412
BIOGRAPHICAL SOUVENIR OF BUFFALO COUNTY the wolf from the door. Plenty of antelope and deer could be seen grazing on the wild prairie when he came here and the country was very sparsely settled. He brought a small team and a mule with him from Iowa, and traded the team for a good yoke of cattle, but another man had a chattel mortgage on them and of course took the cattle, leaving Mr.Hendrickson without a team at all. This added greatly to his embarrassment and interfered materially with his progress for some time. During the summer of 1880 his team consisted of a young mule and a bull. He was married November 12, 1866, to Miss Mary A. Dobson, a native of Ireland, who came to this country with her parents, in 1848, when only three years old. They have had seven children, namely - Samuel, David, Katie, Willie, Emma, John (deceased) and Abnor.
Mr. Hendrickson has one hundred and sixty acres of good land, fairly well improved and under a splendid state of cultivation. He is familiar with almost every phase of pioneer life and has undergone about as many hardships as any other man who came here when he did. He has survived them all, however, and is now on the road to success. He is a man who takes pride in keeping good stock and is keeping abreast of the times as nearly as it is possible for any man to do.
HON. S. C. BASSETT is one of the original members of the Soldiers' Free Homestead Colony, by which the town of Gibbon, Nebr., and its vicinity were settled, and is one who has stood steadfastly by the home of his adoption amidst all discouragements and disappointments, and who in so doing has been profited far beyond the average old settler.
Mr. Bassett is a native of New York, having been born in Delaware county, that state. He was reared partly in Virginia, whither his parents moved when he was young, and partly in Steuben county, N. Y., whither they returned after a residence of eight years in the South. He entered the Union army in 1863, at the age of nineteen, enlisting in Company E, One Hundred and Forty-second New York infantry, and served till the surrender. His regiment remained on garrison duty about Washington till April, 1863, when it went to the front and participated in the campaign of Gordon's division up to the Peninsula in June, and in the Maryland march, and was then ordered to Morris Island, S. C., where it remained till May, 1864. Joining Butler's Army of the James, at that date it began its real service. It participated in nine hotly contested engagements in Virginia and the Carolinas, winding up with Fort Fisher, and lost, out of a total enlistment of one thousand, three hundred and seventy men, five hundred and two in killed and wounded. The subject of this notice was with it during its entire term of service from the date of his enlistment, and so far as fell to him, as a private soldier, helped to win for it its laurels and the distinctive appellation as one of the "Three Hundred Fighting Regiments " of the Union army.
Returning to New York, he settled down to farming, the pursuit to which he was reared, and followed it till coming to Nebraska in April, 1871. On locating in Buffalo county, he took a homestead in
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Shelton township, two and a half miles northeast of the town of Gibbon, where he has since resided, having been actively engaged in agriculture and kindred pursuits. Mr. Bassett is one of the prosperous, well-to-do farmers of his community. He has other interests besides farming, and has held some offices of an official and semi-offical nature. He is now, and has been for a number of years, prominently connected with the Nebraska State Dairymen's Association, having been the first president of that association, and, is now, and has been for three years past, its secretary. His duties in connection with this association absorb much of his time. He collects a vast amount of material of value to the dairy interests of the state, which he lays before the reading public from time to time, in the shape of printed reports, and also contributes extensively to the journals of the day articles of a practical bearing on the dairy and live stock interests of the state. He is an unfailing attendant at the fairs, conventions and associations of an agricultural nature, and participates in the discussion of topics relating to subjects falling within the line of his endeavor. Mr. Bassett filled acceptably, for one term, the position of representative from Buffalo county to the state legislature, having been elected November, 1884, and served during the session of 1884-5. In the discharge of his public duties he exhibited the same zeal, energy and sound intelligence that characterize him in private life and in the prosecution of his own affairs, and he quit his office at the expiration of his term, bearing with him the gratitude and highest esteem of the people whom he served, as well as the respect and good will of his associates and co-laborers. For the churches, schools, social and moral interests of his community, he has at all times exerted a favorable influence, and for every interest of this nature, as well as of a material kind, his name stands pledged, and his help is counted on as a foregone conclusion. Mr. Bassett has as much modesty as he has merit, and he shrinks instinctively from public notice. He is a student of books as well as of men, and, while making no pretension as a scholar, he possesses many of the accomplishments of a man of letters, carrying into the practical affairs of life the close, systematic habits of the student, having the student's zeal for research and investigation, and his clear, analytical methods of statement and exposition. He is a pleasant, genial gentleman, whom it is a pleasure to know and whose friendship is of value.
