Phelps Helps Newsletters
can be found on the Internet at http://www.4w.com/pages/psimpson
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~WELCOME NEW MEMBERS !!~
Renae Emken
Researching surnames: EMKEN; WESSELS; EGGE; HOWLAND and JANSSEN
Carolyn Olson
Researching: John Solomon YOUNGQUIST; Albert YOUNGQUIST; Christina
YOUNGQUIST MILES.
NEW ADDRESS
Donna Reiman has moved. She is searching the John EKBERG family.
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~NEW ON THE BOOKSHELF ~
Flight Log of the 379th WW II -
given by Vernon Carlson
Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey, Phelps County, NE - given
by the Holdrege Public Library
Genealogical Guidebook and Atlas of Sweden
given by Marcia Rost
Tehama Temple - Hastings, NE, 1986
given by Forrest & Lavina Tubridy
In All its Fury, The Great Blizzard of 1888
given by Sharon Kay Thompson
Baedekens Scandinavia from Sandra Slater
Nebraska's Blizzard of '49, Operation Snowbound given by Virgil
and Norris Holen families
Miscellaneous Newspaper articles, Book T.
given by Dorothy Richmond
An Age of barns given by Sandra Slater
A Research Guide to Genealogical data in Adams County, NE given
by Sandra Slater
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President's Message
April was full of activity for me as I gave four weeks of Genealogy
classes sponsored by Central Community College and also gave a
beginners Genealogy Class in Grand Island at the Nebraska State
Genealogy Meeting. I hope all of you that attended were enthused
enough to start searching for your missing ancestors. Thanks to
my husband, Bob for helping me set up and assisting me and to
Ada Hinson's assistance in getting the class together and Kay
Thompson for helping at the State Genealogy Meeting in Grand Island.
Thank you, Holdrege Area Genealogy Club, for the nice honor
of being nominated "Outstanding Genealogist" this year.
You are all wonderful group to
work with. It's a honor to be a part of this club.
We have had several volunteers helping in the library sorting through large amounts of material. It seems, we never get caught up. Kay Thompson is our newest volunteer. She has volunteered to start entering the subject matter of each book in the library so that we can reference our material by both subject and title. Kay is relatively new in genealogy and has had good success in finding material in our library on her families in both Nebraska material and other states, especially Virginia. Come and check the library out, you might be surprised to find some of your answers are as close as our library shelves.
Everyone have a good summer.
Your President, Sandra Slater
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MEMBER ROSY GLEASON PASSES AWAY
Our long time member Rosy Gleason passed away on Friday, March 26, 1999 at age 69 of cancer.
Rosy was a avid genealogist and had done research for many years before he joined our club. Early on, Rosy thought it would probably not help his genealogical progress joining our club because he had no Phelps County relatives. Every so often he would call just to show me his latest find. After several months, he decided to join our club. At one of the first meetings he attended, Dorothy Johnson gave a very interesting program about her relatives in Virginia and afterwards Rosy and Dorothy found they had a common ancestor, and that they had a lot of information to share. Joining our club, was an important key to furthering his genealogy.
We remember Rosy for many things: his willingness to share
his knowledge of the art of genealogy; his generosity in finding
shelves for our records room when we needed more space; finding
used binders for use in our library, donating his old typewriter
for use in the library and many other things too numerous to mention.
We will miss his smile, his humor and his giving disposition.
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ROSY GLEASON MEMORIAL FUND
Holdrege Area Genealogy has established a memorial fund in Rosy's
Gleason's name. It was decided we would buy a book on maps as
Rosy told us may times about the importance of maps when searching
for our relatives. We think we have found an excellent book called
"Township Atlas of United States". It will contain a
county name, township name and a county location of 48 sates,
with 70,000 place names in a master index. Any donations should
sent to our treasure Ada Hinson, Holdrege Area Genealogy Club,
Box 164, Holdrege, NE 68949.
