(transcribed by Pat O'Dell: genpat@netins.net)

Copyright © 2003 by Pat O'Dell: This data may be used for your own family research; it may not be copied in any form or used for any other purpose (commercial or otherwise).

From Wednesday until Saturday of last week the case of Henry Johnson, a colored man 76 years of age, was heard in court. Johnson, a citizen of Hamburg shot and killed Henry Porter, a colored citizen of the same place, in December 1912 because he resented Porters attentions to his daughters and divorced wife. Johnson claimed he shot in self defense, but at his first trial in January, 1913, he was found guilty and sentenced by Judge Arthur to twenty-five years imprisonment. After serving a little over a year of his time, he was brought back to Sidney for a new trial, the supreme court having decided that the evidence submitted at the first tiral did not justify the verdict. The case was given to the jury Saturday forenoon and after two hours deliberation they returned a verdict of not guilty.

Henry visited here on Saturday and left that evening for Clarenda [sic] where he will stay with relatives for a time.

John Gottsche died Saturday afternoon. Mr Gottsche came to Hamburg in 1871 and has since resided here. He was for years in the butcher business and had farming interests which took a large part of his time. He was at one time a member of the city council, an office which he held with honor....John Gottsche was born March 1, 1843 in Schleswig, Holstein, Germany. He came to America in the year 1865 and for a few years resided at Davenport, Iowa, but came to Hamburg in the spring of 1871 and has lived here ever since.

He was united in marriage Jan 6, 1873 to Mary Hamann which union was blessed with five children, four of whom are still living and one preceded the father to the Great Beyond. For many years Mr Gottsche was an active business man of Hamburg taking keen interest in the welfare of the city. About fifteen years ago he retired from active business life and after an illness of eleven months he peacefully passed away Saturday April 4 at 2:30 p.m. He leaves to mourn his loss his wife and four children, Mrs Merve Simons of Shenandoah, Mrs Helen Miller, Hamburg, and Rose and Will at home. He also leaves two brothers and six sisters: William, Rock Springs, Wyo., Henry of Germany, Mrs Mella Hamann of Farragut, Lena of South America, Anna, Gretchen, Emma and Marie of Germany.

Funeral services were conducted at the family home by the Rev Theo. J. Asmus pastor of the Presbyterian church and interment was made in the Hamburg cemetery....

Mrs A.E. Wanamaker received the sad word Tuesday of the death of her brother George at Julian, Neb., after a short illness from appoplexy. The funeral services will be held at Julian today (Friday) and interment will be at Nebraska City. He was the father of Miss Alma Wildberger who graduated from the schools here last year, Dr and Mrs Wanamaker attended the funeral.

Mr Wildberger was born in Hamburg, Iowa, April 5, 1859, where he resided for many years then going west where he was married about twenty-five years ago to Miss Augusta Weinick, a resident of York, Neb. He later moved to Nebraska City where he resided for several years. He later moved to Julian where he engaged in farming and remained until the time of his death. He was well known in this city and was held in high esteem by all and his many friends will be shocked to hear of his sudden death.

Besides a wife, Mr Wildberger leaves a son, Roy, and a daughter Miss Alma, three sisters and three brothers to mourn his death.

On Monday occurred the death of Hiram Clary at his home after a short illness from pneumonia. Mr Clary was born in Logansport, Ind Jan 13, 1844 and had reached the age of 70 years 2 months and 26 days. He served in the civil war and was a corporal in Co B 128 Indiana regiment. In '67 he was a freighter across the plains from Leavenworth to Salt Lake, for some he was a pony express rider and then went to stage driving near San Berdina, Calif. He and two companions were the only survivors of an Indian massacre in which thirty men were killed. He came to Hamburg in 1877.

On June 17, 1880 he was married at Elmo, Mo [Nodaway county] to Mrs Adeline Bailey Wheeler and to this union ten children were born: Mrs Emma Knight, Malvern; Mrs Flossie Culley, Oklahoma; Mrs Isa Lockett, Sidney; Myron, Clifford, Isaac, Edgar, Marion, Ruth and Adeline of this place, and a step-daughter, Mrs Chas Breedlove.

