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Family tree▼ Facts and Events
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25 Jan 1957 |
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1970 |
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1876 |
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from Betty Kennedy:
"My grandfather, William Francis McCarty, was born in 1839, Grovespoint (now in Chicago), Ill. His parents, Andrew and Catherine Noonan McCarty, had a homestead six miles from what is now the heart of Chicago.
"The journey to North Dakota, which my grandfather made at the age of 67, was only one of the many adventures in his life. As a young man, he had gone to the gold fields of California, making the trip by boat around Cape Horn to San Francisco. It is not known how many years he was in the gold fields near Angel's Camp, Sonora and Columbia, but he must have remained for several years since he accumulated enough gold to start back to Illinois overland with a companion. They were both robbed of their gold before leaving the state, and my grandfather returned to the gold fields, panned more gold and again started out to Illionis. their supplies ran short, and my grandfather, being an excellent marksman, kept them in wild game. Finally they met up with a covered wagon train, heading East, and prentending to be without funds, hired on as hands. My grandfather returned to Iroquois County, Illinois, where he later married my grandmother, Emily Hamer, daughter of David John Hamer and Eliza Cave Hamer, on April 8, 1872. They lived in Iroquis County, Illinois, near the town of Clifton, for several years, and there the following children were born to them: Clifford, born February 19, 1873, Lulu Etta (my mother), born March 15, 1874, and William, born in 1876. Two other children, Rose and Ida, were born in Botna, Iowa, after they moved to that state about 1878. In Botna, my grandfather, with funds remaining from his gold, purchased a farm and owned and operated a general store in the town.
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"On April 6, 1906, William F. McCarty made a homestead entry No. 3028, Serial No. 04890 for the southeast quarter of Section 12, Township 137 N., Range 100 West, 5th principal meridian. this land was situated in Billings County, just over the Stark County line. [Compare with patent, No. 246998 (image below)] He made his final five-year proof to establish claim to the land before Paul Lebo, clerk of the district court at Medora on June 23, 1911, certifying that the notice of publication of homestead proof was published in his paper for five weeks.
"In his final papers, he stated that one acre of land was broken in 1907 and a garden and trees planted. In 1908, one acre of garden was planted, and the balance of the land grazed on by 15 head of cattle. In 1909, 75 more acres were broken, and one acre planted to garden. In 1910, 75 acres of wheat were planted and 75 acres broken. In 1911, 130 acres of wheat were planted, 10 acres in flax and 10 acres in oats. In 1910, he harvested 800 bushels of wheat. A frame house, 14 x 16, with double-lined shingle roof, matched flooring, two windows, and one door had been built early in 1906 and was ready for occupancy on his family's arrival in September, 1906. There was a well 25 feet deep. Other improvements to the property were a 3-wire fence, with posts 18 feet apart, and 400 trees planted. Because his land was classified as coal land, my grandfather had to sign a document before Glen B. Morgan, mineral surveyor of the General Land Office, that he was receiving the land exclusive of mineral claims. Because of our energy crisis and increased interest in this subject, I quote from a letter contained in the final homestead papers of my grandfather, written by the U. S. Geological Survey:
"The tract in question (entry of William F. McCarty) is underlain by coal beds of workable thickness. These beds, which belong to what is known as the Great Bend group, are three in number and are exposed along Third Creek, the course of which stream lies just south of the southern boundary of the township in question. The upper bed of this group is traceable for several miles along Third Creek by the layer of clinker formed by its burning at the outcrop. At unburned exposures, this bed has an average thickness of twelve feet. The beds of the Great Bend group dip northeastward at a low angle and as the land in question lies on the divide between the drainage basins of Little Missouri and Cannon Ball rivers, about 7 miles northeast of the nearest exposures of these beds, there seems no question as to their presence beneath this tract within 500 feet of the surface."
