What Happened to Charley Farmer?

Posted on October 23, 2024November 15, 2024 by FHadmin

My Grandma Nellie (Peelle) McCracken’s cousin Charley D. Farmer disappeared in the late 1890s. Where did he go? And, what kept him from coming home? It is a story with a twist that begs even more questions.

Who is Charley Farmer?

Charles D. “Charley” Farmer was born in Winchester, Indiana about 1877 to John A. and Evaline (Peelle) Farmer. He joined sister Indianola “Nola,” who had been born two years prior.

Trego County

In February 1879, the family had moved to Wa-Keeney (how it was written at that time) in Trego County, Kansas. This was around the same time that Evaline’s parents/my great-great grandparents (Passco and Martha (Johnson) Peelle) and part of her siblings moved to Bourbon County, Kansas. However, Trego County is in western Kansas and is a long way from Bourbon County making it unlikely that their move was related to Evaline’s parents’ move.

It wasn’t the lure of a ranch that took them west, as John was a painter and didn’t appear to show any interest in cattle or ranching. No relatives of either of them have been identified in that area at that time. It makes one wonder if perhaps they were going to venture further west and simply had enough by the time they got to Trego County and decided to stop. In any case, John hung out his shingle and went to work as a painter.

People in the area were really struggling. At the beginning of May 1880, he wrote a letter to the editor of The Western Kansas World talking about the struggles of people in the area and the need of some families for assistance. He went on to say that if things did not improve soon, that a lot more people would be in need assistance or would move away.

On May 29, 1800, John advertised that he had timber land that he would exchange for a wagon, team, and harness.

Olathe

By early 1881, John, Evaline, and family were living in Olathe, Johnson County, Kansas. That fall, John stated that he still owned property in Trego County and that he hoped to return one day. However, he was busy as a painter in Olathe.

In 1884, Charley began attending school in the Olathe School system, which had over 500 students across ten grades. The following year, Charley’s younger brother Clayton “Clate” was born. Evaline gave birth to another child, likely between Charley and Clate. However, that child died and nothing more is known about the child.

Over the next few years, Charley attended school while his father worked in a seemingly booming business. John had a staff of workers who worked on projects ranging from painting wagons and vehicles to signs to the interior and exterior of businesses and homes. Among his contracts were one to paint and stain the interior of the Presbyterian Church, one to update the court rooms, and one to paint oboth the interior and exterior of a school house.

However, despite what appears to be a good amount of work, John got in financially over his head. This led to foreclosure and sale of property in Olathe and property he owned in Fort Scott, Bourbon, Kansas.

Fort Scott

As a result, around 1890, John, Evaline and their children moved to Fort Scott. John, again, started up his paint business, adding paper hanging to the services offered. As in the past, he located his business near the core business area of the town with his store located at 208 First Street.

The biggest known event in Charley’s life in the early 1890s occurred in 1892 when Charley cut the tip off the end of his forefinger (index finger) on his right hand when oiling his bicycle.

By 1895, Charley joined John in his business. The store was moved to the Strothers Building at 203 Market Street and renamed J. A. Farmer & Son. At that time, Clate was still in school and Nola was employed as a bookkeeper while Evaline managed the household.

The Wandering Son

Charley apparently liked to travel and see the country. Thus, in 1896, he took a break from working with his father to do just that. In July 1896, he returned to Fort Scott from a 4-month journey that had taken him to Indian Territory, St. Louis, Chicago, Bloomington and more points of interest. Although he worked as a painter as his primary occupation, it is possible that Charley may have joined a railroad construction crew in Arkansas and traveled with the crew.

The Disappearance

Then in 1897, Charley traveled north. He visited Wisconsin and Minnesota, among other states. On September 20, 1897, (or September 22, accounts vary) he sent a letter to his father from Stevens, Minnesota stating that he would be coming home. He never arrived!

John contacted the man who had recently employed Charley. He told the same story that the letter did. He believed Charley was going to take his $75 and head back home.

The Search

Over the next two years the family did not hear a peep from Charley. John searched to learn what had happened to his son. Since Charley was adventuresome, John considered if he might have headed to the gold fields in Alaska or joined the military. He also wrote to the leaders of military groups in the area to see if Charley might have joined up with one of them. All of them responded saying that they had no one by that name on their rolls.

John concluded that something must have happened to Charley. He learned of a fire at a barn 40 miles from where Charley had been staying that claimed the lives of multiple men. John wondered if Charley might be among them as the men had been sleeping in the barn. He thought it was just like his son to ride the rails and then get off and find a place to sleep.

Located?

Finally, on September 2, 1899, the Adjunct General’s Office of the War Department responded to his inquiry stating that Charley had joined the cavalry May 27, 1898 and had been discharged April 13, 1899 at San Marias, Porto Rico (this was the Anglicized spelling, the original spelling of Puerto Rico was later restored). He had served in the 5^th United States Cavalry, Troop L. The War Department had no additional information regarding his whereabouts.

It was met with some relief. John believed it must be his son because the location of birth (Winchester, Indiana) matched that of his son. He didn’t see the actual record, but if he had, he would have known for sure as it also stated a physical description and gave his occupation as painter. the question is, “Was Charley 5’6″ with light blue eyes, light brown hair, and a fair complexion?”

John and Evaline still didn’t know where Charley was, but they knew that a few months earlier he had been alive and well.

1923 Message from Adjunct General’s Office

More Information

The family soon received a letter from L. T. Bybee of Slater, Missouri. Mr. Bybee had seen an article in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat regarding Charley. He said that he had served in the same unit with Charley and knew him well. He went on to say that Charley had gotten a job working for the government in Puerto Rico. Charley was driving a team and making $40 per month.

Most importantly, Mr. Bybee provided Charley’s address in Puerto Rico. John immediately wrote to Charley. According to the Fort Scott Weekly Tribune on October 26, 1899, Evaline had received a letter from Charley. The first they had heard from him in over two years. The only additional piece of information they provided was that he was headquartered at Mayaguez.

In the years to come

Less than two months later, John died suddenly of painter’s colic (constipation caused by lead poisoning) in Galena, Kansas, where he had a painting business. Why he had moved his business there is not known, but he had been in some conflicts with the pastor of the Brethren Church in Fort Scott. It had become very public and perhaps that drove him to move his business.

Leading up to his death, John appeared to be well until the last day. He had written Evaline telling her that he would be home for Christmas, but he didn’t live that long.

After his death, Evaline used John’s $3,000 life insurance to purchase an 80-acre farm near Hiattville, likely to be close to her brother and parents. After her move, no indication of communication with or about Charley has been found until 24 years later. In December, 1923, the Adjutant General’s Office sent a memorandum to Charles W. Turney of Hiattville, Kansas. Charles must have been a kind neighbor and helped Evaline by writing a letter to the government, as he had no other known connection to the family. Apparently, she sought additional information about Charley. The letter, however, provided basically the same information that had been sent to the family in 1899.

The Twist

Military Records

As I reviewed Charley’s military records, I found something unexpected. I found a military headstone application that showed the name Charles D. Palmer alias Charley Farmer. It stated the service had been in the unit the government had identified in their message to Charley’s father and had dates coinciding with the information the government had sent the family. Then, I found a pension record that showed Charles D. Farmer (alias) Charles D. Palmer. This record again gave the same unit.

The records showed that Charles or Charley had died September 21, 1931, almost 34 years to the day that Charley had gone missing. The records showed that Charles D. Palmer had a wife Catherine who lived at 548 Kensington Ave, La Grange, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago). In 1930, that home was valued at $6,000 and today Zillow values the 2500+ square foot house at over $700,000.

The Palmer Family

Charles Palmer married Catherine September 20, 1911 in La Grange, Illinois. In 1920, they had three children Vera K. Palmer, Ralph D. Palmer, and Charles A. Palmer. The family lived at 218 Forest Avenue (That home no longer exists.). However, the most interesting thing in the 1920 census was that Charles Palmer’s occupation was a painter!

The information for the family remained consistent in the 1930 census. Charles sounds a lot like Charley. The only difference is that he claimed to be born in New York and claimed his parents were from England; whereas, Charley was born in Indiana with his mother also born in Indiana and his father born in Ohio.

Mix & Match

One Charles Day Palmer was found in New York with a birth year around 1875. His parents are James and Ellen. However, he appears to have lived his entire life in New York, dying many years after Charles of Illinois.

