J
Johnson, Christine (40-1)
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Johnson, Frank (40-2)
Johnson, Peter (40-4)
Jones, Fred (61-1)
Jones, Fred (61-5)
Jones, Nellie (61-4)
Jordan, Lyle (97-8)
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K
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L
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M
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N
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O
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P
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Q
Quinn, Esther M. (173-1)

R
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W
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Y
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Young, William (67-4)

Z
No entries for "Z"

She and husband Joe ran a grocery store in the Jimmy Long building. Joe was related to Tom Bodenner, father of Fauss,(their graves are the 1st on the right side as you enter the cemetery.) I don't know the dates tho I know Hattie told me.

Alfea may still be in Hot Springs but I don't know her last name.

At the Fairburn reunion, Hattie was in Kansas. I suppose the brothers are all deceased. Chet, Walt, Rich and Charley.(he lived in Nebraska) Kip was the husbands first name. Walt died in the '72 flood trying to rescue some of his neighbors.

Egan's lived between the Scriven and Smith places. Egans brother-in-law lived on the Dean place. Egans Grandfather combined grain for him. Egan and Scrivers started to Fairburn with a truck load of grain. The truck went off the road on the corner by the Jettey place (Michael Yarina's place)-Egan jumped out as the truck rolled on him and cut his head off. Alcohol seemed to be a factor in the accident.

Info- from Lloyd Gorsuch and Marie Gorsuch - Dec.1993.

The Smiths were Ray and Lucy Smith - their only child was a daughter Lucille Smith Hartshorn and she is living on their place as of now.

Lyle,Roy and Bob were all born in Minnesota and came to Hermosa in 1923.

Lyle and Bob's mother is buried in Minnesota. She lived to be 86 years old, and was married to a Dutchman.

Bob wrote: "The Fairburn Cemetery has a lot of history for me, as I dug several graves there when I was going to High School, all by hand, and I dug a few for free as people couldn't pay then. C.B. Smith was the one that usually hired me and I was paid from $1.00 to $5.00, but mostly $1.00 which was all the people could afford.

John Carl Hedlun was born in Sarer, Sweden, Sept.30,1855. He came to America at the age of seventeen. Jennie Akre was born at Naae Sontfort, Hardanger, Norway on March 30,1863. At the age of 20 she came to the United States with her three sisters. John and Jennie met and married in Sioux Falls South Dakota June 22,1887. They had six sons, one of whom died in infancy. They moved to Hill City soon after their marriage and John worked in the Holy Terror mine. He lost a leg in a premature blast. The injured men were transported by wagon to obtain treatment. John traveled to Chicago via train to learn to use an artificial leg, which he later abandoned for a "peg". After this misfortune they bought the ranch east of Fairburn from Charles Edgerton. They remained at this residence the rest of their lives until old age dictated that they finish their years living with some of their children.

- Chester (Chet)O'Bryan and George Roberts were hunting rabbits in a Model T car. They shot the ear off a rabbit, they went thru the ditch to the east to get the rabbit. George got back into the car pulling the rifle after him. The gun discharged shooting Chet under the chin and coming out the back of his head. They put him to bed at the Robers place and called the Doctor - nothing could be done for him and he died in 3 days. Lucile remembers they called the Smith's to come right up. Lucy cleaned the wound and Lucile remembers emptying the bloody pans of water.

Another theory - The boys crossed the fence afoot, as they crawled back thru the fence the gun caught, discharged and shot Chet.

Perry and Walt Dow visited Lewis Downen, and in his barn was a human skeleton that was wired together.He said he had dug it out of a cave.

BUT -

Lame Johnny and a friend had been stealing horses and the friend had got shot. It was always thought they might have been "holed up" in a cave and this man had died there.

Space 6 - Downen, Lewis "Lou"
Where the town of Hermosa was first started, "Lou"Downen shot the last known Buffalo in the area. Paul Downen had the gun of this feat.

This was just before Grandpa (John Smith)arrived in Fairburn.

