Sarah Case, A Story by Lucy H. Emery (Byerley)
Theodore Culton - Contributed by Megan Lightle-Reynolds
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Life was harsh for the men and women of Kansas and Nebraska in the 1800�s. Many lived in dugout houses, plowing, and planting was back breaking work. Then they would hope the rain didn�t wash away the seeds or that the sun wouldn�t bake the crops before they were harvested. We think of how hard the women worked, doing the wash by hand, cooking on a wood stove, and even childbirth without the help of a doctor or a hospital. But, the man had to worry about feeding his family. Many had large families, a new baby every two or three years. How he must have worried about how he could feed and clothe them!
Nathan James Stewart, named after an uncle, was born to a family like this on May 23, 1880 in Osborne, Kansas. While living in a dugout in Kansas, the preacher had been invited for Sunday dinner and just as they sat down to the table, a snake fell from the rafters and plopped on the table. This was such a common occurrence, that it didn�t stop anyone from enjoying his or her meal. The snake was picked up, tossed outside and they continued eating.
Dugouts are part of the early history of man who often used caves or carved homes in the protection of a hill or side of gentle slope for protection from the environment and enemies. The traditional dugout was a quick method of building a home. Logs were scarce in many areas. Thus, some early pioneers used sod, while some were fortunate to have timber and rock to help create the walls of the structures. Although, many dug outs were simply carved out of the side of a hill or embankment, a crude door (and possible window) were added. These crude homes were often used and only until another home or cabin was built. They remain a tradition of the American West, especially in Oklahoma, Nebraska, and other areas of the Great Plains where prairie sod was used for construction of the homes.
This is a great site to check out for further information on Dugouts, and to see what they looked like: Dugouts
Nathan's hair would stand on end when he would hear the gallop of horses coming towards his home. He knew it was Indians! He would run and hide under the bed. These Indians were hungry and were hoping for something to eat. But, to him, they were to be feared because the adults had talked so much about the Battle of the Little Bighorn in which Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer attacked an Indian village along the Little Bighorn River. This happened only 4 years before Nathan was born. About 2,500 Sioux and Cheyenne counter attacked, wiping out Custer and more than 260 of his men.
The last skirmish with Indians in Kansas was in 1878 when a small band of Northern Cheyenne left their reservation in Oklahoma Territory and tried to go home through Western Kansas. There was fighting near Scott City and Oberlin, Kansas, before the Cheyenne were recaptured. Possibly there was fear the Cheyenne might return. But by 1880 the buffalo were gone and the remaining Indian tribes in Kansas, the Potawatomi, Kickapoo Iowa, Sac and Fox, were living on reservations in northeast Kansas.
Isaac Newton Stewart and Elizabeth Jane Johnson, had six children, Calvin Munson, William, Amos, Clarence, Nathan and Nathan's twin sister. She died either at birth or shortly after. The day Nathan and his sister were born, they were traveling with some other wagons when Indians were observed riding nearby. Elizabeth was in labor, so as a precaution; Isaac took her away from the other wagons and hid her until he found out why they were there. They were just traveling on their way back to the reservation. As he went back to get Elizabeth, he heard a tiny cry. Twins had just been born out there on the prairie. The little girl died later that day.
The family moved to Nebraska in 1885. Here, they cut, chopped, and delivered wood to town. They were able to raise most of what they ate but this gave them cash to buy shoes, seed, grain and whatever other necessities they needed. Nathan and the other children had to ride on the back of the flatbed wagon hitched to a team of horses when they went to town. It was so very cold in the winter that sometimes he couldn�t feel his toes.
Nathan married Margaret Catherine Ramsey Jan 1, 1907 in Tecumseh, Nebraska. She was born August 13, 1885 in Montrose Missouri. Five years later, when he was 32, their first child, Evelyn, was born. They then had 3 sons, David, Earl, Lester, and another daughter, Donna.
Nathan received his draft papers for WWI and was ready to go when the Armistice was declared. By this time, he was farming and is children were young, so he was glad not to have to leave his family.
Nathan farmed a � section, which equals 160 acres or � square mile. He later acquired another � section. This is a huge plot of land for a man and his small family to farm.
