The Future of Downtown Sutton

By Jerry Johnson and the Sutton Historical Society

This historic photo from August, 2007 captured the conditions of the west side of the north end of Downtown Sutton. Did you ever notice that only some of the "pinnacles" on the roofs are still there? Does this look the same today, even disregarding a tornado and a fire?

The objective of the Sutton Historical Society is to collect and preserve the artifacts and information about the Sutton, Nebraska community. That’s a carefully worded statement that directs us to find and save things that are part of Sutton’s history and to find and record the story of Sutton’s past.

The Museum has accumulated a respectable collection of Sutton related items, most donated by generous people who decided a valued item would be enjoyed by more if it were displayed in a publicly accessible place rather than remain where only a few even know about it. It’s an on-going program. We’re currently expecting two more very nice items.

A Sheridan family relative in Oregon plans to donate a large wardrobe that was built by Ellen Sheehy’s father on the occasion of her 1879 wedding to John Sheridan. John and Ellen were the grandparents of Roger and Bill Sheridan and Regina Leininger among others.

The second of these two new items is the 6 foot clock that sat in the window of Lewis’ Jewelry for many years. Grandson Bill Johnson is “downsizing” and this clock too will be “coming home.”

Many bits of information that tell Sutton’s story have become foggy in the collective memory or lost entirely. Traces of the story remain in old newspapers, scrapbooks, boxes in basement corners and a variety of other hiding places. It’s been a hoot digging out those stories, or more often, stumbling on to them.

We’ve reconstructed profiles of the population of Sutton at specific points in the past; uncovered the identities of immigrant families, settlers, business owners and others who’ve lived in Sutton’s past. We’ve found some forgotten Sutton residents who moved on to make their mark beyond our community.

Newspaperman Walter Wellman got his start in the 1880’s at age 14 publishing an early (perhaps first) Sutton newspaper. He later talked his Chicago newspaper into funding his attempt to be the first to the North Pole, via hot air balloon.

Herbert Johnson left Sutton and became a political cartoonist in the 1930’s drawing covers for the Saturday Evening Post and Country Gentleman magazines.

Madeleine Leininger rose to the pinnacle of the nursing profession creating a new discipline she called Transcultural Nursing which revolutionized how the medical profession related to patients in diverse cultures.

So, the Sutton Historical Society is quite successful in meeting that objective of collecting and preserving the artifacts and information in Sutton’s history.

The west side of the south end of Downtown Sutton looked like this in August, 2007. Looking good, but we know that the structural health of several buildings is, or will someday soon be a problem. Don't we? 

But there is one major part of Sutton’s history we’ve been unable to address in anything like the manner of those things I’ve mentioned. And that is the most important part of Sutton’s history: Sutton itself.

What is Sutton? Well, it’s a lot of things. I won’t inflict you with my version of a complete answer. But when people think of Sutton be they residents, ex-pats or visitors the thing that defines Sutton is the downtown business district. It’s a compact area, split by the railroad and where much of the commercial and social activity occurs.

Sure, the school, community home, bowling alley are at the north end. Businesses line Highway 6 as it skirts the town. Industrial activity is dispersed to the east, west and south extremities of town. But there in the center, straddling 500 yards of Saunders Avenue from the Catholic Church to School Creek is the heart of our community.

And what is the definitive attribute of downtown Sutton, the personality of Our Town? What is it that a visitor takes away from Sutton and likely recalls if reminded of the visit months later?

We’re prejudiced, but members of the Historical Society lobby for the idea that the historic buildings, generally on the west side of Saunders Avenue are what makes Sutton, Sutton. These distinctive buildings are treasures that make Sutton what it is, what visitors remember, what we should be very proud of.

We understand that during the settlement of plains from the 1870’s into the early 1900’s many towns in Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and elsewhere saw the construction of buildings similar to ours. Over time these historic buildings have thinned out and often disappeared entirely. People who have looked into the state of buildings of this style of architecture tell us that our downtown may well be the last place with this much of a display.

If we had a State of the Town message similar to the State of the Union or the State of the State, what would be the State of Sutton?

The State of Sutton is good. The agricultural economy is solid; our schools and youth activities are sound; the lives of our older generation are well-supported by the community; downtown parking slots are well-used. We have recreational facilities. Weaknesses are few.

How about the future?

Our strengths in early 2015 appear to be sustainable. We know how to keep things going and on track.

How about any weaknesses? Do we have any?

Well, we do have a “canary in the coal mine.” Remember that story? Miners carry caged canaries with them into the mine knowing that the little birds are more susceptible to noxious gases than the miners. A dead canary warns the miners of possible danger.

