GEORGE W. BEMIS, of the firm of Bagley &
Bemis, attorneys at law, was born in Mayfield, Fulton County, N.
Y., September 1, 1846; removed to Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, at seventeen, and engaged as salesman in hardware
for two years, and was Deputy Postmaster
at that place for one year; afterward followed merchandising at
Marion and Belle Plaine, until he came
to Sutton in May, 1871, being among the first to settle in that then
wilderness. He homesteaded eighty-one
acres on the town site section of Sutton, which he still owns and has
finely improved. His village residence
appears on page-- (image). He studied law with Col. H. W. Gray, and was
admitted to practice in the spring of
1874, and rose rapidly to a large and lucrative practice, being in 1876
appointed City Attorney, and in that
capacity drew the first ordinance ever passed in the city. In May, 1882,
he
defended and cleared A. M. Anderson
of the murder of John Johnson, a case of great notoriety in Clay County,
Neb., his effort in that behalf being
admittedly the most ingenious and able ever made in the county. He has
been
a partner with John E. Bagley for seven
years past. Mr. Bemis was married at Marion, Iowa, January 1, 1868, to
Ada A. Gray; they have four children--Albert
L., George W., Jr., Anna and Eugene.
ISAAC N. CLARK was born at Parma, near Cleveland,
Ohio, June 18, 1836. At the age of three years, he
learned his first lessons in one of
the log schoolhouses of that new country. At the age of ten years, he assisted
his
father on the farm. From the age of
fourteen to twenty years, his winters were spent at school, either at Brooklyn
Academy or Baldwin University, Berea.
At the age of twenty-one, he went to Hiram College, Ohio, to attend a
Teachers' Institute, and there received
a certificate to teach school from James A. Garfield, then President of
that
college and School Superintendent of
that county. The following winter he taught in his native town. The following
spring he went to Jefferson County,
Mo., procured the school at Blackwell Station and taught until October;
then
went to Champaign County, Ill., and
engaged in farming until the war of the rebellion. He enlisted with the
Illinois
volunteers, on the 4th day of June,
1861; he was soon after ordered to St. Louis and mustered into Company
G,
Twenty-fifth Regiment Illinois Volunteer
Infantry. He was appointed a Corporal and stationed at the United
States Arsenal, to guard rebel prisoners
confined there, until September, when, from camp exposure, he took
inflammation of the eyes, and was sent
to the hospital, near Carondelet, Mo., and, after weeks of suffering. this
terminated in ulceration of the left
eye; was transferred to the Sisters of Charity Hospital, Pine street, St.
Louis,
and though the best of medical skill
was provided, the disease resulted in a permanent opacity, for which he
was
honorably discharged on the 4th day
of October, 1861. For this disability he has received a pension. In
September, 1863, he returned to Ohio,
and was married to Miss Mary Miner, of Olmsted Falls, Ohio. She was
a native of West Fairlee, Vt. She was
born June 27, 1838; was a school teacher for eleven years previous to her
marriage, and afterward shared with
her husband in the trials of building up a home on the prairies of Central
Illinois. In January, 1872, came with
his family to Sutton, Neb.; she began with the early workers to assist
in
organizing the Sabbath School, church
and other societies of Sutton. The result of this matrimonial union has
been
the family consisting of Harry M. Clark
and Davie Clark, twins, the latter died at seven months. Harry is now
sixteen years old, attends school and
assists his father in his hardware store; Myra E. Clark, twelve years;
Bertie
W. Clark, ten years, both born in Champaign,
Ill.; and Roy N. Clark, four years old, born in Sutton, Neb. In
1865, the precinct of Champaign, Ill.,
was divided and the new township of Hensley was created, and Mr. Clark
was elected its first Town Clerk, which
office he held for three years, and also the office of Assessor and
Collector. In October, 1871, he, in
company with his brother Martin, started West to look up a location to
engage in the mercantile business, and
landed at Sutton, then the end of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad
in Nebraska. The Clark Bros. soon after
purchased the unsold portion of Sutton, consisting of 400 lots, and at
once went about building a store building
20x60, with a capacity to accommodate two stocks of goods. The
same was completed January 1, 1872,
and the family moved from Illinois and reached Sutton the 15th of that
month. The winter was unusually cold,
and the only room vacant in the place was the rear part of the hardware
store, built of stock boards and unplastered.
