Neb. State Historical Soc.
5
be
SEMI-WEEKLY EDITION-FOUR PAGES
PLATTSMOUTU, NEBRASKA. MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 1909
VOLUME XXVI11
NUMBER 173
THE LATE JOHN
B. rj.E.3INGER
Dricf Sketch of the Noble Up
right Citizen and Friend
bled Meisinger. John Raltazer,
aged 73 years, 7 months and 2
days, at his home near Platts
mouth, Neb., of diabetes, on Fri
day. Jan. 15. 1909. Funeral Sun
day, Jan. 17, 1909, from the home,
interment Oak Hill cemetery,
Plattsmouth, Neb.
Yesterday afternoon occurred the
funeral of one of Cass County's best
and most widely known citizen?,
when all that was mortal of John
Baltazer Meisinger was consigned to
the final resting place in Oak Hill
ce'metery. This noble man, the eldest
of seven brothers, departed this life
on Friday, January 15, 1909, ut 4
o'clock in the afternoon at his home
six miles west of the city, after a
lingering illness which covered sev-
eral years. He was one of nature's
noblemen, a man whom everyone
knew to love and respect for his ster
ling uprightness and many manly
qualities which had impressed them
selves upon all who had the good for
tune to know him. For thirty-seven
years this strong, sturdy man had
made his home in this community
and in all that long period, none
knew him but to give him praise for
bis many excellent qualities of head
and heart. 1
. From the time he first came to
Nebraska Mr. Meisinger had devoted
himself to the upbuilding of the com
Uiuiiity. He had" reared a large family-
who are examples of all that is
good in life. He had by his thrift and
industry accumulated a handsome
competency and his broad acres
stretch over the fairest portion of
Cass Ceunly. His name Is today a
synonym for strength and stability
whether cf financial or other lines,
all the result cf his steady applica
tion to b-.Tsiness and his unswerv
ing fldenHty to honor and to trusts
Few men are they who can go to the
grave with so pure and spotless a
'record ani in a long and busy life
point to a fortune accumulated with
out envy cr malice pointing its fin
ger, as this man did. His loss is one
. which the entire community must
feel a loss which must have its ef
fect all over this section where hla
manifold interests exist. Such men
are all too few and they can ill be
spared yet that they must Join the
great and Invisible army Is one of the
Inevitable sequences of life.
John Baltazer Meisinger first saw
the light cf day in Boelstein, Hesse
Darmstadt, .Germany on June 13,
1835, and for eleven years he grew
up in the land vo renownel In history,
emigrating with his parents to Amer
ica in 1846. In this year the large
German colony near Pekln, 111., re
ceived mi .Addition in the shape of
George Mclflnger and family among
Conrad, Jacob, Geo. P. and Philip II.
Meisinger.
In common with the entire com
munity the Journal extends its sin
cere sympathy to the members of the
That Silk Tile Again.
Col. M. A. Bates of Plattsmouth
changed cars here Monday, on the
way to Lincoln to resume his duties
I in the legislature. We occupied a
stricken family, realizing that in the car seat with him comin: down from
passing of Mr. Meisinger the entire Plattsmouth, and observed how care
community sustains the Irreparable fully he guarded a large round box
loss of a good citizen, an excellent he had with him. We supposed it
upright and noble man, and one of contained one of the bank guaranty
the bulwarks of integrity, fidelity bills or something as valuable, and
and truth in the country.
them being the subject of this sketch,
and hi six brothers J. M., H. J., Con
rad, Jacob, Geo. P. and P. H. Here
young Mr. Meisinger grew to men
hood marrying at the age of twenty
one years Miss Anna Eva Meisinger,
a distant cousin.