The droughts became so severe, he had to become creative. The corn was planted three feet apart. This way, the corn did not have to compete for the small amount of rainwater they received. He also knew about composting as we call it today. He would carefully eye the fields in the summer to see where they needed more nutrients. Before the fields were planted the next year, he would spread manure and straw over that area. At harvest time, the neighbors would help each other with the threshing of the wheat and oats. Margaret not only worked in the fields but she had to raise her children, work in her kitchen garden, put by and cook huge amounts of food to feed the threshing crew.
Nathan provided for his family quite well. They had chickens for meat and eggs, cows for milk, pigs for ham and sausage and a full acre vegetable garden to put by as canning was called at that time. They would take the excess into the town of Page, Nebraska, to sell so they could buy what they did not grow. A neighbor had dug a cellar that was filled with ice in the winter and layered with straw to keep it cold and clean. All the neighbors contributed to the supply so all were able to have ice in the summer. With the abundance of milk, cream and eggs, many Sundays were filled with cranking the ice cream maker and then eating as much ice cream as they wanted.
By 1934, the drought had destroyed the crops again and Nathan knew it was time to move on. Nathan's brother, Amos, was living in Missouri and convinced him to move there. They hired a truck and driver,packed up their belongings, and arrived in the Joplin area January 19, his youngest son's 16th birthday. A very memorable birthday for Lester James! Here he leased enough land to grow wheat, oats and strawberries for the next seven or eight years. When Nathan was about 63 years old, the children were grown and gone and he knew farming was just too hard for him to accomplish by himself. His son Earl and family had joined his wife�s parents in Oregon a year before and worked in the shipyards. Earl sent Nathan and Margaret money for a bus ticket, they packed what they could and moved to Oregon also. By this time, 1943, Lester had married Earmel Case and they had a daughter, Deanna. Work was hard to come by in Missouri at that time, that is, unless you wanted to work in the mines, and Earmel didn't want him to do that. They decided to join Nathan and Margaret, Bessie and Earl in Oregon. They packed everything they owned, including the ringer washing machine in the 1937 Ford and left when Deanna was six weeks old.
Nathan worked as a gardener for several years and Margaret worked in the cannery and later the hospital in Salem, Oregon. Nathan loved to play his harmonica and tap his feet just the way you would expect an old timer to do. He spent many an hour woodworking. He made Deanna a coffee table that was inlaid with rectangles of wood. Very intricate and fine work. He made napkin holders, crochet thread holders and many other useful items.
With his grandchildren gathered around his chair, he said "Did I ever tell you the story about the time a snake chased me?" My brothers and I were all ears. "I was out in the berry field when I saw a hoop snake. It rolled up, took its tail in its mouth and started rolling. I had to run like the wind but I out ran him". I believed that story until I was an adult. I sure was surprised to think he convinced us of an untruth.
Nathan loved to fish. Lester and Earmel took him fishing with them nearly every time they went. After spending a week vacation at the coast fishing, he finally voiced a complaint. He said "I can eat fish for lunch, I can eat fish for dinner, but, can we please have eggs for breakfast today?" They had been catching sea bass and perch by the gunnysack full and just couldn�t let them go to waste.
They finally had to give up house keeping and move in with the children. They lived with each of them for a few years but spent their last remaining years with Lester and Earmel. Nathan loved to do what he called the "jig" right up to his last days. He would tap his feet and move around energetically. He was a quiet man but it was obvious he loved life and still had plenty of get up and go left in him. He loved to tease his great grandchildren with his cane by poking at them or knocking away their toys. This was always done good heartedly and with a twinkle in his eye.
Although he had endured many hardships, the hardest part of his life seemed to be when his wife of 65 years passed on. He died Feb 8, 1986, four years later. He was 95.
Sarah Case
A Story by Lucy H. Emery (Byerley)
(1885-1974)
Contributed by Sheree Gossling
(Taken from the pages of one of her journals)
The journal is copied as written. Everything in parenthesis are facts added my me (Sheree) to understand the story better. You will notice as you read that Lucy jumps from telling thoughts about her past, and things that occurred in her present day. It is also interesting to note, that she writes her story as a friend of Sarah's older daughter. When in fact, the older daughter, is Lucy herself.