By Perry Williams - 1992
When "May Janie" Williams Downen married Lewis, Byron Julias Williams (Perry Williams Grandfather) had a "fit" and was against the marriage.

This was told to Perry by his father about John Smith.

John Smith owned a saloon and dance hall in Kansas. He lived in a dug out how just over the hill north of the Fairburn town dump for two years after coming to the country with Gorsuch and Force.

There was a building across the railroad tract - a gambling hall and it was said John was not above cheating.

He had a lot of deer skins and took them to the Indians to be tanned and had a complete suit made, even the moccasins, by the Indians. He wore it to a dance here and some Indians were camped by French Creek, and he got drunk, smoked a big cigar and danced with all the Indian women.

Story by Clyde Smith - September 1993

Saxe Gantz,Sr. bought the first radio in Fairburn. Of course it was a battery radio. He took it to the Odd Fellows Hall so everyone in town could listen to it. Sr. did all kinds of work that people needed done.

Mike Manning was a teacher in the old school on the road going to Custer. He was a real pool shark. He'd spot Fuhrman Smith 12 to 15 shots and still beat him. Fuhrman was about 12 years old then They played in Hod Young's pool hall.

Fuhrman remembers Hod Young always set on a wooden bench in front of his pool hall and would greet everyone with "It's a nice day for the race". They'd always say - "what race?" He would answer - "the human race."

He had a barn back of his hall where people left their horses when they took the train anywhere.

Story by Fuhrman Smith - August 1992
One day Fuhrman (age 7 or 8 years old) was with his parents in a wagon and team, and they were on their way to Custer. They met John Barnes at the top of the Divide headed east on an old bicycle!

John Barnes lived up what is called "Barnes Canyon" in Custer State Park now. Perry can remember him using a wheelbarrel to come to Fairburn, buy his groceries, then wheel them all the way home.

He would send his wife and kids out in the Hills to scare the deer past him. This way he could shoot one without too much effort.

Martha's notes: Jim Barnes (John?) was Uncle to the Hawthornes. He was a deputy sheriff.

Memory of Perry Williams - August 1992
A man, whose name he can not remember, worked for the Westovers in their copper mine that was on French Creek. The air in the mine was bad. This man was killed when the floor caved in and a huge cave was discovered beneath and extending on below the copper mine. The air rushed into the mine from this cave and gave them good air to work in. They never explored the whole cave as there was another huge room that their lights wouldn't work well in --so how big was it?--where did it go to?

Perry was about 9 or 10 years old then (would be about 1916),and he stayed up there many times.

Samuel B.Williams,Sr. (Born 1822)- Story by Perry Williams - August 1992
He went overland to California when the Gold Rush was on. He found lots of gold and brought it back around the Horn on a sailing ship. When he got home he bought a farm in Minnesota and got a hired man, and a girl to be a maid and "lived high".

By Elizabeth Snidow, 1992:

"Chap" James Snidow was my father. He was born and raised in Missouri. He started to the "Turtle Mountains" and came up through Buffalo Gap and stayed there. He lived with Acy Clark for 13 years and sold butter in Hot Springs. He went back to Missouri and married in July to Elizabeth Maston Amiss. (The Snidows came from Germany to Virginia and received land grants originally.)

My mother Elizabeth died two weeks after giving birth to me and I was raised by Tillie and Oscar Amiss who lived out south of Fairburn on what is now called my (Elizabeth Snidow's) place. I called Tillie "Mother" and Oscar "O.C." They were my Aunt and Uncle.

My father Chap never remarried, but batched and taught school after taking the Teachers Exam. During the Indian Scare he sent the kids to safety and drove a team for the Army. Henry Judson and he put coals from a stove in the wagon to keep warm one day, and they burnt the hay and rack up. I remember a big black horse named "John" that Dad had who did a lot of work on the Amiss place also. My father Chap helped bury the dead at Wounded Knee.

My first cousins were Elva Snidow Parsons, Pearl Snidow and Lloyd. Their father was John Snidow.

