Dakota County NeArchives History .....Old Settlers Have Big Day [Reunion] Part 1 August 28, 1908
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Debra Crosby http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00010.html#0002467 April 23, 2018, 10:17 am



Over 4,000 people assembled at Clinton park, Dakota City,
Thursday to meet again with the pioneers and old settlers
of Dakota county in their twenty-seventh annual picnic.
The Emerson band of twenty pieces was on hand early in 
the day and assisted materially in making the occasion
an enjoyable one.
  The excersices began at the speakers stand at 11 o'clock
when President Barney Gribble introduced Rev Geo F. Mead
who gave the invocation. Mr Gribble made a short address
of welcom, after which Senator Elmer J Burkett was introduced
as speaker of the day and for an hour hel the listeners 
in rapt attention.
   The dinner hour was enjoyed by many of the visitors
in an old fashioned basket picnic, which has more to do
with making such a gathering a success than anything
else.
   The ball game between South Sioux City and Dakota City
teams furnished a good afternoons sport, and was won by
the home team 4 to 3, by a spectacular finish in the 
ninth inning when the locals batted in four runs and carried 
off the money. Following is the score by innings.
                              r h e
Dakota City.........000000004-4 4 6
South Sioux City....200010000-3 2 4
  Batteries--Dakota City, Bates and Stinson; South Sioux
City, Hogan, Shank and Funk.
   The races drew a large crowd at the race track, where
two good races were pulled off. In the free-for-all three
Sioux City horses were entered. Bethel Messick, Black
Beauty and Belle W. finished as named. In the county
trot Sam, owned by Steve Leis, won first; Black Ranger,
owned by Mike Heffernan, took second, and Nellie S.
owned by Roland Orr, took third.
  Following the noon hour the members of the association
gathered at the speakers stand and spent a pleasant 
hour going over the good old times past. 
  The following memorial report, as prepared by the 
committee, was read by S A Combs. It showed that forty-
six pioneers and old settlers had passed to the great
beyond since the last reunion:

Mrs. William Winkhaus, mother of Mrs. D. W. Shull, 
and Mrs Charles Voss passed on to that better land
where parting is no more, September 29, 1907. She
had been a resident of Dakota county for nearly 
forty years. Her maiden name was Lousie Schriever. 
She was born October 7, 1824, in Westphalen, near
Halver, Germany.

Mrs. Mary Waddell, wife of Christie Waddell, died 
at her home in South Sioux City, October 12, 1907.
Mr. and Mrs. Waddell came to Dakota county some
time in the 50's. They were active, earnest Christians
and helped to make Dakota county what it is today. 
She was born in Wayne county, Ind., April 25, 1842.

  On October 14, 1907, at the home of Mr John Robertson
in Dakota City, Mrs. Mary Jay Warner died, aged 89 
years. She was known as Grandma Jay to her large
circle of friends. She came to Dakota county in the
early days. She was a lifelong Christian and her 
whole life was spent on the frontier making a strong
fight for the right. She was born in Stark county,
O. February 14, 1818.

  Anthony J. Myers died at his home in Sioux City,
October 21, 1907. He came to Dakota county in 1857.
Until about ten years ago Mr. Myers was one of our
best farmers. At one time he was county commissioner
of Dakota county. He leaves several children, his
wife having passed away some years ago. It was my
pleasure to know Anthony Myers for forty years. 
He was a good friend and neighbor. He was born in
Lycoming county, Pa., in 1822. He was a faithful
member of the Catholic church.

  William Adair, a prominent resident of Dakota City,
and one of the pioneers of the county, died at his
home November 6, 1907. He was born in Westmoreland
county, Pa., April 17, 1832. For more than fifty 
years he had been a resident of Dakota county, coming
here in 1856 from Grinnell, Io., where on November
11, 1857, he married Martha Ford. The wife and several
children survive him. He and his good wife were always
in the front ranks in church affairs, being members of
the Methodist church. In all his career he was a 
persistent worker. He held many important political
positions both in the county and state. In 1863 he 
was appointed treasurer of the county to fill a
vacancy and the following year was elected for a
full term. He served also nine years as a member
of the board of regents of the state university.
He was appointed clerk at Fort Peek agence, Mont.,
in 1877, which place he  held for three years. He
was one of the m ost prominent Masons in this part
of the country, having been a member of Omadl lodge
No. 5, A. F. and A. M., since 1864. He filled every
office in the lodge with credit to himself and honor
to the fraternity. He represented his home lodge
in the grand lodge of Nebraska and held several
important offices in the grand lodge. He was laid
to rest with Masonic honors due to a departed
brother.

Rev. John C. Brodfuhrer, a former minister of the
Lutheran church in Dakota county, died at his
home in Pasadena, Cal., December 13, 1907 aged
73 years.

Mrs. Rebecca Smith, wife of Michael Smith, a former 
resident of this county, died at her home in Indiana
county, Pa., December 14, 1907, aged 84 years. She
was  a member of the Lutheran church from her
childhood days to the time of her death..

