for some time and was also an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church. She is the mother of two children, viz. -- Robert, born in 1882, and Harry, born in 1885.
W. C. PETTETT, is a native of England and the fourth child of Herbert Pettett, a farmer who formerly resided near Maidstone, Kent county, about fifty miles from London. The father was born in 1830 and in 1871 immigrated with his family to America, locating near Port Byron, Rock Island county, Ill. There he was one of the most prosperous and energetic farmers of the county. In 1852, under the chime of Marden church bells, he was married to Amy Ann Honeysett, a native of Sutton, Kent county, England, Rev. Deeds officiating. Mrs. Amy Ann Pettett was born in 1832. She is an active member in the Methodist church in Illinois, and is a woman of great perseverance and energy; she is very charitable to those that are in need. She is the mother of the following children: Harriet, who married Edward Gilbert, a native of England, now living on a farm in Illinois; Ellen, who married Mr. Genung living on a farm in Illinois; George, died of consumption when nineteen years of age; W. C., A. E., and Alfred, living in Buffalo county, Nebr., and Anna, who married Mr. Sallows, a native of Illinois, and now living in Illinois.
A. E. Pettett was born in England in 1859 and came with his parents to America. When twenty-one years of age he began farming for himself, having about $1,000 to start with. After five years' farming in Illinois, and with about $1,500, he came to Nebraska, settling on section 5, township 9, range 18 west. He now owns a well improved farm of two hundred acres well stocked. In politics Mr. Pettett is independent. For years Mr. Pettett has been an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church and has been class leader, also Sunday school superintendent for several years. At Fairfield in Illinois in 1881 he was married to Miss Mary E. Flickinger, at native of Illinois, also an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church and also church organist for several years. To them have been born four children, viz. -- Charles E., born in 1882; Rosa May, born in 1884; Anna Bertha, born in 1886; Susie Pearl, born in 1889.
W. C. Pettett, an older brother and subject of this memoir, was born July 13, 1858, in Marden, Kent county, England, and with his parents immigrated to Port Byron, Rock Island county, Ill. In 1885 he immigrated to Nebraska, locating on section 5, township 9, range 18 west, in Buffalo county. Proper attention to his business has brought to him that success which always attends honest effort. He now owns a well improved farm of two hundred acres, well stocked. Politically, Mr. Pettett is independent, being a strong alliance man at present. For years he has been an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and also a trustee and enthusiastic Sunday-school worker. Mr. Pettett was joined in marriage to Miss Annie B. McConnell, at the home of her parents, in Scott county, Iowa,
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on February 23, 1881, by Rev. S. S. Ralston. Mrs. Pettett is a native of Allegheny county, Pa. In 1867, when eight years old, she was taken by her parents to Port Byron, Rock Island county, Ill., and in the spring of 1878 to Scott county, Iowa, where she was married.
In 1889 her parents, Andrew and Dorcas McConnell, moved from Iowa to Nebraska purchasing a farm in Cedar township, Buffalo county, where they now reside. Mrs. Pettett's ancestors were among the earliest settlers of Pennsylvania; her great-grandfather, Joseph Worley, being taken captive by the Indians. Mrs. Pettett's father, Andrew M. McConnell, was born in the year 1829. He has always been a faithful member of the United Presbyterian church. His parents are some of the old settlers of Pennsylvania. His occupation has always been farming. He was married, in 1857, to Dorcas L. Allen, also a resident of same place. Their occupation was also farming. They were members of the Presbyterian church. Mrs. Pettett has five brothers and one sister. Joseph F., the oldest, married Miss Delia Edgingmn, and are living at Malcolm, Poweshiek county, Iowa; Robert, died when nineteen months old; the other boys are living at home; their names are David A., Albert M. and Clarence A. McConnell; her sisters name was Jennie H. She married Joseph Duncan, of Scott county, Iowa. They have since moved to Cedar township, Buffalo county, Nebr. When seventeen years of age, Mrs. Pettett joined the United Presbyterian church, and continued in membership with that church until coming to Nebraska, when she united with the Methodist Episcopal church at Elm Creek. Mr. and Mrs. Pettett are the parents of four children, viz. -- Jennie Florence, born January 4, 1883, in Illinois; Albert Finley, born December 1, 1884, in Illinois; William Robert, born March 31, 1887, and Daisy Ellen, born December 26, 1889, at Elm Creek, Nebr.
