My Genealogy Hound

PATRICK WALSH. It is impossible to write of the early settlement of Buffalo county without making frequent and prominent mention of the name of Patrick Walsh. The name is thoroughly familiar to all of the older settlers of the county and the public records of an earlier date display it upon almost every page. Broadly speaking, Mr. Walsh’s public record constitutes the first chapters of the county’s history, since the county had but little history during the first years of its existence as a county organization outside of what he made for it or was largely instrumental in making. Mr. Walsh is an ex-soldier of the United States army, and to his connection with the army is probably due the fact that he became a citizen of Nebraska and a pioneer settler of Buffalo county. This article may begin, therefore, with the statement that Patrick Walsh, father of the town of Shelton and the man who bore the chief part in organizing Buffalo county, first set foot on Nebraska soil in the spring of 1864, coming hither as a member of Company D, Fifth United States volunteer infantry. He enlisted in the service in March, 1864, near Alton, Ill., and after a short stay at Fort Leavenworth, Kans., was ordered with his company as part of a military escort to guard an overland train from Niobrara, Nebr., to Virginia City, Mont., the purpose of which expedition was to establish a feasible route between these two points to accommodate the large immigration then making towards the great Northwest. The prospect being abandoned on account of its impracticability, the expedition broke up on the Powder river in southeast Montana, and Mr. Walsh’s company was ordered to Fort Reno, where it was placed on garrison duty, and he remained there till the summer of 1866, when he was transferred to Fort Kearney, Nebr. The term of his enlistment expiring that year he decided to settle in the West, and in September, 1866, he located on what is the present site of the town of Shelton, Buffalo county. The Union Pacific railroad had just been completed and trains were running through the county, but there were as yet no permanent settlements in the county beyond a few ranches scattered along Wood river, and possibly one or two in the vicinity of Elm creek. Prior to that, however, there had been a stage stand where Shelton now is and a sort of supply point to accommodate the overland travel to Utah and the Pacific coast. This was started in 1858 under the direction of Brigham Young, and it was designed especially to facilitate the travel of the Mormons in their journeyings to the country they were then fast peopling beyond the Rocky mountains. Joseph E. Johnston was the chief spirit in establishing this “ranch,” as it was called. The place was known as Wood River Center, but with the exception of the little store in which were kept the general stock of supplies the place never amounted to anything more than a camping ground. Johnston published a paper there, which he called the Huntsman’s Echo, and which it is said was instrumental in attracting the attention of travelers to that locality. But very few, however, who came remained. Like him they moved on with the great stream of restless fortune-seekers towards the setting sun — so that at the date Mr. Walsh settled there, the country was practically uninhabited. Good homesteads could be had anywhere. Mr. Walsh bought out the right of a man named Thomas Tague, who had squatted on the northwest quarter of section 1, township 9, range 13 west, and on this he filed a soldier’s homestead claim. He located and began his improvements, moving onto his homestead his family, which then consisted of a wife and five children. Others located about the same time, and the country gradually began to settle up. The county was then known as Buffalo county, but was unorganized, being attached to Hall county for judicial and revenue purposes. Matters moved on smoothly under this arrangement till 1870, when, being desirous of securing school facilities for his and his neighbors’ children, Mr. Walsh set about to see what could be done in the way of organizing a school district. He found, on investigation, that it would be about as easy to organize a county as a school district, and knowing that this would soon follow, on account of the rapid increase in population, he decided to effect a county organization. Accordingly, in January, 1870, he, in connection with Sergeant Michael Coady, then of Fort Kearney, and Martin Slattery, sent a petition to Governor David Butler, asking for an organization of Buffalo county. The petition was granted, and in February following Governor Butler issued a proclamation, declaring the county organized, and fixing the temporary county seat at Wood River Center. He appointed Patrick Walsh probate judge, Henry Dugdale treasurer, Martin Slattery clerk, and John Oliver sheriff. The probate judge was vested by law with authority to appoint county commissioners, and he appointed Ed Oliver, of Shelton; Thomas K. Wood, of Gibbon, and Charles Davis, of Elm Creek.

