Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The Falls City tribune. (Falls City, Neb.) 1904-191? | View Entire Issue (July 16, 1909)
Reminiscences of & Wayfarer Some of the Important Events of the Pioneer Days of Richardson County and Southeast Nebraska, as remembered by the writer, who has spent fifty one years here. SOME OF THE OLD TIMERS. As remarked in a previous paper, the three last years of the decade of IS.'.u. were marked by rapid increase of the population of Nebraska. The m-ute stage of the troubles in Kansas had been reached and passed before the end of the Pierce administration, for the very good reason that emi gration from the free stales was large ly in excess of that from the slave states. From the date of the organi zation of the territorial government till mid-summer 1856, Kansas was the storm center in the Union, and the breeding ground of those baleful sen timents which at a lat -date brought about an internecine war that shook this nation as no other nation has ever been shaken and lived. With comparative quiet restored, the rush of people to that territory was, in a great measure, suspended, and the channel of emigration turn ed in the direction of Nebraska. The country was to a large extent a terri incognito to the people of the east and being further to the north than any other organized possession of the nation, it was thought by the people south to be wholly unfit as a district in which slave labor could be utilized with profit, and so in large measure was neglected by botii sections, and as a consequence no effort whatever was made in the way of planting the institution of slavery in it, and no excitement obtained on that account, therefore, emigration was slow in coming in till the period 1 have men tioned. In our section, the increase from the now middle western states in the Mississippi valley* north of the Ohio, from the spring of 1859 till the com mencement of tlie war in 1861, was rapid and in all respects highly sat isfactory. The valley of the Muddy and its affluents was filled up to the north county line, and the same was true of every water-course in the country. A colony of excellent people came on from northern Illinois, headed by the elder Freeman A. Tisdel, and located at Salem. There were sever al families of them, besides single young men, and were followed from time to time, by others from the same section, among whom I remem ber Capt. Anson Risin, long a citizen of Salem and later a resident of Falls City, and Lincoln, where he died only a year or so ago at tin1 great age of nearly ninety. Our fellow citizen, W. W. Abbey, was another to follow the Tisdel emigration a few years later, and some others whose names I do not recall at this moment. The Tisdel family wore somewhat distinctive, all of them natural pol iticians, and quite successful in ob taining office. t rhe younger Freeman A. Tisdel, was elected a member of the terri torial legislature the year after he landed at Salem and his father given the office of county treasurer the year following, which he held four years. Another son, Delos A. Tisdel was af terwards elected to the legislature once or twice—one® in ’68,1 distinctly remember, and itjs in my mind that lie was elected once before, but of that I am not certain. Paterfamilias Tisdel was elected to the legislature while he was holding the office of county treasurer, and subsequent de velopment made it plain that his pen chant for holding office was not a paying business—that is not very. He ran for the office of treasurer again but was defeated by David K. Holt, and when father Tisdel came to settle liis accounts and turn the office over to his successor he found him self short on the (ash balance, and had to sell his house in this city— which I think he wanted to do any how—to fix up the deficit. All this was done before he turned the office over, but the old man was always puzzled to know how his balance sheet was so far out of plumb. It would have occurred to a careful business man that it was bad form to run that kind of office by proxy, or at least it would appear so to me, whatever may have been his notion on the subject. The temptation to be a legislator was too much for the old man. and a winter at Omaha in the honorable office of lawgiver . over came his sense of business prudence, though I think he was persuaded or partially so, that the missing cash from the official till had been spent to defray the expenses of his several campaigns for the two offices he held at the time. Anyhow it was the last of his official life. Sometime afterwards his wife died, and not-with standing his advanced age, he married his hired girl and then ensued a fam ily disturbance that lasted the