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PUBLICATION FOR SALE
*NEW* Phelps County Marriage Book, 1878 - 1923, Volume 1,
Compiled by Dick and Marjorie Dyas and Published by Holdrege Area
Genealogy Club is now on sale. Included are entries of bride,
groom, marriage date, parents name if found, book and page number
of marriage record to help locate the marriage record on microfilm
at our museum or at the Courthouse. Price $15.00 plus $4 shipping
and Handling. Add .75 for tax if resident of Nebraska.
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~ HOLDREGE PAYS TRIBUTE TO ~
~ VENERABLE COUPLE ~
~ October 15, 1925 ~
The greatest crowd that has ever graced a Holdrege celebration was on hand to pay homage to Mr. and Mrs. S. B. Cobb. Church ladies cover themselves with glory in honoring Diamond Jubilee Celebrants. More than 100 relatives are center of great attraction. Olaf Hedlund the oldest man present, Mrs. Moursel, mother of Mrs. L. T. Brooking of Funk is the oldest woman present. Dr. Jordan Cobb of Lincoln responds with brief and appreciative speech that was close to his heart.
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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE HOLDREGE PROGRESS NEWSPAPER STORY
Long tables were arranged along the length of the Holdrege auditorium, resplendent in snow white linen and shinning silver. On each table was a huge cake with a small figure on a bride and groom. Single candles were grouped along the tables and flowers in vases added the exact ornamental touch.
As Mr. and Mrs. Cobb ascended from the automobile on arriving at the auditorium, they were presented with a large and beautiful bouquet of roses, the handiwork of Miss Junia Hanson of the Davison Floral Company. Mrs. Cobb's eyes filled with tears as she received the tribute.
The dinner hour was set for promptly at 12 o'clock noon. Dr.
Sanders, an aged veteran of the Civil War presided as toastmaster
and Dr. Jordan Cobb (grandson of Mr. & Mrs. S. B. Cobb) responded
on behalf of the relatives, many of whom had traveled long distances
to be present for the celebration. Many letters and telegrams
were read.. There were places for more than
600 guests at the tables. With few exceptions these were filled
with Phelps County folks and it was a matter of much gratification
that these old patriarchs were living among them, stirring them
to greater and more glorious accomplishments. Much credit was
given to Mrs. D. J. Fink who spent much time in bringing this
anniversary celebration to conclusion. The food was deliciously
prepared by the ladies of Holdrege. A second basket of roses were
presented by Engstrom Floral Company.
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THE COBB GENEALOGY
All the Cobb relatives listed below
were present at the jubilee:
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel B. Cobb, Holdrege, Nebr.; Mrs. James Mitchell,
daughter, Holdrege, Nebr.; Children of John Cobb: Mr. and Mrs.
Lester Freeland, Holdrege, Nebr.; Mr. & Mrs. Lou Metzer of
Hastings, Nebr.
Merlin, Opal and Lloyd Cobb of Holdrege, Nebraska
Ora Cobb, Chicago, Ill.; Mr. and Mrs. E. O. Cobb, Akron, Colo.
Other relatives were:
Moses Cobb of Atlanta, Nebr. nephew; Mr. and Mrs. Fred Cobb and daughter Elizabeth, Atlanta, Nebr.; Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Cobb, Atlanta, Nebr.; Mr. and Mrs. Paul McClymont and son Dean; Mr. & Mrs. Vern Huff of Atlanta, Nebraska; Mr. and Mrs. Eustis Cobb, Funk, Nebr.; Mr. and Mrs. Hans W. Kokjer, Jr., Kearney, Nebr.; Mrs. Hollenbeck; Mrs. Merle Sapp, Sterling, Colo.; Mr. and Mrs. Joe Johnson, Holdrege, Nebr.; Dr. Jordan Cobb, Lincoln, Nebr.; Mr. and Mrs. Nettie McClymont and daughter Florence; Mrs.Pearl Cobb, Holdrege, Nebr.; Mr. and Mrs. Marsh, Oxford, Nebr.
One of the more unique "Lists of Guests" at the Cobb celebration is the following list of couples who had already celebrated their fiftieth anniversary.
These people were married in other states and do not appear in the books of the Phelps County Marriages published by the Holdrege Area Genealogy Club. Readers may find grandparents names listed here, plus the date of marriage and places.
Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Gifford, December 3, 1874, Pennsylvania.;
Mr. & Mrs. O. A. Cole, January 11, 1875, New York; Mr. and
Mrs. W. T. Coy, December 31, 1875 Indiana; Mr. and Mrs. C. Garner,
November 7 1872, Cedar County, Iowa; Mr. and Mrs. Nels Wendell,
April 23, 1875, Charlton, Iowa; Mr. and Mrs. Aden A. Cowan, November
29, 1873, Pierpont, New York; Mr. and Mrs. George Payne, December
12, 1875, Johanson Co., Iowa; Mr. and Mrs. R. P. Cole, April 4,
1872, Wallace Co., Wis.; Mr. and Mrs. O. R. Hopkins, January 1
1867, New York; Mr. and Mrs. C. M. Nelson, December 27, 1867,
Sweden; Mr. and Mrs. Peter Winthers, April 28, 1869, Michigan.;
Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Thomas, November 4, 1869, Marrian Co., Ind.;
Mr. and Mrs. George Ireland, October 2, 1973, Jackson Co., Ohio;
Mr. and Mrs. L. D. Mahaffie, April 9, 1872, Logansport, Ind.;
Mr. and Mrs. E. S. Keller, February 12, 1872, Efferty, Penn; Mr.
and Mrs. George W. McNiel, January 22, 1874, Lincoln, Nebr.; Mr.
and Mrs. Henry Grosenbach, November 12, 1875, Taswell Co., Ill.;
Mr. and Mrs. A. A. Gustafson, June 15, 1874, Rock Island, Ill.
Mr. and Mrs. T. N. Hinson, 26 Mar 1868, Richland, Iowa; Mr. and
Mrs. J. W. Moyer, February 28, 1875, Dunham, Ill.; Mr. and Mrs.
Jacob Egley, October 5, 1874, Warsaw, Ill.; Mr. and Mrs. F. B.
Backencamp, April 10, 1873, Monmouth, Ill.; Mr. and Mrs. J. H.
Yerion, September 15, 1870, Bloomington, Ill.; Mr. and Mrs. E.
M. Jones. November 6, 1874, Jackson, Ohio; Mr. and Mrs. George
Rand, July 30, 1873, Garthage, Ill.; Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Argensinger,
September 22, 1875, New York; Mr. and Mrs. Han Peterson, May 2,
1875, Denmark; Mr. and Mrs. Henry Deabenderfer, September 21,
1865, Pennsylvania; Mr. and Mrs. O. P. Sand, November 1, 1875,
Galesburg, Ill.; Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Holmes,. February 1, 1871,
Vilisca, Iowa; Mr. and Mrs. George Rowland, May 1, 1874, Bloomington,
NE; Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Dunlavy, May 23, 1875, Littleton, Ill.;
Mr. and Mrs. A. H. Bryant, January 26, 1871, Ill.; Mr. and Mrs.
B. Hodges, April 11, 1867, Indiana; Mr. and Mrs. M. A. Fulk, November
12, 1874, Strawn, Ill.; Mr. and Mrs. Allen Elliott, December 4,
1872, New York; Mr. and Mrs. A. B. Cadwallader, December 11, 1870,
Mason City, Ill.; Mr. and Mrs. M. C. Mitchell, September 14, 1875,
Penn.
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THE SWEDISH SOLDIER
(written and researched by Marcia Rost}
Some of the Swedish homesteaders were either soldiers in the homeland or descendants of them. One researcher in the local area has found two great-great grandfathers, two great great great grandfathers and one great-great-great-great grandfather. Three were awarded medals of bravery; two for fighting in wars and one for being injured while building the Gota Canal. One was in the cavalry - a dragon, another played horn in the Royal Regiment and the others were in the infantry. The highest rank any of them achieved was that of corporal.
Since the soldier often took his patronymic name after leaving the service, it is necessary to research the parish records before the military records. Also, children usually used the family names. Soldiers of each company were assigned different surnames; so at times, fathers and sons who were also in the service, all had different names. Upon entering the service, soldiers were usually given assumed name because there were too many Anderssons, Petersons' and Larsons'. Many times these names consisted of just four letters. These names could be descriptive like Stark (strong), relate to some armament like Lans (Lance), relate to the area from which they came like Ekberg from Ekeby or be similar to the name of the farmer who supported them.. Another difficulty to be aware of is that the men with the same soldier name were not often related.
