THE HISTORY OF ALOIS GRAMLICH IN SARPY COUNTY, NEBRASKA

"By way of personal mention I will state that Mr. Gramlich is a member of the Board of County Commissioners , which position he has held for the past two years. He is a man of quiet temperament, but nevertheless, a man of determined will and energy, especially in business matters. . . . Men of his cast show vis inertia in both ways-not very easily moved, they are not easily checked when once in motion. Their velocity is not usually great but their momentum is tremendous. In a word they mean business whenever they engage in any enterprise."

Papillion (Nebraska) Times, February 21, 1878

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.    INTRODUCTION

2.    THE  HISTORY OF ALOIS GRAMLICH IN SARPY COUNTY NEBRASKA

3.    TRANSCRIPTION OF ALOIS GRAMLICH OBITUARY

4.    TRANSCRIPTION OF STORY BY SAMUEL WATKINS GRAMLICH

5.    TRANSCRIPTION OF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF ALOIS GRAMLICH

6.    REPRINT OF ALOIS AND MATILDA'S MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE

7.    REPRINTS OF PAPERS RELATING TO ALOIS GRAMLICH PROPERTY

8.    REPRINT OF ALOIS GRAMLICH'S DEATH CERTIFICATE

9.    POSTSCRIPT

10.  BIBLIOGRAPHY

11.  NOTES

INTRODUCTION

     The origins of the following paper go back to the summer of 1981. At this time I attended my first Gramlich family reunion. I was none too pleased at the prospect of going. I could think of an infinite number of things that were more deserving of my attention. Nevertheless, I went to the reunion.

     Happily my foreboding was all for naught. On a warm, windy Nebraska summer afternoon I was introduced to some delightful anecdotes and memorabilia that completely changed my opinion about family reunions. That day I was led through a dazzling panorama of early Nebraska history that far exceeded any classroom experience I could have received.

     As the summer faded so did the memories of the reunion. It is entirely possible that nothing more than vague remembrances might have come from the reunion had I not taken a class in plains humanities that fall at the University of Nebraska. One of the assignments in this class was to write a paper on some aspect of plains culture. I was casting about for a topic when I remembered the stories that I listened to at the reunion. Could it be possible that right in my own family history there was enough material to do a project on plains culture as seen through one man's experiences?

     It was possible. The story of the settlement of the Great Plains is contained in the life of Alois Gramlich. His journey from poverty in Germany to success in Nebraska is typical of how many immigrants came to live and colonize the area that was once called the "Great American Desert." In fact, it is so typical that once I looked at length into Alois' life I found myself questioning whether anyone would believe that I did not copy it from some romanticized version of Great Plains settlement.

     The following story is an extension and an enlargement of the paper that I did for that class. I have had to alter some aspects of my original project as new information has come to light. Regrettably, much about Alois Gramlich's life has been lost for all time. His last child (Adam) died seventeen years ago and much of the information went with him as the last surviving member of the second generation. Fortunately, Alois' grandchildren had enough foresight to record as many memories about him as possible so that future generations might have some sort of mental image of the man who, in his own way, helped transform the Great Plains into the breadbasket of the world. Much of what is included in this paper would have been impossible to gather at this late date had it not been for their diligence. Nevertheless, many portions of the following narrative cannot be corroborated by hard historical data and are based mainly on the multitude of stories about Alois that have come down through the generations of the Gramlich family.

     I hope that this story meets with the approval of Alois' descendants and they find it as enjoyable to read as I found it to compile.

David Lake
Lincoln, Nebraska
January 31, 1982

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THE HISTORY OF ALOIS GRAMLICH IN SARPY COUNTY NEBRASKA

     Sometime during the year 1846 a young German stepped off the sailing ship Katherina Jackson at Baltimore. After a ninety-day trip from Europe, seventeen-year old Alois Gramlich had arrived in America with many dreams, but with very little wherewithal upon which to base those dreams.⁽¹⁾

     The son of Johann Leonhard and Catharina (Dorsam) Gramlich, Alois was born on August 25, 1829, in or near the town of Unter-Schonmattenwag.⁽²⁾   This town was located within a duchy of the Hesse Darmstadt, south of the town of Darmstadt and east of the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg. The Duchy, or Langravate, of Hesse Darmstadt no longer exists in name. The area that it once encompassed would now be located in west central Germany with a present population about four times that of Nebraska crammed into about one-ninth the amount of space. The principal cities today are Frankfurt am Main, Kassel, Weisbaden, and Darmstadt. (see map of Europe, below) When Alois Gramlich was born Hesse Darmstadt was a semi-independent region within the fourteen-year old confederation of German states. The Duchy was barely out of the medieval era in the early nineteenth-century. A remnant of the Holy Roman Empire, the area was an autocratic state ruled by the Grand Duke of Hesse. Underneath the Grand Duke were fifteen separate lay and ecclesiastical princes, along with several "free" towns and numerous counts and knights. This arrangement was straight from the feudal period. Little cooperation between these petty rulers was attempted. Archaic social, political and economic structures abounded. Law and taxes varied throughout the Duchy. No public roads or transportation existed. Agriculture, the primary source of livelihood for most people, was still practiced with the same methods use almost three-hundred years earlier. Serfs, still legal until 1820, provided most of the manual labor for both town and country.⁽³⁾

     This was the type of country into which Alois was born. It offered little opportunity for advancement of the masses. Those in power jealously guarded their prerogative. Public participation in the government was minimal. Although there existed a diet, or parliament, of the Three Estates, all of the decisions were made by the Grand Duke and his advisors and the diet sat only at his pleasure. For those who neither had the money nor the connections to establish themselves in business the only recourse was the military. The Grand Duke was in constant need of troops for diplomatic reasons. From the 1790s until Hesse Darmstadt was absorbed by Prussia in 1871, the Grand Duke walked a tightrope between the expansionist tendencies of the great powers that surrounded his small domain. At one time or another in the first half of the nineteenth century, the soldiers of Hesse Darmstadt fought against Russia, Austria, France, and Prussia. The reputation of the Hessian soldier, although somewhat tarnished in America during the Revolutionary War, was renowned from the English Channel to the Ural Mountains.

     Alois Gramlich's family had neither money nor connections. From the moment he was born Alois was faced with the inevitable prospect of being conscripted into the military. Beyond being born a Roman Catholic and serving as an alter boy, little is known about his life in Unter-Schonmattenwag. Alois did came from a large family. Besides himself there was Eva (Margaret) Gramlich (born May 23, 1813), Adam Gramlich (born February 7, 1815), Leonard Gramlich (born September 26, 1818), Barbara Gramlich Sauer (born November 29, 1820), Anna Gramlich (born 1822), Nikolaus (born September 21, 1825, Eva Katharina Gramlich (born April 1828), Unnamed baby (born November 11, 1830), Eva Katharina Gramlich (born March 3, 1832), Martin Gramlich (born March 2, 1834)⁽⁴⁾

     Alois abruptly left Hesse Darmstadt in 1846. Undoubtedly, he had come to face the fact that he was fast approaching conscription age. His prospect of staying out of the military being none too bright, he decided to forsake his homeland for the New World. This decision was not arrived at without some consideration. Alois' older brother, Nicholas, had preceded him to America by a few years. Unquestionably, some of his letters about the opportunities to be found in the U.S. played some role in Alois' choice of a refuge from European militarism.⁽⁵⁾

     Alois spent some time on the eastern seaboard after his arrival in Baltimore. It is thought that he was attempting to master the butcher's trade before joining Nicholas, who was working at St. Louis in a meat shop. Alois evidently learned his trade well for his smoked meats were to be his trademark for the rest of his life.⁽⁶⁾

     Slowly, in the early 1850s Alois gravitated westward. By 1853, he was employed as a butcher in Chicago. While he was in the Windy City Alois met Miss Matilda Watkins; the twenty-one year old daughter of Samuel and Sophie Watkins, who was working as a domestic in one of the finer homes in the area. The two had a short courtship and were married in the bride's home at Petersburg in Menard County, Illinois on July 28, 1853.⁽⁷⁾

     Almost as little information about the Watkins family has been preserved as that found about Alois' ancestry. Only vague memories about them remain. One of Alois' grandchildren recalled, "The Watkins were farmers, after a fashion-race horses, etc., sort of bluegrass farmers," and another commented "Judging by the family Grandma [Matilda] raised, she must have had a reasonably good background and came from a vigorous God-fearing home."⁽⁸⁾  It was said that Matilda did not approve of reading the Old Testament because of the many offensive stories in it. Census records show that the Watkins family was from Kentucky. Indeed, Mildred Schobert recalled that her Aunt Joanna Gramlich (Mrs. John Gramlich) told her, "Millie, never forget that your Grandmother [Matilda] was a 'Kentucky Belle,"⁽⁹⁾  According to Barbara Lake, "the Watkins hobnobbed with the Lincolns at their farm on the Sangamon River."⁽¹⁰⁾  A Watkins family member, Lyle Watkins, still living in Petersburg in the 1950s, thought that the family moved from Kentucky to Illinois around 1827. He said that Samuel Watkins used to drive stakes for Abe Lincoln, "when Abe was strolling around surveying, and as you know, he surveyed Petersburg. Grandpa Watkins used to shake his head and say, 'Nice man, Abe, just on the wrong [Whig/Republican] ticket.'"⁽¹¹⁾  It is unfortunate that we cannot verify this family connection with the future Sixteenth President of the United States any farther.

