NSGS Ancestree

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NEBRASKA ANCESTREE - Winter Volume 16, No. 3 - Page 97

Submitted by Phyllis Willuweit

Thse (sic) names could be either Grantee or Grantor. The date is the date of the newspaper, not of the land transaction.

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NEBRASKA ANCESTREE - Winter Volume 16, No. 3 - Page 98

Hamilton County Land Transfers continued:

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NEBRASKA ANCESTREE - WINTER VOLUME 16 No. 3 - Page 99

Hamilton County Land Transfers continued:

From: Margaret Graff, Beatrice

Names on the Program

From Margaret Graff

NAMES ON PROGRAM:  Rev. Wm. HARDCASTLE, Supt. A. O. HIMSON, Edward CORLISS Rev. RUNCIE, Delia PERDUE, Zella SPEARS, Marie HOUGNON, Harriet N. WEBBER and Nellie W. FREDERICKSON, Paul H. BEEBE, Clyde BACON, Frank CUSHING, Irvin A. BENNETT. Ruth BABCOCK, Flossie B. CLINE, Mable I. BEEBE, Hattie M. WEEDEN, Jessie POLLARD, Bessie C. NEWCOMB, W. E. BABCOCK.

CLASS ROLL

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NEBRASKA ANCESTREE - WINTER Volume 16, No 3 - Page 100

Cambridge High School continued:

From Elden G. Burcham, North Platte, Ne.

Miss Beulah BLASS, Teacher      Miss Anna V. DAY, Co. Supt.

Abstracted from: The Red Cloud Nation, May 25, 1899

Sheriff WELLS returned home Tuesday after a week's absence in the northeast part of the county where he had been lookina after stolen goods, He discovered the same at the store of W. H. LEETSCH of Rosemont. Mr. LEETSCH claimed to have bought the same of thieves but thought he had a right to. Mr. WELLS found the goods to the amount of $400 in his store, also goods in a straw stack about five miles from town to the value of $250. Mr. LEETSCH then gave up the whole thing when the sheriff asked him to, and delivered him goods to the value of $50 whick (sic) he still has in his possession. The bulk of goods were returned to the merchants from other little towns who were there to identify them.

The tenth annual commencement of the Red Cloud high school will he (sic) held in the opera house, Friday, June 2, at 8:30 p. m. Dr. Eugene MAY of Washington D. C. will deliver the class address. Dr. May. . . is a noted traveler and lecturer. . . There are twelve graduated of the regular course, and four that will complete all the work except the Latin. Of the latter Myra GRIFFITH will continue her studies next year and graduate with the century class. Rev. DEAN will preach the class sermon Sunday morning, June 4, at the Congregational Church. Admission will be 15 cents. No extra charge for reserved seats. Seats will be placed on sale Tuesday morning, May 30, at (9:00) at GRICE's Drug Store.

E. J. OVERING and daughter Sadie, of Red Cloud, spent a few hours in Alma Wesnesday (sic) and took dinner at the Burr. They were on their way to McCook where Mr. OVERING is putting up a large and imposing monument to be dedicated on Decoration Day, to the old soldiers. ---Alma Record.

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NEBRASKA ANCESTREE - WINTER VOLUME 16, NO. 3 - Page 101

07 JANUARY 1932 BELGRADE HERALD SHOWING HAPPENINGS OF INTEREST FROM 1912.
SUBMITTED BY: PATRICIA A. WAGNER, ALBION

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The Belgrade Fire Department was called to the WALTER and EVELYN BENN home.

MISS COWBERY of Elm Creek took the place in our school of PROF. SNYDER, who left for parts unknown at Christmas time.

MISS TYNER of Indiana took the place of EDNA ATWATER, who was married 04 January 1912, to F. H. GILLETT an Albion farmer.

MR. AND MISS FULLER ran a photograph gallery here at that time.

TWILA BROWN, 4 year old daughter of FRED BROWN, died in January after a long illness.

JESSIE ANDREWS became the bride of GUY ROLPH 01 Janaury (sic) 1912 REV. MC VEY tying the knot at Fullerton.

J. W. LUDINGTON, MRS. DOPF'S father, died at Fullerton 07 January 1912.

H. S. FOX died 09 January 1912 at Belgrade.

MRS. JAMES FLOYD, nee PEARL SHAFFER, a former Belgrade girl, died at Little Rock, Arkansas.

HARRY SHINN of Council Grove, Kansas, a nephew of J. P. VESEY, learned the baker's trade at CALDWELL'S Restaurant here that winter.

MORGAN FLAHERTY, Clerk of the District Court, and PEARL CLEVELAND, both of Fullerton, were married at Columbus in January.

MRS. WALTER BENNETT died at her home south of Belgrade in January.

