1983 Saunders County History - Family Stories

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FAMILY STORIES


the Independent Living Center. Billy, a former teacher now working for Selection Research, Inc. as a Senior Analyst, is married to the former Jane Whitmer, who is the Director of a Child Develop Center. They have two children. Elissa is 5 years and Annie Laurie is 20 months old.

   Joan, our youngest child, is presently working on her Doctorate in Educational Psychology and Special Education. She is married to Randy Rankin who is a broker for the firm of Piper, Jaffray, & Hopwood. They have two boys. Aaron is 2½ years old and Jonathan is 4 months old.

   We moved to Ceresco in 1969. Joe is retired and enjoying it. He has done wood carving for a pastime, reads, and does volunteer work in the community. I work in the office of the County Court as a Deputy Clerk and Bookkeeper and enjoy it, and have no immediate plans to retire. We both enjoy our grandchildren a lot. By Dorothy Erickson

MORRIS AND JEAN ERICKSON

   A blind date, encouraged by a cousin of Morris' and a friend of Jean's, eventually culminated into the marriage of Morris Erickson and Jean Lindgren in August, 1953. Morris was the third child of Henry and Lillie Erickson of Mead, Nebraska. He attended Mead Consolidated School through the twelfth grade and also attended Luther College in Wahoo for one year. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict; then returned to Mead to farm with his father.

Morris Erickson Family
Morris Erickson Family. Seated: Morris and Jean Erickson; Standing: Susan, Thomas, Timothy.

   Jean, the fifth of six children, was born to Walter and Clara Lindgren of rural Wahoo. Jean attended grade school at District 70 northwest of Wahoo and graduated from Wahoo High School. After attending Luther College for one year, she took nurses training at Immanuel Hospital School of Nursing in Omaha.

   Both Morris and Jean have similar backgrounds. With the exception of Jean's maternal grandmother who came from Germany, all of their grandparents came to America from Sweden. Morris and Jean were born into farm families and were baptized and confirmed members of the local Lutheran Churches. Morris has been a lifelong member of Alma Lutheran Church in Mead. Jean belonged to the Edensburg Lutheran Church at Malmo, Nebraska until their marriage.

   They have continued the family traditions of farming and have developed the farm on which Morris was born and raised, into a Holstein Dairy named "Son-E-Farm."

   Jean has continued her nursing career. She worked in Omaha and Fremont, and, for several years, has been employed as a registered nurse at Saunders County Hospital in Wahoo. Jean's hobbies are reading, music, and oil painting.

   They have two sons and a daughter who all attended and graduated from Mead Consolidated School. Timothy Morris, whose interests are in electrical engineering and computers, has attended Nebraska Wesleyan and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

   Susan Jean's interests are in the humanities, languages, and arts. After her senior year at UNL, she spent a year in Sweden as an exchange student -- a visit to the country of her heritage to learn the language, customs, and folk dances. This had been a long-time dream.

   Thomas Lee, their third child, has enjoyed farming and continues to work with his father in the dairy and grain operation on "Son-E-Farm." Thomas's hobbies are carpentry and the authentic restoration of antique transportation vehicles.

   The Ericksons are thankful for their rich heritage and for the Christian principles and faith taught to them by their ancestors. Submitted by Jean Erickson

THEODORE AXEL ERICKSON

   On September 12, 1927, I was born in Omaha, Nebraska on a golf course! True, but not as it sounds. My father and mother lived on Happy Hollow Country Club where Dad was the greenskeeper. They were Axel Linus Erickson and Ida Bernice Nelson Erickson.

Ted Erickson Family
Front: Alice and Ted Erickson; Back: John, Mike and Connie.

   In 1931, Dad bought a house in Mead.

   In 1945, I graduated from Mead High. WWII was still going so I enlisted in the Navy. I had boot camp in San Diego, Calif. and duty aboard the USS Kadashan Bay CVE76 (Carrier) before the war ended.

   Alice Ann Havelka of Wahoo, who graduated from H.S. with me, consented to be my bride on October 26, 1948. She had graduated from Commerical Extension in Omaha and worked for the Soil Conservation in Wahoo.

   Connie Jo E. was born March 10, 1951 in an old house used as a hospital in Wahoo.

   Michael Lee E. was born December 4, 1952 in the new hospital.

   John Alan E. followed on January 25, 1954. In May, we moved to Mead as our trailer was now too small.

