THE CLARE FAMILY
I, Sam Elmer Clare, will write a family history to let the people
know that the Clares had family members who were very early settlers
near Verdigre.
I was born on my grandfather’s homestead in 1897 at Manning,
Nebraska. This post office was ½ mile east of our home on the John
Ayer’s homestead.
In the year of 1875, John and Mary Clare, with their four boys Bill,
Sam, Maurice, and Ralph, and their two daughters: Ada and Hattie,
left Janesville, Wisconsin. With their oxen and covered wagon, they
headed west. After a hard trip, John Clare chose a homestead three
miles south of Verdigre, which is now the home of Don and Doris
Rohrer. Their first home was a dugout, and later a small frame
house. Their son, Maurice Clare, settled on the farm south across
the road.
Fred Kienow took the claim that joined the Clares on the west - now
the home of Stan Holan.
The homesteaders could not find any wells to supply any amount of
water, so it was up to them to haul most of their water two miles
from the Verdigre Creek. Fred Kienow, seeing that this was the most
impossible task, moved to a farm three miles south where there was a
good well.
[pg 221 PHOTO Ralph Clare in 1909
Then Ralph Clare, the youngest son of John and Mary Clare, got the
pre-emption on this 160 acres. He tried to farm with one ox, and one
horse. He said that the horse hated that ox. At this time, Bazile
Mills was their nearest town.
Maurice Clare, tired of farming, turned to school teaching. He was
elected county superintendent while the courthouse was in Niobrara.
Sam stayed for awhile and helped his father with the farming, but
later he homesteaded in Montana.
In these early days no one was expected to homestead the hills south
of Verdigre. Lots of homesteaders had their boys herd their cattle
over these hills. They never expected the boys from Switzerland to
move in.
In 1890 John Clare was bitten by a dog mad with rabies, and he died
in a few days. He was buried on the farm. When the farm was sold,
his body was moved to the cemetery east of Bazile Mills, now known
as Cedar Hill Cemetery. This is where the Clare family lot is today.
By this time, Ralph and Louise Clare had homesteaded in Holt County.
They had four boys: Ed, Walt, Ralph, and Elmer (Sam), and three
girls: Grace, Ada, and Ethel. After Ralph Clare’s father’s death, he
came back to farm the homestead. His sister Hattie, a school
teacher, was taking care of Grandma Clare. It seemed that Hattie
took care of the bank account.
When I was three years old, Hattie bought a farm two miles south. It
had a good well. We moved there in 1900. The farm is now owned by
Jim Wagner. We farmed there until 1904 and then moved to Winnetoon.
In that year Ralph Clare started the first RFD mail route from
Winnetoon and was their carrier for 27 years. It took four horses
for this work, and his salary was $50 per month. Mother Louise
passed away in 1937 at the age of 81, and father Ralph passed away
in 1953 at the age of 97. Burial was in the Cedar Hill Cemetery,
east of Bazile Mills.
This was written in memory of all the Clares at the time Verdigre
reached 100 years - 1987.
-Written and submitted by (Sam) Elmer Clare
Pages
221, 222
