Lewis Ernest York

Lewis Ernest York

Lewis Ernest York, successful farmer in Gage County, Nebraska, was born at Pine Valley, Chautauqua County, New York, July 31, 1875, the son of Warren Yeomans and Florence Malvina (Aldrich) York. His father, who is the owner of a chain of cheese factories in New York and Nebraska, was born at Brookfield, Madison County, New York, April 5, 1849, of Quaker parentage; he was a teacher in the public schools of New York during his youth. Lewis York's grandfather moved from Stormingson, Connecticut, to Brookfield, New York, where he built the first frame house in the settlement.

Florence Malvina (Aldrich) York, mother of Lewis York, was born at Warsaw, Wyoming County, New York, September 18, 1851, of English parentage, and died at Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska, June 13, 1930. She received a musical education and was always prominent in the world of music. Members of the Aldrich family fought in the Revolution, and Mason Aldrich, father of Florence (Aldrich) York, drove a stage coach from Buffalo to Hamburg in the days of the plank road.

Mr. York was graduated from the Liberty High School in 1895 and for the next eight years he was a professional baseball player. He has been engaged in farm work intermittently since 1883 when his parents settled on the Otoe Indian Reservation in Gage County. He is a director in the Barneston Telephone Company, has been president of the Parent Teachers Association for several years, and has been township assessor at Barneston for some time. He holds membership in the Nebraskana Society, is a Master Mason, and is an active worker in the Presbyterian Church at Barneston. His hobby is mechanics while his favorite sports are hunting and fishing.

His marriage to Mary Eliza Prettyman was solemnized at Marysville, Kansas, December 31, 1902. Mrs. York, who was born at Chillicothe, Missouri, February 10, 1884, is the daughter of Scotch and English parents. Her father was born at Knox, Indiana, of English parentage, and her mother was born on a Scottish estate near Edenburgh.

To their marriage four children were born: Ernest Garold, born November 17, 1903, who is married to Alice Jane Wolfe; Frances Belle, born September 16, 1910; Cenith Fern, born February 18, 1916; and Ruth May, born March 9, 1918. They have taken Leighton Arthur Parker from a children's home to care for him, but have not as yet adopted him. Garold York operates one of his father's farms; he has three sons. Residence: Barneston.

From "The Nebraskana Society"

Lewis Ernest York was a Master Mason in the Barneston 165 Masonic Lodge in Barneston, Nebraska.