USA > Nebraska > Buffalo County > Buffalo County, Nebraska, and its people : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 34
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It is recalled that Thomas Maloney was one of the first licensed teachers in the county. It is related that Mrs. Theadore Knox selected the name Odessa to take the place of Crowellton as the name of the township, or rather precinct. Mr. and Mrs. Theadore Knox settled at Gibbon in the winter of 1871-72, and kept boarders during the period in which the courthouse was being erected, and the editor moved the family to their homestead claim near Crowellton in March, 1873.
Mrs. Susan Grant, who took a homestead claim in the precinct in 1878, was of pioneer stock. She was widely known and highly respected.
Several members of her family settled in that vicinity in an early day, and many of her descendants still reside there. Three of her daughters are Mrs. . J. D. Seaman, Mrs. E. R. Webb and Mrs. D. Harpst. . Mrs. C. V. D. Basten of Kearney is a granddaughter.
SUSAN CARR GRANT
Susan Carr was of a family of Virginians who moved by wagon through mountains and forests and settled in the Western Reserve about the year Ohio
MRS. SUSAN GRANT A homestead settler in Odessa Township in 1875
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became a state, that is, in ISOS. Benjamin Carr, her father, had sold his slaves. One of the slaves, the nurse, followed on foot in peril of lurking savages, and in greater danger of starvation. The poor creature lived on roots and berries, ravenously breaking eggs in a nest she found only to discover that they contained half-hatched serpents. She brought a silver spoon to the baby of the Carr family. It would be happiness to record that she gained her freedom. Alas, for the cruelty of slavery, she was promptly deported back to her new master. Susan Carr was born in Ohio 100 years ago, March 15, 1816. She always retained traces of Virginia and of the southern life in her speech, her manners and unbounded hospitality.
She married Michael Grant in IS38 and had the usual large family of that period. Fated to the life of a pioneer, they left Ohio and its comforts to clear new land and open up a great new farm. She was indefatigable and efficient, and lived on a large scale in crude abundance. She attended to the huge Dutch oven, watched over the dryhouse, made maple sugar and tallow candles. She raised three orphan children at different times in Ohio. In Indiana she took an Irish family of three orphans into her home at once. Two of these orphans, the Maloneys, came to Nebraska with her. They settled at Crowellton, now Odessa, on the land now owned by E. R. Webb, who is her son-in-law.
Susan Grant lived there, seeing many changes in her family and neighbor- hood, for eighteen years. No longer young, she nevertheless, by her broad sym- pathy, brave cheer, good business ability and generosity, bettered the little frontier community.
She was of helpful service to every life within reach of her beneficent influ- ence. Such lives are not forgotten. She died December 3, 1891, at the age of seventy-five. It falls to the lot of few women to leave a memory more cherished in the hearts of her descendants.
School District No. 12 was organized by C. Putnam, county superintendent, October 17, 1872. The district embraced all of range No. 17 in Buffalo County.
Notification was sent (J.) Marsh Grant, a taxable inhabitant therein, as per form in the law provided.
The records disclose that in July, 1873, this district had eighteen children of school age, and that J. Marsh Grant was serving as director of the district.
REMINISCENCES
Mrs. C. V. D. Basten
It was February 13, 1873, a little girl, traveling westward with. her father and mother over the newly completed "B. & M. R. R. in Nebraska," as it was called then, was anxiously peering into the night as the train approached Kearney Junction. A gentleman, noticing her excitement and curiosity, talked to her about the new country-Indians, buffalo, prairie fires and prairie-dog towns, etc. He had been in the country five years as station agent at Elm Creek, Mr. D. C. Bond. He had seen buffalo shot from a cabin doorway as a herd of them stampeded through the little pioneer settlement. He transmitted, by telegraph, the account of the Sioux-Pawnee battle at Brady Island, transmitting and receiving on an
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old-fashioned paper-ribbon telegraph instrument. He told how glad he was to see settlers come in. It was Mr. Bond's privilege, as the hard years came on, to stand by the settlers. In 1874 he brought out a car load of flour and let them have it-to pay for when they could.
