St. Joseph's Church

 On June 2,1881 Father James B. Fitzgerald was appointed pastor for a new parish in the Calvert-Sheridan area of southeastern Nebraska, establishing St. Joseph's Catholic Church. The first small building was functional for the growing Catholic community (no photo available). Among the 25 founding families were Peter Engles, J.W. Kerns, W.H. Kelligar and others. We don't have a photo of the original building.  However, below is the church in 1891 with the new bell town and expanded sanctuary. 

In 1900, the parish completed construction of a fine school staffed by the Sisters of Loretto. Mark and Laura Kerns did not attend this school because they were too old.  The rest of the Kerns children, and later the Ely children received an important part of their education here. 

A violent lightning storm hit the church bell tower on the evening of August 17, 1905 that started a fire destroying the original wooden church. Immediately the parishioners began plans for a new brick church on the same site. The building has been in continuous use for over 100 years now.  The photo shows the original dirt streets which were paved in the early 1950s.

The interior of the church shows wooden pews, pillars, and altar. The Kerns family always sat on the right side 4 pews from the front. As the children grew, they sat near the family. Laura and the Elys behind her parents. Then Gene and family in the same pew but entering from the side aisle.

On January 20, 1909, a beautiful Laura Kerns walked down this aisle on the arm of her father to marry Edward H. Ely. This was the first wedding in the completed building, to the best of our knowledge.

Here is the interior in 1961 at the wedding of Margene and Tom Dean.  The first redecoration of the church was in 1950.

I remember the redecoration rather well, consider that I was only 6 at the time.  Before they started, I sat in Mass and looked at the interesting cracks in the ceiling and counted the burned out light bulb that lined the major archs.  It was clear that they seldom changed them!  During the construction, scaffolding was all over the church making it hard to find "our" pew.  And when it was finished, we had to find a new "marker" for the pew.  Fortunately, all the children could find a key piece of decoration on the wall!

The next redecoration and carpeting was in the late 1960s.

The History of Auburn

Our hometown, Auburn, has an interesting history.  In the early 1880's our ancestors, James F. Ely and James W. Kerns, would have been involved in a lively discussion regarding the merging of the small towns Sheridan (north) and Calvert (south) to form a new town.  The idea focused on moving the county seat to a more central location and away from the large city of Brownville.  Church Howe and Charles Nixon donated land that was between the two little villages and strongly supported the plan.  They proposed the new name, Auburn, based on Nixon's memory of lovely Auburn, New York.  In 1882, the legal work was completed and in the election of 1883, the county seat was moved.  A small courthouse was built while plans for a new courthouse were made.

 In 1900, the limestone courthouse on the square was built at a point between the two small towns.  (Calvert was actually south of the square, an area that included St. Joseph's Church, the old Burlington Railroad, and the first J.W.Kerns Lumber Company).   Businesses grew around the square, a school was built to the north of the square (north of the Presbyterian Church).  This became known as South Auburn even with its own post office.

 

The Dovel Family, Longtime Friends

Families in Auburn knew each other quite well spanning generations.  Such was the case for the Dovel Family with the Kerns and McPherrens and later the Elys and Steinheiders.

Elmer and Gertrude Dovel moved to Auburn about 1910 when plumbing was a growing business. Apparently Elmer was highly skilled and soon established his own business. They lived in a large house at 1412 N Street.  They had three children, Irvin "Tiny" Dovel,  Inez Dovel Steinheider, and Doris Dovel.  They were active in the Methodist church, Auburn Schools, and community activities.

Tiny's Cafe, later became Darling's

Tiny was the oldest child, three years older than Gene Ely.  He worked with his dad in the Phillips 66 gas/oil business.  In the early 1950s Tiny expanded his operations by adding a restaurant near the viaduct, called "Tiny's Phillips 66 Drive-In."  Initially, it was like a truck stop, but everyone in town gathered there.  The first building had three food booths and a counter, with the end stool reserved for Tiny himself.  Later, they expanded with the large square building, and at some point they got rid of the gas pumps. 

Gene ate lunch with the boys at Tiny's for many years.  In fact, Tiny had a special room for his buddies to eat together with him.  Tiny weighed over 300 pounds, and thus personally advertised for the quality of the food in his establishment.   After every school event, kids flocked to Tiny's for something to eat, jukebox music, and most importantly "to be seen."  Going to Tiny's was just as important as going to the game... home or away.