     Alois and Matilda did not tarry long in Illinois. The glitter of the Far West beckoned the young German. It is possible that he saw his future in the gold fields of California. So, in April of 1855, the couple, accompanied by Matilda's brother James, packed their belongings into one wagon and left from Beardstown, Illinois for the long agonizing journey to the West Coast.⁽¹²⁾ Pulled by a yoke of Oxen affectionately named Bill and Dave, Alois and his wife, already pregnant with the first of their eleven children, trekked to the headquarters of the Oregon Trail-Independence, Missouri. It was their intention that at this boom town they would join up with other families heading west and form a protective caravan. Although the Gramlichs left Illinois in plenty of time to reach Independence by the designated date, they ran into difficulty in Iowa. They found themselves held up because of a hazardous crossing of a swollen Mississippi River. The delay this caused was enough to force the wagon train to start west without them. When the Gramlichs finally made Independence they were informed that the caravan had already left because it was necessary to leave no later than May for the West Coast in order to make it over the Rocky Mountains before snows made the trails impassable. It is possible that the delay at the Mississippi saved their lives. According to family tradition the wagon train they were to join up with was never heard from again after leaving Independence. Whether the caravan was massacred by Indians, was caught by the snows in the Rockies, or actually reached the West Coast despite the Gramlich legend is impossible to say. I like to refer to this incident as the family's version of divine intervention.

     Alois, swallowing his disappointment, decided to head north into Iowa in hopes of joining another wagon train that was rumored to be forming somewhere in that state. They traveled along the western boundary of Iowa until they reached Kanesville, now called Council Bluffs. There they found that the rumor of another wagon train was only just a rumor. By this time, it was now June, Alois realized that it was too late to reach California that year. He and James Watkins therefore decided to cross over the Missouri into Nebraska Territory to wait out the winter. At this point in time Alois never considered staying in Nebraska permanently. He was only biding his time and would strike for California in the spring of 1856.⁽¹³⁾

     Where they crossed the Missouri remains a mystery. Some say they crossed directly west from Kanesville into Omaha and traveled down the Nebraska side of the river to the Platte. Others say they went down the Iowa side of the Missouri and crossed over to East Larimer Mills, a steam boat landing on the river near where LaPlatte is now situated.

     In any case, Alois, Matilda, and James, along with some other families waiting out the winter, made their temporary home on the Platte River in what is now Sarpy County. The Gramlichs stayed at a place called Dyson Hollow. This is a dry-wash canyon that cuts through a series of low, wooded bluffs that parallel the north side of the Platte. It was named after another early Nebraska settler, Joe Dyson, who owned some land near the hollow. (See map of Sarpy County, below, for location of all sites mentioned in this story) That first winter in Nebraska the Gramlichs lived out of their wagon and a dugout in the hollow. On January 18, 1856, their first child, Samuel, was born.⁽¹⁴⁾ While Matilda cared for their son, Alois tried to keep a rein on the cattle they had brought from Illinois. He was not always successful. It was said, "In the early winter [1855] before they were too well organized to care for their livestock, some of the cattle had gone to the Platte River for a drink. The river was frozen-over so the cattle went out on it in quest of water and broke through the ice. The Indians saw how helpless they were, rescued them from the icy water, built a fire to dry and warm the animals, and returned them to higher ground."⁽¹⁵⁾

     Sometime during the winter of 1855-1856, Alois decided to make Nebraska his permanent home. He went up to the land office at Omaha and filed on some land. The plot he chose was one just to the west of Dyson Hollow and right on the north bank of the Platte.

UNITED STATES TO ALOIS GRAMLICH

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
To all to whom these presents shall come greeting

Certificate
No. 1160

     Whereas Alois Gramlich of Sarpy County Nebraska has deposited in the General Land Office of the United States a Certificate of the Register of the Land Office at Omaha whereby it appears that full payment has been made by the said Alois Gramlich according to the provisions of the Act of Congress of the 24th of April 1820 entitled "An Act making further provisions for the sale of public lands" for the Lot numbered three of section Twenty Eight in Township Thirteen North of Range Thirteen East in the district of lands subject to sale at Omaha Nebraska containing thirty acres and fifty hundredths of an acre according to the official Plat of the Survey of the said lands returned to the General Lake Office by the Surveyor General which said tract has been purchased by the said Alois Gramlich.

     Now know ye that the United States of America in consideration of the premises and in conformity with the several Acts of Congress in such case made and provided have given and granted and by these presents do give and grant unto the said Alois Gramlich and to his heirs the said tract above described. To have and to hold the same together with all the rights, privileges, immunities and appurtenances of whatsoever nature belonging unto the said Alois Gramlich and to his heirs and assigns forever.

       In testimony whereof I James Buchanan President of the United States of America have caused these Letters to be made Patent and Seal of the General Land Office to be hereunto affixed.

     Given under my hand at the City of Washington the first day of May in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty and of the Independence of the United States the eighty fourth.

By the President James Buchanan
                                      J. B. Leonard Sec'y

E.J. M. Granger
Recorder of the General Land Office

Recorded Vol 2 page 303

Filed for record Jan'y 2nd 1868
at 1 o'C P.M.

Geo. A. Oliver
County Clerk  

     Alois also purchased a small tract of land from William Carlile and wife right beside this plot. This sliver of land had a very odd shape and he paid the then astronomical sum of $10 per acre for little more than seven acres. When the going government rate was $1.25 per acre, it makes one wonder what made this land so valuable to Alois that he paid such a high price to secure it for himself.

This Deed of Bargain and Sale made and executed this seventeenth day of September A.D. 1858 Between William Carlile and Sarah Jane Carlile his wife of the County of Sarpy and Territory of Nebraska party of the first part and Alois Gramlich of the same place of the second part, wittnesseth, that the said party of the first part, for and in consideration of the sum of seventy five dollars, to thence paid by the said party of the second part, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, has granted and sold, and do by these presents grant, Bargain, Sell, convey and confirm, unto the said party of the second part his heirs and assigns forever the certain tract or parcel of Real Estate in the County of Sarpy and Territory of Nebraska. To wit: Beginning at the quarter stone on the south side of Section 28. Township 13N. of R. 13E. of the 6th principal Meridian. Thence north 20 chains. Thence E 5.25 chains. Thence S. 14 degrees W. 22.00 chains. Thence N. 72 1/2 degrees W. 1.75 chains___Thence North 1.35 chains to the place of beginning contained 7 acres and 54 perches____

To Have and to Hold the premises above described with all the appurtenances thereto belonging unto him the said second party and to his heirs and assigns forever. The said William Carlile and Sarah Jane Carlile his wife hereby covenanting for their heirs, Executors, and administrators, that the above described premises are free from any encumbrance, that they have full rights, power, and authority to sell the same, and they will warrant and defend the title unto the said party of the second part, his heirs and assigns, against the claim of all persons whomsoever lawfully claiming the same, and the said Sarah Jane Carlile wife of the said William Carlile hereby releases and relinquishes all her rights of dower in and to the foregoing described premises. In witness whereof, the said party of the first part are hereunto set their hands and seal the day and year first therein written.

In presence of              William Carlile
Stephen D. Bangs          Sarah Jane Carlile

     Alois did not remain on the Platte for very long. It is possible that the flooding of the river, an annual Spring event even today, convinced him that the land he bought was going to be too wet for farming. The next land he would select was going to be farther away from the Platte. In April of 1856, Alois traded-in his river-front property for some a little farther north. The quarter section tract that he received in exchange, known ever afterwards as the home place, was much better farm land. It was relatively flat, had a good stand of timber and a fresh water spring. Here, Alois would spend the rest of his life. He later filed for a pair of legal deeds on the land.  James Watkins filed for 120 acres next to Alois at the same time.

UNITED STATE TO ALOIS GRAMLICH

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
To all to whom these presents shall come greeting

     Whereas in pursuance of the Act of Congress approved March 3, 1855 entitled "An Act in addition to certain Acts granting Bounty land to certain officers and soldiers who have been engaged in the Military service of the United States" there has been deposited in the General Land Office Warrant No. 53.161 for 120 acres in favor of William Cooper Private in Captain Lindsay's Company Illinois Militia, Black Hawk War with evidence that the same has been duly located upon the Southeast Quarter of the Northeast Quarter and the Northeast Quarter of the Southeast Quarter Section Thirteen in Township Thirteen North of Range Twelve East and the Southwest Quarter of the Northwest Quarter of Section Eighteen in Township Thirteen North of Range Thirteen East in the district of lands subject to sale at Omaha Nebraska containing one hundred and sixteen acres and seventy eight hundredths of an acre according to the Official Plat of the Survey of the said lands returned to the General Land Office by the Surveyor General the said Warrant having been assigned by the said William Cooper to Alois Gramlich in whose favor said tract has been located.

     Now know ye that there is therefore granted by the United States unto the said Alois Gramlich as assignee as aforesaid and to his heirs the tract of land above described. To have and to hold the said tract with the appurtenances thereof unto the said Alois Gramlich as assignee as aforesaid and to his heirs and assigns forever.

     In testimony whereof I James Buchanan President of the United States of America have caused these Letters to be made Patent and Seal of the General Land Office to be hereunto affixed.