We have such canaries, warnings and hints of future distress and problems. Our canaries are those downtown buildings which have lost their luster. Ornamental bric-a-brac on roofs is missing. Windows are damaged. Bay windows are fragile. Once occupied second story spaces are boarded up.

Visible deterioration and damage hides weakening structures. A tornado and fire within the past year only accelerated a long trend. Patches and repairs after those 2014 events arrested the downward trend, in some buildings, for a time.

The post office, bank, library and grocery store at the north end of downtown
Harvard are holding on but along the main street these lonesome sets of
buildings tell a sad story.

Our canaries are telling us that the treasures in the heart of our town are in danger.

So what are the potential consequences of aging to downtown Sutton? Where could we find some clues? Consider taking a short drive, or two.

Harvard and Clay Center have some clues. Residents of both towns have seen venerable old buildings deteriorate past the point of being viable for saving and are now gone. The result is empty spaces in the once solid wall of occupied businesses. It’s kind of like a few missing teeth from a once healthy mouth.

Harvard’s downtown still has functioning businesses but they tend to occupy scattered islands of structures along the main street. Clay Center’s north side recently saw a gap open in its once solid wall of buildings. Once a store front becomes vacant or a building disappears, there seldom is a future for that space. It is a dying process.

The buildings across from the court house in Clay Center
were intact just two years ago.

Is there an alternative? You’ve been west to Harvard and Clay Center. Now go east to Friend. Something different happened in Friend. Just driving or walking around that main block that sits on the south side of Highway 6 is a different experience from that in our neighboring Clay County towns. Step into a business; I recommend the coffee shop on the south side, and strike up a conversation. Find out what happened in Friend, and is still happening.

Next time you’re in Hastings drive down 2^nd Street. Things have begun to happen there that are reversing a long downhill trend. Sure, Hastings is a much larger town than Sutton and other towns along 6, but city planners are taking on a bigger project than we’d face. And they have the challenge of reversing the multi-year symptoms of Wal-Martitis.

The north side of the square in Clay Center has lost buildings that once served
an active community leaving and open space that is unlikely to contribute
services, goods or  appropriate tax revenue to the community, again, ever. 

One more illustration much further away: Grinnell, Iowa. Next time you’re driving east of Des Moines on I-80, take a four-mile detour and visit downtown Grinnell. It’s a college town of about 9,000 residents who, at some time in the past took steps to preserve, restore and protect the buildings in their downtown. The thought, “I could live here” may well slip into your mind. Again, visit the coffee shop; it’s on the west side.

Let me anticipate your response likely formed much earlier: “So what could we do?” or even earlier than that, “Cost, cost, cost, money, money, money?”

Too true. You will not find the answer to either in a 1600 word article by someone associated with your local museum that struggles just to keep afloat, let alone meet aspirations.

No, if the future of the historic buildings of downtown Sutton will be other than continuing decay and the slow, steady loss of individual buildings, one by one, then some very specific things have to start happening, pretty soon.

About 30 miles east on U.S. 6 is a good model for what can , and should be done
with historic buildings . The good folks of Friend, Nebraska have engaged in
projects to preserve the character of their town. This section illustrates exterior
work. Down the street and around the corner to the right is the old Opera House
building where interior restoration was the focus. 

I’ve not yet mentioned the set of people most important if we are to address preserving our downtown, the individuals who own these buildings. It’s awkward. Those of us who consider the historic nature of downtown Sutton to be our greatest asset cannot expect that the building owners can maintain or preserve the buildings as we’d like them to see all by themselves. The economic cost/benefit analysis of addressing an individual building is unlikely to justify action. Perhaps the cost/benefit of addressing multiple buildings, adjacent buildings, or the whole shebang just might make sense. But let’s not speculate further.

Any attempt to preserve, maintain or restore our downtown buildings will have to be a community effort for a community asset. If the whole community isn’t interested, we might as well just go watch “Dancing with the Stars” of something.

We need a few people with a few smart ideas. And we need a whole bunch of people who care. We need individuals and groups: the City of Sutton, Chamber of Commerce, Historical Society, American Legion, bridge clubs, business people, teachers, librarians, the retired, coffee klatches, the newspaper, this magazine, school kids (who’d I leave out?).

These Friend buildings are a lot like those in Sutton. Look what
some TLC (and money, of course, but first the "C") can do. You
may critique the few missing decorative "bars" on the angled
section, but when that kind work is what's left, you've won.

My point: if we’d like to keep our downtown looking something like it does today, it could happen.

How did Friend, Grinnell, Hastings get started? I’ll bet they’d be glad to tell us?

What is the list of grants, foundations, government or corporate sponsored programs or sugar daddies that might think our distinctive architecture is worthy of preservation?

