USA > Nebraska > Nebraska history and record of pioneer days, Vol I > Part 21
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Lucinda Bills Loomis, pioneer teacher in Nebraska schools, i. died September 18, aged 76; daughter of Israel Loomis, who settled .. in Nebraska City. in 1856. Miss Loomis began teaching in . that; city, later was instructor in Brownell Hall of Omaha. She taught. continuously in Nebraska for sixty years.
Robert Emmett Countryman, for sixty years a resident of Cass: county, died in Weeping Water September 24, aged 86 years.
Henderson W. 'Ward, Cass county pioneer, died in Weeping: Water, September 24; born near Plattsmouth, January 16, 1862 ..
William Frederick Malchow, pioneer Cuming county since 1864,. died September 24, aged 86.1.
Hiram 'S. Barnum, resident of Gage county since 1859, died in Beatrice, September 30, aged 82; he was a veteran of the .Civil War.
DEATH OF MORMON HISTORIAN
Heman Conoman Smith, general historian of the Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints, Lamoni, Iowa, died at Independence, Missouri, April 17, 1919. .. Though born in the South, in Gillespie- county, Texas, on September 27," 1850, he was . of New England stock and Mayflower ancestry,
Heman C. Smith was a recognized authority upon the history . of the Mormons, having been identified with the Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints from the age of twelve. He devoted' his life to the work of the church and of recent years to its history, as editor of the Journal of History. He was the author of the Church History; Truth Defended, The True Succession in .Church Presidency, also many articles of general historical interest. "Since the history of the Mormon church is. closely connected with the " early history of Nebraska, Mr. Smith's work was of value outside, of his own denomination.
A FINE HISTORICAL ALBUM
On the wall of the public library in the city of Kearney is a- beautiful case with folding leaves, containing the photographs of 387 of the early settlers of Buffalo county and attached to the case for. reference is a brief biographical sketch of each person whose photo. graph is in the case, these arranged in alphabetical order. This col- lection of photographs of early settlers of the county was made by Robert Haines, who settled in the county in 1872, both the case and" collection being presented to the library by Mr. Haincs. "This is an exceedingly : 'valuable historical collection and Mr. Haines is entitled: to great credit for this public spirited effort on his part.
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Nebraska History and Record of Pioneer Days
received two letters, from which the following extracts are taken:
Feb. 12, 1919 .- This Society is pleased to acknowledge receipt of publications of your society.
These documents call to mind many incidents still fresh in my memory. Some of the older characters I knew in a way, and others more than passingly; one being Governor Furnas when he published the Nebraska Advertiser with "Limpy" Jim Fisher as his foreman, printer, manager, editor, collector and boss generally, when the gov- ernor was off "fighten." I knew his sons Will and George quite well. Dora Hacker was also a remembered attache of the Advertiser. I
bought part of the Admentions material_curalucca_and_moved_it to Augusta, ] The old A this state, nas" brus added-all of those o you desire charge did of J. Amos May 7 of the hist as a verit: age to the dent of you against the ness. Bes homa enti Col. Fred lead the lc sas back t superior-( ing at Wol base of su] He not on became at Indian reg quah, Pryo is, of cour here in 18 to enlist lo
In 188 Washingto of North A stocks nor System Powell rej Columbia have carri to gather viving Ind of continu of each wo An im just been Paul Radi Boas at CI that the fi duced to t- Indian European rich and f of verbs : suffixes, w in the mid Dr. Ra which the of formati archeologi maximum implies ve eight disti the assum dence, eith Asia, that languages, the differe after the Four I white mar quian, (re Kiowan. relationshi other wor stocks whi together ij
John I in 1867, c Spotlight : original cl
7
Nebraska History and Record of Pioneer Days
FIRST NEBRASKA UNIVERSITY, REGENTS
The act of the legislature which established the University of Nebraska provided that the board of regents should comprise twelve members, three of them ex officio and the others to be chosen by the two houses of the legislature . in joint session-except the first nine, who should be appointed by the governor. They were appor- tioned equally among the three judicial districts of the state. " Inci- dental to the pending celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the starting of the university, I have taken much pains to ascertain the sort of men these first regents were, all that was practicable about their careers, and the present whereabouts of the few who are still living. One of the results of this inquiry is the following very interesting autobiography of Rev .. John C. Elliott, the short term -- two years-member from the first judicial district.