Of this union ten children vre
born of whom eight are still in the
lend of the living, those surviving
being Mrs. Eva Dreeszen of Unadilla,
Neb., Mrs. Kate Heil of Cedar Creek,
Neb., G. G. Mi-l&lnger of Cedar Creek,
Nb., C. A. Meisinger cf SpnngfieM,
Neb., P. M. Meisinser of Benson,
Neb., J. B. Meisinger, Jr., of Lincoln,
Neb., and W. G. and L. A. Meisinger
near Plattsmouth, Neb. In additlcn
Mr. Meisinger is the grandfather of
nineteen children.
In 1872 Mr and Mr. Meisinger came
Cass County, settling on the homo
farm west of this city where they
resided at the time of their respec
tive deaths, Mrs. Meisinger preced
ing her husband to the better land
several years ago. The aged father
of Mr. Meisinger also died upon this
farm some seven years ago, having
cotne here from Pekin, 111., to spend
his last day with bis estimable sons.
In addition to the 'six brothers who
are named above, Mr. Meisinger left
surviving him a sister Mrs. Molden
hauer, of Peoria. 111.
The funeral yesterday took place
from the home of the deceased west
of the city, 11 being one of the largest
The Burlington Extensions.
The Burlington road is planning
two extensions that will be made in
the next two months. The one line
will run from Erlcson to O'Neill, in
this state, and the other will extend
from Orln Junction to Sparta, In Wy
oming. These two lines will be the
most important that the Burlington
has added to its lines in jvirr,. The
road in Wheeler and Holt Cf.unties
will tap the richest cattl country in
the state, and its connections with
he Northwestern at O'Neill will bring
much of the traffic from that point
eff that line and transfer it to the
more direct route of the Burlington
The line that will be built In Colorado
will be simply a necessarj move aftc
the purchase of tho Colorado &
Southern. It will maki the route of
the Hill lines from Texas to the Pu
clfic northwest shorter by several
by "nosing in" we gained the Col
onel's confidence to the extent that
he informed us that the box contained
the high silk hat which the reporters
have been doing up in picture and
verse. The Colonel enjoys the jok
ing, and his acquaintances know that
when he puts on that high silk lid
there Is a lot of good brains under it.
Union Ledger.
CHANGES
OF TIME
Interesting Article on the Settlement
of the Walradt Estate '
Last Saturday, January 16, 1909,
final settlemtnt of the estate of
George Walradt was made in the
county court by Judge Allen J. Bee
no. Them urn Rnmn unlmm reft.
hundred miles, while it will I be an ad- Jnddent tQ BetUement of thU
dition of less than fifty ntiles to the
dVSleni.
Frank Trumbull, tha president of
the C. & S. road will retire next
week and George B. Harris of the
Burlington will take charge of the
affairs of' the road. Mr. Harrle will
go to Denver next week to look over
the new lines.
estate.
George Walradt was a pioneer set
tler of Cass county, owning and liv
ing on a farm near Cedar Creek
and was for many years well and fa
vorably known in that section of the
county. On December 25th, 1890,
Hon Allen Beeson,, father of County
Judge Beeson, wrote the last will and
testament of Mr. Walradt. On Feb
ruary 15, 1891, Mr. Walradt died
The Basket Bull Game.
The Plattsmouth high school bas- and on April 28, 1891, Mr. Allen Bee
ket ball team left for Omaha Sat- son. as attorney for the estate, filed
urday afternoon for a game, with the will for probate before Judge
the Omaha high school team at tho Basil S. Ramsey, then county Judge
-f..- ... ,. ..,.- V- M. C. A. in that city. The Platts- Under a certain provision of the will,
month team was no maun ior me I mini ocuamcui iuum nut uc muuv
SHOOTING OF
JOHN P. THACKER
Report of the Unfortunate Affair
Victim Still Alivo Though
Very Low
friends and neighbors of this Justly
esteemed and popular man, coming
for miles to pay a last tribute of re
spect to his many noble qualities.