     Given under my hand at the City of Washington the fifteenth day of August in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty and of the Independence of the United States the eighty fifth.

By the President James Buchanan
J. B. Leonard Sec'y
Recorded Vol 376 Page 342        E J. M. Granger Recorder of the General Land Office

Filed for record Jan'y 2nd 1868
at 1 o'C P.M.
Geo. A. Oliver
County Clerk

Certificate
No. 1077

     Whereas Alois Gramlich of Sarpy County Nebraska has deposited in the General Land Office of the United States a Certificate of the Register of the Land Office at Omaha whereby it appears that full payment has been made by the said Alois Gramlich according to the provisions of the Act of Congress of the 24th of April 1820 entitled "An Act making further provisions for the sale of public lands" for the Northwest Quarter of the Southwest Quarter of Section Eighteen in Township Thirteen North of Range Thirteen East in the District of lands subject to sale at Omaha Nebraska containing thirty seven acres and two hundredths of an acre according to the official plat of the survey of the said lands returned to the General Lake Office by the Surveyor General which said tract has been purchased by the said Alois Gramlich

     Now know ye that the United States of America in consideration of the provisions and in conformity with the several Acts of Congress in such case made and provided have given and granted and by these presents do give and grant unto the said Alois Gramlich and to his heirs the said tract above described. To have and to hold the same together with all the rights, privileges, immunities and appurtenances of whatsoever nature belonging unto the said Alois Gramlich and to his heirs and assigns forever.

     In testimony whereof I James Buchanan President of the United States of America have caused these Letters to be made Patent and Seal of the General Land Office to be hereunto affixed.

     Given under my hand at the City of Washington the first day of May in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty and of the Independence of the United States the eighty fourth.

By the President James Buchanan
J .B. Leonard Sec'y

 
Recorded Vol 2 page 263               E J. M. Granger Recorder of the General Land Office

Filed for record Jan'y 2nd 1868

at 1 o'C P.M.
Geo. A. Oliver
County Clerk

     Alois was now the proud owner of 160 acres of Nebraska farm land. He was able to almost double his holdings very soon afterwards when, in August of 1857, James Watkins sold his land to Alois for $600 and returned to Illinois.⁽¹⁶⁾

     Unfortunately, Alois had no way to plant any crops on these lands. It seemed that in order to get the previous claimant to sell his rights to file on the Gramlich home place, Alois had to throw his horses into the bargain. Therefore, he decided to travel back to Illinois and somehow persuade his father-in-law Samuel Watkins to sell him a team of horses on credit.

     In an extremely dangerous move, Alois left his young wife and infant sons (John was born in February 1857) and headed back east. He walked to Bellevue and washed dishes on a steam boat to St. Louis. At this time he might have made contact with his brother Nicholas. From here he hiked back to Petersburg and the Watkins farm. There he talked his way into a team and harness. In return he promised to pay $200. He paid the entire debt back some eight years later. He then drove or rode them back across Iowa to do his spring planting.⁽¹⁷⁾

     While the nation drifted into political anarchy and Civil War in the late 1850s and early 1860s, Alois and the Great Plains carried on in relative obscurity. Life was tough in Nebraska during these years. Winters were brutally cold. Summers were unbearably hot. Clouds of grasshoppers descended on the crops almost every year. The odds against success were high. Alois not only had to deal with the whims of Mother Nature but also had to contend with the large financial debt that he had assumed in get himself started. He owed his father-in-law for his team. He owed his brother-in-law for 160 acres. He owed the government the $1.25 per acre price for 40 acres; on which he was paying around 25% interest. He owed William Cooper of Illinois for 120 acres of military bounty land.⁽¹⁸⁾

     It would not have been at all surprising for Alois give up on Nebraska with all of these factors operating against him. Farming in Nebraska, even today, requires a great deal of financial backing, experience, hard work, and some luck. Alois was born with a large capacity for work, seemed to have Lady Luck smiling down on him throughout his life, and he gradually gained the expertise and financial security that every farmer dreams to obtain. Within a very short time Alois had made his farm a going concern. At the same time he worked the farm, Alois had to house and care for his growing family. Matilda and he soon had eleven children to watch. All of them had a place in the growth of the Great Plains.⁽¹⁹⁾

SAMUEL, (1856-1942). Farmed all of his life and lived on the Gramlich farm until his death.

JOHN, (1857-1893). Cattle salesman in the South Omaha Stock Yards.

MARY, (1858-1873). Died at age 15.

BARBARA, (1859-1952). Married A. E. Lake, school teacher and later a large scale farmer and land owner in Cass County, Nebraska.

LOUIS, (1861-1951). Farmed in Nebraska and later farmed and mined in Paradox, Colorado, where he died.

SUSAN, (1863-1954). Married J. M. Elwell, who had a grain and implement business, and later a hardware store and Buick (1909) auto agency in Springfield, Nebraska.

ELI, (1866-1928). Shoe salesman in the old Drexel Shoe Store in Omaha. Lived in Florence, a suburb north of Omaha. Drexels were pioneer friends.

GEORGE, (1869-1951). Farmed in Cass and Sarpy Counties until retired in 1928.

FRED, (1870-1939). Owned shoe stores in Deadwood and Rapid City, South Dakota.

ALICE, (1870-1941). Married Edwin S. Rice, a ship builder. Lived in Bridgeton, New Jersey. She was a twin sister of Fred.

ADAM, (1873-1965). Farmed and operated steam thrashing rigs near Papillion. Retired to Papillion in 1920. Spent last years in Los Angeles with daughters.

     The Gramlich lived in succession of houses in Nebraska. The first two were log cabins. The initial structure was built in November 1856 and was only 16 by 20 feet. It was located below the crown of the hill where the stone barn now stands. (See the affidavit located near the end on this story for a longer description of the first cabin) The second was much larger and thought to have been built in the early 1860s. It was situated 100 feet north of the present stone house. All but the oldest three or four children were born in the second log cabin. It had a lean-to about six feet wide along the north side for a store room and as a wind break. The stairway to the loft sleeping room was "reserved seats" for the youngsters when guests arrived.⁽²⁰⁾   Susan and Barbara recalled sitting up on the steps one night when some masked serenaders came to the cabin singing and dancing. The music was provided by an accordion. This night long-time neighbors Louis and Sophie Zwiebel happened to be at the Gramlich home. Mrs. Zwiebel told her husband to dance with one of the masked girls and "swing her high so we can see her stockings. If they are down, it's Louise Maas."  They were.⁽²¹⁾  Such highjinks. This cabin would stand until 1918 when it burned down by accident.

     About a quarter of a mile north of the second log cabin were outcroppings of sandstone along the banks of a creek which flowed all year long. This was a source of water for the family and the livestock. According to one of Alois' children, "water was carried to the house in buckets suspended from a pole across [peoples'] shoulders; later it was hauled in barrels set on a 'lizard,' or forked tree limbs, drawn by a horse."⁽²²⁾  It was one of the children's chores to bring water out to the field for the stock. The job usually feel to the youngest Gramlich, Adam.

     The sandstone that surrounded the stream provided Alois with the material to create his most lasting monument. He was dissatisfied with the family's housing arrangements. He decided to use the sandstone on his property to build something more substantial. The first sandstone structure to go up on the Gramlich farm, and possibly the most important to the economically-minded Alois, was a barn. This barn, like the house which was erected later on, was designed and constructed by German immigrant stone masons, aided by family members, neighbors, and hired hands. It went up in 1868 and cost $2,500 to build. The barn had interior timbers hewn from native trees and fastened together with wooden pegs. The main part of the structure was 32x46. To the right of the front entrance, which was twelve feet in width and rounded at the top, were located the large bins for agricultural produce, and to the left the horse stalls; four in number, one single and three double. Above was the hay loft which was capable of holding twenty-four tons of hay. A lean-to extended around both sides and the rear of the barn, and made the entire ground dimensions 50x78. The most unusual feature of the barn was the underground area beneath the main floor which was used for housing calves and other stock. Alois called this his "jail." This underground compartment is virtually unheard of in Nebraska barns, but it is quite common of those in Germany. Alois' grandchildren found it most fascinating to look down into the "jail" and watch the livestock, although they were warned that this was dangerous.⁽²³⁾

     In 1874, Alois moved his family into a sandstone house. It cost $3,000. The main part of the building was two stories in height; was 24x34 on the ground, had three rooms below and three above. The walls tapered from a 2 foot thickness at the bottom to 16 inches at the top. Beneath this section was a full cellar, divided into two compartments and used for storage. On an odd note, at the south side of the house Alois had a one and a half story wooden wing erected. This wing was 16x24; with a room below and one above. He added this area because he thought the wood construction would be more beneficial to Matilda's failing health than the damp, cold sandstone. The house and the grounds that surrounded it contained a few conveniences when they were occupied. Just outside the kitchen there were two pumps, one for the cistern and the other for the well water. The latter pump was worked by means of a mammoth windmill of the Halladay design. In the kitchen there was a strong oak table that was capable of seating the large Gramlich family and the hired hands who worked the farm and were housed in one of the upstairs bedrooms. Around World War I, a summer kitchen was added to the north side of the house. It was used when the kitchen in the sandstone house became too hot for eating and was also employed for canning. It is possible that this wooden wing was once part of a school house.⁽²⁴⁾

     The exterior quality of the house, unlike that of the barn, has remained relatively unchanged from the time it was constructed. The only major changes have been a deck extending west from the wooden wing and an addition on the north side to replace the summer kitchen. Alois' descendants lived in the house until 1972 and it is currently occupied by a renter for most of the year. Hence, the house is kept in good shape. The same cannot be said of the barn. This building, like most barns in Nebraska, is slowly crumbling away through disuse. In a few years it may no longer exist.

