Her Book

Woolman History

The three oldest children of John and Harriet Woolman were born in the Leicestershire area of England. The oldest being, Joseph Rowe, a son born to Harriet before her marriage to John. As the three boys completed their schooling, they started working in the Weaving Industry of Leicester. They also learned the trade of a Cordwainer or as we know them "cobbler."

Their father had a shoe shop in Leicester and this is where they gained their knowledge of the trade. Joseph married Mary Whatton in 1851, and William married Jemima Tibbles in 1855. Alfred married Emma Smith in 1860. Alfred and his wife shared an apartment with Joseph and Mary for a short period of time after their marriage. It was after their marriages that each of them opened their own shoe business. Each employed their wives and children to help in the business.

The brothers learned of the availability of cheap land in America and the ease with which they could emigrate. Much of the cost would be subsidized or paid by the Railroad Companies in America, who owned a lot of this new land. The Railroad Companies had set up package arrangements that included transportation from wherever they lived to the shipping port, their room and board while they waited to board the ship, the cost of the ship passage, and of course a ride on the train owned by the Railroad Company to Nebraska. Their youngest brother, Isaac, and the three younger sisters, Emma, Harriet, and Maude, were not interested in going to America.

They, like their father, did not own land or a home in England. The possibility of this ever happening was extremely remote. Commoners in England could not afford to own land. Even if they had the money it was highly unlikely that the owner would sell it to a commoner. The ease with which land could be obtained in America weighed heavily on the decision to emigrate. Since neither owned much except personal items and a few household items like bedding, etc. it was fairly easy to just pick up and leave England.

Family ties would be the hardest to leave behind. Emigration was not a spur of the moment event, it took planning. First of all they would need to save every pence they could. The husbands and wives both worked along with all of their children who were old enough. The money they earned together was barely enough to live on from day to day. Putting away a little money would be difficult.

Plans were made for the move to America. The three husbands would go first so they could find land and prepare a place to live. The wives and children would follow later. The men took William's adopted daughter, Truelove Tibbles, who was eleven years of age with them. She would prepare the meals for the men and help where she could.

This first group left in late September or early October of 1871 for America. Their wives and children would travel together a month or so later. This second group would include Mary, wife of Joseph, who was pregnant and would have her first child in America in December. It also included twelve children ranging in age from 19 to less than a year in age.

The men did not know exactly where they would find land at the time they left England. They did know that it would be in the State of Nebraska. At least this was the area that was being advertised by the Railroad Companies. Consequently, the families agreed that they would be re-united in the town of Lincoln, Nebraska.

This pre-planning was required because there was no way the men could contact their wives and tell them where to meet. Telephones and radio communication was not invented yet and a letter would take close to two months. So when they left, there was no contact until they would meet again in Lincoln. With ocean crossing at that time, the arrival could be plus or minus a week from the schedule date. The women certainly had to have trust and faith to undertake this adventure without their husbands.

Once the men and Truelove arrived at the "Port of Entry" (as of this writing we still don't know which port they came through) they would take the train to Lincoln. It was there they would learn of the areas that had land available to homestead. Several English people had previously settled in the area of Adams County near where the town of Hastings, Nebraska is now located.

Hastings was established in 1872 and was incorporated as a town in 1874. Having other English people in the vicinity could have influenced them in choosing Clay County for their homestead. Clay County is the next county east of Adams County.

To find the specific parcel of land they would select, they took the train from Lincoln to a Railroad town called "Inland." The original town of Inland was located three and one half miles west and a half mile south of where it is currently located. It was about where Nebraska State Highway 6 is currently located, and was just inside the east boundary of Adams County. The town was moved to its current location in 1878. The Post Office was moved on January 13, 1879.

It is from the old town of Inland that the men set out to locate land that was available and to select the parcel they would homestead. They chose 80 acres each, located in the southwest quarter of Section 28 of Township 8N and Range 8W. They would later be instrumental in naming this township "Leicester" after the city from which they left.

