The Nineteenth Child: Nelle

Nelle and Wilson Clark

Nellie "Nelle" TURPIN was born 20 July 1893 on her parent's homestead in Rock County, Nebraska shortly after her father’s death.  She was the last child in Newt and Mary Ellen’s family.

She was nine years old before her mother remarried.  James Estlack became her step-father and the family, with only Nelle and Newtie at home, then moved to Haigler in Dundy County in western Nebraska. 

Nelle married Wilson Clark on 19 April 1919.  Wilson was born 24 Oct 1897 on his parents’ homestead outside Stratton, Nebraska in Hitchcock County.  His parents were Percy Bennet Clark (1865-1938) and Alta Estella Price (1874-1963).

I found the Turpins and Stewarts in Ogallala in 1940

E.D. 51-10

I found my parents Walt and Letha living in Ogallala in 1940.  They'd told stories about relatives coming to Ogallala to look for work and the relatives would stay with them.  There was only one bed, so they'd all just like up line sardines on the bed to get a good night's rest.   

The 1940 Census

Walt Stewart Family about 1940

The 1940 Census will be released in 2 days and 12 hours.  It will be exciting to “catch up” with my parents.  

In the previous census they were both 15 years old.  My mom lived in Kirkwood Precinct in Rock County, Nebraska with her parents and only brother.  My dad lived in Valentine, Cherry County, Nebraska with his parents and their family.  Mom and Dad did not know each other yet.   What a difference those ten years made in everyone’s lives including my parents!

My Mom in the 1930 Census

Vigilantes: Chelsea Regulators / Niobrara Mutual Protective Association

Governor Thayer

I wanted to write just a bit more about the vigilantes from the early Nebraska days.  In the area of the Niobrara River where Newt Turpin resided, it was well-known that vigilantes existed.  The area included Brown, Rock, Holt, Boyd, and Keya Paha counties.  After doing a little poking around, it seems that the spirit of the vigilantes played an immediate role in the Turpin family’s life in Rock County.   I’d mentioned before that neighbor suspected neighbor sometimes and that law enforcement was a scarce commodity.  In analyzing Louis Goochey’s story that he told to grandchildren, I could see that Goochey was incorporating some facts of local history into his own tale of woe to enhance it and justify what he did.   


So here is a bit of what I discovered.