Divide Township
Location:
3rd tier from top (north edge) of Buffalo County, 3rd from the west
7 sections wide, has that adjustment
column; sections in western column are 2 miles east to west.
Boundaries
North Pole Line Road
South 115th Rd
West Evergreen Rd
East Hawk Rd.
North & northwest of Kearney
Physical features:
Mixed crop and pasture land, mostly cropland Corn, wheat, flax
Wood River enters Sec. 30 about 3 Ό
mile from southern border, runs through slightly south in eastern path,
exits south in Sec. 31about half way.
Small amount of Wood River valley,
mostly upland, streams flow south to the Wood (in Wood River watershed)
Transportation Routes
Kearney & Black Hills Railroad
entered in center of Sec. 31, goes
northwest to exit in Sec. 30 at point where Wood River enters.
Railroad is on south side of Wood but
appears to cross over to north side at the Divide/Grant border.
Highway 40 follows and replaced the railroad.
Highway 10 from Kearney runs on the section lines 1 mile west of the
eastern edge.
Towns 1/2
Riverdale is half in Divide Township
and half in Riverdale Township
Schools, Churches & Cemeteries
What Divide Township has is people
Fairly close to Kearney destination
of many early homesteaders
Schools: 5 in 1919
Pleasant
Hill, Dist 16
Dist. 36
Morning Star School
Bishops School
Fair Oaks, Dist. 77
At least one
of the schools had a Sunday School meeting in it
Churches & Cemeteries
A church in Section 4 north edge of township
Lutheran church Evangelical St. Pauls, then Evangelical
Lutheran Christ Church
Disbanded about 1922, church sold and converted into a barn.
Cemetery was the Lutheran Church Cemetery, now called the Divide Pioneer
Cemetery
Has about 40 graves
Last burial was in 1969
People
People living there now:
Hadwiger
Richter
Altmaier
Early homesteaders:
1872 6 filed
1873 28 filed including
Alfred E. Thomas arrived in March from
Ohio via Missouri in time to experience the April blizzard
4 Spry families, 3 left by 1880
Milton J. Spry the first Spry to arrive in March from Ohio via Iowa.
Hunted deer, antelope and some elk on his 160. Pawnee hunted on Wood
and Loup stopping at his place for food. Settled in Sec. 24 (same sec.
as Moo Feedlot)
1874- 18 filed including John Swenson who moved north to Sartoria
Township a year or so later
1875 15 filed including a Cudabach
1876 6 filed (grasshoppers & drought)
Alexander A. Brucker (Bruker) Born in
France, came to US at 12 in 1854.
In Burlington, Iowa, worked in hotel and printing office,
Acquired 11 acres of land where he raised fruit and operated a winery.
Arrived in Divide Township in Oct. 1875 and
Homesteaded on Sec. 16 in center of township.
Married. 5 daughters & 1 son, all born in Iowa
Two brothers lived there also. One brother married and had two
sons and a daughter, all born in Iowa
1877- 2 filed
1878 - 6 filed
1879- 12 filed
including J. W. Lalone homesteaded in 1879 paint & paper store in
Kearney
Built Freighters Hotel on Loup River in
1888-1889
And a Homesteader who was murdered by his son
Cemetery record Father died Apr. 1889 at age 69 of gunshot, plot
purchased by youngest daughter
Father, William, filed on a homestead on west side of Divide
Township. Accumulated more land
William & Julia had 4 sons, 2 daughters
William, Jr. (Willie) homesteaded
divorced in 1887, remarried in 1889
Daughter married to farmer in neighborhood
George farming in Riverdale Township
Frank farming near father
Carrie recently married
Washington (Wash), single, lived at
home and worked the family farm
April 15, 1889 -
Youngest son comes in from
field, plans to put horses in barn
Father in barn will not let son
enter, argument follows
Apparently Mother hears and comes out
to barn
Sept. 11, 1889
[The wife] was arrested as an accessory and put in the same cell as her
son. She was not jailed earlier because of her age, 65, but she has been
watched by her neighbors and if she had tried to leave the county she would
have been arrested. The surmise of the prosecution was that if she was
allowed her liberty that all suspicion would be lulled, and that woman-like
she would blab about her family relations to her neighbors. The surmise
proved correct and a chain of testimony will be presented at the trial next
week that will surprise the accused.
Released on bail two days later.
Oct. 9-14 in Opera House Court room was too small
County attorney took the position
that it was premeditated murder.
Defense counsel said it was
justifiable homicide & spent some time describing the mean disposition of
the deceased.
Detailed description of witness
testimony in paper
Convicted of manslaughter Judge
reamed him out and sentenced him to 10 years hard labor.
Four years later - paroled from the penitentiary. First case under
the new system.
Wifes case was continued until the next term of court.
Released until next term of court
under $5,000 bail.
Nothing more reported
Motive
Probate Record
Youngest daughter was named executrix.
Will, handwritten, dated two days before shooting
Each child gets $1
Wife gets $5
Youngest daughter gets all real and personal property
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