Stover PipeLine #5,
April, 1976
 
 

Dear Ewer Descendants,

   This Stove-pipe was prompted by a question recently posed: ..The answer required a little bit of looking, and one thing led to another... and, well, while it's fresh in my mind, may as well put it down in a readable (?) summary.  The question went something like: "When did Samuel Higgins and Ellen Ewer marry?,"  and I think was prompted by a section in Biographical Souvenir of Buffalo, Kearney, and Phelps Counties, dealing with pioneer Samuel Higgins.  A good sketch of Samuel is given, but very little mention is made of his second wife, Ellen Ewer.  Also, no sketch of A.J. Stover.

   Ellen Wamsley (somtimes seen as "Warmsley, Walmsley") was born near Manchester, England, ca. 1829.  She was about 12 when the family came to America to settle near Cassville, Grant County, Wisconsin.
   The 1850 census of Grant County shows Charles, age 52; Sarah, age 47; Ellen, 20; Mary, 15; Charles, 13; Jeremiah, 9; and Nicholas, age 2.  All but Nicholas were born in England.  Gram May said that Nicholas was Ellen's child (and confided that children out of wedlock "was really nothing new").
   Ellen Wamsley married Reuel (Rewel, Ruel) Ewer in Cassville, Wisconsin on August 31, 1851.  Reuel was born in Pennsylvania about 1830.
   The 1860 Grant County census shows Ruel, age 30, occupation miner; Ellen, age 30;  Nicholas, 12;  Mary E., 7;  Angeline, 5;  Clara, 3; and Rosalie, age 1.  Abraham Lincoln was born in November of 1860 and does not appear on the census.  Gram May had not heard anything of Mary E.; I assume that she was the first child of Reuel and Ellen?
   In August of 1862, Reuel enrolled in Company "C", TWENTY-FIFTH Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers in Cassville, Wisconsin.  Reuel died of 'swamp fever' in the Regimental Hospital in Helena, Arkansas, August 19, 1863.
   Ellen Ewer filed claim for pension in December, 1864; one of the witnesses was Ambrose Murray (see Stove-pipe #2).  At that time she appointed John H. C. Sneclode to be her agent and attorney in matters regarding pension benefits.

   Samuel Higgins was born March 30, 1811, on the Penebscot River in Maine.  Higgins left Maine in 1837, and eventually settled in Grant County, Wisconsin.  The 1850 census of Grant County shows Samuel, age 37;  Matilda, age 33, born in Illinois;  James, 5, born in Iowa;  William, 5;  and Albert, 1, both born in Wisconsin.  Apparently, Higgins lived for a time in Iowa, and was in Wisconsin by 1847.  Biographical Souvenirs... says that Samuel had nine children by his first wife; I think we can assume that James, William, and Albert were the eldest of the nine.  The book also states that Higgins resided in Wisconsin for 13 years; seems to me like it was more like 25, but I would like to re-search the 1860 and 1870 census films of Grant County to be sure.  (Re-search implies search again, this time being on the lookout for Higgins as well as Wamsley and Ewer!)

   Samuel Higgins and Ellen Ewer were married in Glen Haven, Grant County, Wisconsin on November 26, 1865.  (photos)  Higgins' occupation at the time was carpenter.
   On November 8, 1866, the above mentioned John Sneclode made a declaration as guardian of the Ewer 'orphans,' Angeline, Clara V., Rosalie, and Abraham Lincoln.  I wonder what circumstances made this necessary?

  Biographical Souvenir... says that Higgins came to Buffalo County, Nebraska, on November 10, 1872.  He built a small shanty in Gibbon and left his family there while he prospected for a claim.  I wish I knew exactly who his family included!  It could have included Sam's nine (?) children, Reuel's surviving four children, Ellen's Nicholas, and by this time, Samuel, Jr.  ...all in a shanty ???

   On December 9, 1872, Higgins made application for homestead of the East half of the SE quarter of Section 22, Township 11, Buffalo County.  (This is the Higgins' place more recently owned and occupied by Jacob Jochem.)(photos)    This was not a Soldier's and Sailor's Homestead; documents show that Higgins paid at least $18 in various fees related to his claim.  Such documents are missing from several other sets of Veteran's Homestead records I've seen.  (Higgins was too old to serve in the Civil War.)  Testimonies filed later (one witnessed by Alexander Young and Nancy Higgins) indicated that he had settled the land on December 15, 1872.  I wonder if he actually resided with his family in the dugout during the fierce winter of early 1873?
   The West half of the SE quarter of Section 22 was entered as "Timber Culture" on April 4, 874.  Congress in 1873 created "An Act to Encourage the Growth of Timber on Western Prairies."  Homestead proof required planing many trees on barren prairie land; Higgins claimed he planted 10,676 trees covering 20 Acres and including Cottonwood, Box- Elder, White Ash, and Willow.  Higgins was charged at least $22 in various fees for the timber culture homestead.
   Ellen Higgins, as guardian of a soldier's orphan children, filed a declaration for the NW quarter of Section 26 on August 22, 1873.  She filed application on January 29, 1874; Testimonies filed later indicated that the land was 'settled' by June 1, 1874.

   So, the joint Higgins' spread covered 320 Acres; Two 80 acre parcels homesteaded by Samuel Higgins, and 160 acres (adjoining to the SE) homesteaded by Ellen Ewer Higgins for the minor children of Reuel.

   Joseph Clayton eventually bought 40 acres each from Angeline and Clara Ewer; Joseph and Rosalie lived on Rosalie's 40 acres on the NW quarter of the NW quarter of Section 26.

   Yes, Samuel and Ellen were married before coming to Nebraska; Ellen was in Nebraska by August, 1873, if not sooner.  I wonder when, exactly.

   I have a great deal of information regarding Ellen Wamsley and Sam Higgins scattered throughout much correspondence from Gram May; A future project calls for sorting it out and putting it back together.

   Still looking for your Joseph Clayton recollections...
   Still no leads on any Hutchinson descendants...

   Since the Ewers were the subject of this Stove-pipe, perhaps just this one should have been called a sEwer-pipe ??  Now, this could lead to CLAYton-pipes, and to LUCAS-pipes (, appreciated only if you're familiar with V. Todd Stover's wife, Robyn, and her family, founders of Lucas Plumbing [Leaky Lucas] in Kearney, Nebraska).

   Would like to hear from you,

Next, PipeLine #6, Ellen & Sam Higgins, A.L. Ewer, "Aunt Clara" Harford...

 
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