Iowa
Old Press
THE FREMONT COUNTY HERALD
July 15, 1910
Old-Time Hamburgers Dead
Simpson Finnell, one of the pioneer residents of the vicinity of
Hamburg, and an extensive land owner, both in this county and in
Atchison county, Missouri, died suddenly at his home Sunday at
the age of 82 years.Funeral services were held Wednesday.
On the same day occurred the funeral of Mrs. C.A. Danforth, an
old-time citizen of Hamburg, whose remains were brought back from
Chicago for interment.
[transcribed by W.F., August 2003]
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THE FREMONT COUNTY HERALD
July 29, 1910
A Beautiful Old Age
The Sunday World Herald and the Sunday Register and
Leader contain an excellent likeness and a short historical
sketch of the life of Mrs. Elizabeth Gray who recently her 80th
birthday at the home of her daughter, Mrs. A. B. Thornell, in
Sidney. Both the picture and the write-up are by J. F. Lewis of
this city, consequently both are good.
Elizabeth Jane Monfort was born in Indiana in 1830 and married
John B. Gray in 1861. They first lived at Charleston, Illinois,
but emigrated to Missouri and were living there at the breaking
out of the war in 1861. The citizens of Missouri were divided in
their allegiance and sympathies between the north and the south,
and the unfortunate dwellers in the rural districts were preyed
upon by marauding bands of guerrillas on both sides.
Mr. and Mrs. Gray lived in the worst section of the state in this
respect, the locality that produced the James and Younger boys.
The father of the Younger boys was one of their near neighbors.
He tried to maintain a position of absolute neutrality, but his
fine horses were stolen and when he protested he was shot down by
alleged union sympathizers. This so enraged his sons, Bob, Jim
and Cole Younger, that they joined Quantrell's band of
guerrillas, which surpassed all others in devilish cruelty.
The Grays sympathized with the north, but tried to maintain
neutrality as the only position consistent with
self-preservation, and even that failed. Things got so hot that
Mr.Gray loaded his family and a few personal effects in a wagon
one night and took flight for lthe north, muffling his wagon
wheels so as not to betray his movements. He was compelled to
hide in a grove for 24 hours to escape bushwhackers. He finally
made his way across the border of the state and settled with
other refugees near Sidney, where he lived on his farm until his
death, which occurred in 1889. He served eight years as county
recorder in the early 70's.
Says South Dakota Is Alright
Fred Hiatt who last fall sold his farm just north of town and
bought land in Spink county, South Dakota, came in last Friday
evening for a short visit with relatives and friends. Fred's many
friends here will be pleased to learn that his move has proven a
very profitable one and that he has just disposed of his holdings
up there at a price almost double the amount paid for the land
last fall, and that, too, after considerable persuasion on the
part of the purchaser and an equal amount of reluctance on his
own part. He takes in trade as part payment a stock of hardware
at Cullom, Illinois, the balance in cash. In company of C. J.
Esden of this place he left Sunday for Cullom to invoice the
stock and close up the deal, and a card to one of his brothers
here states that he found the stock in much better condition than
he expected.
Upon his removal to Redfield Mr. Hiatt leased his farm land to
other parties and entered the employ of the Everett Denny Land
company--the company through which Runyon & Mitchell of this
city operate--as rental agent, and in this capacity traveled a
great deal over Spink county and adjoining counties and is pretty
familiar with conditions up there. Though he is now to remove to
other territory, Fred is loud in his praises of that section of
South Dakota and avers that the recent reports of dry weather and
failing crops have been overdrawn to the point of untruthfulness.
He says that further north in the state and extending up through
North Dakota the drouth has been severe and some sections are
burned out, but in the section through which he was called to
travel crops are fine; wheat made 80 percent of a full crop and
present prospects are that corn will do equally as well. That
farm lands are rapidly icnreasing in value is evidenced by the
sale of his own tract. There are a great many former Fremont
county people now living on farms in that region and a number of
others have large holdings there as an investment...
[transcribed by W.F., February 2006]