Biographical Sketch, 1899

Transcription

William H. Garrison, one of the early pioneers and self-made men of Fillmore county, Nebraska, located on section 28, Franklin township, where he now resides, in 1871. He came to this state in limited circumstances, [and] by the exercise of his resolute will and persevering industry, has built up one [of] the most creditable homesteads in this township. He took up one [hundred] and sixty acres of land over which the plowshare had never passed, and in due time effected the improvements necessary to complete the country home, and which now forms one of the pleasing features in the landscape of that section. His straightforward methods of doing business and his value as a member of the community, have gained for him a wide circle of friends and acquaintances, who have watched his career with interest and are not slow to acknowledge that he is deserving of all the good that has fallen to him.

Mr. Garrison was born in Lee county, Illinois, January 20, 1847, a son of William and Amelia (Omen) Garrison, who were born, reared and married in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, whence they emigrated to Lee county, Illinois. There the father followed farming for some years, but spent his last days in retirement from active labor, near Dixon, Illinois, where both he and his wife died and were buried. In their family were nine children, seven of whom are still living: George L., a Methodist Episcopal minister of Iowa; Mrs. Hannah Girton, a resident of Carthage, Missouri; Mrs. Martha J. Cooper, who lives near Carthage; Mrs. E. E. Riddelsbarger, of near Bellville, Kansas; Peter, of Azusa, California; Harriet E., a physician of Dixon, Illinois, and William H., our subject.

William H. Garrison was educated in the common schools and the Mt. Morris Seminary, of Mt. Morris, Illinois. In September, 1864, when only seventeen years of age, he enlisted in Company F, First Illinois Light Artillery, and his battery was engaged in several hotly contested battles, including that of Nashville, Tennessee. The war being over and his services no longer needed, he was mustered out July 26, 1865, and returned to his home in Illinois. Later he was married in that state to Miss Emmogene V. Simmons, a resident of Franklin Grove, Illinois, and in 1871 they came to Fillmore county, Nebraska, taking up the homestead previously mentioned. Their first home here was a dugout and for two years they lived in a sod house, but it has since been replaced by a good frame residence. Mr. Garrison had to go to Crete for his lumber and groceries, and he was the first to raise a crop of grain west of Little Sandy creek, so thinly settled was this region at that time. His education was here to put to practical use, as for a number of terms he successfully engaged in teaching school in his district and has since served almost continuously as a school director. He was one of the first teachers in the township.

Mrs. Garrison died December 24, 1874, leaving a husband and two children, Emmogene V. and William L., to mourn her loss, and her remains were interred in Franklin Union cemetery, which is located on the southwest corner of our subject's homestead and is known as the Franklin Union cemetery. It is the first known cemetery in the township. Mr. Garrison was again married, in 1877, his second union being with Miss Sarah E. Appleford, who was born in Ontario, Canada, July 13, 1856, a daughter of John G. and Mary (Colver) Appleford. The mother died in that country and the father later came to Nebraska, locating near Bruning, where he is now living retired at the age of seventy years. To them were born five children, two of whom are still living, George S. and Sarah E. Mr. and Mrs. Garrison have become the parents of the following children: Jennie E., Franklin F., Florence A., Clara J., Mary A., Elmer R., and John G.

Mr. Garrison has made farming and stock raising his principal occupation throughout life, and has prospered in his undertakings, being now the owner of a valuable farm of two hundred and eighty acres under a high state of cultivation and well improved. He has thirty head of cattle and one hundred head of hogs and twelve horses. He is a member of the Farmers Elevator & Creamery Association, and gives his support to all enterprises which he believes calculated to prove of public benefit. His political support is always given the Republican party, and he cast his first presidential vote for U. S. Grant. His fellow citizens, recognizing his worth and ability have often called upon him to serve in public positions of honor and trust. He has served as a member of the board of supervisors of the county for three years, and as assessor for two terms. Socially he is quite prominent, and is an honored member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Modern Woodmen of America, and of the Grand Army of the Republic. One of his first political efforts in Fillmore county was in the election held to organize the township and select its name, Mr. Garrison suggested Franklin, others in the meeting suggested Germantown. The vote was running so close that Mr. Garrison took his team and went and brought other voters not present at the meeting, thus winning for the name of Franklin by one majority.

Source & Notes

Transcribed from pp. 958-960 of Memorial and Biographical Record...of Butler, Polk, Seward, York, and Fillmore Counties, Nebraska (Chicago: George A. Ogle and Co., 1899) in June 2010. This is a full and exact transcription. I have checked it twice against the original, and it is identical in every character.