ERNY, CHARLES LOUIS AND LOUISE (WOERNER)

by Charlotte (Erny) Benner

Entry F130 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

Charles and Louise Erny. Alliance, Nebraska in the 1940's.

             Sandhill's Saga

My great-grandfather, Charles L. Erny was
born in Beinham, France in 1859 where he
lived until he was 24. He came to the United
States and lived in Marengo, Illinois; where
he met my great-grandmother, Louise Woer-
ner.

In 1890 my great-grandfather moved to
Mullen, Nebraska by Immigrant car. An
Immigrant car is a car on the railroad in
which settlers brought all of their belongings
and livestock. A team of mules, few head of
eastern cattle, some furniture and clothing
were a few things my great-grandfather
brought along.

In 1891, great-grandfather brought his
family here where a homestead had been
taken, which is now the Frank Sexton ranch.
1892 was a drought year so the Ernys had to
leave their homestead. This time they moved
to what is now the Rush Creek ranch, where
great-grandfather went to work for George
Manning putting up hay. He took hay as part
of his wages to keep his own cattle from
starving.

The next year being a better year, the
Ernys took another homestead where the
Lyle Furrow ranch is now. Henry Erny was
born on this homestead in 1899.

In 1903, the Erny family took out a pre-
emption on the present ranch which belongs
to my grandfather. A pre-emption was where
a settler could file a claim upon a 160 acre of
public land and get a title by paying $1.25 per
acre at the time the land was put up for sale.
The hills in this country had been burned
so often by prairie fires that the grass
wouldn't grow on top of them and therefore
were blown badly by winds which caused
them to have a white appearance so were
called "whitecaps".

There were no fences at all. Grandfather
said from his present ranch to Whitman
where the family went to trade, there was
only one fence line. Whitman was about 18
miles away. After the Kincaiders came
around 1908, fences were built up around
each one's property. Since there were no
fences, great-grandfather had to go out each
night and hunt his cattle herd up and bring
them back to the corral as the cattle brought
on the Immigrant car from Illinois had no
sense of direction. They had to be taken to
the water holes to water as they couldn't find
them by themselves.

My grandfather said to me, "When I was
very young we boys wore dresses just like the
girls. I remember one day when I was about
5 years old, I was out playing beside the house
in my dress, I looked up and three big long
horn steers were standing there facing me. I
remember screaming. Suddenly old Shep
came running out and scared the steers away.
I remember the steers had the baseball brand
on them."

Grandfather knows many exciting things.
I wonder if my life will seem so interesting to
my grandchildren!

This story was written by Patricia Nadine
Benner in grade 6 in Nebraska History class
for the 1967 Nebraska Centennial. Patricia is
the great-granddaughter of the late Charles
Louis Erny.