Before 1814, Sweden was involved in many wars. It is hard to believe that such a small country could support such a powerful war machine. Most of the Swedish men were soldiers. They were recruited at first through conscription; the representative of the Swedish crown simply inducted every tenth man in the village. Some men enlisted. However, the majority were selected by a unique system called allotment - the soldier enlisted, an as part of his remuneration and received the use of a small croft (a two-room house), 17 ft. by 14 ft., consisting of a hall with the stove and a larger room for eating and sleeping). He was given a potato patch, a barn, summer grazing and winter food for a cow and goats, some sheep and perhaps a pig. For his croft, he received a blanket, rug, some sheets and a pillow. When he was recruited, he was given a small sum of money that was paid in installments. Thus, he was much better off than the peasant farmer.
These soldiers were recruited, maintained and supported by the farm owners who were required by the government to do so. Each province was divided into 1,200 wards. A ward consisted of many farms of different sizes. Each ward supported on soldier. The largest farmer was responsible for providing for the soldier and the help of the other farmers in the ward. Another farmer was selected on a yearly basis to collect from the other farmers and pay the soldier's salary. In return, the soldier was expected to fight during wars, work for his farmer as part of his support, attend church services in uniform on Sunday and parade for the parishioners. He was given a pension after completing his years of service and supported if he became disabled. When he died, he was given a military funeral.
For a peasant, it was an honor to be come a soldier. he had to be healthy and at least 20 years old, have straight legs and the beginning of a beard, be taller than 5'6" and weigh at least 120 lbs. He needed to be able to at least read and write his name and usually able to read and write better than most of the farmers. Sometimes he was given extra employment as the teacher for the children, as parish clerk or as leader of the singing at church.
He was expected to be a role model. he was given a soldiers' handbook to study. In Part I, Admonitions, he was told to fear God, honor the King and serve the nation. In Part II, Moral Commands, he was commanded to be faithful and respectful, to maintain good health, to avoid idleness and warned against excessive drinking - no more than one drink. Part III was devoted to personal hygiene. he was to change socks and underwear often and wash his feet often, but not when sweaty. He should smoke only a little and chew on tobacco or bark on marches to prevent thirst. He was warned to drink only pure water, but not when overheated and not to lie in the sun or with his stomach resting on the ground. It was recommended that he eat hot food at least every two or three days and that he should eat as often as possible and sleep when free.
Soldiers were usually law-abiding. Only 3% were every guilty of behavior severe enough for sentencing. The typical punishments were 25 lashes for drunkenness, 10 for disobeying orders and 6 days in solitary confinement for selling liquor.
There is a good possibility that most persons of Swedish descent have a soldiers in their extended family for there were an estimated 300,000 soldiers serving during the years of 1680 and 1901.
Source: Carl-Erik Johnson, CRADLED IN SWEDEN, Revised Edition (Logan, Utah, 1995), 151-158. 183.
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LAND WAS SETTLED BY LAWS
LAID DOWN BY GOVERNMENT
(This newspaper article was located in our Genealogy Library at he Phelps County museum. It was probably written by the Bertrand Herald Newspaper in Bertrand, NE date unknown)
In 1841 Congress, in an attempt to bring about settlement of the West, passed the Pre-emption Act which sold public lands to prisoners for as little as $1.25 an acre. But even this low price kept many poor but deserving people from acquiring a new home in the West. By the Homestead Act passed in 1862, lands became even easier to acquire, by this act any head of a family could become the owner of a farm or homestead of 160 acres if he lived on it and worked the land for five years.
While settlers were few and far between, government lands were held rather loosely, and there was no hurry about fulfilling all the requirements of the homestead laws. As more settlers appeared, it was necessary for a man to secure his holdings by establishing corners, erecting some sort of a building, and doing so much breaking of the sod each year. If he allowed the pre-emption period to overrun, it was sometimes necessary to act quickly and make a homestead fill-in, or some other fellow would get in ahead of him and oust him from the very land on which he had been living.
