Tone (Sauer) BAMBLE
BAMBLE, SVENUNGSON, SAUER, JACOBSEN, ANDERSON, MERRILL, AMBROSDAUTER
Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 10/11/2008 at 11:09:22
Anders Svenungson Bamble, known as Andrew S. Bamble, was born May 5, 1851. Tone Ambrosdauter Sauer was born May 31, 1847. They were both born in Hitterdal, Telmarken, Norway. They grew up together and each was confirmed and educated in Norway.
A.S. Bamble and Tone Sauer with a number of relatives came to the United States in 1868, at the time U.S. Grant was president. They settled in Humboldt County, Iowa (near present Eagle Grove, Iowa) where they joined relatives who had come over here earlier. They worked at various jobs, learning the language and way of life in this country.
The hardships and joys of a new land drew them close together. They were married Feb. 30, 1872 (calendar changed since then) at Fort Dodge, Iowa. With money saved and inherited, they bought some railroad land near present Eagle Grove, Iowa where they lived through good years and poor years. In 1875 they heard of the discovery of Gold in the Black Hills of Dakota Territory.
Rev. Sauer and two other men made a trip to Dakota Territory to a Scandinavian settlement west of Aberdeen. They returned to Iowa and reported a good country and Norwegian Settlement. After much debating, they decided to go to Dakota Territory. By now the Bambles had four children; Sam, Ambros, Belle and Andrew.
The A.S. Bambles, together with S.A. Sauers (brother of Tone Bamble) and S.G. Sauer (brother of Mrs. S.A. Sauer), came to Dakota Territory in June 1883, at the time Arthur was president.
The men came by immigrant train with possessions to Aberdeen, which was the end of the railroad at that time. (Aberdeen incorporated in May 1882.) Their possessions included stock, farm machinery, wagons, horses and household goods.
At Aberdeen they unloaded their possessions, which also included large Norwegian trunks, and loaded them into a wagon. The Bamble wagon was drawn by a big gray mare named Dollie and a mule named Pete. The Sauer’s had their own wagons, equipment and stock. These frontiersmen of a pioneer civilization started west.
They came to the Norwegian settlement but were not satisfied. They continued west until they came to the "Big Muddy". They found the land along the Missouri River more the their liking with the timber for shelters and fuel, and the lush grass on the prairie. There was only one white settler near - Ed Moss.
This land was not yet open for settlement, being still a part of the Great Sioux Indian Reservation, so they merely squatted on this "promised land" in June 1883. They squatted on the low land of the Upper Bottom of the Missouri River, which became Grand Crossing Township in Campbell County in 1885, 8 miles north of the present site of Mobridge in Campbell County. They built a house on the preemption of drift logs found along the Missouri River, with a sod roof. This house stood on the second bench of the river and was 1\2 mile south of where the house now stands.
The women and children came by train to Pierre and booked transport on the first river steamboat going north to Le Beau. At Le Beau they hired a man with a wagon and team of mules to take them up the river to find their men and new homes. They followed government trails and Indian trails from one bottom to another. The trip from Iowa to their new home in Dakota Territory by these adventurous frontier women was thrilling yet trying with so many small children and not knowing how or where to find the men.
About 55 miles north of Le Beau they found the men at the location the men had selected for their "new home in the west". They viewed with pleasure the surrounding timber, prairie, river and the unending vastness of the Missouri River Hills.
The party of 14 included a driver, 4 women, and 9 children. Mrs. Bamble and 4 children, Mrs. S.A. Sauer and 5 children, Tone Sauer (S.G. Sauer’s sister) and Mrs. Regnild Sauer (S.G. Sauer’s mother).
Their first postoffice was Le Beau, Dakota Territory. Later the postoffice was changed to Campbell and still later to Grass, named after the Indian Chief, John Grass. Mail came by stage and horseback but not regular. Aberdeen was their market and where they bought their supplies. A trip to Aberdeen and back took two weeks. Later with the railroad coming west their markets became closer - Ipswich, Bowdle, Evarts, then Mobridge.