What clever things can we do ourselves?

We’ve taken a run at this question in the past, broke some ground but met resistance we couldn’t quite push through. Could it be time to try again?

We had a good discussion of the topic at the Chamber of Commerce meeting in January. There’s a sizeable group that indicates they’re interested. We’ve new city officials. Is this a good time?

Our town got its start in 1871. Its 150^th birthday will be in 2021, six years from now. Wouldn’t it be a great birthday present for our town, and for ourselves if, at Sutton’s sesquicentennial we could have plans in place to preserve, protect and maintain our historic downtown buildings and maybe have work in progress? Or maybe, just maybe have some piece, some significant project completed and on display?

There would be a significant cost to preserve our historic downtown buildings. It will be a huge cost if we don’t.

I don’t know how to start sooner than today. Is the ball in play?

Downtown Grinnell, Iowa has several blocks of restored buildings with operating businesses and occupied second floors. Intersections are spacious and almost a work of art with decorative designs in the pavement and sidewalks; lamp posts match the original time of the buildings. It's worth a stop.

This article appeared in the January, 2015 issue of Sutton Life Magazine. For more information about the publication contact Jarod Griess at neighborhoodlife@yahoo.com or at 402-984-4203.

What do you think? Post a comment of contact us at suttonnehistory@gmail.com

Emil Ochsner and Sutton's Poultry Leader

H. H. Johnson in Clay Center was not the only county businessman in the poultry and incubator business. Sutton's Emil Ochsner had his own factory which he called the Poultry leader.

There is also some evidence that there was a similar Fairfield concern,.

The Sutton News considered Mr. Ochsner's business to be a fine client.

Chief Black Horn Visits Sutton 1939

The Sutton Museum recently received several donations from Mr. Bill Johnson, Sutton High grad in the Class of '58. Among those was this picture from the 65th anniversary celebration in Sutton in October, 1939.

In this photo Sioux Indian Chief Black Horn is posing with Laura (Schwab) Lewis, wife of Sutton jeweler A. H. Lewis and grandmother of Mr. Johnson. The chief is wearing the full Sioux Indian battle dress and Mrs. Lewis is in a period outfit matching the 1870's of the founding of Sutton.

One group of Sioux Indians who traveled around the area in the 1870's included annual stops in Sutton where they camped in the city park and traded with Sutton businesses for provisions. Chief Black Horn was 78 years old in this photo and would have been a young man at that time.

Included with the photo were the tie seen on Chief Black Horn in the photo and a pair of adult moccasins with a similar, but teeny, tiny child's or doll's moccasins. 

Entertainment in 1915 in Sutton

 The Opera House in small town rural Nebraska hosted a wide variety of attractions. Plays, musical groups, speakers, temperance meetings were all common. One hundred years ago this woman was on the circuit speaking in towns of all sizes and on any of several topics.

Chautauqua meetings were a good gig for these speakers and a good speaker was a good get for a small town Chautauqua. This article mentions that Mrs. Zehner had given a thousand addresses at Chautauquas,

This article is from The Sutton News of Friday, February 12, 1915.

This follow-up article in the Sutton News tells us that Mrs. Zehner's topic in Sutton was "Folks who hinder the Progress of a Nation."

Apple Valley Graduation

The Sutton Schools Fourth Grade has a block of classes called "Apple Valley" named for a rural school. Students are assigned to families with background stories for the class.

The past couple of years the Sutton Museum has been honored to provide the venue for the opening and closing activities of Apple Valley.

The two classes of fourth graders participate in the program beginning with a visit to the District #55, Wolfe School at the Sutton Museum. Six weeks later they return for graduation at the museum. These pictures are from graduation on October 31, 2014.

The Pledge of Allegiance received full attention, almost 

Four of the best dressed ladies of the day.

Good 19th Century costumes, don't you think?

Best behaved student.

Or is this the best behaved?

Not in the running. 

Family Pictures at Apple Valley graduation.

Another Apple Valley family

Some happy Apple Valley students - some.

Looks like heavy discussion here.

Easy pick for a pic for special treatment...

The star graduate had a few words for the group...

Pride

Class Picture #1

Class Picture #2

19th Century rural school recess - please ignore those things in the street.

Getting organized for recess

-Kids at the Wolfe School at the Sutton Museum - it makes our day week - no, year.

Druggist Robert Lich's trip east, 1915.

Sutton druggist Robert Lich wrote this piece about his trip back east in early 1915. The article appeared in The Sutton News on February 5, 1915.

Robert Lich operated a drug store in Sutton for many years. 

John Maltby, Sutton Pioneer with an Extraordinary Life

The man who named our small, quiet, rural Nebraska town was a flamboyant fellow with a life story unmatched by any resident since. I welcome your nomination for a candidate with a better life story.