     At the same time the house and the barn were being built, Alois enlarged and diversified his farm activities. He roughly split his time and his land equally between farming and ranching. An 1878 Papillion Times article described his farming operation this way:

Alois Gramlich, one of Sarpy County's biggest farmers, commenced operations here sometime in the spring of 1855. His present farm, of six-hundred acres, lies six miles south-east of Papillion, thirteen miles southwest of Omaha, six miles west of the Missouri and two miles north of the Platte. . . . The farm, nearly two-thirds of which, to wit, three hundred and sixty acres, is fenced in a very substantial manner with boards and hedge; is purely a stock farm, and divided off in the following manner: Two-hundred and fifty acres to plowground; one-hundred and twenty acres to meadow, and the remaining to pasture land. His stock consists principally of cattle, horses and hogs. Of the first he has one-hundred and ten head-twenty-eight steers, twenty cows and sixty-two mixed, such as two-year olds, yearlings and calves, some of the latter, in the way of pure blood, reaching as high as seven-eighths. His bull is a thoroughbred from the celebrated Daniell's herd. His horses, of which he has thirty head, for size and strength will compare favorably with some of the famous Eastern stock. His Morgan stallion is a splendid specimen of that breed of horses. Of hogs he has a fine herd, originally of the Prince Albert stock. And of the whole-horses, hogs and cattle-he turns off yearly, at Omaha and other points, four-thousand dollars worth-a neat little income for these times at least.⁽²⁵⁾

     Alois was always proud of his horses. It was said that at one time all of the black maned and tailed buckskin horses in Sarpy County traced their ancestry back to the Gramlich Morgan stallion. In the early days, Alois must have cut a fine figure with his Morgan team. It was reported that he would race neighbor Adolph Stors and his team up and down what would become 16th Street in Omaha.⁽²⁶⁾

     On November 13, 1887, Edwin S. Rice paid a visit to his hometown (Bridgetown, New Jersey) friend, Joseph M. Elwell, who had recently married Alois' daughter, Susan. Mr. Rice was impressed with the size of one of the Gramlich steers. He wrote, "went over to the Gramlichs in the morning to see his cattle & the big steer. He is 6 ft. high and weighs 2200 lbs."⁽²⁷⁾ He was apparently impressed with more than the livestock at the Gramlich farm for three years later he would marry Susan's sister, Alice.

     Stock from the Gramlich farm went to a number of different markets. Sam recalled:

The first cattle were shorthorns from Illinois. The heifers were raised for milking and the steers broken to yoke and sold to freight companies. A yoke (two) of three-year olds would bring $100. If well broken as "leaders" they brought $125, and if of good size they could be used as "wheelers" and were worth $175. . . .the first cattle sold from the Gramlich farm were driven overland to central Illinois in 1867. They were fattened that winter on the farm of an uncle, and driven to the Chicago market in 1868. . . . In those days, most cattle were marketed at the age of four or five years. Meat from animals of less than two years was thought to be of little value for human consumption. . . . Hogs were marketed at 400-500 pounds.⁽²⁸⁾

     As the nineteenth century wore on local markets developed   which allowed the Gramlichs to conduct most of their stock sales closer to home. As a handbill from 1890 indicates, Alois raised a variety of livestock for auction to Sarpy County residents.

     Alois was just as successful at farming as he was at ranching. From the Papillion Times again:

The past season he cut two-thousand tons of hay and raised five-thousand bushels of corn, four-thousand and eighty bushels of wheat, two-thousand bushels of oats, six-hundred bushels of barley, and two acres of sugar cane, from which he manufactures between five and six barrels of sorghum. All of this, besides five thousand additional bushels of corn, purchased in the neighborhood, is for his own immediate use upon the farm. Through the center of the farm, or nearly so, runs a never failing stream of pure and limpid water; in addition to which there is a grove of about forty acres of native timber, thus affording to stock a retreat, a paradise, all their own. And further, in the matter of timber, there is upon the farm an orchard of two-hundred apple trees, some of which have borne fruit for several seasons past. In the orchard stands his apiary, and this at present numbers twenty-four hives of bees, with a decidedly upward tendency in the way of increase.⁽²⁹⁾

     Putting in all of these various crops was not an easy job. Alois was in constant need of hired help to plant and harvest on his farm. The tilling of the soil was done with ox teams and horses for many years. Six yoke of cattle (12 head) were used to pull a monster plow that made a 36 inch cut. Corn was planted by dropping kernels by hand into the furrow behind the plow. It was also picked by hand, with five men to a wagon (two on each side and one behind to pick up the "down row.") Wheat was planted as early in the spring as possible and was bound into bundles by hand, with bands of straw, after it was cut by a horse drawn reaper. Around World War I, the last large field of native prairie and hay land on the Gramlich farm was broken by a gasoline powered tractor. The Gramlichs were also supplied with molasses, used as a sugar substitute, by means of a press that Alois and Matilda brought with them from Illinois which squeezed the stalks of the sugar cane into liquid.⁽³⁰⁾

     Growing the produce was only half the battle. After they were harvested, crops had to reach a viable market; not an easy task in view of the primitive condition of the transportation network in nineteenth century Nebraska. So, in June 1857, Alois and several other farmers petitioned the county to build a lane from the ferry on Cedar Island to the Omaha-Fairview road which would enable agricultural produce to reach buyers easier and increase their profit margin accordingly.⁽³¹⁾

     The Gramlich did not spend all of their time working on the farm. Their social life, such as it was on the plains, was full of surprises. Occasionally, Indian scares, real and imagined, added spice to their lives. Sam remembered:

I was at the log stable one day wondering what I would do if Indians came. I heard a noise and turned around. There was a whole tribe of Indians. The young braves and dogs led the procession. The pack ponies came next, then the wagons in which the squaws and younger and old Indians rode. . . . I jumped into the stable through a window, crawled under a log at the west end and as I raised my head I saw Indians all along the road. I ran up past the house and passed an Indian brave six-foot tall and straight as an arrow. He was carrying a rifle on his shoulder. He pointed the butt end at me and grunted and I thought I was a goner. After this we had one Indian scare after another. One day a messenger came on horseback with the news that the Sioux were coming and killing everything before them, and he advised all women and children to go to Bellevue for safety. The men got saddled horses and guns, and went to Hazelton to meet the painted Indian warriors. They had a battle there and checked them in their bloody career. Our hired man took our fast running horse, his Colt revolver, a six-shooter powder and cap revolver, and went to meet the fighting red men of the West. . . . By this time Indians on the war path were recognized as a dangerous foe. They would steal, kill, set fires and scalp white folks. A company was formed for home protection. They had to go south and saw service in the Civil War. Another company was organized that never left Nebr[aska]. They were kept busy fighting Indians. In one of their fights with the Indians Joe Dyson's horse got scared and ran into the Indians and Joe was killed. The close of the Rebellion in 1865, combined with the building of the Union Pacific R. R. 1865-1869, and the admission of Nebraska into the Union as a state in 1867, practically put an end to Indian warfare in Nebraska for there were sufficient soldiers then to send to protect early settlers and to show the red men and their leaders that Indian hostilities were at an end. Their leaders were mostly white men who urged the Indians on.⁽³²⁾

     Sam recalled that he had dug up relics in an Indian grave yard in 1875. He also remembered, although he did not witness, that the Indians burned down West Larimer Mills around the same time. All in all the Gramlich had quite an experience with their Indian neighbors during the early years.⁽³³⁾

     Of course there were more pleasant diversions. Life was never dull with a house full of children. The birth of the twins, Fred and Alice, in 1870, aroused curiosity among Alois' neighbors. They had a three-wheeled baby-buggy to transport the pair. It was Susan's job, who had to leave the third grade, to help Matilda care for the twins. One Christmas Susan was given a doll by the hired man. Her mother promptly gave the gift to the neighbor Zwiebel girls claiming, "Susie doesn't have time to play with dolls; she has Alice and Fred for dolls."⁽³⁴⁾   As the twins grew older the attention from their fellow settlers eventually reached the nuisance level. One day Fred got fed up and said, "Let Bub be the twin today." Adam was Bub. An early illness of Fred gave the family a lesson in horticulture. According to Mildred Schobert:

Tomatoes were considered poisonous but [were still] grown for their beauty. Fred was sickly and whined and cried for the tomatoes on the window sill; finally his mother in exasperation said; "let him have it, he's going to die any how." From that day Fred gained strength and lived to be 68 years old. Thus they discovered the vitamins of tomatoes.⁽³⁵⁾

