Buena and Ira Barclay Story
by Lenora Jerred Dodds
(Transcribed, with permission from the Mellette County Historical Society, from "Mellette County 1911-1986" published by the Mellette County Historical Society)
Buena Howlett was born in Putnam County, Missouri, on September 24, 1896. Her parents were Arthur Conley Howlett and Mary Lucinda (Hemstreet) Howlett. Her ancestry is Scottish, English and Pennsylvania Dutch. She grew up on various farms in Missouri and also lived in Kirksville, Greentop and Atlanta, Missouri. Buena's father, A.C., as he was called, went to Dakota first and located the homestead in the Texsam community, in May of 1913, and secured a job in Winner on the Tripp County Journal. Buena, her mother (Ninne), sister Margie and brother Art followed him when school was out. The family took the train to Winner and arrived on June 28, 1913. They were met by Mr. Howlett and spent the night in a hotel.
Buena described their feelings as homesick when they got up the next morning. The wind was blowing the dust so bad they could hardly see across the street. Winner was a new town set out on the prairie with no fences and no roads, so when travelers sighted the town, they headed straight for it, thus surrounding the town with trails like the spokes in a wheel. Then when the wind blew, the dust from the trails blew with it. That was the last bad dust storm that season and they soon learned to love the country.
Setting type at the newspaper where her father worked was Buena's first job. Then her father bought the Mellette County News in White River and he went there to run that newspaper, again leaving the family behind till he could find a place for them to live. He did so and the family joined him on Christmas Day of 1913. Buena remembers the ride in the open top Auburn that is in the Howlett story.
That same Christmas, Buena's sweetheart from back home had come to join them at Winner and make the trip with them to White River. His name was Ira Barclay and he was looking for a homestead for himself as he would soon be 21 and eligible to file a claim. Ira had his birthday on February 18, 1914, and he and Buena were married in the Howlett home in White River on March 8. He was born in 1893 on a farm near Heyworth, Illinois, the son of George and Ella May (Washburn) Barclay.
Buena tells of being targets for an old-fashioned charivari. Lots of noise was made, guns fired, pans were banged, anything that made a lot of noise was used. The newlyweds were not prepared with treats but Ira gave the leader money to treat the crowd at the drugstore.
They bought a relinquishment some 10 or 12 miles northwest of White River in the Texsam community, close to Buena's parents. It had no living quarters and the Howletts were still living in White River, so Buena and Ira stayed in the Howletts' shack while Ira moved a house to add on the Howlett shack and moved a shack on his own relinquishment claim. A blizzard came up before the bigger house was moved and caught Ira and Buena in the little shack. The blizzard lasted two days and two nights. The shack was made of ship lap over 2x4 framing and the snow blew through the cracks. The newlyweds unrolled two 9x12 rugs that Mrs. Howlett had shipped up from Missouri. They nailed one around the north and west walls and the other they put over the bed.
Each morning they would carefully lift the rug and shake the four inches of snow off it. The "topsy" stove would not get hot enough to cook on as the high wind outside was making all the heat go up the chimney. So they put food in the stovepipe oven to heat or cook.
While Ira was doing the carpentry work on the claims, Buena was having some young-bride cooking experiences. She soaked some common old navy beans overnight and cooked them all day and they never got any bigger and not much softer. When she asked Mrs. Witherow what she had done wrong, she was told the water was so hard (alkali) that beans could not be cooked in it. Melted snow or rain water was the best for cooking beans.
Near the Barclays' new home was the Texsam post office located in Mr. and Mrs. Nick Witherow's house. This was the hub of the community that stretched out in a five-mile radius, and even farther.
Buena's parents' homestead was the first on the trail going northwest from White River after Cottonwood Creek. The road branched three ways there. The Barclays lived one mile west of her folks and their nearest neighbors west were Pete and Frank Bechtold, Frank Brown, Ernie McLane, Joe Petranek and the Blazek family. On the north of the Barclays were Ralph Kositzky, C. E. Kell, Charles Shouldis and the Pastian family.
Gus Kositzky, Nick Witherow, Iles Huey, Ed Kositzky and Henry Schwisow lived on the north and east branch of the road.
After those homes were passed, the trail branched three ways again at the schoolhouse and the T L dam.
Then were the homes of Alan Jerred, Charles Bates, Gus Kriege, Buena's grandmother—Mrs. B. F. Hemstreet—and later Floyd Anderson.
Northwest on the left fork were A. V. Watson, the Shelly Findley family, Louie and Roy King and M. M. Mott.
The right fork of the trail led to the Texsam schoolhouse, then Doctor Rhule's homestead and store building where his father and mother lived and had a grocery store. Later the store was leased to two bachelors named Frank Bricknor and McDonald. A community hall was in the other half of the building
and was used for box socials, pie suppers, literary societies, Sunday School and church.
The Texsam trail split again and to the right was the Sam Texter homestead, later occupied by Buena's sister Margie, and her husband George Jerred. On the creek were Bert Steel's and some others.
The left branch led past the Jim Briggs place, then toward the Otto Hanson place and his sister's homesteads, Oscar and Art Rybergs and the Lindquists.
Some families from way up by the Big White River who came down to Texsam Sunday School and socials were the Charles Astlefords, and the Giroux and Burnette families. Others were Paul Gapen and his sister Bessie, also Roy and Roxie Raffensperger, who lived south of Cottonwood Creek.
Ira and Buena were the first newlyweds in the community. The next were Alan and Fern (Anderson) Jerred, then Gus and Gladys (Jerred) Kriege, Alva and Nina (Shouldis) Ducan, then lies and Bessie (Gapen) Huey.
When the Barclays' daughter, Lucy, was born January 11, 1915, they had Mrs. Pastian as midwife and Mrs. Pete Bechtold as interpreter, as Mrs. Pastian was a German graduate nurse but could not speak English.
Buena's father and mother got lost going the mile from their place to the Barclays' when they went for the birth. Remember, this was still open country with no fences or roads, just trails. They teased Mr. Howlett about letting the pony, Old Joe, pick his way the next time and they would not lose their way. They hung a lantern on the north side of the house to guide him back when he went after Mrs. Pastian.
Buena told of the fun they had at Literary Society; once they put on a three-act comedy. They had numerous debates and told of the White River debate team coming out and having to stay all night at the hall once, because of a sudden thaw that filled the slough with water. Ira ferried everyone across the slough the next morning with a team and wagon, also the Texsamites who lived on the south side.
Ira and Buena once got their days mixed up and went to Literary a day late. The next time they went they were the victims of a "mock trial" with a judge, jury, lawyers for defense, prosecution witnesses and all. Buena was blamed for hitting Ira over the head with her rolling pin, making him forget, so he was not guilty. They produced her rolling pin with only one handle, so said she must have hit him with it and broken the handle off.
Vern Giroux's father played the violin and had sort of a family orchestra. He played for a dance after Vern Giroux and Grace Burnette were married and had come to the hall for Literary, and everyone was invited to stay for the wedding dance and delicious lunch.
Fern Jerred cut the pies at a Fourth of July picnic held at the hall and cut clear through Buena's new aluminum pie pan. Buena asked if Fern thought she made tough pie crusts.
Lucy gave them a couple of good scares when they thought she was taken by the Indians. The first time was when Lucy was about six months old. She was left napping on the bed while Buena worked in the garden. When Buena went back into the house, Lucy was not on the bed. They found her fast asleep behind the bed where she had rolled. They were better acquainted with the Indians the next time she was missing, when about 18 months old, but they were afraid of rattlesnakes and exposure. Each parent thought Lucy was with the other when they missed her. They started up the trails calling for Lucy and the collie dog who had gone with her. Finally they heard the dog bark and they found Lucy safe and sound, again fast asleep, on the trail to the Bechtold house.
The Barclays experienced the prairie fire in the spring of 1917 that burned all the way from the Badlands in the west to the Big White River in the east. They had good fire guards plowed around their buildings so did not lose them or the hay that was piled close.
Did you ever hear of borrowing a cat? The first cat in the neighborhood was loaned several times when the mice were overabundant. For several years kittens sold for a good price—not the fancy long-haired kinds, but common barn cats with a reputation of being good mousers.
The Barclays "proved up" in 1917 and went to Winner, by team and wagon, to live. Ira carried on in his carpenter trade. They had two sons, Vernon in 1918 and Wayne in 1928. Vernon gave his life for his country in World War II.