October 25, 1957 (A true story) You know - I've been thinking of late about a dear old couple I used to know. We will call them Marion and Sarah. They are both in Heaven now. They are so much better off than we are. I do hope to meet them in Heaven some sweet day.
I know very little about their young life only what Sarah told me. They seem to be nice people. Also from what I can hear their families were nice too. I didn't get to see any of the grandparents, only the boys dad. He seemed to be a nice old man.
Sarah told me her Dad and Mother (James A. Case 5-3-1835 and Elizabeth Jane Williams 5-17-1837 married December 8, 1858) moved to Arkansas when she (Sarah J. Case 11-16-1859) and her brothers (George Washington Case 5-9-1864, Ivan W. Albert Case 3-24-1868, Samuel R. Case 1-29-1872) and sister (Mary Ellen Case 10-16-1869) were very small. (One boy died: George Grant born 5-18-1963, died 5 days later on O5-23-1863) She didn't say how long they lived there. She said the mosquitoes were so bad they all were full of malaria. They chilled quite a bit. Finally her Dad passed away (August 30, 1874). What a sad bunch they were, but they knew God knows best.
I don't know how old the children were, but the older brother (George Washington Case) was working on a farm. (Not sure how accurate it is that George was working on a farm, him only being 8 years old at the time. Maybe she means doing chores on their farm?). He was the oldest child. There were 4 of the children, 2 boys and 2 girls. Finally he and his mother decided to move to Missouri. So they gathered up what they could take, then sold the other things.
(The part of only 2 boys is conflicting because from my great grandmothers records which were copied from her Mother Sarah's records, it states the above names and dates which show 3 boys living. They being; George Washington, Ivan W. Albert, and Samuel R. Case. Recorded deaths in the record not shown above state Albert Case died 3-24-1898, and Mary Ellen Case died 1-9-1930).
After they got to Missouri, the older brother got work on a farm close to where they were living. To keep the family going, the mother kept things going at home, sent the other children to school. But as time went on in later years the mother passed away (May 4, 1875) My G. Grandma writes that Elizabeth died several years after James, when actually it was only 9 months later. How sad and lonely the children were. No one to look to for help, but God was merciful and helped them.
Living near Almartha, Missouri. Samuel Richard lived in the home of James Gaston and family, Noble, Missouri. In the "Family History Hicks-Byerley Ancestors and Descendants" written by Viola B. Hicks, is this information: "After James Albert and Elizabeth died (the four children were still young) an uncle - Oliver Williams (Elizabeth's brother) who had been living in the home - arranged for homes for each of the children. Sarah Jane lived with Samuel Smith and family until she grew up - taught school and married. George lived a few years with the Byington Robinson family of Noble, Missouri. Mary Ellen lived in the home of Polly James - a widow
The older brother got them all homes close together, also close to his work too. Wasn't that wonderful? I don't know very much that happened to the younger children. I was more acquainted with Sarah. The people Sarah was living with were good people. I got acquainted with them in later years.
Sarah told me she worked when school was out each year, got her education, taught school at Rock Bridge, Missouri. I don't know how many years she taught there, but do you know while she was teaching there, she fell in love with one of her pupils (Marion Byerley). He fell in love with her. As time went on they got engaged.
Theodore Culton
Megan Lightle-Reynolds writes:
My grandfather was Theodore Culton, b.1905.
My
grandmother, Dorothy Mae
Mackey, married him (no date) in Missouri and
had
twin sons, Teddie Lee and
Jackie Thee, October 16, 1931. I understand
that
Theodore died several years
later from complications from kidney stones.
My
grandmother remarried circa
1937 to Leo B. Lightle, who adopted the boys.
They
moved to Hanahan, SC. My
father is Teddie Lee Lightle. My grandmother
died
three years ago. When I
saw the photo of James and Nancy Culton, I
recognized her immediately! We
have some photos of her that she sent my dad
when
he
was very young. What a
great find for my family. Thanks for all the
work
you put into the Culton
family tree. If you have any other
information
about
James and Nancy, please
let me know. Many thanks!