   In November, 1966, Alice's father, Anton Havelka passed away.

   Connie, Alice and I all worked at the Market here in Mead at different times. Alice started at the Bank of Mead.

   In 1969, Connie graduated from Neumann H.S. and then from Commercial Extension as her mother did.

   1971 was a big year! February -- Mother passed away in Arizona. May -- Michael graduated from Mead High. July -- Connie and Jim Eckley were married. September -- Michael started at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. October -- The Draft Lottery caught Michael -- #1. December -- Michael enlisted in the Navy. He went to Great Lakes Naval Station and then to Pensacola, Fla. for training in communications. A tour of duty in Okinawa followed.

   John graduated from Mead High in 1972 and attended UNL for 2 years. Then he went to Southeast Nebr. Community College in Milford to be a surveyor. He worked for Johnson-Erickson Engineers in Wahoo.

   Grandson, Jay James Eckley, was born on July 22, 1976.

   Karl Gustav Eriksson, a first cousin of mine and his wife, Ewe, came from Vasteras, Sweden to visit in 1977. They were the only Erikssons to visit here and Dad was thrilled to see them.

   When Michael returned, he went back to UNL to get his degree in December, 1977. He decided to attend Naval Officers Candidate School in Pensacola, Fla. All 5 of us, including Alice's Mother, Mary Havelka, flew down to see him commissioned an Ensign in Sept., 1978.

   John enrolled in the University of Nebraska, Omaha to get his degree in engineering.

   Alice and I flew to Sweden in 1979. We met many nice Eriksson cousins and their friends. A very pretty country. We sailed from Gothenburg to England and visited London before flying home.

   Ensign Michael served aboard the USS Kitty Hawk in the Indian Ocean on 2 tours. I met him in Hawaii and rode the ship with him back to San Diego, Calif. in February, 1980.

   On October 20, 1980, Dad sat down to rest at home and passed away peacefully.

   Cori Jo Eckley was born on July 15, 1981.

   In December, John graduated from UNO. He accepted a position with Peter Kiewit Sons Co. in Washington state. He and Donna Scott were married in Omaha in February, 1982. They are living in Olympia, Washington.

   Navy Lieutenant Michael Erickson is now stationed in Maryland where he bought a house. Alice and I visited him in July, 1982.

   Alice still works at the Bank of Mead and I am at Offutt Air Base in Omaha. Theodore A. Erickson

WILLIAM T. EVANS (AVENS)

   William Thomas Evans was born in England, November 3, 1812. Elinore North was born in England September 17, 1819.

Claim - Homestead William T. Evans
Claim -- Homestead William T. Evans

   W.T. and Elinore Evans had at least eleven children. Three children died in early childhood. Harriet (Hattie) and George were born in England. Harriet was about 4 and George was 4 months old when they came to America on a trading vessel. The trip took about 6 weeks. They lived in Cleveland, Ohio. Charles E. Evans was born April 4, 1844. He was in the Civil War and was captured May 23. He passed away at Andersonville Prison August 13, 1864, and was buried in a mass burial ground at the prison.

   In England, W.T. Evans worked in the shipyard. When he arrived in America, he worked on the railroads.

   Mrs. (Elinore) Evans died in a fire May 31,1866. She was buried at Cleveland, Ohio. That cemetery is now a national historical site.

   William T. Evans and his brother, Alfred, left Ohio and came to Saunders County, Nebraska, about 1869. W.T. Evans took up a homestead, and Alfred took up a relinquishment. W.T. Evans' certificate is dated March 15, 1879. The land was at the west half of the northeast quarter of Section 20 in Township 13, northeast quarter north of Range 7 east, in the District of Lands, subject to sale at

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Lincoln, Nebraska, containing 80 acres. It was signed by Rutherford B. Hayes.

   In 1871, an older brother brought the two younger children to Nebraska. Ida Claudine Evans (Mrs. Hugh Cameron) was born September 10, 1857. Ella (Nellie) was born April 4, 1861, at Cleveland, Ohio. They came through Chicago shortly after the large Chicago fire in 1871.

   They had heard such glowing stories of Nebraska and the fortunes to be made. Grandfather's plans were to come out, improve the place, sell it, and go back East, and retire. Instead, he found drought and grasshoppers. His daughters were supposed to go back with him, but they found husbands and stayed in Nebraska. He stayed in Nebraska and spent his last years with his daughter, Ida, and her husband, Hugh Cameron, of Waverly, Nebraska, Lancaster County. He passed away February 3, 1891, on the Hugh Cameron farm. He is buried at Mount Zion Cemetery, also known as the Rock Creek Cemetery, west of Ceresco, Nebraska.

   Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Cameron of Waverly had 6 children: Hugh Cameron Jr., deceased; Robert Cameron, deceased; Ross Cameron, Ceresco, deceased; Claud Cameron, deceased; Archibald Cameron, deceased; and Mabel (Mrs. David Warner) of Waverly. As of 1983, she is still living. By Pearl E. McMullen

DAVID MILLS EWART

   David Mills Ewart was born at Weeping Water, Nebraska on August 10, 1915. His parents were Robert H. and Mamie Mills Ewart. He attended the Wahoo Public Schools and was graduated from Wahoo High School in 1933. He was a graduate of Kemper at Booneville, Missouri and of Carleton College, Northfield, Michigan. He had a Master's Degree in Social Work from the University of Nebraska.

   David was an Air Force Sergeant during World War II, stationed at Bengal Air Depot, Calcutta, India. He worked for the Douglas County, Nebraska Red Cross for the welfare of veterans.

   At the time of his death in Febr., 1973, he was breeding Collies and Shetland Sheep dogs in Wahoo. (See Hugh W. and Flora Ewart, Robert H. Ewart, Mamie M. Ewart, David H. Mills stories for more family history.) Submitted by Flora Ewart

FLORA KATHERINE EWART

   Flora Katherine Ewart was born at Weeping Water, Nebraska, the daughter of Robert H. and Mamie Mills Ewart. She attended the Wahoo Public Schools and was graduated from Wahoo High School, Stephens College, Columbia, Missouri, and the University of Nebraska. She had a Master's Degree from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, and a Library Certificate from Kansas State Teachers College, Emporia, Kansas. She was a WAVE stationed at the WAVE Training School, Bronx, New York during World War II.

   Flora taught in high schools in Nebraska and in junior high in Monroe, Michigan. She went to the University of Kansas Libraries as assistant circulation librarian and left as head of the undergraduate library. From Lawrence, Kansas she went to Rochester, Minnesota as assistant librarian for the Rochester Public Library. From Rochester she went to Lincoln, Nebraska as Coordinator of Adult Services. After leaving Lincoln, she organized the Wahoo Elementary Schools Library and was librarian for the rural schools in Saunders County for a number of years.

   Flora was a member of Chapter I Nebraska PEO Sisterhood, the Wahoo Woman's Club, United Presbyterian Women, Hilltop Country Club, Eagles Auxiliary, American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary, and the David City D.A.R. (See Hugh W. Ewart, David H. Mills, Robert H. Ewart, Mamie M. Ewart stories for more history.) Submitted by Flora Ewart

HUGH W. AND FLORA EWART

   The Ewart and Stevenson families had left Scotland for Northern Ireland during times of religious persecution under Queen Mary of Scotland. The Ewarts had gone to Scotland from northern England during the 12th Century.

   Hugh Wallace Ewart came to an uncle in Iowa when he was seventeen. He had lived with parents, James C. and Sarah McKinley Ewart, in County Down, Ireland. A McKinley ancestor had been killed in the Battle of Waterloo.

   Hugh married Flora Stevenson in Sand Creek, Iowa. Her ancestor, Thomas Stevenson, had come to Philadelphia in 1790 from County Armagh, Ireland. Her parents were James M. and Elizabeth Wallace Stevenson. One of her ancestors, Robert Wallace had been a founder of Muskegum College, New Concord, Ohio. Another relative, Thomas Mott Stevenson, was President of Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois around the time of the Civil War. Flora was a descendant of Sir William Wallace of Scotland.

   Hugh and Flora Ewart moved from Sand Springs to Wahoo in the early 1800's. They lived at the head of Beech Street where he established a nursery. Their children numbered seven. James Stevenson married Mary Parsons. Hugh Wallace married Stella Richards. Louis Roberts married Gertrude Schroeder. Elizabeth S. married Frank Spaulding. Mary (Minnie) married Robert Dodds. Flora Edna was unmarried. Robert Howard married Mamie Mills. (Robert was the Saunders County Judge from 1942-1956).

   Flora Katherine Ewart and David Mills Ewart were children of Robert and Mamie Ewart.

