ONE OF THE OLDEST OF NEBRASKA SETTLERS PASSES

In the death of Azariah Masters, which occurred at the home of his daughter, Mrs. J. M. Marshall, near Arlington, eastern Nebraska, and this community in particular is called upon to say goodbye to one of its oldest and most respected pioneer settlers.

Mr. Masters was born in Green county, Pennsylvania in 1831. When but four years of age he went with his parents to Auburn, Ind. in one of those old Pennsylvania schooners that would house a whole family. Four years later they went to Michigan to the old Toledo and Chicago turnpike.

It seems fitting that some of the story of Mr. Masters’ early days should be told in his own words, and part of the following is taken from an interview printed in the Omaha World Herald of date of Sunday, March 9, 1913. In that interview he says:

“We were there (Michigan) four years when we moved back to Indiana. After four years we located at Brockville, now Fremont, Ind. From there we went to Butler, DeKalb county, Ind. My brother, Silas, came to Arlington, Nebr. in the fall of 1856. April 1, 1855 I was married to Sarah Kepler in DeKalb county. In 1857, accompanied by my wife and child, my father and mother, I came to Arlington and pre-empted a quarter section of land four miles southeast of Arlington, but Arlington was not platted until years later. I remember making a trip to Denver in 1862. About the time we started flour was quoted at $16 a hundred weight. When we got to Denver it was down to $6.50. We took half in paper and half in gold dust. Later we got a big premium for our gold.

“We had no trouble with the Indians in those days, only they stole everything they could lay their hands on. The Sioux were the enemies of the Pawnees, and they were a savage and bloodthirsty tribe, but they were on friendly terms with the settlers in and around Arlington. The Pawnees were a great and powerful tribe and claimed ownership of all the country in this vicinity, and they levied heavy tribute on the Omahas and the Sioux. This led to wars that resulted in the extermination of the Pawnees. Many severe battles were fought between these hostile tribes in this vicinity. I was never near enough to witness one of these battles, but I have heard the firing in the battles that were taking place a few miles away. The Sioux became so ferocious and warlike that the settlements were greatly alarmed. This fear extended to Omaha, then a small settlement. The people became so alarmed that Territorial Governor Black was appealed to, and the militia was called out. They brought with them a Gatlin gun, and this was too much for the Sioux and they were driven to the reservation, since which time there has been no trouble with the Indians.”

Speaking of the very early days in Nebraska, Mr. Masters says, (still quoting from the World Herald article): “The winter before I came here was a hard one on the settlers. My brother, Silas, got here just in time to experience the full force of it. The settlers’ homes were rude, made largely of logs, plastered with clay. The two winters were so severe that all oxen and horses, excepting a team of horses belonging to Silas, died of starvation. Many of those who were here then have told me they would all have starved, but for the fact that deer and other game got stuck in the snow and were easily killed. For weeks at a time it was so cold that it was dangerous for neighbors to visit each other. Meat and potatoes reached an enormous price. Harlow Carpenter of Fontanelle paid a neighbor $45 and bought 80 acres of land on the Elkhorn bottoms that couldn’t be bought today for $100 an acre.

“In 1858 I was drawn as a juror in the first court ever held in these parts. This was at Fontanelle. John A. Unthank cut cottonwood logs on the bank of the Elkhorn, and we floated them three miles to the mill for the first schoolhouse, which still stands, though it has not been used for school purposes for some years. I took an ox team and was gone three days to Rockport, then twenty miles north of Omaha, and brought the shingles for that school house. I made the purchase from Charles Burdick, an old Indiana schoolmate.”

For forty five years Mr. Masters and his wife and their growing family lived on the old homestead, working hard and amassing more than a competence. In 1902 Mr. and Mrs. Masters moved into a beautiful new home which they had built for themselves in Arlington, to spend their later years in the ease of retirement.

Mrs. Masters preceded her husband into the Beyond April 5, 1909, since which time, with little intermission, he has made his home with his daughter, Mrs. J. M. Marshall, southeast of Arlington, within sight of the old homestead.

For a year past he has been failing health. His hearing was impaired in his later years, and later his sight, and for the last five weeks had been very ill and confined to his bed, passing peacefully away last Saturday, October 21, at four o’clock in the afternoon, when in his ninety second year.