After Tiny's death, the Darling family bought the business and operated it for many years.  Although officially the name had changed, to this day, people who understand Auburn's history prefer to call it "Tiny's."

A license plate decoration ca 1955

Tiny had a unique business sense.  He was called a Phillips 66 jobber, whatever that means.  He always wore overalls, specially made for a man of his size, so he had them embroidered with "Phillips 66" on the back.  He had every type of advertising trinket such as matchbooks, pencils, pens, and later T-shirts.  I've seen some of them on e-bay as collectibles.  We had dozens of such items over the years in our house.  On some he listed his business phone number, in the days before Auburn had dial phones.  What was it?  "66" of course!! 

Inez Dovel was an accomplished musician specializing in piano.  As a young child, she was the accompanist for many church events and nearly all school activities.  When the McPherren family moved to Auburn in 1930, she and Marge became friends and often shared the duties of accompanists.

Inez was a year ahead of Marge and Gene at AHS.  Here she is as a senior in 1932. It's amazing how recognizable she is. 



After attending college, Inez married Roy Steinheider and they returned to Auburn where they had one son, Robb.  Roy was in the insurance business and Inez taught piano to future musicians in her home at the corner of 16th and J.  Of course, the Ely children were among those chosen.  She was known as the best piano teacher in town, and also the toughest.  I felt additional pressure to perform since she was friends with my mother.  It didn't seem to bother Anne or Joe that much, though!

When the Ely family needed an organist at the Catholic Church for a wedding or special occasion, Inez was happy to fill in.  And from time to time, Marge would help Inez out at the Methodist Church too. 

Inez Steinheider about 2005

Here is the on-line obituary I found from 2008.

Inez Steinheider, age 94 of Auburn, passed away Sunday, November 30, 2008 at the Good Samaritan Society-Auburn. She was born December 26, 1913. 

Inez's parents were Elmer and Gertrude (Robertson) Dovel. Inez graduated from Auburn High School and University of NE and attended Christian College in Columbia, MO. She married June 4, 1937 to Roy Steinheider in Auburn, NE. They had 1 son, Robb. Inez and Roy lived in Auburn, NE. Roy died in 1997. Inez entered the Good Samaritan Center where she died at the age of 94 years, 11 months and 4 days.
Preceding her in death were her parents and a brother Irvin.
Survived by son Robb and wife Sue of CA. grandson Fritz and wife Amy of IN. 6 grandchildren and a sister Doris Dovel.
Graveside Memorial Services held Dec. 9, 2008 at Sheridan West Cemetery near Auburn, NE. Inurnment of ashes followed.

The Kerns Daughters

Laura Ely Kerns (Gene Ely's mother, born 1883) was the second of thirteen children of James W. and Alice Crowley Kerns.  She had a sister, Tessa, born in 1889 who died of diphtheria in 1892, when Laura was 9.  When she was 16, her next sister, dear Aunt Alice, was born.  And shortly thereafter, three more little girls came along, Kathryn, Emily, and Mercedes.

 Many of you may remember visiting Aunt Alice who was at the Good Samaritan Home in Auburn in the 1980s.  Although she had physical limitations in her later years, her mind was sharp.  Alice and Marge Ely were close friends and spent many hours chatting, laughing, and enjoying each other. 

Alice Francis Kerns Flack graduated from Auburn High School in 1918.  At the time of her graduation, her brothers were going to war (World War I) and J.W. wanted Alice to take a leadership role in the lumber yard.  She did, of course, and proved herself to be quite capable.  She was a fixture among business people in Auburn for many decades.

Alice remembered much from the early days of Auburn.  She recalled the bricking of Courthouse Avenue since her father ordered all the materials.  Such an improvement was a major event for the community.  The boulevard was completed about 1910 and has withstood the traffic (including parades) for over 100 years!

Be sure to enlarge the 1912 photo to see the beautiful detail on the girls' dresses.  We know that their mother did much crocheting, and perhaps she did some of the handwork on the dresses.  They have lovely jewelry on too. 

The Kerns Sisters in 1912:  Top clockwise:  Laura, Kathryn, Mercedes, Emily, and Alice

Here they are together in 1955 in the Ely house. Emily lived in Omaha while the others spent their lives in Auburn.

Kathryn Codington, Emily Guthman, Alice Flack, Laura Ely, and Mercedes Sanders.