C. V. MOON helf (sic) a sale 01 Febraury (sic) and went to Richville, Washington to visit his nephew, HESS MOON.

P. O. DENNEDY, a farmer living north of Fairview, held a sale and moved to Julian, Nebraska.

PADDY RINE, insurance man, was burned about the face when he undertook to clean out a chimney.

MRS. EMMA CORNWELL died 07 February 1912 after a long illness.

R. T. BAIRD former publisher of this newspaper was editor of the Woodriver Sunbeam at that time.

DR. BATES traded Fullerton property for the Boone County Advance and his son, MERT, continued to publish the same.

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NEBRASKA ANCESTREE - WINTER Volume 16, No. 3 - Page 102 CLAY COUNTY PHYSICIANS 1881-1889

The register of physicians of Clay County contains the following names, college and date of license. Submitted by Rose Marie Hulse, Exeter, NE.

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NEBRASKA ANCESTREE - WINTER Volume 16, No. 3 - Page 103

The following very interesting paper written by Mrs. W. A. Wagner was read before the Gage County Pioneer Association recently and its publication will be of deep interest to every citizen of the county and city:

Gage county was organized July 16, 1857, soon after the arrival of the first settlers. The first election was August 4th. Amoung (sic) the officers elected was H. O. Belden, school superintendent; he recieved (sic) thirty-one votes. There were at that time thirty-three men and one woman in the county. Mr. Nathan Blakely was one of the men who did not vote. He had arrived in Beatrice but a few days previous and was undecided whether to remain or not. He has fully atoned for not voting at that first election by voting at every fall election from that day to this.

There were no schools in the county to superintend at that time and as Mr. Belden himself is forgotten by most of the early settlers it is supposed that he soon went on farther west. Even the legality of his election is questioned as many years afterwards we find the county clerk acting as ex-officio school superintendent, First, Mr. Nathan Blakely from 1858 to 1861, C. C. Coffenberry 1861, Oliver Townsend 1861 to 1868. There was also a board of school examiners, consisting of three person. For several years Mr. Nathan Blakely and Dr. H. M. Reynolds were members of this board. About 1861 Mr. J. T. Sargent, brother-in-law of Mrs. Dr. W. J. Harris, was one of this examining board, and starting to return from Beatrice to his home at Blue Springs, as Oliver Townsend was taking him across the Blue river in a canoe the boat upset and they both came near being drowned.

The first attempt to build a school house was made in Beatrice in the fall of 1859. This was on the corner of Ella and Fifth streets. Before it was completed it was destroyed by a prairie fire. It was not until 1862 that the first school house in Gage county was completed. This was in Beatrice, on Elk Street, a little south of where the high school building now stands. It was a small frame house, and for many years was used not only for schools, but for church and all public meetings. It was built by subscription, some giving money, others material or work. Rev. A. L. Tinkam superintended the building of it, he and his sons doing a large part of the work. In the winter of 1862-3 Mr. Oliver Townsend taught the first school in the new school house.

Previous to this, in 1860, Mrs. Frances Butler, also known as Mrs. Blush, had taught a subscription school in a small frame school house on what was known as the Roper property. Fifteen pupils were enrolled. Among them were three of Mr. Towle's daughters, Emma, afterwards Mrs. Jos. Saunders, Delia, now Mrs. Richard Davis, and Mary, Mrs. Dr. Davis, John and James Mumford, Hiram and Joseph Alexander, Ella Miles and a little sister, (name not known) two or three Maxwell boys and Will Jones, the latter a boy of 11 years, riding in from the country four or five miles every morning on a mule, and to his good memory we are indebted for many of the facts and dates recorded in this paper.

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NEBRASKA ANCESTREE - WINTER VOLUME 16, No. 3 - Page 104

Early Schools of Gage County Continued:

In 1861 Miss Weathy Tinkum, now the wife of Mr. Jos. Hollingworth, taught in Beatrice, on the south side of Court Street near Fourth, the first public school taught in Gage county.

In every school district a three months term must be taught before any public money can be drawn. This preliminary school was the one taught by Miss Wealthy Tinkum, she taking the examination but being paid by subscription. About this time, 1861 a subscription school was taught in Blue Springs by Mrs. Maria Sargent, sister of Mrs. Dr. W. J. Harris, and wife of J. R. Sargent. She taught in her own home, a log cabin, and had twelve pupils. In 1864, she and her husband returned to their home in Illinois.

In 1862 Miss Wealthy Tinkum taught a subscription school in Blue Springs, and 1863 her sister Maggie, afterwards wife of Mr. Nathan Blakely, taught the first public school in Blue Springs, and Hugh Dobbs was a pupil. She taught in a building erected as a dwelling house but fitted up with seats and used for school and church. We cannot hear of any school taught in Blue Springs in 1864-65, during the Indian troubles; 1866 is doubtful. Miss Mary Bailey, afterward wife of James Shelly, taught in 1867-68 in Mr. Haynes log house. The first school house in Blue Springs was built in 1869, the next with two rooms in 1873, the present building in 1882.

