My Genealogy Hound

JOHN HARSE is the oldest pioneer settler in Harrison township, Buffalo county, Nebr. He is a native of England and the date of his birth is October 17, 1852. His father lived and died in England and was a stock-raiser of considerable note. John Harse frequently had pictured to his youthful fancy glowing accounts of the new world, and he longed to visit the land of freedom and promise. Accordingly, at the age of twenty, he bade old England farewell and set sail for America, and early in the year of 1871 he landed on the shores of the Western continent. He was convinced on the start that the West was the place for him, and with this settled conviction in mind he made his way westward as far as Iowa, where he stopped for a short time, but in the spring of 1872 he turned up in Polk county, Nebr., where he followed farming and stock-raising for six years. In the fall of 1879 he came still farther west and took a homestead on the Loup river near the northwest corner of Buffalo county. There was no settlement in this section at that time, and vast herds of cattle roamed at will over the country for miles around. Wild game was plenty and Pawnee Indians frequently tramped up and down the Loup river on their hunting expeditions. He built a small sod house, which afforded him protection for two years, when he replaced it with a substantial hewed-log house, there being excellent timber then along the sandy banks of the Loup. The country along the Loup river afforded excellent grazing, and cattle ranches were numerous. The surrounding territory was literally covered with cattle and the semi-annual “round-ups” were events of considerable interest. He was married May 1, 1881, to Miss Abbie J. Cassel, daughter of Joseph W. and Mary (White) Cassel. She was born in Clayton county, Iowa, and came with her parents to Buffalo county, Nebr., in an early day. They have three children — James W., Ethel E., and Howard. Mr. Harse has a splendid farm containing four hundred and eighty acres, two hundred of which are under cultivation. He is now serving his second term as supervisor of Harrison township, is a stanch republican and one of the prominent and substantial men of Buffalo county.