The new store building in the meantime was fitted up, and, on
February 17, 1872, the opening stock
was purchased in Lincoln, Neb., and amounted to $600. The Omaha tribe
of Indians, 400, came through on their
annual hunt, and camped at Sutton, and, during their stay, had a lively
trade with them in ammunition, hunter's
and trapper's outfits. For several years afterward this roving band would
repeat their annual visits to Sutton
to traffic in furs for merchandise. In the fall of 1872, the hardware business
had
so increased as to need more room, and
a new building 22x60 was built to accommodate the same. In 1873,
Mr. Samuel Carney, a skillful tinner,
who had been in the employ of Mr. Clark, became a partner of I. N. Clark
& Co. In 1874, a change of business
center and a growing business required the building of a large two-story
building now occupied on Saunders avenue.
In 1876, he was elected a member of the Board of Village Trustees.
The same year the M. E. Church decided
to build, and chose Mr. Clark Chairman of their Board of Trustees. He
went to Lincoln and procured a donation
of two car-loads of stone. He organized the Sutton Brick Company,
and made the brick for the church building,
and the same was completed in December of that year. Mr. C. gave
liberal donations to that as well as
to most of the church enterprises of this town. In May, 1877, the town
of
Sutton was organized as a city of the
second class, and elected I. N. Clark its first Mayor, and with an excellent
Board of Councilmen, with the young
city had chosen to assist him, that municipal year was characterized by
general improvement and activity. In
May, 1878, he was re-elected Mayor. His Glen Lake improvement on a
branch of School Creek, in the western
suburbs of the city, is now a fine body of water, yielding hundreds of
tons
of ice annually, and affording a fine
place for boating and skating, and is stocked with German carp fish from
the
State fisheries. In October, 1880, he
was elected President of the Pioneer Settlers' Association of Clay County,
and at this writing enjoys the surroundings
of a happy family and a pleasant home.
SAMUEL CARNEY, of I. N. Clark & Co.,
hardware merchants, was born in Bedford, Penn., January 27,
1850. He began learning the trade of
tinner at the age of seventeen years, at Altoona, Penn., serving three
years
as an apprentice, after which he followed
his trade at Bedford for fifteen months; afterward engaged in stove and
tinware business at Shellsburg, Penn.,
for some nine months. He came to Nebraska in May, 1872, homesteading
eighty acres in Fillmore County, and
came to Sutton in the following month; was employed as a clerk, etc., by
I.
N. Clark, until September 1, 1873, when
he was admitted as a partner. He was married in Sutton, January 1,
1878, to Eugenie M. Gray, a native of
Marion, Iowa; they have two children--Bertha and Holladay.
MARTIN V. B. CLARK, M. D., third son of David
and Ximena Clark, was born in Parma, Cuyahoga Co.,
Ohio, April 28, 1840, of Connecticut
parentage. Commencing his education at the district school, he pursued
it
during the winter at Baldwin University,
and in the summers studied and worked on the farm. He early displayed
a taste for natural science, constructing
at the age of fourteen an induction electric machine and telegraph. Farm
life gave young Clark easy access to
practical field work which he improved in mastering botany without an
instructor. During his boyhood he collected
and classified the flora, fossils, rocks, and the implements of the
Mound-Builders of his native county.
