USA > Nebraska > Dakota County > Warner's history of Dakota County, Nebraska, from the days of the pioneers and first settlers to the present time, with biographical sketches, and anecdotes of ye olden times > Part 11
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JOHN AND WILLIAM BAY came to Dakota county. in 1855, and started a general store in Omadi. John afterwards went to Washington Territory and William went to Illinois.
EDWARD C. JONES was born in 1832 in West Meath county, Ireland, and came with his parents to America in 1836. Came to Dakota county in 1855, returned to Iowa and, in company with Trecy's colony, again reached this county June 1, 1856. Enlisted in the war for the Union, and served two years. Was also member of the territorial legislature in 1857 and 1858. Died at Neblette Landing, Boliver county, Miss., April 13, 1882.
GUSTAVE PECAUT Was born in Switzerland in 1926. Came to America and crossed the Missouri river where
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Sioux City was afterwards built, in 1852, selecting a claim where Covington is now located. In 1854 built the first log cabin in the county. In those days deer were very plentiful in the large timber of that vicinity, and he killed many of them. Was married to Miss Christiana Held February 10, 1859, near Jackson. Have three sons and one daughter. Moved to Sioux City, Iowa, in 1874, where he has a good, comfortable home on the very soil which years ago he beheld in its wild, primeval state, covered with rank prairie grass.
MARCELLUS M. REAM was born April 14, 1848 Came with his parents to Sergeant Bluffs, Iowa, in the summer of 1855, and the 10th of October crossed over the Missouri river to Dakota county, being the first white boy to cross the river. His parents moved to Omadi in the spring of 1856, and he attended the first school ever taught in the county, by Miss Putnam. Afterwards went to school to G. W. Wilkinson. Was married to Miss Jennie Broyhill May 8, 1871, in Da- kota City, where he has resided to the present time. Was clerk in the Land Office and deputy county clerk for Henry Stott. Have one child, a daughter-Edna. Postoffice address, Dakota City.
JACOB H. HALLOCK was born October 11, 1833, in Bath, Stueben county, New York. Arrived at Sergeant Bluffs, Iowa, about the 1st of May, 1855, and about the 1st of July, in company with George T. Woods and others crossed the Missouri river at a point above where Dakota City was afterwards located. Went up to the bluffs at a point which was later named St. Johns, then to where Ponca is now built, and then down to where Col. Baird subsequently settled. Helped to build one of the first log cabins erected in the county, and also helped to build the first saw mill, in the winter of 1855-06. in Omadi. Was elected first county clerk in 1856, while absent in New York to get the girl he left behind hin :- Miss Mary O. Nash --
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whom he married at Cuba, New York, November 10. 1856. In 1862, assisted in organizing Company I, Second Nebraska Cavalry, and was second lieutenant of that company, mustered out in December 1863, and moved to Cuba, New York, where he still resides
SETTLERS OF 1856.
WM. C. MOBEATH, journeying into the wild west, crossed over the Missouri river in the spring of 1856 and branded Nebraska as his state, Dakota as his county and Omadı for his home. Here he was en. gaged in the mercantile business for nearly three years. Hle was a kind and generous hearted man, and the suf- fering caused by the severe winters of 1856 and 1857 offered an opportunity for testing these predominating traits of character. "Times were hard," the pioneers were on the eve of starvation and the future prospect for Dakota county was decidedly gloomy. But this generons hearted merchant of Omadi was equal to the emergency. He sent word to all the needy pioneers that they could have flour or anything else he had in his store, and pay for it when they got able to do so. Although thirty years of wonderful changes have passed away, those pioneers, now grown old, with whitened locks, still revere and hold in sacred remembrance the honored name of Wm. C. McBeath. When the war broke out he enlisted in Company D, Fifth Iowa Cav. alry, promoted to second lientenant in 1862, afterwards #rst lieutenant. In Angust, 1863, was promoted to captain on account of the death of Capt. Wm. Curl. In June, 1865, for gallant and efficient service as a soldier, he was promoted to major, which position he held when he was mustered out, September, 1865. Remained south alont three years, then returned to Dakota county. Soon after was married to Mary Ream, eldest daughter of Henry Ream. The grateful people remembering his favors to them, felt that a friend in vecd was a friend indeed-that they owed
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him something, and proceeded to elect him conuty clerk twelve years in succession, beginning January 1, 1870. and ending January 1, 1882. Under Dr. G. W. Wilkinson's administration as agent for the Winnebago and Omaha Indians, he was appointed to the position of clerk at the Winnebago agency ; afterwards appointed superintendent of the industrial school at the Omaha agency. After this his health began to fail, and he took a trip to Rosebud agency, in the hope of regain- ing his strength. He was born in Wayne county, Ky .. November 15, 1833. Died at his residence in Dakota City, Nebraska, March 30. 1886. Mrs. Mary R. Mc- Beath and two children-George and Mrs. Gertie Best -survive him, and reside in Dakota City.
