Charles Loree (1852-1916), a prominent official and settler of Richardson County, Nebraska, was born in Lebanon, Ohio. Moving to Nebraska in 1866, he transitioned from farming to various official roles, including county clerk, register of deeds, and clerk of the district court, a position he held for fourteen terms. Known for his geniality and deep knowledge of county affairs, Loree’s career spanned over 40 years, contributing significantly to the county’s development. A Democrat, he was also active in state politics and involved in numerous fraternal organizations. He married Emelie Lange in 1882.
Charles Loree, clerk of the district court and old settler of Richardson County, is probably the most widely known official of Richardson County and it is probable that he is personally acquainted with more people in southeastern Nebraska than any other living citizen. This wide acquaintance is favorable, and Mr. Loree is distinctly popular with the rank and file of Richardson County citizens. His geniality, obliging and kind disposition, wide knowledge of county affairs, have for years made of him a marked figure in the official and political life of his home county. He has been a resident of Richardson County for the past fifty-two years, over forty years of which have been spent in some official capacity. Charles Loree commenced his career in Nebraska as a farmer boy in 1866 and has filled many positions of trust in the service of the people since that year. He has witnessed the transformation of a boundless prairie into a great state and taken an active part in the upbuilding of a great county. He was born at Lebanon, Warren County, Ohio. March 19, 1852, and was a son of Dr. John and Elizabeth Loree, natives of the old Buckeye state.
Dr. John Loree was born in Monroe, Butler County, Ohio, in 1818 and died at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1902. He was a son of Hezekiah and Elizabeth (Boggs) Loree, the former of whom was a native of Cape May, New Jersey, and the latter was a native of Virginia. Hezekiah Loree was a son of Jasper Loree, who was descended from colonial ancestry, of French origin. The mother of Charles Loree was of German descent and was born at Miamisburg, Ohio, in 1832 and died in 1911. The grandmother of Charles Loree died at Falls City in 1875 at the advanced age of eighty-four years. The Boggs family on his father’s side are of Irish descent. It will thus be seen that Charles Loree is a scion of amalgamated American stock, the best of which is a result of the melting pot of the nations of the world which is constantly taking place in America. Dr. John Loree was a medical practitioner, who was proprietor of the Loree Ohio Liniment Company, which had its headquarters at Cincinnati, Ohio. During the Civil War he served in the capacity of Indian agent for the United States government and had charge of the Cheyenne and Arrapahoe Indians. He was commissioned a major under Gen. James Craig. In 1865 Major Loree purchased a farm located two miles from St. Joseph, Missouri. He traded this farm in the following autumn for one thousand acres of land within two miles of Falls City, Nebraska. Following his entrance into Nebraska he promoted the Nemaha Valley, Lincoln & Loop Fork Railway Company, now the Burlington and Missouri, or a division of the Burlington railway system, and served as president of the new railroad, making his headquarters at Lincoln, Nebraska, in the meantime. He later returned to Cincinnati and died there. The children of John Loree were as follow: Marie Frances, who resides in Falls City; Charles, subject of this review; Warren, living at Long Beach, California, and Harry, of Lincoln, Nebraska.
Charles Loree received his education in the schools of Liberty, Indiana, Richmond, Indiana, and St. Joseph, Missouri, later attending the district school of Falls City. He also pursued a commercial and bookkeeping course in the Normal school at Peru, Nebraska. He first came to Richardson County in September of 1865, and then came here to remain permanently in 1866. For several rears he followed farming and then became a clerk in a dry-goods store for four years. Following this he established a real-estate business and founded the first bonded abstract company in Falls City, which he is conducting successfully at the present time, in addition to his duties as clerk of the district court. He was appointed to the post of deputy county clerk in 1875 and served for two years; served as precinct and city assessor of Falls City for five terms; filled the office of clerk of the district court; served four years as county clerk; followed this position by six years’ service as register of deeds; was then elected county clerk for two years, following which he conducted his abstract business for two years, and is now serving his fourteenth term as clerk of the district court. The continuity in which Mr. Loree has held office in Richardson County is the best evidence of his efficiency, ability and popularity with the people of the county. In addition to his other activities, Mr. Loree is a member of the Richardson County bar, having been admitted to the practice of law in 1883.
Mr. Loree was married on February 16, 1882, to Miss Emelie Lange, who was born in Wisconsin, April 1857, and is a daughter of Frederick and Caroline Lange, natives of Germany.
Politically, Charles Loree is a Democrat of the “old school” of democracy, although he has progressed with his party and taken an active and influential part in the affairs of the Democratic party in Richardson County and Nebraska since he cast his first vote. He has taken part in every state convention held in Nebraska since statehood was established and served as the chairman of the Democratic executive committee in the county in 1916. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; the Knights of Pythias; the Modern Woodmen of America; the Royal Highlanders; the Benevolent and Patriotic Order of Elks; the Fraternal Order of Eagles; the German Society, “Deutsche Geschellschaft”; the Independent Order of Red Men, of which society he has filled the exalted office of grand sachem of the Nebraska tribes.
Source
Edwards, Lewis C., History of Richardson County, Nebraska : Its People, Industries and Institutions, Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen, 1917.