Returning from a trip to Aberdeen for machinery and supplies the trails were boggy and slippery from the rains. Andrew slipped and fell under the wheels of the wagon and broke his leg. He was taken back to Aberdeen where he remained for some time.
The first winter of 1884 was trying as the cabin was cold, few supplies, and the worries of small children so far from a town and the railroad.
The cabin on the preemption was built of drift logs with a sod roof. It was on the second bench of the upper bottom (1\2 mile south of where the house now stands.)
John Olaus Bamble was born July 18, 1884 in this cabin on the preemption.
The next few years were hard, trying to get a little ground broken up for some garden and crops. The seed was brought from Iowa. There was an abundance of wild fruit along the river, some of which they dried for winter use. There was plenty of wood, but only a small ax to cut it with. The stove was small and poor, producing little heat. The water was hauled from the river in barrels for drinking and household use. The barrels always needed repairing as they would dry out and leak.
Tom arrived Dec. 26, 1886. In that winter there was a bad blizzard on the preemption. The snow drifted over the cabin and sheds so they had to dig out and tunnel to get to the stock.
By now they had steers to sell so they drove them to Bismarck. They could not sell them as there was just no price. They returned home with the steers and kept them until 1887. They started to drive them to Aberdeen but sold them in Ipswich, S.D. for $10.00 per head.
"The Blizzard of 1888" - which went down in history as the "most spectacular event in the history of the wind swept prairies of the middle west". In this blizzard that started Jan. 12, many lives were lost and stock perished in large numbers, many children and teachers remained in school houses.
They remembered well the Sitting Bull uprising in 1889 when many settlers went to their old homes while other neighbors banded together and stayed until after the killing of Sitting Bull.
The Sioux Indians were good neighbors and the settlers were not molested having cultivated their friendship. The Indians came across the Missouri River on the ice and in their canoes to visit and trade with the settlers. Because of honesty and fair dealings, they came often to the Bamble home to trade goods and to eat with the family. Many times if food was left on the table after meals, they would ask to take it with them, which was gladly given. The Bamble children spent much time playing with the Indian children. One was Amos Good Shot who later became a great bronc-buster. In 1888 an Indian Delegation from Standing Rock Agency went to Washington D.C. Among the 15 who are in the picture of this delegation are: High Eagle - a neighbor who lived directly across the river from the Bambles; Chief Grass - whom their postoffice was later named after. Sitting Bull also attended this meeting.
The Bamble children received their schooling in a nearby rural school, which was the second school in the county - District 2. An early teacher there was Miss Lou Smith.
Andrew and Tone, having both been confirmed in the Lutheran Faith in Norway, were eager to have church services on the Upper Bottom area. Religious meetings were held in homes or the school house whenever a minister came, which was not often. But children were baptized, studied the catechism and were confirmed. The first Lutheran pastor in the area was a Rev. S.L. Lobben. The first resident pastor was Rev. Peter Skartvedt (1896-1905) who drove fine horses and a good buggy. He conducted three services in widely separated places each Sunday. In 1905 to 1911 there was a Rev. O.L. Stensby. At service time all hurried to the meeting place and watched for the pastor to arrive.
In 1906, three separate Lutheran Congregations in the area united forming a congregation known as Trinity Lutheran. They incorporated on April 27, 1908 and Andrew Bamble was one of the three incorporators. They built a wooden church structure in Mobridge in 1908. The Bambles were workers in all the activities of the church; for many years they lived on the ranch, missing few services. They saw many remodelings of the church building and great growth spiritually and in numbers. They were both buried from this church that they helped to build and loved so well.
Dakota Territory was divided into N. Dak. and S.Dak. in 1887. Benjamin Harrison was elected president. S. Dak. was admitted to the Union Nov. 3, 1889. On Feb. 10, 1890 the land was opened for homesteads, which was a part of the Great Sioux Reservation. In 1891 contracts for surveying of this section of the country by Matson and Bates. The survey was approved in 1894.