     Often times the children went down to the Missouri to watch the paddleboats come and go. This mode of transportation was vital to the success of the farmers in eastern Nebraska prior to the coming of the railroads. They were used for both shipping and travel. The steamboat Montana was a side wheeler which was used for both passengers and freight. It made the trip to Glenwood, Iowa, which was where Sarpy County farmers took their wheat for milling. Another boat was the Silver Lake, a stern wheeler which went up and down the Missouri between St. Louis and Sioux City. Most of the boats stopped at East Larimer Mills which provided a lumber mill and a depot for Sarpy County residents.⁽³⁶⁾  The family took a steamboat when they traveled down to St. Louis on their way back to Illinois. Mildred Schobert remembered:

Grandfather Gramlich had come to Nebraska Territory in the fall of 1855 and finally decided they could return to Menard County, Illinois for a visit to the homefolks, [the] Watkins, in early fall of 1865, taking six children with them. Mother Susan was the two year old baby. They were fortunate to get John [Maul] Frazeur to look after the farm and do the chores. Arriving at the Watkins'-Grandfather sent Sam ahead hoping the unannounced child could be recognized. Imagine seven people arriving with no preparations! Anyway when they returned-Grandpa Frazeur met the boat at Bellevue and [the] Gramlichs returned home-the boat went on up to Council Bluffs and on its return John Frazeur took it on his way to New Jersey to marry Matilda Elwell [Matilda Peterson Rice Elwell] on Sept[ember] 13, 1865.⁽³⁷⁾

     This particular visit might have been the last time Matilda Gramlich saw her parents. Her physical constitution was not well suited for the rigors of plains life. The hardships imposed by nature and the strain of bearing eleven children in seventeen years proved to be too much. She died from tuberculosis (then called consumption) on February 21, 1882. She was but forty-nine. Her funeral was carried out "on a bitterly cold day. . . . her pine coffin, covered with a buffalo robe, was carried on a bobsled to the Fairview Cemetery, three miles south and one-half mile west of Papillion."⁽³⁸⁾

     Despite the declining health of his beloved wife, Alois was not one to retreat from the excitement of life. Within a few years after putting his farm in order he got involved in community affairs and politics. In 1876-1878, while serving as a member of the school board in his district, Alois was asked to double up as a county commissioner. While he was serving in this latter capacity the fight for the location of the county seat came up. The principal contenders for this honor were Bellevue and Papillion. Alois favored Papillion. His school district liked Bellevue. He was caught in the middle. Initially, Bellevue seemed to have the upper hand in the contest which was fraught with many interesting incidents. Alois staunchly supported the Papillion claim nevertheless and, according to one source, almost single-handedly brought the rest of the commissioners around to his position. The county seat was located in Papillion and Alois was none too popular with his constituents for some weeks.⁽³⁹⁾

     The elder Gramlich was a Democrat for most of his life. Yet, interestingly enough, he began to switch his allegiance in the 1890s. In 1896, he voted for the gold wing of the Democratic Party and in 1900 he opted for McKinley and Roosevelt of the Republicans. This voting pattern is particularly strange because this period was one when the agricultural sector of the nation and the Democrats went hand in hand. The silver-tongued orator of the Platte, William Jennings Bryan, helped fuse the farmers, in the guise of the Populist Party, and the Democrats into one political unit. Most Nebraskans campaigned for him with all of their fervor. Alois decided to forsake his political friends at this time in favor of the more stable monetary system espoused by the Republicans.⁽⁴⁰⁾

     In his later years Alois left the running of the farm to his son Samuel. As his leisure time increased he got involved in more social activities. He was an old time granger and a member of the Old Settlers Association of Sarpy County. He helped found the Sarpy County Agricultural Society and served as its president in the late 1890s when he was seventy.⁽⁴¹⁾

     These years were undoubtedly the happiest for Alois. He was financially secure. His children were all leading successful lives. He could sit back and reflect on his life; which saw him progress from poverty in Germany to success in America. He was even able to return to his homeland in 1898 and prove to his European friends that he had done something with his life. Taking his son Fred, who had to quit the National Guard to go with him, Alois went back to Hesse Darmstadt. The trip proved to be a mistake. Alois was, " disappointed not to find anyone who remembered him in Darmstadt. (It had been 52 years since he left Germany) He found the stone house where he was born but it was in poor repair. People of the area were poorly fed and clothed."⁽⁴²⁾ Alois was an American now and not a German. Home was Nebraska, not Hesse Darmstadt.

     Alois returned home determined to live out the remainder of his life in happiness. This he accomplished. Surrounded by Sam's children, Alois spent many days living out the life of a carefree youth; a life that had been denied him in Hesse Darmstadt. His grandchildren enjoyed his company. Occasionally, they would poke innocent fun at him. A favorite game of theirs was to imitate Alois by walking with one foot out at a strange angle. It seemed that Alois had broken his leg in Hesse Darmstadt and it did not heal correctly, leaving him with a very distinctive gait for the rest of his life. It was said that this walk left a peculiar set of footprints in the mud or snow. The Indians, familiar with the old settler, would come across these tracks and say, "Uncle Louie's been by here lately."⁽⁴³⁾

     These same grandchildren would also remember that Alois would spend entire days sitting in one particular chair, which was propped up between the stove and a window in the kitchen and conduct all of his business without getting to his feet. He would eat in that chair, read his mail in that chair, converse in that chair and occasionally fall asleep in that chair. This is not to say that he always stayed at the homestead. He made it a habit to spend weekends with his children at their homes. Mildred Schobert remembered his visits to the Elwell home at Springfield, Nebraska, "When Father Elwell butchered, Grandfather would drive his horse up to stay over night to help care for the meat; making lard; cleaning the casings in which to stuff the sausage which had been ground and mixed on the scrubbed kitchen table."⁽⁴⁴⁾

     The grandchildren would also come and spend time at the old stone house. John A. Elwell recalled working at the farm around the turn of the century:

The distance from the house to the barn must have been about a block and between the house and the barn there had been built a large corral of high fenced area in which the calves and the live stock [were] herded for sorting and culling out for market. It must have been a week or two before the opening of the fall term of school that we cousins congregated at Uncle Sam's and then helped drive the season's accumulation of calves and cows for market. . . I suppose that Uncle Sam would have between forty and fifty head of stock to take to market that he did not want to winter. Adjacent to this big pen there was a stack yard in which hay was hauled in and stacked so that it would be available for winter feeding. However, before stacking the hay there was the yearly job of clearing out the weeds from the stack yard before hauling in the hay. Most of the weeds were tall yellow flowered mustard or the white blossomed sweet clover and it was one of the kid's jobs to pull this stuff out and clear the space for the stacks of hay. The big compensation for this work was the breaking of the calves.⁽⁴⁵⁾

     Actually, the first cousins received more than just the challenge of breaking-in the calves. Alois gave each one of the older grandsons a glass hatchet and a sled with round runners that was reputed to be the fastest model available. The granddaughters too came to the old homestead for work and recreation. Mildred Schobert remembered:

Mother [Susan] took a carriage load of us to Grandpa's to pick wild gooseberries & stayed over night. After we'd pick our pails full we could wade and play in the creek with its sandstone bottom. . . . They made preserves of wild plums and homemade molasses and [also] dried the plums. Youngsters ate them like raisins. Mother said she carried some in her apron pocket to "munch" on.⁽⁴⁶⁾

Alois was equally as generous with his granddaughters. Mildred Schobert again:

I recall two dresses the cousins had from material Grandfather gave us; one piece of material he had Matilda Lutz (later married to Uncle Adam) make up for Cordelia [Gramlich], Ruth [Elwell] and me while we were spending our week's vacation there. I still have the little brooch he brought me from Germany in 1898.⁽⁴⁷⁾

     One of the highlights of Alois' later years were his periodic trips into Papillion to tend to business and see some friends. It might have been better had he stuck solely to business. John A. Elwell recalled:

Grandpa Gramlich was still driving his old team of horses with a spring wagon with which he went back and forth to the County Seat at Papillion. Having at one time been a County Commissioner, he had many old cronies with whom he liked to swap stories and have a few beers at the old Sarpy House. If he could go to town and get his shopping done and start home before some old friends got hold of him he was fine but if they cornered him for a drink before he got out of town he was likely to stay there for the rest of the week. They would start drinking beer and the attendants just put his team of horses in the livery stable that was part of the old Sarpy House. He would likely spend several days drinking with old timers but after sobering up they would harness up his team and head them home. Once on the road from Papillion towards the old homestead the team would continue the journey home and I guess never had any accidents worth telling about. From the tales that we as youngsters had been told it would be logical to believe that Grandpa drank up enough to buy considerable land at the prices it was worth at the time.⁽⁴⁸⁾

     Alois spend many hours with his German friends playing cards. The games were Whist and Seven-up. They never played for money though. He also made a great many friends in his later years with his abundant generosity. Visitors to his farm always left laden with fruit, honey and his famous smoked meats. The staff at the Papillion Times was once the recipient of his largess:

Alois Gramlich has the thanks of The Times office for a fine lot of home-grown pears, left at this office last Tuesday. It's delicious fruit and almost tempts us to take a day off and spend it in the Gramlich orchard.⁽⁴⁹⁾

     In 1910, the Gramlich family started their tradition of holding a reunion. In August of that year the entire family gathered at the sandstone house to relive memories and celebrate Alois' impending 81st birthday. The gathering was considered a great success by all those who attended and the whole family assembled out in front of the old sandstone house to have a memorable group picture taken. Nine day later, Alois suddenly passed away while returning home from Papillion with his grandchildren.

