First Families in Buffalo County, Part II
Miller –
1870 Sartoria
John Mercer
- born in 1844 in Atlanta, GA
Parents immigrated to Canada and then came to the
US
Came to Buffalo
county, to Miller area, in 1870; lived at Sartoria
Married Pauline Stewart
Example of what was done
before many nursing homes were established:
Dec. 5, 1910 – a complaint was filed in district
court against Mrs. Pauline Mercer, of Miller, by her husband, alleging
insanity. Probably taken to Hastings home for insane
Pauline died in 1916
[today she might have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s]
1881 Armada/Miller
Wm. Craven
- a soldier in the Civil war and a native of North Carolina
1881 – Purchased ten acres of land, built a sod
house; with capital of $9 set up a store.
Post office had been
established about 3 miles away; a petition circulated; post office moved to
Craven’s store & he was named postmaster
Armada was name given to this embryo commercial
center.
When
the Kearney and Black Hills Railroad was built into the township, the
village was moved to the railroad and named Miller.
Miller was incorporated in
the year 1890
Elm Creek – 1871
George Miller –
Born in New York February, 1841
His family moved to Iowa and then Missouri, then
back to Iowa before the Civil War
1857 – At age 16 started freighting across the
plains, making several trips to Mexico and Wyoming.
August, 1871 - Came to
Buffalo County and purchased a timber claim of 160 in Elm Creek township.
For the first year he lived in a dugout
1875 – Filed on a 160 acre homestead
As soon
as he had accumulated sufficient capital he invested in more land
Gradually added to his holdings until he owned 1,784 in Elm Creek & Logan
townships
Ravenna – 1874
Erastus Smith -
1830 - Born in Indiana, raised on a farm until seventeen years of age.
Studied civil engineering, following this as a profession for many years,
and helping to locate and build a number
of railroads.
1854 – At age 24 Smith went to Iowa where he bought 400 acres of land near
Des Moines
1856
– Sold out and came to Omaha, where he was engaged in real estate business
1858 – He then
became a commercial traveler [traveling salesman]
1861 - When the war broke
out he was in West Virginia in the interest of oil wells.
His business brought to an end, he went to Polk
county, Iowa, and for several years taught school, and farmed for 10
1874 - Came back to
Nebraska and took a homestead in the northeast corner of the county,
just in time for 2 years of crop failure due to drought and grasshoppers in
1874 & 1876
He also took a timber claim, and bought 540 acres of railroad land
1886, January 1 –
Burlington & Missouri River Railroad Company began to build out from Grand
Island
Smith sold to the Land Company a 2/3 interest in a section of land for a
town site, keeping every third lot.
The
town of Ravenna was laid out in June, 1886
The
sale of lots and land by Mr. Smith placed him in most comfortable
circumstances
Riverdale – 1872
Jabe Bunnel – filed in 1872 40 years old
Isaac Bunnel –
filed in 1873 66 years old
Both in
south half of section about a mile south of Riverdale
Isaac Bunnell homestead
file includes:
June 23, 1873 – Filed affidavit affirming he was a U.S. citizen over 21.
Filed at County Clerk’s office in Gibbon because of distance to land office
in Grand Island
November 12, 1873 – Filed application for
homestead at land office in Grand Island, Nebraska
July 3, 1880 – Wrote a
letter explaining that because grasshoppers destroyed his crop of 10 acres
of corn he had to
leave his
homestead from December 1876 to August 1877 but had lived continuously on
the homestead since.
Isaac Bunnel died in 1896 at age 89 of old age and
is buried in Kearney Cemetery
(see Jabe Bunnel next month)
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