A great many of the early land holdings in this vicinity were contested because of loose compliance with the law, and possession was finally determined by the decision of the united States land office after the evidence of both claimants had been heard. In some cases, it was easy for a new claimant to get possession of a piece of land, but for others it was not.
A homesteader, even though he had not fulfilled all the requirements could sometimes show a reasonable case for such delinquency. The circumstances would be taken into account and construed in his favor. If he had not raised enough to live on and to feed his team, and had no money with which to purchase supplies, he had a valid excuse for leaving his land, even for several months, so he could go some other place where work was to be had and earn something to tide him over into the next season. It depended on the merits of the case, and many a homesteader would not have been able to retain possession of his quarter had he been held to the rigid compliance with every requirement regardless of circumstances.
The homestead requirements called for five years residence, a well, a house and some cultivated land. At the expiration of five years proof would be made and a patent secured from the government. The only cost was the publication and land office fees, totaling $14 and such incidental expense incurred by taking the necessary witnesses along. After five years' residence the homesteader was allowed two years longer before final proof was required. The land was taxable after the five year period even though no patent had been issued.
A homesteader could also use the timber claim right. It was the purpose of the Timber Culture Act to encourage the growth of trees on the prairies, and the holder of the timber claim was allowed ten years before profit had to be made. At the end of that period, a total of ten acres must have been planted to timber and there had to be a certain number of growing trees per acre to fulfill the requirements.
The planting on the claims was accomplished by the use of cuttings, cottonwood and ash being the most common. How they got these to take root and grow is almost incomprehensible, but they did. By planting in a few new ones each year., it was possible to have enough trees alive at the end of ten years to meet the requirements of proof.
Besides the government land open to pre-emption and homestead entry there was a definite amount of railroad and school land. There were both land grant railroads and land-grant educational institutions. The government gave an empire of land to certain railroads, especially to the Union Pacific and the Southern Pacific. This was given as an inducement to build their lines ahead of population into and through uninhabited regions like the trans-Missouri plains country. Whatever abuses may he grown out of these early land grants, it is probable that this policy of promoting railroad building through these areas was on the whole the best that could have been adopted.
For twenty miles on both sides of the Union Pacific every other section was railroad land and in each township sections 16 and 36 were school lands.
The site on which Bertrand is built was railroad land. The
quarter section on which the east half of the town is located
was bought about 1881 by C. J. Carlson for a party in Illinois
who was in poor health and who died without ever coming here.
The price paid was $3.50 per acre. A great deal of railroad land
was sold at three to four dollars an acre to begin with and a
long time was given to pay for it. In 1883 C. W. Carlson came
from Illinois and brought the quarter of which reference has been
made, paying the estate of the deceased owner the same price that
it first sold for---$3.50 per acre. The next year the railroad
was surveyed through Holdrege and locations were being selected
for towns by the Lincoln Landsite Company. Mr. Carlson sold this
land for $1700. The quarter west of it was sold at the same time
for $15 per acre while John Given sold 40 acres across the line
in Union Township for the same price. This is the way land values
started in this vicinity.
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WHERE TO LOOK FOR
NEBRASKA ADOPTION RECORDS
(This information came from the Nebraska Historical Newsletter
within by Cindy Drake, Library Curator)
Adoption records are the court records made at the time of the written. Availability of these records varies from state to state. Today right to privacy laws often make it more difficult to access these records.
There are many sources to search in regard to adoption records. There is a National Adoption Information Clearinghouse (NAIC) from which you may get a copy of your state's adoption laws at no charge. The address is Post Office Box 1182, Washington, D. C. 20013-1182, Phone: 888-251-0075; Fax: 703-385-3206 E-Mail [email protected], and Web: http://www.calib.com/naic/> (Accessed 12/4/98). A genealogical web site you might want to check is Cyndi's List of Genealogy sites on the Internet. The URL for adoption at this site is ,http://CyndisList.com/adoption.htm> (Accessed 12/4/98). One of the major guidebooks published on this subject is Search: Handbook for Adoptees and Birth parents by Jayne Askin. The third edition of this title published by Oryx Press has just become available.
