Emily Almeda (Dunlap) OLIVER

DUNLAP, OLIVER, PIERCE, LEWIS, CHRISTIANSEN, BOYER, BUTLER, BLOOM, HLOUCHA, MCDOUNOUGH, MULLINS, MULLIN, SESSIONS

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 9/14/2008 at 14:21:46

Memorial and Biographical Record of Turner, Lincoln, Union, & Clay Counties, 1897, page 369

Bruce Oliver, an intelligent and industrious farmer, residing on section 20 of Canton Township, is well and favorably known throughout Lincoln county. He was born in LaPorte county, Indiana, March 19, 1843, and shortly afterwards removed with his parents to Lake county of the same state, where he grew to be a lad of ten years, at which time he accompanied his parents to Wright county, Iowa. In the Hawkeye state he grew to manhood, being twenty-five years old when he left Wright county and went to the southern part of Missouri, and in the latter region he remained about a year. His appearance in Lincoln county, Dakota Territory, was made about June, 1869, when he took up 160 acres as a homestead, and on this land he has since continued to reside. He has improved his original claim and as he prospered added thereto, and his present landed possessions aggregate 480 acres of some of the finest property in the county. His energy has all been expended in the betterment of his condition, and he has succeeded admirably, being held in high esteem and looked upon as one of the prominent and leading agriculturist of the locality. He has held some of the township offices, and takes quite an interest in all local matters, using his influence wherever possible in favor of good and business-like government of township, county, and state. All in all he is a true citizen, honorable as a man whose character is irreproachable, and popular among his fellow men. Socially he is a member of the F. & A, M. order at Canton. The efficient and faithful helpmate, who has been our subject's life companion, was formerly Miss Emily Almeda Dunlap, and became the bride of Mr. Oliver in Belmond, Wright county, Iowa, the ceremony occurring on the first day of the year 1867. Her parents, William and Cordelia (Pierce) Dunlap, were both natives of New York from where they removed to Iowa. They are now residents of Lane County, Ore. They were the parents of seven children, five sons and two daughters, and Mrs. Oliver was the eldest of the family. Mr. and Mrs. Oliver have been blessed by the following children: William Ernest, who is employed in the government weather bureau at Galveston, Texas; Ralph who is following farming in Canton township; Clarence; Fred; Lewis, and Bernice. Mr. Oliver's parents were Thomas and Deborah Oliver, and our subject was one of a family of eight children, which consisted of five sons and three daughters. The father, while on a visit to Dade county, Missouri, died in 1870, and the mother passed beyond the dark river in Harper county, Kansas, January 2, 1894.

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Rapid City Journal, South Dakota-- December, 1936

Mrs. Bruce Oliver observed Lincoln funeral cortege at 16.

The cortege of President Abraham Lincoln with its impressive ceremony as it passed, through Chicago on the homeward journey from Washington, D.C., stands out vividly in the memory of Mrs. Bruce Oliver, 712 Eighth street, who celebrated her 88th birthday today. Then only 16 years old, Mrs. Oliver accurately recalls many incidents and details connected with the sorrowful procession before the body was sent on its last trip to Springfield, Ill. ' More than 125,000 persons came from outside of Chicago to view the body which lay in state, and to witness the lengthy funeral procession,' the elderly woman recalled. Availing herself of the opportunity to view the body of the mourned president, Mrs. Oliver joined a long queue and waited in line many hours before she caught her glimpse of the erstwhile nation's leader. 'He appeared just like his photographs, melancholy like,' she said. Before living in Chicago, Mrs. Oliver resided in Attica, Indiana, where she was born Dec. 11, 1848, and in Wright County near Fort Dodge, for several years. Following her marriage in 1867, Mr. and Mrs. Oliver moved into the virgin region of what was then known as Dakota territory, settling on a farmstead near Canton. Hardships that the early pioneers experienced in any new land were encountered by the newly married couple. Grasshopper plagues and drought scourged then for five years in succession, before they eventually made a comfortable living for themselves. Mrs. Oliver still owns the farm, which includes 400 acres of fertile land. After operating the farm for 40 years, the couple moved to Boise, Idaho. When Mr. Oliver died, she came to Rapid City to make her home with her daughter, Mrs. Bernice Lewis. Mrs. Oliver was honored at a birthday party Wednesday afternoon and was showered with gifts. Those attending the party were Mrs. Lewis and her two children, Margret and Fred, grandchildren of Mrs. Oliver; Mrs. Martin Christiansen, Mrs. Laura Boyer, Mrs. Clark Butler, Mrs. Chad Bloom, Miss Clara Hloucha, Mrs. Clara McDounough, Mrs. J.W. Mullins, Sturgis; Mrs. Mary Mullin and Mrs. Ann Sessions.