balance of his life. Some of the family lin gered about Salem for a few years afterwards, but gradually one by one have left, or died, and at this time none are left in this country to my knowledge. In the course of my life I have known many families to go to pieces in much the same way. Among qthers to locate on the up per Muddy was the Van Deventer family. I have seen this name spell ed as one word,—Vandaventer,—and I have seen it spelled as I give it here, hut which of the two modes is the correct one I do not know. Prop er names are arbitrary in all cases. In the spring of 1859 Morgan H. \ an Deventer came to Nebraska and sel ected a location in the neighborhood of the present town of Stella, prob ably on the farm that he now owns, but of this my information is not ac curate. The next year his father and 1 believe his whole family came out from Indiana, together with others and settled in the same vicinity. Uncle Chris, as the elder Van Devent er was known, belonged to that pio neer stock from over the Alleghenys, in the early days of the republic, of whom Theodore Roosevelt, late pres ident of the United States, tells in his admirable work called "The Win ning of the West." The impulse that sent bis ancestors into the trackless i forests of Ohio and Indians to bravo j the dangers of the frontier mid Us j savage denizens, induced him, even j aftci passing the meridian of life, to i push further west, where the uiiten anted domain of I’ncle Sam was to be had lor the taking, and a mere nominal entrance fee. 1 remember the name tie gave to the country where in; fix* d his residence,—“.foloi. t-,v Cak" Uidge"—and the satisfaction with which he pronounced it on his numerous visits "to Falls City. Be sides -Morgan, whom l think was the oldest, lie hud two other sons that 1 knew very intimately, and I believe one other with whom 1 had but a slight acquaintance, and one daugh ter, as 1 now remember. Two of those were Federal soldiers in the war of the rebellion and one was slain in the line of his duty. The other, George served from the time he entered the service till the close of the war. I itioi George to know him early in 1S61. He was then quite young but he had that about him that quick ly drew the attention of the people and at the fall election of that year he was elected county clerk, at that time the most important office in the county, defeating \V. H. Mann, who up to that time was by far the most popular man in Richardson county. Young Van Deventer discharged the duties of his office so satisfactorily that at the next election, two years afterwards, he was re-elected without opposition. But the war was raging; his brother had been killed in an engagement with the enemy, and not withstanding lie was frail of body and somewhat a cripple as well, he could no longer brook the inactivity of of ficial life, and resigned lo take a captancy in a Missouri regiment of Union soldiers, and went to the front to fight the' enemies of his country. It was an ordeal and a sacrifice that few men would have made, and fewer still can thoroughly appreciate. Years afterwards, and when the grass was growing on the graves of the dead in the holy cause, he told me that the hardships he was compelled to en dure in the campaigns of that rig orous service were more than his physical powers were able to bear, and that he had every reason to be lieve that their after effects would tend to shorten his days. Subsequent events have conspired to give cre dence to that foreboding of hi a, as he died when he should have been in the very prime of his young manhood. I have known but few men who possessed the elements necessary to genuine popularity in a greater de gree than he, and scarcely any who could get closer to the common run of people and command their atten tion. This came about measurably from bis great sympathy for those in distress, from no matter what cause and in ever suc h case he was ready to lend a helping hand, and did it so naturally and cordially that no sense of obligation was suggested in the act to the recipient of his bounty. It is related of Henry Clay and Martin Van Buren. that they could deny a man a favor and at the same time make a friend of him; while it is said of John Quincy Adams that lie never did a favor for a man without making him an enemy. There are such people in all the walks of life, and it would be next to impossible to account for this strange phenomenon on any known principle of psychology, but that the fact exists, all who have served an apprenticeship to the busi ness of life, and have observed the conduct of men with an interested at tention, can truly affirm. After his retirement from the army he was admitted to the liar at Brown