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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (July 6, 1902)
Life Work of a Typical Western Man Character Sketch of John II. Mickev of Osceola, Neb. OHN HOPWOOD MICKEY was en gaged in helping to celebrate three birthdays when I railed, for by au Interesting coincidence three members of his family were lorn on the same day or the year June 2!. First, there was (!rainlma Campbell, who Is 7" years old; thi n came Janus H., his young est boy, aged 11, and Flora Elizabeth, Just 7. All first saw the light on June 2'.i, but, because June 2!' fell on Sunday this year and because Sunday is always a busy day ill the Mickey household, the hirthdajs er.' celebrated Saturday evening. Hut coincidence of .Mickey birthdays does not end here. Kvan S., the third child, and lienjamip II. the sixth child, wire boih born January 2.". This ingenious arrange ment works a wonderful saving of time when it comes to celebrating birthdays. Whether or not it has any prophetic sig nificance, as forecasting the outcome of the gubernatoi i.il contest this fall. Is not known, but some riourceful clairvoyant will probably see In It a deep and hidden meaning. Governor Mickey. It has been said by those who oppose him politically that this rolnlimitlnn nf wnrill rli.ea nnt Hiillml rit'tit c is ucneient in catriclan resoiinneiv ih.v say. Well, it Is true that it has a robust Hi bernian ring to it, yet Mr. Mickey is not an Irishman, nor can the name be traced to Irish soil. His father was of Scotch and his mother of English descent and both wire born In Pennsylvania. However, Mr. Mickey Is very little wor ried about his patronymic and he would just as lief the campaign would be fought out on that line as any other. He knows that the great majority of voters, in de termining a candidate's capabilities for otlice, do not subject his name to a test to see if it will scan poetically and they care no more for euphony than If it were a town in New York. Without 1'iiiIm or Hobble. The republican candidate for governor will prove the despair of the caricaturist. Neither his physiognomy nor hia practices prseiits coigns of vantage whereby the car toonist can cleave with his mental hooks. He has no hobbies, unless Shorthorn cattle could be considered a hobby, and hia fea tures will not lend themselves readily to exaggeration. They are honest, strong, mat ter-of-fact featured. His eyes are gray and expressive of earnestness and anima tion; h.s mouth ilrm and generous; his chin and Jaw proniimnt, a quality said (at least by thofe having that kind of chin and Jaw) to indicate strength of will and steadfast ness to purpose. As to his nose, it prob ably would not be chosen by a sculptor as a typo of perfection, but It is a good general utility nose. One does not expect much of a nose. His mustache Is gray, as is his hair, but there Is etill enough black hair in both to Indicate a vigorous middle age. Mr. Mickey is not large In stature, but he is well built, and his frame is firmly knit and well proportioned. Hia shoulders are broad and erect, his neck short, while his carriage and bearing have a suggestion of early military training. How lie lnile u h'ttr. Mr. Mickey has prospered in business, which is another way of saying he has made enemies not many enemies, but he has a few choice, conscientious foes who, through tut the campaign, will remain steadfast to thtlr principles of dissent from the doctrine of his worth. One of these and he may be considered Mr. Mickey's favorite enemy, by the way .lv s In Osce l:i and Is a prominent merchant there. It came about in this way. Mr. Mickey was treasurer of Polk county. (LU' day the merchant entered th troiui- .er's office and said: "I see there Isn't money enough in the general fund to take up county warrants now." He was told that he saw aright. "Well," said he, "since the law doesn't permit you to discount county warrants, I have a plan to suggest. I have some money 1 would like to invest in this line of securi ties, and I dare say you have some, and by drawing on the county treasury you could get more. Now, you turn this money over to me, and I'll buy the warrants, and then we'll divide the proceeds." Mr. Mickey ordered hira out of the office. Since then there has been a coldness be tween them. He is a many-sided man, this republi " , ; t ij r- 'i. i ' O O 5 5 -C';V- FIVE I.NGWEKSEN BROTHERS OF CLINTON, la., WHO RECENTLY I EI.EHKATEI) THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THEIR AR RIVAL FROM GERMANY. can candidate for governor. Remarkably successful In business, the ethical side of his life shows great development. "I don't believe," said he, "that it Is all of life to make money." His interest outs'.de of his business ,s divided mm ng his family, big (Lurch, his charities