The little girl's father took a pre-emption and bought an equal amount of railroad land at Crowellton, which was the first station east of Elm Creek. Mr. Bond thus became a neighbor and a highly esteemed friend through many years. Crowellton was only a place where mail was thrown off.
If the conductor was complaisant he would let passengers off, but some- times he would compel them to alight at Stevenson, three miles farther east. Stevenson had a section house, Crowellton had a postoffice, in the house of Mrs. Susan Grant, which was also the social center of the neighborhood. Her son, J. Marsh Grant, had a library of 300 volumes-high, serious in character-forcing borrowers to read Doctor Kane's "Arctic Explorations," Hugh Miller's "Red Sandstone" and Dryden's poems when they would have much preferred the current novels of the day. Jules Verne's "Around the World in Eighty Days" came out at that time. We much enjoyed the description of the highly improbable sail-sled ride between Plum Creek and Omaha. Besides the books the Grants had the only sewing machine in the neighborhood, and they loaned it as freely as the books ; it went from one house to another-was rarely at home and lasted two years.
Almost the first thing erected was a schoolhouse, which the wind promptly blew away, leaving the floor. It was as promptly rebuilt, and Thomas Maloney resumed his school. Some of his pupils were Adah Grant, Estelle Grant, Mag- gie Maloney, Adah Seaman, Harry Seaman, Josephine Halliwell, Jessie Green- man, Lizzie Vail and her brother. The Vails were English, one brother, a bachelor, was a doctor. They had a comfortable sod house and a large family. The Sturrocks were related; James Sturrock, a nephew, by trade a plasterer. The young wife, a good looking young dressmaker, came direct from England to take land-lived in one room with a shed roof, in the bottoms. Mrs. Sturrock gave us a graphic account of how she trod on a skunk when we paid her our first call.
The two families, Vails and Sturrocks, went almost immediately to California, though the Sturrocks lived a while in Kearney.
Mr. Greenman and others started a Sunday school which met at the school- house. It was attended by everybody in the neighborhood.
Mr. Lord, a relative of the Goulds, and a theological student, preached there sometimes, and a homesteader by the name of J. B. Vincent wanted to; he was a religious fanatic, came to the meeting with a 12-pound clasped Bible. Mr. Lord happened to state that the Bible was not originally written in English; this Mr. Vincent indignantly denied. Another religious fanatic, a man by the name of Mitchell, boarded with Mrs. Catherine Edwards, mother of the Reeves boys, William, James and David. This Mitchell used to speak at meetings held during a revival by Reverend Mr. Summers (afterward pastor of the Methodist Episco- pal Church in Kearney). He would become greatly excited-a soul under con- viction. One day detectives came out from Illinois and arrested him for murder.
Prof. D. B. Worley of Gibbon taught singing school at the schoolhouse in the
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winter of 1874. He drove through to Overton, where he had some land. A literary society was started the same year in which budding oratory was encour- aged. Amateur theatricals, attended by wagon loads of young people from Elm Creek, were the gala occasions. Dancing parties were not infrequent at the liomes of the settlers in both communities, Odessa and Elm Creek.
Almost the first to erect shacks and live at Crowellton were the Brown brothers. One of them, D. Brown, left his wife, an intrepid little woman, while he worked on the railroad. Wandering groups of Pawnees were always peering in at her windows and begging persistently. Entirely alone, she was not fright- ened, which is more than can be said for other women better protected. Mrs. Brown went miles after her cow, which drifted away in the big April storm of 1873; herded the cow back and saved her. Henry Brown afterwards moved with his family to Kearney. The Christianson brothers built a house that was afterwards used as a schoolhouse in East Odessa. The Homer and Harpst fami- lies were related; came from Pennsylvania and returned there after a short stay, probably two or three years. The Clellands took up railroad land in 1874.
