Individual Details
Thomas Hanna Lemmon
(22 Jul 1858 - 31 Oct 1934)
History of Grand View Community in 1882 - Author Unknown
Irenious Roscoe Kirkpatrick & Thomas Lemmon
Early in the fall of 1882, two young farmers living near Fairfield, Iowa, who were both married and both had very young sons about the same age, got together and decided to sell their crops in the field and move to Willow Island, Nebraska, where a number of friends had moved a year or two earlier and homesteaded land in the great Platte Valley. These two men were Thomas H. Lemmon and Irenious Roscoe "Ross" Kirkpatrick. After selling their crops, they loaded all their household effects they could get in two wagons which were covered and ready for travel. They kept all their livestock except the pigs and chickens. They had about twenty head of cattle, mostly milk cows which they drove ahead of their teams and wagons and each had a fine young saddle horse which they used in rounding up the cattle when it was necessary.
Tommie Lemmon as he was known at that time, was the youngest of the family of eight children and had always helped her mother with the house work and had learned the art of cooking and butter making. On this trip, this was his assigned work. He helped with the milking, did the cooking and made the butter which more than paid for their groceries on this trip. They had a churn strapped to the side of the wagon and when the cows were milked, they strained the milk into the churn. In the afternoon when the cattle became tired and they turned in for the day, they unstrapped the churn, and the butter was churned, taken up, worked and printed for the market. Tommie said he always got the top price for his butter, as the buyers could never find any strong tastes or smell. It was simply sweet milkbutter.
Fifteen to twenty miles a day was about all their cattle could stand to travel and it took them a little over a month to travel the five hundred miles from Fairfield, Iowa to Willow Island, Nebraska. Ross started out with a beautiful team of high strung bay mares which he had planned would be his foundation of stock of horses in Nebraska. However, these mares never got to Nebraska. After their pulling the wagon for a week with Ross at the lines, and his feet braced against the dash board, he became about as high strung and nervous as the mares. One day he met a man driving a big team of mules and said "Say Mister, how would you like to trade teams?" The man threw the lines over the dashboard, jumped out, looked the mares over and then said, "Well, how do you want to trade?" "Even" was the reply Ross gave him. The man never answered but began unhitching the mules and Ross the mares. After they were both hitched and ready to go, the man, hanging on to the lines and getting into the wagon, picked up his black snake, threw it into the wagon Ross was driving and said, "Mister, I don't think I'll need this any longer, so this is your boot." This was the end of a dream of raising beautiful horses in Nebraska. Ross rode his young saddle horse, Turk, until he died at a ripe old age. Ross never wrote to his wife about the trade for the mules, as they both had made great plans of raising beautiful horses. When Ross and Tommie met their wives and the babies at the depot at Willow Island, the first thing Addie noticed was the mules and she wanted to know where in the world Ross had gotten the mules, but Tommie had to tell her the story.
When Ross and Tommie's wives reached Nebraska about the middle of November, they both had homesteads and dugout houses ready to move into. The homesteads in the valley at this time had all been taken and the only way to get a homestead here in the valley was to buy a relinquishment.
Ike McNeal who came to Nebraska about 1880 and had gotten a homestead and tree claim five miles north of Willow Island was about to lose his tree claim, so Tommie Lemmon bought the relinquishment from McNeal for $150, and homesteaded it. Ross Kirkpatrick was able to obtain a homestead and tree claim just on top of the hill out of the valley about ten miles north of Cozad, or about a mile and a half north of what was afterwards known as Walnut Grove Church. He prospered and in a few years he built a large house on top of the hill that stood there overlooking the valley for about fifty-five years.
Thomas Lemmon lived on his homestead until January 1906. He sold out to a man by the name of Harms and moved to Elwood, Nebraska, and engaged in the Implement business for a year, sold out there and bought a half section four miles north of Cozad where he and his wife both lived until they died.
When Mr. and Mrs. Lemmon left Iowa, in the fall of 1882, they left all their close relatives behind, but within two or three years, Mr. Lemmon's two brothers, namely George and Henry Lemmon and their families emigrated to Nebraska. Also three of his sisters and their families, Mr. and Mrs. Z. L. Hodson, Mr. and Mrs. Simeon Shelly and Mr. and Mrs. George Bedell. George Lemmon bought a relinquishment and homesteaded a 160 acre farm about seven miles northwest of Cozad in 1884. Henry Lemmon, homesteaded a farm joining the Kirkpatrick farm on the west the same year. He was also able to get a tree claim on Stop Table about fifteen miles northwest of his homestead. Z. L. Hodson bought a farm four miles east of Gothenburg where he and Mrs. Hodson lived until their deaths. This farm in the year 1951 is owned by Mr. Hodson's son, Thomas A. Hodson. Mr. and Mrs. George Bedell located on a homestead and tree claim on Stop Table. The two quarter sections joined and made a fine farm. Mr. and Mrs. Simeon Shelly and family located on a farm about six miles northwest of Gothenburg.
Mrs. Ross Kirkpatrick came to live near a number of uncles, aunts and her grandmother Campbell after coming to Nebraska. Mrs. Kirkpatrick was the oldest daughter of Frank Campbell of Fairfield, Iowa. Frank owned a good farm and did not emigrate to Nebraska in 1880 with his brother and sisters, but for years until he became too feeble to travel, he formed the habit of visiting his brothers and sisters and his daughter every two years.
The Campbell families located north of Willow Island, in what has always been known as the Grand View neighborhood, came to Nebraska in about the year 1880. These two families who homesteaded in this locality were Bennit, George, and Onie Campbell and Clinton Ristine whose wife was a Campbell.