   Hugh and Flora Stevenson Ewart are buried in Wyuka Cemetery, Lincoln, Nebraska. Submitted by Flora Ewart

MAMIE MILLS EWART

   Mamie Mills Ewart, christened Mary Caroline Taylor Mills, was born at Weeping Water, Nebraska on April 30, 1875. She was the fourth child of the five children of David H. Mills and Phoebe Jane Newlon Mills.

   Her ancestors were Scots from Northern Ireland and Englishmen, some of whom had come to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1620's. Later, others came to New York and Pennsylvania. Her Revolutionary ancestor was William McCoy of Washington County, New York who had been born off the coast of Newfoundland enroute to America from Northern Ireland. For many years Mamie was a member of Jonathan Cass Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, Weeping Water, Nebraska.

   Early school years were spent at the Crowder school in western Saunders County. In 1888, her parents moved to a home two and one-fourth miles east of Wahoo on the cemetery road. Mamie finished elementary school at District 27 where her father was a member of the school board. After finishing school at Dist. 27, she attended and graduated from Wahoo High School. She rode side saddle to Wahoo on an Indian pony. During the day the pony was stabled at the Perry and Frush Livery Stable one-fourth block north of the high school (now the Civic Center) on the west side of Linden Avenue. People who knew the Mills family, and people who did not personally know them, would remember the pony for many years.

   Mamie was the first woman from Saunders County to graduate from the University of Nebraska. Her mother, who had gone to Monmouth College in Illinois, had always thought that she would send her children to Monmouth. In the early days she had watched the wagons haul lumber for the University of Nebraska past her door in Cass County, enroute from Nebraska City to Lincoln. When her daughter was ready for college she said, "We started with the University of Nebraska on that old trail through Cass County and we shall stay with it."

   At the University, Mamie Mills' major subjects were Latin and Mathematics. Her University records show that she had studied calculus, Latin, Greek, German, and French. She had been a member of Palladian Literary Society.

   After graduation from the University, she taught in District 105, Saunders County, and also at Wahoo, Mead, Elmwood, and Louisville.

   She was married to Robert H. Ewart of Manderson, Wyoming in October of 1911. Their children were David Mills and Flora Katherine Ewart.

   Mamie was interested in missions and had financed the education of several students in India in addition to giving monetary gifts to individual missionaries. She also supported mission projects of the First Presbyterian Church, Wahoo, Nebraska.

   Mamie died in August, 1956 and is buried on the Mills lot in Sunrise Cemetery, Wahoo, along with Robert and David Ewart. (See David H. Mills for more detailed family history.) Submitted by Flora Ewart

R.H. EWART

   Robert Howard Ewart was born in Sand Springs, Iowa on August 15, 1875 and died in Wahoo, Nebraska on April 4, 1960. He is buried on the Mills lot in Sunrise Cemetery, Wahoo. The Ewart family moved from Sand Springs to Wahoo when he was three years old.

   Robert was valedictorian of his Wahoo High School graduating class, and was a graduate of the University of Nebraska, College of Law in 1901. At the University he was a member of Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity and of the "N" Club. He was a skilled baseball player and earned his "N" playing baseball.

   After graduation, he was a lawyer in the Territories of Oklahoma and Wyoming and in the state of Wyoming where his brother, Louis Roberts Ewart, was a member of the first Wyoming Legislature. In addition to law, Robert was engaged in banking, real estate, and insurance in Oklahoma and Wyoming. He was County Judge of Saunders County, Nebraska from 1942-1956.

   He was active in scouting and received the Silver Beaver Award from the Covered Wagon Council of Nebraska. He was chairman of a successful War Bond drive in the county during World War II.

   In October, 1911, he married Mamie (Mary) Mills in Weeping Water, Nebraska. Their children were David Mills, born Aug. 10, 1915, and Flora Katherine, born Febr. 5, 1913.

   Robert's date for reporting for induction into the military during World War I was Nov. 11, 1918, which, for him at least, meant no induction and no war. (See Hugh W. Ewart-Stevenson for Ewart family history.) Submitted by Flora Ewart

DOUGLAS AND PRISCILLA FALKE

   Douglas Raymond Falke was born October 10, 1938, in Wahoo, Nebraska. He is the son of Harry F. and Lorene E. Tennant Falke. Doug was raised with his brother, Harry W., in Wahoo, graduating from Wahoo High in 1956. He has degrees from Luther College of Wahoo, Dana College of Blair and Kearney State College. He served with the Nebraska National Guard, and is a high school business education instructor, presently at Northwest High in Omaha. (Additional information can be found under the William Falke, Harry F. Falke and Remington J. Tennant entries.)