John Rogers Maltby, world traveler, adventurer, entrepreneur, promoter, maybe a bit of a
scoundrel, but the many who gave Sutton, Nebraska its name. 

John Rogers Maltby was born in Sutton, Massachusetts and was living in Maine when he left home in 1853 on a path that would lead to the community of School Creek in south central Nebraska in 1871. The intervening 18-year trek from Maine to Nebraska covered four continents involving a string of adventures that would tax credibility in a work of fiction.

Both of our Sutton histories by Jim Griess (“The German Russians, Those who came to Sutton) and the research of Anne and Nellie Sheridan (Along the County Line) included sections on the life of John Maltby and we’ll draw on them for this discussion.

We also have sources in thirteen boxes of material stored at the Nebraska State Historical Society in Lincoln plus there is the internet. It’s both good and bad news to have multiple sources, ambiguity being on the bad side of that ledger. One account has his date of birth in 1830, another implies 1831 and his Fairfield tombstone lists May 11, 1828. Sutton, Massachusetts Town Records give August 17, 1828 as his baptism date, so there is that.

Whenever, our John Maltby (III) was born to Rev. John Maltby Jr. and his wife, Margaret Graves Jackson. The elder Maltby was an 1822 Yale graduate and was ordained by the Andover Newton Theological School in 1826. He was the minister at the First Congregational Church in Sutton, Massachusetts from 1826 until 1834 when he was recruited by the newly-organized Hammond Street Church in Bangor, Maine serving there until his death in 1860. One of our local histories reverses that move and has him dying in Sutton, MA in 1860.    

This painting of Rev. John Maltby and his wife Margaret Graves Jackson is
owned by the First Congregational Church in Sutton, Massachusetts. These
are the parents of Sutton's John Maltby.

Both churches mention Rev. John Maltby on their current web sites. The Sutton church has a valued portrait on Rev. and Mrs. Maltby. The original is in safe storage and a replica is displayed in the church. We include that image here.

The 1840 Bangor census shows the John Maltby family to consist of ten persons: a male age 40-49, one female 40-49, a 15-19 female, one 10-14 female, three 5-9 females and one under 5. There as one male 10-14 and another under 5. That does not necessarily mean John and Margaret had eight children. There might have been servants in the household. But our John was most likely the male age 10-14 in 1840. One of our local histories lists him as the oldest of five children in the family. Family trees on ancestry.com list seven children with two dying young. History could be a science but it tends toward art.

Margaret Maltby died in 1852 and the next spring young John left Maine for the gold fields of Australia. According to his passport application on March 4, 1853, John Maltby was 23(?), 5 foot 9 ¼ inches tall, high forehead, hazel eyes, Grecian nose, small mouth, round chin, brown hair, dark complexion and an oval face. (It’s been a few years, but I do not recall that level of detail on the modern passport application.)

The First Congregational Church in Sutton,
Massachusetts and early benefactor of the
Federated Church in Sutton, Nebraska.

Maltby and a couple of friends sailed on the “Charter Oak” on April 18^th arriving in Melbourne in June. Gold. Australia. In 1853. Why? The California Gold Rush is usually dated through 1858 or ’59 and was a lot closer.

Maltby’s diary describes the distress of his friends during the rough voyage. It seems they soon headed back but he stayed seven years engaging in numerous businesses but the gold thing didn’t happen.

In 1860 John Maltby left the continent of Australia for Asia, India to be exact. He was a merchant and auctioneer for two years then headed for Europe sailing on the “Calcutta” for London.

Our local histories lead us to believe that John arrived in London in May, 1862, worked on the first Trans-Atlantic cable, met Matilda Mary Cooke from Surrey and was married in December. And since history records that the trans-Atlantic cable was completed in the summer of 1858 we have another reason for a trip to Lincoln to auger in those 13 boxes.

Matilda Mary Cooke, Mary or “Trot” as John called her, was 21 when she married the 34 year old John Maltby. She was a convert to Catholicism and he promised to convert but never did leading to a subplot in this story.

Maltby engaged in several brief business ventures for a couple of years in London before leaving for

The Church of Our Immaculate Lady of Victories
on the quiet Clapham Park Road in South London
where John Maltby and Matilda Mary Cooke
were married on December 18, 1862 - brought to
by the magic of Google Earth Street View. 

the U.S. in 1864, without his wife. (See above.) She was to stay in London until he had enough money to send for her. He’d sought his fortune in Australia, Asia and Europe; it was time to try North America.

His path now took him to San Francisco and New Orleans. In late 1865 John Maltby was the main man for the Challenge Washing Machine Company working the sales territory of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi. He was trying to sell major appliances to households in the post bellum South. Not a sparkling business plan.

