On the road again

SUSAN DOAK

SW Nebraska Genealogy Society

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Due to a detour in plans, and doesn't life always seem to lead us down unplanned paths, I find myself in Centennial, Colorado! While it was unexpected, perhaps it is time to explore the Colorado ties that my husband's family and mine share. Hopefully I can make the 5 hour trip over the mountains to Delta and do research on both the Davison and Doak family! Perhaps even find the missing link to my great-grandfather's choice of living in Denver while his wife and son ran the farm in Dalton.

Before going any farther, I want to talk about a scam that is centered on family names. After my last article, Dan Cook gave me a call concerning a letter that his brother had received. The letter, supposedly from a lawyer in the United Kingdom, explained that a rich family had all perished in an automobile accident and since there were no relatives left in the UK, this attorney was in charge of finding the US relatives and presenting them with the inheritance. Of course, once again, it involved sending money to this attorney in order to receive the inheritance! Dear readers, this is not how life works! Never ever send money to anyone for any reason! There is no lottery winner, no inheritance, no relative or friend in a foreign jail only unscrupulous people wanting to remove money from your pocket and put it in theirs.

The Nebraska Library Commission hosts a site called Nebraska Memories. I had mentioned the site before and it is still a work in progress though more information about the western side of the state is on it now. Both the High Plains Museum of McCook and the Cheyenne County Historical Society have added information.

This site is free and the majority of pictures from Red Willow County are railroad related, so if you are a railroad buff, you might find them interesting. When I clicked on the business pictures (the pictures are categorized first and then identified by contributor), and then went to the Cheyenne County pictures, it allowed me to do a search by name. I typed in Davison and found a picture of my mother's uncle, Daniel Davison, and a notation of her cousin, Laura Rudd. Cheyenne County is the Sidney area and they have an active historical group. Searches like this are something I do when I can't sleep, but surprisingly have turned up treasures for my family tree.

Another category on the Nebraska Memories site is Maps. I open that area and found a book of maps called: Huebingers Map and Guide for Omaha-Denver Trans-Continental Route with supplements showing the Overland Trail connecting the Trans-Continental at Lincoln with the Waubonsie Trail at Nebraska City. I thought it might include our area, so I opened the available index and found that A. Barnett, one of McCook's early founders, was listed as a board member along with gentlemen from Oxford and Stratton. A treasure to search another day, no doubt!

SWNGS will resume regular meetings on Sept. 7 at 1 p.m. We are planning to be in the park again during Heritage Days! Join us for a meeting or stop by our booth!