Adoption records in Nebraska may be located in the county court probate records before 1895. They would be on file in a separate journal for adoption records. Although adoption records in Nebraska have been closed to the public since 1943, the status of earlier adoption records is unclear. Most county courts probably consider all adoption records closed and would not allow you to see these records. For questions about adoption searches in Nebraska contact Gerarado R. Dominguez, Nebraska Health and Human Services, at P. O. Box 95044, Lincoln, NE 68509-5044, 402-471-9254.
Newspapers published adoptions before and after 1900. A law stated they were to be published in the newspaper for three weeks. We have not researched the laws in depth about when adoptions were no longer published in newspapers, but they have been located as late as the 1920s. Nebraska Genealogists have indexed some of these additions in various genealogical publications.
The ADOPTIONS has some of these early records, but because of the uncertainty regarding the various laws on adoption records, we would require a court order to release them. Guardianship records are open, but they will not state if an adoption occurred.
There are several support groups in Nebraska for adoptees, birth parents, and adapted parents. Adoption Triad Midwest has been in existence for twenty years. The address is P. O. Box 45273, Omaha, NE 68145.
Although I have not helped directly in locating actual adoption
records, I have helped friends with research in available public
sources when they had the name of one or more adopted. Several
sources that I and other staff
found useful in locating information about birth parents include
newspapers, city directories, high school annuals, local histories
(County, Town and Church), school census records, and cemetery
transcriptions..
Cynthia Monroe, Pat Churray, and Steve Wolz from the Library/Archives staff helped in reviewing some or all of the material in this article.
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LOOMIS SNOOPERS FIND
50 YEAR OLD MOLASSES MILL
from a local newspaper about 1942
A lot of out of ordinary implements have been pouring in at the salvage piles in Loomis and Holdrege but a 50--year-old Molasses mill, uncovered by Loomis scrap snoopers, takes the number one spot for oddity.
The molasses mill was included in salvage metal sold by E. H. Edlund, who resides north of Loomis, Nebr.
Chief Scrap snooper Carl Thorell of Loomis said the old mill was knocked down at the Edland farm and there was no weight slips on that alone.
It has been a number of years since the mill saw service but Mr. Edlund said that it was at least fifty years old.
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LOOMIS MARSHAL BURNING
TO GET INTO THE SCRAP
July 24, 1942
Town Marshall Dave Johnson at Loomis is literally burning to get into the "Scrap"---at any rate he was burning while he unloaded scrap yesterday afternoon at the Phelps County Salvage "Scrap" pile.
The fire department wasn't necessary to eliminate the blaze but it was reported so much of his trousers disappeared in the flames that officer Dave didn't wait to turn in his scale slips or to get the money from the sale of his scrap metal.
It happened when officer Dave tossed a heavy bucket of old
nails from the load of scrap metal unto the pile--The bucket apparently
brushed his pocket, full of matches and the fun commenced. Officer
Dave didn't break any speed limits gong out of town but it's a
good thing Dick Grainger of the state highway patrol didn't see
him when he left.
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SWEDES WHO CAME
FROM SWEDEN
TO PHELPS COUNTY, NEBRASKA
Page nine of this newsletter contains information that was collected by one of our members, Per Samuelsson of Sweden. He collected this information from a CD-Rom containing 1.3 million names.
This issue contains the Swedes who came from Sweden to Loomis, Nebraska. Future issues will have Swedes who came to Bertrand and Holdrege.
These Swedes left Sweden from the sea harbors of: Goteborg (Gothenburg) 1869 - 1930; Malmo 1874 - 1930; Stockholm 1869 - 1930; Norrkoping 1859 - 1919; Helsingborg 1899 - 1930; and Kalmar 1880 - 1893.
This list is printed in Swedish. Below are some translations to help you out:
Ider = age
Frsamiling = parish
Utressehamn = Harbor they're leaving from
Titel = occupation
Utvandrdag = day person is leaving
Medkande = yes or no (companion)
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~Harlan County Nebraska~
NOTE: The Phelps Helps Newsletter highlights Harlan County
Nebraska in this section. With many of our subscribers interested
in and from Harlan County, and since Harlan County is a connecting
county to Phelps County, the Phelps Helps will publish history
information on Harlan County.
