Bals, Balz & Baltz
The History of the Family of Henry & Elizabeth Bals of Nebraska
From information compiled and edited by Gene Bals ©2004
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The History of the Family of Henry & Elizabeth Bals of Nebraska From information compiled and edited by Gene Bals ©2004
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OVERVIEW SITE MAP BALS NAME ANCESTORS FAMILY RICKERT HENRY & ELIZABETH IN
NEBRASKA Ferdinand SCHMERLECKE LUSEBRINK LOWER-SAXON
BAUERNHAUSES SOURCES
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Henry & Elizabeth in Nebraska The Home page for this website sets forth the general path of Henry and Elizabeth's (also Ferdinand's) travels from Germany to Nebraska. The intent of this page is to make available as much detail of their life and times as possible. It is my hope that this part of the website is a work in progress, more than any other. The memories of their grandson, Delmer, are linked to on this page. My memories are very limited, as I was 8 years old when Elizabeth died, and 9 years old when Henry died. They lived 150 miles from my parents when that was a serious days travel. There are still family members out their with more first hand knowledge of Henry & Elizabeth than I have been able to assemble. I sincerely hope that this website will inspire them to contribute their memories, or make them available elsewhere for the family. Historical Perspective Sometimes we all loose perspective on events that occurred outside our lifetime. Henry Anton Bals immigrated to the United States in 1889. To help place the time of Henry & Elizabeth, the following relationships to events in United States history are provided: ● 24 years after the end of the US Civil
War in 1865 Probably more important than the above events in US history, are the parallel events occurring in Germany that provided the incentive for Henry & Elizabeth to leave their home and families. I leave this open for input from family in Germany, or other family members, with a better knowledge of German history than I currently possess. Butler County, Nebraska In the 1950's, in that cow barn in Nebraska mentioned on the Home page, I distinctly remembered Dad telling me that his father first "worked on a farm" near David City after arriving from Germany. At the same time he pointed out the location of the farm 1/2 mile from that cow barn where his father, Henry Anton, first farmed in the Crete vicinity and where he was born on December 20, 1893. In recent years I began to doubt my memory, as no one else in the family seemed to have this information concerning David City. Until one night when I hit that web page, NEBRASKA STATE GAZETTEER FARMERS DIRECTORY for 1890-91 J.M. Wolfe & Co., Publishers, 1890 . There under the "B"'s was Ferdinand Bals in David City and Henry Bals in Bellwood. This listing would indicate that they must have rented farm land. If they had only "worked on a farm" as laborers, it is unlikely they would have been listed in the Directory. Since that time we have found more specific information, but only for Ferdinand. The Butler County School Census for District No. 26, taken June 21, 1890 lists a "Mr. Bals" with one 6 year old female on the NE quarter of Section 34, twp. 15, range 2. The plat maps list this as the farm of a Geo. W. Nelson. We can be reasonably certain that this "Mr. Bals" was Ferdinand and the child was Bertha. The map of the David City and Bellwood area shows the location of the farm. Crete, Saline County, Nebraska To avoid repetition, refer to the narrative on the Home page for an account of the return to Germany to marry Elizabeth in 1891 and the family in the Crete vicinity. The 1918 Crete Twp Plat Map shows the location of the 80 acre farm in Dorchester Precinct, Section 24 where Henry & Elizabeth began their married life. Theodore would have been born there, my Dad, Henry F., stood at the barn door and pointed to the location 1/2 mile to the north of Section 25 where I was born, and said that was where he was born. Elizabeth, Augusta, Matilda (Tillie), and Hedig (Hattie), and possibly Herb, would also have been born there. "Born there" literally means born on that spot, the closest hospital was in Lincoln, and that was for serious illness. Babies were born at home. As late as 1940, I was born at home on the adjacent Section 25.
To date, I have not found any photographs or even a first hand description of the farmstead on this 80 acres. In the 1950's Dad told me that the farmstead was located where the wild plum thickets grew on the fence line. The land has changed little since then and the photo below, looking west from the county road near the Feeken farm driveway, is much the same as it appeared when Dad pointed to it. The location is only visible after the corn has been harvested. The 1900 Plat Map for Dorchester Precinct, however, shows a farmstead location for Henry Bals on Section 24 at the same location as what was the farmstead of John Andelt, until recent times. This raises a question concerning the accuracy of the information I have. Since my Dad would have been, at most 9 years old when Henry A. sold the farm, it is possible that the location may not be accurate. I have always considered the buildings on John Andelt's farm of more recent origin. It may be impossible to ever know the exact location of the house where Theodore, Henry, Ella, Tillie, Gus, and possibly Herb; were born. There may have been an earlier farmstead at the location of the wild plum thickets near the center of the 80 acres, or the 1891 farmstead may have been at the same location as the present farmstead, which seems most likely based on the 1900 plat map The present house may have replaced an earlier structure.. The , Saline County Connections. Volume
3/Number 4, October 2004, contains the following ne The September 1, 2004 edition of The Crete News reported in its "Days Gone By" column that 100 years ago in 1904 "Henry Bals sold his 80 acre farm west of Crete Wednesday to Henry Siedhoff for $5,000". This is probably an error by the newspaper, as all county records show the sale was to Henry Wild. The following photos document the current structures on the 80 acres in the Dorchester Precinct:
The sale of the 80 acres in 1904 would establish
a date for the move to the 120 acre farm in Crete Precinct, Section 21.
This farm was located between Crete's Tuxedo Park (Chatauqua Park in 1904) and
Horky's Park (now Blue River Lodge). A road, now closed, went from
behind the Izaak Walton cabin up to the farmyard and continued through the yard
to the west until it reached the county road. The part of the road west
from the farmyard to the county road still exists but may have been rerouted
to the south where it approaches the the farmyard. Originally the road passed through the yard between
the large three story house and the farm buildings.
The house in the photograph at the right bears almost no resemblance to the original building. The family living on the property in October, 2004 said that they had built the current structure around the original house.
Herb, Carl, Alfred, and Thelma would have been born on this farm. The 1918 Farmers Directory of Crete Precinct lists all nine children as living here. In about 1922 this farm was sold and the family moved to Loup City. Henry, Augusta, Tillie, and Hattie were already married and remained in the Crete, Friend, and Lincoln vicinity. Theodore was married, but moved to Loup City. Ella was already in Loup City, but her husband John Patz had died in 1921. This event may have precipitated the move. Loup City, Sherman County, Nebraska
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This website was created by Gene Bals on September 13, 2004. |
ws item from an earlier
county newspaper: "Henry Bols (we assume that this is a misspelling) lives
half mile north of the Dorchester Road and owns 80 acres, has 20 acres of good
wheat and a fair prospect for corn - has a good orchard and a nice flock of
Toulouse geese".
The house still looks out over the Blue River
Valley, but no sign remains of the old road up from Tuxedo Park. John
remembers that Dad said he rode his horse down this road and thru the cemetery
to Crete. He would have entered the cemetery and park at about the
location shown below: