Historical Details

Van Blarcum, Life History of Louie Sprague Van Blarcum

Courtesy of Family Sources, 12/04/2008

The following is printed as originally written, and was sent to Niobrara County Library by Andi (Tagart) Windham. She is the daughter of Charlotte Widick, granddaughter of June Arline (Swope) Widick, and great-granddaughter of Genevieve Thora (Van Blarcum) Swope.

My lifes history dont know to much but will write what I have been told and what I can remember so here goes. In the year of January 16 1883 I was born near Warrensburg Mo and when I was a year old we mover from Missouri to a town called Cortland Nebraska that town was my first school. We lived there till I was 8 years old then Dad moved to Saltillo Nebraska lived there a year then mover down close to Beatrice Nebr lived there for 2 or 3 years then the folk took a notion to go back to Missouri so we pack up and loaded our things into 3 covered wagons and started of a trip back to Missouri. It took us 3 weeks to get there. We landed the first stop in Schell City Missouri was there 2 or 3 years then we pulled up stakes and moved to a town called Lewis Station stayed there a year or too then Dad got tired there so we started out again. Went up to Kansas City were we stayed all summer and lived in a tent close to a little stream of water where us kids played most of the time. There was another family lived in a tent close to our there names are Brownings they had 3 or 4 childrens so you see we had a good time we would tie a string on a stick and tie a piece of meat on the end of the string an catch crawfish. We would clean the tails of the crawfish and fry them. It took Mom a day or two to clean the skillet so she could cook in it she was petuclar about her eating she did want us to use the skillet and we would talk her in the notion letting us have it then we would wash it but that wasn't enough for her she would take ashes and scour and scour the she would take lye and wash it so you see she want it clean but us kids ate the tails the that they were good. Then one take we went over to the river that was called the blue river got in a boat took a ride then we decided to fish We caught an eal and a gar we didnt eat the gar but we but we did the eal they belong to the fish family the eal look like a snake it was long and black Dad said it was all right to eat so he and us kids ate it Mom wouldnt eat any and she had to clear the skillet again. We got a job of packing raspberries and strawberries that summer I dont remember how much we made not very much. Then Dad finished t job there then we packed our things in the covered wagons and set out again on the road we had 3 covered wagons we keep traveling till we came to My Uncle Truman Sprague he run a store call Bristville we stayed there a day or two then Dad rented a place we moved into it and stayed there about a year then it bought a place and boy was I glad to settle down sure got tired of moving I said if I ever got a place of my own, I was going to stay there the rest of my life, but then I had got a home of my own till the year 1903 I was married to Claude Van Blarcum. We lived the first year of our marriage with his folks then we rented a place for 2 or 3 year then we cam out to Crawford Nebr moved on a rented place till we took our home stead here in Wyoming the name of the post office was Whitman Wyo we had a lonesome time till I got to know the people here before we came they told us the cowboys were bad I was afraid every time I saw a rider but fould they we just the people that lived here and was looking after there cattle. We had 4 children Frances and John they we borned in Missouri Genevieve at Crawford Nebr and Olen near Whitman Wyoming. We lost our boys.

Well we can here on our homestead in 1910 and have been here the rest of the time this is far as know We will celebrate our 60 yr of married life in Febr 19 1968

Louie Sprague Van Blarcum.

Transcribed by Andriana Windham from a written account by Louie Van Blarcum.

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Record Type Name
Obituary VanBlarcum, Louie (01/16/1883 - 08/04/1971) View Record