The services at the house were, con
ducted by Rev. F. J. Longhorst, pas
tor of the German Evangelical church I
cf this city. Rev. Longhorst preach- j
ed a sermon wiibh whs exception -Uy
eloquent and which found much in
the pure life of this eminent man to
commend. His Christian life, his
upright and noble character, and his
universally conceded high minded
ness all furnished a theme upon
which the pastor dwelt lovingly. Rev.
Longhorst sprke of the patience and
fortitude with which Mr. Meisin
ger, had beme his long Illness and
the unshaken faith which he felt
in the hereafter and his great re
ward beyond the skies, riis sermon
was one of the most eloquent ever
heard in this section and was a splen
did tribute to one of the best citi
zens who ever graced Cass County
or Nebraska.
.After the services at the house,
the funeral cortege wended Its way to
Oak IIll! cemetery la this city, where
the remains were laid at mt. The
pall bearers were the six urilng
Omaha team as their lack of team until the youngest child, Raymond
(vcrk was very evident, the players Walradt, then three years old, should
shewing giect Inr.i iluf.l ability but become of age, Raymond became 21
were imMe to got tc?ether. The years old last September. -Henry Ahl
'Irsi: half 'dofcod with l sccre 29 to and Abraham B. Walradt, executors
1 in favcr cf the Omaha team. In of the will, through their attorneys,
he f.ei.cnd ha'f the bc:3 tightened up Ramsey & Remsey, last Saturday,
in! ratio the c:mc. more interest- made final settlement before Judge
ing. The final rie v.p.s 54 to 15. Beeson, son of the attorney who
Tie hcn:c term wis eiipplod by the drafted the will and Judge Ramsey,
tact that Mann,' one rf the guards who as county judge, admitted the
was unable to go. The team should will to probate nearly eighteen years
feel no I'lscorrpgcment ever the re- ago, appeared as one of the attor
av lt as the Omaha team Is an ex- neys to make final settlement.
tep:lf nally Uroni; one. Hopping did Great changes have taken place
very good work us forward, as did since the probate of this will. Hon.
Whelan as giiari, considering that he Allen Beeson, the senior member of
had playel with the team but twice, the law firm of Beeson & Root, pass-
The officials cf the game were: Ref- ed away a number of years ago, while
re. Ernest E. Wi ll, Plattsmouth, I his son Is Just commencing his sea
tui vlre, Kelrter, Omaha, score keep- ona year Us County Judge. Judge
ers, Dawson. Plattsmouth, Cherrlng, I jeH(e l. Root, tho Junior member of
ton, Omaha. The nembersof the I the law firm of eighteen years ago,
team were: Deal, Hopping, for- subsequently became county attor-
wards; Drnege, Whelan, guards; noy ftnj filled the office for six
Wilson, center. , The team expects to J years, appointed a ; supreme court
play a numbr of games in the near I commissioner and now has the very
future and should have the support I unusual distinction of being appoint
From Saturday's Daily.
An affray which may terminate in
the death of one of the best known
citizens of Cass county, took place
yesterday afternoon on the farm of
James Darrough, some nine miles
south of the city. The trouble ended
in the shooting of John P. Thacker,
a well known resident of that neigh
borhood and a man prominent in
business and political life of the
county, by John Clarence, a resi
dent of the same locality and con
nected with several of the promi
nent families of the neighborhood.