Three sons and two daughters survive: C. P. Masters, C. M. Masters and B. F. Masters, all of Arlington precinct; Mrs. James Bryce of Bloomfield, Nebr. and Mrs. J. M. Marshall of Arlington. One daughter died at the age of about fifteen months. There are seventeen grandchildren and fourteen great grandchildren.

For nearly fifty years deceased had been a loyal member of the I.O.O.F. since his initiation into the Arlington lodge November 25, 1873, and he was a charter member of the Rebekah lodge.

The funeral took place from the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Marshall on Tuesday, October 24, Rev. Frank Williams, pastor of the Arlington M.E. church, officiating, preaching a special sermon. A mixed quartet from the church sang songs of hope and comfort, and many beautiful floral emblems of love and remembrance were sent. A large crowd of old friends and neighbors attended the funeral services, many of them being among Mr. Masters’ oldest friends. After the services at the house, the members of the I.O.O.F. took charge of the remains, which were removed to the Arlington cemetery and interred with the impressive rights of the order.

Arlington, Washington county, and indeed Nebraska, is the poorer for the passing of this great old pioneer, for those of his race, who built up this magnificent country, are dwindling sadly in numbers; but his and their memory ought to be kept green by us and our children, for we have indeed entered into the goodly inheritance of their labors, and will ever be the richer thereby.

#2-2 Nov., 1922 - The Enterprise

AZARIAH MASTERS

The recent death of Azariah Masters, early Nebraska and Washington county pioneer, reminds us of the fact that the majority of our first citizens have answered the call, and whatever reminiscences and personal experiences they have had in settling this wonderful state and county must be lost to present and future generations unless we of the present can preserve and recall many true stories of early day life here.

Azariah Masters was born in Green county, Pennsylvania in 1831, but at four years of age with his parents, journeyed by wagon to Indiana. When about eight years old the family moved to Michigan, but returned to Indiana when Azariah was a boy of twelve. There he lived until after his marriage to Miss Sarah Kepler in 1855, and in 1857 his part in the making of Washington county history began when, with his wife and child, he came to the western part of this county and pre-empted a quarter section of land four miles southeast of where Arlington now stands, and where he lived nearly half a century with his wife and family.

Ft. Calhoun had been chosen the county seat of the county and DeSoto was a small village Omaha was only a settlement, and Mr. Masters often related his experiences in getting to market driving overland to Denver in 1862.

In 1858 he was drawn as a juror in the first court ever held in the county. This was at Fontanelle. He took an active part in building the first school house, and for many years was an influential member of the district school board in the district where he lived.

His honorable business dealings with his neighbors and acquaintances, and his safe and sane advice on all matters pertaining to the welfare of the school and the community, made him a valuable man on the school board.

When he moved from the old homestead with his faithful wife to a comfortable modern home in Arlington in 1902, the community where he had lived for so many years felt that they had lost a true friend of the school, and they often went to see him and counseled with him over important matters.

When enduring the hardships and privations incident to acquiring a home in this county in those early days, he built better than he know, when he not only accumulated a fortune, but added to his acres so that the children might have a substantial heritage.

In 1909, after seven years of quiet, peaceful life in town, Mrs. Masters died and since then Mr. Masters has lived with his children, most of the time with his daughter, Clara, Mrs. J. M. Marshall.

His health has been gradually failing for some time, and the end came Saturday, Oct. 21 when in his ninety second year.

Surviving him are three sons and two daughters, C. P. Masters, A. M. Masters, Byron M. Masters and Mrs. J. M. Marshall, all of Arlington township and Mrs. James Bryce of Bloomfield, Nebr. There are also seventeen grandchildren and a number of great grandchildren, besides a host of friends, both young and old who remember him as a good hearted and generous friend loyal to his politics and his beliefs, broad minded and charitable toward others.

Funeral services were held on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Marshall, and interment was made in the local cemetery.

A large crowd of old friends and neighbors showed their love and respect for the deceased by attending the services.

~~~Obituaries courtesy of the Nebraska Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair, Nebraska Public Library~~~

Find a Grave Memorial #45184078