Mr. Slattery not being able to act as clerk, appointed Mr. Walsh as his deputy, and turned over the affairs of his office to him. These officers served till the first regular election in October, 1870, when Patrick Walsh was elected probate judge, Henry Dugdale treasurer, M. McNamara clerk, John Oliver sheriff, and Thomas K. Wood, William Booth and Charles Davis commissioners.

McNamara, who was elected clerk, failed to qualify, and Sergeant Michael Coady, of Fort Kearney, although a non-resident, was appointed in his place, and he appointed Mr. Walsh as his deputy.

The treasurer-elect failed to qualify and the commissioners appointed Mr. Walsh to collect the taxes and perform the other duties of the treasurer’s office. Mr. Walsh resigned his position as deputy clerk, inasmuch as he could not well hold this office in connection with the treasureship, and gave his time and attention to the office of probate judge and treasurer. During the time that he acted as deputy clerk, for Slattery and Coady, he was by virtue of his office as clerk superintendent of public instruction, and discharged the duties of this office in connection with his other duties. The business of the county was done successively at Wood River Center, Kearney Station (now Buda), and Gibbon before the permanent county seat was located at Kearney. Mr. Walsh served out his term of office in the positions above mentioned, faithfully accounted for every dollar of public money that came into his hands, and turned over the several records, bonds, etc., of which he was custodian, to his successors, going out with clean hands and carrying with him the good will of all of his fellow-citizens for whom he had held trust. The next position which he held was that of county commissioner. He was elected to this position by the popular vote of the county in the fall of 1874. Politics had then begun to play some part in the elections, and he was chosen on the democratic ticket. The chief measure of local interest on which the election turned was the removal of the county seat, which for two years prior to that time had been at Gibbon. In order to hold it there permanently and provide for what seemed to be the coming importance of Kearney, a movement was set on foot to divide the county, running the west line near the present western limits of the city of Kearney, so as to throw Gibbon as near the geographical center as possible. Mr. Walsh went on record against this movement, although the removal of the county seat from Gibbon to Kearney meant an inconvenience to him and his people, and a prospective depreciation of real estate values, in which they were naturally much interested. But he was willing to forego all the advantages that the proximity of the county seat might bring rather than suffer a division of the county and the added cost of two county organizations.

In this he was actuated by the same motives that characterized his entire public life. He labored always in the interest of economy, discouraging the people in putting inflated values on their property, and advising them to keep out of debt. His vote among the records will be found in keeping with his advice in this respect.

But while Mr. Walsh labored faithfully in behalf of the county at large, he was none the less active in the interest of his own locality. In 1874, when the population became large enough, and the public convenience demanded it, he secured a post office with all necessary mail facilities for Wood River Center, he himself being the first postmaster, holding the office till 1879. He now relates the fact with characteristic humor that he served the government faithfully the first year for $12.50, with a gradual rise each succeeding year, but that when the office got to be worth a little something, he was conveniently set aside for another whose political views better suited the administration than did his. But this was no embarrassment to him. He served the government as a matter of convenience to his people, and not for the money there was in the office. And here it may be as well to correct a mistake which has gone into print respecting the way the name of Wood River Center came to be changed to that of Shelton. The statement has been made that Mr. Walsh took it into his head to change the name of the post-office, did so, and then wrote the postmaster general to take notice and govern himself accordingly. Mr. Walsh has all the Irish wit that it would take to prompt such an action, but at the same time he has the good sense to see the impropriety of it, and, as a matter of fact, he never did it. He was greatly annoyed in handling the mails, as was also the traveling and shipping public, on account of the frequent confusion of the names of Wood River Center, Buffalo county, with Wood River, Hall county, and in conversation one day with S. H. H. Clark, superintendent of the Union Pacific railroad, he mentioned this trouble, and suggested the advisability of a change of name. Mr. Clark agreed with him, and, subsequently, had the name of the railway station changed to that of Shelton in honor of the cashier of the road, Nathan Shelton. When this was done, Mr. Walsh wrote to the post office department at Washington, advising them of this change and suggesting that the name of the post-office be changed also, which was done, and the place has since borne the name of Shelton.