THOMAS ASHFORD made his first footprints upon Nebraska soil on the morning of March 10, 1856, and since that time his vigilant "footprints" have ever borne a conspicuous part in the general history of Dakota county. In 1858 he burned a kiln of brick for Will- iam Ashburn. who was intending to build a large hotel in Omadi and "was putting on lots of style," says Mr. Ashford, "just like many other people who have no money." And sure enough, he didn't have any money except what he swindled the people out of. Ile :skipped ont," and thus left Mr. Ashford with a lot of brick on his hands, some of which he sold to the set- tlers. Went to Colorado in 1859 and remained there nearly two years, engaged in mining. Came back to Dakota county in November, 1860, to look after his claim, which he had taken previous to his trip to Colo- rado. This claim is the one where he lives at the present time, located a mile east of Homer. He now found use for the brick that he still owned in Omadi, and built a substantial dwelling on his claim with them. It was now more than six years since he had come to Nebraska, and he saw that if he ever expected to accomplish much in the world he must immediately "settle down to business," and in order to do this he
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must have some one to help him ont with it. Maggie Duggan, sister of Hon. Daniel Duggan, of Jackson. was also studying the same proposition, and somehow or another -- the world will probably never know how it did happen-bnt history tells us that they were mar- ried in the Catholic church at Jackson, Nebraska. April 1, 1861. They "settled down" on his claim, where they have since resided to the present time- lived to see the country all around them settled np, and none but those who saw it in those days can imagine the great contrast between the landscape then and the civilizel condition in which we behold it to-day. Mr. Ashford's life has been a busy one, both on the farm and in public enterprise, including politics. He has a first-class farm, a pleasant home, and many warm friends. A person is naturally led to admire the energy and enterprise that spurs a man on from comparative obsenrity to wealth and a higher estimation among his fellowmen. The record of such lives should ever be prominently displayed before the people as guiding landmarks and lasting examples to many of the young inen who are whiling away the springtime of their lives in idle shiftlessness. Thus, with this aim in view. we thought, per chance, some wayward traveler reading abont those heroic veterans of early days, might "take heart again," pick up his gripsack and piss on through this vale of tears with a lighter spirit toward the goal of honor and respectability. He was born April 10. 1828, in Wicklow connty, Ireland. In 1849 he came across the ocean and landed at New Orleans, and after remaining there two months went to Cincinnati by steamboat. In the spring of 1850 went to Butler, Hamilton county, Ohio, and remained there two years. In 1853 went to Indiana; lived there until February, 1856, when he began preparations for that memorable journey to Nebraska, which was nudonbtedly the Inckiest move of his life. Has six children living -- Thomas, John, George, Mary, Mrs. Dr. C. II. Maxwell and Julia.