NELSON JACO is a representative farmer of Platte township, Buffalo county. He is not an old settler, speaking of the county in general but he is, nevertheless, one of the, first settlers in the locality where he lives. He came from West Virginia, moved into the county in November, 1878, and settled on the northeast quarter of section 7, township 8, range 13 west, filing a homestead claim thereon. His farm is located on part of the old Fort Kearney military reservation, which, it will be remembered, was opened to settlement about the above date. He has one hundred and forty-five acres in this tract, eighty acres of which are under cultivation. He has improved
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his place, having a very good class of farm buildings on it, besides orchard, groves and other conveniences. Lying between the channels of the Platte river, his place is admirably adapted to farming purposes and yields well, producing an abundance of Nebraska's sovereign products - corn and hay. Mr. Jaco is a practical farmer, having followed the business all his life, and having met with reasonably good success. He began on limited means when he opened his present farm, twelve years ago, and the first few years of his residence in the county were not marked for any astounding amount of progress. With him the case was very much like it was with numbers of others, and was mostly a matter of bread and butter. But Mr. Jaco came West to make a home, and he was prepared to endure a reasonable amount of hardships, but a detailed account of his earlier struggles in the county need not be given here. It will be sufficient to say that he met the obstacles as they arose, and successfully dealt with them, and that whatever praise the general public is prepared to award the old settlers for their pluck, energy and endurance, a fair share of it must be given him, for he faithfully performed his duties in the general undertaking of opening the country to settlement. He has resided on his farm continuously since locating there, with the exception of four years he was back East - from 1882 to 1886.
Mr. Jaco was born in Preston county, (now West) Virginia, June, 1848, and was reared there, growing up as a farm boy, to the age of sixteen. Then came an event in his life which has been duly chronicled in the lives of hundreds of others, and yet an event that should never cease to be told. It occurred in those eventful years when patriotism flashed through the land like an electric thrill; when the canker of gold and the dust of cotton dropped from the manhood of the nation, and men went forth to battle for their country; when men surrendered the search for wealth, dropped the plow in its furrow, the hammer at the forge, the pen at the desk, and marched forth cheerily to wounds and death. Mr. Jaco enlisted in defense of the Union in January, 1864, entering Company K, Fifteenth West Virginia infantry, and serving in Thoburn's division, eighth army corps, but most of the time he was under Sheridan and served as a private from the date of his enlistment to the surrender---a boy soldier---carrying a musket in defense of his country at sixteen. The facts need no comments. They speak abundantly for themselves. Freedom - prosperity - equal rights - the dignity of labor - the glories of the republic - these were won by the citizen-soldiers of 1861-5 ---stalwart actors they, though many were young in years.
Mr. Jaco comes of old Virginia parentage, his father and mother both being natives of Preston county. His father, Job Jaco, was a farmer in earlier years, but during the war gave up farming and embarked in merchandising, in which he was moderately successful. He led a quiet, unpretentious life, dying in the fall of 1883, at the age of sixty-five. Mr. Jaco's mother bore the maiden name of Sarah Gandy. She died in the fall of 1884 at the age of sixty- three. These were the parents of eleven children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the ninth. The others are: Allen, Dorcas, Mahala, Jesse,
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William, Amos, Mary, Jane, Susan and Wesley.
Mr. Jaco married, November 26, 1868, Miss Sarah Jenkins of Evansville, Preston county, West Virginia. Mrs. Jaco was born and reared in Evansville and is a daughter of Joseph and Parmelia Jenkins of that place. She is one of eleven children born to her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Jaco have had born to them a family of six children, four of whom are living and two dead. The full list is as follows - Minnie (deceased), Ollie, Donie, Nettie (deceased), Pearl and Hazel.
While Mr. Jaco has never aspired to any public position, he has nevertheless been called on to fill some offices of responsibility in connection with the administration of local and township affairs. He has served as director of his school district; has been township clerk and is now serving as township assessor. He and all his family are members of the Methodist church and he is a liberal contributor to charitable purposes. He is a republican in politics and a zealous member of the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. As a citizen he is progressive, enterprising and public spirited - liberal in his views and in his means as far as his ability will allow. He is kind and accommodating, a good neighbor, a valuable friend and an intelligent, pleasant gentleman.