1976 Gene, Kathryn, Buzz, Alice, Edith

The Kerns aunts doted upon the Ely nephews throughout their lives.

***

A future post will focus on the J.W. Kerns Lumber Company.

James W. Kerns

How did the Kerns branch get to Nebraska?

A key figure in our family history is James W. Kerns, who was Gene Ely's maternal grandfather.  

We have a genealogy book prepared by the relatives in Illinois during the 1980s that has more about his background.  In a nutshell, his parents, Peter and Mary Kerns,  came from Ireland in the 1840s with their four children.  For a short time they lived in New York and then on to Illinois.  In this country, they had six more children.  James was the seventh child in the family, born in LaSalle County, Illinois.

At age 17, about a year after his father's death, James headed west to work.  He returned to Illinois to marry Alice Crowley on Christmas Day in 1879, somewhat unusual but allowed in the church due to their travel schedule.  They returned to Omaha by train and eventually moved to Calvert (now Auburn).  Twelve of their 13 children were born in Auburn.  Their second oldest was Laura Sophia Kerns Ely,  Gene Ely's mother.

J.W. Kerns Grows Up
told to Anne Ely Kenlon by Mary Alice Ely,
April 2003

James Washington Kerns (known to Mary Alice as "Grandpa") grew up on a farm  near Mendota, Illinois, a younger son in a large Irish family. Several of the older boys had been born in Ireland, but the family had come to the U.S. by the time young J.W. was born. The older brothers were responsible for most of the farm work, so young J.W. set out west after the Civil War and found work with the Chicago Lumber Company's new lumber yard in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Eager to work his way up in the business, he started to attend night school at a business college in Omaha. He had to borrow his boss's horse in order to get across the river to school. He came out of class one night to find the horse had been stolen....so he had to work many extra hours to pay off the loss.

Eventually he was put in charge of the Chicago Lumber Company's new lumber yard in Phelps City, Missouri, near the banks of the Missouri River. Now a young businessman, he began to turn his attention to his personal life, and remembered the Crowley family who lived down the road from the Kerns farm back in Illinois.

He had always liked the older Crowley sisters, and started writing letters to them in hopes of striking up a romance with one or the other. The girls responded at first, but eventually turned their attentions to the Murphy brothers who lived nearby. Seeing her older sisters snub J.W., young Alice Crowley felt sorry for him and started responding to his letters herself, though he was five years older than she. Eventually they fell in love and were married on Christmas day in 1879.

The young couple set up their first household in Phelps City, and then a major flood on the Missouri River wiped out the lumber yard. The Chicago Lumber Company decided to re-build, but not in Phelps City...instead, they chose the nearby town of Auburn, where the Union Pacific railroad had just come through. By now the couple had the first of their 13 children, (Edward) Mark, and settled in a house on the south side of Auburn. J.W. used to walk to the lumber yard each day, cutting an angled path through the settlement...the same path where he was later instrumental in creating Courthouse Boulevard.

            **********

 

Primary Sources: 

1)  Nebraska State Legislature, 1904-05
Reference:   http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/topic/resources/OLLibrary/Legislature/1903/pages/nelg0118.htm

        J. W. KERNS.

      James W. Kerns, Representative from the Third District, Nemaha county, was born on a farm in La Salle county, Illinois, January 15, 1854. When he was seventeen years of age he came to Nebraska, and from 1871 to 1880 resided in Omaha, and during 1880 was at Phelps, Missouri. In June, 1881, he became a resident of Calvert, now Auburn, which has been his home since then. For one term he was city clerk of Auburn, and served as mayor of the town for one year. He was one of the organizers of, and the first president of the first Independent Telephone company organized in Nebraska. He is the president of the Auburn Canning Co. and also of the Auburn Hotel Co. For a number of years he has been engaged in the lumber and coal business in his home town. In 1879 he was married to Alice J. Crowley, of La Salle county, Illinois, and has a large family consisting of six sons and three daughters. Mr. Kerns is a Republican and is serving his first term in the House.