The community center was a sod house, located one mile north of what is now known as the Grand View Cemetery. Two churches were organized in this sod school house, namely the Methodist and Evangelical. The Methodist ministers in that day served many churches. At Grand View, they held church almost every Sunday. The Methodist minister would preach one Sunday and the Evangelical the next Sunday, and we all went to church every Sunday unless we were sick. We also had big tabernacle meetings about two every years. These were held under a big tent and some wonderful ministers were present at these meetings. One I remember was Elder Lemmon who came out from Lincoln and held tabernacle meetings at Grand View. Perhaps he was the father of the Lemmon family of Lincoln that has produced so many ministers. This family I suppose, is very distant relatives of the Lemmon families of Cozad. As I understand, their ancestors all came from England about two centuries ago and settled at Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
Isaac McNeal and his father John McNeal were homesteaders near Grand View. They emigrated from Beloit, Wisconsin in about 1880. Ike was a bachelor at that time, but married Dora Campbell daughter of Bennit Campbell about four or five years later. His father, John McNeal, will always be remembered by the children who grew up in that day, as the man with the loud voice. The writer grew up two miles South of Mr. McNeal and could always hear him call his hogs when the wind was in the north. He got lost one dark night going home from Willow Island and he called "Ikie, my son, Ikie, put a light in the window for your poor old father, he is lost." Well, Ike was too far away to be awakened from his sleep, but it was only a few minutes until he had awakened several of the neighbors who placed lights in their windows and he went to the nearest light and found where he was.
Walter H. Scott was another Grand View neighbor who homesteaded in about the year 1880. He emigrated from Canada with his wife and two step-children, Bob and Stella Snell. Bob was a homesteader and Stella married Warren Ristine. Mr. Scott was always an outstanding character having been in the English navy in his younger days. He raised two sons, Leonard and James Scott. The family all lived in or near Gothenburg until they died.
Andrew E. Anderson emigrated from southeastern Iowa in about the year 1880 and obtained a half section of land in the Grand View community. A few years later he married Posey Ristine, one of the older daughters of Clinton Ristine. He was always a great church man and community leader. In this year (1951) a son A. Lloyd Anderson lives near Gothenburg and another son, Dr. Arthur Anderson, has practiced medicine in Lexington for the past twenty years.
In the year 1880, the Moses Owens and Henry Wagoner families emigrated together from Indiana and took up homestead in the Grand View community. The Wagoner family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Wagoner and three daughters, namely Sally, Clara and Mollie. There are no offsprings of this family now living in this part of the country in the year 1951. In the Owens family there were Mr. and Mrs. Moses Owens, Elbridge, Jennie, Lizzie and Lewis. The children in this family were all grown and had received their education in Indiana. Jennie and Lizzie both taught school for years. Jennie was elected county superintendent of school and served in that capacity for a couple of terms. Elbridge, or "Curly" as he was better known, and his brother, Lewis, were the first well makers in this part of the country. This family was a leader in the life of the community. Lewis is still living in Cozad at the time this history is being published.
The Sherman Wilson and George Stimpson families emigrated to this community in 1880 and homesteaded. Mr. Stimpson and Mrs. Wilson were brother and sister. Both of these families were always leaders in the church life of the community. Mr. Stimpson, a few years later, became an Evangelical minister and sold his homestead. The Wilsons had three daughters. One married Charles Golden of the family of early settlers, who settled north of Cozad. Another daughter married Charles Bassett, a member of a family of early settlers north of Cozad. After their marriage they homesteaded land in the Etna community north of Gothenburg. The other daughter married Dan Kring, a young school teacher, who taught school for a number of years in this locality. They also homesteaded land in the Etna community after their marriage. Mr. Kring's parents were early settlers east of Lexington. The Wilson family later raised Cecilia McKinney, a neice of the family, who married Walter Billeter of Cozad. Mrs. Dan Kring is the only member of the Wilson family who is now living in the year of 1951, and she lives at Cozad.
The Daggett and Vedder families emigrated from New York state in 1880, and located in this community. They were Dan Daggett and the Riley Vedder families. Bert Daggett, son of Wash Daggett, is the only one of his father's family now living in this locality in the year 1951. he lives in Gothenburg. Minnie Daggett Wisner, a daughter of Dan Daggett, took up the profession of teaching in early life and later taught in the Hastings and Omaha schools. She is living at this time in Gothenburg. The Vedder family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Vedder and two daughters. One daughter died early in life and the other resides in Lincoln county.
W. A. Love and family, Dick Love, Isaac McNeal and two other families emigrated from Beloit, Wisconsin in the spring of 1880. W. A. Love and family located about seven miles northwest of Cozad. Dick and Ike McNeal located in the Grand View community. These two families only stayed a year or two and sold out and moved back to Wisconsin. A few years later Dick Love married Lura Lincoln who was an early homesteader about four miles northwest of Cozad and who later served Dawson County as Sheriff for a number of years. His son, George is now Postmaster at Lexington. Dick and Lura Love raised one child, Burr, who is still living on the old homestead where he was born.
Another family that always took an active interest in church and community activities in the early eighties was the Norsworthy families. Mr. Norsworthy had emigrated from Canada to Burt County about 1864. This family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. W. T. Norsworthy, Henry, James, Minnie, Joseph, and George. The children were all grown and had received most of their education in Burt Co. Henry and George taught school for a few years. A few years later Minnie became the wife of Henry Hyde who had come here to bore deep wells. Mr. Hyde was the first man in this locality who was successful in drilling deep wells. Joseph met an accidental death a few years later while hunting. The rest of the family lived in Gothenburg until they died. Henry, the oldest, died in 1946 at age 85. Horse racing was a great sport for the early settlers. W. T. Norsworthy raised race horses and engaged in horse racing as long as he lived. There was a race track in every town in the county at that time.
Peter S. Hammond emigrated from Indiana in the year 1880 and obtained three quarter sections of land in the Grand View community and engaged in raising sheep. He and Mrs. Hammond never had any children of their own but raised two, namely Anna Promberg and Arthur Evans. They were members of the Evangelical Church and it was on their land that the Grand View Evangelical Church was built in about the year 1890. This church was one half mile north of the old Grand View school house.
Mr. and Mrs. Alex Sage, a sister of Grandmother Campbell, also lived on the homestead of Miss Onie Campbell ion a separate sod house. The only offsprings in 1951 of the Sage family living near Cozad is the Eli Allen family.
In the year 1880, a number of German families emigrated from Illinois and located in the Grand View Community and organized the first Lutheran church in this part of the country. There were three families by the name of Aden. There were two George Adens who were cousins, one George was a big man, the other a little man, so they always went by Big George and Little George Adin. Big George had a brother, John whose homestead was less than a mile north of Grand View school house. Frank Kaiser, who was a brother of Mrs. Big George Aden, and a sister, Mrs. Heidebrink and her husband and children, all settled in this neighborhood in 1880. Also the Rev. Wiederanders and family settled on land two miles west of Grand View. It was on this farm that the first Lutheran church was built, and to their religious beliefs, and all prospered. They were prolific. At the present time of 1951, there are more taxpayers by the name of Aden in Dawson County than by any other name unless it is Block. In the early eighties a man by the name of Block purchased a quarter section east of Grand View Cemetery. This was all the land he needed as he had but five sons, namely, John, Martin, Ulfert, Recus and George. George was the brother that settled on the farm near they first Lutheran church.