B. FRANK JONES, M.D.,is among the leading surgeons of Kearney, Nebr., and none is more successful. He was born in Wadsworth, Medina county, Ohio, November 1, 1857, and is a son of John B. and Sarah A. (Mabry) Jones, both natives of Pennsylvania - the former being born in Philadelphia and the latter in Berks county. They have a family of nine children, of whom seven are living, viz. - Sarah, the wife of Milton Spangler; Margaret R., wife of C. C. Case; George W.; B. Frank; Lilly, wife of Noble McClelland ; Nellie S., wife of Ebenezer Butterfield ; Lena B., wife of Norman Hazlett. John B. Jones was a railroad conductor and was killed in an accident, when our subject was but five years of age. After attending the Wadsworth schools until fourteen years of age, B. Frank Jones became a drug clerk in his native town, and in this position he remained for four years, then clerked in Medina, Ohio, and Akron, for five years. He then traveled for Aultman, Miller & Co., manufacturers of the celebrated reapers and mowers, for five years, when he entered the Jefferson Medical College, at Philadelphia, from which he graduated April 4, 1888, having taken a special course in anatomy and surgery. He at once settled in Kearney, and being a natural mechanic as well as a natural anatomist -- the two essential things that make a surgeon -- his success has been phenomenally great.
Dr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Dymae Jane Durling, January 8, 1881; she was born at Wadsworth, Ohio, and he and she were schoolmates in youth. She is a daughter of James K. and Lydia (Copley) Durling - the former a banker of Wadsworth. Dr. Jones and wife have had one child - a girl that died at the age of four years. Dr. Jones is a member of the K. of P., R. A., and other societies. He has performed a number of the most
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difficult operations known to surgery, and, best of all, every one has been entirely successful. This fact has given the doctor the reputation he so justly deserves. Among other qualifications he has developed a taste as a naturalist, and taxidermist, and his office and residence contain many fine specimens of birds and animals which he has mounted himself at times when not otherwise occupied. His work speaks for itself and can only be produced by one who is a close observer of nature.
GEORGE S. POST is one of the leading and influential men of Gardner township, Buffalo county, as well as a progressive and prosperous farmer. He was born in Niagara county, N. Y., January 4, 1837, and is the son of Orange and Lucy (Capron) Post. Orange Post was a native of Vermont, born in 1806. He located in. Canada, then in New York, and then came West to Iowa, and afterwards settled in Michigan. He was a carpenter, but made farming his principle occupation. His father, Moses Post, was a New Englander by birth, but chose Michigan to live in. He died in 1856.
George S. Post was the sixth in a family of seven children, and, when fourteen, worked out away from home most of the time. He participated in the late struggle between the North and South, being a member of an Iowa regiment. He saw some rugged service in the Vicksburg campaign, and also was present at the capture of Jackson, Miss.; Champion hills and Cedar run. He was also present during the heavy charge on the rebel works around Vicksburg on May 22, 1863, and took an active part in the capture of Winchester and Fisher's hill. He was taken prisoner at Cedar creek, was confined four months in a Richmond prison, and was in Libby prison during the administration of "Dick" Turner. The date of his discharge is May 12, 1864. He immigrated to Buffalo county, Nebr., from Iowa in 1878, took a soldier's homestead claim in Gardner township, was one of the first settlers in the township, and saw some pretty tough times. He had limited means when he came here and consequently labored under great difficulty in getting a start. He cites the winter of 1880-1 as being the longest and severest he ever experienced, and a great deal of suffering was experienced, principally among the new arrivals. Many had to grind corn with their coffee-mills for food and burn wet straw and cornstalks for fuel.
George S. Post was married March 5, 1861, to Miss Caroline M. Turck, who was born August 14, 1831, and is the daughter of Abram and Mary (Draper) Turck ; the former was a Hollander and the latter was a native of New York. Mr. and Mrs. Post have had seven children---Willie, born March 11, 1862; Annie, born April 10, 1863; Edwin, born December 25, 1865; Fannie, born May 12, 1867; Frank, born March 4, 1870 (deceased); Jeff A., born November 4, 1872, and Herbert, born January 31, 1874. Mr. and Mrs. Post and all their children belong to the Presbyterian church. Mr. Post affiliates with the republican party, has had various local offices, and he is a man who stands high socially and morally in the community.