Photograph of Ross Gamble ROSS GAMBLE, the subject of this biographical notice, is one of Kearney's foremost business men and her chief benefactor. He is not an old settler, strictly speaking, but he has been in Kearney long enough and identified with her interests intimately enough to rank, in point of accomplishments, beyond many who came even while the "buffalo were here." Mr. Gamble came to this country in 1879, reaching Kearney on the fourth day of July, that year. He has been a resident of the town continuously since, and is one of the few men who have made a success of all their business undertakings since coming here. Having a good record as a business man prior to that time, his biography will be of value to many and will be read with interest by all.
Mr. Gamble is a native of Maine, having been born in the village of Linneus, county of Aroostook, that state, August 15, 1834. He is of Scotch extraction, his parents being both natives of Scotland, where they were married. They came to this country, however, when young, where they began life. His father was Alexander Gamble, and his mother bore the maiden name of Mary Reed. In 1847, after their marriage, they moved to Rhode Island, and in 1850 to Wisconsin, settling in the vicinity of old Fort Winneberg, then on the outskirts of civilization. The
195BIOGRAPHICAL SOUVENIR OF BUFFALO COUNTY
old fort is no longer remembered, but Portage City, which has grown up on its site, is a town of some pretentions, and is recognized as the old family seat of this branch of the Gamble family in the West. There the father died in 1876, aged sixty-six, and the mother in 1883, also well advanced in years. There the children, of which they had eight, the subject hereof being next to the oldest, grew up, and from that point took their several starts in life.
From the dates already given, it will be seen that our subject was sixteen years of age when his parents moved to Wisconsin. Two years later he left home, went into the pineries on the Wisconsin river and began life for himself. He at first went to work as a laborer in the lumber districts, accumulated some capital, and afterwards went into business for himself. He spent twenty-seven years of the best part of his life in this locality, and engaged in this business. His beginning was humble enough, but his success in the end was complete. He built up one of the largest trades in the Northwest, and at the time he gave up his interest there had acquaintances and business connections in every town from Wansaw (sic) and Stephen's Point, where he operated to St. Louis, covering an area of several hundred miles, and embracing some of the largest lumber jobbing points, as well as general business centers, in the country. Mr. Gamble decided to quit the lumber business in 1879 and to change his place of residence. He came, as above stated, to Nebraska that year, and established a ranch twenty-five miles northwest of Kearney, in Buffalo county, on the South Loup, and stocked it with cattle. A year and a half later he sold this and established another between the Dismal and Middle Loup, to the northwest, which he conducted successfully for four years. In the spring of 1884, he sold out his entire ranching interests and also his lumber interests in Wisconsin, a large part of which he had retained up to that date and purchased of Wiley Bros., of Kearney, the Buffalo County Bank. This bank was then a private institution, and he conducted it as such until July, 1886, when having interested others in it, he re-organized it as a national bank, increasing the capital from $60,000 to $100,000. Mr. Gamble became president and still holds that position. The Buffalo County National Bank is one of the most prosperous institutions of the kind in the city of Kearney. It has paid good dividends from the beginning, and has accumulated a surplus of over $50,000, besides some of the best business men of Kearney and Buffalo county are stockholders in it, and its board of directors is composed of men of unquestioned ability and integrity. Mr. Gamble is the recognized head of the institution, and to his judgment and good management is due much of the success it has attained. In April, 1889, Mr. Gamble, in connection with others, organized the Midway Loan and Trust Company of Kearney, with a capital of $100,000. Of this he was elected treasurer and now holds that position. July following, he, with others, started the Kearney Savings Bank, organizing it under the state laws. It has a capital of $100,000. He is president of it. The Savings Bank is comparatively new, but starts out under favorable auspices. It occupies an elegant three-story brick block, on the corner of Central Avenue and Twenty-third street. This
196BIOGRAPHICAL SOUVENIR OF BUFFALO COUNTY
is one of the most commodious and striking buildings in the city. In its construction Mr. Gamble has taken a lively interest and looks with some pride, as he has every reason to do, on the work accomplished. Besides his interests in these three corporations, Mr. Gamble owns considerable realty in Kearney, and some also in Wisconsin, having a fine farm in Columbia county, that state, and timber lands on the Wisconsin river.