The funeral services were conducted from the Baptist church Wednesday by Rev A.W. Tandy and interment was made in the Hamburg cemetery.

In talking with J.W. Rhea of Saragosa, Texas, one day this week he gave considerable information regarding the section of Texas in which he has been living the past two years. J.W. and wife and his father and mother and Mrs Swisher came up from there Tuesday and J.W. will locate at Farragut until his daughter has completed school.

Mr Rhea has been very successful in his farming operations and is up on to the proper use of water. Rhea was not a great distance from the Mexican line and said that they often heard the roar of the guns during battle. Many of those leaving the country came up this way. At El Paso the government is taking care of the refugees and at an expense of about $2500 per day. Mr Rhea expects to follow the trade of carpenter.

The accompanying likeness is a picture of one of our heroes of the civil war and one of our former esteemed fellow townsmen, Zed McNew, but now of Shenandoah.

Mr McNew was born in Schuyler county, Illinois, January 6, 1841, where he spent the early years of his life, arriving to young manhood about the time the civil war broke out. He shouldered a musket in defence of the flag and served for three years with credit to himself and honor to the flag.

In 1870 he came to Hamburg and has resided here continously until about a month ago when he moved to Shenandoah. He has seen Hamburg grow from almost nothing to the beautiful little city that it is today. Mr McNew with the other pioneers of Fremont county endured the hardship and trials attendant on pioneering a new and raw country. To those pioneers of the early days we of the present time really owe our present state of prosperity and high order of civilization. He was first married in 1874 his wife dying in 1894. He remarried in April 1900.

Jas Mann is the only man actively engaged in business at the present time that was in business here when he first came to Hamburg. Mr McNew at the age of 73 is hale and hearty and can give some of the young bloods a pointer or two in the way of getting around.

George Wilburger was born near Hamburg, Iowa April 5, 1861 and died of apoplexy at Julien, Nebr., April 7, 1914 at the age of 53 years and 2 days. In 1886 he moved to Julien, Nebr., and settled on a farm near there. On Dec 27, 1888 he was married to Miss Augusta Wernick of York, Nebr. To this union were born two children, Roy and Alma who with their mother, three brothers and three sisters are left to mourn the loss of a kind husband, father and brother. The brothers and sisters and Albert of Sidney, Henry of Julien, Nebr., Herman and Mrs Emma Grassman of Nebraska City, Mrs A.E. Wanamaker of Hamburg and Mrs Martha Harns of Columbus, Nebr. The mother, father, brother John and sister Cathrine passed on before. The deceased gave his heart to Christ and united with the church in his youth and tried to live a conscientious christian life. He so often said, "I am so tired" and after the day's work was done he sank to the floor inside the threshold of his own home, became unconscious and was at rest in a short time.

The funeral was preached at Julien by Rev Zimmerman and all that remained of a fine, large robust healthy looking man, right in the prime of life, was laid to rest in the Nebraska City cemetery, which place he had lived for 6 years while educating his children.

He was a member of the Woodmen lodge and that order attended in a body, being pallbearers, carrying the casket from his home to the church, then to the depot. His burial was beautiful it being on the evening of Good Friday the anniversary of his Lord's death and burial, he too being laid in the tomb to await the Resurrection Morn.

In his death the community suffers the loss of a good citizen and neighbor and the church a consistent member which was evident of a large number attending his funeral.

All but one of the five American wars have started in April, the revolutionary war on April 19, the Mexican war on April 24, the civil war on April 14 and the Spanish war on April 25, being dated back, however, to April 21, when McKinley's ultimatum was rejected by Spain.

The Atlantic fleet is scheduled to reach Tampico [Mexico] on April 22, one day after the sixteenth anniversary of the opeing of the Spanish war.