Third Generation (Continued)

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Family of Simon Peter HAGEMAN (10) & Martha Viola WALLICK

Simon Peter Hageman (left), Albert Roy Hageman (top),
Martha Viola Wallick Hageman (right), and Grace Pearl Hageman, ca. 1894

The following reminiscences of S.P. Hageman's only son Albert Roy "Bert" Hageman were found among the personal papers of his youngest sister Alice Naomi Hageman Imig. The four pages are in her handwritng and have been exactly transcribed by her granddaughter, Alice Imig Stipak:12

Indians Scared Hageman Boys

(By A. R. Hageman, Ogallala [Nebraska])

In reply to the request for a sketch on the history of the community in which I lived in Seward county, I am unable to remember back to the pioneer days, but my father, S. P. Hageman, told me of incidents that occurred during the earlier days, and I will relate them as I remember them.

My father came to Nebraska with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Hageman, in the spring of 1866. They settled on a farm five miles southeast of Seward. (Most of this farm remained in the family, until 1930, when I disposed of it, and came to Keith County). They settled along the river, as most of the pioneers did, where fuel and water was available, and also protection from storms. At that time they didn't think the tableland would produce good crops

Early Day Experiences

They built a log house with logs which they hewed from native trees. There were no railroads in this part of the country at that time. Supplies were hauled long distances by oxen or horses. A large amount was hauled from Nebraska City.

On one occasion my grandfather took corn to be ground over to the West Mills, which was located on the Little Blue River. There were other farmers there when he arrived for the same purpose and after several hours waiting, he was able to get one half bushel of it ground. Starting for home early in the morning it took him until late in the night to make the round trip.

Visits from the Indians

There were numerous bands of Indians roaming through the country and rumors at times that they were about to make an attack, which caused much alarm among the settlers but nothing serious happened, although they caused some trouble raiding melon patches and helping themselves to anything that was handy. When an Indian came to a house he opened the door and walked in without knocking. If the whites were friendly to him, he would tell the rest of the tribe and the next time they came through the country, they would all make them a visit.

They had no respect for growing crops, and when they located a house they would go directly toward it through the grain. One day my grandfather saw a band of Indians coming, and sent my father and his brother, C. S. Hageman, out to the edge of a rye field to motion them to stay out of the grain. As the Indians came over the hill, two of them that were mounted on horses, seeing the boys, began to yell. And raising their tomahawks above their heads, came toward them, their horses at full speed. The boys ran for the house, not looking back, but could hear the Indians laughing at their joke. But the boys didn't stop until they got in the house.

Quite often when they would camp close by Grandfather would visit with them. To be friendly he would smoke their peace pipe, as they would pass it around from one to the other, as they sat in a circle around the fire.

The Blue river was very high in 1867 and several families moved out to higher ground. That summer the grasshoppers destroyed the corn crop and everything that was green. Some people got discouraged and went back east, but most of them stayed with it. For several years following, with a few exceptions, especially in the earlier nineties, the crops were good and the community progressed rapidly. New farmsteads were built, orchards and native trees were set out and hedge fences were planted. They grubbed out trees along the river and cleared the ground for farming.

Although there is a great change in the old neighborhood at the present time from what it was several years ago, it is thickly settled, has fertile soil, is well located, and a good place to live.         By A. R. Hageman

The Hageman farm near Ruby, which was sold recently by A. R. Hageman to John Woebbeke, had long stood on the record of Seward county as belonging to some member of the Hageman family. In 1866 -- 63 years ago -- Wm. Hageman, grandfather of A. R. Hageman, first purchased the land. Job Reynolds, father of the Reynolds boys, had purchased it a short time before. Upon the death of the elder Hageman it passed to the ownership of his son, the late S. P. Hageman, and after his death a few years ago, it became the property of the latter's son, A. R. Hageman; who sold it recently to Mr. Woebbeke for $175 per acre.

Since selling the old place Mr. Hageman has purchased 320 acres of land south of Ogallala, in Keith county, and will move out there about March 1 next. Seward county will lose a good citizen when Mr. Hageman with his family moves away, but their friends here will wish them the best of success in their new home. -- Seward Independent.

Funeral services for Albert R. Hageman, formerly of Seward, were held on Thursday, Aug. 29, at the Ogallala Methodist Church. Burial was in the Ogallala cemetary.

Hageman was born near Seward on April 4, 1885. He married Maude Ray on Febr. 3, 1913. They lived on a farm southeast of Seward until 1930 when they moved to a farm south of Ogallala. They retired and moved to Ogallala in 1946.

Survivors include his wife; a son, Lester of Ogallala; daughters Marjorie (Mrs. Harold Steffen) of Littleton, Colo., Vivian (Mrs. Orville Watkins) of Denver, Colo., and Thelma (Mrs. Bruce Cawdery) of La Mirada, Calif.; sisters Mrs. Grace Fosler of Milford and Mrs. Alice Imig of Riverside, Calif., 17 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.

Relatives attending the funeral from Seward were: Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Fosler, Mr. and Mrs. Ted Vogt and Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Garber.

On 10 Apr 1907 when Grace Pearl was 18, she married Orin Seth FOSLER,¹ son of George FOSLER & Helen WILKE, in at the home of her father, Simon Peter Hageman, Seward County, Nebraska.⁴ Born on 24 Nov 1882 in Seward County, Nebraska.¹ Orin Seth died on 12 Aug 1970; he was 87.¹ Buried on 15 Aug 1970 in Seward Cemetery.⁴ Occupation: farmer.⁴

They had the following children:

	89	i.	Mildred LaVerne (1910-)
	90	ii.	Evelyn Lucile (1912-~1980's)
	91	iii.	Helen Viola (1916-1977)
	92	iv.	Eleanor Grace (1918-)
	93	v.	Wayne Orin (Twin) (1920-)
	94	vi.	Wilma Mae (Twin) (1920-1920)

Biography of Orin S. Fosler and Grace Pearl Hageman Fosler, from Seward County Nebraska 1982, Seward County Historical Society, pp.117+118:⁴

Orin Fosler, son of George and Helen Wilke Fosler, was born on a farm 7 miles southeast of Seward in 1882. Grace Hageman who lived with her parents S. P. and Viola Wallick Hageman*, was born in 1888 only 4 miles away. When they married in 1907, they moved to a farm just 1/2 mile from Orin's home. They lived here for the entire 63 years of their life together and Grace continued to live there until her death in 1977. She was confined to a wheel chair for the final 10 years. Mr. and Mrs. Fosler were members of the Seward Methodist Church and Grace was one of the first early members of Extension work in Seward County.

Five children grew to adulthood; LaVerne married Elmer Garber and they lived on farms near Seward except for 6 years on an Iowa farm, the last 30 years on a farm at the east edge of Seward. An acreage with the buildings was sold in 1976 and the remainder became Seward Heights addition to Seward, on which a new home was built. Their children are Jim, who is an electrician for Burlington Northern in Alliance and Bette of Lincoln. Elmer died in 1978. In 1981, LaVerne married John Bjorback of Minneapolis; they make their home on the farm near Seward.

Evelyn married J. L. (Bus) Hoy of Lincoln. They lived for a time in the Seward area and in Denver, but most of their married life has been spent at Lincoln.Their children are Jack, of Hermosa Beach, California; Robert of Stevensville, Montana; Susan O'Callaghan of Sioux City, Iowa; and Diane of Lincoln.

Helen married Roland Wallick of Lincoln and died in February of 1977. Her children are Barbara Manthey of Bellevue; Ron Wallick of Lincoln; and Roger Wallick of West Palm Beach, Florida.

