Town: Big Springs

Turner L. Abel of Merrick County, Nebraska

A History of Merrick County, Nebraska to 1895

Turner L. Abel, born in 1865 in Iowa, was a Quaker minister managing five churches and deeply committed to community building in Merrick County, Nebraska. With his wife Lizzie, they lived primarily on their farm, briefly attempting wheat farming in Nebraska before resettling back in Iowa. Turner was instrumental in founding Nebraska Central College, now a high school. The couple had four children, enduring significant hardships including the early deaths of two. After Turner’s death in 1917, Lizzie survived by taking in boarders and baking pies until her death in 1958. Both are remembered for their resilience and contributions to their community.

Biography of Ilus Couch of Ogallala, Nebraska

Residence of Ilus Couch

Ilus Couch occupies an enviable position among the extensive ranchers and prominent settlers of the valley of the South Platte river, where he operates a very large and growing stock business. Ilus Couch was born in Tiskilwa, Bureau county, Illinois, October 7, 1857. His father, Benjamin C. Couch, was a native of New Hampshire, born in the village of Boscawen, September 19, 1822. His parents were native of England. Our subject’s mother, Martha J. Calf, was also a native of Salisbury, New Hampshire, born March 3, 1825, and died December 31, 1860, when he was but three years old. The … Read more