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WILLIAM NIXON bent his steps westward in 1856 landing upon Dakota county's fertile soil March 20. of that year, and since that time the fertility of her soil, added to his exhaustless energy, has yielded for him one of the most beautiful farms in northern Nebraska. He first located on the C. B. Bliven place, and after- wards took a claim a short distance sonth of where Homer now stands. Mr. Nixon bought five sacks of flour of W. C. McBeath, of Omnadi, built a rude house, and otherwise prepared for that stormy winter of '56-'57. In the spring he went to Council Bluffs for supplies. The roads were almost impassable, many abandoning their loads until the roads were better. Hle made slow progress, averaging but five miles a dav. and finally the roads got so muddy and he made such slow progress that he found it convenient to stop at the same house two nights in succession. There were but few houses between Dakota City and Council Bluffs. Here on his claim he has lived to the present time, and when an honest, upright man of push and energy set . tles down on a piece of land and sticks to it for more than thirty years, you may be sure that he will have something to show for it. He has had his battles to fight with mishaps and accidents, just the same as other mortals. But men are not alike. Some sink be- neath the weight of their trials and troubles, others are seen above the foam where none but the brave and strong can float. Why is it that those who began the race for fortune more than a quarter of a century ago are now so widely scattered along the line? Life is a battle, and energy is the eannon. Perhaps those who are accustomed to seeing Mr. Nixon's luxu- rious home of to-day would like to have a pen picture of it as the pioneers knew the place in early times. He lived in a small log cabin, and sheds took the place of his large barn and other substantial buildings; stock of all kinds was rather slim around the premises; not a fruit tree was to be seen; no beautiful groves-all
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was a barren prairie --- and some of the good old vet- erans who lived on the bottom said he was foolish for going "so far out among the desolate hills" to live. But he went, all the same, and has lived there to wit- ness the human tide that subsequently rolled across the wide Missouri valley, dotting the land with pleasant homes, until to-day he is in the midst of a thickly set
tled community. He was born August 13, 1818 in Wigtonshire, Scotland. Came across the ocean in 1852 on a schooner of which his brother Samuel was captain and part owner, who was afterwards drowned on the ocean in the time of a great hurricane. It was forty-two days from the time he start-
ed until he reached New York, after passing
through some very severe storms. He went to Pitts- burg, Pa., July 4, 1852, and worked there two years in a glass factory. In 1855 went to Grinnell, Iowa, and started with an ox team for Nebraska in 1856,
JOHN MCQUILKIN walked across the Missouri river on the ice at Sergeant Bluffs March 20, 1856, in search of a place to settle down and fight the battle of life. and it is safe to presume that these stirring engage- ments were many and oft times severe, when we con- sider the numerous trials and obstacles that confronted those fearless pioneers who subdued the "western wilds" and made it possible for us to enjoy the bounti- ful blessings bestowed upon us to-day. Across the ice with him came Benjamin Chambers, William Nixon, Louis Blessing and James Dickey. They had gone about half way across when Louis Blessing broke through the ice and went down to his waist in the water. But pioneers generally accomplish their aim, and they found another crossing place and landed safely on Nebraska's soil. Mr. McQnilkin stopped in a shanty on the river bank that night, and went out to Col. Baird's place next day to look for a claim. Not finding anything out there that suited his taste, he lo- cated on the Mark Fair place of 120 acres, east of
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Dakota City, broke ten acres and built a log cabin 14 by 16 feet. An early fall was setting in, and things generally indicated that the winter was going to be very severe. That winter he lived alone on the Cham- bers place, just east of Dakota City, and if you want to hear some big stories about that awful winter of '56 and '57, he can satisfy you on this particular point. He farmed the Chambers place in 1858, and the next year the John Wright place, about three miles east of Dakota City. In 1862 he farmed Samuel Gamble's place, now owned by Eston Rush, and situated due east of Dakota City. October 18, 1862, he enlisted in Company I, Second Nebraska Cavalry, and in the spring of 1863 marched up the Missouri river with the army, crossed at Ft. Randall and went on to Ft. Pierre. He fought in the battle of White Stone Hill, Dakota territory, and was mustered ont November, 1863. January 13, 1864, he married Alice Rush, daughter of Eston Rush, and settled down on his claim, proved up on it, and lived to see the wild prairie of '56 thoroughly settled up with an honest, thrifty class of people. He sold his farm to Mark Fair in 1874 for $3,500, and moved his family to Webster connty, Ne- braska. In the spring of 1884 he located on a piece of land four miles northwest of Emerson, built a barn and lived in that until he had completed a substantial dwelling house. He has a good orchard started and several acres of forest trees planted. He has six child- ren. Hle was born June 8, 1827, in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, went to New Castle, Pa., in 1852, and in 1853 to Muscatine county. Iowa, by way of Lonisville, Ky. Was engaged as painter and finish- ing furniture. He went to Grinnell, Iowa, in 1855, and the following spring joined a three-ox team expe- dition for Nebraska. This completes the history of another pioneer.
LOUIS BLESSING, on the 20th of March, 1856, while attempting to cross the Missouri river on the ice,
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broke through and came very near being drowned, but he did not give up. He tried another place, and reached Dakota county in safety, which, since that eventful day, he has called his home. Located on a claim just west of Homer, where he resides at the present time. Hle was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, August 11. 1825, and was married to Catharine Riddle at Sioux City, Iowa, July 28, 1860. Has two sons and three daughters-George C. and William; Chris- tiana E., Ella R. and Anna M.
