HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG0917.AM: Wesley Elmer Cox, 1857-1945
Reminiscence: undated
Saline County and Arnold, Custer County, Nebraska: Homesteader
Size: One item; 45 pages
BACKGROUND NOTE
Born in Buchanan County, Iowa, on June 11, 1857, Wesley Elmer Cox came to Nebraska with his family in the 1860s, where they homesteaded in Saline County. He farmed in Saline County through the 1910s. Wesley married Permalia “Millie” Garton and they moved to Arnold, Custer County, Nebraska, where Wesley worked as manager of a creamery. Permalia died in 1941. Wesley Cox died in 1945. The couple is buried in the Arnold Cemetery at Arnold, Nebraska.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection consists of a 45 page, handwritten reminiscence by Wesley E. Cox. Entitled, “Reflections of Early Days in Saline County,” Cox describes aspects of homesteading near Swan City, Nebraska, in the 1860s and 1870s. He mentions other homesteaders, particularly William Remington. He includes information on housing; trapping/hunting; the relationship with Indians; funerals; farming (mention of different farm implements used); education (including the establishment of School District #8 by Reverend W.P. Grantham — school board, other teachers, physical description of the school); social life (including music, dances and spelling bees); and the 1873 blizzard.
Note: See also RG1023.AM for additional materials relating to the Cox and Garton families.
INVENTORY
Reminiscence, “Reflections of Early Days in Saline County,” by Wesley E. Cox
Subject headings:
Agriculture — Nebraska — Saline County
Bison hunting — Nebraska
Blizzards — Nebraska — Saline County
Cox family
Cox, Abel, 1825-1913
Cox, Wesley Elmer, 1857-1945
Decatur County (Kansas) — History
Education — Nebraska — Saline County
Farm life — Nebraska
Frontier and pioneer life — Nebraska — Saline County
Grantham, William P.
Homestead law — Nebraska
Homesteading — Nebraska
Hunting — Nebraska
Indians of North America — Nebraska
Pioneers — Nebraska — Saline County
Remington family
Remington, William
Saline County (Nebraska) — History
Schools — Nebraska — Saline County
Swan City (Nebraska) — History
Trapping — Nebraska
Wall, Aaron, 1848-1933
Revised TMM 10-04-2016