From these facts it is clear that Mr. Gamble's life has been an active and an eminently successful one, far more so than that of the average business man. The secret of his success, if there be any secret in it, is to be found in two qualities which he possesses in a large measure, namely, persevering industry and strict attention to business. He was brought up to hard work and his whole life has been one of constant, unremitting labor. He has eschewed politics and the fatal allurements of office, and all other distracting pursuits and diversions, and concentrated his whole time and thought on his own personal affairs. And should one step into his office in the bank any time, he can always he found at his desk at work, receiving callers, considering applications for loans, answering letters and giving directions about the business of the bank. His life is a splendid vindication of the dignity of labor and a most excellent example of the success that crowns attention to details. Yet when this is said the best has not been told of him. Men may make money by fortunate speculation, or they may accumulate it by niggardly practices, living hard themselves and denying help to others, or they may get it by the exercise of the better virtues of industry, perseverance and reasonable self-denial, and yet their lives fall short of the true standard of manhood and fail to teach any valuable lasting lesson. The proper use of money is the true test of wisdom and the best evidence of manly character. If the subject of this sketch has established a reputation for anything in the city of his adoption it is for disinterested public spirit, benevolence, charity. Giving wisely, yet with a liberal hand, his wealth has blessed all on whom it has been bestowed. The evidences are on every hand. To mention only a few of his contributions to public improvements: he gave for the erection of the Midway hotel, $600; to the Kearney Street Railway Company, $700; to the pickle factory, $250; to the pork packing establishment, $500; to the paper mill, $200; to the Enterprise newspaper, $1,000, and to the First Methodist church, $300. In smaller amounts he has contributed liberally to numberless other purposes, and to the poor, destitute and distressed he always extends a helping hand.
Mr. Gamble has a family -- a wife and two sons. He was married in July, l862, in Portage City. Wis. His wife was Elizabeth S., daughter of Russell Spicer, and she was born and reared in Portage City. Mr. Gamble's sons are grown and each has an interest with and occupies a position of trust under him; Albert T., the elder, being cashier of, and Walter R., teller in, the Buffalo County National Bank.
Mr. Gamble and family attend the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mrs. Gamble is a member. He was a zealous member of the Masonic fraternity in former years and took all the degrees con-
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ferred in this state. Lately, however, he has not been an active worker. In personal appearance Mr. Gamble is plain and unpretentious. In conversation he is somewhat reserved, unless warmed up on a subject in which he feels a special interest. He is very conservative, and, to one who does not know him, his slowness to act might be taken as an evidence of indecision of character, but it is only his habitual way of feeling the ground before he steps. He has made but few false moves in life, and he owes it to the fact that he has always insisted, whatever the pressure, on feeling his way and being assured of the security of his footing. Such men are usually men of positiveness, men of individuality, men of character. They are the ones around whom weaker natures generally revolve. They are a recognized force in affairs. They do not say or do brilliant things. They have not taste or talent for shining. They weigh and consider. They see events as they shape themselves with reference to causes. They estimate things at their real value. To the rash they are often stumbling blocks; to the weak of heart and short of sight they are towers of strength and beacons of light. Men who aspire to be leaders are often found in council with them. Perhaps the highest quality of intellect ever attributed to them is "levelheadedness." But "levelheadedness" in the race of life is much, and this joined to the heart that beats in tender sympathy with the wants of struggling humanity, constitutes Heaven's best gift to the race. In these qualities the subject of this brief biographical notice rises to the full stature of man. Mr. Gamble has a beautiful residence on Avenue "A," No. 2108, where he and his family reside.
MARION H. SMITH was born in Marion county, Iowa, in 1859. His father, Joseph Smith, was born in Pennsylvania, in 1834, and moved from there to Indiana, and from there to Iowa, and thence to California, locating in Woodland. He was a wagon-maker by trade. He married Elizabeth Neal, in 1854. She was a native of Ohio, born in 1839, and to this union four children were born -- Jennie and William, who live in California; Marion, the subject of this sketch, and Cleo, now living in Indiana. Marion, at the tender age of ten, began to do for himself. The first twelve years of his self-dependency were spent in Missouri and Iowa, and from the latter state he migrated to Nebraska, in 1882, and remained in the state three years, in the employ of S. R. Black; then went to Denver, Colo. He spent the summer in Denver, and was there engaged at the stock-yards, at $30 per month. By additional money, earned by doing errands, at the end of three months he had saved about $125. He decided to return home on a visit, but on his way was robbed of his money. He consequently sought work, and was employed by S. R. Black, with whom he remained for six years. He gained the entire confidence of Mr. Black and all with whom he dealt. His word is considered as good as a bankable note. By frugality and good management, Mr. Smith, although young, has amassed a competency for himself and family the remainder of their lives He owns one hundred and sixty-five acres of excellent land, town property, and a well established business. He married Mary Cox, a native of Missouri, in 1888. She is the daughter of Noah and Louise (Packer) Cox, the former a
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