Henry H. Franzen, another young German, settled in the Grand View neighborhood in the early eighties, and is the only early settler left in 1951. He now lives in Gothenburg.
Four brothers emigrated from Illinois in the early eighties and located in the Grand View neighborhood, namely Dick and Anton Jenkins, and Hillert and Henry Geiken. The family name was Geiken, but Dick and Anton had changed their name to Jenkins before they came to Nebraska.
Mr. and Mrs. Gottlob Ballmer, five sons and three daughters, emigrated from Ohio in 1880, and settled on a half section two miles west of Grand View. Mr. and Mrs. Ballmer were born and raised in Switzerland and the Ballmer family farmed for a number of years with oxen. The Ballmer family withe the two Brestle families organized the first Presbyterian church in this locality.
William and Chris Brestle were brothers and located in this locality in 1880.
The Harkness family emigrated directly from Ireland in about the year 1880 on land they bought. They emigrated here from Stromsburg, Nebraska. Two of the three children of the Isaacson family are living in Gothenburg in 1951 (when this was written).
B. R. Barton, father of Mrs. Thomas Lemmon (Rosella J.), with his sons David (called Charles and wife and son emigrated from Iowa in the fall of 1885 and bought a relinquishment of a man named George Tompkins. Mr. Barton homesteaded this land and lived on it until he proved up, and then sold the land to Younzer. His son, Dick never married and taught school in Nebraska for a number of years and then went to Iowa and completed his education. He died in 1948 at 80 years of age. Charles lived on his father's farm until 1891. He made enough money in Nebraska to return to Iowa and buy a farm.
Sing School was much enjoyed by the young folks during the winter seasons on the farm, and Charles Barton was their instructor for a number of winters at the Grand View school house. Mr. Barton always enjoyed telling in later years about the big crop of corn he raised in 1886 and selling it for eight cents a bushel. During World War I, he learned that one of his grandsons was selling his corn for $2.08 per bushel and asked if he might ride to town on this high priced corn. He got a kick in telling friends he met that day that he had ridden to town on a load of corn that sold for just $2.00 more per bushel than the first crop of corn he had raised in Nebraska.
George Stonecypher, his wife, daughter Ida and son Edgar, emigrated from Indiana in 1880 and homesteaded about the best farm in this locality. Mr. Stonecypher was a very religious man and was one of the organizers of the first Methodist Churches in this locality. he really lived a Christian life and loved his neighbor as himself. His religion always made him happy. He was what the old timers called a shouting Methodist, and was always very regular and active in the church life of the community. His daughter Ida married and set on a homestead near Paxton. Edgar was the first person of this locality to seek a college education.
In the early eighties, three young men of German descent emigrated from Illinois who had married sisters by the name of Franzen, and who had a brother, Harm Franzen who located here at the same time. These young men married to the Franzen sisters were namely, John Ostendorf, Charles Martens and George Block. Their farms were all located on the section just east of Grand View cemetery, the other quarter was owned by the father of these sisters, but he never made his home here. he was well known by the early settlers as he and his wife made frequent visits here. These families lived in this community until they died.
The parties who settled on the section just south of Grand View cemetery in the early eighties were the Rosendahl family, Pierson family, Edson family and William Green. Mr. Green was a single man and lived in this community for years, then moved back to his former state of Iowa. Mr. Rosendahl and wife raised several children and lived in this community until they died. They have two sons still living on Gothenburg in 1951, namely Garret and Folly. The Pierson and Edson families sold their farms to O.P. Green, after living on them for twenty years or more. The Edson Family had one son, Oscar, who was a studious chap and probably was the firs young person raised in this community to graduate from the State University. He is now and has been for years, one of the leading educators of the state.
Most of the people who settled here in the early eighties prospered and raised fairly good crops, after the drought and grasshopper years in this country, until the year 1893, which is the first dry year of the nineties. In 1894, there was practically nothing raised and farmers had to dispose of their livestock. In a great man instances, they were practically given away, as they were so cheap. In the year 1895, there was enough feed raised to fee all the livestock remaining in the country. The remainder of the nineties were fairly good years and people prospered again. After two years of crop failures, in the fall of 1894, the Gothenburg Light and Power Co. started to dig the first irrigation canal. A man with a team drew $2.00 a day; if he owned a slip or scraper, $2.15. A single man working without a team drew $1.00. A great deal of the grad work was don with a horse drawn elevator grader, which took sixteen horses to pull. Ten head of horses were driven in front of the grader and six behind on a push cart. Tom and George Lemmon did most of the grade work with their sixteen head of horses. The company furnished Jack Brestle the grader to operate. The company had a big team of black horses that Jack kept as a spare team to use when one of the Lemmon Brothers teams played out. This canal was completed in 1895. The Lemmon brothers received $1.50 per team and $1.50 for each of themselves per day. The Cozad canal was dug the same year and about the same wages were paid for labor on the ditch.
In 1895, when a great many early settlers who had dried out for two years were moving back to their home states where it rained, Oliver P. Greene bought his brother's farm just south of the Grand View cemetery and moved to this farm. Coming from a part of Iowa where it rained too much, Mr. Greene got ague so bad that he was getting to the place where he was going to get out and leave his farm in Iowa and go to a place where it never rained. Bill told him he had better buy his farm in Nebraska, as it hadn't rained there for two years and that is what he did and never shook with ague again after moving to Nebraska. When Mr. Greene got ready to plant corn that spring, he found no one had raised corn since 1892.