"Glenn B. Morgan, mineral surveyor for the General Land Office, stated: "There are no surface indications of coal on the land itself. I think the said land is valuable for the deep coal veins which I believe to underly the same and are found to the northeast and southwest of said land.....from these observations that I have taken and from my general study of the lignite coal deposits as a geologist and engineer, I have come to the conclusion that the prairie country wherein said land is located is underlain by these several beds of coal which aggregate a thickness of from forty to fifty feet, with a maximum depth of five hundred feet from the surface. I believe, therefore, that this land is chiefly valuable for that coal. The land, for farming purposes, is worth about $25.00 per acre. To get at the cole value of the land, we would estimate it on a royalty basis by the same method as is used by the U. S. Geological Survey. Royalties are being paid in western North Dakota ranging from 10 to25 cents per ton of coal mined. Thirty feet of coal in three veins would yeild 30,000 tons of coal per acre by ordinary underground methods. At 10 cents per ton, the land would have a royalty value of $3,000 per acre. My estimate of the market value of the land for coal based on the above facts and conclusions, is one tenth of the royalty value, or about $300.00 per acre."
"There is a certain irony to the above information considering the fact that in October, 1906, one month after their arrival in North Dakota, my grandfather would pace the floor in his anxiety, commenting, "No coal, no wood, no water, and fifteen miles from town!" They did not realize that the coal, in certain areas, lay just beneath the survace for the taking. By the next year, of course, they had probably discovered the nature of the deposits and were using the coal for fuel.
"Because of their inaccessibility to doctors and hospitals, these early settlers "doctored" themselves and dealt with most emergencies. However, somethings they could not cope with, and one such episode occurred when my grandfather, William McCarty, injured himself while haying in the fields. Ida, his daughter, ran to the nearest neighbor about a mile away and asked him to go to town for Dr. Colwill. He and the doctor didn't get back to the homestead until four in the morning. The doctor said, "It is a severe rupture; I will have to operate." My grandfather was laid on the kitchen table, an improvised operating table, and while Ida held the lamp and her sister Rose administered the ether, the doctor operated successfully. The doctors of that day are due a lot of credit. Somehow they always managed to reach their patients, no matter what the weather. They kept excellent They kept excellent teams of horses for their buggies, or in winter, for their sleighs. Sometimes they had to stop midway on their calls and change teams of horses.
"Grandfather McCarty's operation brings to mind another story told in the family. While he was recuperating from his operation, my mother Lulu on the adjoining homestead would prepare his evening meal and take on to him every afternoon. This was after the death of his wife Emily. On this particular day in January, 1909, my mother had prepared an excellent stew and, walking over the snow-banks, took it to him about four o'clock in the afternoon. Grandfather McCarty was delighted--being an Irishman, there was nothing he liked better than a good Irish Stew. He thanked his daughter, but said, "Lulu, you had better hurry back before dark. It dark now at 4:30." She tied her woolen scarf around her head and neck, pulled on her overshoes and woolen gloves, and started back to the homestead. After she had gone a short way, she noticed a big coyote following her. She was terror-stricken. She thought, "Shall I turn back and face him, or shall I walk on?" She decided to walk on because her husband and her children, Marvel and Freddie, were expecting her. Since the ground was covered with snow, she couldn't pick up a stick or any weapon. When whe walked fast, the coyote would increase his speed; when she slowed, the coyote would slow. She was thinking, "Maybe if I can just get closer to the house, I can call Arthur." Her knees were shaking so, she could hardly walk. She kept saying to herself, "Don't panic, don't run, don't show any fear." She noticed that it was getting darker. Thankfully, she saw Arthur hurrying out to help her; he had seen the coyote. The little gray house on the prairie, with its lamp burning in the window, had never looked better to her.
"On July 3, 1907, my grandmother, Emily Hamer McCarty, died on the homestead. On the Fouth of July, her body was brought to Belfield. To the distress of relatives and friends, the wagon bearing her body somehow was encompassed by the gaily decorated vehicles of the townspeople celebrating the holiday. This family story has always struck me as more tragic than comic. This gentle woman of English birth had not survived even one year of life in the rugged conditions of North Dakota. My grandfather took her body to Iowa for burial.
"After he received his final homestead papers, he moved to Belfield where he purchased a home. About 1918, he moved to Atascadero, California, with his daughter, Ida McCarty Harkins and her husband, Ed Harkins. There, on January 12, 1925, my grandfather, rugged individualist and adventurer, died at the age of 86."
Image Gallery
 Homestead land grant to William F. McCarty |
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