In October 1941, the Barclays moved to Lincoln, Nebraska. Ira still worked as a carpenter and helped build the Air Force base buildings and many houses, several buildings on the University campus, many commercial buildings and several large churches. They still live in Lincoln and celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on March 8, 1984. (Their 71st has now passed, 1985.)
by Lenora Jerred Dodds
(Transcribed, with permission from the Mellette County Historical Society, from "Mellette County 1911-1986" published by the Mellette County Historical Society)
Buena Howlett was born in Putnam County, Missouri, on September 24, 1896. Her parents were Arthur Conley Howlett and Mary Lucinda (Hemstreet) Howlett. Her ancestry is Scottish, English and Pennsylvania Dutch. She grew up on various farms in Missouri and also lived in Kirksville, Greentop and Atlanta, Missouri. Buena's father, A.C., as he was called, went to Dakota first and located the homestead in the Texsam community, in May of 1913, and secured a job in Winner on the Tripp County Journal. Buena, her mother (Ninne), sister Margie and brother Art followed him when school was out. The family took the train to Winner and arrived on June 28, 1913. They were met by Mr. Howlett and spent the night in a hotel.
Buena described their feelings as homesick when they got up the next morning. The wind was blowing the dust so bad they could hardly see across the street. Winner was a new town set out on the prairie with no fences and no roads, so when travelers sighted the town, they headed straight for it, thus surrounding the town with trails like the spokes in a wheel. Then when the wind blew, the dust from the trails blew with it. That was the last bad dust storm that season and they soon learned to love the country.
Setting type at the newspaper where her father worked was Buena's first job. Then her father bought the Mellette County News in White River and he went there to run that newspaper, again leaving the family behind till he could find a place for them to live. He did so and the family joined him on Christmas Day of 1913. Buena remembers the ride in the open top Auburn that is in the Howlett story.
That same Christmas, Buena's sweetheart from back home had come to join them at Winner and make the trip with them to White River. His name was Ira Barclay and he was looking for a homestead for himself as he would soon be 21 and eligible to file a claim. Ira had his birthday on February 18, 1914, and he and Buena were married in the Howlett home in White River on March 8. He was born in 1893 on a farm near Heyworth, Illinois, the son of George and Ella May (Washburn) Barclay.
Buena tells of being targets for an old-fashioned charivari. Lots of noise was made, guns fired, pans were banged, anything that made a lot of noise was used. The newlyweds were not prepared with treats but Ira gave the leader money to treat the crowd at the drugstore.
They bought a relinquishment some 10 or 12 miles northwest of White River in the Texsam community, close to Buena's parents. It had no living quarters and the Howletts were still living in White River, so Buena and Ira stayed in the Howletts' shack while Ira moved a house to add on the Howlett shack and moved a shack on his own relinquishment claim. A blizzard came up before the bigger house was moved and caught Ira and Buena in the little shack. The blizzard lasted two days and two nights. The shack was made of ship lap over 2x4 framing and the snow blew through the cracks. The newlyweds unrolled two 9x12 rugs that Mrs. Howlett had shipped up from Missouri. They nailed one around the north and west walls and the other they put over the bed.
Each morning they would carefully lift the rug and shake the four inches of snow off it. The "topsy" stove would not get hot enough to cook on as the high wind outside was making all the heat go up the chimney. So they put food in the stovepipe oven to heat or cook.
While Ira was doing the carpentry work on the claims, Buena was having some young-bride cooking experiences. She soaked some common old navy beans overnight and cooked them all day and they never got any bigger and not much softer. When she asked Mrs. Witherow what she had done wrong, she was told the water was so hard (alkali) that beans could not be cooked in it. Melted snow or rain water was the best for cooking beans.
Near the Barclays' new home was the Texsam post office located in Mr. and Mrs. Nick Witherow's house. This was the hub of the community that stretched out in a five-mile radius, and even farther.
Buena's parents' homestead was the first on the trail going northwest from White River after Cottonwood Creek. The road branched three ways there. The Barclays lived one mile west of her folks and their nearest neighbors west were Pete and Frank Bechtold, Frank Brown, Ernie McLane, Joe Petranek and the Blazek family. On the north of the Barclays were Ralph Kositzky, C. E. Kell, Charles Shouldis and the Pastian family.
Gus Kositzky, Nick Witherow, Iles Huey, Ed Kositzky and Henry Schwisow lived on the north and east branch of the road.
After those homes were passed, the trail branched three ways again at the schoolhouse and the T L dam.
Then were the homes of Alan Jerred, Charles Bates, Gus Kriege, Buena's grandmother—Mrs. B. F. Hemstreet—and later Floyd Anderson.
Northwest on the left fork were A. V. Watson, the Shelly Findley family, Louie and Roy King and M. M. Mott.