He enlisted under Lincoln's first call for three years troops as a private
in
Company C, Seventh Regiment Ohio Volunteers,
June 20, 1861, going directly from his father's corn-field into
the regiment. He was afterward transferred
to and was honorably discharged as Sergeant of Artillery. At the
close of the war, he went back to the
farm and his studies, and was married July 4, 1866, to Mary D. Henry, of
Parma, Ohio. Their children were Ally
E., Mamy L., deceased, Edith and Ruth. Dr. Clark graduated in pharmacy
at Baldwin University February 4, 1867,
receiving the degree of Bachelor in Medicine, and in medicine in the
Cleveland Medical College February 28,
1869, receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He was Professor
of Pharmacy and Toxicology at Baldwin
University, Ohio, for a period of five years, and was a member of the
convention to revise the U. S. Pharmacopoeia
for 1870. He emigrated to Nebraska, and with his brother bought
out the town of and settled in Sutton,
Neb., November 1, 1871, and is the pioneer physician and druggist of Clay
County. In the year 1873, he was elected
Coroner, serving three successive terms, and was appointed United
States Pension Surgeon, Commissioner
of Insanity, and one of the five Trustees of the village of Sutton, and
was
twice re-elected to the last named office.
In July, 1881, he made a difficult chemical analysis of the viscera of
J.
S. Johnson, poisoned with arsenic near
Sutton, in Clay County. Dr. Clark was elected a Lecturer on Natural
Sciences to the York, Neb., Seminary
in 1880, and is a member of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences. He has
been identified with every political,
scientific and material interest of his adopted town and country. Successful
as
a druggist, his reputation and skill
as a surgeon and obstetrician is approached but by few. Among his literary
works worthy of notice is the centennial
history of Clay County. Chiefest of all, his was the record of an
honorable life, and of such as he were
the early builders, contributing and helping with a tireless hand to establish
society, church and state, thus preparing
the way for posterity to enter upon and possess a rich inheritance.
DOUGLAS C. CONNER, dealer in groceries, etc.,
was born at Athens, Ohio, October 14, 1849. His parents
died when he was quite young, and he
began to earn his livelihood at a very early age. Was employed on farms
and in lumber woods until he came to
Sutton in December, 1872, and, in February following, established this
business in company with J. S. Sheppard.
In June, 1880, his partner retired, and Mr. C. has since conducted the
business alone. He carries a nice stock
of about $3,000, and does annual business of $10,000.
HON. J. B. DINSMORE, banker, was born March
15, 1838, in Ripley, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., and was
raised on a farm until he was twenty-one
years of age. He then went to Wyandotte County, Kan., where he was
engaged in farming one season, and after
this followed the same occupation in Saline County, Mo., for eighteen
months. Returning to his home in New
York, he enlisted in the Ninth New York Cavalry, Company I, in
September, 1861, and was promoted to
the rank of Second Lieutenant of that company in November, 1862,
and was mustered out of service October
25, 1864. After his return from the army he was engaged in farming
about one year at Ripley, N. Y., after
which he established a mercantile business at Ashville, Chautauqua County,
in that State, which he followed until
1872. Disposing of his business, he came to Nebraska May 3, 1872, and
took a homestead of 160 acres in Clay
County, upon which he resided for about three years, and then took up
his residence in Sutton. Was elected
Sheriff of Clay County in October, 1873, holding the office until January
1,
1876. Was elected Clerk of the same
county in the fall of 1875, and was ex officio Clerk of the District Court,
entering upon the office January 1,
1876, and serving for a period of two years. In May, 1873, prior to his
election to the office of Sheriff, was
appointed Commissioner of the county, which position he held until he
entered upon the duties of Sheriff.
On January 1, 1877, he, in company with L. R. Grimes, established a bank
at
Sutton, and about three years later
Mr. Grimes retired from the firm, and F. C. Matteson became an owner of
a
half interest in the concern, the style
of the firm being J. B. Dinsmore & Co. The capital stock of the bank
is
$20,000; deposits, $35,000, the firm
carrying on general exchange and banking business. Besides his interest
in
the bank, Mr. Dinsmore is owner of a
section of land in this county, which is let to renters. In November, 1880,
he was elected to the State Senate from
this district, and at the early part of the session was elected President
pro tem. of that body.
