After such a long absence from writing here, I've had a difficult time deciding where to pick up again. Then recently I noticed a special day in my family history was approaching. November 14th, 1889 was my great grandfather's birthday. It would be the perfect day to start again. It was an extra special birthday for Isaac Rickell.
He was not only turning 30 but he was marrying the young woman, Ida Andrews, who he had met when she came to the town well for a pail of water. They married 133 years ago today.
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| Isaac Rickell and Ida E. Andrews 14 November 1889 Hemingford, Nebraska |
By age 30 Isaac had journeyed with his mother from England, experienced much loss in his young life, been left alone after the death of his parents and siblings, become a citizen of the United States, and come to the Nebraska panhandle to claim a homestead. In 1892 Isaac filed for the deed on his homestead. He testified he had built a one story frame house, 12 x 16 feet with four windows. This is where he brought his new bride and where his daughter, Bertha, was born in 1891. He also had a barn, 12 x 14 feet, a granary, cellar and corral. He was putting down roots and making a permanent home.
