Skip to main content

Isaac Vangunda - Homesteader Haigler, Nebraska

Isaac Vangunda, was a son of my g.g. grandparents, Cyrus and Hannah Vangunda. He was born near Prairie City, Iowa September 22, 1870, moved with his parents to northwestern Kansas, south of Haigler, Nebraska in 1887, his parents homesteading there at that time.

Isaac Vangunda, 1875 with note by his sister, Susan Milliner

In 1891, when Isaac was the required age of 21, he entered his own claim for land nearby. At that time, he stated that he and his wife would live on the land. But in 1899, when he filed final proof of his homestead, he said he was widowed. More on that later.

In 1893, he filed for a leave of absence from his homestead. An absence from there would have otherwise negated his claim, since he would normally have to maintain residence there continuously for the required five years. Here is his Affidavit and Application for Leave of Absence from Claim for One Year:

I, Isaac Vangunda, being duly sworn an oath say, that on the 8th day of May A.D. 1891, I made Homestead Entrey for the SW1/4 Section 34 in Tp 1 South Range 41 West of 6th P.M. in Cheyenne County Kansas. That I and my wife established residence on said land on October 24th 1891; That I have made the following improvements on said land: A sod home 16 feet [x 25 feet (?)] with poles, brush and sod roof, board floor, 3 windows, 2 doors; 32 acres broken and under cultivation; a well of water 67 feet deep, a stable 14 feet x 16 feet made of lumber and straw; a dug out cow stable 12 feet x 14 feet, poles and straw roof; a sod hen house 10 feet x 12 feet; about 100 forest trees. In the year 1891 I raised 8 acres of corn on the land, in 1892 I broke 24 acres and planted it in broom corn and raised 6 acres of barley, 3/4 acre potatoes, 1-1/4 acre corn. In this spring of 1893, I and my wife have plowed and sowed 9 acres of wheat (Sown about March 10th 1893). This wheat came up and looked well for about two weeks or more and then dried up and appears to be nearly all dead on account of want of rain and moisture and that the prospect for us to make a living on our claim is now very discouraging. That in November A.D. 1892 I was lifting and loading broom corn into a cart and strained and ruptured myself; since that time I have frequently (about twice a week) been attacked with severe internal pains, when I usually drop down and lose all strength and am unable to do any work for two or three days again. That I am now wearing a truss but am not able to do much hard work on the farm yet. That on account of my sickness and the loss of my spring wheat and the want of money for my support I am not able to make a living for myself and wife on my said claim. Therefore i ask you, the Honorable Register and Receiver of the US Land Office to grant me a Leave of Absence from my said Homestead Claim for one year from this 25th day of April A.D. 1893 to the 25th day of April A.D. 1894 in order that I and my wife may earn some money for our living and to improve my said homestead. So help me God

His final proof, submitted in 1899, further described his improvement to the land. By then he had 65 acres in crops, but stated that no crops were raised in 1893 - 1896. He was gone on leave in 1893. His buildings then included a 16x40 sod house, and a 16x30 framed stable.

Isaac married Sylvania Andrews Wishon, in 1891. She was an interesting choice for a wife, to say the least. She had been charged with the 1889 murder of her previous husband, Phillip Wishon - the first murder trial in Cheyenne County Kansas. Although it was determined that he had died of arsenic poisoning, she was not convicted of the charge, thanks in part due to the testimony of a future mother-in-law. Mary Cashner.

In 1898, Isaac filed for divorce from Sylvania on grounds of abandonment. Although Isaac did not have any children with Sylvania, she did have her daughter, Myrtle Wishon, from her first marriage. In 1899, she married Fred Cashner. 

The McCook (Nebraska) Tribune reported Isaac's marriage  to Gertrude Lowe.

Apparently, Isaac had followed his parents out to Ramah, Colorado. 

 In 1910 they lived in Albuquerque. They lived in Oregon in 1911, where they had a son name after his father, Cyrus. In 1916 he sold a house in Klamath Falls, Oregon. They moved to Chico, California, where worked on the Sacramento Railway. He died  July 3, 1950 and is buried in Dayton, California.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Origins of the Squibb Family

By all accounts, the Squibbs came from England. According to Lawrence G. Blochman, in his book  Doctor Squibb , "The earliest known English Squibb is believed to have been made a yeoman by Edward IV in the fifteenth century. His grandson was Great John the Yeoman of Dorsetshire. Great John's grandson, Nathaniel Squibb, came to Pennsylvania early in the eighteenth century, settled in Chester County and founded a populous family...." Most Squibb families today would trace their ancestry to this Nathaniel or at least to Robert Squibb who is thought to be his son. There are few records of him, despite the generally thorough records kept by his Quaker faith. Nevertheless, later Squibbs were in fact Quakers. But exactly when they took on this faith isn't clear. One early Robert Squibb actually held title to a large part of New Jersey in the late 1600s. Whether he ever set foot on that soil is doubtful. Some of the Squibbs were important officials and served in various
3 comments
Read more

John Griest - A Pennsylvania Pioneer

On my mother's side, is an ancestor named John Griest. He lived in Pennsylvania from 1694 to 1751. John's daughter, Sarah, married William Squibb. While most of us will leave no evidence of our existence, John Griest did leave a few things to remember him by. Probably most significant is the office building at the Susquehanna Memorial Gardens near York, Pennsylvania. This building was originally larger, and at another location in York. This beautiful picture was taken by Diane Bowders and published on Yorkblog.com. John Griest built this building around 1740 at its original location on what is now the Lincoln Highway in York. In 1962 it was taken down to make way for a shopping mall and rebuilt at the cemetery. At that time the building looked something like this: The sturdy building was known as Ye Olde Valley Inn, Beard's Inn, etc. and was originally built to protect John's family from Indians, with whom he didn't always have the best relationship. Gries
Post a Comment
Read more

Where Did That Dark Complexion Come From?

When I got my DNA results back, the biggest surprise I had was in all the people from the southern states who I shared DNA with. I'm pretty sure that a lot of it is from Salucia Sophronia Squibb , but that certainly doesn't explain it all. The only other unknown line, is that of Martha Brennan Davis , mother of Lillian Davis Stephenson, who was mother of my grandfather, Fred Stephenson. I have thought she was Irish, probably an Irish immigrant, and probably related to other Brennans of Galesburg, Illinois, but there is evidence she was from Indiana. Besides the unexplained southern DNA matches, I have little Irish DNA on this line, not enough for Martha Brennan to be full blooded Irish. But more importantly, the Stephensons had dark complexions. I honestly don't know beyond that where the dark hair and eyes came from. Here is a picture of Lillian Davis Stephenson, my great grandmother. Notice the dark hair, deep set, dark eyes. She doesn't look Irish. Her featur
1 comment
Read more