| Noteringar |
- Bio: Born in N Urdahl Valdres, Norway. Married Haldor Halvorson April 9, 1858. Second marriage to John Simonsen in 1876. Arrived in America (Wisconsin) in 1866. Moved to Nebraska in 1870.
- Mary Halverson Johnson's mother was Marit Nelson Halverson Sinonson. She married John Simonson after her husbsand Haldor Halverson was killed in a run away accident. She was the subjcet of an article written in 1927 by Attorney Halderson. The following is from the Newman Grove Reporter dated June 5, 1929 (page 2):
- “HISTORY OF THE PIONEERS by Attorney Halderson
- reference MRS. JOHN SIMONSON (Mary Nelson Halverson Simonson)
- When Mrs. John Simonson came to Shell Creek in 1870, there were only five settlers in this community – John W. Bloomfield, William Menice, Lewis Warren and Nels Nelson, sr. and his son, Nels Nelson, jr. Mrs. Simonson, with her former husband, Haldar (Haldor) Halverson, came from Valdres, Aurdal, Norway to Wisconsin in 1866 and by train to Columbus in 1870. The Halverson family went to Stanton from Columbus for a brief stay while Mr. Halverson traveled a-foot looking for a homestead. He walked to the Shell Creek neighborhood and entered government land one mile east of Newman Grove, built a dugout and sent for the family, his wife, Marit, and four children, Annie, Julia, Halvor and Mary. The oldest of these children was around ten years old. This family started life in a dugout on the land where the golf ground is now located, without a team of any kind, without wagon, plow, farm implements or tools except an ox. The neighbors helped to put in a few acres of wheat the first year, and this Mr. Halverson cut with a scythe or cradle, raked it up with a flail and fanned it by hand in the wind. He bought two steers on time but he had no wagon so he made a sled out of green timber and hauled his winter’s supply of hay after cutting it with a scythe.
- Mr. Halverson was a log house builder from the old country and he obtained employment from Lewis Warren, building a log house – the house now owned and occupied by Lars Olsen. He also built a log house for George A. Whitcher on his homestead. This house had a floor in it, an innovation in those days, and it was here that the first dance in Shell Creek precinct was held - accordion music - but the name of the player is not known.
- He trapped wolves, mink, muskrat and beaver, and made overshoes, mittens and caps for the family out of the furs. Prairie chickens were caught in wooden traps, and with fish from Shell Creek and other game the family had a good meat supply.
- A log house was built for the family after about a year in the dugout, a wagon, farm implements, tools, a team of horses were acquired and conditions were happily improving. The Halverson home was a place where all new settlers came to stop until they could get located. L.M. Johnson and John M. Johnson stopped there, the Syver Field’s lived there, camping in covered wagons, the Jackson’s camped near their land, and many other settlers stopped there.
- A tragedy occurred in the family November 4, 1875, the first in Shell Creek. Mr. Halverson was killed in a runaway on his way back from Columbus hauling merchandise for George B. Hovland, about three miles south of Platte Center. John M. Johnson and Mr. Hovland brought the body home as soon as possible. He was the first one buried in the Trinity church cemetery about two miles northwest of Newman Grove. He was a charter member and one of the organizers of the Trinity Lutheran church.
- The widow, Mrs. Marit Halverson, who later married John Simonson, was a typical pioneer house wife, physically strong, fearless, frugal, resourceful and born with a since of humor. The Indian raid had occurred a few months before they came here in 1870. the story of how the Indians entered Nels Nelson’s house, took his gun, shot and wounded Mrs. Nelson, and threw the gun in the creek was told and retold. The gun was found many years later by Lewis Hovland and other boys in the creek below the school house where Mrs. Thorsten now lives. The Indians came up the valley several times after the raid and Mrs. Halverson learned to deal with them in a friendly way giving them butter, dried meat, bread and other eatables. Indian mothers greatly admired the youngest children, and indicated that they would like to have one. Once an Indian drew a sword, standing in the doorway feeling the edge with his hand, but he indicated by tendering ring that he was not hostile. The Indians had been emphatically warned by the government since the Warren raid, not to molest the white settlers. Soldiers were camped along the border about twelve miles apart. One soldier camp was stationed on Shell Creel about eighty rods west of the Old Town. Mrs. Simonson exchanged her good homemade bread for cracker4s and canned goods which were rare articles those days and she washed clothes for them and mended their uniforms.
- During the April 1873 blizzard Mr. Halverson, about the second day decided he would have to go out look after the stock. The wind sounded like it was rushing into a huge vacuum and the snow was so blinding that the hand could not be seen at arm’s length, they twisted a long string out of shoe makers tread and Mr. Halverson went to the barn holding one end of it. He did not return in due time and Mrs. Halverson, finding the string was broken, stepped out holding the door latch and yelled several times. After a few minutes Mr. Halverson appeared and told how he had missed the house and was going away from it out in the storm.
- A pack of wolves gathered on the mound roof of their dugout one snowbound winter night. The children were frightened when they heard the weird, howling sound above their heads and Mr. Halverson went out with the ax to scare them away. The log house was built about the year 1872, and later moved to the location where the Ole Johnson H., farm house now stands. The same log house was again moved to the John Simonson homestead where N.W. Kronquist now lives.
- In 1867 she was married the second time to John Simonson. She was born on the 4th day of August 1835 and departed this life at the age of 75 years, one month and 23 days. After her second marriage she affiliated with the Hauges Church and took an active part in the work of that church. The John Simonson children, Hannah, Simon J., and Albert J., were all baptized and confirmed in the Hauges church. Mrs. John Simonson has about fifty descendents, children, grand children and great grand children, surviving her.
- Childhood life on the frontier is a subject deserving mention in the history of this family. There were six children in the Halverson family, Anna, (Mrs. Henry Strand), Julia, (Mrs. Mons O.M. Johnson) Halvor, Mary (Mrs. John S. Johnson), Caroline (Mrs. Tom Christensen) and Martin. Caroline is supposed to be the first white child born in Shell Creek. The four eldest were born in Wisconsin. When they came here there were no school mates or play mates in Shell Creek. They were the first white children in the settlement the outdoors, nature and the home were the only sources of amusement. Fishing in Shell Creek was a pastime as well as a duty in the summer time. In the winter they ran out morning and evening to see if the wolf and beaver traps had anything in then; and they got the prairie chickens from the wooden traps in the fields. They played around the soldier camps and were extremely popular with the soldiers. Chores, housework, fire side stories and religious instruction occupied their time about the home. Julia (Mrs. Mons O.M. Johnson) can remember seeing the antelope bounding ahead of a sweeping prairie fire. She walked often to a school house about a mile north of the South Branch church to attend Confirmation class instructed by Rev. Hillman, with Jennie Strand (Mrs. Geo. Johnson), Gullik Oss, Mary Thompson and others. An infant brother died at sea when her parents came to America. She remembers her father telling that he was charged $5.00 for stopping over night with a farmer when he walked from Stanton. These pioneer children recall the Texas Cattle Trail when thousands of long horn cattle passed through the Shell Creek valley, driven by wild cow boys. Julia is the oldest of the Shell Creek precinct settlers now living here. Matt Olson has about the same length of residence but his folks were farther to the south east in Platte County.
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1839 - 1914 (75 år)
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