In comparison, Charles D. Palmer of La Grange’s records with the Veteran’s Administration give a birth date of June 20, 1877. Meanwhile, his WWI draft registration card and his death record show June 20, 1878 as his birth date. In a possibly odd coincidence, his WWI draft registration shows a middle name of Dayton. It is so very similar to the middle name Day of the man of New York.

His death record, however, provides some information that seems to tie Charles D. Palmer back to Charley D. Farmer. His father is listed as John Albert and his mother is listed as Cornelia E. Peel. Some researchers have John’s the middle as Albert. There are Quaker records that show a John Albert Farmer. However, I have yet to prove those records are for this specific John A. Farmer. The name Peel, on the other hand, seems so unlikely if the man wasn’t Charley. As far as I know, Evaline was not really Cornelia. However, it is possible that was her name and she never used it or the name is a mistake. It does show an initial of E, which could stand for Evaline.

The Questions

Charley Farmer Changed His Name

Was Charles Dayton Palmer really Charley D. Farmer? If so, why did Charley change his name? Was he in Puerto Rico the entire time from when he was discharged from the military until just prior to his marriage to Catherine?

It seems very possible that they are the same man. No records of Charley Dayton Palmer have been found before his marriage to Catherine. Likewise, no records of Charley D. Farmer have been found after 1899. If he was in Puerto Rico in 1900, he wouldn’t have been in the census. However, he should have been in the 1910 census in Illinois, Puerto Rico, or some other location, although it is possible that he was missed for one reason or another.

If it was Charley that joined the military, where was Charley between September 20, 1897 when he said he was coming home and May 26, 1897 when he joined the army? And, why didn’t he contact his family during this time? Who says, “I am coming home” and then never contacts the family again?

These questions seem to have no answer. To speculate, it is possible that he did go off to Alaska, where communication might have been limited. Still, it seems like he would have contacted his parents before joining the cavalry. It is also possible that he got in trouble and ended up in jail somewhere. But, again, you would think he would have contacted his parents before joining the military. This just doesn’t match the behavior of a person who contacted their parents to say that they are coming home.

Charles Dayton Palmer Isn’t Charley D. Farmer

If Charles Dayton Palmer isn’t Charley D. Farmer, where did he come from? Why did he claim Charley D. Farmer’s military service? Did he learn about Charley in the newspaper? How did he know anything about Charley’s parents’ names, especially his mom’s maiden name? Could Charley have died and another man have stolen Charley’s identity before joining the military? If so, who was he before that?

This seems less likely because of the information that he would have to have known. However, it would definitely explain the lack of contact. Someone who stole someone’s identity likely would not want contact with the person’s family.

Years In Puerto Rico

What was it that the man who served in the military did in Puerto Rico? If he is the same as Charles Dayton Palmer, what was he doing for those 12 years? Was he in Puerto Rico the entire time? If that was Charley D. Farmer, what happened to him? Why is there no record of him in Puerto Rico?

He was working for the government in a time of great change in Puerto Rico. It is possible that he continued with the government, possibly coming back to the states in a role with them. However, it is possible that something happened to him in Puerto Rico, but that doesn’t explain someone else claiming his military service.

No Contact?

Did Charley really respond to John’s letter in 1899?

The reason to question this is that Evaline had a letter written to the War Department years later to try to get information on Charley. In addition, Evaline (Peelle) Farmer’s obituary states that her son Charles “has been missing in action ever since the Spanish-American war. He enlisted in the army and was last heard of in the Philippines. Great efforts were made to find him but his fate was never known.” Her obituary was likely written by Nola and Clate. It is inconsistent with him being released in Puerto Rico, but years had passed and perhaps they didn’t remember the details. However, they definitely didn’t seem to think contact had been made. It seems that they would have definitely known if their mom got a letter from him – even if it was only one.

In Conclusion

When it comes to Charley D. Farmer, there are simply more questions than answers!

Just Enough House

Posted on October 15, 2024 by FHadmin

Three Generations

In 1906, three generations of the Peelle family moved to the Fish farm southeast of Hiatville, Kansas. The two-story house was nestled amongst elm, pear, maple, and catalpa trees atop a hill a mile north of the Bourbon-Crawford county line. The 190-acre property included a garden, an orchard, fields, a root cellar, an outhouse, and some out buildings.

Early Photo of the home place. It is clear that one of the early families had a green thumb given so many plants were growing in the yard. The Peelle family added a cutting from a rose bush that they had brought from Indiana.

