Gardner Township
Harrison Sartoria Loup Beaver Garfield
Cherry Creek Armada
Scott Rusco Cedar Schneider Gardner
Location
Second tier
Sixth from west, first on east
South
of Nantasket & St Michael
Terrain
Rolling farm land
Watershed ridge runs northeast to southwest diagonally through the township
from two miles south on eastern
border to two miles north on western border
Streams in northeast half flow north
Cherry Creek flows north to empty into the South Loup
Other streams in southeast half of township flow southeast into Hall county,
to Wood River.
Towns
none
Communities Luce
Named
for John Luce, first postmaster in 1885
Located
at an intersection about 2 miles east & 2 miles north of the SW corner
At turn
of century - Progressive spot - store, post office and 2 blacksmith shops,
Sodtown
Telephone Co. had their switchboard here
John Luce
1831
born in Pennsylvania.
Mother
died when he was 6 days old
Raised
by grandparents 1847
Apprenticed to a carpenter (age 16)
1851-2 Had to quit after 4-5 years because of
failing eyesight
Blind for 2 years but regained eyesight
1858 married, had 6 children 3 before war,
eldest survived
Civil War - served in Union Army
1866, Jan. discharged, returned to Pennsylvania
1869-1877 last three children born in
Pennsylvania 1878
Came to Gardner Twp, got soldiers homestead
5th of
family to settle in Gardner ?
Other Luces in NE, one in Cedar twp maybe females
Hardships Paid $2.50/acre to have 15 acres of
sod broken = $37.50
Worked at $.60/day to pay for it = 62 ½ days (2 months)
Went to
Loup River for fuel (prob. 5 miles)
Severe
winter 1880-81 burned hay and cornstalks
Post office September 28, 1885
1924 - died
Churches & Cemeteries
Evangelical Church
1879
started in Schneider Township
First meetings were in a sod schoolhouse
1880
small frame church was built
Later -
new building 3 miles east and 1 mile north in Gardner Township
Present
Zion Ravenna United Methodist Church.
Zion Evangelical Lutheran (Missouri Synod)
1885
Organized
1890 winter built first church building in
Sec. 3
(11 ½ miles north & 1 mile west of Shelton)
School
started in winter of 1890
Taught in German in mornings & English in afternoons.
Small
cemetery here 8 burials
1897 Church taken down and rebuilt on present 5 acre site in Sec. 22
A mile west and 2 ½ miles south of old location, near Luce which is mile
south & mile west
(now church is 9 mi north, 2 west of Shelton)
Parochial school operated until 1945
1912
Present building erected typical country church with tall spire
Larger cemetery here Still in use
Also
known at various times as St. Michael Church, Luce Church, North Shelton
Church
Mrs. Floyd Pope put together a history of the church
Custom in early years girls in front, ladies behind on west side
Boys in front, men behind on east side
Settlement
1874 7 filed
1875 2 filed - George Gardner
George Gardner Township named for him
First
settler [but 7 filed the year before he arrived]
1843 - Born in New York state
Moved with parents to Pennsylvania
1861 - Age18 in enlisted & fought in Civil War
42 battles, shot in lung
1864-1875 - Returned to Pennsylvania
1875 (age 32) - Went to
Buffalo County in spring
2 terms
on County Board of Supervisors
1883 - Married (age 40) 5 daughters
1890 - Wife died
1895 (age 62) - Retired to
Shelton 1915 -
Remarried (age 72)
More settlement:
1876 2 filed George Peck
1877 6 filed Emma Peck cant find them
1878 37 filed (after drought and grasshoppers
Elizabeth J.
Aufderhide, - man, 60, either widowed or divorced in 1880
Joanna Dean widow
2 sons,
John & Albert, born in R I about 1858, 1859
She,
husband James & 2 boys in Providence in 1860
1870 John in reform school in R I, nothing on rest
of family 1878 came
to Buffalo County. Why here?
Boys moved on to Tacoma, Washington
F. Rohrbach
John Luce
1879 19 filed
John A. Hogg,
Samuel Urwiller
4 Barrett
D, Wm, Luke, J. H. not related to each other
Luke
went to Shelton twp, joined by brother, Wm, not the above Wm.
5 Mulbach
- H., JGA., F.A, W. F. & E.
One
family of father and 2 sons
Dont
know if the others are related
German
3 or 4 Urwiller,
Saml, F & J, Samuel
Samuel Urwiller
1844
Born in Switzerland
1854
Came to US to Rochester, New York with family (age 10)
1857
Moved to Michigan, farmed (age 13)
Employed in farm labor
1867
Began work as carpenter (age 23)
1868
Married, had 5 children,
1878
Came to Buffalo Co., homesteaded in Sec. 4, Gardner twp.
Relinquished it and went to Cherry Creek twp
Later bought 80 acres in Gardner twp.
1883
father moved here from Michigan to be near his children
1883
wife died
1884 remarried (age 40), had 4 children
One son farmed in Gardner tp
One son farmed the home place
One daughter married a Gardner twp farmer
1908
Retired to Ravenna
John Hogg
1844
Born In Pennsylvania
1865
came to Iowa, carpenter,
Married daughter of a carpenter (age 21), had 12 children, 9 survived
1872
established grocery store in Mitchellville, Iowa (age 28)
1879
lost it all, came to Nebr. With $3 after freight costs
Worked in Shelton mill for $1/day, advanced to millright @ 1.50/day
Traded gold watch for relinquishment on a homestead
Built sod house, no floor for a year
1893
Served on County Board of Supervisors
1906
Went to Oregon
Regain health
Visit son who raised prize winning hogs
1908
returned to Nebr. and retired to Shelton
2 sons farm in Buffalo Co., 1 dau married a Nutter farming here
We move buildings
but -----
In 1878 the Rohrbachs took a homestead in
Gardner Township. When the surveyor informed them that their sod house was
in the middle of the road, they built another in the center of their land.
When a prairie
fire came through they threw water on the sod house and stayed inside until
the danger was past.
Several years later they built a two-room frame
house with an attic.
Dances were held there, with all the neighborhood
invited, and a fiddler providing the music.
The Rohrbach's great
grandson, Bruce Muhlbach, now owns the homestead.
[2005-Bruce Mulbach et al
trust owns se Ό 9-11-13 and sw Ό 10-11-13] |
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