   Priscilla Lee Fischer (born April 23, 1949, in Omaha) is the daughter of John Henry Fischer (born 1918 in Marathon, Wisconsin) and Berneda June Harvey Fischer (born 1924 in Omaha, Nebraska). Her paternal ancestors were from Bavaria, Germany before coming to Wisconsin, where they were engaged as dairy farmers and highway bridge contractors. Her maternal ancestors were from Indiana and South Dakota. They mostly had occupations connected with agriculture, such as farming, ranching, practicing veterinary medicine and competing in rodeos. There were also some welders and auto mechanics.

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   Priscilla was raised in Omaha with four brothers and one sister, graduating from North High School in 1967. She attended UNO from 1967-1971.

   Doug and Priscilla met one another in 1969 at the Czech Presbyterian Church southwest of Wahoo, where they were both attendants in a wedding. They were married June 19, 1971, in Wahoo. Over the years three children have been born to them: Amy Melissa (born August 17, 1974), Brent William (born March 2, 1977), and David Remington (born November 3, 1982). They look forward to many more happy years in Saunders County. By Douglas Falke

WILLIAM AND EMMA OTTO
FALKE

   William Falke, the son of Christian and Carolina Falke, was born on a farm near Malmo, Nebraska, in 1878. He grew to manhood in that area.

William and Emma Otto Falke
William and Emma Otto Falke Wedding -- 1905

   He had two brothers, Adolph and Henry, and two sisters, Rika Niedfelt and Bertha Otto.

   In 1905, he was united in marriage to Emma Otto. They had three children, a son, Ernest, who died in 1914; a son, Harry F., who died February 17, 1975; and a daughter, Alma, Mrs. Rudolph C. Anderson, who resides in Omaha.

   The family farmed near Ithaca until 1918, when they bought a farm at Kimball, Nebraska. Due to poor crops, they moved back to Wahoo in 1920, where Mr. Falke did mostly carpenter and mechanical work.

   In 1941, they again moved to their farm at Kimball, where they resided for several years. They then sold their farm and returned to Wahoo, where they retired.

   William died in 1949 and his wife, Emma, in 1958. They are buried in Sunrise Cemetery in Wahoo. Submitted by Douglas Falke

HARRY F. AND LORENE FALKE

   Harry, son of William and Emma Falke, was born on a farm near Ithaca, Nebraska, May 6, 1906. He grew up on the farm. He lived on a farm in Kimball, Nebraska, with his parents and sister, Alma, until they returned to Wahoo.

   He was a graduate of Wahoo High School, Boyles School of Commerce, Omaha, and LaSalle Extension University. On February 9, 1936, he was united in marriage to Lorene E. Tennant, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R .J. Tennant. The ceremony took place at the Wahoo Congregational Church. Lorene is a graduate of Wahoo High School and Immanuel School of Nursing.

   Harry worked as bookkeeper and store manager of Anderson Electric Company of Wahoo, until he was elected County Treasurer in 1938. He resigned this position in 1950 to become cashier of Wahoo State Bank. He then purchased his own insurance company and also handled Federal Crop Insurance. In July, 1958, he become postmaster of Wahoo, Nebraska and continued in that capacity until the time of his death, February 17, 1975. He is buried at Sunrise Cemetery.

   He was a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, a director on the board of Wahoo State Bank, a member of the Volunteer Fire Department for 43 years. He also belonged to the Lions Club, Historical Society, Knights of Pythias of which he was a Past Grand Chancellor of the State, the order of the Odd Fellows, the Masonic Lodge and Royal Arch and also served on the Wahoo City Council.

   Lorene did nursing in Omaha and Wahoo, later becoming Director of Nurses at the Saunders County Hospital until her retirement on December 31, 1973.

   To this union were born two sons. Douglas R. was born October 10, 1938. He married Priscilla Fischer, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John H. Fischer of Omaha, on June 19, 1971. They have three children -- Amy, born August 17, 1974; Brent, born March 2, 1977; and David, born November 3, 1982.

   Harry W. was born October 11, 1942. He married Marilyn Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Smith of Colon, June 11, 1967. They have one son, Timothy, born May 14, 1975.