HOSEA W. GRAY, senior member of the firm of
J. M. Gray & Co., was born in Tioga County, Penn., April 7,
1816. At an early age, he removed with
his parents to Bradford County, in the same State. His education was
obtained in the common schools of the
country, by private tutors, and at the Athens Academy. His business life
began at the early age of fourteen;
when at intervals not engaged in studies, he was employed for several years
as
clerk in a store. At the age of nineteen
years, he engaged as a teacher in Lycoming County, Penn., which
occupation he followed in that county
and Bradford until the year 1838, when he emigrated to the West. Spent
a
year in Illinois, and, finally settled
at Marion, Linn County, Iowa, in the year 1839. He was elected Sheriff
of that
county in the fall of that year, and
was re-elected for four terms in succession; in all eight years. Mr. Gray
had
previously read law with his father,
who was a lawyer, and was admitted to the bar at Marion, Iowa, in 1847.
After entering the profession, and some
practice, he was elected Clerk of the District Court in 1848. Retiring
from office in 1850, he purchased a
stock farm of 640 acres, and gave his attention for some years to his farms.
In 1856, he was elected a member of
the Constitutional Convention that framed the present constitution of Iowa.
The twenty-fifth anniversary of the
work of that convention, which has remained unchanged, was celebrated at
the capital of the State, on the 19th
of January last, by the surviving members, of whom Mr. Gray was one. In
the
year 1857, he was appointed one of the
fiscal agents of the State to settle with the custodians of the school
funds,
and the same year was appointed Commissioner
of Public Buildings, in which capacity he served three years, and
during which term the Blind Asylum at
Vinton was located and erected. In 1857, Mr. Gray engaged in the
mercantile business under the firm style
of Peddicord, Gray & Co. Three years later the style changed to H.
W.
Gray & Co. In April, 1861, before
any requisition had been issued, he enlisted a company, and tendered then
for
active service. The company of which
he was Captain was mustered into service as Company A, Sixth Iowa
Infantry. He received a commission also
as Lieutenant Colonel. After two years' service he resigned on account
of severe and protracted sickness. In
doing so, he received universal expressions of regret from brother officers,
and an assurance of reinstatement by
the Adjutant General whenever the state of his health would admit of his
taking the field. This he was precluded
from doing, but he rendered important services in recruiting and organizing
troops for the war. At the close of
the war, having disposed of his mercantile business, he retired to this
farm,
which he superintended during the next
four years. In April, 1869, his wife, who had been an invalid for some
years, died. Soon afterward he sold
out, and, in 1871, came to Nebraska. In that year he entered by
pre-emption 160 acres of land in Fillmore
County, and with his son established themselves in the lumber trade
under the firm name of J. M. Gray &
Co. The business has been prosperous, and is continued under the same
firm at Sutton, Clay Co., Neb. In 1872,
Mr. Gray opened a law office in the same town. He has been
successfully engaged in the practice
to the present time, but is now retiring from the business on account of
advanced age. He was married in the
year 1840, in Linn County, Iowa, to Annie M. Smith. Her family were from
Guilford, N. C., but she was born and
raised at Indianapolis, Ind. As before stated, she died in 1869. Seven
children--John M., Clinton B., Ada A.,
Celestia A., Eugenia M., Hosea W., Jr., and Abraham L. survive her, to
cheer the declining years of their aged
father. In their society, retired from the anxieties and cares of business,
with a competence for necessary wants,
the subject of this sketch hopes to await the sunset of life in virtuous
contemplation.
WILLIAM GRIESS, of the firm of H. Griess
& Son, dealers in grain and produce, was born in Russia October
26, 1852, and was reared on a farm.
He emigrated to Nebraska with his father in June, 1873, and located in
School Creek Precinct, Clay County.
His father purchased 1,689 acres and gave him 640 acres of it, which he
farmed for some five years. He came
to Sutton to reside February 12, 1879, and joined his father, H. Griess,
in
his present business on September 1
of that year. The subject of our sketch was married in Russia March 25,
1873, to Katherina Ochsner, a native
of that country. They have four children--William, Lydia, Margaretha and
Mary A.
