YORK COUNTY NEBRASKA
OLD SETTLER'S HISTORY

     (12) Prior to the year 1870 York County was attached to Seward County for judicial and revenue purposes. On the 18th day of March, 1870, His Excellency David Butler, Governor of the State of Nebraska, issued a proclamation in response to a petition signed by N. A. Dean, John Anderson, William Anderson, Nerva Fouse, Elias Gilmore, George Stubblefield, Henry Chatterton, H. W. Taylor, David Buzzard, J. W. Kingston, P. Church, David Doan, James H. Stewart, Newton Hyett, John A. Mercer, C. C. Smith, Mr. Coon, David Baker, Fernando McFadden, Levi Woodruff, Robert Anderson, Randolph Fairbanks, J. W. Wart z, E. Melick, Elisha Martin, Will Whitaker, Jim Whitaker, G. W. Vance, A. J. Gilmore, Jacob Gilmore and David Henderson, the voting population of York County at that time authorizing a permanent organization of the county.

     In accordance with this proclamation, on the 26th of April, 1870, the people of York County met at the polling places of the three precincts, and exercised their franchise. at which election eighty--six votes were cast throughout the entire county. Of this number fifty-one were polled in Precinct No. 1, at the house of Uncle Elias Gilmore. Section 17; in Precinct No. 2, at the old pre-emption house of (13) 

J. W. Frost

A. M. Ghost, situated at York, on Section 18; in Precinct No. 3, at the residence of J. H. Parker on Section 34 in Thayer Township.

     A full compliment of county officers were duly elected and the choice of the people resulted as follows: Edward Bates, Clerk; Julius Frost, Treasurer; George Flock, Sheriff; D. T. Moore, Probate Judge, W. H. Armstrong, Superintendent of Public Instruction; Frank Manning, Surveyor; Dr. S. V. Moore, David Buzzard, Capt L. F. Wyman, Commissioners.

     All of the above officers qualified and entered upon the immediate discharge of their duties.

     At this election the county seat was located at York, in consideration of about 200 lots given to the county by the Town Plat Company.

     The first session of the newly elected Board of County Commissioners was held June 4, 1870, in the old pre-emption house before mentioned, which was situated near the present site of the Rankin Implement Shop, just south of the public square. At this session the County Clerk was instructed to purchase, upon the credit of the county, all necessary books and stationary for keeping the county records, which was the first official proceeding of the board.

     Messrs. David Buzzard, John D. Reed, Julius Frost, and County Clerk, Edward Bates, were appointed a committee to investigate and settle the individual accounts of the county with Seward County, and John D. Reed was also appointed attorney for York County.

     The county was divided into three Commissioners' Districts comprising the following territory: District No. 1, Town 9, Range 1, 2, 3 and 4 west. District No. 2, Township 10, Ranges 1, 2, 3, and 4, west. District No. 3, Townships 11 and 12, Ranges 1, 2, 3, and 4, west.

     York was officially declared the county seat, and the County Clerk ordered to give due notice of the fact as provided by law.

     (14) The second session of the board was held July 6, 1870. At this session the county was divided into three voting precincts, including the same territory embraced by the three Commissioners' Districts, and designated them by similar names. Shortly after they were given the names of West Blue, Beaver Creek, and Moore.

     During this month the first tax was levied, and the following March A. E. Streeter made the first assessment of the county. The assessment roll shows a total valuation of all property, real and personal, to be $22,464, while the total tax levied amounted to $2,920.04.

     On the 4th of October, 1870, Edward Bates resigned his office of County Clerk, and D. R. Creegan was appointed to fill the vacancy. On the 12th of this month Judge D. T. Moore, Dr. Thomas L. Myers, now of Aurora, and A . J. Gilmore, were appointed Commissioners to appraise the school lands of the county. At one of the closing sessions of 1870, held November 15, Judge Moore generously donated his salary as Probate Judge to the county and was accorded a vote of thanks by the board.

     It will be remembered that at this time a court house, and fire proof vault were things unknown in York County, and no secure place had been provided for the archives of the county. The old pre-emption house of A. M. Ghost, was used as a court house during this year and up to the fall of 1871. Each officer was responsible for the records entrusted to him, and was at liberty to carry them in his pocket, hide them under his bed, or make such arrangements for their safety as he thought best.

     James D. Houston and wife wished to transact some business with the County Clerk, D. R. Creegan, and walked to his home, a sod house, on Section 8 in Thayer Township, and made their business known. The records were in a cracker box under a very low bed, and Mr. Creegan got down flat on his stomach to get the cracker box out, getting the necessary papers he waited on his customers, and then shoved the box well under the bed so it would be sure safe; in a few minutes Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Read came to him on some county business, down the County (15) Clerk got on his stomach again and fished the famous cracker box out from under the bed and waited on them. This same Capt. J. B. Read loaned York County the first money that ever graced the county treasury, $6.35, the money was promptly repaid Mr. Read as soon as the County was able to do so, as shown in Commissioners' Record No. 1, at Page No. 7; a little later, at page 10 of the same record we find a vote of thanks tendered Judge D. T. Moore for his generous donation of his year's salary as Probate Judge to the County. Those are incidents in the struggles of our early county officers with the problem of finances, how different now in this year of 1912 the finances of the County are so swollen that it makes our "Sunshine Billey" look like the pictures of the great trusts.