     Alois was buried next to his wife in Fairview Cemetery. His memory and that of Matilda did not die with them. A tribute to the both of them was penned by one of their grandchildren. It went:

He [Alois] had progressed from near poverty in Germany, to freedom and abundance in the United States-from an era of ox drawn wagons to the automobile and telephone. We cannot help but admire his courage and ambition to forge ahead in a new and hostile land.

Nor can we forget Grandma [Matilda], who left her home, family and a comparatively secure way of living, to follow the man she loved and married. The first years must have been lonely. The way of living was crude, even necessities were scarce; and marauding Indians were a constant threat until the late 60s. Neighbors were few and far between. A horse provided the only method of transportation. The only means of communication was my messenger or word-of-mouth. Hard work and endless childbearing was the code of the pioneer.

They truly had a part in the development of our great country-they were real pioneers of the West.⁽⁵⁰⁾

Transcription of Alois Gramlich's obituary from the Papillion Times, September 8, 1910.

DEATH OF ALOIS GRAMLICH

Pioneer of Nebraska answers the final call at advanced age of 81

Alois Gramlich, octogenarian and pioneer of Nebraska, died suddenly Tuesday evening near his old home southeast of town while on his way home from Papillion with his grandchildren. A sudden attack of heart trouble is attributed as the cause of death.

Mr. Gramlich came to Papillion during the afternoon and seemed to be in the best of health and spirits and was as happy as a man could be apparently. He had but recently celebrated his 81st birthday, having most of his children and grandchildren with him in a family reunion at his old home. A photograph of the family group was especially pleasing to Mr. Gramlich and he took great pleasure in showing it to his friends.

After school was out for the day here he made arrangements with two of his grandchildren who attend school here to ride home with them as he has been making his home with his son, Sam W. Gramlich, for many years. He refused to sit on the seat of the spring wagon but instead secured a small box and sat on it, riding with his face towards the rear of the vehicle. When at a point near his old home without any warning or struggle of any kind he suddenly swooned and fell heavily over the side of the rig. Assistance was immediately secured but he was dead in a few moments. Dr. Magaret was summoned from Papillion and a careful examination made his best opinion without making an autopsy that death was due to heart failure as the fall did not seem to have had any effect upon the aged man's body. There were no dislocations or broken bones or other injuries which could have caused death.

Alois Gramlich was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany August 18, 1829, where he resided until 1844 when he came to America, landing at Baltimore where he resided for a few years. From there he went to Petersburg, Illinois, where in 1853 he was married to Miss Matilda Watkins. In 1855, he moved to Sarpy County, Nebraska, and in 1856 moved on to the farm where he has since continuously resided.

Eleven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Gramlich, nine of whom are still living. They are Sam W. Gramlich, of Fairview; Mrs. B. E. Lake, of Murdoch; Louis F. Gramlich, of Paradox, Colorado; Mrs. J. M. Elwell, of Springfield; Eli Gramlich, of Omaha; George Gramlich, of Murdoch; Fred Gramlich, of Deadwood, South Dakota; Mrs. Alice Rice, of Bridgeton, New Jersey; and Adam Gramlich, of Papillion. His wife died in 1881. His son, John Gramlich, died about nineteen years ago, and also one daughter died a number of years ago. He is survived by forty grandchildren.

Mr. Gramlich was a careful businessman and a hard worker and by his industry and thrift amassed a considerable fortune. Last spring feeling that his allotted time was almost spent, he carefully prepared all of his business matters so that he would be ready to answer the final call. He divided all his property almost equally among his children, having all deeds to the lands executed and placed on the record and taking exacting pains that there should be no trouble after his death, showing the same keen insight into business matters as he had during his younger years. Among his property to be divided was a farm of over 700 acres of very valuable land.

He was generally liked by all and was a genial and cheerful man who enjoyed life in his own peculiar manner and always left smiles in his path. He retained his mental alertness up to the last and was as capable of transacting business in his old age as was his reputation in earlier years.

The funeral will be held Friday afternoon at 2 O'clock from the home of his son, Sam W. Gramlich, Rev. Wingetts, of the English Methodist Church at Richfield having charge of the service, and interment will be in Fairview Cemetery where his wife and several children are buried. The active pall bearers will be six of his grandsons, while the honorary pall bearers will be six pioneers of this section of the country. They are Messrs. John Chase, Louis Lesieur, Jacob Lutz, A. W. Trumble, John M. Frazeur, and George Vrandenburg.

In his death Nebraska and Sarpy County loses one of its most notable characters and a man who by his untiring zeal, industry, and sacrifices helped transform the country from a vast wilderness into a veritable garden. Those were the men who blazed the trail for those who were to follow and who are now enjoying the fruits of the toil and hardship of the pioneers, only a few of whom yet remain. Mr. Gramlich lived to a ripe old age and was rewarded to see his children grow to manhood and womanhood and all of them are an honor and credit to him. He laid down the burden of life knowing full well that he had performed his task well and that his world would be taken up and carried on by hands younger and stronger and in every way equal to the task.

Transcription of an article written by Sam W. Gramlich for the Nebraska Farmer
(February 27, 1926)

A Long Delayed Journey

If it had not been for hostile Sioux Indians in 1855, the writer of this article would have been born in Calif[ornia] Jan[uary] 18, 1856 instead of Nebr[aska].

My folks left Menard County, Ill[inois] Apr[il] 1855 on their way to Calif[ornia] where they expected to settle. They traveled with an immigration trains of covered wagons, pulled by horses and oxen, driving their surplus stock, horses and cattle after the train.

They crossed the Mississippi River in a steam ferry boat. My mother's saddle fell of the boat into the river and was lost, so she had to ride horseback, helping drive the stock in the day time and cooking meals at noon or night. Two men went ahead as scouts (Beverly Watkins and Gaines Greene) to see if everything was all right; looking up the best road, selecting a place to camp where the grass was good and where water was handy for the stock.

When our small train arrived at Kanesville or Council Bluffs, as it is now called, the big train of movers had already gone to Calif[ornia] and as only large trains were allowed to go west from Council Bluffs so they could protect themselves from Indians, the Illinois train had to wait one year for reinforcements. The Indians never bothered a large train.

Our folks gave up going to Calif[ornia]. They crossed the Missouri River at Omaha in June 1855. Omaha was a small village at that time. The store keeper, A. D. Jones, passed the mail around in his hat. Colonel (John) Ritchie told me that he got his mail out of his hat and was proud of it. He also said he saw the 1st steam boat running on the Hudson River in New York. He bought hogs in Ohio and drove them to Cin[cinnati] to market. He was the 1st resident of Sarpy County to take a daily paper. Sometimes he did not get it for a week and felt lost without it.

Dyson Hollow, Orvington and Otoe Mission were all in the same neighborhood. Here is where our folks pitched tent. There were about as many Indians as white men in those days in that community. Orvington, a town built on Cedar Island Road [, was] where Mormons crossed the Platte River going from [the] Missouri to Florence, Nebr[aska].

Our folks got their first Indian scare here. Someone yelled "Sioux" and my mother started to leave home on the run. An Omaha Indian rode up on his pony and told my father not to be afraid for they were good Indians.

At Otoe Mission, Rev. Moses Merrill's wife set out three cottonwood trees in 1855 [1835?] and they are still growing. The old Mission well was a shallow one. Fresh cold water [from the well] was raised with a sweep. Council Creek, [where] the Indians and white missionaries held council, was just north of [the Otoe Mission]. The first prairie broken in the new country has grown up to timber now. A little west is where Phillip Zwiebel built a stone house. The stone for this house was hauled with a pony, a cow and an ox. Northeast of this is the Indian grave yard where they boys used to dig up relics in 1875.

I was at the log stable one day wondering what I would do if Indians came. I heard a noise and turned around. There was a whole tribe of Indians. The young braves and dogs led the procession. The pack ponies came next, then the wagons in which the squaws and younger and old Indians rode. . . . I jumped into the stable through a window, crawled under a log at the west end and as I raised my head I saw Indians all along the road. I ran up past the house and passed an Indian brave six-foot tall and straight as an arrow. He was carrying a rifle on his shoulder. He pointed the butt end at me and grunted and I thought I was a goner.

After this we had one Indian scare after another. One day a messenger came on horseback with the news that the Sioux were coming and killing everything before them, and he advised all women and children to go to Bellevue for safety. The men got saddled horses and guns, and went to Hazelton to meet the painted Indian warriors. They had a battle there and checked them in their bloody career. Our hired man took our fast running horse, his Colt revolver, a six-shooter powder and cap revolver, and went to meet the fighting red men of the West.

By this time Indians on the war path were recognized as a dangerous foe. They would steal, kill, set fires and scalp white folks. A company was formed for home protection. They had to go south and saw service in the Civil War. Another company was organized that never left Nebr[aska]. They were kept busy fighting Indians. In one of their fights with the Indians Joe Dyson's horse got scared and ran into the Indians and Joe was killed.

The close of the Rebellion in 1865, combined with the building of the Union Pacific R. R. 1865-1869, and the admission of Nebraska into the Union as a state in 1867, practically put an end to Indian warfare in Nebraska for there were sufficient soldiers then to send to protect early settlers and to show the red men and their leaders that Indian hostilities were at an end. Their leaders were mostly white men who urged the Indians on.