and his educational projects, ilecause of his many acts of un ostentatious charity, his high tuoial character, his unswerving integrity and his kindly consideration for others, he is loved in the commuuity wherein he has lived for the last thirty years. One of the most eloquent tributes to his citizenship in heres in the fact that he has reared a large family of children among whom there Is not a "black sheep." All are honest and in dustrious, obeying the biblical injunction to "honor thy father and mother." Ho) hood, outh anil Soldier Lift1. John Hopwood Mickey was hern six miles southwest of Burlington, la., September 3U, 1840. His father was Oliver Perry Mickey, who located in the state in 1830, and bis mother was Betsy Ann Davison, a woman of English extraction. When John Hopwood was 2 years old the family moved to Louisa county, Iowa, aud there, save the two years he served in the army, he lived until 1868. In 1803 he enlisted in Company 1), E.ghth Iowa calvary, and served until August, 18ti5, when, at the close of the war, he was mustered out under general orders. During the latter part of I8ti3 his regiment waa in eastern Tennessee, engaged in discourag ing guerrilla depredations, and in the spring of lst4 it joined Sherman at Chattanooga and thenceforth was in the Sherman cam paign until after the surrender of Atlanta, lu the McCook raid near Atlanta 3uu of the Eighth Iowa calvary were taken prisoners and cousigued to Andersouville; the re mainder went to Nashville to be remounted aud were in the campaign between Hood and Thomas from Florence, Teuu., to Nashville and return. 11. C. Andrews, president of the City Na tional bank of Kearney, who was Mr. Mickey's captain, relates this incident of the McCook raid; "The Eighth Iowa was engaged in returning to the main body of the brigade, stationed at Atlanta, when we saw a detachment of rebels thundering down a ruad ahead of us and to right angles of our line of march. Their obvious purpose was to cut us off. Immediately we received orders to advance at all possible speed. Some of the men managed to cross the road before the rebels reached the point of intersection and among these was Mickey. He was mounted on a piebald, leggy roan, being a late addition to the regiment's equipment, and he passed some of the old line horses as though they had been hobbled. He reached the crossroads Just in the nick of time aud by a saber's length missed a long siege at Andersouville. "Mickey was a good soldier, prompt and willing to obey orders and was an ex cellent hand with a horse." Later the Eighth Iowa took part in the battles of Franklin, Nashville and. In the spring of 'tiu, lc the Wilson raid. It was near Macon, Ga., when the war closed. Mr. Mickey then reiurned to LouiBa county, where for two years he attended school at the Wesleyan college, at Mount Pleasant, and followed this with two years of school teaching. S.ptember lu, 1807, he was married to Miss Moriuda McCray of Des Moines couuty, Iowa. The following year, which was his last in Iowa, he put in at teaching aud farming. nine o ebraku Kurly. Oue year after his marriage he loaded his effects into a prairie schooner, and set out for Polk county, Nebraaka, where, Sep tember 3, he likd on a homestead tn the banks of the lllue river, ills waa the first homestead entry made in the Lincoln laud olHce, and at that time there was only oue family living in t'olk couuty. Other claims had been taken, but no one as liv ing on them. Mr. Mickey and wife remained on their Ulue river claim four years, aud, having been a soldier, he was allowed the time of his service to apply on the homestead. In November, 1872, he removed to Osceola. It wasn't much of a town then, compris ing only two buildings, a courthouse and a "store," and considerable interest ai- i Kwrnf jnm m n ;u ! m .... , .-. i"" i, ' " ' 1 iff 1 JOHN H. MICKEY AS A TROOPER From a Photo Made in lst!3. tached to wno should Lc Ihd first settler. Air. .Mickey started with his wife and L.iby, a two-horse team aud a lumber t.Uri'.n laden w.th household furniture. W. F. Kinimel, thj other pioneer, started in to town at t no tame time. For tu.' li el two miles they traveled owr the same road, aud a spirited race ensued. Their horses ran ucck and neck fir a while, aud then Kimmel, having the lighter load, lauuebed uiuud, aud Mr. Mickey was beaten. Since then he his never laced horses. srrtlce to III t tiimlj. Polk counv was organized in 1870 and M r Al 1 c k ey w us e I ec ted the hrst couuty treasured au U J he helu for almost ten yeara lu November. 