Tom Lemmon was the only man in the neighborhood who had any corn fit for seed. He had a large crib of corn he had raised in 1892 and he let Mr. Greene pick his seed from this crib. On coming to Nebraska Mr. Greene had kept his farm in Iowa until he found out whether he would starve in Nebraska. Well, Mr. O.P. Greene, his wife and family namely, John W., Esther, Agnes, Edith and Midge never went hungry in Nebraska. On the other hand, they became wealthy. In a few years after locating on the 160 acre farm just south of Grand View cemetery, they bought what was then known as the Pierson and Edson farms on the same section, three of the best quarter sections in the valley. They were not worth much at the time, but in 1951 they would sell any day for over $300 per acre. They also invested in more land and real estate later on and at Mr. Greene's death he was considered one of the wealthiest men that settled in this community. The Greene family was always busy and very industrious but never too busy to be friendly and neighborly. The young people in this community that grew up at the time the Greene children were at home, have never forgotten lovely parties and other entertainment furnished by Mr. and Mrs. Greene in their home. At this time, there are but two of the O.P. Greene children now living, namely, Mrs. Frank Wickstrom and Mrs. Dan Kinion, probably known as Edith and Midge to some of us. John died in 1950. He was considered one of the most prosperous and wealthy men in Gothenburg, and also one of the most generous.
The John Hunnel family emigrated from Illinois in 1880 and located on a homestead near Grand View. This was a large family but none of this family has lived in this locality for a number of years.
James Shelley, a brother of Mrs. Bennet Campbell, located on the north east quarter of the section the old Grand View school hours was located in 1830. In the early nineties he sold his farm eighty to John Aden and the other eighty acres to Isaac McNeal. Mr. Schelley then moved away but afterwards moved back to Gothenburg where he died at a very old age. As I understand, one of his sons is living in Gothenburg and his oldest daughter, Clara or Mrs. Alex McKin, who lived most of her life in Gothenburg before moving to Denver.
In the early eighties very few settlers in the Grand View community lived in a frame house, and very few had buggies. The popular vehicle was the lumber wagon if you took your family. If you went alone, you rode horseback. A few of the ladies had side saddles and rode horseback, but that required a gentle horse. A few farmers were using oxen to do their farm work, but most of them had horses. A great many emigrants at that time were driving oxen. In 1882 the popular price of land was $5,.00 per acre. The railroad land was mostly bought by speculators from the east for $3.00 per acre and sold for ten dollars and up in later years. Most of all these settlers made a pretty good living and many of those who engaged in raising livestock made money until the drought which started in 1893 and lasted until 1896. People in that day were friendly and neighborly. If anyone stopped that was hungry, you invited them to eat at the family table. If his team was tired, you kept them overnight.
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Appears on 1880 U. S. Census at Tippecanoe, Henry Co., Iowa page 268D with wife Rosella.
Appears on the 1885 Nebraska Census at Willow Island Precinct, Dawson Co., Nebraska as Thomas Lemmon age 27, born Ohio, wife Rosell age 23 born Iowa and Roscoe age 4 unable to read birth place and Adnar age 2 born in Nebraska. Census was taken 8 June 1885.
On the 1900 U. S. Census of Willow Island, Dawson Co., Nebraska, Thomas Lemmon appears with his wife Rosella and children Roscoe B., Edna M. and Benjamin R. Thomas' father-in-law B. R. Barton age 68 and a widow is living with them. Thomas is a farmer. Roscoe is doing farm labor. Benjamin R. (Robert) is going to school. Rosella states she is the mother of 6 children, 3 of whom are currently living.
On the 1910 U. S. Census of Willow Island, Dawson Co., Nebraska, Thomas H. appears with his wife Rosella Z. and children Roscoe B. and Robert. Their married daughter Edna M. Isaacson and grandson Robert Isaacson are also in the household. Roscoe is a principal at a high school, Edna is a school teacher at a country school and Thomas and Robert are farmers. Rosella states she is the mother of 3, all of whom are living at this time. Thomas and Rosella have been married 30 years. Edna states she has been married 3 years and is the mother of one.
On the 1920 U. S. Census of Willow Island, Dawson Co., Nebraska, Thomas H. Lemmon and his wife Rosella appear listed after their son Roscoe and his family. Thomas is a farmer.
On the 1930 U. S. Census of Willow Island, Dawson Co., Nebraska, Thomas appears as a widower in the household of his son Roscoe. He also appears on the 1930 U. S. Census of Gothenburg, Dawson Co., Nebraska, in the household of his son-in-law Samuel Isaacson.
OBITUARY:
Early Settler Suddenly Taken From Midst By Death Angel.
Thomas Hanna Lemmon, a resident of this vicinity since the early eighties, passed away Wednesday, Oct. 31, 1934, at the home of his daughter, mrs. Edna Isaacson, in this city, after an illness of a few hours, his death being to internal hemmorrhage.
Mr. Lemmon was born near Fairfield, Iowa, July 22, 1858. he was married to Rosella Barton, December 31, 1879, and Mr. and Mrs. Lemmon removed at that time to Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Three years later, in November, 1882, they came to Dawson County, Nebraska and settled on a homestead four miles northeast of Gothenburg, removing in 1907 to a farm three miles northwest of Cozad.
To this union, six children were born: one daughter and two sons died in infancy, and Mrs. Lemmon passed away June 19, 1926. He leaves to mourn his departure, two sons, Roscoe B. and Robert Lemmon and one daughter, Mrs. S. E. Isaacson.
Thomas H. Lemmon was of a quiet and retiring nature. He loved the good things of life, and faithfully sought to order his life by the aims and ideals of the teaching of Christ. He was a good man and loving father. Since the death of his wife there has been a sad and lonely feeling, also a quiet wistfulness and longing for the House of Many Mansions. Tenderly and quietly the angel of death touched him and he was not, for God took him.
Funeral services were held at the Isaacson home Friday afternoon and were conducted by Rev. Wm. Kilburn, pastor of the First Methodist Church. Burial was made at Grandview Cemetery. Four of Mr. Lemmon's grandsons and two nephews were pallbearers.
Irenious Roscoe Kirkpatrick & Thomas Lemmon
Early in the fall of 1882, two young farmers living near Fairfield, Iowa, who were both married and both had very young sons about the same age, got together and decided to sell their crops in the field and move to Willow Island, Nebraska, where a number of friends had moved a year or two earlier and homesteaded land in the great Platte Valley. These two men were Thomas H. Lemmon and Irenious Roscoe "Ross" Kirkpatrick. After selling their crops, they loaded all their household effects they could get in two wagons which were covered and ready for travel. They kept all their livestock except the pigs and chickens. They had about twenty head of cattle, mostly milk cows which they drove ahead of their teams and wagons and each had a fine young saddle horse which they used in rounding up the cattle when it was necessary.