Eleanor married Ted Vogt and for many years they farmed near Seward and Staplehurst. They retired in 1976 and moved into a new home in Seward. For many years Ted was very active in Conservation and Extension work. Both he and Eleanor have enjoyed dancing and in recent years have made a profession of teaching classes in many of the towns around the Seward area. They have 3 sons, all living in the Denver vicinity; twins, Dan, a doctor and Don, a lawyer, and Terry also a doctor.

Wayne is married to Lawilda Mueller. He served 3-1/2 years in the Pacific during World War II. On his return home, he took over the farming operation from his father and later purchased an adjoining farm where they now live. Their son, Larry, is associated with them in farming and also in their purebred Simmental cattle operation. Wayne and Lawilda have both been active in 4-H and Extension work and Wayne has served in offices of many farm organizations. Wayne and Lawilda also have 2 daughters, Judy Weirbein of Louisville and Linda Johnson of Hastings, both farm wives.

Orin and Grace Fosler had 15 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren.

Mr. and Mrs. Orin Fosler observed their 40th Wedding Anniversary on Sunday with a family dinner at the home of their daughter, Mrs. Ted Vogt. Mr. and Mrs. Fosler were married on April 10, 1907 at the home of Mrs. Fosler's parents, Mr. and Mrs. S. P. Hageman south of Seward and still reside on the farm southeast of town where they started their married life forty years ago. They have five children, Mrs. Elmer Garber of Story City, Iowa; Mrs. Roland Wallick of Lincoln and Mrs. J. L. Hoy, Mrs. Ted Vogt and Wayne and Fosler, all of Seward. With the exception of Mrs. Wallick all were able to be present Sunday.

Services for Orin S. Fosler, who died Wednesday, Aug 12, were Saturday, Aug. 15 at 10 a.m. The Rev. Raymond Nuetzman officiated at the services which were held in the United Methodist Church, Seward. Burial was in the family lot at the Seward Cemetery.

Fosler was born in Seward County, November 24, 1882.

He was united in marriage to Grace Hageman at the home of her parents April 10, 1907. They remained on the same farm until his death.

He was preceded in death by his parents, George and Helen Fosler, and one daughter, Wilma.

Survivors include his wife, Grace, a son Wayne, Milford; four daughters, Mrs. LaVerne (Elmer) Garber, Seward; Mrs. Evelyn (James) Hoy, and Mrs. Helen (Roland) Wallick, both of Lincoln, and Mrs. Eleanor (Ted) Vogt, Staplehurst; a brother, Roy, Milford and a sister, Mrs. Leroy Wohlgemuth, Milford; 15 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.

Pallbearers were Roger Wallick, Don Wallick, Larry Fosler, Jim Garber, Gene Wehrbein and Bruce O'Callaghan.

Grace Pearl Hageman Fosler, 88, of Milford, died Tuesday, June 14. She was born to Simon and Viola Wallick Hageman on a farm southeast of Seward on June 20, 1888. She married Orin S. Fosler in 1907, and they farmed neighboring her parents' farm. She lived the rest of her life on that farm.

She was a member of the Seward United Methodist Church and a charter member of the Golden Rule Club. She was one of the earliest members of the Extension Clubs in Seward County and remained a member as long as her health permitted.
She was preceded in death by her husband in 1970 and by two daughters, Wilma Mae, who died at birth, and Mrs. Roland (Helen) Wallick, who died in 1977. Survivors include a son, Wayne, of Milford; three daughters, Mrs. Elmer (LaVerne) Garber of Seward, Mrs. Bus (Evelyn) Hoy of Lincoln, and Mrs. Ted (Eleanor) Vogt of Seward; a sister, Mrs. Alice Imig of Riverside, Calif.; 15 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren.

Services were held Friday, June 17, at the United Methodist Church, Seward, the Rev. Charles Gates officiating. Burial was in the Seward Cemetary. Pallbearers were Marvin Bye, Dale Fosler, Glenn Fosler, Merle Fosler, Richard Wohlegmuth, and Lester Hageman.