188U, he was elected to the .egislature, aud served uuu term. During this time he was boinuihiug of a leader iu the lower house. Among the Important measures he voted for was the Slocum li.li tcr regulating the sale of liquor. Mi. Mickey, wiiile. not a prohibitionist, is a conscientious tempciauce liiau. lie be- l.eves iu regulating the liquor trallic, and " governor. it is predicted mat he win lhat, so long as liquor is manufactured. Us redeem the county from the sligma of popu saie cauuot aud should not be prohibited " which has clung to it so loug. by law. Tho hrst bank iu Polk couuty waa opened by Mr. Mickey iu May, 187U, aud The this is siiil lu exisicuce, known as Osceola liuuk. ' It was launched with a capital slock of $0,uuu, and uow has a pa.d up capital oi J Ji'.jOO. He bus re lumed ihe presidency ol it to tuo present uay, aud his eldest sou, Oliver E. Mickey, is us cushier. Id. tit.. iti-..:ih r n;tl-t llf Mr. Mickl'V S property m m lauded interests. His home candidacy, though she had some place, a mile south of Osceola, includes -"luga couceru.ug it al hrst, believing liv acres, and besides this ue has about " V""t'cal career at tuo slate capital would 2 0CU acres ot improved laud lu various l"uV """'cely consonant with their mod pans ot ihe couuty. He is interested also ,ul"-'s oI "tt;- uow reconciled iu thoroughbred buonui.ru cattle, aud has lu ll. however, and is becomiug quite u a held of luu head. With the aid ot Albert .Nygieu, his hired mau, aud his younger sons, ho is operating tue home place hiin jell, besiucs giving a large share of his liiiio to his dunes in the bank, t ii ure hum. ii in. u iiluiuliii. As a member of the Methodist Episcopal church Mr. Auckcy is a pillar in the broad est ieuse ot the term, lie has twice beeu elected a delegate to the geuclal coufer- euce ot that deuumiuuliou aud ouce to the ecumenical conference al Loudon. He has Smith, hrst assistant iu ihu Uurl.uglou been a member since his early boyhood, ticket oluce al Lincoln. Maiy N., the The Methodist Episcopal church at Osceola, second daughter, aged 21, Is alleudiug where he is superiuleudeul ol tho buuday school at the Weslcyau university at Liu school and trustee, is made to conform iu coin, aud will huish next year. She takes as strict business lines as does his bauk. special illicit si iu music and cuu play se "The idea is," said he, "to keep all lections from Verdi uud Wagner wilh much classes of members interested." So something is going on every evening at the Methodist Episcopal church save Wednesday evening aud this is held open lor occasiouul socials and lawn festivals. Monday evening there is the meeting of the trustees, Tuesday eveuiug the young HANQLET .- r-S Ill "v - ' VIM A people't meeting, Thursday evening prayer teachers' meeting, Saturday evening choir practice- i.nd preparatory work, while morning, afternoon and evening of Sunday are occupbd with the usual Sabbath services. It Is by far the strongest church in town. Mr. Mickey applies this principle of "keeping the members Interested'' to bis family. He gave up one Hue home In town and moved out upon the farm in order that he might have something for his hoys to do. Ilecause of his well known Interest In educational mailt rs. he lias been elected as pusldcnt of the board of trusties of the Nebraska Wesleyan university at I'nlvcr slty Place, a suburb of Lincoln. I'olllica Ik Strniitht. He has always been a republican. His father was a Stephen A. Douglas ilriiim r.it and voted for him in 18(10, but nflcr thai was a republican. John Hop wood's til si vole was cast for Lincoln lu IMil, when he was only l'.i years old. This was dur ing liis military service; he was with his regiment near Florence, Tenu., at the lime and the state of Iowa sent a commissioner there to receive the votes of the llawkcye men, the state having passed a special act allowing all soldiers to vote, Irrespective of age. Since that time be has ulwayt, allUialed with the republican party and supported its principles. lioth as legislator aud as couuty treas urer ho served the people well, yet he did not "escape calumny." The populists charged him with "knocking down'' enough of the public money while couuty treasurer to Blurt the Osceola bank. Ever since the populislic landslide of the middle 'UUs Polk has had decided populist ic leanings, and when men of this persuasion secured cuu trol of the county ollices they se,t on foot au Investigation of the books and records ept by Ma-key during the ten years of his incumbency to see if they could hud evi- malfeasance. They hired two ccouuunf and paid them $10 a day eacu tout ot me public money), nut me inquiry came to uuughi. 