George H Boals died at his home at South Sioux City,
January 8, 1908. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1834,
and came to Dakot county in 1857. His wife and
one son survive him.

  Ellen Bird died at her home in Jackson, December 28, 1907,
aged 64 years. She was a sister of Mrs. John B. Myers,
of Homer. She was one of the first school teachers of
Dakota county.

   Fritz Stading, born in Germany in 1840, died at his
home west of Ponca, January 1, 1908, aged 67 years.

Norman Powell died at the Samaritan hospital in Sioux
City, January 5, 1908, aged 44 years. He was born in
Dakota county, February 17, 1864.

  Gerald Dillon died at his home in Jackson, January
17, 1908. In his death this association lost one of
it's most earnest workers. He was an honored member
of the Epiphany council, Knights of Columbus, in
Sioux City. A little over eighty years ago in County
Mayo, Ireland, Gerald Dillon was born. He was one of
the forty-niners to the gold fields of California.
In 1857 he came to Dakota county and joined the
Father Tracy colony. He was elected village recorder
in 1860. He erected the first frame house in that 
year in the village. During his continued residence
of fifty-one years in Dakota county he has left a
record clean and unsullied, one that any man might
emulate. The life of this sturdy pioneer was an
open book. His sunny, genial nature attracted both
young and old. As he lived so he died, a Christian.

   Mrs Catherine McDonald died at her home at Jackson,
January 21, 1908, aged 65 years. She was the wife of
Duncan McDonald, whom she married in 1858, and who 
died several years ago. She is survived by three
children.

   Mrs. Isabelle Sayre died at her home near
Waterbury, Neb., January 27, 1908, aged 78 years.
She came to Dakota county in 1870.

  Charlie C. Martin died at his home in Dakota City,
January 22, 1908. He was born in St. Louis, Mo.,
January 30, 1851, and came with his parents to Dakota
county in 1856.
 
   William Nixon died at his home south of Homer, Neb.,
January 31, 1908. His death was due to old age. He was
born August 13, 1818, in Wigtonshire, Scotland. He came
to America in 1852 on a schooner of which his brother,
Samuel Nixon, was captain and part owner. He went to 
Pittsburg, Pa., and worked two years in a glass factory.
In 1855 he went to Grinnell, Io., and in 1856 came to
Dakota county with an ox team. He took an active part
in the pioneer and old settlers' picnics and a few years
ago was president. He was an earnest, active member of
Omadi lodge, A. F. and A.M. He was my neighbor and 
friend forty years and a better man I never knew. He
was honest and spoke ill of no man, and when he passed
away I knew I had lost a brother. He died as he lived,
a Christian.
 
   Mrs. Z. P. Norby, a former resident of Dakota county,
died at her home in Oakland, Neb., February 1, 1908.
She was born in Sweden, April 30, 1830, and came to
American in 1852.

  William E. Shane was born July 31, 1848, and died
at his home in South Sioux City, February 16, 1908. 
He was a soldier in the civil war, enlisting when he
was 17 years old in Company E. Forty-Sixth Illinois
infantry. He was a Woodman of the World.

  Patrick O'Neill, a member of the Father Tracy's band,
came to Dakota county in May 1856, and lived her up
to the time of his death. Besides his wife he leaves
five children: Mrs. Tim Murphy, Homer; Mrs. John R.
Murphy, Onawa, Io.; Mrs. C. H. Duggan, Sioux City; 
Michael O'Neill, Rapid City, S. D., and Henry
O'Neill, Jackson. In Ireland, where he was born, he
was a member of Father Matthews Temperance society
and to his death work the badge of that order. He 
never used tobacco. He was born in March, 1825,
married Bridget McNamara in 1847, came to America
the same year, and died at his home in Jackson,
March 10, 1908.

  Mrs Rosanna Duncan died at her home near Vista, Neb.,
March 13, 1908, aged 63 years.

Rev. C. Baird died at the home of his son, Chalmers, in
California. He was a Lutheran preacher in Dakota City
about twenty years ago. I was unable to find as complete
a record of this good man as I would like, but I know
he has passed on to that higher and better world.

Mrs. Henry Reher died at her  home in Emerson, March
23, 1908. She was born in Germany in 1857 and came
to American in 1886.


  William Holsworth died at his home March 24, 1908. He
was born in Pittsburg, Pa., March 4, 1841, and was married
to Mary Holsworth August 17, 1867. He settled in May 1868,
on the homestead where he died. He held a number of 
minor offices in the county and was elected representative
from this district in 1884, to which trust he was true
and in which he stood for what he thought was right. He
was one of the early school teachers of the county and
boarded in my house during the winter of 1870. We formed
a friendship then that was never broken. Only one week
before he died I stayed overnight at his home and the 
following day he went all day with me, showing me the
lines and corners of land on the Winnebago reservation,
it being my first trip out as appraiser of lands for
the government. He made my work clear to me. We talked
over things that had happened since we came as young
men to Dakota county. He came in May, 1868, and I on
August 10, 1868. Those who survive him are his wife
and nine children. His faults are buried with him, but
his good deeds--and they are many-- will live as long
as there is an old settler of this vicinity yet alive.
[When I stop to think, I miss the men of that day: Joe
Harris, Uncle Tom Smith, Capt. O'Connor, Thomas Ashford Sr,
Col. and Gideon Warner, Rathbun, Baird, Nixon, Holsworth,
all my old neighbors. So it must soon be with me. The
pioneers and old settlers are fast passing away, and 
this association that was organized to keep alive the
friendship of the early times is now looked forward to
as a fair or any other celebration by the people now
here.]