As for myself, I graduated from the 8th grade at age 15 with 3 others. I went to Spearfish Normal for grades 9 through 12 and graduated, going on to receive a Bachelors Degree from Black Hills State, and a Masters from the University of Wyoming in Laramie and a Specialist Degree (next to a Doctorate). I taught school and was also a librarian at Spearfish.

When Midge was a child her mother would take her visiting. The highlight was always to the Verley home where Midge could see a doll Mrs.Verley had (she was never allowed to touch it). The doll was under a large glass dome and Mrs.Verley said it was hers when she was a child. It had a gold bracelet on its arm which was Mrs.Verley's wedding ring.

Edwin had a livery stable in Kiester before coming to Bower, South Dakota to homestead. Their first born baby boy was born and died soon after birth. Two daughters, Marie Alice and Ella Mae were born in Minnesota before they came to South Dakota in 1910.

Three of Edwin's brothers, Oscar, Allen and wife Faith, and Roscoe Parks also homesteaded at Bower and a sister Clara Parks. All except Edwin returned to Minnesota.

Several of Edwin's neighbors from Kiester, Minnesota also came to homestead in the Bower community, namely Mr. and Mrs. "Eva" Myron Godding, her sister Grace Ketzebach from Wells, Minnesota, who later became Mrs.Harvey Bell;Jay Godding, the John Raffensberger family,(can't rememver their given names),Mr. and Mrs.Russell Baker. "Myrtle" was a Raffensberger girl--they also had a family.

In October of 1911, a daughter Evelyn Belle Parks was born, making her the first white girl born on Bower Table as it was called. Some months later on September 11, 1912 a baby son named Meredith James Parks was born; next a daughter Hope Parks was born January 26, 1915; two years and three months later a baby daughter Joye Florene was born April 20,1917.

Two years later their seventh child Estella Rose Parks was born April 5,1919, also at their home. A second son, Charles Robert Parks was born March 21, 1921.

Their seventh daughter, Hazel Agatha Parks was born December 26,1923. A third son Vernon Edwin Parks was born February 27,1925.

On February 27,1926 another baby daughter, their eighth daughter was born,also at the ranch making a family of eleven children. Her name was Ethel Lorraine.

Tragedy struck this family on April 20,1928 when Ella Mae Elliott Parks died with flu and pneumonia leaving a huge family of children and her husband, their father to rear and provide as best as he could, with the help of older family members. It was a very trying and sad life for the family and lonely.

Edwin Parks kept his family together -- all accepted lots of responsibilities at a very young age. His never-wavering strength and guidance kept his children strong and able to face many hardships, never doubting their ability to face whatever the tasks.

Life was not easy on that farm, money was scarce and we learned to do without many things, wearing "hand-me-downs",sometimes whether they fit or not.

But we did enjoy singing, going to dances and having friends visit us. Our mother had a pretty singing voice and also was known for her ability to whistle - she shared her talents with others and even though she had this big family, when called upon to help care for an Indian bab, was known to help care for a sick child. The Indian community respected her as an angel of mercy. When she died, they came to our home to cry and express their sense of loss with us.

-----------------------------------------------
On November 18,1935 pneumonia claimed the life of Hazel Agatha at the age of 12.

Again tragedy fell upon this family taking the lives of Robert,Vernon and Ethel. Robert was 15, Vernon was 11 and Ethel 9. They drowned together in a stock dam on the ranch on June 13,1936.

Edwin moved to Portland, Oregon in the spring of 1941, where Meredith and his family lived. Also Hope and her husband George Goettsch and two daughters moved to Partland in 1941.

Edwin Parks died April 3, 1968 in a nursing home in Portland at the age of 90 years. He was buried April 9,1968 in the Fairburn Cemetery next to the graves of his wife Ella Mae and two sons and two daughters.

Meredith Parks died April 25,1972 in Prineville, Oregon with a massive heart attack. He was buried in the National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon.

Family History by Estella Jacobsen Fox, August 1994