They now filed under homestead right farther north of the preemption. Their new home on their homestead was on a ridge in the timber 1\4 mile from the river. The house, or dugout, was made of logs and sod dug into a bank.
Later they purchased their neighbor’s (Ed Moss) homestead, which had a frame house. They lived in this house until 1912 when they built a large two story square house, large barn - a well improved farm home.
The Ed Moss house was built in 1885 or 1886 and is still standing. It is the oldest frame house in the area. Square nails were used in this house.
Mr. Bamble filed on a tree claim 12 miles north east of the home place. They did not live on the tree claim, but planted trees on it.
Making a living in these pioneer days was a problem. A few acres of prairie were broken up each year. The sod was tough for horses and walking plow. The grain, Squaw corn, potatoes, and garden produced, if enough moisture came.
Along about 1893, Sam had an urge for adventure, so took the train at Bismarck and went west. For a time he was at Walla Walla, Washington where he cared for the horses for the Cavalry. He came with a shipment of horses to Fort Meade, S. Dak. In 1901 or 1902 he worked surveying the land around Medora, N. Da. on the first survey. He came down the Missouri River in a small boat.
Ambrose went up to visit the Sam Sauer family near Fargo, N.D. He was working on a farm when he was stricken with Typhoid Fever and died April 7, 1896. He is supposed to be the first buried at a Fargo cemetery.
About a year later, Belle went to visit relatives at Hawley, Minn. near Fargo, and found work. She became ill with Typhoid Fever. She recovered but never had good health thereafter. She came back to Grand Crossing Township and filed on a homestead in Campbell County. She spent her life at home with her parents. She passed away Oct. 30, 1939 at the age of 61.
In 1901 there was an early snow the last of November - around 15" which blanketed the country and stayed where it fell for a long time, which made it difficult getting about caring for the stock.
Then came rumors of President McKinley’s assassination on Sept 6, 1901. News traveled slowly and few could afford newspapers. Then T. Roosevelt became president until 1909.
In 1903 John, Andrew, and Sam were becoming more interested in the Cattle Country west of the river and the land being surveyed for homesteads. John and Sam worked for the L7 Cattle Company building fence for $35.00 per month.
Tom worked building fence for the Six Mile STRIP west of Evarts, (Evarts south of Mobridge) which the Cattle Companies leased to drive cattle out and in for shipping.
In the summer of 1904 John and Andrew in company with two others made a trip to the Slim Buttes - just looking the country over. They followed THE STRIP to the Butte County line (now Perkins County) then followed trails to the Slim Buttes. They returned farther north following the Grand River and back to Evarts. Now, they really had the western fever.
The winter of 1905 was cold and many blizzards on the Western Plains. A severe blizzard caused stock to drift south east and there were rumors that the gray wolf was killing much livestock near Pierre, believed to have drifted down with the stock from the north. The snow was deep along the river and melted quickly causing high water along the bottom lands.
In early May 1905, John and Andrew with cattle, horses, mowers, rakes, and wagon crossed the Missouri River at Evarts on a pontoon bridge going west. With them came John and Andrew Frizvold who had their own equipment. They followed THE STRIP and in June or July 1905, they arrived in Butte County (now Perkins). The first winter was spent on east Flat Creek (6 miles south of present Lemmon) now the John Frizvold Ranch. They built a sod house where they all batched together, and also put up a sod barn or stock shed. There was a good spring in the creek nearby. Hay which was in abundance was put up. The winter was mild.
In the spring of 1906, John and Andrew Bamble filed on their homesteads southeast of present Lemmon. In the summer of 1907 they started a Hardware Store in Tent Town. When the railroad came into Lemmon the town site lots were put up for sale. At the Lot Sale on Oct. 3, 1907, they purchased a lot and soon the store was moved to its new location in the new town of Lemmon. The Bamble Brothers have the distinction of having started the first Hardware Store in Lemmon, originating in Tent Town in the summer of 1907. Andrew and John operated the Hardware Store until Andrew passed away Sept. 19, 1926. John continued as a Hardware Dealer in Lemmon until he retired in Jan. 1949.
