Edwin B. Hinds

HINDS, BURKE, SHAW

Posted By: Sharyl Ferrall (email)
Date: 2/3/2006 at 20:17:17

Edwin B. Hinds -- A native of the Green Mountain State, the subject of this biography was born in Windham county, Vermont, November 21, 1842. He is a son of Charles C. and Lorena (Burke) Hinds, who were natives of Vermont and who left their New England home in 1855 and became residents of Clayton county, Iowa. Here the father passed away March 21, 1877, having rounded out sixty-eight years of a busy and honorable life. His estimable wife did not long survive the shock of his death, her death occurring on the 14th of the following August, when she was tixty-two years of age. They were the parents of two children: Edwin B. and Charles C., the latter heroically giving up his life for his country in the Civil war: he died May 14, 1863, at Grand Gulf, Mississippi. He was a member of Company B, Twenty-first Iowa Volunteer Infantry.

Edwin B. Hinds was a boy of thirteen when the home was established in Iowa and his education, which was begun in his native state, was continued in the public schools of Iowa. When the civil war broke out he longed to take part in it and he had not yet reached his majority when he enlisted, in August, 1862, as a private in Company M, First Iowa Cavalry, and for three years and six months he faithfully served the Union cause on many a hard fought battle field, his military record as a brave and efficient soldier being one of which he may well be proud. He took part in the battles of Prairie Grove, Little Rock, Camden and many others, and was with General Custer through Texas. He was mustered out in March, 1866, and returned home without a scar, although he took part in every battle in which his regiment participated.

Mr. Hinds' early education was supplemented by a course at Eastman's Business College, Chicago, after which he engaged as a clerk in a general merchandise store, later turning his attention to agricultural pursuits. Winding up his affairs in Iowa, he decided to seek a home farther west, and in May, 1881, he went to Washington county, Kansas, but not finding a suitable location he came to Odell, Nebraska, then a small village where the railroad was just being built. Here he established a hardware business which he successfully conducted for several years. He also invested in farm lands and in 1903 he entered the banking business, as president of Hinds State Bank, of which he has continued the head and principal owner. It is one of the strong financial institutions of Gage county and though its president is still active in its management, the active affairs of the bank are under the supervision of his son, Charles N., a worthy young man who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume (page 837).

December 1, 1870, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hinds and Miss Sarah Shaw, a native of Clayton county, Iowa, and a daughter of the late John Shaw.

Mr. Hinds has taken an active interest in all things pertaining to the welfare of the community. In 1893-95 he served in the lower house of the state legislature, and in 1895 was chairman of the railroad committee. He was the first director of the school board of the Odell district and served about twenty years as treasurer of the board. He is affiliated with Reserve Post, No. 148, Grand Army of the Republic, and with Odell Lodge No. 97, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mrs. Hinds is an active member of the methodist Episcopal church.

-source: History of Gage County, Nebraska; by Hugh J. Dobbs; Lincoln, Neb.: Western Pub. and Engraving Co., 1918, page 919

-transcribed for Clayton co. IAGenWeb by S. Ferrall