JOSEPH GRICE, manufacturer and dealer in harness,
saddlery, etc., was born in the county of York, Ontario,
March 31, 1847, removing with parents
to Cedar County, Iowa, when quite young; he learned this trade at
Springdale and Blairstown, Iowa, serving
as an apprentice some two and a half years. He then went to Quincy,
Ill., where he was employed as a harness-maker,
etc., in Government work, until 1864, after which he followed
his trade in Caldwell, Mo. He came to
Sutton in February, 1874, and in company with D. J. Towslee purchased
this business. They dissolved July 15,
1878, since which time Mr. G. has conducted the business alone.
November 1, 1881, he opened a branch
establishment at Aurora, He has the oldest established business in this
line in Sutton, and carries a nice stock
of about $4,000. Mr. Grice was married at Sutton, October 14, 1877, to
Nettie J. Hileman, and they have two
children--Eugene C. and Aves L.
HENRY GROSSHAUS, of the firm of John Grosshaus
& Co., dealers in grain, was born in Russia March 13,
1858, immigrating to America in 1873
with his father, John Grosshaus. They located in Sutton, Neb., in August
of that year. Mr. Grosshaus, Sr., having
purchased 800 acres of land in the neighborhood, Henry has since
assisted him in conducting the farms.
The father and son engaged in the grain business in the fall of 1876. Henry
Grosshaus is also engaged in the agricultural
implement business at this place in company with his brother August.
This business was established in the
spring of 1881.
RICHARD A. HAWLEY, dealer in grain, flour,
seed, etc.; was born in Kent, England, February 17, 1837,
emigrating to America in 1849, residing
in Rochester, N. Y., for three years, after which he went to Rock
County, Wis., where he practiced dentistry.
He enlisted in February, 1864, in the Thirty-third Wisconsin
Volunteer Infantry, serving until the
close of the war. Subsequently was employed in the United States
Government printing contract at Madison,
Wis. He came to Nebraska in March, 1867, homesteaded 160 acres
in Nemaha County, and was for eight
years engaged in farming, and during this period was also Justice for six
years. Moving to Brownville in that
county, he engaged in the implement and grain business. Two years later,
he
admitted D. E. Douglas as a partner,
continuing to conduct the business with him until November 1, 1879. Mr.
Hawley came to Sutton in the fall of
1879, purchasing an elevator at that time; has since been engaged in his
present business. He was married in
Rock County, Wis., in 1859, to Elizabeth J. Warner, of Green Bush, N. Y.
They have seven children--William W.,
Rhoda, Weltha, John, Maud, Frank, and one infant son.
WILLIAM J. KELLER, druggist, was born in
Rimersburg, Penn., in August, 1844, and eleven years later
removed to Dane County, Wis., where
he resided with his parents on a farm. He learned the trade of blacksmith,
serving some three years. Mr. K. enlisted
August 14, 1862, in the Twenty-third Wisconsin Infantry, serving until
July 17, 1865, after which he followed
his trade in Dane County until he came to Nebraska in the spring of 1873,
at which time he took up a timber claim
of eighty acres in Sutton Precinct, Clay County, and has since improved
it yearly. Since his arrival here, has
been engaged in the grain business, as clerk in a general merchandise store,
and also as traveling salesman in the
agricultural implement business. In November, 1875, he purchased
Thompson's interest in the drug store
business of Thompson & Wilcox. In 1876, Dr. Wilcox sold his interest
to
Dr. Kendall, and, in May, 1877, the
Doctor retired, since which time Mr. Keller has continued the business
alone. In November, 1880, he added a
stock of jewelry, and, since January, 1882, has also been engaged in real
estate and loan business in company
with J. S. Le Hew. He has filled several of the town offices, and was elected
Clerk of Clay County in November, 1879,
for a term of two years. Mr. K. organized the Governor's Guards at
this place, which afterward mustered
into the First Regiment of Nebraska National Guards, of which he is
Lieutenant Colonel, commissioned in
July, 1881.
JOSEPH S. LE HEW, attorney at law, was born
near Granville, Licking Co., Ohio, March 14, 1841, residing on
a farm until fourteen years of age,
when he was apprenticed to the trade of blacksmith and served three years,
after which was employed as a journeyman.
