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A. Traber Gatewood, pioneer McCook dentist, keeper of the secret
Alexander Traber Gatewood was probably the first dentist in McCook; indeed, he was probably the only dentist west of Hastings for many years.
| But his career was long and varied, and encompassed so much more than just "frontier dentistry." |
Dr. Gatewood was born in Malden, West Virginia, in 1852. His father was restless, and an opportunist.
In 1849, he became a "Fortyniner" joining the gold rush to California by serving as the Captain of a wagon train of gold seekers.
| He later returned home on a sailing vessel by way of Cape Horn. | Returning to West Virginia, the elder Gatewood engaged in the salt manufacturing business. |
One of the family slaves, assisting him in the business was Booker T. Washington, who learned his "ABCs‚" by marking salt barrels.
Gatewood was a reluctant slave owner and moved north, to Cincinnati to open an upscale hotel where young Traber Gatewood got a chance to see and meet a number of Civil War heroes, including Abraham Lincoln and Generals Grant and Sherman, among others, who were guests at the family hotel.
| It was in Cincinnati where Traber gained his early education. | At age, 16 Traber apprenticed in the office of a Cincinnati dentist. |
| The requirements to become a dentist were limited in that day and after just a short time he was able to prove his fitness and set out to open his own dental practice -- first in Missouri, in the medical office of a brother, then for a period of time in Cincinnati. |
In 1873, 21 year old Traber Gatewood accompanied his brother-in-law, John T. Cozad to Nebraska. Cozad was a professional gambler, a familiar figure in the gambling halls of Cincinnati, Chicago, Omaha, San Francisco -- all the stops on the Union Pacific Railroad.
But Cozad was also a dreamer, and an entrepreneur -- and in 1873 was leading a group of pioneers to the west to colonize 44,000 acres of land along the 100th Meridian, which he had purchased from the Union Pacific.
Cozad had grand plans for his settlement -- good farming land and good grazing land, which he envisioned would make his settlement rich, and his city an important metropolis on the plains.
His "city," Cozad, was named in his honor. Since it was in almost the exact center of the United States, Cozad felt sure that he could convince the nation's leaders that they should move the seat of government from Washington to Cozad.
| Gatewood was Cozad's confidante, as well as his brother-in-law. With Cozad's encouragement he set up his practice of dentistry in the new settlement. He was one of the first licensed dentists in the state, (license number 5), but he also found time to become Cozad's first postmaster, and established the town's first newspaper, "The 100th Meridian" as well as operating a Drug Store, in connection with his dental business. |
Cozad's settlement was growing, and prospering nicely, with a minimum of problems common to pioneer communities, when an unfortunate incident took place, which changed the life plan for John Cozad, and all his family members.
Cozad had continued to gamble after becoming the founding father of the Cozad community. Sometimes the people he won money from were less than gracious losers, and he gathered a number of enemies from his gambling activities.
One night in 1882, a man came to Cozad's home to upbraid him about what he considered a crooked gambling deal. The ensuing argument became heated and the visitor attacked Cozad with a knife.
| In the struggle Cozad drew a pistol and shot his assailant, who later died from his wound. Traber Gatewood was witness to the entire episode. | Rather than stand trial, Cozad chose to flee, and made his way overland to the Burlington Railroad, some 50 miles to the south. |
He confided to Traber Gatewood where he was going, but to no one else, not even his wife. Mrs. Cozad and her two sons, John and Robert, stayed in Cozad for a time, but were harassed unmercifully and soon left town, presumably to join Mr. Cozad. Traber Gatewood was tainted by his brother-in-law's crime and soon chose to leave Cozad as well.
In 1884, Dr. Traber Gatewood married Deborah Francis Burgess at her home in Lebanon, Neb.
For a time the couple resided in Arapahoe. In 1908 they moved to McCook, where Dr. Gatewood operated a dental practice, until his retirement in 1927. It was in McCook where the seven Gatewood children were reared and educated.
Though Cozad kept in touch with Traber Gatewood through the years, he contacted no one else, and Gatewood did not admit to any knowledge of Cozad's whereabouts. Cozad eventually was cleared of criminal charges in the matter of the murdered man, but by then he felt that it would be better to keep using their new identities.
As far as the world was concerned, the Cozad family ceased to exist. It was not until after World War II that the mystery of the Cozad family was solved, apparently honoring a promise to preserve the secret until all the principals were gone -- Mr. & Mrs. Cozad, sons John and Robert, and Traber Gatewood.
John Cozad's brother-in-law, Dr. Traber Gatewood, of McCook, friend of William Jennings Bryant and staunch Democrat, died in 1928. He is buried in Memorial Park Cemetery in McCook.
| In 1955 Dr. Traber Gatewood's son, Dr. Robert Gatewood, a dentist in Las Vegas came forth with his father's secret, to solve the mystery of the disappearance of the Cozad family -- a very interesting story of an outstanding family. |
After hastily leaving Cozad , John J. Cozad made his way to Atlantic City, N.J., where he assumed a new identity as Richard H. Lee. It was said that after leaving Cozad he never gambled again.
When he had established himself he got word to his wife that she should sell everything in Cozad (for cash) and that she and the boys should join him.
Using the same vision that he had shown in establishing his colony in Nebraska, Richard Lee (Cozad) began to buy property along the ocean front in Atlantic City, foreseeing the great resort boom that would occur for the city.
Properties he bought there became worth many millions of dollars, but by the time of his death, in 1906, the Atlantic City real estate boom was just beginning to stir.
| John Cozad Jr. became Frank Sothern. Eventually he became a doctor, married a socialite and enjoyed a long, distinguished, and profitable medical career. | The second son, Robert Henry Cozad assumed the identity of Robert Henri. |
He had shown an artistic talent from an early age and his father and mother made it possible for Robert to study art in Pennsylvania, then in Italy and Paris. Eventually, Robert Henri became world famous because of his art. He broke away from the "Old School" and was one of the leaders of an art movement known as the "Ash Can School" (because they believed in painting life the way it is, and life is not always beautiful.)
Henri was the founder of "The Henri School of Art‚" in New York City. He painted in many locations in the United States and throughout Europe. Following his death in 1929 the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City held a Memorial Exhibition of his art.
His paintings can be found in the principal galleries of the world.
After her husband's death Mrs. (Cozad) Lee moved to New York City to be near her famous artist son. She died there in 1923, never returning to Nebraska.
Source: Trails West to R. W. County NE, The Cozad Local, Nov. 27, 1956