BENJAMIN F. CHAMBERS was born in Westmore- land county, Pa., in May, 1832; was married to Nancy M. McCartney at Indiana, Pa., by Rev. David Blair, in August 1853; came west in the spring of 1855 and stopped at Grinnell, Iowa, where his wife died in August of that year. While there he heard many glowing accounts of the beautiful county of Dakota, in the territory of Nebraska, and started to see for him- selt if they were trne, arriving here on the 20th day of March, 1856. He at once became convinced that Ne- braska was good enough a country for him, and pro- ceeded to build the first house ever erected in Da- kota City. In the fall of that year returned to Penn- sylvania, and was married to Sarah A. Hull in March. 1857, by Rev. C. A. Carson. Returned to Dakota county in April of same year. The story of the trials and hardships in the years that followed is fresh in the minds of the pioneers; of hard winters, storms and drouths; of encounters with the festive mosquitoes, and later on, the thrilling period of the grasshoppers, which caused suffering and devasta- tion to the country. These destructive insects swarmed over the country in great clouds, obscuring the light of the sun to some extent, and flying into honses, wells, and everywhere, so that it was with the greatest diffi- culty that they were kept out of the vietuals on the table. Served thirteen months in Company I, Second Nebraska Cavalry. In this connection, Mr. Chambers
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WARNER'S HISTORY OF DAKOTA COUNTY.
says: "I lived on grasshopper soup for several years and occasionally had a mosquito sing. Paid $5 for a mosquito bar and put it around my bed, but it was no go, the mosquitoes got inside and could not get out after they got full of blood." He also says that there were plenty of deer in the county in 1856, but the se- vere winter and deep snow of '56 and '57 destroyed most of them. Was three times elected sheriff of Da- kota county; was deputy United States marshal four years; represented Dakota and Dixon counties in the legislature in 1874-'75; was register of the United States land office at Niobrara from May, 1876, until July, 1884. Hlas resided in Niobrara since 1876. Has had four sons and four daughters, two of whom are dead and three are married. Mr. Chambers took much interest in the general welfare of Dakota county in its pioneer days and helped to get it started on its prosperous career_
DR. M. PINKERTON, on the last day of March, 1856, crossed the Missouri river at Sioux City alone in an old skiff. Took a claim in Covington timber, built a log cabin and enjoyed the wildest looking scenery im- aginable. Here he lived to experience the terrors of that fearful winter of '56 and '57, about which to this day the pioneers love to tell "long-winded" stories. The prairie chickens sought the woods for protection from the severe weather, and would light in the large trees around the cabin. Mr. Pinkerton and his com- rade, Fitzpatrick, who was afterwards killed in Coving- ton, had all the chicken that they could make use of. At different times has held the office of county treas- urer, sheriff and justice of the peace. Was married to Martha Mershon February 20, 1861, in West Spring- field, Erie county, Pa .; has two children. Moved to Dakota City in 1865, and was there proprietor of the "Pinkerton House," located in the south part of town. In 1873 moved to Glenwood, Iowa, and has lived there and at Tabor, Iowa, ever since.
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WILLIAM HARVEY BOALS came to Dakota county April 20, 1856; was married to Floretta A. Beardshear in December, 1872. Has one adopted son. Lives on a farm five miles west of Dakota City. He well re- members when Dakota county was one vast wilderness, where the wild beasts roamed unmolested and the streams went gliding on unobstructed by the hand of man.
CHARLEY REAM came with his parents to Dakota county in the spring of 1856. Married to Sina Mc- Pherson. They have five sons and three daughters.
GEORGE L. BOALS, JR., came to Dakota county April 22, 1856, and the following winter the house in which he lived was entirely covered up with snow. Was married in 1874 to Hattie Plank. Has two sons and three daughters. He is a farmer, and lives six miles west of Dakota City.
JOACHIM OESTERLING stood upon the hills where Sioux City is now located on the 5th day of May, 1856. and viewed the wild and fertile prairies and timber lands of Dakota county, wondering what the future years had in store for himself and the surrounding country. There were a few houses along the river bank. He opened up the Des Moines House and operated it for three years. Bought a tract of land above Yankton on the Nebraska side of the Missouri river, on which he proceeded to found the town of Frankfort. Erected a large hotel and other buildings; a postoffice was established, and he was appointed post- anaster, and just as he was about to make a fortune out of his new town the war came on and left him a poor anan on a deserted town site. Moved to Niobrara in 1860 where he kept hotel and a store and served as post- master three years. Came to Dakota City, arriving here in the spring of 1863. Here he worked at the furrier trade until 1868. While in Sioux City for a supply of raw furs in the winter of that year his resi-
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dence, which stood near the Lutheran church, was .