   Lorene, Douglas and family, and Harry and family, all reside in Wahoo.

EMIL C.A. FAUDEL

   Emil Christian August Faudel, a native of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, immigrated to the United States in 1867. After a short stop in Davenport, Iowa, he came west to Omaha. One of his early jobs was as a cook for a construction crew for the Union Pacific Railroad. From letters written by Emil Faudel to relatives in Germany, postmarked in Wyoming, it is assumed he worked on the construction crew all across Nebraska. He later returned to Saunders County in Nebraska. On July 20, 1872, he married Louise Margaretha Harder in Fremont, Nebraska.

Doretta Faudel Malchow
Doretta Faudel Malchow

   Saunders County records show that a homestead was issued to Emil Faudel in Union Township, described as the north half of the northwest quarter (N½ NW¼) of Section 32, Township 15, Range 9 East. These papers were finalized the first day of October, 1880.

   The Faudels lived in Saunders County until 1891 when they moved to Cuming County, Nebraska. Twelve children were born to Emil Faudel and his wife, Louise Harder Faudel, while living on his homestead in Saunders County. Doretta Sophia was born November 11, 1873; George Edward, July 2, 1875; Hedwig Marianne, Oct. 11, 1876; Margaretha, March 11, 1878; Charles Adolph, Oct. 30, 1879; Sophia Louise, Mar. 31, 1881; Mathilda Hermine, Sept. 23, 1882; Emil Christian August, June 25, 1884; Anna Margaretha, Sept. 26, 1885; Edward Claudius, Jan. 24, 1887; Elfrieda Catherine Margaret, June 27, 1888; and Ernest August, born on Nov. 8, 1889. A thirteenth child was born in Cuming County, Nebraska, Louis Franz, born Oct. 3, 1891.

   One child, Margaretha, died at age 3 in 1881 and is buried in the Hollst Lawn Cemetery south of Yutan.

   Ben Malchow, a grandson of Emil Faudel, and a son of the Faudel's oldest daughter, Doretta, lives adjacent to the Faudel homestead. Emil sold the 80 acres to Henry Mumm who was the grandfather of Ben Malchow's wife, Clara (Berger).

GEORGE P. FEIST

   George Paul Feist was born January 17, 1881 to George and Mary Feuerstein Feist in a sod house north of Leshara. (The town was built in 1905.) He was the first white child born in Leshara. His father, George, and two half-brothers, Joseph and John Lammel, of Delavan, Tazewell County, Illinois had acquired about 360 acres in 1871 from the government for $2,160. The land was near Leshara.

Mr. and Mrs. George Feist
Mr. and Mrs. George Feist

   George lived with his parents, brothers, Ambrose and Marcellus (both deceased), Mrs. William Kammerer (Fannie, deceased) and Mrs. Gid Winkelman (Alice) who lives at Plattsmouth with her daughter, Jan. He attended school near Leshara for 8 years. He farmed with his brothers until he got married.

   He was baptized in the Catholic Church in Colon which was quite a distance in the horse and buggy days. In 1888, there were enough families to build a church 3 miles west of town. It was known as the Estina Church. It burned in 1924, and in 1925 it was replaced. This was the church George and Elizabeth attended faithfully until their deaths. The church burned to the ground in 1960. Both are buried in the church cemetery.

   Elizabeth Wiedeman and her sister came to Leshara for a visit and George and Elizabeth fell in love. They were married June 16, 1909 in Covington, Kentucky and came to Leshara to live. Elizabeth was a school teacher so had her piano shipped to her home. It is still in the house where they lived until they passed away.

   They built a home west of Leshara and moved in July, 1910 and never moved again. George told that one year the entire corn crop amounted to 50 bushels. In about 1915, they purchased their first automobile, a Maxwell, and they thought they could really go places. George also spoke of the blizzard of 1888 and the tornado of 1913.

   Their first child, a son, was born dead in 1912. Five daughters followed -- Mrs. Rudyard Sawtelle (Mary) of Fremont, Mrs. Dale Nicholson (Agnes) of Omaha, Mrs. Clarence Eckerson (Evelyn) of Fremont, Mrs. Kathryn Morris (widow of Warren) of Fremont, Rte. 2, and Georgia who still resides in the house where they were all born. A son, Paul, was born in 1925 and died suddenly of a heart attack while playing in the yard at the age of 5 years and 7

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