ALBERT WATKINS. Seville, Ohio, March 27, 1919.
Mr. Albert Watkins, Historian.
My Dear Sir: & Your letter of the 10th inst. is received in which you request my record before I was a regent of the State University, my conduct while a regent and how I have occupied myself since. I shall comply with your request so far as I can recall, but. i Have lived'a long time and memory is treacherous and I have no written notes to assist me.
I'was born on a farm in .Wayne county, Ohio, July 18, 1839, of Scotch-Irish stock and my parents' religious faitn' mufino hunchitu from the fact that . they named me after the great reformer John Calvin." I went to the country school and sat on the slab bench supported by four round legs inserted in four augur holes. , I. was promoted to teacher of that school. when I was only 18 years old, for one year. I went immediately to Vermillion. Institute at Hayes- ville, Ohio, to prepare for college. I finished my course in Western Reserve College (then at Hudson, but now Western Reserve Univer- sity in Cleveland) in the class of 1863. During the year 1862 the : whole college went into the Civil War for about five months. I was a private in the Eighty-fifth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, dis- charged in October, 1862.
Having decided while in college to enter the Presbyterian min- istry, I went, directly after graduation, to the theological seminary. at . Princeton, New Jersey. ` In April, 1865, I was licensed by the presbytery to preach. . In March, 1866, I received a call by tele- gram to become pastor of the cliurch in Nebraska City. `None of my sixty-two .classmates had thought of going so far west, and to arrange such a matter by telegram was' unusual at that time.
I graduated from the theological seminary in April, 1866, and was married, on May 24, to Miss. Marie Antoinette Stanley. "I have taken good care of her for fifty-three years; so she is yet living and in a good state of preservation. We arrived in Nebraska. City by boat in June and at once began our work. It was then a great freighting point with corrals of oxen and mnles and covered wagons. There were forty saloons on one street leading straight west from the river. The good people gave us a hearty welcome. .
(1) This was a "three months" regiment, organized in June. It was kept for guard duty within the state. Delay in mustering out was caused by lack of money to pay the troops .- Official Records, third series, II, pp. 145, 549 .- W ..
When - Nebraska became a state the governor appointed me visitor to the state normal school at Peru. I do not recall the date, but I had no associate in this service. : I reported my own findings and work .. Neither do .I recall the date of appointment as regent of the university. : My appointment as regent was a surprise to me as I had no personal acquaintance with the governor ... Afterward Ilearned that my good friend Howard Kennedy had suggested and commended me. This was a great gratification for he was an ac- complished scholar and gentlenian, a graduate of Williams, and Nebraska had no worthier citien. I cannot recall the number nor dates of the meetings I attended and I only recall vaguely the pro- ceedings. The plan and organization were copied from the Univer- sity of . Michigan, the most successful of our state universities at that time. : They were carefully prepared by Mr. Gus Harvey, an editor, who was made clerk of the board of regents, and we later made him, librarian, of the university for the careful work he had done. (2)
The governor received plans for the first building from com- peting. architects; he made his selection and promised the architect to award him the contract for construction. He presented the com- peting plans for our inspection and approval. The regents found they could not approve of the governor's preference, nor were they willing`to endorse his promise of construction. This was the first difficulty and struggle with the governor. I recall' this so distinctly because I was made the spokesman in the disagreeable duty of in- forming : the' governor that. we did not approve his selection and had selected another .. " The most of the irritations between the re- gents and the governor arose from the fact that being appointed by
":(2) The records of the university do not show that Mr. Harvey was named as librarian .. The plan of government was adapted from the State University of Iowa, so that only the working organization could have been copied from the University of Michigan .- W. the governor, the . regents were suspicious that the governor ex- pected them unfailingly to agree with him and approve his plans:
I do not recall that there were any suggestions made as to the religious character of the university. The regents were a .genial and. agreeable company of gentlemen but religion did not come un- der discussion. ; Language was not always reverent, but never pro- fane. I; was the, only , clergyman in the bunch, and they rallied .me
on the use of terms they said, marked me a sport. . . My association with the board was pleasant and profitable to me, and I greatly regretted: it was so short. I was called out of the state by the lin- gering fatal sickness of my father and never returned ..