ville, and subsequently engaged in the active practice of the law in this city, and was rapidly forging to the front as a successful practitioner when the summons to quit the world came to him. The monition of the pale messenger is final, pre-emptory, and his beckon means come, and come now. I liked George Van Deventer, and I revere his memory, for he was a man true as the loadstar under any and all circumstances,—the kind that God makes, in contradistinction to the brand that bears the veneer of the social conventions. Of the only remaining member of the family of Uncle Chris, his son, M. H. Van Deventer of Stella, it is on ly necessary to say that lie has always been one of the solid men of the country he helped to build, whose laws he helped to make, and whose welfare he lias steadily sought to promote through the circling seasons of fifty years. He is with us yet, hale and at his post-of duty. It was not long till settlements com menced on the highlands, though at first they were thought to be of little value, principally, I think, because they were bare of timber. This no tion was soon gotten out of the heads of the people, and when the fertile character’ of those lands be came fully demonstrated, their oc cupation followed swift and sure, and by 1861 the country outside the val leys was dotted all over here and there with farms either partially or wholly prepared for cultivation. John and Hiram King settled In the district of country lying between the present towns of Stella and a town called Hillsdale, now long aban doned, but I am not able to give the exact date they came here. Mr. Jno. King is still living, hale, rugged and honest as of yore, and is a resident of the neighborhood where he first located, but I think his brother Hiram is dead. There were many others whom I used to l.nc w who took claims outside the Half-Iireed track, in the neighborhood of Aspinwall, another defunct town just below the mouth of the little Nemaha, and some who lived in the town, and one especially, —Milt Pauline. Down below that; was the old town of St. Deroin. The name, He roin, is lndiar.-French, but why call ed saint, I do not know. If there are any in the saintly calendar of : tmit name tue met viis never known to me, though that could well be and use not know it, but in all the read ing i ha\ e done, and 1 have done con sul, 'able of it, that particular saint's name lias never appeared in any book of ancient or modern lore that has come under my observation. I think probably the prefix saint to the nani" Doroln Was the work of some inven tive genius of the irreverent species 1 The candidate for eannonizatlon must lie dead the full space of four hun dred years before his name ran In* ' raised to the exhnlted dignity of a saint on earth. I hardly believe any Heroin lived that long ago, and if any did, and lie ; was at all like the race that lived in the vicinity of the old town on the Missouri in the early history of Ne braska, all 1 have to say is, that I ] am very certain the church would not have made a saint out of that kind of material. THE COMERS AND COERS HAPPENINGS OF INTEREST TO YOU AND ME. What Your Friends and Their Friends Have Been Doing the Past Week. —Eat Sowie's Candy. —Dr. Wilson, Wahl’s building. .1. E. Leyda had business at Auburn Monday. l-ienj. Kelly of Salem was on our streets Tuesday. Vernle Roe and John Schunnin were in Salem Sunday. Dame rumor lias it tlmt Falls Cit> lias a “peeping Tom.’’ Alex Tiehen of Dawson transacted business in tliis city Monday. Chris Shelly and family of Preston were on our streets Monday. Miss Helen lire beck visited at Hiawatha the first of the week. Harmon Deonig of Humboldt met | with the county board this week. James Sinclair and wife were up from l’reston Monday afternoon. Dr. Ed Hayes of Dawson spent a day or so in tliis city the past week. Daniel Riley of Dawson was trans acting business in Falls City Monday. —FOR SALE—My farm home ad joining Falls City. George A. Abbott Sherman Kirk was among the Dawson people on our streets Mon day. Clyde Hill of Shubert lias accept ed a position on the Journal in tliis city. Ralph Jenne, Harry Craig and Wal ter Tanner Were Atchison visitors Sunday. Mrs. W. C. Sloan and little son of Verdon were visitors at this place Tuesday. George Wahl and family entertain ed Thomas Naylor of Kansas City j tliis week. Miss Maud Nation and Mable Her-! mes returned Monday from a visit at Auburn. David Moore of Leavenworth visit ed at the home of Alex Branum part of this week. Mrs. Jake Gibble of Verdon spent Sunday with her mother, Mrs. Sol Stump in this city. Charlie Marlon and family enter tained Agnes and Thomas Frazh r of Hiawatha tliis week. Charlie Cornell and wife and