Sankey, Arabella W.

SANKEY

Posted By: Wayne K. Sankey (email)
Date: 11/26/2007 at 02:19:43

Arabella Ward was born the second of November 1860 in Hancock, Illinois. She moved to Avoca, Iowa with her parent John W. and Mary Jane Hildreth Ward. On the fifth of June in 1776, she married John W. Sankey, In1894 Arabells and her younger children moved to Camp Crook, Harding County.South Dakota from Walnut, Pottawattamie County,.Iowa. She, Mona age 3 mos.,Elmer 14,Roy 7,Charlie 6, Harry 4, remained at her mother and step father Andrew Boomer's ranch on the bend of the Little Missouri River, 7 miles South of Camp Crook. John had remained in Walnut to sell his livery business. Their oldest daughters remained with John until he came to Harding Countyn later that same year. Arabella and John bought the ranch from her mother.They sold the ranch to Joe Patenode and moved to Minnesela{ near Belle Fourche. A year later, 1895, They returned to Harding and purchased land and built a roadhouse/ hotel in Harding ( There were three other roadhouses between Harding and Belle Fourche Archie Brant, Peterson and Massey).
. Arabella ran the hotel for 13 years, after her husband death from pneumoniain 1903.They kept saddle horses, wagons, teams and buggys to rent. Arabella sold the roadranch to her brother, Matt Ward and his wife Della in 1911 and homesteaded in Nashville, north of Harding, living next door to Rev. Gardner's church.(second oldest daughter Mabel married John Gardner), Matt sold it to John S. Garner, who sold it to Louise McDermott who ,first was married to Ren Gardner,son of John S. Gardner.The Road Ranch was still standing in 1981.Everyone stayed at the ranch. The ones who came in on the old stage coach, the one's with the canvas top and fringed buggys,honyackers, ranchers from the East, teachers, business, politicians and
cowboys for the fall round up. The cowboys would say until spring. The mail
carriers, who delivered three times a week to Harding, stayed over night. Bell fed
everyone, even the tramps. She allowed the tramps to sleep in the haymow
of the big barn, the four boys had built. She spent her last years with her sons and daughters-in-laws Charles Oliver Sankey and wife Margie Chloe Elliott and Elmer Sankey and wife Edna F.Ellliott in Belle Fourche, Butte County, South Dakota. She was buried at the Pineslope Cemetery Abt. 30 May 1921.