EXTRACT FROM SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE LATE HON. WM. THE,
AT ALMA, NEBRASKA, APRIL 14, 1880
(Continued from last Phelps Helps Newsletter)
That winter a large party of Sioux Indians camped and hunted, some twenty-five miles up the Republican river west of the stockade. In February 1871, Mark Code, Thomas Harlan, Thomas Murrin, Thomas Mullally, J. H. Painter and John Talbot organized a party in Cheyenne to visit the Republican Valley in search of permanent homes Richard Sydenham accompanied the party from Fort Kearney as guide and driver. They struck the upper waters of Turkey Creek, which they followed until they came to the river where they followed the stream west. Foster's house was the habitation they found outside the stockade.
At this time the grass was green, weather pleasant, and turkey's, buffalo and other game were abundant. Many rumors of the Indians were received by the party, but none were met. After selecting claims this party returned to Cheyenne, after arriving at that point February 28, 1871. They were delighted with, and gave glorious accounts of the Republican Valley. In 1871 most of this party returned, accompanied I think by J. W Ballou, Thomas Sheffery, who settled near Watson, Richard O'Dolale, Nansel A. Arlington, Henry Wise, Denton Young, Alexander and Joun Burk, John Burgess, N. P. Cook, William Carr, James Ryder and others. Bartlett family and son and the Bloom brothers, one of whom is dead accompanied them from Fort Kearney. Our family also came with this party, or about the time they did.
During the spring and summer of 1871 Lauthan, Judge Robbins,
Fergison, Clark, Bennett, Main, Carr, Shoemaker, Pat Foster, John
and George Gehley, Judge Thompson and son, Mullally, Jones, Kellogg,
Newell, Holly Jenkins, Skinner, Bird and quite a number of Scandinavians,
among our most industrious, law abiding and worthy citizens, whose
names do not come to me. W. C. Holden, editor of the Kearney Press,
Casey, Connelly, Guston, Manson, Martin Van Beem, Cress and sons,
the Richardsons' and Coupons'
settled in the west part of the country.
Among the settlers of 1871 in the east half of the county I
call to mind besides those mentioned, Croford, and his son John,
Lewis ad W. N. Coon, Main boys--Still and Elihu--Hon. D. B. Mills,
first representative of the Legislature from Harlan County, the
Conklin Brothers, John C. Mitchell, not John B. who came win with
the Vivquin and Foster party, Van Ness, Miller, D. Young, Dr.
and Charles McPherson, Rafenburg, Gould and son, Ira German and
Brother, W. Williams, Starry and son, Blackburn, Washman, Parish,
Phillips, Trimble, Wm. Dennis, Cady, Fred and Charles Fox, Dr.
Rich, now dead and brother, Donaldson, Immanhope, Coffman, Whitney,
the Whitings, H. M. Luce, Schrack brothers, Guyer, Brady and Ryder.
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NEWSPAPERS
The first newspapers published in the county was the Sentinel founded by W. C. Holden and W. Eaton, at Orleans, in April 1874. In March 1874, Holden purchased the paper, i.e. Eaton's interest, and moved it over to Melrose, where it remained but for a short time and was moved back to Orleans. Out of this transition arose some person litigation in connection with the town site fight, for the recital of which I have neither time to taste. The Sentinel after passing through various hands, now is ably run at the place of its birth, Orleans.
The second paper in Harlan County was the Advertiser, founded by Fox and Stinchcombe, in 1873, at Melrose. After it had run two or three months Richmond & McGleachin purchased the paper and changed the name to Harlan County Argus. In the spring of 1874, W. C. Holden purchased the paper and ran it under the name of the Tribune for about eighteen months when it departed this life a little prior to the demise of Melrose.
The third paper in the county is the Republican City News, founded by its present, able and efficient editor in 1875. The fourth , the Standard, which was started over a year ago, has done more to build up Alma than all the other causes combined. Fifth and last the Enterprise, recently started in Republican City.
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