Charlie Eickhoff's great-grandfather Arnold Eickhoff, born in 1836, moved to Nebraska after the Civil War and at first lived in a dugout on the border of Cedar and Knox counties. He rose to be the bank manager, and in 1893 was elected representative from Cedar and Knox Counties in the Nebraska Legislature. Arnold Eickhoff had two children with his first wife and twenty-one children with the second wife who had two sets of triplets and a set of twins. The photograph is probably a modern copy from the 19th century original. For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
Sue and Charlie Eickhoff, Nebraska City History Harvest, 2010
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Charlie Eickhoff's great-grandfather Arnold Eickhoff, born in 1836, moved to Nebraska after the Civil War and at first lived in the dugout on the border of Cedar and Knox counties. He rose to be the bank manager, and in 1893 was elected representative from Cedar and Knox Counties in the Nebraska Legislature. Arnold Eickhoff had two children with his first wife, and twenty-one children with his second wife, who had two sets of triplets and a set of twins. The photograph is probably a modern copy from the 19th century original. For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
Edward Eickhoff and Elizabeth Bruns, 1892
Charlie Eickhoff's grandfather Edward Eickhoff was a son of Arnold Eickhoff, at one time a representative from Knox and Cedar Counties to Nebraska legislature. Born in 1866 and 1870 in Wisconsin, Edward Eickhoff and Elizabeth Bruns eventually settled in the village of Crofton in Knox County, Nebraska. Edward died in December 1929 and Elizabeth survived him by 30 years. The photograph was probably taken on May 12, 1892, the day of Edward and Elizabeth's wedding. For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
Charlie Eickhoff's father Frank Eickhoff was a son of Elizabeth Eickhoff (nee Bruns) and Edward Eickhoff from the small town of Crofton in Knox County, Nebraska. Born in 1895, Frank Eickhoff served in the cavalry in World War I. In 1928, Frank married Martha Waltz. He lived in Nebraska until his death in 1984. For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
Charlie Eickhoff's father Frank Eickhoff was a son of Elizabeth Eickhoff (nee Bruns) and Edward Eickhoff from the small town of Crofton in Knox County, Nebraska. Born in 1895, Frank Eickhoff served in the cavalry in World War I. In 1928 Frank married Martha Waltz. Born in 1904, Martha was a child of German immigrants. Frank continued to live in Nebraska until his death in 1984. Martha survived him by four years and died in 1988. The photograph was probably taken on September 11, 1928, the day of Frank and Martha's wedding. For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
Patrick Kennedy's Admission to Citizenship, 1884
This is Patrick Kennedy's admission for citizenship, made in Nebraska in 1884. At the time, a person had to continuously reside in the United States for five years before applying for citizenship and live within the state of application for at least one year. Patrick Kennedy, Sue Eickhoff's great-grandfather became secured the 160 acres as a homesteader in Nebraska in 1891, after being a citizen for seven years. For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
This is the funeral photograph of Patrick Kennedy, Sue Eickhoff's great-grandfather. An emigrant form Ireland, Patrick Kennedy homesteaded in the town of Coleridge in Cedar County, NE. Funeral photographs used to be much more common then they are now, made to preserve the likeness of the deceased, and to keep the memory of the dead children. The family sent funeral photos to those who could not attend, and in many cases in the second half of the 19th century, these photos were the only likeness of the person surviving in the family archives. For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
Patrick Kennedy's Homestead Certificate, 1891
This is Patrick Kennedy's homestead certificate given in accordance with the 1862 Homestead Act, securing his right to the 160 acres of land in Cedar County, Nebraska. Seeking to create more yeoman farmers, believed to be the backbone of antebellum America in the North, the Republican authors and advocates of the of the Homestead Act managed to pass it only after the Southern Democrats left the 37th Congress. Signed into law on May 20, 1862 the Homestead Act required the potential homesteader to be 21 years of age or older, or be the head of a family when filing an a claim for a federal land grant, live on the land for five years and have made improvements, and finally file the deed of title. After 1873 homesteaders in Nebraska and Kansas often filed claims for additional land under the Timber Culture Act seeking to enlarge their land holdings through claiming improvements planting trees. For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
This is a Timber Claim granting Patrick Kennedy, Sue Eickhoff's great-grandfather, rights over 160 acres of land in accordance with the Timber Culture Acts of 1873, 1874, and 1878. First passed in 1873, the Timber Culture Act provided up to 160 acres of land to farmers for planting trees to better the land for cultivation and increase the rainfall in the western parts of the Great Plains. Most often, however, the Timber Claim allowed homesteaders to secure another section of land, leading to the repeal of the act in 1891. Yet the claims established for over ten years after 1891 as Patrick Kennedy's claim testifies. Since Patrick Kennedy became a citizen in 1884, and secured his homestead claim in 1891, it is probable that he established the claim in the early 1890s, as only citizens and homesteaders could establish Timber Claims after 1874. For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.
Sue and Charlie Eickhoff discuss Beuck Family Papers
Ms. Eickhoff shared the story of her great-grandfather with UNL History Harvest graduate student assistant Rob Voss. You can find this and other stories on the History Harvest YouTube Channel.