The House

Initially, the house consisted of a living area, kitchen, three bedrooms and a small loft space. The kitchen was a nook area between the living area and the bedroom on the main floor. The space was heated by two fireplaces or stoves. One chimney was between the living space and the kitchen and another was in the main floor bedroom. Heat going up the chimneys would have helped warm, even if ever so slightly, the upstairs.

It is assumed that Passco, who was in his eighties and his wife Martha (Johnson) Peelle, who turned 80 that year, slept in the main floor bedroom, which contained the only closet in the entire house. It would have been difficult, if not impossible, for them to sleep upstairs, as the upstairs could only be reached via a ladder to the loft from the kitchen area.

The upstairs bedrooms were likely occupied by William Johnson Peelle and his wife Matilda (Jury) Peelle in one and their daughters Lydia and Nellie in the other. It is likely that their son Passco “Pat,” who was 7, slept in the loft.

It was tight, but everyone had a place to lay their head.

Windows & Doors

A door existed on the front of the house between the two primary rooms. A door must have also existed on the back of the house to allow access to the well, which initially was east of the house before a different one was dug out west of the house. Additionally, the wood or coal used to heat the house and the cook stove would likely have also been stored out back.

As can be seen in the photograph, only the top portion of some of the windows had glass. It was not uncommon in those days to put in openings for windows before the windows could be purchased and that appears to be what was done on this house. It is likely that they couldn’t afford glass for all the windows at once or could not get enough glass for all the windows.

Expansion

It wasn’t long; however, before William J., who was a carpenter by trade, began building a proper kitchen onto the back of the house. It was the length of the living room and the old kitchen. An additional chimney was added at the northeast corner of the kitchen for the cook stove and the wall between the kitchen and the living room was opened up. Opening the space helped with heating and made the space more usable.

The kitchen also doubled as a room for bathing. The water was brought into the house and heated on the stove. When the bathing was complete, they could simply pour out the tub of water and use it to scrub the floor as William J. had sloped the floor and built a drain in the northwest corner of the kitchen.

A new stairway was built in the space vacated by moving the kitchen. The new stairway was extremely steep, but it was better than climbing a ladder.

Even after the expansion, the house was less than 1300 square feet.

Changes Over Time

In the fall of 1911, William J. died. His father Passco had already died in 1908 and his mother Martha died in 1912. Since William j. was the primary breadwinner for the family, it is amazing that Matilda was able to keep the farm. Lydia started working at the local grocery and other businesses to help out with expenses. And, Matilda’s brother Walter, who lived nearby, likely helped out. In the spring of 1914, Nellie married Joseph Andrew “Joe” McCracken. It wasn’t long before, The Home Place, as it came to be known, would take on a new life.

A Growing Family

After they first married, Joe and Nellie rented property. However, with a growing family and a house that was empty except for Matilda, a move to The Home Place seemed like an obvious choice. Thus, about 1920, Joe, Nellie, and their four oldest children moved to The Home Place.

The family grew and grew. Eventually, Joe, Nellie, and ten children were all living in the three-bedroom home. Joe and Nellie shared the downstairs bedroom, with the youngest one or two usually sleeping in the same room. The remaining girls shared the upstairs bedroom over the living area, and the boys shared the other bedroom.

Guests

The house, however, was never too full for one more. It was not uncommon for one, two, or more to join the family for Sunday dinner. Dad remembered one time that for some reason Fred and Florence (McCracken) Barton were gone and their kids, his second cousins, stayed with his family. Assuming all the kids stayed, that would have been 3 extra boys and 3 extra girls. Dad said that they slept crosswise in the bed to fit in more kids.

More Changes

The family almost lost part of the house in the late 1930s or early 1940s when a tornado came barrelling through. Fortunately, the family made it to the root cellar and the damage was limited. Trees were all down along the road, but the house escaped with only some damage to the roof.

It was about the time that the oldest kids started going away to work or study that the house started to feel empty. It was still quite full, but Dad said that every time one of the kids left home, it felt more empty. Eventually, the house had only a few inhabitants.

The Next Generation

When electricity came through west of what is now Highway 7, Joe, Nellie, and the kids that remained at home moved to the property that Joe and Nellie had purchased during the war. Ed, probably with some help with his dad, wired up the new property and the family had electric lights for the first time.