The land was just that, land with tall prairie grass. There were two small streams of water running through that section. William's land had the South Fork of the Big Blue River running through the south part of his land. The stream could not be used for irrigation of crops since it had eroded the soil and was flowing several feet below the surface. It did mean that a well for drinking water would not require a lot of digging.

The sloping banks of the stream also provided the ideal location for the construction of the first sod dugout they would build. It would be below the surface of the ground and thus be out of the wind. It is estimated that the men started construction of this sod dugout about the first week of November 1871, in the middle of a Nebraska winter.

The house would be built with only hand labor and would be about twelve by sixteen feet inside, have no windows and only a single door. The squares of sod would be cut and dug by hand and then placed, like building blocks, one on top of the other to form walls. There were trees and brush along the stream and this would become a source of materials for the roof. Heavy timbers would first be placed and then smaller limbs and brush would be placed on top to form a mat. Sod would then be placed on top to provide a weather proof cover.

While they were building this first house, they traveled back and forth each day to the town of Inland. It is believed that they stayed in the Dormitory of the Railroad Eating House (part of the free benefits from the Railroad). Once the first house was closed in, they "moved in" saving that daily walk to and from town. This is where Truelove became the housekeeper and prepared meals for the men. Imagine - a hot meal for lunch on a cold winter day. This also allowed them to work a couple of hours longer each day.

Meanwhile, the wives had left Leicester and were at the Port of Departure ready to board. Since they were not wealthy people, they would travel Third Class or "Steerage." Each person took only what they could carry, so each child and adult would have a tote. Steerage was simply a place on the floor below deck. They had no privacy and slept in the clothes they wore.

The older children had the job of taking care of the little ones. Remember, that Joseph's wife was with child and late in term. To make things even more difficult, Jemima's oldest boy came down with the measles. This caused the family to be placed in isolation and quarantined. The could not have any contact with the other children or parents aboard.

Jemima's son, John Alfred Woolman, died from the measles and was buried at sea. Now we have a mother and siblings grieving over the death of John and his burial at sea, plus they were still in quarantine. When the ship arrived in port, Jemima and her children were placed in isolation and could not be processed through with the others.

It was agreed by the wives that Mary and Emma with their children should go on to Lincoln since the men would be waiting there. They could inform William about the quarantine and that he must go to the shipping port to get them. William had a hard time finding his wife and children when he arrived. Once they were released, they would board the train and continue on to Inland, where they would all meet up again.

Now, these families didn't have much in England, but they each had an apartment that provided shelter from the elements. They did not have inside plumbing, water was available at a communal spring fed fountain outside. The toilet was outside and it was also a shared or communal item. There were stores from which they could obtain items to wear and food to prepare for each meal. These were conveniently located within a few blocks of home. The town of Leicester had sidewalks and a horse drawn Trolley System.

Inland had none of these. When the wives arrived at the homestead they found not a house but instead a pile of dirt called a house. It had no windows, dirt for a floor, dirt for the walls, and dirt for the roof. The closest store was in Inland, a six mile walk round trip. Inland was a Railroad Town and had a general store which had a limited selection and quantity of: groceries, winter clothes, cloth, hardware, etc.

The first thoughts of the wives, once they slowed down, must have been "what in hell am I doing in this god-forsaken, wind-blown, frozen country?" I would not have been surprised if they had turned around and gone back to England. But they did stay, and they did survive and they stuck with their commitment to become land owners.

Mary Rowe had her first child in her new house in America, a baby boy named Thomas, on December 18, 1871. Emma's boy, Arthur, passed away the following year in March 1872. Truelove Tibbles drowned in April 1974.

So life goes on, and it certainly was not easy for our ancestors. They did learn to farm and were successful. They made money and most of all they helped establish the first school in their township of Clay County with Alfred as the first teacher. They were instrumental in getting the township named after the town of Leicester in England, and they were involved in establishing several churches in the county.

These men were educated and so could read and write, thus they were called upon to prepare papers and to read documents received by other farmers of the area. William being a preacher was in demand by people from all around the country to preach and pass on the word of God. Alfred and Joseph were called on to repair and make shoes and boots for the people of the area. In return, the people shared their knowledge of farming, the use of their team of horses and other expertise.