(212) IT is a matter of common belief that the frontier settlers consisted in a large degree of a lot of lawless, reckless adventurers, caring little or not at all for the usages of a well-ordered law-abiding community, having no interest in schools, churches, and other civilizing and refining influences. Such an opinion is wholly incorrect as applied to the early settlers of Antelope County or in fact to the whole rural population of the state of Nebraska in an early day. The first settlers of Antelope County were distinctly American by birth. The census of 1880 makes the following showing as to nationality and nativity:

     Whole population of the county by the census of 1880, 3,953. Of this number 3,440, or a little over 87 per cent, were born in the United States and 513, or a trifle less than 13 per cent, were born in foreign countries. Those born in the United States were furnished chiefly by the following named states, to-wit:

     (213) The foreign born population was distributed chiefly among other countries as follows:

     Our home-born immigrants came almost wholly from the progressive western and middle states directly east of us, Iowa giving the largest number of any, while New York, Wisconsin, and Illinois came next in order as to the number furnished. Of our foreign born immigrants Canada furnished the largest number, followed closely by the Scandinavians and Germans. Our foreign born settlers were as intelligent, progressive, law-abiding, and in every way as desirable as our own native born people. There were no more indications of lawlessness among the early settlers than are found in any of our well ordered neighborhoods of the county at the present time.

     For two or three years both Neligh and Oakdale were the headquarters for a portion of the year during the winter months of some of the cowboys who were employed by the cattle ranchmen farther west. These cowboys were a careless, happy-go-lucky sort of fellows, spending their money freely and somewhat given to drinking and gambling, but were not of the criminal sort, nor were they bad men at heart. Once they shot up the town of Neligh, firing their revolvers and Winchesters up and down the principal street, the citizens meantime thinking it prudent to stay indoors. Once at Oakdale they had a little fun among themselves by shooting off their revolvers just as they had all mounted their horses to ride to a dance, doing no damage except to kill one horse on which one of their number was mounted, the ball striking the horse just back of the rider's legs. They were here, however, only a short time, (214) making their headquarters farther west as soon as the railroad was extended on up the valley.

     It has been told in Chapter XXX how the county was divided up into school districts immediately after its organization in July, 1871, and how school-houses were built and teachers employed and schools established throughout the entire settled portions of the county. But before any move was made to establish common schools, Sunday schools had been organized and the preliminary steps taken to organize churches. In the month of June, 1870, the settlers on Cedar Creek gathered one Sunday at the house of H. W. Swett and held a prayer meeting. This was the first religious gathering in the county so far as it is known. At this meeting there were present members of the Presbyterian, Methodist, Congregational, and Free-will Baptist churches. The first steps were taken that day to organize a Sabbath school, and before the close of the month a Sabbath school was established, which has continued to the present time and is still known as the Cedar Creek Sunday school. The first home missionary to come to the county for the purpose of organizing a church was Rev. George H. Wehn, a Methodist Episcopal minister whose residence was at Fairview, near the center of Madison County, and who had for his circuit all of Madison County and all the settled portions of the territory west of Madison. He made his first visit to the county in the spring of 1871, and appointed preaching places and held meetings at Judge Snider's, in Burnett township, and at the Cedar Creek settlement. He organized a church at Cedar Creek, the old class-book which is still in existence reading as follows:

     Cedar Creek class, organized September 24, 1871, by George H. Wehn of Madison Mission, Covington District, Nebraska Conference. The members of this class at the organization were Jesse T. Bennett, Helen L. Bennett, Samuel P. Morgan, Margaret Morgan, William A. Shepherd, Norman B. Eggleston.

      This was the first church organization in Antelope (215) County. The Cedar Creek class, however, was short lived. In the spring of 1872 Reverend Mr. Wehn organized a class of nine members at Judge Snider's, which soon became known as the Oakdale M. E. church. Soon after this the Cedar creek class was given up, most of the class uniting with the Oakdale class.

     Although Reverend Mr. Wehn was the first missionary to take up the regular work of the church in Antelope County, he was not the first to preach or to hold religious services. The first sermon preached in Antelope County was in August, 1870, at the house of James H. Smith, in Blaine township, by Elder Thomas Dobson of the church of the Latter Day Saints. Elder Dobson also preached at the home of I. E. Kieth, in Ord township. These two were the first religious services held in the county at which there was a sermon preached.

     At the time of the funeral of Fannie Snider, mentioned in Chapter XVII, which occurred October 6, 1870, there was no preacher nearer than Buffalo Creek, in Madison County, where Reverend Mr. Harvey, a local Methodist minister, had taken a homestead. Reverend Mr. Harvey was accordingly sent for and conducted the funeral services. This was the first funeral service held in the county, and Reverend Mr. Harvey's sermon was the first preached in the eastern half of the county.

     Some time during the year 1872, although the exact date cannot be positively stated, Rev. J. W. Kidder of Norfolk came by invitation of the settlers of Cedar Creek and organized in that settlement a Congregational church. This was the first Congregational church in the county. In the spring of 1872 Rev. Henry Griffiths came into the county direct from England. He was a minister of the Primitive Methodist Church in the Old Country, but after settling on a homestead in West Cedar valley, he cast in his lot with the Congregationalists and in 1873 organized the West Cedar valley Congregational Church. He traveled and preached extensively both in Antelope and Boone counties, organizing churches wherever there was a favorable opening. 

     (216) As early as the year 1872, and possibly in 1871, a Catholic priest, Rev. Peter James Bedard, came to Antelope County from Sioux City. He was a French Canadian by birth, and cast in his lot with the Canadians who had settled in Frenchtown, taking a homestead, and becoming one of their number. He preached and visited not only among the Catholics at Frenchtown, but also at Oakdale and as far east as Battle Creek, in Madison County. When General John O'Neill founded his Irish colony in Holt County in 1874, Father Bedard served the settlers of that locality for a time.

     In the fall and winter of 1873, through Father Bedard's exertions, the material was prepared and hauled to the grounds for a church which was built early in the spring of 1874. It was built of logs cut from the timber along the Elkhorn, and was the first church building erected west of Norfolk.

     In the year 1881 the Methodist church building was completed at Oakdale, it being the second church built in the county and the first by a Protestant denomination. It was dedicated December 18, 1881.

     It appears, therefore, that the Methodists, Congregationalists, Latter Day Saints, and Catholics were the pioneers in church work in Antelope County. These were; however, quickly followed by others and we find that by January 1, 1884, in addition to those named above, the Baptists, Presbyterians, United Brethern, Episcopalians, Lutherans, and United Presbyterians, were all well established in the county.

     It is the recollection of the writer that a spirit of good fellowship prevailed generally among the Christian people of the county in the early days, and that little attention was paid to sects or creeds or denominations. They were glad of the chance to go to church and Sunday school, and it was a very common occurrence to travel five or six miles on Sunday to attend a religious meeting.