Within the year, Dewey married and moved with his bride to The Home Place. Eventually, the Home Place had running water and electricity. Wood would heat the home for years, but eventually it would be converted to propane.

Additions

Joe, Dewey, and Dad added out buildings to the property while Joe and Nellie lived there. Dewey continued to update the property after he moved to The Home Place.

The only major addition to the house prior to the 1970s was enclosing the area behind the first-floor bedroom into a “back porch.” A shower was added to this area just off the bedroom, however, it would have been mighty cold in the winter as the area was not heated.

An Indoor Bathroom

It wasn’t until the mid-1970s that the house got indoor bathroom facilities. At that time, improvements were made to a portion of the back porch and a proper bathroom was added into the space just off the kitchen. The bathroom was small, but was far better than going to the outhouse on a cold winter night. And, you didn’t have to worry about what was lurking in the shadows. I can only remember one time that I went to the outhouse in the middle of the night. It was plenty creepy!

Cabinets

About the same time that the bathroom was added, Ed added custom built-in cabinets in the kitchen. They had to be custom built because nothing in the kitchen was straight. The floor and ceiling were both sloped by design and the walls and windows just weren’t quite straight.

The Fire

In March 1993, the family came close to losing the house. Dewey, Jackie, and Ruthe were living in the house when they realized that there was fire in the chimney. Their first reaction was to call Dad – even before the fire department.

Dad grabbed the fire extinguishers. Then he jumped in the old white pickup and took off for The Home Place not knowing anything other than that they had a fire. Reports have it that he was driving so fast that the took the corner south of our house on two wheels. Let’s just say that his driving alerted the neighbors that something was wrong.

When Dad arrived they directed him to the chimney on the main floor where they were fighting fire. He responded that they needed to fight the fire from up above, as he could see smoke coming out under the eaves as he drove in. So, he grabbed a water sprayer and raced up those steep stairs and got up into the attic.

He had the fire out and was moving into control mode of watching for hot spots before the fire department arrived. No structural damage resulted. However, smoke and water cleanup was required. Had they not called Dad first or if he missed seeing the smoke under the eaves, the damage likely would have been much greater.

Family Gatherings

Many family gatherings occurred at this house over the years. Some were just a couple of families and others had lots of attendees. Summer gatherings worked well as people could spread out under the many shade trees in the yard.

However, in the winter it could be mighty cozy if the weather drove everyone inside. Fortunately, the family usually found a way to get out for a football game or just to wander around even when it was cold and snowy. No matter what, there always was room for one more!

Afterward

The property remained in the family for 90 years. The house has now been torn down as have some of the out buildings. However, a new house has been added to the property and someone else is now making new memories. One can only hope they look upon the property as fondly as our family looked upon The Home Place.

Too Many Thomases

Posted on October 9, 2024October 9, 2024 by FHadmin

I don’t know if my Thomas ancestors lived near the most relatives of any of my family lines or not. However, according to reports my 3g-grandfather Henry Thomas (shown above) claimed the family left North Carolina because they were related to too many people there!

History

It is believed that our Thomas family line descended from Josiah and Ruth (Mitchell) Thomas, although this is not 100% proven. Henry identified some of his siblings in his Bible. Dr. Iva Noel Gibbons published a copy of the Bible pages in her book “Cousins by the Dozens.” Unfortunately, the image is small and difficult to read. Yet, she had gleaned information from it

From data about the family and their movement to Missouri during the 1830s, it is determined that the following are likely siblings of Henry.

George
Andrew
William
James
Joseph
Frances

Dr. Gibbons believed Thomas Thomas, who arrived in the area around 1829, might be a brother. It is unclear what happened to Thomas Thomas. By 1850, the first year with more detailed census records, he is nowhere to be found in the area when the Thomas families initially settled. Thus, I have not been able to tie him to the family.

In addition, Dr. Gibbons believed there was a younger sister Nancy. However, I have not identified Nancy’s family.

Missouri

Records for potential family members begin showing up in a cluster of counties in eastern Missouri in the 1830s. The chart shows where each of the families are found up through 1870. The question remains, “Are they the right Thomases?”

The question is answered in part by looking at the trees of DNA matches. I have matches to people who claim to descend from each of these people except George. Although it is possible that I have identified the wrong George, it seems unlikely as this George lived in the general area as most of the others in the family. It is possible with addition work with DNA matches, a match to George’s family may be found.