George W. Tovey was an 1872 settler on the land afterwards occupied by Theadore Knox, later known as the John Neal farm. Mr. Tovey was large of frame-brown-eyed and slow of speech. He would never commit himself ; would always qualify every statement he made, and was a favorite of the young people. He and his homesteading partner, whose name is forgotten, would have responded more often to social demands, but they were obliged to accept alternately, as they possessed but one white shirt between them.
George D. Aspinwall was the second school teacher. He was a brother-in- law of J. E. Chidester. Other relatives by the name of Ransom came from Wisconsin and were well known citizens of the district and county for many years. Richard Waters lives on the homestead he settled on in 1873-probably the longest continuous residence in that neighborhood.
James Halliwell, an Englishman from Altoona, Pa., attained a great age, in the nineties. His farm is occupied by Roy Knap. His son, Samuel Halli- well, lives in the neighborhood.
J. M. Grant, Silas Grant and Thomas Maloney came to Odessa in 1872. By mistake they broke out R. D. Gould's land and wasted a year of hard work. Their land was a mile farther west. They built the house now occupied by E. R. Webb. J. M. Grant is now in Washington. Silas Grant went to Cabool, Mo., and died there July 17, 1908, one of the richest and best beloved citizens. His wife, Maggie Maloney, preceded him by ten years.
Thomas Maloney left Odessa in the spring of IS77. He has lived in Wash- ington and Arkansas, and is now superintendent of a Government reclamation project in Phoenix, Ariz.
The Acheys and the Hostetlers were brothers-in-law, afterwards moving to Kearney ; have relatives living in Kearney ; the Lantz and Feathers families being descendants. L. C. Skelley occupied two places ; the first purchased of Thomas Maloney for $500, which they sold. They then lived for some years on what is now known as the Rall place; this they traded for a farm in Iowa. They are passing their declining years, having reared a family of six sons, all settled in Kansas City, Mo.
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Cordelia M. Waite came with her father and several brothers, and sisters, from Michigan. Cordelia, a quiet, refined girl, taught school on Wood River, north- east of Kearney, boarding in a sod house with a lean-to bedroom. This addition separated from the main building one night when she was sleeping. The ridge pole fell across her, killing her.
The noise of the falling structure was not heard by the family. They dis- covered her in the morning with her cheek lying on her hand, just as she had slept.
George Hall lived but a short time in Odessa, moving to Illinois. Mrs. Hall's brother shot a buffalo in the hills north of Odessa in 1873. A deer was killed about the same place in 1872, weighing 200 pounds dressed. In 1874 Silas Grant, with a companion, hunted 100 miles farther west, and brought home venison and buffalo and a large number of buffalo robes. The buffalo meat was dried and lasted all summer.
John B. Neal settled on the Theadore Knox place in 1877, and lived there until 1903; had a family of eight children, five of whom are living. He was a successful farmer and a good citizen. He and his wife are living in Lents, a suburb of Portland, Ore. Two of his children, Sadie and Roy, live in Portland, Ben in Odessa, Henry in Kearney, Mentie in Wisconsin.
GRANT TOWNSHIP
Among the first settlers in Grant Township were John Groves, J. Atkinson, Jr., Richard Sell, J. J. Roberts, in 1872; Miles B. Hunt, W. White, E. S. Marsh, G. L. Kough, A. M. Mudge, J. K. Sanford, W. H. Brown, G. F. Hesselgrave, T. E. Foster, William Brown, in 1873; William Grant, G. W. Coffman, A. Thomp- son, Lydia M. Mace, H. Coffman, J. H. Coffman, Rena Hollenbeck, in 1874.
School District No. 13 in this township was organized by Dan A. Crowell, county superintendent, March 10, 1873. Notice of the organization of the dis- trict was sent Miles B. Hunt, a taxable inhabitant of the district, and directed that the first meeting for the election of school district officers be held at the house of said Miles B. Hunt on Friday, the 28th day of March (1873), at 10 o'clock A. M. (It will be noted the number of this school district is 13 and the first meeting held to elect officers met on Friday.)
