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