This Page is about the town of Neuchatel, Nemaha county, Kansas, from about 1850 to the early 1900's when it was originally written. It contains the genealogy and family history of those who settled here. This page contains most of the BONJOUR information contained in the book. It is extracted from Old Settlers' Tales


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OLD SETTLERS' TALES.
HISTORICAL & BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
OF THE

EARLY SETTLEMENT AND SETTLERS OF NORTHEASTERN
POTTAWATOMIE AND SOUTHWESTERN
NEMAHA COUNTIES, KANSAS,

From Earliest Settlement To The Year 1877.

BY F. F. CREVECOEUR,


Neuchatel (part 2)

The following is concerning Neuchatel township, in Nemaha county:

Ami (Bach) Bonjour came to the United States to Indiana, from Switzerland in 1852. In 1855 he came with others to near Leavenworth, where he stayed two years. In the spring of 1857, he with his brother, Charles, came here, arriving on the 18th day of May. The government surveyors were just through surveying this territory and were at work in Pleasant Valley when the boys arrived here. He and his brother had first intended to settle at the mouth of Coal Creek, in Grant Township, and erected markers to denote their claims. They thought they would look a little further to see if they could find anything that could suit them better, and finally decided to locate on French Creek. Ami located the farm now belonging to Mrs. Jere Miller, and his brother selected land now belonging to James Summerville, but he made his home with his brother. In August, 1860, we drove through to Colorado, where there he seemed to have success in the mines. After having lived there for three years word was received from there from a friend of Mr. Bonjour's, stating that he had died, and it was the last ever heard of him or his friend.

The two brothers, Ami and Charles Bonjour, were the first French speaking persons to come to Neuchatel, and it was through their influence that others were induced to come to the community.

The next to come were: Frederic H. Bonjour, a brother to the two mentioned above; Gustave Bonjour and L. August Zurcher, who came in July, 1857.

Fred Bonjour had come from Switzerland in the early 50's, to Buffalo, N.Y., where he married Julia Simon, a sister to Louis C. Simon. He then went to New Orleans, from there Indiana, and then came to near Leavenworth, where he took a claim in common with his brothers and others. He sold this and moved to what was then Grasshopper Falls, the present Valley Falls, where he also got a claim, which he sold and then came here. He had three children then, Adele, Julia, and Fred H. He bought the Mrs. Theys place of Mr. Stickle, and made that his home until 1868, when he moved to where William Westlake is now living. Mr. Bonjour had a farm in Indiana, which he traded for a farm in Iowa, and this was in turn traded for a farm on Coal Creek, which he sold to Pat Kline. In 1858 he had a cow among his other belongings, and had $500 due him in Indiana. He knew that he had no show of collecting this, unless he called for it in person. So he sold his cow, that his family should have something to live on while he should be gone, and went back to Indiana, walking all the way. In 1860, the year of the drouth (sic), he had in about 12 acres of corn on the bottom land, and the whole crop was gathered and held in a 30 gallon camp kettle. About this time, or soon after, he had a bunch of hogs, which he butchered and dressed and loaded them in a wagon, which made a load for two yoke of oxen, and hauled them to Leavenworth, where two cents per pound was realized. The first house he built, a log one, of course, had not a bit of iron about it. The shingles or clapboards were fastened down with wooden pegs, and the hinges were made of wood. It had only one window. The wagon he used when he done his trading, all of which was done for several tears at Leavenworth and Atchison, was a linch-pin one; and they did not have thimble skeins then and it was remarkable for the noise it made. As he lived on the west side of the creek, this had to be crossed on his trips to the market, and, when on his way home, the children heard the wagon squawking when still a mile away, they would hurry to meet him. When he went to Leavenworth he would collect what boot tops he could find, as he was a shoemaker, and would make shoes with wooden soles, the uppers being from old boot tops; and his children fared better than their neighbors in the matter of footgear.