He did find enough money to send for Trot and they were to meet in Massachusetts. She was delayed in getting there; he tired of waiting and headed back to the south on a ship named “Republic.” The Republic ran into rough seas and sank out from under him off the South Carolina coast. It is not clear how he managed to survive the shipwreck, but somehow he did, went back to work and in 1866, after two years of separation John and Matilda Maltby were united in Louisiana. They went back to Massachusetts to a short-lived hardware store but by the end of 1867, she’d left him and he was in Omaha.

John Maltby's 1853 passport application as he
left New England for Australia, Asia, Europe
and around the U.S. to get to Sutton, Nebraska.

The next jobs were with the Union Pacific, operating a store in Bushnell, Nebraska, sign painter, wallpaper hanger, glass worker and a job in the California Restaurant in Omaha. (Cook or waiter, one wonders.) And he built a track for horse racing.

Now it was 1871 and Maltby learned about a start-up community in the path of the approaching Burlington Railroad, just his kind of situation but there was some urgency to make it work.

Maltby and a friend William Way discovered land straddling the railroad’s route but it had been claimed by John Vroman. They may have intended to buy the property but time was short and they couldn’t find him. They contested the claim and after some legal maneuvering Vroman’s claim was cancelled as he had been absent. Way claimed the north ½ of the Vroman land bounded by today’s James Avenue on the west and a bit east of Highway 6/French Avenue on the east, a line through the north business district on the north side and Hickory Street on the south. John Maltby had the 80 acres to the south to just short of today’s Helen Street.

Old Western movies tell us that claim jumping was an unpopular and maybe risky venture.  We’ve evidence that it was true in Sutton, too. Jim Griess describes a petition by the good citizens of Sutton dated March 25, 1872 that read, “Whereas certain notices have been posted in divers places in the county concerning J. R. Maltby to leave this place before the 26^th …. on fear of death. And we citizens of this town … do hereby offer a reward of twenty-five (25.00) dollars for the exposure and conviction of the perpetrators of the said violation.” Among the petitioners were I. N. Clark, Thurlow Weed, A. A. Corey and George Bemis, Sutton’s early establishment.

As in the case of the shipwreck, we don’t know how John Maltby survived this situation but by mid-summer he had talked Luther French into breaking his homestead into town lots and his suggestion to name the community “Sutton” was accepted. When Clay County was formed in October Maltby was elected Probate Judge. He later served as Police Judge for Sutton. William Way was on the first two Boards of Trustees for the town. Nice recovery. Maybe they were just charming men.

John Maltby served the new town well in its “war” with the railroad including making an 1872 trip back east to confer with Burlington officials about placing a depot with mail service in Sutton, but that’s another story. He worked in a side trip to Boston at this time and reconciled with Matilda. She joined him in Sutton in January, 1873.

The Maltby’s remained in Sutton into 1877 when they moved to Fairfield. Matilda helped organize the new Catholic Church there and John was Chairman of first Board of Town Trustees. He had a real estate business and engaged in other enterprises including the invention of particular valve. His luck failed again as his valve had been patented one year earlier.

John Maltby had a full life but financial success eluded him to the end. He died a poor man on March 24, 1895. Matilda returned to Sutton, taught French and music and became the librarian at Sutton’s new library. She died in 1912 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery. True to form, John is buried in Fairfield. The Sutton Museum has Matilda memorabilia including her 1862 wedding dress and the shoes, gloves and fan from her wedding ensemble.

 

Sutton Pioneer Matilda Mary Cooke of London, England, Mrs. John Maltby. A lady with her own good story.
Several of  her possessions are on  display at the Sutton Museum.

I repeat my challenge from the beginning of this article. Do you have a nominee for a Sutton resident with a more interesting and improbable story? If so, I definitely want to hear about it.

Maltby Avenue was named after him. He donated block 22 of his First Addition for the Sutton Schools which served the community for many years before becoming the site of the Nolde Center. He designated blocks 39 and 49 in the southeast part of town for a park.

Members of his father’s church from the early 1830’s learned that John had named his Nebraska town after their Massachusetts community and that a new congregational church was under construction in Sutton, Nebraska. They sent a donation to help build the new church and made a gift of a silver communion service to their sister church in the west. Those cups are prominently displayed in the entry of the Federated Church today.

John Maltby lived in Sutton, Massachusetts from birth in 1830 until the family removed to Bangor, Maine in 1834 when he was only six years old. He grew up in Bangor leaving for Australia in 1853 at the age of 23. Why did he name our town Sutton? How close did we come to be living in Bangor, Nebraska, attending Bangor High School and reading this in The Bangor Life Magazine?