The records disclose that in July, 1873, this district is reported as having twelve children of school age, and E. S. Marsh was serving as school director ..
Mrs. C. V. D. Basten writes of the early history of Grant Township as follows :
IIUNTSVILLE-STANLEY
The first location of Huntsville, which, accurately speaking, was the school- house, was picturesque; the building was white with green blinds. The river and its bridge and the overhanging trees on the banks made a peaceful, sylvan background. This was two miles east of the present Stanley. Huntsville was named after Miles B. Hunt; Crowellton after Dan A. Crowell. It is a pity the names had to be changed, at the request of the postoffice department, because easily confused with other names of postoffices in the state.
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In 1872-73 all the homes were dugouts. Coming upon them from the side or rear, one knew it was a dwelling because of the stovepipe sticking out.
Few had floors. Mrs. William N. Brown put her good rag carpet directly upon the hard worn earth ; had white curtains at the windows in front, one each side the door. The beds were curtained off in the rear corner of the single room. It was really attractive and comfortable.
Miss Rena Hollenbeck, who was married after her term of school in 1875 to J. H. Coffman, had a very attractive sod house nicely furnished.
The Hunts had several rooms in their dugout. They had a large family. Mr. Hunt was, in a sense, the dominating spirit in the neighborhood; an intelli- gent, forceful man. He was president of the school board. Gilbert Kough, Floyd Gargett and A. M. Mudge were directors in 1876. J. Marsh Grant taught there in 1873; Benjamin L. Grant in 1874. Benjamin L. Grant died November II, 1877. His sister, Adah A. Grant, taught two months beginning January 1, 1877. Adah Seaman in the spring of 1876.
Floyd Gargett lived west of Huntsville ; his wife was a sister of H. C. McNew, for many years editor of the Shelton Clipper. C. F. Hesselgrave was a relative of Gargett. The Hamiltons lived west of the Gargetts and were the only mem- bers of the community originally from New England.
John Groves, J. J. Roberts, W. White and G. L. Kough were all soldiers of the Civil war and past middle age. H. L. Seaman was also an old soldier, and there were probably others. Washington Petit lived east of Huntsville; his daughter, Carrie, attended school in 1876. So did children from the White, Mudge and Brown families, as also did Tabitha McNew, sister of Floyd Gar- gett.
There was no social life in the community except church and prayer meeting. Politics and baseball interested some of the men. Rev. Ober Knepper used to preach there. At a Wednesday night prayer meeting all those gifted in prayer took turns praying for Washington Petit's bad temper. His wife was present ; this was but a year or two before Petit was killed by one of his sons.
The people in Huntsville had a very hard time during the winters of 1873, 1874 and 1875. It is doubtful if our forefathers were much nearer the border- line of hunger. Bread and gravy was the great staple. Coffee was made from wheat and corn browned, and then ground. One woman told of parching corn and cracking it with a nut-cracker to feed her children; women exchanged recipes for making gravy. It was a stout-hearted, brave but very narrow-minded community. The Hunts and Koughs went to Washington. Forest Hunt has been a successful follower of the sea and owns boats in the coast and Alaska trade. The Coffmans are also in Washington. Mr. Hunt and most of the older settlers are long since dead.
H. L. Seaman died in California in November, 1915, aged seventy-four, the last of a family of five brothers.
CHAPTER XXXVIII
LOUP AND RUSCO TOWNSHIPS-NAMES OF EARLY SETTLERS-PETER'S BRIDGE-BUF- FALO IN PLEASANT VALLEY IN 1874-THE VILLAGE OF PLEASANTON-A IO-GRADE IIIGH SCHOOL-BUFFALO COUNTY TELEPHONE COMPANY-FARMERS GRAIN COM- PANY-THE PLEASANTON STATE BANK-THE FARMERS STATE BANK-COMMER- CIAL CLUB-CHURCHES-FRATERNAL AND BENEFICIAL LODGES.
