John Mitchell Langdon, 1852-1950 [RG4241.AM]

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID

RG4241.AM:  John Mitchell Langdon, 1852-1950

Reminiscences, etc. (photocopies only):  

Lincoln, Lancaster County and Oak Grove, Seward County, Neb.:  Pioneer

Size:  0.25 cu.ft.; 1 box

BACKGROUND NOTE

John Mitchell Langdon, son of (Joshua) Milton and Anna (Mitchell) Langdon was born in Janesville, Rock County, Wisconsin in 1852. With his family, he came to the Salt basin area of Lancaster County in 1858. Milton Langdon manufactured salt in the early 1860s and later became the first Lancaster County treasurer. In 1872, the Langdon family moved to Seward County, settling in “A” Pct., in what was known as the Oak Grove settlement. Here Milton went into the lime and brick manufacturing business. In 1882, two years after the death of his father, John M. Langdon moved to Seward where he purchased a home and took care of his mother until her death in 1884. He married Lucy Manning daughter of Edward and Alice Manning on December 10, 1885. One daughter, Grace, was born to them.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This collection consists of one box of manuscript material arranged in two series: 1) Reminiscences; and 2) Genealogical material. This collection relates primarily to John Langdon’s memories of life on the Nebraska frontier in the late 1850s, 1860s and early 1870s when his family was among the earliest settlers in Lancaster County. The reminiscences of Series 1 were written by John M. Langdon in the 1940s. Recalling life around the salt basin area of Lancaster County, Langdon described hardships experienced by the pioneers, the frontier environment, lifestyles of early settlers, and experiences with Indians. Langdon’s writings are either in handwritten or typescript form. All of the reminiscences are photocopies from the original handwritten or typescript version. The Genealogical Material (also photocopies) of Series 2 consists of lineage sheets and correspondence pertaining to the Langdon and related families.

Note:  See the photo component [RG4241.PH] for related images.

DESCRIPTION

Series 1 – Reminiscences (photocopies)

1. 1. Listing of John M. Langdon writings
      
      General information of family (typescript)
      
      Letter to Grace Langdon (handwritten)
      
      Shooting The Dip (3 versions: 1 handwritten and 2 typescripts)

1. 1. Making or Building a Dug-Out (handwritten and typescript)
      
      The Flood (typescript)
      
      Protecting a neighbor (typescript)
      
      A Tense Moment (typescript)
      
      Fruits, Vegetables and Wild Life (typescript)
      
      Playing With the Indian Boys (typescript)

1. 1. An Indian Scare (handwritten)
      
      An Old Time Blizzard (typescript)
      
      Treachery and Revenge (typescript)
      
      In Out of the West (typescript)
      
      A Sunrise Service (typescript)
      
      Raw Hide Creek (typescript)
      
      Learning to Swim (typescript)
      
      Lost on the Prairies (typescript)
      
      The Scout (typescript)
      
      Buffalo Saddles (handwritten and typescript of excerpt)

1. 1. The Salt Basins (handwritten and typescript of excerpt)
      
      Mother’s Heating Store (typescript)
      
      Getting Settled in a New Country (typescript)
      
      Father and Mother Go Calling (typescript)
      
      The Passing of the Indian (handwritten and typescript of excerpt)

1. 1. The Passing of the Indian, Part II (handwritten and typescript of excerpt)
      
      The Buffalo (typescript)
      
      Buffalo Meat (typescript)
      
      A Buffalo Stampede (typescript)
      
      The Homesteader (typescript)
      
      The Scout (typescript)
      
      How a Salt Furnace Was Made (typescript)
      
      Fishing (typescript)

1. 1. The Settlement (handwritten and typescript of excerpt)
      
      During a Blizzard (typescript)
      
      How people Freeze to Death (handwritten and typescript of excerpt)
      
      An Old-Fashioned Fireplace (typescript)

1. 1. The Indian’s Bow and Arrow (typescript)
      
      Father and Mother Go Calling (handwritten)
      
      The Indian and His Family (handwritten)

Series 2 – Genealogical Material (photocopies)

8. 8. Lineage Sheets and correspondence pertaining to the Langdon and related families

ADDED ENTRIES:

Bison — Nebraska

Frontier and pioneer life — Nebraska

Indians of North America

Lancaster County (Neb.) — History

Langdon, John Mitchell, 1852-1950

Langdon, (Joshua) Milton, 1823-1880

Langdon family

Lincoln (Neb.) — History

Reminiscences

Saline lands — Nebraska

Sod houses — Nebraska

AIP/pmc   10-13-1987

Encoded TMM   05-26-2010