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GEORGE N. SMITH, one of the oldest and most highly respected residents of Center township, Buffalo county, was born at Goffstown, N. H., October 30, 1843. His father, William Smith, was born at New Boston, N. H., in 1802. The senior Smith was married in 1826, to Susan Eastman, by whom he had five children, namely--Richard (deceased), Esther (deceased), Esther Ann, Thomas and William. His second marriage was in 1835, to Betsy Rowell, who bore him eight children--George W. (deceased), David R. (deceased), George N., Esther A., Erastus K. (deceased), Reuben G., Susan A. (deceased), Isaac (deceased). Mrs. Smith died April 6, 1859, a devoted christian woman and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. William Smith's third marriage was in 1861, to Mary Hook. Thomas Smith, the paternal Grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a native of New Hampshire. He was the father of thirteen children and a man of prominence and influence, especially in church affairs, being a Presbyterian deacon for forty years. The maternal grandfather, Rowell, was also a native of New Hampshire.
George N. Smith enlisted August 17, 1864, at the age of twenty, in the First New Hampshire heavy artillery, and served one year. He cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln while in the field. Soon after returning from the war he met and married, August 25, 1866, Elizabeth Dunbar. He then engaged in the hotel business at Woodstock, Vt., but was not pleased with hotel life, and after an experience of two years he returned to the old homestead in New Hampshire, where he remained one year. He emigrated to Gibbon, Buffalo county, Nebr., in October, 1871, and on November 3d of the same year he took up a homestead in Center township. There were only three or four families then in that township and the surrounding country looked wild and desolate. In exactly ten day s from the time he settled on his claim, there was a terrible blizzard, which lasted three days, during which time there was great suffering and some loss of life, and considerable stock perished for want of food and shelter. The following winter was a noted one for the large snowfall and intense cold weather. He built a sod house and in the spring of 1872 was joined by his wife and family. When he arrived at Gibbon seventy-three cents was all the money he had and it was two years before he had any stock of his own. The country was full of Indians, who hunted and trapped along the Platte and Wood rivers. In the summer of 1873 he raised his first crop--seven and a half bushels of wheat. During this year a great many settlers came in, and by fall the population of the county had increased quite materially. The three following years the crops were almost entirely destroyed by the grasshoppers, and it was not until the year 1877 that a fair crop was harvested. During these discouraging times Mr. Smith was in destitute circumstances financially and was compelled to live within his means. He made hominy and ground corn in his coffee mill. He had no flour and no money to get any. The following winter he received two sacks of corn meal from the general supply store at Kearney, and never felt richer in his life. There were scores of families in a destitute condition at that
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time and provisions were sent in from the Eastern cities to supply the needy. He has had apparently more than his share of bad luck. In the spring of 1875 he lost seven head of horses and one thousand dollars' worth of hogs at one time. He now owns one of the best farms in the county, on which is some valuable timber set out by his own hands. He has paid particular attention to fruit, and has some fine apple trees ready for bearing. Mrs. Smith's father, William Dunbar, was a native of New Hampshire and a tailor by trade. Her mother was Catherine (Humphry) Dunbar, daughter of Capt. Nathaniel Humphry of New Hampshire. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, namely--Minnie B., born in New Hampshire February 20, 1868 (wife of John Power) ; William (deceased), born March 18, 1870; George W., born February 24, 1872 (deceased); Grace P., born April 21, 1874; Flora A., born August 17, 1876 (deceased); Bert, born July 26, 1878; Arthur G., born August 10, 1880, and Orren, born July 10, 1882 (deceased). Mr. Smith has filled various local offices, is a member of the G. A. R., I. O. O. F., K. of L., O. U. W., Modern Woodmen of America and Farmers' Alliance. August 30, 1890, Mr. Smith was nominated for senator from the twenty-sixth senatorial district of Nebraska, by the Farmers' Alliance, endorsed by democrats.
