Edward Douglas Willson
Edward Douglas Willson was born to Russell and Cordelia Willson in 1847. Russell Willson was Welsh, Cordelia was Holland Dutach. They lived in Jamestown, New York and had eight children. (Note – Six of their eight children became early settlers in Crook County.)
Russell Willson in 1849 went from New York to California to the gold fields. He returned to New York at some point before the Civil War. He joined the Union Army to fight in the Civil War, as well as his sons Lewis (age 18) and Edward (age 16). Lewis and Edward joined the Union Army, Company C, 9th Regiment of the New York Calvary on February 15, 1864 – they had been trying to join for two years but were turned away as too young. They were under General Sheridan and with General Sherman on the march “from Atlanta to the Sea.” They entered the war at the Battle of the Wilderness, fighting in the thick timber caused many small fires to start, making fighting more difficult. Living conditions on the march were very bad – sometimes they had nothing. When night came they would wrap the reins around their hands and lay on the ground in front of their horses to sleep. They ate when they could find something.
After the war, to make some money, Ed helped float log rafts, loose logs fastened together, down the Allegheny River, the Ohio River and the Mississippi to St. Louis. In 1874, Ed and his 14-year-old brother Walt left New York and headed west. They arrived in Denver with no money and no food for several days. In the fall of 1876 they arrived at Deadwood, Dakota Territory, traveling with a small wagon train from Cheyenne. Two days out Indians killed the train’s hunter and Walt, age 16, took over this job.
Ed and Walt hauled freight from Cheyenne to Deadwood. The roads were mere trails so they made out best they could. Going down the steep hills into Deadwood, they would cut a medium size tree, fasten the top to the back of the wagon. The branches would catch and drag, making a brake for the loaded wagon.
Walt and Ed worked at the Homestake Mine when it first opened. In 1877 Ed homesteaded on Falsebottom Creek near St. Onge, 15 miles north of Deadwood. Walt tried to homestead but kept being put off because he was too young. The Indians rode around and around their place several times but never bothered them. To cut hay, they dug rifle pits where one man would sit with a rifle while the other cut hay. Ed sold his homestead and he and Walt rode into the valley on the Belle Fourche River in the fall of 1882. The native grass was stirrup high. This was the place they were looking for. Walt homesteaded, now being of age. They had to remove teepee poles to farm the fields, as this had been an Indian campground. When they first started to farm they didn’t have a harrow, so they tied thorn bushes together and dragged them over the plowed ground to smooth it.
Ed and Walt made several trips to Missouri to buy cattle. By the fall of 1886 they had 600 head. That winter the snow was deep and the temperature very cold. They had cut lots of hay on the meadows to the east and above Hulett. Because of the extreme cold, they dug back into a haystack to make a place for late calves, then closed the front with hay – the calves still froze. The stock froze where they stood. In the spring there were only 130 head of stock left.
Ed married Mary Belle Baxter on January 1, 1888 – her parents were Joseph & Susan Ellen (Massey) Baxter. A minister was to have come the 80 miles but sent word he was ill. Even at 40 below zero, Justice of the Peace John Pearson was happy to come and perform the wedding ceremony. Ed and Belle had four children, Fredrick Joseph, Nina Baxter, Earl Russell, and Sidney Edward.
Ed loved to garden. He planted a large orchard of cherry, apple, plum and pear trees; raised raspberries and strawberries, as well as a very early and beautiful garden. He enjoyed fishing and liked to take a camp outfit to Sand Creek to fish for trout. He died in 1922 at the age of 74, Belle died in 1944 at the age of 80.
Edward Douglas Willson was born to Russell and Cordelia Willson in 1847. Russell Willson was Welsh, Cordelia was Holland Dutach. They lived in Jamestown, New York and had eight children. (Note – Six of their eight children became early settlers in Crook County.)
Russell Willson in 1849 went from New York to California to the gold fields. He returned to New York at some point before the Civil War. He joined the Union Army to fight in the Civil War, as well as his sons Lewis (age 18) and Edward (age 16). Lewis and Edward joined the Union Army, Company C, 9th Regiment of the New York Calvary on February 15, 1864 – they had been trying to join for two years but were turned away as too young. They were under General Sheridan and with General Sherman on the march “from Atlanta to the Sea.” They entered the war at the Battle of the Wilderness, fighting in the thick timber caused many small fires to start, making fighting more difficult. Living conditions on the march were very bad – sometimes they had nothing. When night came they would wrap the reins around their hands and lay on the ground in front of their horses to sleep. They ate when they could find something.
After the war, to make some money, Ed helped float log rafts, loose logs fastened together, down the Allegheny River, the Ohio River and the Mississippi to St. Louis. In 1874, Ed and his 14-year-old brother Walt left New York and headed west. They arrived in Denver with no money and no food for several days. In the fall of 1876 they arrived at Deadwood, Dakota Territory, traveling with a small wagon train from Cheyenne. Two days out Indians killed the train’s hunter and Walt, age 16, took over this job.
Ed and Walt hauled freight from Cheyenne to Deadwood. The roads were mere trails so they made out best they could. Going down the steep hills into Deadwood, they would cut a medium size tree, fasten the top to the back of the wagon. The branches would catch and drag, making a brake for the loaded wagon.
Walt and Ed worked at the Homestake Mine when it first opened. In 1877 Ed homesteaded on Falsebottom Creek near St. Onge, 15 miles north of Deadwood. Walt tried to homestead but kept being put off because he was too young. The Indians rode around and around their place several times but never bothered them. To cut hay, they dug rifle pits where one man would sit with a rifle while the other cut hay. Ed sold his homestead and he and Walt rode into the valley on the Belle Fourche River in the fall of 1882. The native grass was stirrup high. This was the place they were looking for. Walt homesteaded, now being of age. They had to remove teepee poles to farm the fields, as this had been an Indian campground. When they first started to farm they didn’t have a harrow, so they tied thorn bushes together and dragged them over the plowed ground to smooth it.
Ed and Walt made several trips to Missouri to buy cattle. By the fall of 1886 they had 600 head. That winter the snow was deep and the temperature very cold. They had cut lots of hay on the meadows to the east and above Hulett. Because of the extreme cold, they dug back into a haystack to make a place for late calves, then closed the front with hay – the calves still froze. The stock froze where they stood. In the spring there were only 130 head of stock left.
Ed married Mary Belle Baxter on January 1, 1888 – her parents were Joseph & Susan Ellen (Massey) Baxter. A minister was to have come the 80 miles but sent word he was ill. Even at 40 below zero, Justice of the Peace John Pearson was happy to come and perform the wedding ceremony. Ed and Belle had four children, Fredrick Joseph, Nina Baxter, Earl Russell, and Sidney Edward.
Ed loved to garden. He planted a large orchard of cherry, apple, plum and pear trees; raised raspberries and strawberries, as well as a very early and beautiful garden. He enjoyed fishing and liked to take a camp outfit to Sand Creek to fish for trout. He died in 1922 at the age of 74, Belle died in 1944 at the age of 80.