burned to the ground, nothing being saved but a bureau. Was coroner of Dakota county two years. Built the Farmers' hotel, now the Eureka House, in 1870, where he acted as proprietor for seventeen years. In 1886 he sold the hotel and built a neat residence in Dakota City. Was just getting comfortably settled in his new home when he was stricken with paralysis. from which he suffered a great deal. His wife died on Thursday evening, March 15, 1888, at the age of 61 years, 2 months and 2 days. The funeral took place March 17, conducted by Rev. W. C. McCool, all the children living. except three, being present. He was born March 21, 1821, in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany : crossed the ocean and came to Columbus in 1846, then to Cincinnati, Ohio, the next year, where he was mar- ried to Miss Mary E. Guyer, at that place, August 5, 1848. To them were born ten children, of whom seven are living and three are dead. The next year he went to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he followed painting and glazing three years, when he moved to Terre Haute and then to Gosport. In 1854 he moved to Des Moines, Iowa, and in the spring, two years later, started on the crowning journey of his life over the wild, uninhabited prairies of western Iowa to the beau- tiful and fertile country of Nebraska, where in the years to come himself and family were to occupy an im- portant place in the general history of Dakota county. Died at Seward, Nebraska, April 5, 1892.
JAMES STOTT was a native of England. Came to Massachusetts in 1852, then to Connecticut; soon after to Wisconsin. Four years later Mr. Stott came to Da- kota county, Nebraska, and located on a pre-emption of 120 acres in the timber southeast of where Coving- ton now stands. Here he engaged in farming on a small scale and also in the wood and shingle business. Was appointed deputy collector of internal revenue,
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served about five years. In the spring of 1856 he was appointed by the commissioners as county assessor, and that fall was elected county clerk and held the office two terms; was appointed receiver of the government land office, which he held for nearly twelve years. Soon after his settlement in Nebraska his wife died. Ile was married to Mrs. C. Davis in 1868. His failing health compelled him to retire from all active business the last few years of his life. He died at his residence in Dakota City July 16, 1882. His second wife and two step-children-John Davis and Mrs. Tim Carrabine-are living in the county. Three of his own chidren are living-Mrs. Van Harden, Niobrara, Neb .; Mrs. Sumner Whittier and Mrs. David Neiswanger, Sioux City. Iowa. His son Henry died January 5, 1887.
THOMAS SMITH, at the helm of a "prairie schooner," steered his way far into the great west, beyond the line of civilization, until on the 14th day of May. 1856, when his eyes first rested upon the beautiful land of Nebraska. He had never beheld such a desirable coun- try before, and forthwith determined that Dakota county should thenceforth be his home. Across the river with him came Uncle Henry Pilgrim and family. Camped on the river bank and went to Omadi the next morning, remaining there until about the middle of May, when he started for his claim, which he had se- lected about two miles south of where Homer is now built. Ifis team gave out at Omaha creek and one horse died, so he hired William Jones to complete the journey for him. When he reached the Henry Ream place they stopped for dinner, and his wife and son Lewis had agne chills, "but," says Mr. Smith, "that is the last time they ever shook." Nebraska climate is not a good breeder of ague. On the 19th of May, 1856, he was "at home" on his claim, resting from his long and tedious travels. His neighbors at that time were not visible to the naked eye, school houses had
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not yet sprouted and the churches were God's first tem- ples-the trees. But such an uncivilized state of things was not destined to continue long. The stream of emigration soon began to pour in and neighbors be- came plentiful. especially about watermelon time; school houses sprang up magic like, and the old church bell of other days was once more heard in the land. awakening in the minds of the sturdy pioneers thoughts of the pleasant homes and dear friends that they had left in other climes. The old Omadi school house, erected in the spring of 1857, which was the first one ever built in the county, was moved to a point less than a quarter of a mile north of where he lived. A school district was organized, and Thomas Smith, Wm. Nixon, and Jesse Wigle were elected as its first board of directors. When James Stott was county clerk, by some revision of the numbers of the school districts. this was called district No. 9, when it should have been No. 1, as it is now the oldest in the county. Thos. Smith was born June 21. 1823. in Darbyshire, Evg- land; came across the ocean in 1845 and landed in New York; then went to Erie county, Ohio, and from there to Sandusky. In 1853 went to Iowa county, Iowa, and engaged in farming. Was married in Sep- tember, 1851, to Sarah Smith, of Erie county, Ohio. Had seven children, three are dead. Started for Ne- braska in 1856, which closes the story of another pioneer.
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