In those early days, we are told, the prairies were covered with a scant, sparse growth of grass, and it grew in remote clumps, from between which the wind blew away the soil, leaving the grass clumps much higher than the rest of soil; and it was a past time for children, when getting home the cows, to walk only on these clumps of grass, when these were not far apart so their short legs could reach them, just like walking on bogs in a swamp. Mr. Bonjour had the following children born to him after he came to Neuchatel: Charles A., the first white child born in Neuchatel township, born Sept. 20, 1857; Ulysses, Paul, Anna (Mrs. William Burdette), Heloise, (Mrs. Lem Burdette), Edgar, Lucy, and Zalina (Mrs. Charles Westlake). Of these and the three who were brought here, Adele married August Sandoz, and is now in California; Julia is at Los Angeles, California, Charles A. died in Wabaunsee county a couple of years ago. (It is remarkable that the three young men who were the first children born in their respective neighborhoods, viz., Henry Randall, of America City, Cory, of Pleasant Valley, and Charles A. Bonjour, of Neuchatel, should all be dead, and all died within a short time of each other).

Ulysses died in 1875. Paul is in Montana. Edgar died when two or three months old; and Lucy married Will Robson, of Westmoreland, and died in California, several years ago. It was said of Mr. Bonjour that he had eighty acres of land for each of his children, making eleven eighties in all. Mr. Bonjour died about 1880.

Gustave Bonjour and his wife, Eugenie, who was a sister to Fred and Ami Bonjour, came here with his brother-in-law, Fred Bonjour, in 1857. He located the place now Mat Gurtler's, where he lived several years. In the winter of 1868 or 1869, Mrs. Bonjour moved from her home, with her children, to a cave that stood on her brother's farm, west of the Vautraver school house. It appears the roof was covered with grass, and a high wind was blowing one day and the roof caught fire, causing her to vacate, so she moved to Neuchatel. It seems that Mr. Bonjour was off somewhere at work while this was occurring. He then settled and made his home on the farm where his son A. G., is living. Mr. Bonjour passed away several years ago.

Aime Bonjour had come to Missouri, about the fall of 1856, where he married Miss Sophie Bonjour, another sister of Ami and Fred Bonjour. The fall of 1857, he came to this locality, and bought his farm, now his son, Richard's, of Mr. Stickel. He had three sons born to him, Charles, who went away in 1875, to San Francisco, and is now in Washington, J. Aime, and Roland J. In the fall of 1866. Mr. Bonjour built the first frame house in the township. Lumber was hauled from Leavenworth and Atchison, the flooring, which was purchased at the latter city, costing $90 per thousand. Mr. Bonjour died quite a number of years ago, and his wife died in 1895.

A Mr. Savoyard came out here with Aime Bonjour. He was a carpenter, and located on the farm and went to Topeka, where he met Mr. Frezieres, telling him of the French settlement at this place.

In the spring of 1858, our pioneers, Ami, Fred, and Gustave Bonjour, hitched up and went to Leavenworth after more recruits for the colony. These were Alfred and Charles Bonjour, Louis and Ami Zurcher, Louis and Charles Simon, and August Mouton, who had come from Indiana to Leavenworth by boat.

Alfred Bonjour, a brother to Gustave, came here with his wife, Melanie , who was a sister to Mrs. Fred Bonjour. He settled on the farm now occupied by his son, Emile, living down near the creek, west of Emile's. In the 60's he moved to where his son, Ephriam, is making his home. He was commissioned a notary public at an early date, which commission he is still holding. He was elected to the office of trustee for quite a number of years. He was also elected to justice of the peace in the early 60's. About 1869, he bought out Mr. Schneider and moved to the house vacated by him. In 1872 he built the stone house where Ephriam, his son, is living. He had thirteen children born to him, including one set of triplets. With the exception of his sons, Alfred A., Emile, Alcide, and Ephriam, his children all died in infancy. His wife died on December 4, 1890.

Charles Bonjour, a brother to Gustave and Alfred, came here in the spring of 1858, as has already been noted. He took the quarter of land on which Neuchatel is built. The first year he was here, while living with his brother, Alfred, he was induced to start a grocery store, and invested 100 dollars in the business, which was kept where he was living, west of Emile Bonjour's. The groceries were purchased in Leavenworth. Not finding the business as lucrative as he wished at the end of a year or two, he moved to Leavenworth, where he engaged as a cook in a restaurant, which occupation he followed for a couple of years. He then returned to this locality and married Louise Zurcher, in 1864. He lived in the place that Rev. Morel did when he died, near B. Perrussel's. and then, selling that to Aime Bonjour, he moved to the small house lately occupied by August Scheve. About 1877, he bought an organ, the second one in the territory covered by this paper, and the first brought to Neuchatel. He paid $150 for it. His house then became the meeting place, of Sunday evenings, for the young people in the locality, who would spend many happy hours in singing hymns to the accompaniment of the organ.

