USA > Nebraska > Buffalo County > Buffalo County, Nebraska, and its people : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 8
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MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM NUTTER Pioneer settlers in Buffalo County
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO COUNTY
liam H. and W. Hingham. The one named W. Hingham died in early infancy and was buried beside his sister Olive in Philadelphia.
The family remained in Philadelphia until enough had been earned to enable them to reach Utah. They left Philadelphia in the spring of 1859 and going to some point on the Ohio River traveled down that stream and up the Mississippi and Missouri rivers to Florence, near Omaha, which was an outfitting and start- ing point for Mormon emigrants. Mrs. Nutter recalls that they were three days making the distance from St. Joseph to Florence occasioned by their boat repeat- edly getting aground on sand bars. On this trip the family were accompanied by Samuel Stamworth, wife and child, Mrs. Stamworth being a sister of Mr. Nutter. At Florence Mr. Nutter purchased a yoke of oxen, a new wagon, a cow and food sufficient for the entire journey. Another family furnished a yoke of oxen and shared the wagon with Mr. Nutter's family during the journey. The train consisted of seventy-five wagons, mostly drawn by two yoke of oxen. A daughter of Hiram Smith, later president of the Mormon Church, and her hus- band and children accompanied the train, the captain of the train being John F. Smith, a son of Hiram Smith. All emigrants were supposed to carry sufficient provisions to last the entire journey but many were wasteful and were entirely out before the end of the journey. Mrs. Nutter says she feared more than wild Indians these half famished emigrants when they came demanding food.
A few days before the Smith train left Florence, a hand cart train (that is a party carrying all their belongings in hand carts which they pushed or pulled) started out ahead of the Smith train and reached Salt Lake City some two weeks in advance of the Smith train. Owing to the crowded condition of their wagon, Mrs. Nutter walked the entire distance, riding less than twenty-five miles. Rice was the principal food of the family, this with milk from their cow furnishing a most satisfactory meal. The captain of the train, John Smith, had frequently traveled the trail. He was a very profane man and a drunkard. When drunk he would not allow the train to break camp, and they were much delayed on this. account. On one occasion he did not break camp until after noon and then announced that they would travel in the night to make up lost time. For fear that William H., the baby, might fall out the wagon in the dark and be injured, Mrs. Nutter tied him with a rope to the wagon bows. While driving in the night, on this occasion, a teamster in lighting his pipe, frightened his oxen and this in turn caused a stampede of other ox teams and loose stock, cows and other cattle. Mrs. Nutter had milked their cow previous to starting and was carrying the milk in a pail in order to have it for their supper when they camped. In the stampede. she was knocked down and the milk spilled but she was not injured. One child was seriously injured and wagons broken so that it was necessary to make camp in order to make repairs. Late in the night the captain of the train came back cursing and swearing because they had not continued the day's drive until the camp was reached.
Mrs. Nutter relates that on the ship Juventa, at Florence and on the trail occasional religious services were held and related an incident connected with one of such services held on the trail by the captain of their train who was also an ordained elder or preacher. Captain Smith had issued an order for religious services to be held at camp headquarters in the evening and commanding every
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO COUNTY
one to be present. This service Captain Smith conducted in person during which he stated that in being ordained an elder he was also given the power to pronounce curse on anyone, and the party so cursed could not remove same. He then said he had lost a valuable knife costing $5, and he knew someone with the train had it, that if the knife was not returned he would pronounce a curse on the one hav- ing it. At this point a Welshman jumped up and said he had the knife.
During this journey twelve children died of whooping cough, one of the num- ber, the daughter of Mr. Nutter's sister, Mrs. Stamworth. John N. Nutter recalls being awakened before daylight to take a last look at his little cousin, who lay dead in a cracker box, much too short for a comfortable bed, and who was buried in a grave beside the trail early in the day so as to not delay the journey of the train. Accompanying this train was a family, husband, wife and three children ; they were possessed of considerable means, had three good horse teams, a good wagon, and abundant outfit for the journey. The three children sickened and died and were buried beside the trail. The drunken captain of the train neglected to caution the emigrants not to allow their animals to drink of the alkali water and as a result this family lost some of their most valuable horses and finally the husband of the family buried his wife beside the trail, without a coffin, on the high divide, where it is reported that the waters from one spring flow one part towards the distant Pacific and the other part towards the distant Atlantic.