Completely unrelated but I must include that the athletic teams at the Sutton High School in Massachusetts are the Sammies and the Suzies. 

This communion service was a gift from the First Congregational Church in Sutton, Massachusetts to the new church in
Sutton, Nebraska. The set is on display in the entry of the Federated Church.

This article first appeared in the December, 2014 issue of Sutton Life Magazine. For further information about this publication, contact publisher Jarod Griess at neighborhoodlife@yahoo.com or 402-984-4203.

The Million Dollar Mystery - serialized story in The Harvard Courier

Early newspapers serialized stories, often complete books a chapter or so each week. This story began in The Harvard Courier in early February, 1915. 

I recall that the Hastings Tribune serialized stories around 1950. There are two stories that I remember following.

The first story was about a fellow named Milo who wanted to be a champion wrestler. He'd heard the story of a farm kid who began carrying a little bull calf around the farm shortly after the calf was born. It was easy for him to lift and walk around with the calf.

The calf grew normally, but even at that, it only gained a few pounds each day and the boy was growing stronger from this workout. You can guess what happened. Soon the calf was a full grown bull and the boy was still lifting it up and carrying it around the farm. Right?

So Milo thought he'd try this too. His cow was soon to give birth so everything was in place. 

The day of the blessed event arrived and Milo's cow gave birth, to twins. 

Milo was undeterred and found he had no trouble picking up the two little calves, one under each arm. He did it again the next day, and the day after, and the day after that. He was carrying those two little calves around the farm every day, putting them down and picking them up again, over and over growing stronger and stronger day by day, week by week.

Are you with me? A year a half of so into this form of exercising there were two pretty good sized bulls that Milo was hefting up every day and he was becoming pretty hefty himself.

I don't remember the main plot - I suppose Milo got in the ring and mopped up with every opponent, or maybe there was some overwhelming obstacle that got in the way of his dream, whatever.

The other story that I recall being serialized by the Tribune was one of the "end of the world" plots. A nuclear exchange or some natural disaster wiped out the population of the planet, almost. One family survived though I don't remember how. A cave or something. Anyhow, the surviving fellow raised his two sons in the post-apocalyptic United States somewhere.

They found food in grocery stores, took other items necessary for their life as they needed them, kept a few cars running on gas drawn from station tanks and numerous other tricks the author had fun telling.

After several years of listening to Dad tell them about the great things to see in the United States, the two boys decided to take a trip. They picked out one of their cars and were ready to go.

The may have been somewhere around Chicago - it fits - as Dad told them to follow road signs that had two identical figures shaped like a circle with a tail pointing up and over on the left side - two things shaped like "6"

So away they went, but after a time they got lost. They weren't seeing that kind of sign anymore.

After driving aimlessly around they came upon a road that had signs but with just one of those figures on them. They figured that would have to do so they began to follow the setting sun (as Dad had instructed) along this new road. 

The story told of their adventures in towns and finding features that matched the details of Highway 6 features until they eventually reached Los Angeles, where they were heading in the first place.

Would serialized stories work in today's newspaper. No. We have too many other forms of media, but 50 to 100 years ago newspapers were the thing and only the limits were the imaginations of publisher/editors.

Those two Tribune stories were memorable - at least I remember something of them.

An amusing item describing hotels of 100 years ago.

This item appeared in The Sutton News in February, 1915 describing visits to hotels 100 years ago.

No one takes credit for the piece so we'll assume it is the work of publisher/editor Fischer until a better idea comes along.

Harvard's 1915 Farmers' institute

Educational programs were popular in the early days. This article in The Harvard Courier on February 5, 1915 told about that town's annual Farmers' Institute.

This event was held during inclement weather - bitter cold and a near blizzard. Still the folks showed up from about the county

Special sessions were directed to the ladies and entertainment livened up the sessions.

Ad for Van Patten Duroc Sale - February, 1915

This half-page ad appeared in The Sutton News on Friday, February 5,1915

G. Van Patten lists his farm as 2 1/2 miles northwest of Sutton. Having grown up 2 miles northwest, I wondered...

The 1908 plat maps show that the NW 1/4 of the section northwest of town belonged to G. Van Patten. It is the quarter to the west of the cemetery.

A separate item in the same paper by auctioneer Henry Bender lists this sale as being for VanPatten & Son. That would be Gilbert Van Patten and his son George Van Patten.

Hog sales and especially Horse sales warranted major advertising back in the day.

The younger Van Patten, George was married to Mildred Charlotte Olivia Israelson, another of the local Israelson's we mentioned elsewhere on the blog and my first cousin, twice removed - got that?