     In November of this year, a new mail route was established from Lincoln to Grand Island, via Seward, and three new post offices were established in the county named Palo, Thayer, and Aikin's Mill. Chancey Aikins served Uncle Sam as Postmaster at Aikin's Mill and J. H. Parker at Thayer. Soon after this the citizens of York petitioned for a mail route between York and Fairmont by way of McFadden, which was granted on condition the people pay for conveying the mails. Such a piece of economy on the part of a Postmaster General of the present time seems incredible, but nevertheless it remains a historical fact. Dr. Thomas L. Myers was appointed Postmaster at York, but the office not proving very lucrative, he soon resigned and F. O. Bell was appointed as his successor. He held the office for two years and was succeeded by J. E. Cochran, who resigned in a short time and Mrs. M. J. Hammond was appointed.

     At the first session of the County Board of the year 1871, held January 3, Beaver Creek Precinct was divided on the line between Ranges 2 and 3, and the west portion was made a new precinct, under the name of Baker, Morton Precinct was also divided on the line between Range 2 and 3, and the portion formed into a new precinct and named Stewart.

     On the 29th day of July, York Precinct was created and the county seat made the place of voting.

     (16) At an adjourned session of the board, convened November 3,1871, the county was re-divided into nine voting precincts, each eight miles square, named as follows, commencing at the northeast corner, and running west thence east, etc.: Stewart, Houston, North Blue, Baker, York, Beaver Creek, West Blue, Woodruff and Henderson.

     During this year the first county road was laid out along the West Blue and was surveyed by H. Badger. Soon after this a bill was drafted by Judge D. T. Moore and D. R. Creegan, making all section lines a road, in certain counties, including York County. This bill passed the Legislature and became a law. The provisions were afterward extended to include all the counties of the State.

     In August, 1871, it was decided to call a special election to vote upon the proposition to sell enough of the town lots owned by the county to build a court house. The proposition was carried, $1,500 worth of lots sold, and the contract to build a court house was let to Mr. Charlton. It was a fine building for that time but would be rather insignificant now. Prior to this time and the building of the court house, the records were kept in a sod building of one room adjoining Dr. Tutton's drug store and the sessions of the Commissioners held in the Doctor's store, who was County Clerk until the close of 1872, resigning December 2. John H. Helms succeeded him being appointed to fill vacancy.

     In the fall of 1870 A. J. Gilmore was elected County Commissioner to fill the place of David Buzzard, whose term of office had expired. At the general election of 1871 Judge D. T. Moore was elected as delegate to the Constitutional Convention. Two hundred and eighteen votes were cast in the county and the following persons were called from the walks of private life to serve the county: A. B. Tutton, County Clerk; B. M. Elliott, Treasurer; C. D. Aikins, Sheriff; S. P. Buckmaster, Probate Judge; H. H. Tate, Superintendent of Public Instruction.

     In the spring of 1871 York County received its first proposal for building a railroad, Dr. Converse, Superintendent of the Midland Pacific Railroad, submitted a (17) proposition to the people of York County in which he offered to extend the company's road from Seward to York if the county would vote bonds to the amount of $150,000, payable in twenty years, and donate the right of way. The proposition met with decided opposition throughout the county in general but more particularly in the southern precincts that received little benefit in the way of building up and establishing towns.

     While the settlers were fully aroused to the necessity of having railroad facilities, and fully appreciated the advantages to be derived from one, yet they were unwilling and very sensibly refused to load the young county with a debt that would have been a burden to its inhabitants for many years. A special election was called March 19, 1872, and the proposition accordingly voted down.

     In the spring of 1872 an incident showing the pluck and sterling qualities of the early settlers took place in the taking of a claim in Lockridge Township. A Mr. Niles Nyster, whose ancestors had never owned land, living at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, decided he would own a farm and walked from Mt. Pleasant, Iowa to Lincoln, Nebraska, and looking over the map decided York County would suit him; selected an eighty and walked to Lockridge Township to see the south one-half, northwest quarter, section 34, township 11. range 3, walked to Lincoln, made his claim; paid the required fee, $14.00; walked beck to his claim, made him a dug-out; put up some hay; and walked back to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, a distance in all of over 700 miles. The nest spring he took his family to the homestead; found the prairie fires had burned his hay, but nothing daunting he went to work happy in the fact that he owned a farm.

     The annual election of 1873 gave the county the following officers: L. J. Gandy, Treasurer; F. W. Liedke, Clerk; W . E. Morgan, Probate Judge; J. P. Miller, Sheriff; T. A. Parkinson, Superintendent Public Instruction; Frank Manning, Surveyor; T. Brooks, Coroner; W. H. Greer and Thomas Burgess, Commissioners, and the following year of 1874 H. S. Burtch was elected Commissioner.

  Table of Contents

  Index

  Memorial On-Line Library

  USGenNet.org - the First & Only 501c3 Host for Genealogical & Historical Sites

  Livingston County MI Historical & Genealogical  Project

© 2003 All Rights Reserved CFC Productions 

For more information about any of the sites please contact Pam Rietsch at: pam@livgenmi.com