The greatest suffering on the part of the emigrants on this journey was for want of water while crossing the alkali plains and in the mountains ; much of this suffering would have been avoided but for the drunken captain who sometimes failed to advise where water could have been found and thus save long drives between camps ; also had the emigrants known the distance to the next water camp they might have carried water at times to help relieve the great thirst often endured. This journey, begun in early summer, was completed after the harvest of small grain in the settlement in Utah, but in time to find work in the harvest of potatoes and other vegetables. There was no welcome on the part of the Mormon Church or those in authority, to these emigrant members of the Mormon Church, who, leaving kindred and friends, the land of their birth, the homes of their ancestors for many generations, and who had, amid poverty, toil and undreamed of privations, at last reached the so-called "promised land," the dwelling place of the "Latter Day Saints of God."
There was no preparation in advance for their coming; no provision for their comfort or necessities. Did one complain to an elder of the church that he had only a dry crust to eat and no means to buy more, he was told to soak his bread in water, and if he lacked for vegetables was informed that potato tops were said to be better than nothing. Ox teams and good new wagons were valuable prop- erty in Utah, and, at much less than their real value, Mr. Nutter traded his oxen and wagon for ten acres of sandy land some miles from the City of Salt Lake, and also included in the trade was a lot and a house built of "dobe" or sun-dried brick. Timber for fuel could be had in the mountains some five miles or more distant. Work could be had but the pay consisted of produce, not cash. Everything not raised in Utah commanded extravagant prices. The English are great lovers of tea. To purchase one pound of tea it is related one Englishman drove to the mountains, cut and hauled a load of wood to the city, a trip, coming
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO COUNTY
and going, of thirty miles. Mr. and Mrs. Nutter soon learned that polygamy, as preached in England and practiced in Utah, were quite different propositions. In Utah, any man could have all the so-called wives he could manage to get pos- session of and incoming trains were watched for, and young women made plural wives of, in many cases over the objections and protests of their parents. Girls only thirteen or fourteen years of age thus became mothers of children by becom- ing plural wives of Mormon officials as well as of men who held no official con- nection with the Mormon Church, simply were members of the church. The Nutter family soon became greatly dissatisfied with the so-called Mormon re- ligion and Mr. Nutter, from a firm believer in the Mormon religion, came to be a non-believer in any form of religious belief, and so continued to the end of his life.
The breaking out of the Civil war greatly pleased the Mormon leaders who claimed the war had been prophesied by Brigham Young as punishment for the persecution of Mormons by Gentiles, and that the Gentiles in the eastern states would destroy each other and that the Indian tribes in the West would assist in the destruction. All this was believed by the Mormon people and discouraged any who thought of leaving. Ilelen, the second daughter, was born in Utah in 1860; in 1862 the family arranged to leave Utah. They traded their real estate property for two yoke of oxen and a wagon, and provided food for the journey but had no cow. Mrs. Nutter had taken with her to Utah a loom, thinking she might get work at her trade. This loom she traded for a gold watch. They left Utah in the month of June, accompanied by two other families, one by the name of Morgan. On the first day's journey, when some ten miles east of Salt Lake City, they were overtaken by Mrs. Allen, with whom they were acquainted. She was barefoot, and had nothing except the clothing she wore. She begged to be allowed to accompany them on their journey. Mr. and Mrs. Allen were quite well educated people and had arrived in Utah with considerable property. Since their arrival Mr. Allen had taken younger wives and practically deserted his first wife, leaving her destitute. When he saw that his wife was determined to leave Mr. Allen had agreed that Mrs. Allen might have a yoke of steers with which to make the journey, but neither Mr. Nutter nor Mrs. Allen dared to return for the steers for fear they might not be permitted to again continue their journey. The Allens had in store some flour at a Mormon station east of Salt Lake City and of this flour Mrs. Allen secured two sacks which were added to the food supply of the party. A few miles west of Fort Laramie the Nutter family met a westbound emigrant train engaged in burying three of their number who had been killed by Indians. These three persons-two men and one woman-driving a good team of horses and a fine saddle horse hitched to the wagon, had tarried at a trading post near the fort in order to make a few purchases. Some Indians were at the trading post and tried to trade for the saddle horse but without success. It is supposed the Indians followed the party and attacked and killed them. The members of the train with which the three persons were traveling, becoming uneasy that they did not rejoin the train, halted and sent back a party which had just found them dead and their horses gone. At Fort Laramie Mrs. Allen traded a ring which she wore for a pair of coarse shoes, she having come bare- foot thus far on the journey. The Nutter family had planned to cross the Platte
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO COUNTY
River at Julesburg, coming down on the north side of that river. At this point they met some Indians who threatened to kill them if they crossed the river, so they followed the trail on the south side until they reached Fort Kearney, cross- ing the Platte at that point. When Mrs. Nutter was asked if they had any trouble in crossing the Platte she answered "Not at all." When asked to describe just how they crossed, she said: "Mr. Nutter walked on the near side, driving the oxen; Mrs. Allen and myself waded in the river on the off side and with whips kept the oxen from turning back. The water was not deep except in the main channel where it came nearly up to the wagon box."