In 1876 the town of Shelton first properly came into existence. It was laid off by Mr. Walsh, he surveying and platting for that purpose forty acres of his original homestead. The lots were sold off as rapidly as demanded for building purposes, and the town started on its career of prosperity. It has never had a boom, but has always enjoyed a good steady growth, and is now in point of size and commercial importance the second town in the county, having a population of about a thousand. The first building of any consequence put up in the town was the “Cottage House,” erected by Delbert Livingston, and is still standing and is occupied as a hotel. The town now boasts a number of handsome brick business blocks, and some as neat and tasty residences as can be found in towns having twice the population that Shelton has. In the welfare of the town, in its government, enterprises and interests Mr. Walsh has always taken an active part, doing more than his share of the work, and bearing more than his part of the expense of every undertaking set on foot for the benefit of his town and vicinity. He assisted in the organization of the first town government, and he has served two terms in the town council, and later he served two terms as clerk of the town board. To his town Mr. Walsh has given the same advice he gave in earlier years to the county — that is, to avoid booms and keep out of debt — to grow and develop, get rich, if possible, in actual wealth, but to keep down valuations. Mr. Walsh owns considerable real estate in the vicinity of Shelton, retaining all of his original homestead except about twenty-five acres covered by the town site. He has, therefore, been particularly interested in public enterprises of a general nature and has been foremost in encouraging anything of this nature. Before the town was laid out, he advertised that he would grant the right of flowage on certain conditions as to toll and damage done by back water to any responsible parties who would erect a mill on Wood river on his place, and this offer was accepted by Jason R. and Ira P. George, with the result of a good mill, which has been worth thousands of dollars to the people of that community.

In short, as stated at the outset of this article, on every page of the early records of Buffalo county, and at every stage, especially in the development of his own locality, the searcher after historical information finds the name and evidences of the wisdom, activity and liberality of Patrick Walsh, and it is but simple justice to him to say that his long labors have met with the success deserved, and have elicited from his fellow-citizens the gratitude which is his due. He reckons his friends by the hundreds in and out of the county, and many of them are men of the highest official and social positions.

Mr. Walsh has been as happy in his domestic relations as he has been fortunate in business and successful in his public career. He was married while a resident of Illinois, prior to his enlisting in the army — the lady whom he elected to share his life’s fortunes being Miss Attie Welch, a native of Ireland. This union has been blessed with a family of nine children, as follows — James P., Mary, John T., Maggie, Patrick J., Anna A., Ella E., William E. and Rose. Most of them are now grown, some of them are married, settled off in life, and are now doing for themselves. The limits set to this sketch will not permit us making further mention of them. One, however, by reason of the fact that he bears his father’s name and will thus perpetuate in his name the memory of Buffalo county’s oldest and most honored citizen, and by reason of the further fact that he is the first child born in the town of Shelton, and has thereby become a subject of historic importance in the territory covered by this volume, may be appropriately referred to at a little length to round out this article. That one is Patrick J., now the efficient telegraph operator at the Union Pacific depot at Kearney. He was born at the old homestead on the banks of Wood river, in what is now the corporate limits of Shelton, on August 8, 1867. He was reared in his native place and received a good common and high-school education in the Shelton schools. Learning telegraphy while still in school, studying at night, on Saturdays, and at odd times, he began work for the Union Pacific as assistant agent and operator at Shelton in 1886, and has been in their employ since, serving them as bill clerk, night and day operator, on relief and regular service and in several localities. January, 1889, he was given the position of day operator at Kearney, which he has since occupied, and the duties of which he discharges with credit to himself and satisfaction to the company. “Pat,” as he is best known and familiarly called, is a worthy son of a worthy sire, and his career, so far as he has gone, has been distinguished by the same good sense, patient industry and sterling integrity, tempered with the same good will, genial disposition and self-sacrificing nature that has characterized his father in all his relations — political, business and social.