The first settlers in what is now known as Loup Township were H. F. Hand, J. T. Palmer, L. A. Colburn, C. B. Oakley, N. Dick, N. A. Brunce, J. Welch and H. H. Clark, who took homestead claims in the year 1874. Previous to the year 1880 twenty-nine homestead claims had been filed upon in the township.
The first settler in what is now Rusco Township was E. M. Holly, in 1873, and A. Peake, John Wilson, L. H. Johnson, J. L. Scott, L. Allen, B. L. Graham, A. M. Morse, F. Boyer and J. H. Lockard, in 1875. Twenty-five claims had been filed upon in the township previous to the year 1880.
PLEASANTON
The earliest settlement in the vicinity of Pleasanton was made on the farm now owned by Henry Peters on section No. 2. This land was homesteaded in 1874, and for many years there was a log house on this farm built by the previous owner. The name of Peters gained more than local fame on account of a bridge across the South Loup bearing his name. In the early settlement of the country there was a large amount of travel passing over this bridge by settlers who, arriving at Kearney, were making settlements in the northern part of Buffalo County and in Sherman and Custer counties, Kearney being the nearest railroad point. In the year 1874 Charles B. Oakley, Louis Colburn and H. H. Clark came looking for free land in the vicinity, and located in Pleasant Valley. The original survey was so faulty it was necessary for Mr. Clark to return to Kearney and secure the services of the county surveyor in order to properly locate their claims. Mr. Oakley located on section No. S, the others on sections No. 7 and No. 22.
At this date the country was wild, there being many antelope, some deer and a small herd of buffalo. Mr. Clark and Mr. Colburn left the country, but Charles B. Oakley still lives here and is still enjoying life, having seen the country grow up from a wild region, passing through the sod-house period to one of the many prosperous settlements of Buffalo County. During the grasshopper year most of the settlers left this part of Buffalo County, so that Mr. Oakley has seen this locality settled twice, so to speak, he remaining through all the trials incident to pioneer life.
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SCENES IN PLEASANTON
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO COUNTY
The townsite of Pleasanton was surveyed and platted in 1890, and the vil- lage incorporated January 12, 1894, and the following board of trustees ap- pointed : E. C. Moffitt, E. W. Noyes, A. V. Hlava, D. Wort, S. E. Smith.
A school district was organized (No. 105) in 1890, the first district officers being Rudolph Ritter, Sr., James Welliver and A. V. Hlava.
This school district now (1915) has a 10-grade accredited high school, employ- ing three teachers, and has built, at an expense of $5,000, an up-to-date school building, all paid for. The present school district officers are: W. R. Scribner, director; 1. T. Hart, moderator; R. B. Wort, treasurer.
That the country tributary to Pleasanton is fertile and fruitful, and that the early settlers made good on their homestead claims, is best evidenced by the value of farm products shipped from this point in the year 1915, approximately : Grain, $150,000; hogs and cattle, $120,000; horses and mules, $20,000.
At Pleasanton are two grain elevators with a capacity of about twelve thou- sand bushels, and the lumber sales for the year 1915 amount to approximately forty thousand dollars.
The village owns a complete water system, costing $9,000, and furnishing an abundance of water for domestic use and fire protection.
The members of the village board in 1915 were: F. L. Grammer, chairman ; A. L. Randall, R. A. Eaton, A. E. Pearson, C. F. Hall.
The Buffalo County Telephone Company was organized by the people of Pleasanton and vicinity in the year 1903 and incorporated in 1910 with S. B. Carpenter, president ; A. V. Valentine, vice president ; P. S. Holtzinger, manager ; M. S. Booher, secretary; F. L. Grammer, treasurer. The company had 128 telephones in operation.
In the year 1915 the capital stock of the company was $6,580; surplus, $2,000; phones in operation, 324. Officers : A. H. Valentine, president ; Adolph English, vice president ; B. S. Wort, manager; M. S. Booher, secretary; F. L. Grammer, treasurer.