Mr. Bonjour's children are: Matilda (Mrs. Leon Besancon, of Corning), Eugene, who lived but a year, Charles, who was accidentally shot, on Christmas, two years ago, Pauline (Mrs. Julius Perrussel), and Silas, who died at the age of two months, in 1873.

Luis Constant Simon, popularly known, by his English speaking neighbors, as "One-eyed Simon", came to the United States, from Switzerland, the same time that Fred Bonjour did. He was married, in Indiana, and came here, with his wife, Louise, and mother, Mrs. Melanie Simon, in the spring of 1858. He settled on the place now owned by Paul Junod. His house was built in a location that was the exception to the general rule, it being built on the west side of the creek coming past Zelim Bonjour's house. His mother died here, in 1865, and he then moved to the L. Cosandier place, building the stone house in which Mr. Cosandier is living, about 1867. His children are: Lydia (Mrs. Marion Millard), Rachael, Mary, Elizabeth, and Sarah, all of Colorado. His wife died in Colorado, several years ago.

Charles Simon, a cousin to the above, came here in 1858, as has been mentioned, coming direct from Switzerland. His wife, Louise, and son, Louis, joined him the next year. He settled the farm now owned by B. Perrussel, and built the log house that is still standing in the field west of here Mr. Perrussel is now living. His wife died here, about 1863, and he then married Mrs. Mary Martin, of Turkey Creek, near Seneca, about a year thereafter. His wife came here with two children, J. C. Martin , and a girl, Minerva (Mrs. Swisher), who is living in the southern part of the state with her mother. Mr. Simon had three children by his first wife, after he came here, Emma, Annie, and Millie. Emma and Annie died when 10 or 12 years of age, his son, Louis, died about 1877, and Millie married John Morris. He had two boys by his second wife, Alcide and Frank, of near Seneca. Mr. Simon died about 1870, and his widow married Baptist Gilson, in 1875. She sold the farm to Ernest Descombes and Henry Morel, in 1870. Mr. Simon was the first Swiss to get a team of horses, he trading for them.

Henry Mouton and his wife, Catharine, and his son, August, and his son's wife, Sophie, a sister to Gustave, Alfred, and Charles Bonjour, came the spring of 1858. They settled on the farm belonging to John Chavanne, where they lived until 1869, when August bought Steve Lot's farm, the one where C. B. Bonjour is living. Here Grandma Catharine Mouton died June 24, 1876, and Grandpa Henry Mouton passed away in February, 1880. August Mouton had the following all born here: Eliza, who married Zelim Bonjour, in 1876, Ellen, Zelim Bonjour's present wife, Josephine (Mrs. C. B. Bonjour), Julius, Anna (Mrs. Julius Davin), and Lena (Mrs. Andrew Ladner). August Mouton died March 14, his daughter, Eliza, the 22nd, her infant the next day, and Sophia, August's wife, the 26th of the month, 1877, all with Typhoid fever.

L. August Zurcher came here, as has already been noted, in July, 1857. He located the James Summerville place, and soon after, in company with Ami, Charles, and Gustave Bonjour, went to Leavenworth, where they cut hay on Stranger Creek, for the government. They did not possess mowing machines, so they used what is often termed the "Armstrong" machine - they each used a common scythe. As the grass was tall on the creek bottom, they made quite a success of their work.

After having lived here for three years, Mr. Zurcher went back to Leavenworth to live, then went to St. Louis, and then went to Illinois. When war broke out he enlisted in Co. G, 4th Missouri Cavalry, for three months. When he had served his time out he re-enlisted in Co. E. 12th Mo. Vol. Infantry, and served until the end of the war, when he found himself in Indiana. Here he married Mrs. Mary Dodds and came back to Neuchatel with his wife and her two sons, Milton and Newton, in the spring of 1867. The farm he located, before he went away, had been sold to others, as, on account of being in the army, he was not present when the government offered the land for sale. He then homesteaded the place south of Dave Labbe's, where he lived two years in a dug-out, when his means permitted him to build a log cabin on his place. Reuben Kelly once had occasion to pass Mr. Zurcher's place while the latter was living in the dug-out, and was surprised to see Mr. Zurcher apparently come out of the earth, as he issued from the abode. Mr. Zurcher tells us that when he went to Leavenworth, to cut hay, he saw the first mowing machine he had seen in the state. Of course the advent of mowers took the work away from those who used scythes. He also says the first houses built on French Creek had no glass in their windows, but were fitted with trap doors to shut out the cold and opened when the weather was fair to admit the light. For lamps they used a dish into which they put grease and used a rag for a wick. They also relied on fires in their backlog fireplaces to furnish light in the evening. As they seldom had matches they were careful not to let their fires go out, but when this did happen they would go to some neighbor's for fire to relight (sic) their own. When this failed they would load their guns with a heavy charge of powder, and, putting an armful of hay in the fireplace, they would fire into it, igniting the hay.

