Some Early Settlers in Cedar Township

Henry Luce

Born in New York about 1820
Married Selina –
        Abigail, Eliza & William (twins), Cecilia, Arabell, (born in NY)
        Joseph, George (born in PA)
1850 in New Albion, NY - farmer
1860 in Jones township, PA - carpenter
1870 in New Albion, NY – carpenter
1874 – came to Cedar Township to homestead

E. W. (Eleazer) Carpenter

Born in New Hampshire in 1827;
Went to New York and then to Wisconsin.
Married Emily Plummer; seven children
Fought in the Civil War
Started west in fall 1872,
Came to Gibbon; stayed while looking for a location;
Went to Cedar Twp in spring 1873. Barely settled before blizzard.
        [Mrs. Davis was to come to their home that day]
First Majors postmaster 1879 until 1907 when he retired & it was closed.
Justice of Peace 11 years
1889, 1890 Co. Supervisor from Cedar Township.
E W died in 1903 at age 78;
        Mrs. Carpenter (Emily) died in 1907 at age 76; both in Majors Cemetery.

James Miller (The man who farmed with mules)

Born in 1837 in western Pennsylvania
Moved to Iowa territory when he was a small child (7)
Parents died the following year – he had to work out until 18 & on his own
1860 – gold fever, to Pike’s Peak via Platte River valley & Ft. Kearny 1 summer
Served in Civil War (age 24)
Returned to Iowa to farm
1866 - Married Anna (after returning from war) (age 29)
1873 – To Cedar Township in Oct. –
        Took abandoned homesteads of West and Houston
        Came to Kearney, met John Davis who persuaded them to go to Cedar tsp
                Davis, whose wife had died in blizzard
1898-1902 - Served in State Senate
1904- Sold out and went to Monmouth, Ill to be near daughter
1911 – Returned and Retired to Kearney
1926 – died and buried in Kearney Cem.

Mason Alexander Young

Born 1842, Zanesville, OH [Zanesville – distribution center for Dollar General]
Civil War vet
Went to Cedar County, IA, living there in 1870
Came to Cedar Twp in Apr. 1873
Built the first frame house “in the Loup country” and dug the first well
Elected supervisor for Cedar Twp.
Had six children – John, Anna, Zettie, Rosa Annie (Amy), Charles, Frank
friend of Joseph Clayton [possibly cousins].

Joseph Clayton

Born 1844 (or 45) in Muskingham County (Zanesville is county seat), Ohio
Mother (Margaret Young) died in 1850 – Joseph was 6
Lived with Thomas Alexander family for 8 years, then Elliot family couple years
Ran away & joined the Army - Enlisted at 16 or 17, Civil War vet
Farmed in Ohio until 1871
Went to Iowa for 2 years
To Cedar Twp in spring 1873.
Built sod house – more trouble with grasshoppers than Pawnee.
        Grasshoppers took everything green; Pawnees just begged.
Married Rosey Ewer [neighbor] in 1879; three children
        – Raymond, Mary May & Ernest.
Rosey died 1913
Joseph died 1926
Both buried at Majors along with Raymond (1906) and a son of Ernest’s

Ellen Wamsley Ewer

Born 1828 or 9 in England
Came to US with family about 1840 to Cassville, Wisconsin.
        Cassville, Wisconsin – located between high bluff and Mississippi River,
                farthest south community in the state. In lead mining area.
Married Ruel Ewer in 1851; had 5 children, 4 with Ruel
Ruel was lead miner; Ellen was domestic; living with Ellen’s sister in 1860
Ruel died in Civil War in 1863.
Married Samuel Higgins in 1865. (she was 37)

Samuel Higgins 

Born in Maine in 1811
In 20’s when he left home and traveled around to see where he wanted to live.
Ended up in Wisconsin when it was still a territory. Lived at Cassville
Married, had 9 children.
Did not serve in Civil War because of his age. (51 when war began)
Wife died sometime after 1860, before 1865.
Married Ellen Ewer in 1865 (he was 54,17 yrs older)

Samuel & Ellen Higgins

They had two children, one (Sam, Jr.) lived
Went looking – In 1870 Ellen is living in Cassville with her 4 Ewer children and
                        3-yr. old Sam. No Sam, sr.
Came to Gibbon in Nov. 1872, built shanty for family while he looked around.
Settled in Cedar Twp early in 1873 - Had a dugout at first.
In the April 1873 blizzard his cow smothered in snow but calf was dug out four days later alive but hungry.

Ellen filed claim to 160 under War Widows Act and four 40-acre timber claims for the 4 Ewer children
Samuel homesteaded and also took a timber claim in Cedar Twp.

Then built house in side of hill. [Maybe still there.]

April 18, 1890 Hub
        Samuel Higgins, of Majors, was a heavy loser by fire last night. His barn, granary, two horses, wagon, self binder, all his corn and hay were burned up. The loss will reach fully $2,000.
        He was insured in the Home, of which James O’Kane of this city is the agent.
        The fire was supposed to be the work of tramps.

Stormy marriage, separation,
Samuel stayed in Kearney with daughter from his 1st marriage
Ellen stayed on farm with son of 2nd marriage.
Ellen died in 1897; buried in Majors cemetery
Samuel’s death :
June 11, 1898 Hub
-- Samuel Higgins, several years ago a resident of the First Ward, and before that a resident of the county northeast of Kearney, recently died in Oregon. Mr. Higgins was eighty years of age.

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Kearney Daily Hub

April 5, 1890

Cedar Township has organized a prohibition league with thirty-five members. They say they will come within a few of making a clean sweep of that township. [I wonder who the exceptions would be?]

July 3, 1889
-- A new bank will soon be started at Sartoria to take the place of the Messrs Morningstar's, who ceased to twinkle there last year.

Oct. 19, 1891
Here is a new remedy for baldness. A physician who claims to know says that a diet of oatmeal and brown bread will promote the growth of hair.