While pastor in Nebraska City I organized the First Presby- terian church in Lincoln and was associated with Sheldon Jackson and T. H. Cleland-in the great aggressive work of the church at the time that the Presbyterian general assembly, in www, authorized the erection of a memorial monument on Prospect Hill. Sionx City. The city gave the lot, the monument was erected, our three names „were engraved upon it, and it was unveiled in 1912. :
I am grateful for this appreciation of iny early church enter- prise and work .. . I have continued my church brush wanvia my long life, mostly in Ohio and Oregon. " My last was as supply in the Metropolitan Presbyterian church, Washington, D. C., two summers ago, and my very last in the Eckington church, also in the District of Columbia, last summer. . You see I have preached from" ocean to ocean. . . Moreover I was with my son for a time while he was a chaplain on the caijff zone during the building of the canal. . 1 preached back and forth across the Isthmus several times: : I have preached on the Pacific in the morning and on the Atlantic in the evening. .. Many " men have preached across the continent but not many are privileged to preach on the tide water of the Pacific and the tide water of the Atlantic on the same day.
While in Nebraska City I was active in organizing a/ school which we called Otoe University. We secured ir lo ah Capour cnced .cducatoz, from the east, but after a few years he became dis- couraged and resigned. . Hoping to save it, I took charge one year; but without funds it was impossible to continue, and the school was closed. : In Ohio I was for fifteen years a trustee of Wooster ; Uni- versity and attended every meeting. : I was the committee on the medical department and prepared and delivered lectures on medical ethics. , While in Oregon I was a' trustee of Albany College, which is owned and controlled by the Presbyterian synod of Oregon. 1 have managed to send all my children, four boys and two girls, to/ college.
I am sending you a small book which I wrote on the demoni- tization of silver. I was pastor in Akron, Ohio, in 1893.". Akron was a hive of industry, everybody had a job and was www. ia .
within three days, all was changed. Practically all the shops and factories closed and five thousand idle. mell W. w. -0 streets. .. They held a meeting in a hall every day to discuss the situation and to discover if possible. what was wrong. . They sent a request to the ministerial association to meet with them and help them solve the mysterious problem. . I was appointed on a commit- tee and I met with them and bent all my powers to solving the puz- zle.>>The result was this little book which I called "These Hard Times."It had a wide circulation from -Maine to California but its largest. distribution was in Colorado. : This book. was written- before silver became a political party question. The editor of the Republican paper and I agreed perfectly and he gave me full pub- licity. : William Mckinley, then governor of Ohio, sent me a letter in agreemeut. : Mark Hanna had not yet cracked his whip.
"I am sending you also a larger book, .. "Usury," which in a man- ner is a sequence of "These Hard Times."": Thoughtful friends and coworkers suggested there must be some wrong deeper than the silver crime, for if coinage of silver was restored the domination and oppressions of wealth would remain. The restoration of silver would only be a temporary check. .. . I was only encouraged to go on and demonstrate its wrong when I found that and good . vedve simed Moses up through seventeen hundred years of the Christian era' had regarded it. a sin, condemning aud avoiding it. . . .
. Excuse me if I have written more than you care to know, but when I got wound up and started I. could not stop until my story was told. Sincerely yours, 1.
JOHN CALVIN. ELLIOTT.
WELL DIGGING RELICS
: When in Scotts Bluff county last summer the editor of this magazine received from Grant L. Shumway two very highly valued relics for the museum of the Historical Society; They are a pick and shovel used by Nels Christensen for more than thirty years in digging wells- on the high table lands between the Lodge Pole and `the Niobrara. The first of these wells is 300 feet deep on the farm of Charles Lundin abont seven miles north of Potter. It was fin- ished in January, 1889, and is still in use. Mr. Christensen dug more than two miles of wells, perpendicular measure, with these implements. " This magazine has heretofore commented upon the moral heroism of the men who dug the deep wells in Nebraska-a heroism fully equal to that of any soldier in any war. These. wells were absolutely necessary for the settlement of the high divides. The editor of this department has dug at the bottom of a hundred foot : well ... That was deep enough for him. When it comes. to 300 feet he takes off his hat to the man with the pick and shovel. 2Mr. Christensen had two narrow escapes from death in these deep wells. Once he was 280 feet down when the rope broke with a bucket .of dirt nearly at the top and the loaded bucket fell. Mr. Christensen' heard the noise, straightened up close to the wall, and the falling bucket shaved the skin from his nose, tore the clothing and skin from his chest and landed with a mighty thud at his feet. The man at the top was sure Christensen was killed. He left the windlass and went to a neighbor to secure help to get the dead body out. When he returned with help he was amazed to hear Christensen calling from the bottom. Many of these brave diggers in Nebraska have been smothered to death by caving walls. A. man can think more serious thoughts (if he stops digging to think them) at the bottom of a deep well than any other place in Nebraska,
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Nebraska History and Record of Pioneer Days
received two letters, from which the following extracts are taken:
Feb. 12, 1919 .- This Society is pleased to acknowledge receipt of publications of your society.