Clar-1 ence Heck and wife were Atchison visitors Sunday afternoon. A. 15. Everett sold his nice resi dence in the east part of town tliis week. Consideration $2,500. --FOR SALE: Ten good milk tows mostly fresh. Inquire of ( has. Pribbenb, Preston, Nebr. 5-3 Joseph Graves of Humboldt spent Tuesday in this city. He was ,n pleasant caller at this office. Mrs. John Vogel went to Effingham KaS., Tuesday, to visit with her par ents, Mr. and Mrs. Murt Sullivan. Mrs. Susan Poles and Mrs. Alice Tit low were up from Rulo Sunday and visited at home of Benj. Potent. Carl Mason, after attending school at Springfield, 111., the past year, is now home visiting his mother in this . city. John Wiltse and family went down near Rulo, where they visite'd witli his brother, James, and family, Sun day. Mrs. Delos Graham returned to her home in Dawson Tuesday after spend ing a few days with relatives at this place. Mrs. Clement Leger of Lincoln ar rived in Falls City Monday for a visit with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Jones. Our time honored friend O. C. Ayers of Minis City won the automo bile race at Dawson on the Third at the celebration. Frank Neitzel arrived in the city from Columbus Monday evening, be ing called here by the deatli of his father, August Neitzel. Will Rieger left Tuesday for the Pacific coast, where he will spend several weeks. He will visit the ex position at Seattle before returning home. Albert Spear and wifd* who have been visiting with the latter’s sister, Mrs.John Martin and husband at Lin coln, returned home Sunday. Sheriff Fenton was subpoenaed be fore the Federal court at Lincoln .Mon day, the case being that of William Scott, who is supposed to be one of the Maybray gang. If tile person who found a macin tosh in the north part of town Friday morning will leave the same at Maust Bros.’ office he will confer a favor upon the preacher who lost it. 1 Arthur Conover and wife and two children returned to their home at Caldwell, Idaho, after visiting with Mrs. Conover's sister, Mrs. Tlios. Mc Mannas, in this city. They also vis ited relatives at Verdon. Many people with chronic throat and lung trouble have found comfort and relief in Foley’s Honey and Tar as it cures stubborn coughs after other treatment has failed. L. M. Ruggles, Reasnor, Iowa, writes: "The doctors said I had consumption, and I got no better until I took Foley's Honey and Tar. It stopped the hem orrhages and pain in my lungs and they are now as sound as a bullet.” I'm -dny Mrs. darn* Sinclair, ii'n-om ■ 1 ;■ ler two datmhtt rs. Mrs. li. \\. .; i mi and Mrs. dohn Hoe ea-i:, kit for the former's home in Kidd- n Kansas. 1 he Siurlai; t.tr.ii, aid ln\t .1 ! indly reunion ai tide ida-e i.i a ev ins. Tills will In tie l-r-i time iu f’Mr. \-two years thus tin family have fill been home at otii. . dam. s Sinclair of l’rcaton wil! leave for that place in a lew days. Tin ladies of the Christian ciittivli will sivo a social tit the auditorium Thursday eVenitiM. dull rid. All tli" ladi. - who haw earned a dollar for the church with their penny they re coiled some time uno will be there and tell in rhyme how they earned it. lee cream and home-made cak will he sirvtd, priii M rents All com-* and tr.joy a social ev nihn. 1’t'unk Norris was In the city Sat urday ui see his children, who arc at tie home of Ills slater, Mrs. I Maust, lie reports his little (laughter who is in tin- hospital at Omaha to b ■ getting alotig nicely. The oper at ion that was performed on lur a short time ago lias proven to tie en tii'i lx stteeisst'ul. Herbert Hedges and family this xvei e-nt- rtniiii d tin lornter's mother, -Mrs. (.'harks Hedgis of Indianela. Neb..and Nirs. Wagoner and daughter of Columbus, O. They spent a texx days here and then went to Kansas ( it. tto visit vviiii Ralph Hedges and family. Miss Jerometta Kelley returned to her home in this city Monday after spending a few cays In Auburn, the RUest Of Miss Louise Hilger. She was accompanied home by .'Lss lin ger, who spent a few days at the home of Rev. H. Hex. Kd. C. Ailor, it farmer in Wash ington county, Kansu . node. M. \Hor a traveling . nlesman irom Kansas, "ere in Calls City Monday evening ettroitte to Auburn, where they at tend.d the funeral of I'. I). Ailor of that city. < ia al Roe, who ’in t l>> ■ < 11 enjoy lag a vv iU; s vacation from the post office has returned to his duties,and is once more the a ■< ommodating general de livei’v clerk, with a much improved disposition since It is rest. Mrs. Samuel Prater and daughter. Mrs. (I. V. Stumbo and daughter, Jen nle Pearl, r< turned from St. Joe the first of tiu* week, where they had been visiting with Mrs. C. E. Peabody and husband. George Wahl. Herald Gagnon, Tom