2.  History of Nebraska

http://www.kancoll.org/books/andreas_ne/nemaha/nemaha-p16.html

The town of South Auburn, formerly Calvert, is located on Sections 27 and 28, Township 5, Range 14, situated on the Burlington & Missouri Railroad, eleven miles from Brownville via wagon road, or fifteen by way of Nemaha City. The sections designated were originally owned by J. L. Smith, J. B. Piper, J. Maxwell and G. R. Reynolds, being purchased by the Lincoln Town Site Company in the early part of 1881, platted July 1, and named in honor of Hon. T. E. Calvert, of the railroad corporation, to which, primarily, it owes its existence. The first settler was J. N. Brust, who, some time prior to its survey, erected a small frame house, near the present depot building, in which he placed a stock of groceries in July, 1881; subsequently, closed out. In June of the same year, the Chicago Lumber Company put up a small building, now used as a dwelling, a lumber yard being established under charge of George D. Cross, who, during the first six months, disposed of 100 cars of lumber, a large part of which was conveyed from Brownville by wagons. Later in the same month, a second lumber yard was opened by J. W. Kerns; and on July 14, the first number of the Calvert Courier appeared, from which time the progress of the new town has been rapid.

3.  The Nebraskana Society
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/topic/resources/OLLibrary/Nebraskana/pages/nbka0155.htm
 ** A couple of errors in this... Tess is missing...  should be "Laura S."
 typo
The Nebraskana Society information is dated 1932.

James Washington Kerns

James W. Kerns, executive and lumber dealer, was born at Ophir, Illinois, January 15, 1854, of Irish ancestry. He is the son of Peter and Margaret (Conlin) Kerns, both of whom are deceased. His father, a farmer, who was born in County Sligo, Ireland, in 1800, came to America in 1846. He died in LaSalle County, Illinois, in 1869.

Margaret Kerns, his mother, was born in County Mayo, Ireland, in 1815. She died in LaSalle County, Illinois, in 1895.

On December 25, 1879, he was united in marriage with Alice Josephine Crowley, at Mendota, Illinois. To this marriage was born the following children: Edward Mark, born December 19, 1880, married to Pearl Shipply; Laura S., March 8, 1883, married Edward H. Ely; Harry Francis, September 11, 1885, died February 9, 1892; Mary Teresa (Tess):  Thomas Leo, September 27, 1889; Albert Benedict., June 15, 1891; James W., December 26, 1892; Lawrence, July 26, 1894; Harold P., May 3, 1898; Alice F., November 16, 1899; Kathryn Marie, May 20, 1902; Emily Elizabeth, January 14, 1905; and Mercedes Leona, May 6, 1907.

A Republican, Mr. Kerns was city clerk of Auburn, and was member of. the Nebraska state legislature, 1903-05. He has been a resident of Nebraska since March, 1872, except for one year, and is at the present time president of the J. W. Kerns Lumber Company. He is a Catholic, and a member of St. Joseph's Church, at Auburn, and the Knights of Columbus. Residence: Auburn.

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The Ely Farm

The Ely Farm:  Maps and Photos

Here are some very interesting old maps of Nemaha County and the farm.  The large map was photographed at the Nemaha Valley Museum on August 5, 2011 by Karen with Bill Ely pointing out the family farm.  Enlarge it to see the town of Sheridan (yes, this is BEFORE Auburn existed) just above the words "Douglass" and find the farm 2 miles north and 2.5 miles east of Auburn.  You'll also recognize the wandering Nemaha River!

1870s Map of Nemaha County.  See Missouri River on Right and Town of Sheridan Middle Left.

 James F. Ely started with 80 acres in 1868.  He acquired more land when possible and by 1890 had 490 acres.  The map was written in the early 1870s because records show that J.F. Ely bought the H. Seymour land that was foreclosed for $761.65 on April 17, 1873!  See link below and read other things from it too!

Ely Farm is on both side of the road in Douglass Precinct neighboring London

http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/topic/newspapers/NSHS/NTEP/neptc042.htm



The above link is very interesting as it contains extractions from the Territorial Newspaper and comments about business and especially about the wagons traveling westward with emigrants.

The original house built by J.F. Ely for his family in the 1870s.  In 1909, Ed and Laura Ely moved into it.

More photos of the house on a future post. Do note the outhouse on the far left!

Ariel View of the farm 100 years after establishment.  Photo April 1967

If you'd like jpgs of these photos so you can enlarge them even more, let me know.  Aren't they great?  Karen

Comparing Hair Styles

Comparing Hair Styles

In looking closer at the 1871 photo of Mary Delay Ely (my great grandmother), something looked familiar.  And then I took another look at my 1961 senior photo from Auburn High School.  Just isn't much more to say, is there???  Enjoy.

Karen Ely Eichstadt AHS Class of 1961:   Mary Delay Ely  about 1871