Research Papers

Research Papers

Today is:

                                                  Women In Kearney’s History, Part 2

Mary Francis (Fanny) Nevius (First teacher)

Born in 1846 in Virginia; moved to Iowa
Came with brother Sam Nevius, a lawyer, to Kearney in 1872
        Age 26

1872 school census – 36 children of "school age" in Kearney's School District 7
        Ages 6-21

District leased the first floor of a two-story building for six months.
        Kearney's first newspaper occupied the upper floor
        Teaching and learning processes for both teacher and students was complicated
                No desks, no books
                Probably not all 36 attended

Report by the County Superintendent described the school as "poorly furnished and not really adapted to the purpose of a school."

Principal of school when first building was opened at 24th & 1st

1882 – One of 10 teachers in the school Kearney district

Sometime between 1882 & 1889 she moved to Omaha

Taught in the Omaha schools

Frequently returned to Kearney to visit her brother

After retirement she moved to Red Oak, Iowa where she died in 1912 at age 66

Margaret Anderson (A strong woman, don’t cross her)

Born Margaret Sinclair in Illinois May 11, 1849
July 24, 1860 – Palestine Township, Woodland County, Illinois – age 11
        living with parents and 4 younger brothers; father Hector was a farmer

Jan 24, 1867 – Married David Anderson

Margaret Anderson, wife of the first elected sheriff, David Anderson,

Prime example of the courage of pioneer women by making a harrowing drive across the prairie to prevent a lynching.      [See Where the Buffalo Roamed, pp. 87-94]

        Another time she was waiting outside the jail with gun when prisoners attempted to escape

June 1, 1880 – Kearney, Nebraska – age 31, living with husband and two children, Jennie & Charles; David was a farmer

Died in Kearney March 15, 1887; buried in Kearney Cemetery

Nancy Hull (founder of WCTU in Kearney)

1876 – Dr. John & Nancy Hull arrived in Kearney

April 1889 – Mother Hull Home incorporated by Nancy Hull; no building for several years
        The women provided meals and clothing from their club rooms

1893 – They rented a house at 1809 Central Avenue.
        The first floor was used for a meeting room and the W.C.T.U. library
        The second floor became a hospital.

1894 – Founded the WCTU hospital
        "The institution has cared for more patients without pay than has any other similar institution in this county”
        according to her obituary

She was an early leader and "dominant spirit" of the W.C.T.U.

At her urging the members took an active role in aiding the needy.

Mrs. Hull, "sometimes with one of her lieutenants", rode her white horse around Kearney and the surrounding area to help the poor.

She had a special concern for "lonely girls" and took many of them into her own home.

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Revised: 03/30/2018