The Farmers Grain Company, with four stockholders, was incorporated in January, 1905, under what is known as the "Line" system, Pleasanton being one of the successful branches of the system. In 1915 the company had a member- ship of more than one hundred, comprising both business men in the village and farmers of the surrounding community. The company handles grain, coal and lumber. D. Phillips is president of the company ; the local board of trustees, Albert Reese, Fred Wise, W. F. Vest.
The Pleasanton State Bank was incorporated July 23, 1892, with a capital of $10,000. The incorporators were D. W. Titus, F. L. Grammer, Joseph Grammer, E. W. Noyes and John Terhune, who were also the board of directors. The officers of the bank: John Terhune, president; E. W. Noyes, vice presi- dent : F. L. Grammer, cashier. In 1915 the bank had a capital stock of $25,000; surplus, $10,000; deposits, $150,000. The officers: A. H. Grammer, president ; E. W. Noyes, vice president ; F. L. Grammer, cashier ; W. R. Scribner, assistant cashier.
The Farmers State Bank at Pleasanton was incorporated May 29, 1909, with M. L. Dolan, president ; Charles G. Ryan, vice president ; J. R. Bonson, cashier. This bank has a capital stock of $12,000; deposits, $62,000. The officers in
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1915: M. L. Dolan, president ; Ludwig Mueller, vice president ; F. A. Mueller, cashier.
In September, 1914, was organized the Pleasanton Commercial Club, with a membership of thirty. The officers: R. O. Stevenson, president; H. H. Lam- mers, vice president ; F. A. Mueller, secretary.
UNITED BRETHREN CHURCH
During the summer of 1892 the people of Pleasanton and vicinity, being eager for church privileges, thought it expedient to organize a Sunday school at the Pleasanton schoolhouse, one-half mile south of town.
Daniel Cluster was elected superintendent, serving for one year, and being followed by C. W. Wood and Marion W. Perkins. During the existence of the Sunday school it was convenient for the West Nebraska Conference of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ to send a preacher each year to conduct services at the Pleasanton schoolhouse. In the year 1895 the Pleasanton church was organized, but the services continued to be held at the schoolhouse until January, 1899, at which time the new United Brethren Church was dedicated. The charter members of this church were: Mr. and Mrs. D. Cluster, Mr. and Mrs. James Pearson, Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Chingrin, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Easley, Mr. and Mrs. Marion W. Perkins, Mrs. E. C. Moffitt, Mrs. J. Van Buskirk, Mr. and Mrs. R. S. Koffroth. The church has (in 1915) property worth $3,000, and a membership of 100.
The pastors who have served this church and people have been, in the order named, A. B. Bechtold, D. A. Geil, William Tooley, W. G. Arnold, Mary W. Holman, Mr. Henline, J. A. Darby, E. White, T. J. Gallagher, A. Boyd, A. W. Neville, R. A. Giles, R. L. Brill, Blaine Radcliff.
The Roman Catholic Church was organized in March, 1906, by Father Wolfe, and meetings were held in Grammer's Hall until January 1, 1910, when the new church building, which cost $3,000, was dedicated. The different priests in charge of the church have been Fathers Cavana, Moser, Link, Kampman, Yorke ยท and Schida. The church trustees are Joseph R. Nickman, Joseph Schuller and Joseph Zwiener.
Pleasanton Lodge No. 282, A. O. U. W., was instituted in April, 1893, with the following charter members: J. Johnson, Walter W. Reese, Joseph Grammer, D. Wort, Vanzle Voseipka, F. L. Grammer, C. B. Oakley, Thomas Bell, William Johnson, Berdine F. Rogers, S. Remington, Charles M. Trott, William Moxley. The officers: D. Wort, M. W .; W. W. Reese, P. M. W .; Joseph Grammer, F .; C. M. Trott, O .; F. L. Grammer, Rec .; A. V. Hlava, Fin .; C. B. Oakley, G. In 1915 the officers were: W. R. Jones, P. M. W .; T. M. Davis, M. W .; F. L. Grammer, Rec .; E. W. Noyes, Fin .; C. B. Oakley, G .; Dr. A. L. Randall, physician.
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