GOTTLOB SCKEIHING (sic) [SCHEIHING] is one of the earliest settlers of Buffalo county and one of its most substantial farmers. He was born at Wittenburg, Germany, December 13; 1853 and is one of a family of ten children born to John G. and Christena (Munck) Sckeihing, both of whom are natives of Germany, the former having been born in 1819 and the latter in 1824. Gottlob, the subject of this biography, came to this country in 1869 with his parents, being then sixteen years old, and located near Burlington, Iowa, where he engaged in farming for six years. Arriving at his majority, and being thrown upon his own resources, he decided to seek his fortune in the far West, and, accordingly, came to Buffalo county, Nebr., April. 4, 1876, and pre-empted a quarter section in section 6, township 10, range 16; built a small house and "bached it." He broke twenty-five acres that spring and put it into sod corn, which flourished for a time and gave promise of an abundant crop, but was totally destroyed in August by the grasshoppers. For three consecutive years the grasshoppers had destroyed the crops in that section, and the few settlers, being discouraged, left that fall for the East, with the exception of Mr. Sckeihing, who alone remained to spend the winter. He lived on corn bread, a few potatoes, with an occasional jackrabbit sandwiched in; and his nearest neighbor being some three miles distant, there was a time when for two months he never saw the face of a human being. He hauled some wood from government lands upon the Loup river, it requiring three days to prepare and market in Kearney a single load of wood, and he received the small sum of $2 per load for his trouble. The following spring he entered a homestead of a quarter section in section 6, township 10, range 16, and took a timber clam in section 32, township 11, range 16, and put
419BIOGRAPHICAL SOUVENIR OF BUFFALO COUNTY
out a large amount of crops. That year proved to be a very prosperous one, and from thirty-five acres of wheat he thrashed five hundred and eighty bushels, which he sold at 80 cents per bushel. He has been very prosperous ever since, and now has three hundred and twenty acres of fine land, two hundred and twenty acres of which are under cultivation. He has a spacious frame dwelling and has just completed a new frame barn.
Mr. Sckeihing was married, April 5, 1880, to Mary Sterley, who was born April 15, 1857, and is the only daughter in a family of eight children born to George and Barbara (Kroft) Sterley, both of whom are natives of Germany, the former having been born in 1825,and the latter in 1822. Her father is a resident of Buffalo county, having located here in 1869. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Sckeihing has resulted in the birth of six children, as follows--George, born May 1, 1881; Christena (deceased), born October 13, 1882; Barbara, born March 23, 1884; Emma, born July 13, 1885; Samuel (deceased), born January 7, 1885, and Julia, born August 28, 1888.
Mr. and Mrs. Sckeihing are both active members of the Lutheran church. Politically he is independent.
A. F. SILVERTHORN. "Tis not in our stars but in ourselves that we are underlings." Practical illustrations of this poetical expression can be found in the lives of hundreds of men all over this country. One is found in the life of the subject of this notice. A. F. Silverthorn is neither rich nor famous; he may never be, but he is now on the highway to prosperity, on the road to success, and he owes it solely to himself. Born without the traditional silver spoon in his mouth, but with the greater gift of an affidavit of honesty and good nature in his face, he has made his way from a position of dependence to one of comparative ease; from a position of toil for others to one of well remunerated labor for himself. He is one of Kearney's most enterprising and most popular druggists, a young man with a good business and a host of friends.
Arthur Flavel Silverthorn was born in Muscatine county, Iowa, February, 1857. He is the third of six children, the result of the union of Oliver J. and Harriet H. Silverthorn, the former of whom was a Pennsylvanian by birth, the latter a native of Illinois. His parents came of the staple stock of the localities where they were born and reared, being plain, substantial, frugal folks with sufficient industry to crown their lives with the wholesome fruits of toil, and sufficient integrity and fixity of purpose to enable them to build up characters of stability, rising on occasion into the higher graces of benevolence, kindness and christian charity. The father; after a life extending over fifty-five years of labor in various avenues, pursued in different localities and under varying conditions as to success and failure, died at Kirwin, Kans., in 1888, his loss deeply regretted by those who knew him and sincerely mourned by those whom he loved. The mother is still living, being at present a resident of San Antonio, Texas, where also live two of her sons. The eldest of the children of the family, a daughter, Lucy by name, died young; Oliver resides at San Antonio, Tex.,
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engaged in the drug business; Maggie, wife of Dr. A. J. Meyers, lives at Creston, Iowa; Grace, wife of Burton Jones, lives also at Creston; and Wood, the youngest, lives at San Antonio, Tex,, engaged with his brother there in the drug business.
