Omaha daily bee., 1911-08-13

went to the law school
/ had engaged in fire. .>,oro
quent debates and had OA"
written numerous short essays which were read at our
literary society
At the law school we had moot court. / was at
once active in it. 1 also wrote long essay Con
tracts" Judge Samuel E. Perkins of the Indiana
supreme court dean of the law school, compliment
airy to me and gave much encouragement to pursue
my legal studies. | very fond of literature and
read much of it. Ny legal studies great pleas
lure to me.
Twas married in December 1862 to Miss Rebecca
A. McCord. Her father owned farm adjoining the
county seat of Carroll county, Delphi, and the young
lady the teacher of the district school at the little
school house top of the hill where the debating and
literary society met.
After looking Minnesota and Iowa with a
view to selecting place to practice law arrived in
Omaha in December, 1859 U.
went over to Lincoln in about three weeks and at
once put out my ''shinge" lawyer first occu-
pied desk in real estate office but in about two
months the owner of little wooden building
at the west side of Tenth street and this Immediately
became my office Lincoln little town then, and
it only took four five months to get acquainted
and to get started lawyer. / was soon busy in the
probate court and before the justice of the peace anil
in the u S. Land Office. also had five six
at the first term of the district court held after my
rival The trials in the district court rather holly
contested and these trials helped to get me more
business.
After L mad been at Lincoln about Alex
ander H. Common, prominent lawyer and politician Of
Indianapolis, came along and he and formed part
nership under the firm name of Hamer Conner. Mr..
Conner able to buy law books for the use of the
I new firm and we were soon very busy We did we'll
enough in professional way but we wanted land to
better financial condition. went to Kearney to
see if could get it. On the way stopped at Grand
Island and made plat of the public lands about the
proposed city of Kearney On the morning of the 30th
of May 1872, went up to Kearney. I walked from
p,,Lo
was little dwelling house the town site Of
Kearney. got breakfast there.
By reference to the plat which had made at
Grand Island discovered two tracts of land that
might be taken under the homestead or presumption
law After dinner borrowed spade and Immediately
began to dig a cellar of these tracts reported
finding the other tract to Mr.. Conner aud he settled
on it and acquired title to it.
On the Goth day of June, 1872, my wife and left
Lincoln for the new home in Kearney We went by
way of Omaha. 1t took all day to go from Lincoln to
Omaha then. There two channels of the Platte
river to in boats and there was quite ride on
an island in the river very rough wagon road
The conductor stopped the train for at the point
where Kearney to be- Trains did not stop there.
1t took all day to go from Omaha to Kearney We
started early in the morning and it was 80 in the
evening when we left the train. We at once moved
into the little house claim and we lived there
nineteen months The house 12x16 and contained
one room.
We built small dwelling house on our lots in
Kearney 1t then the best house in town. although
it only cost $s2500 We still occupy the same lots
Our children We're born and raised there. We built
better house.
Pretty soon after our arrival in Kearney went to
Mr.. Dart the owner of the little store. 1 asked him
whether there in his little store for a law
office He said Room, room, why there is just lots
Of ROOM" and he went to the northwest corner
of the little building and said Here you can put
your office in this corner" got rough board for
table and fastened end of it to the wall of the
building and put empty barrel under the other end