Problem Solved?

Moving to Missouri may have temporarily solved the problem of being related to everyone. In the community. However, the problem quickly recreated itself. The siblings had 54 children between them.

The following generation consisted of over 200 new Thomas relatives (not including those that married into the family). As you can see, they were quickly creating a new colony of Thomas relatives. Now, some of them spread out beyond Missouri’s borders. However, many of them remained in Missouri. And, a few of them started marrying cousins.

Henry’s solution . . . Move again. This time to the western side of the state. His children primarily stayed in Missouri. However, three of them ventured out of state with George (my gg-grandfather) going to southeastern Kansas and two of his siblings also venturing beyond Missouri’s borders.

My look at this family was relatively quick and I learned that I have a lot more work to do on this family line. I am sure there are lots of unknown facts to uncover.

Using The Least Number of Eggs

Posted on October 2, 2024 by FHadmin

Some recipes call for one egg, some for two, sometimes one instead of two will do. But, sometimes, one will not do if it calls for one or two. And, trouble can arise when one person thinks one will do instead of two.

Helping Out

When she was a teenager, my Aunt Ester Lucille (McCracken) Fisher helped out at the Harnett household while Nora Hartnett, my Grandma Nellie (Peelle) McCracken’s cousin, was ill. Nora was actually my grandma’s mother’s first cousin. Thus, she was grandma’s first cousin once removed. However, she was simply referred to as her cousin.

Anyway, part of the chores around the house was cooking meals for Nora and her brothers John and Raymond “Ray,” who were all single adults sharing the home. Ester didn’t mind cooking and it was an area where she excelled.

Lemon Pie

One day, Ester was making lemon pie while Nora rested in the other room. That is when the trouble began. Although resting, Nora heard one egg break and then a second egg break. Suddenly, Ester heard herself being chastised for using two eggs in the pie. Nora informed her that one egg would be perfectly sufficient.

You would have thought that eggs were rare or that the Harnett family was dirt poor. Depending on the exact year, it is likely it was during the Great Depression. However, eggs were still abundant and the Hartnett brothers were prosperous farmers. The Harnett children, who were now middle-aged, had inherited their parents’ several-hundred-acre farm in 1918.

It was likely Nora’s mother Ellen (Jury) Hartnett was the person who influenced Nora’s views on using one egg. In Ellen’s obituary, she was described as “thrifty and conservative.” Of course, that information likely came from Nora.

Back To The Pie

Well, Ester, being the good cook that she was, knew that one egg did not make for good lemon pie. And, she was not going to make a bad pie. But, how? It was on this day that she became determined to learn how to break two eggs at once.

She was successful and the “two at once” technique solved everything. Ester was happy because she could make a good lemon pie. Meanwhile, hearing only one “crack,” Nora was happy that “eggs weren’t being wasted.”

Baking

This skill served Ester well as she bakes pies, cakes, and other things throughout her life. She even worked for a bakery in Fort Scott for a period of time.

To my knowledge, after her time helping out at the Hartnett’s she only used it for speed and never needed to hide how many eggs she was using again.

Bonus Story

History of the Harnett Family

Thomas Harnett, a native of Ireland, settled in Hiattville, Kansas. In 1873, he married Ellen Jury, who had immigrated from Canada with her mother, bothers, and their families. Their son John was the first child born in Hiattville. He was followed by Nora and then Raymond. Thomas made money to purchase a farm by working as a section foreman for the railroad. Additionally, the family appeared to run a boarding house or at least rent out rooms in their home during the time they lived in town.

Thomas purchased a farm about a mile and a half north of Hiattville and became a farmer. The family did well despite the hardships of farm life. They raised their children in the Catholic faith and taught them to be hard working.

Thomas and Ellen died only eleven days apart. It was during the flu epidemic, but neither died from the flu. Thomas had a lengthy illness that included at least one stroke. Ellen had a tumor that had made her an invalid for two or three years.

John, Nora, and Ray lived together the rest of their lives. None of them ever married. They are buried together at Evergreen Cemetery just outside Fort Scott.