These documents call to mind many incidents still fresh in my memory. Some of the older characters I knew in a way, and others more than passingly; one being Governor Furnas when he published the Nebraska Advertiser with "Limpy" Jim Fisher as his foreman, \ printer, manager, editor, collector and boss generally, when the gov- ernor was off "fighten." I knew his sons Will and George quite well. Dora Hacker was also a remembered attache of the Advertiser. I
bought part of the Admorticon-material_curnincson_and moved it to Augusta, 1 The old A this state, nas" brus added-all of those o you desire charge did of J. Amos May 7 of the hist as a verita age to the dent of you against the ness. Bes homa enti Col. Fred lead the lc sas back t superior- ing at Wol base of suj He not on became at Indian reg quah, Pryo is, of cour here in 18 to enlist lo
In 188 Washingte of North A stocks nor System Powell rej Columbia have carri to gather viving Ind of continu of each wo An im just been Paul Radi Boas at C. that the fi duced to t. Indian European rich and f of verbs : suffixes, w in the mid Dr. Ra which the of formati archeologi maximum implies ve eight disti the assum dence, eith Asia, that languages, the differe after the : Four ] white mar quian, (re Kiowan. relationsh: other wor stocks whi together il
John ] in 1867, C Spotlight : original cl
8.
Nebraska History and Record of Pioneer Days
A NEBRASKA BUFFALO HUNT ADVERTISED IN ENGLAND
The" Historical Society has received a copy of a poster printed in England iu' 1871. ' At that time the Burlington road had com- pleted . its track from' Plattsmouth to Kearney. :. Its land depart-' ment was carrying a big advertising program in Europe as well as in America" to induce people to visit Nebraska. .. Que of the induce- ments was this poster designed to bring wealthy people from Eng- land to the Nebraska plains .:. The poster reads as follows:
"A grand buffalo hunt will be held in September next on the prairies. of Nebraska and Colorado, U. S. A., and through the . mag-, nificent valley of the Republican river, the rich alluvial feeding grounds of the buffalo. .. .
"The Burlington & Missouri River Railroad company owns millions of acres, is one of the most wealthy corporations. in the western states 'of' America, and will assist this hunting party in every way in order that the sportsmen of England may see the western country, and on their return be able to. corroborate the statements as to climate, resources and the gigantic advancement made in so new a country.
"There are no hostile Indians in Nebraska whatever; friendly chiefs of the Otoes, Pawnees and other tribes will. accompany the party.
"Sportsmen .will be provided with army. tents and beds during the hunt. There will be servants to take care of the horses, and in fact all arrangements have been made to give the hunting party the greatest amount of pleasure with, the least. possible trouble.
"Wagons will be provided for the conveyance of any trophies of the chase, such as buffalo skins, elk horns. and antlers in limited quantity.
"The sportsman has there a field of nature's own planting on which to roam in pursuit of his healthy and invigorating pleasures; and where can the lover of scenery find greater, grander, lovelier view than are, to be found on the continent of America ?
"Fare for the round trip. of about seven weeks, including every expense except wines, liquors, cigars, guns, rifles and ammunition, 90 guineas.
"The arrangements will be such as to admit of ladies joining the party,, but the charge for ladies; will be 100 guineas each."
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE MUSEUM
Howard R. Peterson, former member of the A. E. F., brought in sixty-one coins which have been mounted in one of the oak cases and placed in the museum. Most of these were gathered overseas and rep- resent many European mints. . "
Ben. Terry, of Alexandria, has donated some interesting photo- graphs. of historic spots near his home.