The subject of this notice was reared in his native place and in his youth received an ordinary common-school training. On growing up he selected teaching as his first employment and taught for a period of three years, giving his time assiduously to his school-room work, and it is not the least of the achievements of his early career that he, as he now relates with some pride, taught as good a school as any pedagogue in all the country round. Since coming West he has been too much absorbed in other matters to keep up with the whereabouts of his old pupils to see how many of them have reached the higher paths of life as the result of the excellent precepts he instilled into their youthful minds. But he feels morally certain that those who have lived up to his teachings have at least become good citizens, even if they have not reached any great eminence. Quitting the schoolroom at last, Mr. Silverthorn went to Creston where he learned the drug business under his father, subsequently entering into partnership with him and remaining there so engaged for five years. Marrying in the meantime he took his wife and worldly possessions and in 1881 moved to Kearney, casting his fortunes with the Midway City, where he has allowed them to remain and where they have steadily prospered since. The first year he was in Kearney he clerked for J. M. Hopwood in the drug business. He then formed a partnership with A. J. Shepard as Silverthorn & Shepard, which lasted for three years. He then sold out to his partner, soon afterwards engaging in business alone and remaining alone since. Mr. Silverthorn runs an exclusive drug house. He has built up a good trade and each year his stock grows in bulk as his trade increases in volume. He is a thoroughgoing business man, wide awake and up with the times. He has also invested some money in Kearney real estate and is earnestly in sympathy with every movement for the success and prosperity of his town. He has an open hand and a generous heart, and to the extent of his means he helps every public enterprise that comes his way.
Mr. Silverthorn was married July 26, 1883. His wife before marriage was Miss Anna E. Battey, daughter of S. W. and Mary C. Battey, then of Creston, Iowa, now of Hoxie, Kans. Mr. and Mrs. Silverthorn have a pleasant home in Kearney and their friends are numbered by their acquaintances.
ALFRED E. THOMAS first saw the light of day at Hicksville, Ohio, February 28, 1848. He is a son of James and Eunice (Strong) Thomas, both of whom were natives of Ohio. Young Thomas volunteered his services to his country when not seventeen years of age, enlisting October 29, 1864, but the war was drawing to a close and he was not assigned to active duty. Returning to his home he engaged in farming in Defiance county, Ohio, but he was not altogether satisfied with farming among the stumps in Ohio, and deter-
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mined to emigrate westward. The year 1866 found him in the State of Missouri, where he remained for about seven years. In 1873, after a wearisome journey of twenty-one days in a "prairie schooner," he located in Buffalo county, Nebr. It was early in the spring, and the first thing he did was to look for a house to shelter his family until he could select a claim and provide a home of his own. He finally succeeded in finding a newly built sod house on the shore of the Wood river, almost directly north of Kearney. About the time he got his family comfortably housed there came up suddenly a terrible blizzard, April l4th and l5th of the same year. The wind blew so fiercely that it removed the roof from the house, leaving the occupants without shelter. It was in the night-time when the storm commenced, and Mr. Thomas and family, including his sister and brother-in-law and three young men stopping at the house at the time, sought shelter in their beds for two days and two nights. The snow was very deep, when Mr. Thomas, with his wife and child, started for a neighbor's through the terrible storm. It was intensely cold, and Mrs. Thomas was almost chilled through before they started, but to remain there was certain death. On the way Mrs. Thomas became exhausted, and had their cries for help not been heard by the neighbors, whose house they were endeavoring to reach, they doubtless would have perished. The storm lasted three days and was the most severe in the history of the country. There was great suffering among the settlers, and hundreds of cattle were frozen to death.
Mr. Thomas has always taken great pleasure in hunting, and during his early settlement in this country wild game was plenty, and the time was when the rafters of his sod house hung full of smoked venison of the choicest kind. He killed plenty of deer, antelope, and some elk. During the summer of 1874, Mr. Thomas, in company with two companions, set out on a hunting expedition in the Loup river country. On their return, one bright moonlight night, they passed by a herd of Texas cattle, numbering several thousand. Their wagon was filled with venison and antelope, and the cattle smelling the fresh meat started to follow. Mr. Thomas and his companions, knowing as they did the viciousness of Texas cattle, became alarmed at the terrible noise made by them and at once started their horses on the run. For a time it seemed that the cattle would stampede them, but fortunately they succeeded in making their escape, after being chased by the cattle for several miles. Mr. Thomas never experienced any trouble with the cow-boys, always treating them courteously and frequently welcoming them to his home for a meal.
Alfred E. Thomas was married January 3, 1871, to Miss Isabelle Lewis, who was born December 16, 1852, and whose parents were Milton and Sarah (Clark) Lewis. Milton Lewis was a native of Pennsylvania, but was reared in Richmond county, Ohio. In 1866 he emigrated to Missouri and in 1881 to South Dakota, where he now resides. There have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas five children as follows--Lewis J., born in Grundy county, Mo., March 6, 1872; Clarence B., born May 10, 1874; Ella M., born March 4, 1878; Zenoa C., born January 25, 1880, and Oscar V., born January 26, 1886.
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