Black Hawk County Biographies

John Thomas Milliken
Submitted by Sherri Gregory
Researcher note: This typewritten note, author unknown, was found in with the obituaries kept by Everett Sutton. The note itself appears to be a printout of a family genealogy software with numbers of generations, etc. I deleted what appeared to be those references. In some instances, this appears to be more of a historical biography than an obituary.

John Thomas Milliken was born 5 July 1845, Walker Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania, son of Samuel and Catherine (Kephart) Milliken. He died 13 October 1914, Stratton, Hitchcock County, Nebraska, of typhoid fever.

He married 24 March 1867, at the home of her parents, Black Hawk Township, Black Hawk County, Iowa, Ann M. Merwin, who was born 27 October 1847, daughter of Joseph and Jeanette (Beers) Merwin and died 26 August 1929, Stratton, Hitchcock County, Nebraska.

John was about two years old when he moved with his family to Stephenson County, Illinois. There he attended school and grew to manhood. Between February 1661 and February 1864, they moved to Black Hawk County, Iowa. There at Poyner Township, 23 February 1864, he volunteered for service in the Civil War for the term of three years. He mustered in at Fort Dodge, Davenport, Iowa as a private in Company C, 9th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, receiving bounty pay of $60 and advance monthly pay of $13. He was described as having grey eyes, dark hair, light complexion and a height of five feet five inches. He was discharged on 18 July 1865 at Louisville, Kentucky, the war being over before his enlistment was up. He owed the U.S. $5.90 for clothing account and $6.00 for arms and equipment., He received $120, the remaining amount of his bounty. It is a tradition that he took part in the Grand Parade in Washington, D.C. after the war. He had a three section, leather bound, telescope which he carried in the war and that was later in the possession of his grandson, Merwin Milliken. Merwin then gave it to his son, Merwin Jr.

After their marriage in 1867, John and Ann rented the farm of her father in Black Hawk Township, Black Hawk County, Iowa, and remained there until 1879 when Joseph Merwin sold the farm. They made their home in Lester Township until 1882 when they moved to Lincoln County, South Dakota with his parents, brothers and three sisters. Family tradition tells ,of the "boys" herding cattle all the way to the James River. John's sons would have been aged 9 to13 when they moved to South Dakota. John, not finding land in South Dakota that suited him, then moved to Dundy County, Nebraska where on 8 June 1888 he made a homestead entry on SE 1/4 of Section one, township three north, range thirty-six, west in Dundy County, Nebraska.

These people were truly pioneers. The land was a plateau deeply gouged with coulees and canyons which were often impassable by team. This divided the area in a way in which neighbors across the coulee were virtual strangers, bonding together according to the lay of the land rather than distance and making a different town their market place. Highland area was settled by the Shillingtons, beforementioned in the family of Mary Jane (Milliken) Ochs, while Ash Grove was settled by Harrison and Milliken families, Stratton was their market town. Harrisons donated land for Ash Grove Cemetery where most of our family is buried.

The first school was in Reichart's two-room "soddy".Light was provided at church or school with families taking turns bringing their own lanterns, kerosene and song books.' Tradition attributes Ann (Merwin) Milliken as the leader of the Sunday School.

People did their laundry on wash boards, burned cow chips, carried water from the well and doctored with home remedies such as skunk oil, goose grease, and burnt sulphur.

This area became part of the United States in a 1854 treaty. Nebraska was a territory which included the present states of Nebraska, North and South Dakota, all of that part of Montana east of the Rocky Mountains, three-fourths of Wyoming and parts of Colorado. By 1885, most of the good land had been taken, making the transition from Indians and buffalo to complete settlement in just 20 years.

The drought in 1890 reduced the settlers population by half. Those who had money left and they who were too poor had to stay. Buffalo had been hunted there for many years and large quantities of bones were strewn over the prairie. After the coming of the railroad, they were marketed for $2 or $3 per ton. Some of the homesteaders turned "bone pickers", exchanging a wagon full of bones for needed groceries. The prairie was swept clean of the bones and many of the homesteaders used this means of hanging on to their claims during the times of grasshoppers and drought. John went to Colorado and dug the new irrigation ditches to help supplement the income.

It is believed that John and Ann lived in a sod house while getting settled. In July 1888, they commenced building a frame house, 12 by 24 feet, 1 1/2 stories high and moved into it on 1 October. They also built a barn 22 by 50 feet, a shed 14 by 35 feet, a granary 10 by 16 feet, corn crib 10 by 16 feet and a wind mill. John cultivated 30 acres the first year and 30 to 80 acres were cultivated each season after that until the entire farm was in production.

It was prairie farming and grazing land. On 28 July 1904, under a revised status, he applied for additional land, the SW 1/4 of SW 1/4 of section six, township three, north, range thirty-five and the N 1/2 of NE I/2 section 12, township three, north, range thirty-six and Lot 7 section 6, township three, north, all in Hitchcock County. On 14 September 1909 when he made final papers he described 20 acres under cultivation in section 1 and the rest all rough, not fit for cultivation.

He grew barley and used the balance for grazing 20 head of cattle and horses which he owned and harvested 6 tons of hay each year. He later purchased lots 5 & 6 in Darnell’s addition in the Village of Stratton, Hitchcock County. On 8 May 1897 he applied for a Civil War pension and he was granted $6.00 per month for being disabled by disease of the heart. On 27 December 1907 he applied for reissue of the pension and was granted $12 per month. After his death, Ann received a widows pension. Both are buried in Ash Grove Cemetery, Dundy County, Nebraska.

Children of John T. and Ann M. (Merwin) Milliken:

Frank T. Milliken born 28 December 1869, Cedar Falls, Black Hawk County, Iowa; died 21 July 1949, Wauneta, Chase County, Nebraska at the home of his cousin Frank Ochs with whom he had made his home since 1932. He had worked as a carpenter. He made a violin on which he entertained in the community. His book of his jigs and reels is in the hands of the compiler. He had retired to the Masonic Home but did not find it to be what he wanted so he moved to the home of his cousin. He was unmarried.

James E. Milliken, born 12 September 1871, Cedar Falls, Black Hawk County, Iowa; died 17 September 1905, Walla Walla, Walla Walla County, Washington of rocky mountain spotted fever. He had gone to Washington to work to earn a grub stake to go to the Klondike gold fields in Alaska when he was stricken with the disease. He is buried in Ash Grove Cemetery, Dundy County, Nebraska. He was unmarried.

Dick Merwin Milliken born 2 February 1873, Cedar Falls, Black Hawk County, Iowa; died 8 November 1930, Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas. Married Q. R. Harrison 30 April 1895, Forsyth, Taney County, Missouri, Eugenie Allen born 7 May 1874, Pella, Marion County, Iowa, daughter of Monroe and Amanda (Coit, alias Pritchard) Allen. She died 30 January 1953. Dick and his brothers had gone to Missouri to hunt wild turkey and he met and married Eugenie Allen who was living there with her family at the time.

Dick was nine years old when the famlly moved to South Dakota and 15 when they moved to Nebraska. He was involved in the family farming and he also learned fine woodworking, perhaps from his uncle Frank Milliken. After their marriage, Dick and Eugenie lived in a sod house on a rented farm north of Stratton, Hitchcock County, Nebraska where their first two children were born. About 1900 they moved to Morrowville, Washington County, Kansas and rented a farm. The parents .......

Researcher note: The typewritten note ended at this point, and I could find nothing more.

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