Tommie Lemmon as he was known at that time, was the youngest of the family of eight children and had always helped her mother with the house work and had learned the art of cooking and butter making. On this trip, this was his assigned work. He helped with the milking, did the cooking and made the butter which more than paid for their groceries on this trip. They had a churn strapped to the side of the wagon and when the cows were milked, they strained the milk into the churn. In the afternoon when the cattle became tired and they turned in for the day, they unstrapped the churn, and the butter was churned, taken up, worked and printed for the market. Tommie said he always got the top price for his butter, as the buyers could never find any strong tastes or smell. It was simply sweet milkbutter.
Fifteen to twenty miles a day was about all their cattle could stand to travel and it took them a little over a month to travel the five hundred miles from Fairfield, Iowa to Willow Island, Nebraska. Ross started out with a beautiful team of high strung bay mares which he had planned would be his foundation of stock of horses in Nebraska. However, these mares never got to Nebraska. After their pulling the wagon for a week with Ross at the lines, and his feet braced against the dash board, he became about as high strung and nervous as the mares. One day he met a man driving a big team of mules and said "Say Mister, how would you like to trade teams?" The man threw the lines over the dashboard, jumped out, looked the mares over and then said, "Well, how do you want to trade?" "Even" was the reply Ross gave him. The man never answered but began unhitching the mules and Ross the mares. After they were both hitched and ready to go, the man, hanging on to the lines and getting into the wagon, picked up his black snake, threw it into the wagon Ross was driving and said, "Mister, I don't think I'll need this any longer, so this is your boot." This was the end of a dream of raising beautiful horses in Nebraska. Ross rode his young saddle horse, Turk, until he died at a ripe old age. Ross never wrote to his wife about the trade for the mules, as they both had made great plans of raising beautiful horses. When Ross and Tommie met their wives and the babies at the depot at Willow Island, the first thing Addie noticed was the mules and she wanted to know where in the world Ross had gotten the mules, but Tommie had to tell her the story.
When Ross and Tommie's wives reached Nebraska about the middle of November, they both had homesteads and dugout houses ready to move into. The homesteads in the valley at this time had all been taken and the only way to get a homestead here in the valley was to buy a relinquishment.
Ike McNeal who came to Nebraska about 1880 and had gotten a homestead and tree claim five miles north of Willow Island was about to lose his tree claim, so Tommie Lemmon bought the relinquishment from McNeal for $150, and homesteaded it. Ross Kirkpatrick was able to obtain a homestead and tree claim just on top of the hill out of the valley about ten miles north of Cozad, or about a mile and a half north of what was afterwards known as Walnut Grove Church. He prospered and in a few years he built a large house on top of the hill that stood there overlooking the valley for about fifty-five years.
Thomas Lemmon lived on his homestead until January 1906. He sold out to a man by the name of Harms and moved to Elwood, Nebraska, and engaged in the Implement business for a year, sold out there and bought a half section four miles north of Cozad where he and his wife both lived until they died.
When Mr. and Mrs. Lemmon left Iowa, in the fall of 1882, they left all their close relatives behind, but within two or three years, Mr. Lemmon's two brothers, namely George and Henry Lemmon and their families emigrated to Nebraska. Also three of his sisters and their families, Mr. and Mrs. Z. L. Hodson, Mr. and Mrs. Simeon Shelly and Mr. and Mrs. George Bedell. George Lemmon bought a relinquishment and homesteaded a 160 acre farm about seven miles northwest of Cozad in 1884. Henry Lemmon, homesteaded a farm joining the Kirkpatrick farm on the west the same year. He was also able to get a tree claim on Stop Table about fifteen miles northwest of his homestead. Z. L. Hodson bought a farm four miles east of Gothenburg where he and Mrs. Hodson lived until their deaths. This farm in the year 1951 is owned by Mr. Hodson's son, Thomas A. Hodson. Mr. and Mrs. George Bedell located on a homestead and tree claim on Stop Table. The two quarter sections joined and made a fine farm. Mr. and Mrs. Simeon Shelly and family located on a farm about six miles northwest of Gothenburg.
Mrs. Ross Kirkpatrick came to live near a number of uncles, aunts and her grandmother Campbell after coming to Nebraska. Mrs. Kirkpatrick was the oldest daughter of Frank Campbell of Fairfield, Iowa. Frank owned a good farm and did not emigrate to Nebraska in 1880 with his brother and sisters, but for years until he became too feeble to travel, he formed the habit of visiting his brothers and sisters and his daughter every two years.
The Campbell families located north of Willow Island, in what has always been known as the Grand View neighborhood, came to Nebraska in about the year 1880. These two families who homesteaded in this locality were Bennit, George, and Onie Campbell and Clinton Ristine whose wife was a Campbell.
The community center was a sod house, located one mile north of what is now known as the Grand View Cemetery. Two churches were organized in this sod school house, namely the Methodist and Evangelical. The Methodist ministers in that day served many churches. At Grand View, they held church almost every Sunday. The Methodist minister would preach one Sunday and the Evangelical the next Sunday, and we all went to church every Sunday unless we were sick. We also had big tabernacle meetings about two every years. These were held under a big tent and some wonderful ministers were present at these meetings. One I remember was Elder Lemmon who came out from Lincoln and held tabernacle meetings at Grand View. Perhaps he was the father of the Lemmon family of Lincoln that has produced so many ministers. This family I suppose, is very distant relatives of the Lemmon families of Cozad. As I understand, their ancestors all came from England about two centuries ago and settled at Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
Isaac McNeal and his father John McNeal were homesteaders near Grand View. They emigrated from Beloit, Wisconsin in about 1880. Ike was a bachelor at that time, but married Dora Campbell daughter of Bennit Campbell about four or five years later. His father, John McNeal, will always be remembered by the children who grew up in that day, as the man with the loud voice. The writer grew up two miles South of Mr. McNeal and could always hear him call his hogs when the wind was in the north. He got lost one dark night going home from Willow Island and he called "Ikie, my son, Ikie, put a light in the window for your poor old father, he is lost." Well, Ike was too far away to be awakened from his sleep, but it was only a few minutes until he had awakened several of the neighbors who placed lights in their windows and he went to the nearest light and found where he was.
Walter H. Scott was another Grand View neighbor who homesteaded in about the year 1880. He emigrated from Canada with his wife and two step-children, Bob and Stella Snell. Bob was a homesteader and Stella married Warren Ristine. Mr. Scott was always an outstanding character having been in the English navy in his younger days. He raised two sons, Leonard and James Scott. The family all lived in or near Gothenburg until they died.
Andrew E. Anderson emigrated from southeastern Iowa in about the year 1880 and obtained a half section of land in the Grand View community. A few years later he married Posey Ristine, one of the older daughters of Clinton Ristine. He was always a great church man and community leader. In this year (1951) a son A. Lloyd Anderson lives near Gothenburg and another son, Dr. Arthur Anderson, has practiced medicine in Lexington for the past twenty years.
In the year 1880, the Moses Owens and Henry Wagoner families emigrated together from Indiana and took up homestead in the Grand View community. The Wagoner family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Wagoner and three daughters, namely Sally, Clara and Mollie. There are no offsprings of this family now living in this part of the country in the year 1951. In the Owens family there were Mr. and Mrs. Moses Owens, Elbridge, Jennie, Lizzie and Lewis. The children in this family were all grown and had received their education in Indiana. Jennie and Lizzie both taught school for years. Jennie was elected county superintendent of school and served in that capacity for a couple of terms. Elbridge, or "Curly" as he was better known, and his brother, Lewis, were the first well makers in this part of the country. This family was a leader in the life of the community. Lewis is still living in Cozad at the time this history is being published.
The Sherman Wilson and George Stimpson families emigrated to this community in 1880 and homesteaded. Mr. Stimpson and Mrs. Wilson were brother and sister. Both of these families were always leaders in the church life of the community. Mr. Stimpson, a few years later, became an Evangelical minister and sold his homestead. The Wilsons had three daughters. One married Charles Golden of the family of early settlers, who settled north of Cozad. Another daughter married Charles Bassett, a member of a family of early settlers north of Cozad. After their marriage they homesteaded land in the Etna community north of Gothenburg. The other daughter married Dan Kring, a young school teacher, who taught school for a number of years in this locality. They also homesteaded land in the Etna community after their marriage. Mr. Kring's parents were early settlers east of Lexington. The Wilson family later raised Cecilia McKinney, a neice of the family, who married Walter Billeter of Cozad. Mrs. Dan Kring is the only member of the Wilson family who is now living in the year of 1951, and she lives at Cozad.
The Daggett and Vedder families emigrated from New York state in 1880, and located in this community. They were Dan Daggett and the Riley Vedder families. Bert Daggett, son of Wash Daggett, is the only one of his father's family now living in this locality in the year 1951. he lives in Gothenburg. Minnie Daggett Wisner, a daughter of Dan Daggett, took up the profession of teaching in early life and later taught in the Hastings and Omaha schools. She is living at this time in Gothenburg. The Vedder family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Vedder and two daughters. One daughter died early in life and the other resides in Lincoln county.
W. A. Love and family, Dick Love, Isaac McNeal and two other families emigrated from Beloit, Wisconsin in the spring of 1880. W. A. Love and family located about seven miles northwest of Cozad. Dick and Ike McNeal located in the Grand View community. These two families only stayed a year or two and sold out and moved back to Wisconsin. A few years later Dick Love married Lura Lincoln who was an early homesteader about four miles northwest of Cozad and who later served Dawson County as Sheriff for a number of years. His son, George is now Postmaster at Lexington. Dick and Lura Love raised one child, Burr, who is still living on the old homestead where he was born.
Another family that always took an active interest in church and community activities in the early eighties was the Norsworthy families. Mr. Norsworthy had emigrated from Canada to Burt County about 1864. This family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. W. T. Norsworthy, Henry, James, Minnie, Joseph, and George. The children were all grown and had received most of their education in Burt Co. Henry and George taught school for a few years. A few years later Minnie became the wife of Henry Hyde who had come here to bore deep wells. Mr. Hyde was the first man in this locality who was successful in drilling deep wells. Joseph met an accidental death a few years later while hunting. The rest of the family lived in Gothenburg until they died. Henry, the oldest, died in 1946 at age 85. Horse racing was a great sport for the early settlers. W. T. Norsworthy raised race horses and engaged in horse racing as long as he lived. There was a race track in every town in the county at that time.
Peter S. Hammond emigrated from Indiana in the year 1880 and obtained three quarter sections of land in the Grand View community and engaged in raising sheep. He and Mrs. Hammond never had any children of their own but raised two, namely Anna Promberg and Arthur Evans. They were members of the Evangelical Church and it was on their land that the Grand View Evangelical Church was built in about the year 1890. This church was one half mile north of the old Grand View school house.
Mr. and Mrs. Alex Sage, a sister of Grandmother Campbell, also lived on the homestead of Miss Onie Campbell ion a separate sod house. The only offsprings in 1951 of the Sage family living near Cozad is the Eli Allen family.
In the year 1880, a number of German families emigrated from Illinois and located in the Grand View Community and organized the first Lutheran church in this part of the country. There were three families by the name of Aden. There were two George Adens who were cousins, one George was a big man, the other a little man, so they always went by Big George and Little George Adin. Big George had a brother, John whose homestead was less than a mile north of Grand View school house. Frank Kaiser, who was a brother of Mrs. Big George Aden, and a sister, Mrs. Heidebrink and her husband and children, all settled in this neighborhood in 1880. Also the Rev. Wiederanders and family settled on land two miles west of Grand View. It was on this farm that the first Lutheran church was built, and to their religious beliefs, and all prospered. They were prolific. At the present time of 1951, there are more taxpayers by the name of Aden in Dawson County than by any other name unless it is Block. In the early eighties a man by the name of Block purchased a quarter section east of Grand View Cemetery. This was all the land he needed as he had but five sons, namely, John, Martin, Ulfert, Recus and George. George was the brother that settled on the farm near they first Lutheran church.
Henry H. Franzen, another young German, settled in the Grand View neighborhood in the early eighties, and is the only early settler left in 1951. He now lives in Gothenburg.
Four brothers emigrated from Illinois in the early eighties and located in the Grand View neighborhood, namely Dick and Anton Jenkins, and Hillert and Henry Geiken. The family name was Geiken, but Dick and Anton had changed their name to Jenkins before they came to Nebraska.