1 hey woiked thiee mouths aud liually made oui, Uirougu ..... a clerical error, that air. Mickey owed tuo county $18. Many of the "pops " wno were so streuuous for this luvcsuguliou are uow pledged to support Mr. Mickey s caudidacy ir. Micke'M Lome 1.114. Mr. Mickey has a large uud iuleresilug 'ulul'y- Niue ch.ldreu ure living, uud oi ine&e uve were uy uis nisi wue and lour by his secoud. Ills tirsi wife died Decem ber 23, IsSO. December 8, ls7, he married I'loia C. Campbill of Nordeu, Neb., a woman of sweel disposition aud of quiul devoiiou to her laiiuly and her church, bue has taken u mui'Ked luuresl in hcr zealous partisan in her husband's behalf. Of the ulue children there are Uve boys and four girls, the eldest being Oliver E. .u.ckey, 32 years old, who Is cushier of his lailier s bauk. lie is ot u studious lein pei anient, being feud of books aud pictures, aud is very populur iu the community. 1 ueu come Harlan A., uged 3U, aud Lvuu b., uged 28, who ure proprietors of u cuttle luucu in Keyu i uha couiily uud spend ull ihoir time there licrlba E. Smith is the Sue is the wife of li. O. eldest duughier. feeling and expression, but this dots uoi incapacitate her for more humble occupa tion. The evening I culled she weul out to the chickin coop, captured three yellow-legged ones, cut their heuds off wltn the ax (though her brother insisted the corn knife would serve belter) uud dressed SPREAD ON THE LAWN FOR SOME them for the table. Then the next day I I tin Ja tn lti II., 1.1 years old, Is a br ght lad who takes a close Interest In his father's farm and knows all about how to "tap" a "critter" with the trochar when It Is bloated from eating too much alfalfa, thereby letting off the noxious gases that would otherwise prove fatal. It is told ef him how, when he heard bis father was nominated for governor, he was so excited that he sat down at the front end of a cow to milk her, and was absent-mindedly fum bling her dewlap when some one called at tention to his error. James 11., 11 years old, Is the youngest boy, and then come llu two little girls, Flora Elizabeth and Norma Adeline, aged 7 and 2 respectively. Wlmt Ill Nrlulilinri Snj. Mr. Mickey Is loath to speak of his charities, and his benefactions to churches mid other public Institutions, and most of the data pertaining to these bad to be gleaned from his neighbors. 1 learned that he contributed Jr.. 000 to the building fund of the Osceola Methodist church, which was about one-third of the cost. Eight years ago he gave $3,filH toward lift lug the debt on the Wesleyan university, aud again, in lS'.il, be contributed $7,500 to the same purpose. When the Methodist Episeopul church at York was destroyed by lire live years ago he gave $100 to help erect a new one, and when this year the church at Lincoln met with a similar dis aster be gave a similar amount. It In estimated that In the last ten years ho has devoted $.'0.1100 toward the advance ment of the church. "1 prefer to Invest my own money now," said ho, "rather than I. live It to others to Invest after 1 am dead." He has also subscribed $T00 toward the erection of the Methodist hospl- " al Omaha. Mr- Mickey is a self-niado man In all that term Implies, and Is a "captain of lu- lu-ry" In the broadest sense. His nclgh- "rs say of him that If he Is elected gov- -rnr w "J''-" ' i"- ... ..... "f u'8 admirers, "but ho will not be dlc- ,utod t0' au1 fvcrythlng ho docs will be, so f.... nu I.I., .1 i.,ui..l.t ll.t uffulpa will "' v "l""1" " I'tiablo him to determine, to the greatest good of the greatest number." F. W. Question of Tees In eouversailou the other day a prominent lawyer remarked tu a physician of rept'to that the Plant estate, amounting to some tio.oiiu.iioo, would biiug the lawyers about $1,0.00,0110 us fees. The doctor linked the lawyer; "Mr. F., suppose Mr. Plant were dying, but, there being a chance of saving his life by a dilllcull operation, a surgeon should i 1 it-1 u I it and save Mr. Plant's life, would that surgeon be Justitled iu sending lu a bill for $1U0,0U0?" The immediate answer was: "Certainly not." "Well," asked Dr. M.. "how is It that the lawyers cuu charge tuch large fees ."' "HocaUKo," replied the advocate, " a law yer's fees ure llxed by the courts." And I bo celebrated physician, w hoso olllce fee uf $ltl is often grudgingly paid, re ma rked: "You lawyers have solved tbo problem of sclf-prcBcrvatlon, while we are spending our time in the preservation of others." Foot Rest on High A story that Is now going the rounds, suys the Onlooker, la laid to the door ot a piquant aud dimity little French woman who was more or less iu evidence ut hucIi places as were visited by the ltuchaiubeau embassy. The humor uf the situation lies iu ihe extreme ditlldcncc uf Ihe French woman. She is sensitive to the point of a double nervousness, and realizing the lia bility to en lu a foreign tongue she was generally careful tu make selection of each individual word. Wherefore she was but the more amusing when oue evening feeling movid to remonstrate wilh a gentleman upon the chilliness of our northern May she said: "Iteely eel ees so cold here all ze time zat 1 have sal all ze day wecth my feet over ze transonic." YOCNQ OMAHANS.