There are conflicting stories as to
the origin of the trouble and consid
erable divergence as to the real facts
surrounding the difficulty. The most
accurate report is that corn was be
ing shelled by several of the parties
involved in tho affair, at the Dar
rough farm, among those pres
ent being Carter Albln and his neph
ew Earl Albin. . Thacker, who had
been a visitor at the home of Claud
Everett, several miles from the scene
of the shooting, arrived at the Dar
rough place about two o'clock in the
afternoon. Here he found the two
AJbins and John Clarence as well
as several other people. At the time
of his arrival the two Alblns were
engaged in a quarrel, stories con
flicting as to whether they were en
gaged in actual combat or in merely
a war of words. The stories also as to
what occurred afterwards are de
cidedly conflicting. It is said that
Thacker attempted to act the part of
peacemaker between thd Alblns to
hom he is related by marriage,
Thacker's wife1 being a sister of
Carter Albln, and that when he at
tempted to Interfere and stop the
trouble, Clarence took a hand and in
the row which ensued, drew a re
volver and shot Thacker three times,
one of the bullets taking effect in
Thacker's chest, one in tho abdomen the trouble ,8 8ald t0 uave 1,een 8
and the third one entering his left long-continued difficulty between the
leg. Immediately following the lwo A,u,nH- In wn n HeverB' ol, uie
shooting he hurriedly saddled a horse rt',atlve8 1,0(1 berome involved, lead-
and came to town , Clarence surren- lo n,oro or ,eH8 uu, 0,oou
derlng to the officers and being 0,1 tne DHr,lH- u 8ald .that th
placed In Jail. Thacker fell to the "noo"n lim Kr"ai 01
ground and help was immediately ,n ulp ""nmunu, warn u occurred
summoned from the Darrough home ttnd tnat there wfts 80n,e..tal of
which W within a short distance of violence toward uiarei.ee. However,
where the shooting occurred. . thU T.9 ! haVe ",e
Ias numing una irautipirea mnru uin
arrest to warrant a belief that any-
at once for the Injured man, Dr. thing out of the way would take
Livingston being hurriedly sum- r,iace
of the entire community.
For Rent.
An excellent 4 room cottage.
See
j brothers of deceased,' J. M.. Henry J.. 1 ' tl: Hut. i t H e meat market. f
The Seven Meisinger, Brothers
,, V v L V
(
i; ' w
I
. . ,
ed by two governors of opposite po
litlcal affiliations, one of the Judges
of our supreme court.
Judge RamBey completed three
terms as county Judge, then four
years as district Judge and Is now In
I partnership in the practice of law
with his son, William C. Ramsey
who. Is Just entering upon 'the dls
charge of his duties as county at
torney.
A Fine DIscuHNlon.
Wednesday night at the young
men's rooms of the Presbyterian
church Prof. Gamble led in tho dls
(Mission of the "Postal Savings Law
It proved a thoroughly interestln
hour . Prof. Gamble bad given
thought to the subject and was pre
pared to present both sides of the
proposition though It was clear that
he favored the law. The discussion
waxed warm and Inasmuch as It was
felt that only the beginning had been
made on a theme so large it was de
termined to eonl Inuo the discussion
at the next meeting the first Wednes
day night in February, at. w hich time
J. M. Robertson will lead. The in
tercut Is at such a slate that several
have declared their Intention to be
there without foil and participate.
It will lu worth while.
Rpe correspondent' and Journal rep
resentative at the time, was re
quested to feel his head and find the
welts, he was unable to do so. This
was this morning, however.
One of the pathetic feathure of the
case, Is that Thacker is a man with
a wife and six children. He and his
family had called at Mr. Everett's
early in the afternoon to pay their
respects to the late Mrs. Mary F.
Grflmes, and he had left the family
but a few moments before tho un
fortunate affair occurred. In addi
tion all the parties to the affair are
related In a more or less degree, Mr.
Thacker and Mr. Clarence being
cousins by marriage while the Alblns,
Thacker and Clarence are all re
lated also. '
After the shooting Thacker was
taken to his home and he lies there
at present hovering between life and
death. At three o'clock this after
noon, he was still alive but his con
dition Is very serious. The wound
through the chest is Just above the
heart and Is very dangerous while
the wound in the abdomen pene
trated the bowels and there is dan
ger of grave complications ensuing.
The wound in the left leg is not con
sidered dangerous. Should tho in
juries prove fataj, Clarence will have
the crime of muVder to plead to, oth
erwise he will probably escape with a
charge of shooting with In
tent to kill or wound. From the
stories told it is apparent that the
defenso to any charge which will be
made will be self-defense. . - ;.-..