Mr. and Mrs. Gottlob Ballmer, five sons and three daughters, emigrated from Ohio in 1880, and settled on a half section two miles west of Grand View. Mr. and Mrs. Ballmer were born and raised in Switzerland and the Ballmer family farmed for a number of years with oxen. The Ballmer family withe the two Brestle families organized the first Presbyterian church in this locality.
William and Chris Brestle were brothers and located in this locality in 1880.
The Harkness family emigrated directly from Ireland in about the year 1880 on land they bought. They emigrated here from Stromsburg, Nebraska. Two of the three children of the Isaacson family are living in Gothenburg in 1951 (when this was written).
B. R. Barton, father of Mrs. Thomas Lemmon (Rosella J.), with his sons David (called Charles and wife and son emigrated from Iowa in the fall of 1885 and bought a relinquishment of a man named George Tompkins. Mr. Barton homesteaded this land and lived on it until he proved up, and then sold the land to Younzer. His son, Dick never married and taught school in Nebraska for a number of years and then went to Iowa and completed his education. He died in 1948 at 80 years of age. Charles lived on his father's farm until 1891. He made enough money in Nebraska to return to Iowa and buy a farm.
Sing School was much enjoyed by the young folks during the winter seasons on the farm, and Charles Barton was their instructor for a number of winters at the Grand View school house. Mr. Barton always enjoyed telling in later years about the big crop of corn he raised in 1886 and selling it for eight cents a bushel. During World War I, he learned that one of his grandsons was selling his corn for $2.08 per bushel and asked if he might ride to town on this high priced corn. He got a kick in telling friends he met that day that he had ridden to town on a load of corn that sold for just $2.00 more per bushel than the first crop of corn he had raised in Nebraska.
George Stonecypher, his wife, daughter Ida and son Edgar, emigrated from Indiana in 1880 and homesteaded about the best farm in this locality. Mr. Stonecypher was a very religious man and was one of the organizers of the first Methodist Churches in this locality. he really lived a Christian life and loved his neighbor as himself. His religion always made him happy. He was what the old timers called a shouting Methodist, and was always very regular and active in the church life of the community. His daughter Ida married and set on a homestead near Paxton. Edgar was the first person of this locality to seek a college education.
In the early eighties, three young men of German descent emigrated from Illinois who had married sisters by the name of Franzen, and who had a brother, Harm Franzen who located here at the same time. These young men married to the Franzen sisters were namely, John Ostendorf, Charles Martens and George Block. Their farms were all located on the section just east of Grand View cemetery, the other quarter was owned by the father of these sisters, but he never made his home here. he was well known by the early settlers as he and his wife made frequent visits here. These families lived in this community until they died.
The parties who settled on the section just south of Grand View cemetery in the early eighties were the Rosendahl family, Pierson family, Edson family and William Green. Mr. Green was a single man and lived in this community for years, then moved back to his former state of Iowa. Mr. Rosendahl and wife raised several children and lived in this community until they died. They have two sons still living on Gothenburg in 1951, namely Garret and Folly. The Pierson and Edson families sold their farms to O.P. Green, after living on them for twenty years or more. The Edson Family had one son, Oscar, who was a studious chap and probably was the firs young person raised in this community to graduate from the State University. He is now and has been for years, one of the leading educators of the state.
Most of the people who settled here in the early eighties prospered and raised fairly good crops, after the drought and grasshopper years in this country, until the year 1893, which is the first dry year of the nineties. In 1894, there was practically nothing raised and farmers had to dispose of their livestock. In a great man instances, they were practically given away, as they were so cheap. In the year 1895, there was enough feed raised to fee all the livestock remaining in the country. The remainder of the nineties were fairly good years and people prospered again. After two years of crop failures, in the fall of 1894, the Gothenburg Light and Power Co. started to dig the first irrigation canal. A man with a team drew $2.00 a day; if he owned a slip or scraper, $2.15. A single man working without a team drew $1.00. A great deal of the grad work was don with a horse drawn elevator grader, which took sixteen horses to pull. Ten head of horses were driven in front of the grader and six behind on a push cart. Tom and George Lemmon did most of the grade work with their sixteen head of horses. The company furnished Jack Brestle the grader to operate. The company had a big team of black horses that Jack kept as a spare team to use when one of the Lemmon Brothers teams played out. This canal was completed in 1895. The Lemmon brothers received $1.50 per team and $1.50 for each of themselves per day. The Cozad canal was dug the same year and about the same wages were paid for labor on the ditch.
In 1895, when a great many early settlers who had dried out for two years were moving back to their home states where it rained, Oliver P. Greene bought his brother's farm just south of the Grand View cemetery and moved to this farm. Coming from a part of Iowa where it rained too much, Mr. Greene got ague so bad that he was getting to the place where he was going to get out and leave his farm in Iowa and go to a place where it never rained. Bill told him he had better buy his farm in Nebraska, as it hadn't rained there for two years and that is what he did and never shook with ague again after moving to Nebraska. When Mr. Greene got ready to plant corn that spring, he found no one had raised corn since 1892.
Tom Lemmon was the only man in the neighborhood who had any corn fit for seed. He had a large crib of corn he had raised in 1892 and he let Mr. Greene pick his seed from this crib. On coming to Nebraska Mr. Greene had kept his farm in Iowa until he found out whether he would starve in Nebraska. Well, Mr. O.P. Greene, his wife and family namely, John W., Esther, Agnes, Edith and Midge never went hungry in Nebraska. On the other hand, they became wealthy. In a few years after locating on the 160 acre farm just south of Grand View cemetery, they bought what was then known as the Pierson and Edson farms on the same section, three of the best quarter sections in the valley. They were not worth much at the time, but in 1951 they would sell any day for over $300 per acre. They also invested in more land and real estate later on and at Mr. Greene's death he was considered one of the wealthiest men that settled in this community. The Greene family was always busy and very industrious but never too busy to be friendly and neighborly. The young people in this community that grew up at the time the Greene children were at home, have never forgotten lovely parties and other entertainment furnished by Mr. and Mrs. Greene in their home. At this time, there are but two of the O.P. Greene children now living, namely, Mrs. Frank Wickstrom and Mrs. Dan Kinion, probably known as Edith and Midge to some of us. John died in 1950. He was considered one of the most prosperous and wealthy men in Gothenburg, and also one of the most generous.
The John Hunnel family emigrated from Illinois in 1880 and located on a homestead near Grand View. This was a large family but none of this family has lived in this locality for a number of years.