  Grandma Lapsley, as she was known to all of the east
part of Dakota county, died at her home southwest of
Dakota City, March 25, 1908. Aged 97 years, 2 month
and 8 days at the time of her death, she was thought
to be the oldest person in the county. She was born
January 24, 1811, near Armagh, Indian county, Pa.,
was married to William Lapsley July 2, 1838, and
settled in Dakota county in 1865. She was the mother
of nine children, seven of whom are living.


Daniel Foley came here soon after the civil war. He
was a private in Company A. Thirteenth Regular United
States Infantry. He died April 5, 1908, at the
Soldiers Home in Grand Island. When in this county
he lived in Jackson. He was about 75 years old.

Mrs Scott Duncan, aged 52, died at the home of her
daughter, Mrs Ernest Triggs, Jefferson, SD. where
she had gone for a visit. She was born in Richland, IO.,
in 1856, settled in Dakota county with her father in
1868 and was a resident of Dakota City since that date.

Sam Coates/Contes, one of the old timers of Dakota City,
died at Yankton, S.D., April 29, 1908.

Cornelius J. O'Conner, Jr., oldest son of C. J. O'Connor, Sr.,
of Homer died May 2, at Alamogordo, Mexico., where he 
had gone in search of health. Neeley, as he was known was
born in Homer in 1881, being 27 years old at the time of
his death. He left a wife and two children. He had many
friends and made new ones wherever he went.

A. E. Adams, died in the Samaritan hospital in Sioux City,.
May 2, 1908, of blood poison He had lived in Sioux City
and Dakota City for the past thirty years. He was 53
years of age.

James R. Judson, one of the boomers of old Covington,
died in Des Moines, Io., May 4, 1908

   Mrs. Susanna Skul, mother of Mrs. Will Blessing, of 
Homer, died at their home May 4, 1908, aged 65 years. She
was a good woman and had a large circle of friends.
   
   Mrs T. J. Hodgins, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kennelly,
of Jackson, died at her home May 13, 1908. She had been
sick since Christmas.

Maggie McKivergan, died at her home near Goodwin June 1,
1908. Deceased was born in Dakota county and had a large
circle of friends.

Vern Robertson, who was raised in Dakota county, died
June 29, 1908 in Seattle, Wash., No particulars.

Andrew Bevins, formerly of Dakota and Wayne counties,
died in Chicago, June 11, 1908. He married Alice
Warner, daughter of Gideon Warner, and sister of
William P Warner.

Pearl Kryger died at her home in South Sioux City, 
July 7, 1908, aged 25 years. She was assistant
postmistress.

Saloma Edson died at the home of her daughter, Mrs
John Olbrey, in Decatur, Neb., aged 73 years. She 
was born in Vermont February 9, 1855.

Otto Adolph Huggenberger, one of the well to do German
farmers in Emerson pricinct, died at his home July 29, 1908,
aged 43 years. He is survived by a wife and seven small
children.


Mrs. Mary Triggs died at her home in Dakota City, August 1,
1908, aged 67 years, 6 months and 20 days. Seh was born in
Henry county, Io., January 11, 1841. She settled in Dakota
county with her husband and family in 1868, and except a
few years in Dixon county has been a resident of this place
for the past forty years.

John Jordon died at his home near Emerson, August 1, 1908.
He had lived in Dakota county for the past twenty-five years
and was in his  80th year. He leaves a widow and eight
children.

  Henry Harris died at his home in the latter part of July.
He was one of the pioneers of Dakota county, a brother of
Joseph, Herbert and James Harris, of Homer.

Mrs Wash Leedom, and old settler of Dakota county, died at
her home in Dixon, S. D., August 1, 1908.

Ed Webster, one of the pioneers of Woodbury county, Io., 
and well known in Dakota county, and a regular attendant
and member of our association, died in Sioux City, August
15, 1908, and so they go to give room to the new generation.

Michael M. Beacom passed away at his home in Hubbard
precinct August 1, 1908. He was born in Ireland, February
22, 1848, and came to Dakota county in 1864. He was one
of Dakota county's honored pioneers.

Michael Fitzsimmons, another old resident of Hubbard
precinct, departed this live on August 18, 1908. He had
been a resident of this county for more than thirty
years. He served his country in the civil war.

The reading of the report was listened to with most
respectful attention by the gathered crowd, many of
the gray haired me and women wondering how soon
their names might be included in the list.

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