County Attorney Ramsey Is ab
sent from the city and nothing defi
nite can be told as to his probable
course In the matter. In any event
he would not likely file a complaint
until the extent of Mr. Thacker's In
juries are ascertained.
One of the underlying causes of
moned from this city. He was at
Elmwood at the time and this news
being conveyed ' to those at
Thaekei'g bedside they intercepted
him at Union hurrying him to the
Injured man's bedside. Here Dr.
Livingston made a hurried examina
tion and saw at once that Mr. Thack
er's colnditlon was serious. He at
once summoned Dr. Davis of Omaha
to his assistance and last night a
more complete examination was
made, and two of the bullets recov
ered.
Clarence, who did the shooting, la
a crippled man, twenty-eight years of
ago and single. He was keeping
buclulor quarters about a n He from
the scene of the shoot In;; and about
four miles northeast of tho villnKe of
L.i;cn. He Is quite well known li
tho eastern end of the cd.ciIv. Byron
Clark has been engaged to defend
nim, it is understood.
le'er Clarence, a brother of John,
was In the city today, coming up from
Union, to look after the matter. Ho
ki.inv little of tho affair, except what
According to the story told by Hs let forth above and wt.s iinnV.o irt
Clarence who is now Jn the county l-i.d any light on the cause of the dlf
jall, trouble was going on between floulty save that It wni 'trouble be-
the two AlbliiB when Thacker came twcoii themselves. He prently regret-
up. He Interfered between them t-d the unfortunate ocii.rraiH? and
and advised Carter Albin to kill his wiv ury hopeful for tlvi ' recovery
nephew "as ho was no good anyway." of V.c: Thacker.,
Clarence then claims that ho took John T. Thacker In fl' man alio.it
part in the trouble und gave Thacker fotty-flve jVars 'of 'age," marrl tl and
to understand that he was not to In- the fat her 'of six children, sevcml of
terfere In the matter when the latter them grown. He has generally been
went after him, Clarence, with a I considered a pwicciilile, law-abiding
board, striking him over the head, citizen, and a thrifty farmer. He wan
At this Clarence claims he diew his the democratic candidate for county
revolver, a thirty-two cabre gun, and commissioner two years ngo running
fired with the results as Indicated
above. AccordliiR to Clarence there
wus several welts on his head where
Thacker had struck htm with a
board but w hen A. W. At wood, the
against Commissioner Frlediich. Ho
is quite well known in this city and
has many friends, who hope hi In
juries may terminate without ser
ious results.
right: Bottom
1.
iv, It J , J l tt'ie d.'cea'cil hro.'un Vil.e, lurid. i , riv, Ceorgi V
J. W. Itowen of Scotts ItlufTs. de
parted this noon on the mall train
for Lincoln after a brief visit In
the city with Col. Askwlth, superin
tendent of the Masonic Home. Mr.
Itowen was formerly adjutant under
Col. Askwith at the Grand Island
Soldier's home when the latter wos
commandant there and he Is an old
friend of his. He hnd a very delight
ful time during his brief stay In thp
c It y.
Peppered himself. 1
A fourteen-year old lad named
Havlrch, tt Bohemian lad only over
from the, old country- some three
weeks, today neiiilently shot himself
In the face and arm. The accident
occurred In his dragging a loaded
shot gun through a barb-wire fence
west of the city. Tho gun was dis
charged and tho load of small shot
entered his arm and the side of his
face. His injuries are not consid
ered dangerous as medlenl uid was
hurledly summoned.
Those taking the examination 10
duy before County Superintendent
Mary H. Foster wer thn Normal
training 'clung of the Plattsmouth
high school, John K. Wllleoxson, Joe)
Capwell and Fnra Eldeiinucller of
Elmwood, and Miss Alice Stander of
Louisville.
"Out "Hell," tne ta'vbmViiaar.
J,w, ..i.l Pl.iJIip