Early Settlers
The Chase County Historical Society, located in Champion, Nebraska, has since it's inception in 1938 collected personal histories of residents of Chase County, Nebraska. These oral histories provides a history of Chase County that goes beyond facts and information about the state. Listed on these pages are transcripts of interviews of many early settlers of Chase County, Nebraska. I am grateful to the Historical Society for the work it's researchers did in preserving these stories, and for permission to share them here with other researchers. These stories and other important historical information about Chase County can be found in their published Histories of Chase County, copies which can be purchased from the Society or viewed in the Imperial Republican Library. The Society welcomes any additional stories about early settlers that you may wish to contribute to their files.
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Jasper and Flora Skelton
Jasper and Flora Skelton were married June 13, 1889 and came to Chase County in November
1891. They settled on a tree claim on the Stinking Water Creek described as NE 1/2
12-6-36 and built a sod house hauling the lumber they needed from Stratton. Ten
years later in 1901 they bought the SW 1/4 1-6-36.
The Skeltons allowed several homesteaders from
the narrow divide north of Wauneta come to the creek valley to clear a spot of brush and
plant a garden, usually potatoes. Wild fruits grew along the creek and they shared
these and it was all the food the divide settlers had for the winter in one of the dry
years of the 1990's.
The Elbert Moody, Steven Moody and Jasper
Skelton families homesteads all joined and were passed on to the second generation.
There were three Skelton children, Earl, May (Mrs. T. S. Stinnette) and Helen Skelton
Fanning.
(Information provided to the Historical Society
by Helen Skelton Fanning.)
email Linda Banks at: FlorenceEm@AOL.com