S.W. Gramlich-of Sarpy County, Nebr[aska]

Transcription of a biographical sketch of Alois Gramlich from Albert Watkins, Illustrated History of Nebraska. Vol. 2, (Lincoln, NE.: Jacob North and Company, 1906), 664-665.

GRAMLICH, ALOIS, pioneer, Sarpy County, Neb., son of Lenhart and Katherine (Diasheim) Gramlich, was born in Germany, Aug. 23, 1829, and received his education in the public schools. Mr. Gramlich emigrated to Nebraska in 1855 and settled at Bellevue. In 1856 he purchased the farm, a few miles west of Bellevue, where he has since resided. Prior to engaging in farming he was a butcher, and has always followed this trade, in season, along with his farming. Since 1856 his principal work has been farming and stock raising. Mr. Gramlich was a democrat until 1896, but has since affiliated with the gold wing of the party, and in 1900 voted for McKinley and Roosevelt. For eighteen years he was a member of the school board of the district, and for three years, 1876-1877-1878, was one of the country commissioners. During his term as commissioner the fight for the location of the country seat came up, and Mr. Gramlich was the staunch advocate of the Papillion partisans. After a long contest fraught with many interesting incidents he won over the other commissioners, and the offer of the people of Papillion to provide the court house was accepted, and the county seat has been there since, although sometimes there are heard expressions favoring a change. Mr. Gramlich was an old time granger, and did much for the association while it lived. He was always found working for the good of the county and state of his adoption. He is a member of the old Settlers association of Sarpy County. Mr. Gramlich was married to Matilda Watkins, July 17, 1852, and eleven children were born to them, nine of whom are now living. Samuel, at home; Mrs. Barton Lake, Murdoch; Louis T., Mt. Rose, Cal.; Mrs. Susan Elwell, Springfield, Neb.; Eli, Omaha; George, Springfield, Neb.; Fred, Deadwood, S. D.; Mrs. Alice Rice, Bridgeton, N.J.; and Adam Gramlich of Papillion. Mr. Gramlich is still living on the old farm west of Bellevue and south of Papillion.

ALOIS AND MATILDA'S MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE

MARRIAGE AFFIDAVIT

State of Illinois
County of Menard

          On this 27th day of July 1853 before me the undersigned Clerk of the Said County Court personally came Alois Gramlich who being duly sworn states that one Matilda Watkins Daughter of Samuel Watkins of Said County is now over the age of Eighteen years to the best of his knowledge and belief, and as he has been informed by the parties above named.

Subscribed & Sworn to 
before me this 27th day                                            Alois Gramlich
of  July A.D. 1853

C. Rouske   Clerk

AFFIDAVIT ESTABLISHING ALOIS GRAMLICH'S LAND GRANT CLAIMS-1858

Land Office Omaha City
                                                                        Augt. 25, 1858             

     In the matter of the right of Alois Gramlich to preempt the S.W. of N.W. and N.W. of S.W. Sec. 18. Township 13 Range 13 and S.E. of N.E. and N.E. of S.E. Quarter of Section No 13 Township No. 13 Range No. 12 East of 6th principal meridian in Nebraska Territory

     Claimant appeared with his witness Jno. S. Seaton Who being duly sworn deposes and says that he is well acquainted with Alois Gramlich and know him to be a married man over the age of twenty one years & has a wife and two children & a citizen of the United States & Witness further deposes that claimant made his settlement in person on the S.W. of N.W. and N.W. of S.W. sec 18 Township 13 Range 13 & S.E. of N.E. and N.E. of S.E. Quarter of section 13. Township 13 Range 12 E 6th principal meridian in Nebraska Territory in April A.D. 1856 and since that has erected a house into which he has moved in the first part of November A.D. 1856 & has resided there since & is residing there at this time-Said house is 16 by 20 feet is built of hewn logs. Has shingle roof & board floor. Two doors hung. Three windows with sash and glaze & has in said house bed and beding [sic.], cook stove and cooking utensils. Twenty acres under fence & in cultivation. And I believe said Alois Gramlich intends making it a residence and I believe said claimant does not own 320 acres of land in any state or territory.

                                                                                      Jno. S. Seaton

Sworn and subscribed before me this day of 23  Augt. A.D. 1858

John A  Parker
         Reg

MILITARY BOUNTY LAND DEED GRANTING 120 ACRES TO WILLIAM COOPER*

On the reserve side of this certificate granting 120 acres to Private William Cooper, Captain Lindsay's Company, Illinois Militia, Black Hawk War is the following affidavit:

For value received, I, William Cooper, to whom the Warrant No. 53.161 was issued, do hereby sell and assign unto Alois Gramlich of Sarpy County, N.T. [Nebraska Territory] and to his heirs and assigns forever the said Warrant and authorize him to locate the same and receive a patent therefor.

                                                            In Witness Whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name                                                               and affixed my seal this the 29th day of July 1858

                                                                              William Cooper

attest
James Lewis
Wm. Post

State of Illinois  
Morgan County

                  On the twenty-ninth day of July one thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight before me Matthew Stacy Clerk of the County Court within and for said County personally appeared William Cooper to me well known and acknowledged the foregoing assignment to be his act and deed and I certify that the said William Cooper is the identical person to whom said Warrant was issued and who executed the foregoing assignment thereof.

In Testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed the seal of said County acknowledging this the 29th day of July 1858

                                                                                    Mat Stacy
                                                                                               Clk

*author's note-It was not unusual for military land warrants to be sold by veterans to settlers heading west rather than trying to take up the land themselves. Alois probably used the contacts he developed while in Illinois to locate a potential seller once he decided to farm in Nebraska. It is unlikely that this deal was worked out before he and Matilda headed west. Remember, it was their original intention to head to California and not Nebraska. It is interesting to note that another captain in the Illinois Militia during the Black Hawk War of 1836 was Abraham Lincoln. It is almost certain that Captains Lincoln and Lindsay knew each other. 

AFFIDAVIT SHOWING THAT ALOIS GRAMLICH LOCATED THE MILITARY WARRANT NO. 53.161 IN SARPY COUNTY, NEBRASKA

ALOIS GRAMLICH'S DEATH CERTIFICATE

POSTSCRIPT

    The story that you have just read went far beyond the bounds that I originally planned it would have. Like a good mystery novel, the life story of Alois Gramlich so absorbed my attention that I was unable to completely put it out of my mind from the first time I contemplated writing about him until the finished manuscript was sitting in front of me. I have written a number of historical papers, but this project has provided more pleasure and frustration than all of the others combined. I went through 10 typewriter ribbons and two boxes of typewriter paper trying to achieve what very well my have been impossible; the production of an historically accurate story of Alois Gramlich. The reason for this problem is obvious. As one of Alois' grandchildren wrote to me, it is well past midnight to try and collect data about people and events that happened over one-hundred years ago. I have reflected many times on the truth of this statement. There are a number of episodes in Alois' life that I would dearly love to research further but have been unable to due to the lack of basic information.

     There can be a silver lining to this black cloud of blank information I have run up against. It may very well be that sometime in the future someone will read this story and ponder the missing chapters in Alois Gramlich's life. Then, in the very same way that I became ensnared, he or she will undertake to unravel the mystery of his or her family history. This person will inevitably wind up plowing through manuscript collections, squinting at microfilm, scratching his or her head over published works that don't agree, deciding which sources are valid and which are not, and will probably end up cursing when the pieces do not fit together as they should.

     This turn of events can be extremely frustrating to even the most experienced researcher. Yet, even if only one small scrap of new information about your family heritage is uncovered it was not a wasted effort. For my part I have the satisfaction that I came away with a far better understanding of my family tree than if I had never gone to that reunion in 1981. This understanding is something that will be cherished and, while the story I have authored about Alois may not be verifiable in every respect, there is little doubt in my own mind that he did play a role, however small it may have been, in the development of the United States which all of his descendants can be justifiably proud. He was truly a part of history.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PUBLISHED SOURCES

Andreas, Alfred T. History of Nebraska. Vol. II. Chicago: The Western Historical Company, 1881.

Bangs, Stephen D. "S. D. Bangs' Centennial History of Sarpy County," Western Americana: Frontier History of the Trans-Mississippi West, 1550-1900. New Haven, Conn.: Research Publications, Inc., 1975.

Ramm, Agatha. Germany 1789-1919: A Political History. London: Methuen and Company, Ltd., 1974.

Treitschke, Heinrich Gotthard von. History of Germany in the Nineteenth Century. Vol. III, The Beginning of the German Federation. Translated by Eden and Cedar Paul. New York: McBride, Nast, and Company, 1917.

Watkins, Albert. Illustrated History of Nebraska. Vol. 2. Lincoln, NE.: Jacob North and Company, 1906.

UNPUBLISHED SOURCES

Gramlich, Amos. History of Alois Gramlich in Nebraska Territory. Fremont, NE.: Published by the Gramlich Family, 1962.

. "Notes for History of Alois Gramlich in Nebraska Territory, 1962" AMs, Manuscript in possession of David Lake, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Rice, Edwin, S. "The Diary of E. S. Rice, 1887-1889" Diary in possession of Alice Henderson Cortelyou, Toledo, Ohio.