The Platte River at this crossing is 112 miles from the north to the south bank; there are numerous small islands or toe-heads as they are called locally, so that the total width of all the channels is about four thousand feet. The crossing was about three miles in length, extending from a point half a mile west of the fort on the south side to a point some two miles west of the fort on the north bank. The Platte was a treacherous stream to cross, having numerous quicksand holes and a fall of about eight feet to the mile. In time of high water in the main channel the water often came up to the wagon box and with the tremendous fall ran at a furious rate. With a strong wind, in time of high water, the waters were forced into one channel, washing out holes ten or more feet in depth. The writer forded the Platte at this crossing in 1871 and saw a dozen or more large, strong army wagons, sunken in quicksand holes and abandoned in mid-stream, when doubtless attached to each one of these wagons were four or more pair of strong, government mules driven by experienced drivers, while the brave, sturdy pioneers, men and women, who by toil and priva- tion demonstrated for the benefit of future generations, the possibilities of the then Nebraska Territory as a place for comfortable homes and happy families, thought it "no trouble at all" to wade waist deep in the swift running waters of this broad and treacherous stream and by means of whips and shouting encourage their half frightened oxen to drag across its sandy bottom a heavily loaded wagon containing the small children of their families and all their earthly belongings. The objective point of the Nutter family on leaving Utah, had been the Wood River Valley, near what is now the Village of Shelton in Buffalo County, some fifteen miles east of Fort Kearney, as they had been most favorably impressed with this locality on their overland journey to Utah. When they were near this point they overtook a freighting outfit en route to the Missouri River. Mrs. Allen was extremely anxious to continue her journey eastward and so Mr. Nutter arranged with the freight "boss" to convey Mrs. Allen to Omaha. There were no women with the freighting outfit but the "boss" agreed to protect Mrs. Allen during the journey. The Nutter family never again heard in any manner from Mrs. Allen-one among many thousands of other victims, deceived, wronged, outraged, robbed, many murdered, by that foul blot on civilization, and more so on the American nation, the Mormon Church.
The Nutter family purchased a "squatter's right" to a claim on Wood River about two miles east of the present Village of Shelton, trading therefor one of the two yoke of oxen. Mrs. Nutter traded her gold watch for a cow and here began anew the struggle for a living and a home. During the fall Mr. Nutter found work putting up hay for use at Fort Kearney and in the winter in cutting
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO COUNTY
and hauling wood to the fort. Mr. Nutter had never worked at farming, except while in Utah, and had never raised any corn. In the spring of 1863, they planted a small acreage of potatoes and other vegetables and managed to break and plant eighteen acres of corn. In planting this corn a hole was cut in the sod with an ax and the kernels of corn dropped in the hole. No weeds grew, in those days, on newly broken sod and this corn was not cultivated in any manner. Mrs. Nutter assisted in the out-door work. From these eighteen acres they harvested and sold 600 bushels of corn selling at $1 per bushel-$600 in all. This corn was purchased by the Holiday stage line operating on the south side of the river.