Sergeant John A. Ejnar, of Omaha, contributed an interesting col- lection which he gathered overseas, while serving in A. E. F.
Mrs. Howard J. Hill, of Lincoln, contributed a collection of heir- looms and other interesting articles, among which is a fine collection of horns .:
Mrs. Cather, of 1525 H Street, Lincoln, has loaned the suit worn by her brother, C. W. Kaley, of Red Cloud, when he was on the staff of Governor Mickey.
Mrs. Peter Mortensen, of Ord, has given a large portrait of her ihusband, Peter Mortensen, one of the pioneers of Valley county and twice elected state treasurer.
A leaf from the metal wreath on the tomb of General LaFayette was brought by Secretary Sheldon from overseas and deposited in the museum.
A. H. Ware, of Lincoln, Nebr., has presented to the Society a num- ber of interesting curios.
Dr. Miles J. Breuer has presented a number of maps and photo- graphs.
'A. M. Roberts, of 1700) . No. 31st St., presented some ancient telephone instruments and other relics.
The Fort Atkinson centennial. celebration resulted in a large number of photographs which have been added to the museum. '
The fact that exhibit room in the museum is no longer avail- able prevents many large and valuable collections from being de- posited here. Every new article added must crowd out some speci- men of less interest, into storage. : Even storage room is at a pre- mium, and little advancement in. the growth of our museum can be expected until adequate expansion room is provided by the state.
THE FIRST HALL COUNTY SETTLERS
Editor. A. F. Buechler, of the Grand Island Independent, sends this magazine the following .note. concerning one of Hall . county's pioneers :
,Word has just been received of the death of Hall county's first sheriff, 'Herman E. Vasold, at his home in Saginaw, Mich., at the. age of 84 years. ' He was one of the first colony of twenty-five Americans: 'of German birth that located and developed Hall county. and was appointed its first sheriff by acting governor for the terri- tory J. Sterling Morton. The colony was located on July 4th, 1857, the appointment as sheriff came in 1859 and ; Mr.Vasold has the record of serving a full term without making an arrest. He. left in 1860 with a team of oxen and covered wagon for Pike's Peak andithen to California, later returning to his former home in Sag- inaw. "He was a nephew of Fred. Hedde, founder of the Daily In- dependent.'and ione -of the three men to plant the American: flag (on Hall' county soil, and 'aided in building one of the first log (houses in the county, for his uncle. His jurisdiction as sheriff, 'at the time, extended as far east as Columbus. He has made three visits to the colony he assisted in locating, in 1882, when the twen- ty-fifth ; anniversary ; was celebrated; in 1907, at the time of the semicentennial anniversary,and. in 1912.
FORT ATKINSON CENTENNIAL By, E. E. Blackmau.
The calm and placid waters of the river's muddy. flow Bore up the: boats which brought them to the land of sunset glow Their spirits rose in rapture at the scenes which they beheld-,-
¿ The home thoughts of their loved ones in a rapturous chorus swelled ... The sun, in golden splendor, sank behind the western hills And the rolling prairie's verdure was a posy pot of thrills,
"The scented air of autumn like a tonic shook their frame
As the toil worn soldier climbed the 'bluff which still remains the. .. same.
The bison fled before them and the dust cloud hid the sky, As back beyond the hilltops the bellowing thunders die. . The speckled deer with 'antlers and the mild-eyed dapper fawn .Drank by the crystal lakeside-hid by the mist of dawn.
The eagle screamed above them and left his.dead: tree perch Which towered above the forest like. the spire of an ancient church ... The turtle dove in the distance mourned forth his doleful lay As the evening shadows lengthened on that eventful day.
The coyote barked his welcome, and the whipporwill's delight Broke forth to greet the soldiers through the mantle of the night ... The sleepy stars peeped forth as now and twinkled out their glee; The katydid chimed in a song from shrubs beneath. the tree; The tree toad sang his glad refrain, the crickets caught, their notes, (While bullfrogs near the river. bank. all nearly split their throats. So, who could ask a welcome with more of hearty show · Than the soldiers met at Atkinson a hundred years ago?
The council bluff, that autumn day, sublime in green and gold, Beheld the scene the pageant grand a century later told, Beheld the coming millions which rolled the century by, "Beheld the red man perish, the deer and bison die;
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