The Long Road To A Homestead

Posted on September 27, 2024September 28, 2024 by FHadmin

Arthur Reid Thomson was only 16 years of age when he boarded a ship for America. His grandfather, he claimed, was sending him to his uncle in New York. However, he never arrived at his uncle’s doorstep. Had he, his road to a homestead would have taken a very different path.

Canada

It was May 1843 when Arthur arrived in Quebec, Canada. It is hard to imagine what was going through his mind during his journey and upon seeing a whole new land, which was so vast in comparison to his homeland of Scotland. He was truly alone, as he had sailed without his brother Alexander “Sandy”, his sister Genia and her husband, or his grandparents. And, his parents were long deceased. He stated that he wrote letters home, but received no response. Thus, he was truly alone in a vast new country.

His only support came from friends, supposedly of the name Hutchinson. He apparently spent time in Montreal, Canada with them. However, he did not put down roots there. Instead, he traveled on. He may have traveled to Rochester, New York. This was likely before he immigrated to the United States in 1847, since it is much closer to Montreal than it is to Detroit, where he crossed when immigrating.

Immigration

Exactly where Arthur traveled in those early days in the Americas isn’t 100% clear. It is said that he may have come to Nebraska about the time Nebraska City became the first city to be incorporated in Nebraska Territory. However, other accounts seem to leave out this early journey to Nebraska.

Marriage

It would be 12 years before Arthur would settle down enough to marry Margaret Ronald. Margaret, who was about 10 years Arthur’s junior, was also an immigrant from Scotland, having arrived in the United States in 1856. At 7:00 p.m. on May 9, 1859, they married at the home of Andrew Christy in Berlin, Wisconsin. However, they would not make Wisconsin their home for long.

Nebraska Territory Here We Come

1860

Within a few months, Arthur and Margaret moved to Nebraska City. In February 1860, their first child was born in their new hometown. Only a couple of months later, Margaret’s father died in Nebraska. Life would continue to be busy the following month as a major fire broke out in Nebraska City.

Fighting the fire was complicated by the lack of fire-fighting equipment and a shortage of water. The city was ravaged and approximately 40 buildings in and near the business district were destroyed. Fortunately, Arthur and Margaret’s home was spared.

The following year the city formed its first fire-fighting company. It was one step in recovering from the fire. The fact that the city didn’t have competition and it was in the perfect location contributed to its quick recovery.

Property Ownership

During their time in Nebraska City, Arthur and Margaret ran The Western House, which is where the Grand Hotel was later located. However, they did not initially own any property with Arthur having only $300 in personal property and Margaret having $50 in personal property in 1860. The first property purchased was by Margaret in 1862.

At that time she bought lot 2 of block 44 of the Prairie City Addition (18^th & Central). Why it was purchased by Margaret and not Arthur is unknown. It is also unclear if they lived on the property, which Margaret held until 1872 when she sold it to her sister Mary Thorne. The sale was witnessed by their brothers John and Robert Ronald.

Mary had come from Wisconsin to Nebraska City by covered wagon. She worked at the Grand Hotel to support herself. There she had met James Thorne, her third husband.

Steam Wagon Road

In the spring of 1863, Arthur and Margaret left the comforts of city life for life on the prairie. They lived in a dugout near Wallen Ridge on the Steam Wagon Road. The prior year, a special election had been held to fund the road and associated bridges.

The family called this location Nebraska City Ranch. However, it is unclear why they gave it that name as it was not near Nebraska City. Instead, it was halfway between Nebraska City and Lincoln, which was originally named Lancaster. The location was a freighters’ inn. It had a grocery, post office, and a place for travelers to rest themselves and their horses/oxen.

The post office was unnamed until Margaret’s brother Robert Ronald approached the government asking that they name it Paisley after the hometown of the Ronald family in Scotland. It received the name Paisley in 1869. About the same time Paisley School #6 and Paisley Church came into existence. However, a town never sprung up in the location. Although the school and church continued on for some time, the post office closed in 1872.

While living here, Arthur sometimes worked in Nebraska City, returning home only on the weekends.

Obtaining A Homestead

Property Improvements

On January 8, 1863, prior to their move to the dugout on Steam Wagon Road, Arthur filed a homestead application with the Nebraska City Land Office. It was the seventeenth application filed in the county.

As soon as they moved to the dugout, Arthur began improving his future homestead, which was about ¾ mile from the dugout. By the following year, he had constructed a 12 ft. by 16 ft. log cabin and broken ground for crops on the land he hoped to one day call his own.