The right fork of the trail led to the Texsam schoolhouse, then Doctor Rhule's homestead and store building where his father and mother lived and had a grocery store. Later the store was leased to two bachelors named Frank Bricknor and McDonald. A community hall was in the other half of the building
and was used for box socials, pie suppers, literary societies, Sunday School and church.
The Texsam trail split again and to the right was the Sam Texter homestead, later occupied by Buena's sister Margie, and her husband George Jerred. On the creek were Bert Steel's and some others.
The left branch led past the Jim Briggs place, then toward the Otto Hanson place and his sister's homesteads, Oscar and Art Rybergs and the Lindquists.
Some families from way up by the Big White River who came down to Texsam Sunday School and socials were the Charles Astlefords, and the Giroux and Burnette families. Others were Paul Gapen and his sister Bessie, also Roy and Roxie Raffensperger, who lived south of Cottonwood Creek.
Ira and Buena were the first newlyweds in the community. The next were Alan and Fern (Anderson) Jerred, then Gus and Gladys (Jerred) Kriege, Alva and Nina (Shouldis) Ducan, then lies and Bessie (Gapen) Huey.
When the Barclays' daughter, Lucy, was born January 11, 1915, they had Mrs. Pastian as midwife and Mrs. Pete Bechtold as interpreter, as Mrs. Pastian was a German graduate nurse but could not speak English.
Buena's father and mother got lost going the mile from their place to the Barclays' when they went for the birth. Remember, this was still open country with no fences or roads, just trails. They teased Mr. Howlett about letting the pony, Old Joe, pick his way the next time and they would not lose their way. They hung a lantern on the north side of the house to guide him back when he went after Mrs. Pastian.
Buena told of the fun they had at Literary Society; once they put on a three-act comedy. They had numerous debates and told of the White River debate team coming out and having to stay all night at the hall once, because of a sudden thaw that filled the slough with water. Ira ferried everyone across the slough the next morning with a team and wagon, also the Texsamites who lived on the south side.
Ira and Buena once got their days mixed up and went to Literary a day late. The next time they went they were the victims of a "mock trial" with a judge, jury, lawyers for defense, prosecution witnesses and all. Buena was blamed for hitting Ira over the head with her rolling pin, making him forget, so he was not guilty. They produced her rolling pin with only one handle, so said she must have hit him with it and broken the handle off.
Vern Giroux's father played the violin and had sort of a family orchestra. He played for a dance after Vern Giroux and Grace Burnette were married and had come to the hall for Literary, and everyone was invited to stay for the wedding dance and delicious lunch.
Fern Jerred cut the pies at a Fourth of July picnic held at the hall and cut clear through Buena's new aluminum pie pan. Buena asked if Fern thought she made tough pie crusts.
Lucy gave them a couple of good scares when they thought she was taken by the Indians. The first time was when Lucy was about six months old. She was left napping on the bed while Buena worked in the garden. When Buena went back into the house, Lucy was not on the bed. They found her fast asleep behind the bed where she had rolled. They were better acquainted with the Indians the next time she was missing, when about 18 months old, but they were afraid of rattlesnakes and exposure. Each parent thought Lucy was with the other when they missed her. They started up the trails calling for Lucy and the collie dog who had gone with her. Finally they heard the dog bark and they found Lucy safe and sound, again fast asleep, on the trail to the Bechtold house.
The Barclays experienced the prairie fire in the spring of 1917 that burned all the way from the Badlands in the west to the Big White River in the east. They had good fire guards plowed around their buildings so did not lose them or the hay that was piled close.
Did you ever hear of borrowing a cat? The first cat in the neighborhood was loaned several times when the mice were overabundant. For several years kittens sold for a good price—not the fancy long-haired kinds, but common barn cats with a reputation of being good mousers.
The Barclays "proved up" in 1917 and went to Winner, by team and wagon, to live. Ira carried on in his carpenter trade. They had two sons, Vernon in 1918 and Wayne in 1928. Vernon gave his life for his country in World War II.
In October 1941, the Barclays moved to Lincoln, Nebraska. Ira still worked as a carpenter and helped build the Air Force base buildings and many houses, several buildings on the University campus, many commercial buildings and several large churches. They still live in Lincoln and celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on March 8, 1984. (Their 71st has now passed, 1985.)
Mellette County, South Dakota
Family Histories & Biographies - Barclay Surname
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Barclay Surname
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Mr. and Mrs. Ira H. Barclay
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