Mr. and Mrs. Fayette Kingsley left their Wisconsin home and came to Nebraska in the fall of '68, and spent the winter about fifteen miles south of Lincoln.
The following spring they came to what is now the central part of Thayer county, and took the first homestead on Spring Creek, one mile south and one-half mile west of where the city of Hebron now stands.
Later in the spring of '69 they were attacked by Indians at a place near the southeast corner of Hebron, Nebraska
On May 26, '69, old "Daddy" Marks, as he was called, and a young man accompanying him for protection, came over from Rose Creek (which is about fifteen miles southeast) to warn the Kingsleys that the Indians were on a raid.
They had just arrived and were in the midst of telling their news when thirty-six Indians, led by one white man, rode up from the west, with their bows and arrows drawn.
There were guns enough of different kinds in the house to shoot sixty rounds without reloading, and Mrs. Kingsley immediately began to scatter the arms and ammunition on the table, where they would be handy for the men. On seeing the leveled guns, the Indians turned off when within 250 steps of the house in which the Kingsleys and their friends were sheltered. The Indians then went down the river road, plundering houses and driving off stock.
Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley, with their three children, then fled to Alexander's ranch, where they stayed until Governor Butler formed a company of militia, composed of settlers, to protect the frontier.
When the Kingsleys returned to their home they found that the Indians had taken all of their bedding and eatables, even to the bread which had been left in the oven. They tore open the feather bed, scattering the feathers to the winds.
Mrs. Kingsley boarded the surveyors who laid out the city of Hebron. Mr. Kingsley was the first furniture dealer.
Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley celebrated their golden wedding anniversary at their home in Hebron June 30, 1914. They were the parents of nine children, eight of whom are still living.
Mrs. Kingsley passed away July 12, 1920.
Mr. Kingsley and two daughters, Mrs. Frank Crooks and Mrs. W.A. Elliott, are still residents of Hebron.
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