The Nyes of Fremont

About the Book

In 1857 Theron Nye, of Madison County, N.Y., pioneered the settlement of Fremont, Nebr., betting on the route of the Union Pacific Railroad. Son Ray succeeded to Theron's flourishing grain, livestock, lumber and coal business, while son Fred became a newspaper man of talent and ambition. The sons' stories are prominent, as Ray goes to gold mining, and Fred to New York City as an editor for Joseph Pulitzer's New York World. The variety of the family's involvements create a palette with which the author illuminates American history in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

About the Author

James R. Hanson left Nebraska to attend Oberlin College. A veteran of World War II and the Korean conflict, he is a 1957 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, practicing law in Columbus, Ohio, until his retirement a few years ago to write. His father had four brothers who, with their wives, supplied him with dozens of cousins who are his cheerleaders for writing family history. His book, "Jens Hansen, blacksmith," tells of his great-grandfather's immigration from Denmark in 1855 and settlement in Fremont, Nebraska, the central locale of this story.