Murphy, Louie Worth. Wm. Higgins, and Carl Buthman were among those who attended the Knights of Colum bus at Atchison Sunday. Misses Merl and Margaret Naylor re turned from Lexington this week where they have been spending some time with a sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Hn ett and family. Nlrs. Katherine Reiger left the first of the week for Colorado Springs,and will spend her vacation with her aunt, Mrs. Will Walker at that place. W. A. Hocsack left Sunday for Pax ton, Nebraska, after spending a few days in this city with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Hossack. Miss Lucy Sheehan fa pent Ui1h week, her vacation from Wahl's store, at Atehlsor, where she visited her sis ter. Miss Etta, and other relatives. It. P. Thomas left Monday for tin western part of the state, where lie will look after busim ss for the Gil iignii Bridge Co. Miss Vera Braunum returned Mon day from Grand island, Neb., where she had been spending some time with relatives. Mrs. G. W. Given good of Wymore came to Palls City Monday to visit for a short 'time with her sister, Mrs. John llossaek. Miss Marne Hutchings left Wednes day for a visit to her sister. Mrs. Warren Jones and family at Superior Neb. J. L. Slocum and family entertained W. B, Schmucker and wife of Miami. I. 1'., nt their home this week. WANTED TO BUY—Vacant lots or houses and lots in southeast part of town.—F. E. Farrington. 28-3 Mrs. Carrie Sehalble left for Ox ford, Neb., Thursday to attend lo some business matters. Lawrence Paxton returned Friday from a two week’s visit with friends at Auburn. Mrs. R. P. Thomas, who has been quite ill, is now much better at this writing. Joseph Miles lyis gone to Califor nia to spend the summer witti his family. County Clerk Hutchings with his bride, arrived in Falls City Monday. Miss Stella Schoek is visiting at Lexington, Nebraska. A. Phillipi is a new clerk at Wahl’s store. Worth Thinking About “Every dollar put by today comes Cto you'as a gift tomorrow.” “Those who save soon cease to starve" “‘Get’ is a good servant, but • Keep’ is a better one.” “Of all glad words of pen or tongue, the gladdest are these —I saved when young.” “The greatest pay streak is the saving streak.” , “A dollar in the bank does you more good than a hundred spent.” Get one of those^Vest Pocket Savings Banks at THE Falls City State Bank And commence the saving habit now New Land Chances Flathead Indian Reservation: Register at Kalispell, Mont., on the Great Northern Railway. Couer d'Alene Reservation : Register at Couer d’Aleiw*, Rlaho, (Bu\ tickets to Spokane.) .Spokane Reservation: Register at Spokane, Wash ington. Registration dates July 15th to August 5th, inclusive. This is another of the remaining few chances for this genera tion to obtain good government lands. Call on nearest ticket agent lor descripti\e leaflet, showing conditions, ex cursion rates, train service etc. I he Burlington-Great Northern, Spokane and Seattle train takes you through the wealth producing Wenatchee fruit country, and shows you the wonderful upper northwest empire: every mile is interesting. Big Horn Basin: A splendid choice of the govern ment irrigated lands is still left to homesteaders in this fast growing country. 320-Acre Mondell Lands: Thousands of acres of these larger sized tracts are now available for free home steading in eastern Wvoming and are going fast. f *. I). CLEM DEAVKK. <<i:ni:uai, Auknt, Earn! Set kiTH Information Bim*nn, Omaha, Neb. FARMERS YOU BETTER HURRY and get one of our DEERING BINDERS with which to cut your grain this year. It needs no expert to run it. Just try one and be con vinced. We are really too busy to write an ad, but will say this: That you are welcome any time at our place of business, and we can show you some of the most UP-TO-DATE BUGGIES and SIJRRIES in town. Remember we lead them all. Call and see our engines, Cream Separa rators, Hay Tools, Plow Goods and Manure Spreader, in fact, everything in the implement line. It will pay you to get our prices. Call and seeus before you buy WERNERMOSIMAN & CO. Chas. M. Wilson HAS IN STOCK FISH GLOBES 1-2 gal. to 3 gal. in size Tumblers in a number of styles and prices, from 30c to $2.50 per dozen. See the 15c Glassware. You can’t match it at the price. Anything you want in Fancy China or Dinnerware. A Complete Stock of Groceries Fine Coffees and Teas a Specialty Chas. M. Wilson’s Seasonable Suggestions To be Found Here: Lowe Bros.’ Paint Pittsburgh Electrically Welded Fencing Fishing tackle and Sporting Goods Alaska and White Frost Refrigerators Call Our Tinner Before the Spring Rains J. C. TANNER Falls City Nebraska Plumbing Plumber and Furnane Man Hardware FALLS CITY CHAUTAUQUA JULY 24th to August 1st