Judge Lisle Hanna Reflects on Clay County History

As Judge Lisle Hanna was retiring from his position of Clay County Judge in 1965, he penned an article for the Clay County News reflecting on the history of the county from his perspective. We promised full article to the readers of our newspaper column. Here 'tis.

Lisle Hanna was born in 1893 in Pickering, Nodaway County in northwest Missouri and died in 1972 in Harvard. He is buried in the Harvard Cemetery. 

The Israelsons

In 1877, Andrew P. Israelson of Henry County, Illinois purchased 160 acres of railroad land three miles west of Sutton joining the Swedish community in Saronville. Nine of his twelve children survived infancy and came to Clay County with him, four boys and five girls or enough of a brood to put a large Israelson stamp on the community.

So where are all those Israelsons today? We don’t meet them on the street or find any in the phone book. What happened?

Before we get into the story(s) of the Israelson descendants, let’s learn a little about this early Sutton area immigrant settler.

Little Anders Peter was born in January 8, 1824. His father was Israel Carlsson; his mother was Catharena Petersdotter. At least that’s what we think we know when we squint at the handwriting in images of church records from the village of Asby in Östergötland, Sweden. We are looking at the cursive handwriting of a rural Swedish church official 191 years ago. What could possibly go wrong?

An offical of the Asby Kyrka recorded the birth of Anders Peter Israrelson in January, 1828 identifying his father as Isarel
Carlsson of the Hultet torp under Norrby. So we know the name of his house near the village. 

Were it up to me, he’d have been born on the 6th of January but keener eyes than mine have determined that squiggle to be an “8” and so be it.

His parents’ names have come down to us as Israel Carlsson and Catterina Petersdotter, names which illustrate patronymic naming convention that was prominent in Sweden in the 19th Century.

We need a few words about that naming scheme in which a kid’s last name, the surname is based on the father’s first name, not his last name. Here, Israel Carlsson’s kids all had the last name of Israelson and girls would sometimes, not always have Israelsdotter for a surname. The double “s” we see in the Carlsson name was also optional.

The Israelson family of Saronville came from the small village of Asby in
Östergötland, Sweden about 1851. (This image is from Google Earth.)

The string of male ancestors for Anders (Andrew) Israelson shows the pattern: Israel Carlsson, Karl Röriksson, Rörik Månsson, Måns Eriksson and Erik Amundsson. We have no record of Erik’s father but we can guess his first name was Amund. Don’tja think? The use of the “C” and “K” in Carlsson and Karl was pretty loose too.

Swedes were not the only ones who used naming systems unlike the one we are use.. Patronymic systems were and still are widespread. Indian tradition gives the kid dad’s first name as a middle name. Arabic “ibn” and Hebrew “ben” both mean “son of.” The English used the “-son” suffix and also borrowed “fitz” from the French, actually from the Normans. “Mac” or “Mc” did the same thing for the Irish and Scots and there are “van” and “von” name elements elsewhere. Russians and other slavs use variations of “-ovich” to point to their father. And the list goes on. When people started to use two names, it was natural to put the second name to use to talk about lineage.

But back to our guy. Andrew Peter Israelson married Charlotte Sophia Larsdotter on March 8, 1851, not sure where. Her birth record is easier to read than his. Even I can make out Lars Svenson and Stina Svensdotter as her parents. Her name was listed as “Lotta” followed again by squiggles.

The Asby Kyrka (church) has preserved an earlier structure behind today's
building. Ancestors of many Sutton/Saronville families are buried in this
churchyard. (Image from Google Earth, Street View)

Andrew and Charlotte arrived in the U.S. either later in 1851 or possibly in 1852. Their first child, daughter Emma Caroline was born in Illinois in December, 1852; eleven more children would be born to the family before the move to Clay County in 1877. Three of the last five children did not survive infancy.

The Israelson’s began farming in Clay County on that quarter of railroad land. Later Andrew filed for a homestead on a neighboring section and he and Charlotte lived in the Saronville community the rest of their lives; she died in 1906, he in ’09.

So how come the Israelson family did not survive here?

There were four boys to carry the name forward. They all would use the Israelson name as this is where the Swedish patronymic system did not survive the trip to American and would be discontinued by the Swedish government – to very little distress as I understand it.

After Emma came John William. He had one daughter, Ruth; they moved to Pasadena and Ruth died at 22.

Son Richard had four kids, two sons but neither of them had children.

Andrew Grant Israelson was quite a fixture in the Saronville community. Among other things, he was the correspondent for all matters about Saronville for the county newspapers. He had four children but neither son remained in the area. A. G. Israelson died in 1945

The last hope to keep the Israelson name going long term in Saronville was the George Gilbert Israelson the fourth surviving son. He married Alma Jarrett. Alma was one of four daughters of Leonard Jarrett, one of two Confederate veterans buried in the Sutton Cemetery. Alma and George lived only a short time in Washington state before she died in 1907. Hers is the only grave in the Sutton Cemetery bearing the Israelson name.

