Dr. Edwin Rape - Nebraska

   Edwin Rape, D. O. A reliable and capable promoter of the science of osteopathy, a general system of healing founded on the principle that all bodily disorders are the result of mechanical obstruction to the free circulation of vital fluids and forces, and the cures of which are effected through purely scientific methods, based on a profound knowledge of the human mechanism, is found in Dr. Edwin Rape, who for many years has been engaged successfully in the practice of his profession at Seward.
   Doctor Rape was born at Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois, December 29, 1871, and is a son of Daniel and Rebecca J. (Snodgrass) (Hardin) Rape. His great-grandfather, Gustave Rape, was a soldier of the American Revolution. John Rape, his grandfather, was born in 1794, in South Carolina, and fought as a soldier of the War of 1812. He was married, August 18, 1818, and had two children. One of these, Daniel Rape, was born March 30, 1826, in Sangamon County, Illinois, where he was married, and subsequently came to Nebraska and took up a homestead in Seward County, upon which he spent the remaining years of his life in agricultural operations.
   The public schools of Seward County furnished Edwin Rape with his early educational training, following which he enrolled as a student at the American School of Osteopathy at Kirksville, Missouri, under the founder, Doctor Still. For six years following his graduation from this institution he practiced his profession at Kirksville, and then returned to Nebraska and opened an office at Seward, where he has since been in the enjoyment of a constantly growing practice. He belongs to several organizations of his profession, and has kept fully abreast of the advancements therein, having taken three post-graduate courses at Kirksville. Fraternally Doctor Rape is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Masons. He is a Democrat, but has not sought public office, and his religious faith is that of the Christian Church.
   On February 3, 1901, at Seward, Doctor Rape was united in marriage with Miss Martha Adlin Hughes, who was educated in the Seward County public schools, and is a daughter of William C. and Martha A. (Bye) Hughes, farming people of Seward County. During the great cyclone of May 14, 1913, all of the buildings were swept from Mr. Hughes' farm, but none of the members of the family who were in the house at the time, received injuries. To Doctor and Mrs. Rape there has come one son, Wilson Edwin, born March 13, 1914, at Seward, who is now attending the Seward High School.

Source:  Sheldon, Addison Erwin. Nebraska: The Land and the People, Vol. 2. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1931.

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