John Hale Duskin's story
Yes, John Hale Duskin did move to Alliance NE. I recently found a copy of an article from the Wayne County Iowa Genealogical Society newsletter (unfortunately the copy does not have the date on it) at the Wayne Co. Historical museum.
"The Duskin family originally lived in North Carolina but had moved toEdgar County, Illinois then to Iowa before coming to western Nebraska. John Duskin [this is John Hale Duskin] took claims on Sec. 13-14, T 25, R 50, near Point of Rocks in 1885. His first home was a dugout; next a sod house. People wondered why he chose a claim which was the roughest, rockiest to be found, when level land was still plentiful. But John was a stone mason and got busy digging rocks. These he disposed of to builders needing them for basement walls and foundations. Then he took the job of setting them up for mortar. Several buildings in Hemingford and Alliance had this work done by John Duskin. This was before cement was perfected. He also built several stone houses southwest of Alliance. Many of these were still in use.
"John married Martha Brower. Their children were: Alma (Mrs. Jim Kennedy), and Bertha Sage. An infant son was buried in the Hashman Cemetery, but was moved to the Alliance Cemetery when Hashman Road was graded.
"John and Martha Duskin separated. Martha homesteaded near Nerud's ranch in the southwest corner of the county. She was a practical nurse, caring for sick people and mothers with new babies. In her later years she retired to a home on Second and Yellowstone.
"John Duskin married again to Lillian Key. They had three children: Malvin of Alliance; Ethel (Mrs. John Gillespie), and John of Missouri. Ira Duskin, a nephew of John Duskin, came from Iowa in 1914 to work with his uncle as a stone mason. When this work was no longer done, he worked for farmers. He and his wife Nellie and their children moved to Marsland for a few years, then came to Hemingford where he operated a dray line. Three daughters of this couple were: Elsie (Mrs. Ernest Weinell); Ruth (Mrs. Henry Hopkins) and Mary Ellen Leiter, and three sons, William of Alliance, Major Charles of the Salvation Army in Michigan [I met Charles several years ago when he briefly lived in Cedar Rapids, IA, but have not had any contact in quite some time] and Delmar Leroy, a career man in the United States Army, retired. He lives in Augusta, Georgia. --Furnished by: Gladys Williams, Greenfield CA"
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MyHeritage family tree
Family site: Brown Web Site
Family tree: 307815491-1
John H DuskinGender: MaleBirth: Circa 1854 - Illinois, United StatesResidence: June 1 1870 - Iowa, USAAge: 16Race: WhiteFather (implied): John DuskinMother (implied): Ellinor E DuskinSiblings (implied): Dorcas S Duskin, Daniel L Duskin, Arta E Duskin, Jeremiah F Duskin, Ada A DuskinCensus: HouseholdRelation to head; Name; AgeHead (implied); John Duskin; 45Wife (implied); Ellinor E Duskin; 42Daughter (implied); Dorcas S Duskin; 20Daughter (implied); Ada A Duskin; 18Son (implied); John H Duskin; 16Son (implied); Jeremiah F Duskin; 14Son (implied); Daniel L Duskin; 9Daughter (implied); Arta E Duskin; 1
The 1870 Census was the first census to provide detailed information on the black population, only years after the culmination of the Civil War when slaves were granted freedom. The 1870 Census' population estimate is controversial, as many believed it underestimated the true population numbers, especially in New York and Pennsylvania.Federal census takers were asked to record information about every person who was in each household on the census day. A census taker might have visited a house on a later date, but the information he collected was supposed to be about the people who were in the house on the census day. The basic census enumeration unit was the county. Each county was divided into enumeration districts, one for each enumerator. The completed forms were sent to the Commerce Department's Census Office in Washington, D.C.Federal censuses are usually reliable, depending on the knowledge of the informant and the care of the census enumerator. Information may have been given to a census taker by any member of the family or by a neighbor. Some information may have been incorrect or deliberately falsified.
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Family site: Peterson Web Site
Family tree: 386433732-1