Mrs. Harriet Hoover, a resident of Aspinwall precinct, Nemaha County, Nebraska, was the widow of Dr. Jerome Hoover, a respected physician and one of the founders of Nemaha City. Born December 20, 1830, in Monroe County, New York, Harriet married Jerome on July 4, 1849. Jerome, born August 9, 1809, in Miami County, Ohio, moved to Nebraska and pre-empted the townsite of Nemaha City, where he contributed significantly to its development until his death on May 27, 1876. Harriet and Jerome had nine children, of whom three survived: Flora, Frederick E., and Harriet. Harriet lived with her son Frederick on a 156-acre farm in Aspinwall precinct.
Mrs. Harriet Hoover, of Aspinwall precinct, Nemaha City post office, is the widow of the late well-known physician and surgeon, Jerome Hoover, who was born in Miami County, Ohio, August 9, 1809, and died in this county, May 27, 1876. Nemaha City owes much to this public-spirited man and citizen, who was one of the founders and first settlers of the town. He is still cherished in affectionate memory for his generosity and beauty of character, and his name and deeds are not likely to be soon forgotten. He had settled, shortly after his marriage in 1849, on a ranch in Indiana, which he soon afterward bought and on which he remained two years, and then came to Nebraska and pre-empted the townsite of this town. The fine park which adorns the town was donated by him. He had inherited property and made money in his undertakings. He was liberal to a fault, and while this made him an ideal citizen, it prevented the accumulation of means which otherwise his ability would have accomplished. As a Republican, he was elected to the legislature, but declined to be a candidate after that. He was foremost in everything affecting the welfare of the town and its citizens, and his high ideals and enterprising spirit were responsible for much good that was accomplished there.
Mr. Hoover was a son of William Henry Hoover, a miller of Indiana, and his wife Sarah Curtis, a native of Bath, North Carolina. The latter died in Indiana past middle life, and he died in Nebraska at the age of seventy-five. They had come here from Indiana in 1855 and settled at Nemaha City. They reared four sons and five daughters.
Mr. Hoover was first married to Miss Ann Prill on August 28, 1829, and they had nine children, eight sons and one daughter, and the three who grew up were as follows: William H., who was born in Ohio, January 14, 1833; Burl J., born December 27, 1835, died January 17, 1904; and Johnson P., born August 27, 1837, and died in Nemaha County in 1900, leaving one son.
Mrs. Hoover, who married Mr. Hoover on July 4, 1849, soon after her eighteenth birthday, was in maidenhood Harriet Tann, and was born in Monroe County, New York, December 20, 1830, and was reared on the home farm and received but limited education. Her parents were John and Rachael (Doud) Tann, the former of whom was born and married in England, and of his seven children six were born in England and one in New York. His first wife died, and he was married in 1826 to Mrs. Hoover’s mother, by whom there were six children. Mary Ann, the wife of Moses Ward, died in Indiana, and her five children died soon after; Frederick Tann, a farmer at Rockport, Missouri, died leaving three children and had lost five; Mrs. Hoover is the third of these children; Elizabeth is the widow of Burl J. Hoover, mentioned above; Lorenzo died of a wound received in the Civil War, leaving two daughters; and Arthur died at the age of eight months. The father of these children died in 1839, leaving his widow without property, and she was afterward married to Alexander Jamieson, a southerner, and she died in 1843, at the age of forty-eight.
Mrs. Hoover now resides with her son F. E. Hoover on the farm of one hundred and fifty-six acres in Aspinwall precinct, which was pre-empted by Johnson P. Hoover, and which was rented for several years before Mrs. Hoover took up her residence on it as her favored spot for passing the remaining years of her long and useful life. She has been the mother of nine children, and three of them are still spared to her, and she is also the grandmother of some bright children. Her eldest child, a daughter, born in 1850, died in infancy. Mary Jane, born February 2, 1852, died January 18, 1854. Lawson, born February 7, 1854, died November 19, 1855. Lucretia, born June 6, 1856, died January 6, 1865. Arthur, born May 4, 1858, died December 30, 1865. Flora, born January 12, 1861, has her second husband, T. C. Hacker, living in Red Cloud, Nebraska, and she has three children by her former marriage. Frederick E., born August 5, 1863, married Minnie Chambers, and they have the following children: Forrest E., born April 19, 1886; Francis, born June 8, 1888; Mabel, born February 7, 1892; Vera, born September 10, 1894; Velma, born July 3, 1899; and Jerome, born February 16, 1902. Edward, born May 12, 1865, died October 27, 1895. Harriet is the wife of L. F. Bradfield, in Oklahoma.
Source: Lewis Publishing Company, A Biographical and Genealogical History of Southeastern Nebraska, 2 volumes, Lewis Publishing Company, 1904.