The first country school we can hear of was a private school taught by Miss Clarissa Roper, in Mr. Jones' house four miles north of Beatrice, in the summer of 1861. Mr. Jack Pethoud taught a subscription school there in the winter of 1861-62 and Miss Alexander also taught in the same district or neighborhood. A log school house was built there in 1867 and in Jan. 1868 W. . Wagner began the first school in it, and the first public school in that district.

District No. 2, on the Nemaha, where Mr. George Gale lived, was one of the first districts organized. In 1865, they got logs and other material ready to build a school house but a flood came and scattered the timbers all over the bottom land, and it was with much additional labor and expense the building was finally erected. So the early settlers had to contend with both fire and floods in establishing the school of which Gage county is justly proud. In the fall of 1863 Beatrice came very near losing its school house again by fire. As Mr. A. O. Sage was riding into town one day he saw a prairie fire rapidly approaching the school house. He jumped from his horse, let it go, pulled off his coat and with no other weapon fought the fire single handed. At length he had the satisfaction of seeing the fire subdued and the school house saved, but his coat was completely ruined.

In District No 21, Mrs. Daniel Freeman taught the first public school in 1865, in a house built by Louie Coffin. Miss Martha Alexander had taught a subscription school in that district previous to 1863. In the Kilpatrick district, No. 22, Miss Cornelia Bailey, afterwards Mrs. Wm. Blakely, taught in 1864, and Hattie Bailey (Mrs. Eugene Mack) taught in 1865. Mrs. Jos. Hollingworth taught in her own house on their homestead in 1865, the only

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NEBRASKA ANCESTREE - WINTER VOLUME 16, No. 3 - Page 105

Early Schools of Gage County Continued:

school between Beatrice arid Blue Springs and the first in that district, Miss Maggie Tinkum taught three years in Mr. Dobbs' district. She was teaching there in 1865. Many districts were organized that year. Teachers in those days received $10 per month and boarded around.

The following is a list of the teachers who taught in Beatrice from the first subscription school in 1860 to the first graded school in 1870. A few of the dates cannot be ascertained with certainty as no records can be found, and we have had to depend on the memory of those who were in Beatrice at that time:

*Date uncertain

Miss Loomis is still teaching in Omaha we are informed.

In the revised statues of 1866 we find that each voting precinct constitued (sic) a school district. At first there were but two precincts, Beatrice and Blue Springs, and for a long time they were rivals, Blue Springs trying to get the county seat away from Beatrice.

In 1868, after Nebraska had become a state, there was quite a revival in school interests. Hon. Nathan Blakely was a member of the first legislature that met that year at Lincoln. He secured the passage of a bill obtaining for this county the grant of 1,000 acres of land, half of the proceeds of which was to build the first bridge across the Blue river at Beatrice, the other half to go into the school fund.

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NEBRASKA ANCESTREE - WINTER VOLUME 16, No. 3 - Page 106

Early Schools of Gage County Continued:

In this first year, 1868, Oliver Townsend, county clerk, and his assistant, W. A. Wagner, divided the county into thirty school districts and renumbered them, beginning in the northeast corner. The county commissioners appointed Rev. B. F. McNeal (who organized the first Presbyterian church in Beatrice) as school superintendent, and in the fall of 1869 Mr. L. B. Filley was elected by the people.

The school houses in the country districts were mostly if not all log houses, sod houses or dugouts.

The pupils were uncultured, of course, but naturally bright, some of them showing an ambition and craving for a higher life, as may be seen when a boy like Dobbs will ride ten or twelve miles to see a school house being built. Others showed a daring and wildness that might have come from living among the Indians. I have been told that pupils have actually been known to jump out of the windows during school times, and authorities all agree that there were some very rough boys in the Beatrice schools in those early days.

The first attempt to grade the Beatrice school was in the fall of 1869, when Mr. Hodsden taught the higher department in the school house, and Mary L. Blodgett the primary upstairs in an old stone building on Market and Fourth streets. The Beatrice Clarion was printed in the room below by Mr. Joseph Nelson, and as that room was not plastered, the pupils had to walk very carefully to and from recitations. My memory of that school is very pleasant. The pupils were orderly and learned very fast. I will only mention a few of the 56 names enrolled. Fanny and Josie McDowell, Katie McDowell, George and Jack Emery, Nathan Reynolds, Elsie Mary Hinkle, Edna Pease, Ella and Austie Roper. Mr. Hodsden's school numbered about 30 or 35 pupils.

In 1870, the brick school house was built on the corner of 8th and Ella, containing 3 rooms at first, afterwards six. Mr. Chase was the first principal there, followed the next year by Mr. C. B. Palmer. But this part of the history of the schools belongs to modern rather than ancient history.

Submitted by Ellen DeVries, Lincoln NE

               

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