He enlisted September 7, 1861, in the Fifteenth Ohio Infantry. At
the battle of Stone River, Tenn., December
31, 1862, was taken prisoner and held until exchanged, some three
months later; also received several
wounds; was mustered out November 21, 1865. Married to Elenora Pier, at
Van Wert, Ohio, October 1, 1866. Subsequently
was, for two years, engaged in the manufacture of brick, in
company with his brother, at Van Wert,
Ohio; then traveling in Indiana in the insurance business, also reading
law. He came to Nebraska in May, 1871;
homesteaded 160 acres in Grafton Precinct, Fillmore County, where
he followed farming and also manufactured
brick, it being the first made in that county. He came to Sutton in
September, 1874, and in November joined
John E. Bagley in a law office, and was admitted to practice in
February, 1875. The firm dissolved some
months later, since which time he has practiced alone. In 1875, in
company with C. M. Comstock, he established
the Sutton Globe; was, however, connected with this enterprise
only a few months. In January 1882,
he formed a partnership with W. J. Keller, for the purpose of dealing in
real
estate, etc. Mr. Le Hew was appointed
Justice of the Peace in the summer of 1875, and filled that office until
January, 1882; was Clerk of Sutton from
1876 to 1880, and during 1880 held the office of Treasurer of the
town. He drew up the military code of
the State, in company with Capt. W. T. Scott, which was passed and
approved by the Governor February 28,
1881, and was appointed Judge Advocate, with the rank of Captain, on
the Governor's Staff, commissioned July
13, 1881.
LINTON BROTHERS, livery, sale and feed stable.
This firm is composed of Thornton R. and William R.
Linton. They established this business
in October, 1871, and it is now the oldest in the county. They have a fine
large stable, which they built in the
fall of 1878, at a cost of $4,000. Thornton R. Linton was born at Leesville,
Lawrence Co., Ind., December 18, 1845,
and five years later moved with his parents to Leon, Iowa, where he
was engaged in farming until nineteen
years of age; afterward engaged in the same capacity in Illinois and
Missouri. He came to Nebraska in May,
1871, and homesteaded eighty acres in Sutton Precinct, Clay County;
was for a few months engaged in teaming,
etc., and entered into his present business in October following. He is
the owner of some 580 acres of land,
and is largely engaged in farming and breeding cattle, hogs, etc. He was
married at Sutton, in November, 1875,
to Annie Hollingsworth, a native of Illinois. They have one
daughter--Lena.
MERRILL
& CO., general merchants. This firm is composed of J. C. and R. G.
Merrill. They established this
business in January, 1873, carrying
a stock of about $3,500. Their business has largely increased and a stock
of
$15,000 is now carried. They do an annual
business of about $25,000, besides which they are largely engaged in
farming, stock-raising, etc. J. C. Merrill
was born in Fulton County, Ohio, November 19, 1843, and resided on a
farm until twenty-three years of age,
with the exception of five months during the war, which he served in the
One
Hundred and Thirtieth Ohio Infantry.
In September, 1866, he went to Ai, Ohio, and was for about four years
engaged in mercantile business. He came
to Nebraska in May, 1871, homesteading 160 acres in Sutton Precinct,
Clay County. He resided on the same
for two years, after which he removed here, engaging in mercantile
business in January, 1873. He was married
in Fulton County, Ohio, March 26, 1865, to Hattie S. Felter, of
Augusta, Penn. They have five children--Annie
H., George A., Rose, Claude and Gertrude.
R. G. MERRILL
was born in Fulton County, Ohio, January 12, 1846, and was reared on a
farm. He enlisted
May 2, 1864, in the One Hundred and
Thirtieth Ohio Infantry, serving five months, after which he returned to
the
parental roof. At the age of twenty-one,
he engaged in farming on his own account, following the same in Fulton
County for about four years. He came
to Nebraska in May, 1871; homesteaded 160 acres in Sutton Precinct,
Clay County, residing on it for about
two years, after which he removed here, and in January, 1873, joined J.
