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Pioneers
The first two Meyers brothers, Isaac S. (1845-1918) and Jonathan Meyers (1851-1935) came from Ogle County, Illinois, to the Beaver Valley looking for “free” land in 1872. They each took out a homestead in that same year.
According to the obituary of I. S. Meyers, “Traveling overland by wagon he arrived in Furnas County in May, 1872, when Indians and buffalo roamed these plains at will. Mrs. Meyers arrived the following July, coming to Grand Island, the nearest railroad station.”
In Henrietta Diebler Meyers’ obituary, it states, “she ventured twenty-eight miles farther than any white woman had ever settled. There were no towns or railroads within many miles.” The little town that grew from this settlement was first named “Lynden”. Isaac was appointed postmaster. It was later named Hendley.
According to the Meyers/Moyer Family History, compiled by Isaac Austin Meyers, “ Jonathan H. Meyers, born 1851, Dauphin County, PA, migrated first to Ogle County, IL, then in the spring of 1872 accompanied his older brother, Isaac, to Furnas County, NE. He took a homestead just west of where the town of Hendley now stands. The following year, he brought his bride to the homestead.”
In the obituary for Jonathan Meyers, it states, “In 1872, at the age of 21, he came to Furnas County, NE, where he filed on a homestead just west of Hendley. After this, he returned to Forreston, IL, where he was married to Barbara Ann Shipman, Feb. 27, 1873.”
Philip W. Meyers (1857-1934) came to Hendley in 1873 at the age of 16 years. His obituary states, “he was too young to file on a homestead, so he carried the mail on horseback from Orleans up the Beaver and Sappa Valleys. As soon as possible he filed claim on a homestead two miles west of Hendley and there he later made his home.” He proved up on a quarter next to his brother, Isaac. Philip accompanied his brother, Isaac on several large buffalo hunts on the Arickaree River and the northern Nebraska plains during the years between 1875 and 1880.
His future wife, Ida Alice Johnson, came from Dallas County, Iowa to Eureka Township, Nebraska to live with her sister and husband, Suzett and James A. Harper, sometime before 1880. She was employed by Isaac S. Meyers to help care for his invalid wife. She and Philip met, fell in love and were married in Arapahoe, 17 Nov. 1880. When their second child, Martha, died in April, 1883, he set aside a plot of ground for a cemetery. It is now the Lynden Cemetery in Hendley, the final resting place for many in the Meyers family.
Henry P. Meyers (1840-1915) was the last of the four brothers to homestead in Nebraska. He came from PA with his wife, Mary Ann Miller Meyers, in 1879. They took a homestead near Wilsonville, where they lived until 1905.
Submitted 22 Jan 2005 by Marilyn Cozza <birdsong@rof.net>
Additional Note (24 Jan 2005):
The parents of these four brothers:
Henry Moyer, born Apr. 12, 1810, Lykens Twp., Dauphin County, PA, and died 9/07/1863 in Dauphin Co.
It is said he died from typhoid fever contracted from drinking contaminated water on a visit to Gettysburg Battlefield in July, 1863.
His wife: Catharine Stine, born 1809, in Dauphin County, PA. Married 9/11/1834.
After Henry died she married his brother, Peter Moyer.
Photo: Henry & Catherine (Stine) Moyer/Meyers
Henry P. Meyers and family
Isaac S. Meyers and family
Back row: Elizabeth, Olive, Eva, Isaac, Henrietta (Etta), Susan, Emery.
Front row: Sylvester (Wess), Henrietta and Isaac S. Meyers.
From a handwritten note found in the family Bible
(I have added death dates for the ones who grew to maturity).
1. Sarah, 1869-1870
2. Susan, 1871-1944, married Rev. Charles McCorkle
3. Sylvester "Wess" 1873-1965 (far left, front row)
4. Elizabeth, 1875-1959, married Thomas A. Wilburn
5. Isaac N., 1876-1957 (middle, back row)
6. Elmer, 1877-1878
7. Emery, 1879-1965 (far right, back row)
8. Henrietta, 1881-1976, married John A. John
9. Eva, 1885-1958, married Milton Guy Brubaker
10. Olive, 1887-1968, married Francis B. Beaty
Parents: Henrietta Deibler Meyers, 1847-1918; and Isaac S. Meyers, 1845-1918
Earlier photo of Isaac S. Meyers and family
Jonathan Meyers and family
Back row: Philip Martin, 1875-1921, married 1900 Bessie M. Sleezer; William Edward, 1874-1962, marr. 1907 Louisa Taylor;
James Burd 1878-1965, marr. 1907 Lizzie Strouse,
Front Row: Jonathan Meyers, 1851-1935; Bessie Regina, 1890-1945, married 1907 Ira E. Johns; Mary Ann, 1886-?, married 1903 Edward D. Haynes; Dolly Mabel, 1888-?, married 1905 John Hunnicutt; (Mother) Barbara Ann Shipman, 1852-1924, married 27 Feb. 1873;
toddler in chair is Nellie May, 1895-?, married 1912 Dana L. Spaulding
Later photo of Jonathan Meyers and family
Photo of William Edward & Louisa (Prideaux) Taylor Meyers
Additions - March 2005
Ceremony - Reunion?
Isaac S. Meyers is the man standing at the far left, wearing a ribbon on his lapel.
As you can see, many of the men in the group also wear this ribbon.
Can anyone tell us more? What was the occasion? Where is this photo taken?
BACK to the Pioneer Registry © 2005 for NEGenWeb Project, Marily Cozza, T&C Miller