The Log Cabin

The log cabin provided only basic accommodations of the prairie. All the small openings, along with the chimney, were filled with a mixture of straw and clay. The roof of the log cabin was composed of clay on top of sod on top of pieces of wood on top of rafters. The floor was dirt at first, but later covered with wood. A small window provided daylight. Additionally, the interior had been whitewashed, which got on anything and anyone that touched it.

The fanciest feature of the cabin was its one-way locking door. It had a bar that latched into a slot. The bar had a string attached. When someone wanted to open the door from the outside, they simply pulled the string and it would move the bar and open the door. However, if the family wanted to lock the door, they could simply pull the string inside and no one could get in. However, that meant that they could only lock the door when they were inside.

The family moved to the homestead property as soon as they could as they had to live there continuously for five years and improve the land before they could obtain ownership of it.

Arthur worked hard for this land, building a frame house to replace the log cabin, plowed and planted many acres of land, adding a shed, granary, cellar, corn crib, pens for animals, and more.

More Property

In 1864, Margaret purchased 3 1/2 acres of land along Steam Wagon Road for $21.30. The land was in the S.W. of the N.W. of N.E. quarter of Section 32. This property was described as “lying South of the Creek, and East of a certain cotton wood tree, (and the Steam Wagon Road).” This land is likely where the dugout was located although I am not yet entirely sure.

In 1868, Arthur purchased at a sale the S. E. 1/4 of the S.W. 1/4 of Section 19 and the N.E. 1/4 of the N.W. 1/4 of Section 30 (This section number is from a text version of a legal document. I think this should be Section 29 per the map shown). The land had outstanding taxes for several prior years and the sale amount of $38.43 was to cover the taxes owed and other fees.

Thomson property in 1917 (green). Paisley Church and Paisley School shown with blue dots.

Where Are The Deeds?

Homestead Deed

In 1869, Arthur wrote to the land office in Washington, D.C. regarding obtaining the deed to the homestead. In the letter, he wrote,

“Now seeing that I have now half starved myself and family to put improvements on the place which I now have 70 acres of land under the plow and a pasture fenced for my stock, a good house and other out buildings, and a grove of young timber planted out. If I being a citizen of the United States has to lose it, I presume I might have got my deed from the land office at the time if I had given them money that they asked from me which I thought did not belong to them.” (Some grammar changes were made for readability.)

It appears that there was some question over why they had not moved immediately to the property. In response to those questions, Arthur and his brothers-in-law John Ronald and Robert Ronald made three points.

Arthur had to work for others as he didn’t initially have means to support his family and for what was needed to improve the land.
While he worked away, Arthur claimed that he could not leave his family on the homestead out of concern for their safety from Native Americans. Note: Arthur was friendly with some of the local “Indians.” However, bands of unfriendly “Indians” sometimes came through the area, including onto the homestead. When this occurred, Arthur and the family would hide from them.
He was informed by the land office that if he began improvements that he wasn’t required to immediately occupy the land, but that he should do so as soon as he could.

Deed to Purchased Property

Now, all he could do was wait for a response from the government. In the meantime, Arthur provided the sales receipt for the additional property he had purchased to the country treasurer in order to get a deed to the property. It is unclear exactly what occurred. However, again, he waited.

Getting The Deeds

In July 1870, everything started coming together. The county determined that Arthur was the rightful owner to the property he had purchased. This included acceptance of the certificate of purchase and ensuring taxation and all other legal laws, including proper advertising of the land for sale, had been followed.

In addition, the government accepted Arthur’s response to their concern about him not moving immediately to the homestead. And, Arthur finally secured the deed, to the homestead. He paid $200 for the E 1/2 S.E., 1/4 Section 19 and the N 1/2 of NE 1/4 of Section 30 in Township 9, Range 10 East containing 160 acres at $1.25 per acre.

Finally, Arthur had a homestead that he could call his own – 27 years after he left Scotland. By this time, he had a 14 ft. x 17 ft. frame house with bedrooms over the main room. A few years later, Arthur added a kitchen followed by two additional bedrooms. In 1893, the house was completely remodeled. As a result, it was an 8-room house with a basement.

Arthur died on Christmas Day in 1913. He dearly loved his home and family and his advice was “Live right and do right.” (Taken from family notes.)