James Shelley, a brother of Mrs. Bennet Campbell, located on the north east quarter of the section the old Grand View school hours was located in 1830. In the early nineties he sold his farm eighty to John Aden and the other eighty acres to Isaac McNeal. Mr. Schelley then moved away but afterwards moved back to Gothenburg where he died at a very old age. As I understand, one of his sons is living in Gothenburg and his oldest daughter, Clara or Mrs. Alex McKin, who lived most of her life in Gothenburg before moving to Denver.
In the early eighties very few settlers in the Grand View community lived in a frame house, and very few had buggies. The popular vehicle was the lumber wagon if you took your family. If you went alone, you rode horseback. A few of the ladies had side saddles and rode horseback, but that required a gentle horse. A few farmers were using oxen to do their farm work, but most of them had horses. A great many emigrants at that time were driving oxen. In 1882 the popular price of land was $5,.00 per acre. The railroad land was mostly bought by speculators from the east for $3.00 per acre and sold for ten dollars and up in later years. Most of all these settlers made a pretty good living and many of those who engaged in raising livestock made money until the drought which started in 1893 and lasted until 1896. People in that day were friendly and neighborly. If anyone stopped that was hungry, you invited them to eat at the family table. If his team was tired, you kept them overnight.
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Appears on 1880 U. S. Census at Tippecanoe, Henry Co., Iowa page 268D with wife Rosella.
Appears on the 1885 Nebraska Census at Willow Island Precinct, Dawson Co., Nebraska as Thomas Lemmon age 27, born Ohio, wife Rosell age 23 born Iowa and Roscoe age 4 unable to read birth place and Adnar age 2 born in Nebraska. Census was taken 8 June 1885.
On the 1900 U. S. Census of Willow Island, Dawson Co., Nebraska, Thomas Lemmon appears with his wife Rosella and children Roscoe B., Edna M. and Benjamin R. Thomas' father-in-law B. R. Barton age 68 and a widow is living with them. Thomas is a farmer. Roscoe is doing farm labor. Benjamin R. (Robert) is going to school. Rosella states she is the mother of 6 children, 3 of whom are currently living.
On the 1910 U. S. Census of Willow Island, Dawson Co., Nebraska, Thomas H. appears with his wife Rosella Z. and children Roscoe B. and Robert. Their married daughter Edna M. Isaacson and grandson Robert Isaacson are also in the household. Roscoe is a principal at a high school, Edna is a school teacher at a country school and Thomas and Robert are farmers. Rosella states she is the mother of 3, all of whom are living at this time. Thomas and Rosella have been married 30 years. Edna states she has been married 3 years and is the mother of one.
On the 1920 U. S. Census of Willow Island, Dawson Co., Nebraska, Thomas H. Lemmon and his wife Rosella appear listed after their son Roscoe and his family. Thomas is a farmer.
On the 1930 U. S. Census of Willow Island, Dawson Co., Nebraska, Thomas appears as a widower in the household of his son Roscoe. He also appears on the 1930 U. S. Census of Gothenburg, Dawson Co., Nebraska, in the household of his son-in-law Samuel Isaacson.
OBITUARY:
Early Settler Suddenly Taken From Midst By Death Angel.
Thomas Hanna Lemmon, a resident of this vicinity since the early eighties, passed away Wednesday, Oct. 31, 1934, at the home of his daughter, mrs. Edna Isaacson, in this city, after an illness of a few hours, his death being to internal hemmorrhage.
Mr. Lemmon was born near Fairfield, Iowa, July 22, 1858. he was married to Rosella Barton, December 31, 1879, and Mr. and Mrs. Lemmon removed at that time to Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Three years later, in November, 1882, they came to Dawson County, Nebraska and settled on a homestead four miles northeast of Gothenburg, removing in 1907 to a farm three miles northwest of Cozad.
To this union, six children were born: one daughter and two sons died in infancy, and Mrs. Lemmon passed away June 19, 1926. He leaves to mourn his departure, two sons, Roscoe B. and Robert Lemmon and one daughter, Mrs. S. E. Isaacson.
Thomas H. Lemmon was of a quiet and retiring nature. He loved the good things of life, and faithfully sought to order his life by the aims and ideals of the teaching of Christ. He was a good man and loving father. Since the death of his wife there has been a sad and lonely feeling, also a quiet wistfulness and longing for the House of Many Mansions. Tenderly and quietly the angel of death touched him and he was not, for God took him.
Funeral services were held at the Isaacson home Friday afternoon and were conducted by Rev. Wm. Kilburn, pastor of the First Methodist Church. Burial was made at Grandview Cemetery. Four of Mr. Lemmon's grandsons and two nephews were pallbearers.
Events
| Birth | 22 Jul 1858 | Jefferson Co., Iowa |  | ||
| Marriage | 31 Dec 1879 | Jefferson Co., Iowa - Rosella Jane Barton | |||
| Death | 31 Oct 1934 | Gothenburg, Dawson Co., Nebraska | | ||
| Burial | Grand View Cemetery, Gothenburg, Dawson Co., Nebraska | |
Families
| Spouse | Rosella Jane Barton (1861 - 1926) |
| Child | Roscoe B. Lemmon (1881 - 1952) |
| Child | Infant Dau1 Lemmon (1882 - 1882) |
| Child | Edna M. Lemmon (1883 - 1964) |
| Child | Robert "Burt" Lemmon (1887 - 1967) |
| Child | Infant Son1 Lemmon (1889 - 1889) |
| Child | Infant Son2 Lemmon (1895 - 1895) |
| Father | Robert Smith Lemmon (1810 - 1895) |
| Mother | Sarah Hice (1816 - 1895) |
| Sibling | Mary Jane Lemmon (1839 - 1915) |
| Sibling | Elizabeth Lemmon (1841 - 1908) |
| Sibling | Sarah "Sade" Lemmon (1844 - 1912) |
| Sibling | Milly E. Lemmon (1846 - 1877) |
| Sibling | Margaret A. Lemmon (1849 - 1913) |
| Sibling | John Hice Lemmon (1851 - 1852) |
| Sibling | James "Henry" Lemmon (1853 - 1926) |
| Sibling | George Hice Lemmon (1856 - 1948) |
Endnotes
1. Research of Mary F. Tryon.
2. Research of Mary F. Tryon.
3. Nebraska Gen-Web Site.