George and his second wife, Lizzie Housel had a son in Washington and there is a son in the next generation carrying the Israelson name in the Pacific Northwest.

Andrew Israelson and wife Charlotte are seated on the left. We date this photograph to pre-1890 ad the complete family
including all children who made it past infancy are included. Daughter Phebe, likely standing at the left, died in 1890 at
the age of 25 giving us a last-possible date for the picture. 

There are other descendants elsewhere carrying the surname including two teachers in the Grand Island Northwest system in the not-too-distant past. And I’ve corresponded with others, but none locally. So the Israelson name isn’t in our phone book, our voting roles or the driver’s license of anyone around here.

Does that mean that the Israelson family no longer exists in Clay County? Let’s think about this. Do we assume that only the male line carries the family forward? Is that true? It is true for the surname itself, but only for the surname. Moms do have something to contribute to the continuing a family, don’t you think? Let’s look at the daughters in Andrew and Charlotte’s family.

Emma married a fellow named Adolph Aspegren and they had 15 children, nine made it to adulthood, three died as infants and the others at ages 6, 12 and 20. They are also my great, grandparents.

Not all local Aspegren’s come from this family. Adolph’s brother Carl Gustaf contributed his share so there are Aspegren-related Israelsons as well as all those other in-laws.

Martha Israelson married Frank Pontine; Christina became Mrs. Erick Nelson and Mary Hannah married Charles Gustav Hultman.

Granddaughter Cecilia Aspegren married a Johnson with a sizeable family representation still in the area. Her sister Amanda married an Erickson and had five sons. Ella Aspegren became a Rudeen and Edith a Venell.

Andrew Israelson died February 5, 1909 and is buried in the Saronville
Methodist Cemetery northeast of Saronville and northeast of the Lutheran
Cemetery.

Subsequent generations of Israelson descendants carry other last names including Lemkau, Unterseher, McKenzie, Mau, Reutzel, Saathoff, Douglas, Van Patten, Hurst, Serr, Rolfes and lots of others. Plus, traces of the Israelson genetic cloud has dispersed coast-to-coast with their disguised identities.

So, contrary to first appearances, the Israelson Family is still a part of the Saronville/Sutton community and is flourishing quite well, thank you.

Another illustration of our large under-the-radar families is the Walton family picnic I grew up with the second Sunday of every August, sometimes in Sutton but also in Clay Center, Edgar or Hastings. There were often nearly 100 people at the picnic, but no Waltons. A distant cousin in Geneva, Gale Walton, the furrier attended early on, but that was it, never a Walton in sight. My great, Grandmother Rhoda Walton died in1932; her father Isaiah Walton died in 1894 but it was still the Walton Family Picnic.

A common form of family research is to identify one ancestral family and trace all of their descendants rather than looking for the ancestors of an individual. In this illustration I’ve taken one of my sets of great, great grandparents Andrew and Charlotte Israrelson and examine their descendants, which of course go deeper today than fourth generation that I represent. Remember, we have eight sets of 2nd great grandparents each equally deserving of this treatment.

For me those eight family surnames were Jonasson, Klintberg, Aspegren, Israelson, Cassell (or Cassels), Maxwell, Rowlison and Walton, the eight family surnames of my eight 2nd great grandfathers. But as I’ve maintained here the family lines of those wives, my 2nd great grandmothers adds the family surnames of Petersdotter, Persdotter, a second Petersdotter (no relation to the other one – dad’s names were “Peter”), Larsdotter, Laing, Inglis, Kinnear and Hall.

Everyone has a genetic tree with 16 people on the tree four generations back, whether you know their names or not. They were there for you, all eight men and all eight women. Step back one more generation and you will find 16 fathers and 16 mothers, each providing you with a different family surname. And so on, and so on and so on. Every baby has a rich family history before they even utter that first cry.

Members of the Sutton Historical Society have a program in place which helps to remember these family names which have faded from phone books and other current lists. The Brick Project consists of a large footprint of inscribed bricks commemorating the people of the community, past and present. For more information about that project, stop by the museum or call.

Andrew and Charlotte Israelson are among the 250 past and present Sutton area founders, settlers and other residents
remembered on commemorative bricks at the museum. They were your author's great, great grandparents. 

This article first appeared in the November, 2014 issue of Sutton Life Magazine. Contact Jarod Griess at 402-984-4203 for more information or at neighborhoodlife@yahoo.com