This was more money than the Nutter family had ever had at one time before and Mrs. Nutter relates that the first article that she ordered when they received the money for this corn was a pair of men's boots, No. 5, for which they paid $5. There being no store nearer than Omaha an order was made for the things needed and sent by a freighting outfit which in time delivered the goods. In the spring of 1864 the family planted a considerable acreage of corn and vegetables, planting their corn quite early and thereby secured the promise of a bountiful crop, while those of their neighbors who planted late had their crop destroyed by grasshoppers which appeared in considerable numbers destroying the unripened corn.
In August, 1864, occurred the "stampede," memorable in the history of Nebraska Territory for the horrible atrocities committed by the cruel Cheyenne Indians. Space does not permit only a mere mention of the stampede ; suffice to say practically all settlers in the Territory of Nebraska, except in the near vicinity of the Missouri River, deserted their homes and traveled with all pos- sible speed towards the eastern border of the territory. Awakened in the dead of night and notified that the dreaded Indians were on the war path, the Nutter family hastily placed their household effects and children in their wagon, hitch- ing thereto their two ox teams and took the trail for the Missouri River, every moment in dread of attack by the savage Indians. Is it any wonder that in the hurry incident to this sudden leaving of their home that baby Helen should have been overlooked and been left asleep in a drygoods box used as a cradle? Some considerable distance had been thus traveled before Helen was missed and the team halted while the anxious father returned for her. During the time the family had been living on the Wood River claim, two daughters, Onie and Leonie, had been born, so that the mother's arms were full even without the baby daughter Helen. The great fright which Mr. Nutter received on this occasion seems not to have left him until he reached England. He had heard of the horrors of the Civil war then raging in "the states," of the massacre of settlers by Indians in Minnesota, knew of the degradation and misery of Mor- mondom from which he had lately escaped and his one desire seems to have been to once again reach "Old England." At Omaha the family disposed of all of their belongings, at what then seemed fairly good prices. Their first objective point was Quebec, Canada, as Mr. Nutter greatly feared that he might be com- pelled to take part in the Civil war. Of the journey from Omaha to Quebec, Mrs. Nutter can recall nothing as to route or mode of travel. One thing she recalls with much vividness; it is the great astonishment she felt when crossing
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO COUNTY
"the states," probably lowa, Illinois and Michigan, that the people on the farms were busily at work in the fields or in building houses or barns, and in the cities larger buildings were being erected, while she had thought that in "the states" everybody was fighting and being killed.
At Quebec they engaged passage on a vessel for Liverpool, England. The passage was paid in English money, or at the rate of $3 of United States money for $1 of English money. The passage took two weeks and when the family reached Liverpool they had not a cent to pay fare to their former home. Mr. Nutter pawned his watch for that purpose. Here the baby Helen was again forgotten, she being asleep in the station with the rest of the family on the train ready to start. Mr. Nutter at once secured work at his trade of spinner, but in less than two weeks was longing to be again on his claim in Nebraska Territory. He wrote to his former employer in Philadelphia for work and back came a letter with passage money, and Mr. Nutter leaving his family in England returned to Philadelphia and began work in the factory as foreman of the card room. On this trip Mr. Nutter was a passenger on the City of Boston, a magnificent steamship, which on its return voyage disappeared and was never heard from. Mrs. Nutter remained in England six months before joining Mr. Nutter in Philadelphia. While in England the twin daughter, Leonie, died and was buried in England, and a daughter, named Elizabeth, was born. Mr. Nutter remained in Philadelphia until the spring of 1869, when he came to Nebraska and purchased a "squatters right" to the southeast quarter of section 8, town 9, range 13 west, in Buffalo County, paying therefor, with the improvements-a log house, log barn and corral-about three hundred dollars.
