Early Pioneers in Nemaha County

 Here is a short historical summary based on my on-line readings including events and names of importance to the Ely Family.  I strongly encourage anyone interested to look at the references.       Some of the facts were familiar to me but many were not.  Great reading!

The Early Pioneers of 
Nemaha County and Auburn

Three dates, 1858, 1867, 1882, not that long ago, are important in the history of our hometown.

Historical Marker near Brownville

 Undoubtedly,  Lewis and Clark were the first white visitors to Nemaha County when they camped near the Missouri River as they explored the Louisiana Purchase.  They described the area in their writings of 1804.  However it was closer to 1850 when some permanent settlers arrived.  Two were Richard Brown (hence, Brownville) and the half-breed Indian, Joseph Deroin, who platted an area called St. Deroin in the vicinity of today's Auburn.  Deroin was the person behind the "Half-Breed Road" familiar to us near the Nemaha River just east of Auburn and its  Historical Marker is on what we call "the bottom" Ely land. Buzz farmed it for most of my memory but I know that Daddy had it for a few years.

Officially, Nemaha County was organized in 1858 with about 50 settlers living in the area.  Brownville, the largest city and second largest in the territory, was the county seat.

After President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act of 1862, citizens and immigrants alike had an incentive to move westward.  In Nebraska, if a settler claimed 160 acres of surveyed land,  lived on it for 5 years, and made some "improvements" like a house, the land was his.  Daniel Freeman was the first settler to take advantage of this on Jan 2, 1863 (shortly after midnight) by appearing at the the land office in Brownville for the papers.  His land was near Beatrice and is now a national monument.

In some areas (like Nemaha County) 160 acres was a nice piece of land that could support a family.  Further west where water was a problem, 160 acres wasn't as much of a good thing. But even in Nemaha County farming was tough and abandoned homesteads commonplace.   After the Civil War and with the emergence of the railroads, many people were eager to begin a new life in the West.

On March 2, 1867,  Nebraska became the 37th  state of our country, approximately two years after the end of the Civil War.  The capital was moved from Omaha to "Lancaster," south of the Platte.  Later the city was renamed Lincoln after the recently assassinated President. 

From 1870 to 1890, many people (sometimes 100 a day) crossed the ferry at Brownville.  This photo (from Brownville site) shows a flatboard ferry.  Since James, Alice and young son, Mark Kerns, lived in Phelps City Mo in 1880, they could have ridden on something like this. Looks rather dangerous, doesn't it? (The first bridge over the Missouri at Brownville wasn't built until 1939!) 

Crossing the Missouri

 We do know that James F. Ely arrived in Brownville on a steamship from St. Joseph, Mo in 1868.  He had taken a train from Otsego County, New York after the Civil War. (more on him in another blog) 

Typical Steamboat on the Missouri River 1860-1880.

Brownville was a bustling city in the 1860s and 1870s, even having a college with a chemistry professor!  Now that's hard to believe!  And also, it was the seat of Nemaha County.

Brownville in 1869, as James Ely may have seen it.

Brownville Land Office years ago.  A replica now stands in the same place.

West of Brownville along the Brownville-Beatrice Trail (that merged onto the Oregon Trail) two small towns were developing.   Those towns were Sheridan (north) and Calvert (south).  In an attempt to move the county seat to a more central location, some local leaders,  Church Howe (Marshall's great grandfather) and Charles Nixon (familiar name to all of us) had a unique idea.  They donated land that was between Sheridan and Calvert to form a new larger city.   They also suggested the name Auburn, based on Howe's memories of the beautiful area surrounding Auburn New York.   Thus, our Auburn was "born" in 1882.  Other posts will focus on the growth of the town.

The stories of the pioneers are recorded in books, movies, and TV series.  (Note: The Laura Ingalls Wilder stories of Little House on the Prairie take place in Minnesota, not Nebraska, but still give us a glimpse of life at that time.)

Here are some stories about people we know!

Ref:  Peter Engles from The History of Nemaha County (1983); Ely family collection of obituaries: John Rose, Dr. Mary Alice Engles.


In 1862,  Peter Engles,  his wife Mary and young son Thomas W.  crossed the Missouri on a ferry and began their life in Nemaha County.  They had two more children,  Lizzie and Albert M., born in Nemaha County.

However, before Peter Engles was married (1850s), he and his brothers Anthothy and Michael, were camped in Nebraska near Beatrice on their way to California. Peter was cooking breakfast and Anthony and Michael were looking for game when they disappeared, never to be seen again!  They were presumed to have been taken by Indians!  See BLUE Nemaha County Book  

Thomas W. and wife Bennita had four children,  Albert F.,  Sister Francisca (Mary), Emily, and Thomas A.  Albert F. married Bea and lived on the farm just south of the Auburn Country Club.  Emily lived in the family house (corner of 18th and K) and was one of the church organists.  Sister Francisca was a Loretto nun. Thomas A.Engles managed the T.W. Engles Lumber Yard located near the courthouse in South Auburn (yes, a competitor of the J.W. Kerns Lumber Company).

Lizzie Engles married James Taylor and had no children.  They raised John Rose, who had been orphaned as a young boy in Howe.   They lived in the house at 1710 K Street (across from Bess Griffiths) that we remember so well.  Grandma Marjorie Ely played many a bridge game with Anne Rose there.

These two photos show the Taylor-Rose house in 1900 and in 2000.  Many old houses were painted white which actually has helped preserve them.  Photos are from Auburn, Now and Then, by Kevin A. Casey.

Albert M. Engles, the youngest child of Peter Engles,  married Frances Fulham and had two children:  Dr. Mary Alice Engles and Frank Engles.  Dr. Mary Alice Engles (Ph.D. education) taught in Omaha and Frank Engles who married Marge Wheeler.  Frank and Marge had four children Ann, Bert (Albert M.), Bob (current mayor of Auburn) and Pat (Joe's HS friend and baseball buddy.)  And for the record, Pat Engles and his family currently live in "our" house at 1011 15th Street!

Peter Engles was the first person buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in 1881.  They were charter members of St. Joseph's Church.  Their pew was on the left side of the church behind the Kelligar family.  In the early days when "pew rent" was common, name plates were on the end of each pew. One of the large stained glass windows in the church was given in memory of Peter Engles also.

I'm hoping that anyone reading this will be amazed, as I am, at the role people we know played in the establishment of a community that we descendants have loved too!