Schobert, Mildred. "Recollections of Mildred Schobert, 1962 (?)" TMs [photocopy], Typed manuscript in possession of David Lake, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Census Records (Nebraska and Illinois). Nebraska State Historical Society, Lincoln, Nebraska.

General Land Office Tract Book. Nebraska State Historical Society, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Menard County [Illinois] Court Records. Office of the County Clerk, Petersburg, Illinois.

Nebraska State Department of Health. Bureau of Vital Statistics, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Sarpy County Land Records. Sarpy County Court House, Papillion, Nebraska.

NOTES

1. There is some doubt about Alois' arrival date and debarkation point in America. His obituary mentions that he arrived in 1844. Alois Trumble Gramlich (Lou) and Miriam Gramlich Swain thought it was 1846. See Amos Gramlich, The History of Alois Gramlich in Nebraska Territory (Fremont, NE.: By the Gramlich family, 1962), 1. The obituary says that he arrived at Baltimore. Alois T. Gramlich agrees, but Miriam Swain thought it might have been New York. Recent checks with the National Archives failed to show Alois Gramlich on any passenger lists for Baltimore in 1844 or 1846. The name of the ship, Katherina Jackson, comes from Amos Gramlich, "Notes for History of Alois Gramlich in Nebraska Territory, 1962 (?)", AMs, manuscript in possession of David Lake, Lincoln, NE. Hereafter cited as "Gramlich Notes." These are some handwritten notes made by Amos during his research for his book. When and where he got the information in these notes is unclear. I was told that at one time Amos conducted extensive interviews with Samuel Gramlich, Alois' eldest child. He probably knew more family history than anyone else and the notes may have been based on Sam's recollections.

2. The names of Alois' parents comes church records from John the Baptist Catholic Church in Unter-Schonmattenwag supplied to us by Ralf Dorsam from Berlin. Ralf is a descendent of Alois' mother's line. Johann Leonhard Gramlich was born on November 5, 1788 and died April 3, 1834. Catharina Dorsam was born on May 18, 1791 and died November 16, 1859. They were married January 12, 1813. It is not known if Alois's family actually lived in the town of Unter-Schonmattenwag or in the surrounding countryside. Evidence seems to suggest that his family actually lived in town. Transcription of the church records identifies Alois' father as a civis hujatis (citizen of this place). It seems apparent that Alois' family was fairly ordinary. A couple of his uncles were identified as agricola hujatis (a 19th century term for local country peasant) and mercenarius hujatis (local day laborer). Transcription of the church records came be found, courtesy of Ralf Doram, at http://home.arcor.de/andorama/FBUg.htm#Gramlich

3. Agatha Ramm, Germany 1789-1919: A Political History (London: Methuen and Company, Ltd., 1974); Heinrich Gotthard von Treitschke, History of Germany in the Nineteenth Century, Vol. III, The Beginnings of the German Federation, trans. Eden and Cedar Paul (New York: McBride, Nast and Company, 1917), 356-380.

4. Fred Gramlich, Edith Gramlich, and Cordelia Gramlich Borman, interview by author, October 29, 1981, Papillion, Nebraska. Hereafter cited as "Gramlich Interview." We do now have some additional genealogical information about Alois' family. See footnote No. 2. The fact that the church records came from a Catholic church does seem to confirm that Alois was born into that faith.

5. It is thought that Alois and Nicholas were not the only Gramlichs to leave Hesse Darmstadt and come to America. "Aunt Jo [Mrs. John Gramlich] told me [Mildred Schobert] about a sister of Grandpa's [Alois], Barbara, a Catholic, [who] came later bringing a little brother with her. The brother was sick when they arrived and the child was taken from her and she supposed that he died as she never learned anything to the contrary. What tragedy. This was probably the sister whose married name was Barbara Sauers or Sauer. All trace of her has been lost." Gramlich, 13.

6. "Gramlich Interview."

7. Gramlich, 1.

8. Ibid., 2.

9. Mildred Schobert, "Recollections of Mildred Schobert, 1962 (?)" TMs [photocopy], Typed manuscript in possession of David Lake, Lincoln, NE. Hereafter cited as "Mildred Schobert Recollections." These are typed notes made by Mildred Schobert. Some of the anecdotes appeared in Amos Gramlich's History of Alois Gramlich in Nebraska Territory. I am surmising that she recorded these reminiscences at his request around the History publication date of 1962. Census information reveals a little more about the Watkins family. The 1880 Nebraska Census had Matilda Watkins listing her mother (Sophie Kirby) and her father (Samuel Watkins) has being born in Kentucky. See Nebraska 1880 Census-Sarpy County, LaPlatte District, 6. The 1840 Illinois Census outlines Matilda's family. In 1840, the Samuel Watkins family had 2 males under 5 years old; 1 male 10 to 20, and Samuel Watkins listed between 20 and 30. There was 1 female under 5 years old; 2 between 5 and 10 (Matilda was one of these), and Sophie Kirby Watkins was listed between 20 and 30. Illinois. See Illinois 1840 Census-Menard County.

10. "Gramlich Notes."

11. Ibid.

12. There is some evidence that another of Matilda's relatives accompanied them to Nebraska. The story by Sam W. Gramlich mentions a Beverely Watkins as a scout for the Gramlich wagon train.

13. The exact route that the Gramlichs took from Illinois to Nebraska is in doubt. Alois T. Gramlich and Miriam Gramlich Swain thought they went down to Independence first. Gramlich, 2. A newspaper article on the 1915 Gramlich reunion indicates that they came straight across Iowa to Nebraska. Papillion Times, July 15, 1915. The story by Samuel W. Gramlich agrees that Alois probably came straight across the Hawkeye State to the Missouri River opposite Omaha.

14. As stated in the story by Sam W. Gramlich, he was probably born in the Moses Merrill mission on the Platte River and was one of the first white children to be born in the area. The mission served as a focal point for the Oto Indians in Sarpy County and was situated about two miles south of the Gramlich home place.

15. Gramlich, 5.

16. Ibid., 3.

17. Ibid., 12.

18. Papillion Times, November 20, 1878.

19. Gramlich, 5.

20. Ibid., 3. Check the affidavit contained within Alois Gramlich land entry papers for the exact size and furnishing of the first log cabin. It states that Alois started building this cabin in April 1856.

21. "Mildred Schobert Recollections."

22. Gramlich, 3.

23. Papillion Times, February 21, 1878; "Gramlich Interview." The eastern side lean-to no longer exists and it is now possible to enter the "jail" directly from the outside.

24. "Gramlich Interview." The long oak table was removed from the sandstone house after the farm was sold outside of the family in 1972. It was then cut up to fit inside the house that Sam's children bought in Papillion. They later sold the remaining portion.

25. Papillion Times, February 21, 1878.

26. Gramlich, 13; "Mildred Schobert Recollections."

27. Edwin S. Rice, "Diary of E. S. Rice, 1887-1889," AMs, 23. Diary is in possession of Alice Henderson Cortelyou, Toledo, Ohio.

28. Gramlich, 13.

29. Papillion Times, February 21, 1878.

30. Gramlich, 5, 9.

31. Alfred T. Andreas, History of Nebraska, Vol. II, (Chicago: The Western Historical Company, 1881), 1364.

32. Nebraska Farmer, February 27, 1926.

33. Ibid.

34. "Mildred Schobert Recollections."

35. Ibid.

36. Gramlich, 6, 13.

37. "Mildred Schobert Recollections."

38. Gramlich, 4.

39. Watkins, Vol. 2, p. 664.

40. Ibid.

41. Ibid.; Papillion Times, February 17, 1898.

42. Gramlich, 6.

43. "Gramlich Interview."

44. "Mildred Schobert Recollections"

45. John A. Elwell, Sidney, Nebraska, Letter to the author, Lincoln, Nebraska, June 5, 1984.

46. "Mildred Schobert Recollections."

47. Ibid.

48. John A. Elwell, Sidney, Nebraska, Letter to the Author, Lincoln, Nebraska, June 5, 1984.

49. Papillion Times, August 18, 1908. Another incident which showed Alois' compassion for his friends and neighbors occurred on May 12, 1908. On that day Sarpy County experienced one of the worst tornadoes in its history. It originated in Cass County and traveled northeast into the southwestern corner of Sarpy County. The storm front spawned several funnels and caused widespread damage with its winds, rain, and hail. Fatalities were relatively low considering the rapidity with which the front moved. Property damage on farms were severe and was especially heavy in Bellevue. Alois' farm was not spared. The tornado came from the southwest and it appeared for a time that it would miss the farm to the north. Unfortunately, the storm suddenly changed course and headed straight for the farm buildings, causing Alois, Sam, Sam's wife Edith and several of Sam's youngest children to seek shelter in the cellar. The tornado tore through some of the groves on the farm, but by-passed the buildings and the people. Soon after the storm passed the telephone rang (mercifully some of the farms still had phone service) and Alois was asked to walk over to the Ed Miller place and inform Mrs. Miller that her husband had been killed by a falling tree during the storm. The seventy-eight year old Alois, without hesitation, went out and headed over the storm ravaged landscape to deliver the heartbreaking news to the unsuspecting widow. Papillion Times, May 14, 1908; Edith Gramlich, Papillion, Nebraska, Letter to the Author, Lincoln, Nebraska, April 11, 1982.

50. Gramlich, 4.

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