C.
Merrill in his present business. Mr.
Merrill was married in Fulton County, Ohio, in 1868, to Lucy Quiggle, a
native of Geauga County, Ohio. They
have three children--Ray C., Elmer C. and Bernice L.
WILLIAM C.
PICKING, Principal of the Sutton High School, was born in Franklin County,
Penn., February
19, 1854, and was reared on a farm.
His father was a teacher, and also managed a farm. Mr. P. began to teach
at the age of sixteen years in Franklin
County, following it there and in Center County for about five years, off
and
on, during which period he studied hard
and improved his education. In the spring of 1872, he went to Ogle
County, Ill., and taught a district
school for seven months. Subsequently attended the State Normal School
for a
term, after which he taught in Madison
and Ogle Counties, Ill., for about one year, and again attended the State
Normal School for one year. He then
had charge of the Magnolia High School, Putnam County, for one year,
and two years at Lostant in charge of
the graded school. He came to Nebraska in June, 1880; had charge of
Juniata graded school for six months,
and came to Sutton, April 18, 1881, at which time he entered upon his
present duties.
JOHN B. ROYS,
farmer and stock-raiser, was born in La Moille County, Vt., in 1833, and
nine years later
moved with his parents to Woonsocket,
R. I. He assisted his father in farming and in the blacksmith shop until
he
reached the age of seventeen years,
when he went to Boston, Mass., where he learned the trade of builder. Here
he was engaged as contractor and builder
for over twenty years. In 1871, he was appointed Assistant Inspector
of Buildings for the city of Boston,
and held that position for about four years. Mr. R. came to Nebraska in
March, 1878, after three years of travel
in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, California, Kansas and portions of
other States West, looking for a new
home, and located in Sutton Precinct, Clay County, and adjoining the town
of Sutton. He is the owner of 320 acres,
and is largely engaged in farming; also breeds cattle and hogs, making
a
specialty of thoroughbred Durham cattle
and thoroughbred Poland-China Hogs. Mr. R. has a fine residence,
which he built in July, 1879, at a cost
of $5,000.
JACOB STEINMETZ,
of the firm of Jacob Steinmetz & Co., dealers in agricultural implements,
was born in
New York City November 5, 1840, and
fifteen years later removed with his parents to Ashland County, Ohio,
where he was for some years employed
on a farm. He served as a soldier during the war. Afterward he
conducted a grocery business at Ashland
for two years and a brewery for one year. He came to Nebraska in
February, 1871, and in the following
May pre-empted 160 acres in School Creek Precinct, Clay County,
residing on the same until October,
1881, when he removed his family to Sutton. In 1877, he came to Sutton
and
engaged in selling agricultural implements,
employed by McCormick & Co., of Chicago, and in the spring of
1878 engaged in the implement business,
in company with C. W. Walther. This firm lasted one season. Mr. S.
then engaged in the same business in
company with J. B. Kart and M. Baltzer. The latter retired from the firm
in
the spring of 1880, and the two remaining
partners have since conducted the business. Mr. S. was elected
Coroner of Clay County at its organization
for a term of two years, and also as Justice of the Peace for two
years, and held the office of Assessor
of School Creek Precinct from 1875 to the end of 1880. He was married
at Ashland, Ohio, in 1861, to Elizabeth
Goreiner, a native of Ohio. She died in 1876, leaving three
children--Mary E., Georgiana S., Elizabeth
I. He was married again, at Sutton, in February 1879, to Minnie
Flach, a native of Germany. They have
one daughter--Amelia M. Mr. Steinmetz built the first frame house on
School Creek, hauling lumber from Crete,
fifty miles away. In 1872, in company with P. Curren, he established
the first butcher shop in Sutton.
JOHN W. SHIRLEY,
broker and loan agent, was born in Hancock County, Ohio, March 14, 1833,
and
resided on a farm until sixteen years
of age, when he went to California, where he resided for twenty-two years,
during which period he was engaged in
mining in that State and Arizona, and was also for eight years engaged
in
the cultivation of hops. He came to
Sutton, Neb., in October, 1874, and at once established himself in this
business; in connection with this, in
1877, he built an elevator, and for two years conducted a grain business.