In 1906, Sam came out to Butte County and homesteaded near his brothers John and Andrew, later helping his brothers at the store. In 1908 he went back to Mobridge, but made frequent trips back to Lemmon to help at the store. He later settled on the farm with his parents and Tom and Belle.
In 1911 Andrew married Marie Jacobsen and established their home in Lemmon in a house they had just built. They had two children; Almore Laurie born in 1912 and died in 1923, Marietta born Aug 26, 1917 - now Mrs. Marvin Anderson, 516 Oliver, Ames, Iowa. Andrew’s wife, Marie, passed away in 1918.
In 1981 there was the Flu Epidemic when many people were ill and numbers died. They all survived and the war was over.
John married Ester Merrill, a school teacher, June 28, 1921 at her home in Spearfish, S.D. They made their home in Lemmon. Two daughters - Evelyn June, born June 14, 1923 died at birth; and Alice Merrill, born June 27, 1924 - now living in Lemmon.
On May 26, 1927, Andrew and Tone Bamble celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary when relatives and friends gathered at the fine farm home eight miles north of Mobridge in a reunion and birthday party. Andrew cut a cake with the figure 75 on and Tone cut a cake with the figure 79 on. A large wedding cake with fifty-four candles was also on the table, to commemorate the fact of their 54 years of married life.
In 1920 the Woman’s suffrage 19th amendment was passed. Tone Bamble did not vote until 1929 - when she said, "I’ll vote as I think Hoover won’t let us starve."
In the early days they were busy making a living by raising cattle and other livestock, providing feed for the winter, raising grain, and gardening. It was always diversified, some good years and some bad years. All through the many years in Grand Crossing Township, Campbell County they provided a living for the family, leading a simple home loving life, and as pioneers they remembered only the sweetness - not the hardships of their lives.
As they made the many trips to Mobridge and back home, this thought may have come to them; Over the knoll and down the other side, up an incline and across the flat prairie toward home. If it were winter the sled glided through the snow, runners bouncing up and down as they crossed old ruts of the road that led home. Tom had taken over the management of the farm for many years as Tone and Andrew took life with leisure - enjoying life near the Missouri River in the country they had pioneered many years before They remained on the farm with Tom looking after their every need, until their deaths.
Andrew S. Bamble died May 1, 1930 at the age of 79, and Tone Bamble died April 19, 1934 at the age of 87.
These pioneers of the frontier were truly the Christian backbone of our country.
Mrs. J.O. (Ester M.) Bamble
Alice M. Bamble
Tom spent his entire life on the old place, near the Missouri River. He retired in 1948, renting the farm out, and at that time he and his brother, Sam, moved into Mobridge. Sam passed away Oct. 8, 1954 at the age of 81.
The home place will soon be flooded by water from the Oahe Reservoir along with an old Ree Indian village that is just north of the farm buildings.
As a boy, Tom became interested in the arrowheads, scrapers, bone implements, beads, etc. that could be found in this old Ree village. He has picked up relics form this one village on the home place his entire life and still spends many hours out at the village - as soon it will be under water.
He has spent many hours mounting these relics in frames. On Feb. 13, 1957, his collection that was mounted in frames were as follows:
Arrowheads 1059
Scrapers 317
Bone Implements 117
Beads 93
Total 1586
plus many specimens too large to frame, and other specimens not framed.
This entire collection was gathered by Tom from the one village.
Archaeologists have visited the site many times. Some of the relics from this village are at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.
In the summer of 1956 a group from the University of Wisconsin did some excavating and took specimens, information, and pictures from the mounds and Tom’s collection.
Tom has another hobby - that of collecting, cutting, and polishing rock that he has gathered from all over. He has many beautiful polished rocks.
Tom has two great collections to be proud of.
Wright Biographies maintained by Karen De Groote.
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