He secured work as a section hand on the Union Pacific Railroad and in July Mrs. Nutter and the children arrived. In the spring of 1870, not being able to purchase a team, they hired some land plowed, and this they planted to potatoes and other vegetables and corn, from which he raised good crops. His corn he sold.for 50 cents per bushel and the potatoes were placed in a cave until spring and sold for excellent prices to members of the Soldiers' Free Homestead colony, some seventy-five families, which made settlement near that point in April, 1871. The crop of 1870 enabled the family to purchase a yoke of oxen and a cow and through the kindness of Sergt. Michael Coady of Fort Kearney he secured an old Government wagon. At the time of the stampede, before referred to, he had nearly ready for the harvest a considerable crop of both corn and vegetables, and which crop was harvested and sold by returning settlers after the stampede scare was over. Returning settlers state that this crop sold for about one thousand dollars, but it is more than probable that this amount is greatly in excess of the amount actually received. For the crop raised in 1864 . Mr. Nutter received from one of the settlers who returned after the stampede one cow.
With the coming of the colony referred to schools were at once established, and the children of the family were prompt to take advantage of this opportunity to acquire an education. Also the older children were of an age where they were helpful in opening up the new farm and tilling the same. The home of this family soon became one of the best improved farms in the county. In the '8os there was on this farm a bearing orchard of 2,000 trees. When this orchard
SOD HOUSE OF ERASTUS SMITH AND FAMILY First settlers in Garfield Township, March, 1874
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ONE OF THE FIRST HABITATIONS IN BUFFALO COUNTY
Built about 1860. Photo taken in 1906. In the foreground are Mr. and Mrs. William Nutter, their children and grandchildren. At left of the photo is Walter Scott. Mr. Nutter lived here until 1886.
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO COUNTY
came into bearing there was great loss by reason of wormy apples. Mr. Nutter finding little of value in recognized authorities in regard to this pest of his orchard, set apart a room in his house and made a scientific study of the pest, pursuing his investigations with all the zeal and close attention to details that would be expected from a graduate of a scientific department of the State Uni- versity with the initials of a degree attached to his name. The results of Mr. Nutter's study and investigations in this connection were deemed so important that the professor of horticulture of the State University visited Mr. Nutter and secured the results of his investigations and embodied them in a bulletin issued by the station and from these and like investigations came the present method of spraying fruit trees for the destruction of many kinds of fruit pests. In 1886 Mr. Nutter erected, at that date, one of the finest farm houses in the country. The house is octagon in form, 16 feet on a side and 18 feet in height. It has what are termed modern conveniences, such as hot and cold water, toilet and bath room, furnace, etc. The rooms are spacious and well furnished. It has abundant porch room and a well kept lawn with ornamental trees and shrubs. He also erected at the same date a convenient barn. After the return of the family to Nebraska in 1870 there were born the following children: Hingham, Alice, Jane, Frank, Louisa and Mirabeau D., in all fifteen children, ten of whom are living and of legal age. All these children were given the benefit of a com- mon school education and some of them have been for years teachers in the public schools.
Mr. Nutter took but little interest in state and national affairs. He was for many years a subscriber to such magazines as Popular Science Monthly and North American Review, and in his library was a quite complete set of Spen- cer's works, also the published works of Darwin, Tito Vignoli, Stallo and others. He was a strong believer in free trade from an English standpoint. He was at all times industrious and performed an incredible amount of labor and yet he was, by many, regarded as a "dreamer" because, while his hands were employed about the labors of the farm, his thoughts were almost wholly given to the con- templation of some profound subject.
All the property accumulated by Mr. and Mrs. Nutter has been by industry and economy, as Mr. Nutter never speculated, nor, so far as known, had any source of income other than his farm. Mr. Nutter was born in 1828 and died at his home on May 13, 1908. He was buried in Riverside Cemetery, near Gibbon. No historical account of this family is at all complete that does not include some further mention of the mother of this family; she enjoyed little in the way of educational advantages and at the age when she should have been playing with her dolls was helping to earn the family living by winding bobbins for the weaver's shuttle. She it was who loyally. patiently, uncomplainingly followed the varying fortunes of the family, seemingly never discouraged, always hopeful, doing her full share of work most laborious, enduring her full share of all priva- tions, bearing fifteen children, two pair twins, five of the children dying in early youth or infancy and being buried in widely separated graves, one in England. one in New Jersey, two in Pennsylvania and one in Nebraska. As the years came and went she came to be the financier of the family. She it was who saw that the children had food in plenty and of good quality, that they were com-
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