He
was elected Justice of the Peace in
1876, and re-elected in 1878 and 1881. He was married in California, in
1860, to Mary Powers; she died in 1871,
leaving two children--Howard and Annie. Mr. S. was married again at
Sutton, Neb., in October, 1876, to Mary
B. Detwiller, a native of Virginia; they have three children--John M.,
George and Marril.
RICHARD S.
SILVER, farmer and stock-raiser, was born in Bedford County, Penn., in
November, 1843, and
resided with his father on a farm until
he was twenty-three years of age, and three years of that time was
employed in a grist-mill. He then farmed
on his own account and raised considerable sheep and cattle; was also
for five years engaged inn the grain
business. He came to Sutton in April, 1878, purchased 400 acres adjoining
the town of Sutton, and 645 acres in
Fillmore County, besides other lands. Is the owner in all of 885 acres,
nearly all of which is under cultivation.
Is also largely engaged in breeding stock, making a specialty of Durham
Short-Horn cattle and Merino sheep;
has on hand 525 of the latter. On January 1, 1882, in connection with other
pursuits, he formed a partnership with
Francis M. Brown, for the purpose of buying and selling live stock.
Dissolved partnership with Mr. Brown
May 1, 1881, and continued shipping and feeding cattle and hogs, without
a partner. Mr. S. is one of the largest
farmers and stock-raisers in the county. He was married in Bedford
County, Penn., in 1866, to Mary Berkheimer
of that place; they have seven children--Carrie B., Binnie M., Ida
R., Annie G., Rachel M., May and Richard.
MARKUS
WITTENBERG, general merchant, was born in Hungary in April, 1838, and nineteen
years later
emigrated to America; he located in
Leavenworth, Kan., and was for six months employed as a tailor and also
in
peddling. After this, he went to Osage
County, Kan., and engaged in farming. He enlisted in the summer of 1862,
in the Twelfth Kansas Volunteer Infantry,
serving for three years, returning to this farm in Osage County; he
conducted the same for some five years;
subsequently removing to Topeka, Kan., he was engaged in conducting
a confectionery and cigar store, until
he came to Sutton in December, 1873, at which time he opened a fancy
grocery store; three years later, he
added a stock of dry goods, etc., and in December, 1881, he divided his
stock. He has now two stores, one consisting
of general merchandise, and the other a grocery establishment. Mr.
W. was married in Topeka, Kan., in March,
1872, to Rachel Schumacher, a native of Alsace; they have four
children--Belle, Nanette, Herman and
Abraham.
WILLIAM D. YOUNG,
of the firm of Young & Torrey, dealers in wind-mills, pumps, etc.,
was born in Dane
County, Wis., in August, 1848, where
he was employed in farming until he came to Nebraska in October, 1867.
Remained for one year in Hamilton County;
then for some six months at Fort MacPherson in charge of
cattle-trains on the U. P. R. R.; after
which, he returned to Hamilton County, homesteaded eighty acres of land
in
1869, and farmed two seasons. Returning
home to Madison, Wis., he remained there until he came to Sutton
January 1, 1872, at which time he engaged
in the implement business and followed it for four seasons in company
with R. M. Thompson. He then entered
the employ o the "King Bridge Company," of Cleveland, and for two
years was engaged in obtaining contracts
for that concern in this neighborhood. In 1876, Mr. Young began
business as a contractor and builder,
which business he still pursues. Among the notable buildings he has erected
in this county are the county poor house,
county jail and court house. He, in connection with other business
pursuits, joined O. S. Torrey in dealing
in wind-mills, etc. On March 1, 1882, Mr. Y. was appointed Deputy
Sheriff of the county in 1876, and held
it for three years. Was appointed First Sergeant of "Governor's Guards,"
in 1878; Second Lieutenant in June,
1880, and Captain in July, 1881.