Louis and Ami Zurcher came here with their mother and sister, Louise (Mrs. Charles Bonjour), in 1858, and lived on their brother's place, on which the latter had put up a cabin. They had come direct from Switzerland. Louis married Mrs. Maria Smith, who had come from Wisconsin, November 26, 1865, Squire Alfred Bonjour performing the ceremony. He bought out John Cooper -the John Labbe place- and made that his home until 1871, when he sold out to S. T. Sampson, he intending to go to Wisconsin. He first moved to the Alfred Bonjour farm, west of Emile's, where he stayed a year, and then bought a farm on Coal Creek, where he lived a number of years. His children, the four oldest of whom were born at Neuchatel, are: Helen(Mrs. Cosandier), Edward, William, Laura, Nathalie, and Lena, all of Evansville, Ill., where Mr. Zurcher and his wife are also living. While he was living on the John Labbe farm, in 1867, there arose a heavy rainstorm, already mentioned in these notes on Rocky Scrabble. Desire Wery was living on the John Chavanne place at the time. Mr. Zurcher and his wife were on their knees commending their souls and those of their children to God, as they hardly expected to see another morning. While thus engaged they heard a fearful, pleading cry, "Louis! Louis!" and wondering what poor soul could be out in so frightful a time, the door was hastily opened, and there stood the Wery family, who were seeking refuge in Mr. Zurcher's house, thinking their own would be blown away and they would be killed.

Ami Zurcher settled on the Alcide Hammerly place. He married Gabrielle Leroux, in 1868. He had the following children: Henry, Ulysses, Lucie, and Emma. When Mr. Leroux went to California, Mr. Zurcher went there also, and is now at Cloverdale, Sonoma county, California. Louis and Ami Zurcher's mother died in 1870.

Frederick Vautravers came here from the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, with his wife, Sophia, and children, Louisa (Mrs. Theys), Louis of Centralia. and Emma, who was married to Simon Armstrong, of Centralia, in 1876. They arrived at Delaware City, Leavenworth county, November 6, 1856, having been just two months on the way. The 6th of July, 1857, he came to Neuchatel, and pre-empted (sic) 160 acres of land where he is living. He built a house northeast of his present home, down near the timber, where he lived a number of years. Here his other children were born. They are: Charles, who died when nine months old, Fred, Bertha (Mrs. Dave Labbe), and Sarah (Mrs. Alva Gray). When Aime Bonjour moved out here, he brought Mr. Vautravers' family along, while Mr. Vautravers stayed behind, coming later, making his way by walking and catching an occasional ride. Ami, Charles, and Gustave Bonjour built a house for him, but, by mistake, they built it on Ami Bonjour's land, joining him on the north. The next year he built the house mentioned before. Fred Bonjour located his farm first, but as he got to buy out Mr. Stickel (the Roland Bonjour farm), he let Mr. Vautravers take the one he had first selected. The day for the sale of Mr. Vautravers' farm had been set by the government for the 6th day of August, and as he did not have the necessary funds to pay for it, Mr. Vautravers was at a loss as to how to acquire it. Fred Bonjour offered to advance the money for him if he would agree to sell him the 120 acres of it, and would still have 40 acres left for his trouble. Mr. Vautravers did not wish to do this, as he wanted the whole quarter for himself. So he consulted a man at Seneca, who offered to loan him the money, charging him only 60 percent interest for the use of it. He got the loan for one year, but at the expiration of the year he had no more with which to pay than he had the year before to buy it with. The matter dragged along for seven years, so he didn't know who owned the land, himself or the man who advanced him the money. In the meantime he homesteaded 80 acres of land and bought 40 acres more-that became the Gilson farm. On the homestead he commenced the erection of a house, on the east side of the creek, intending to move onto the place so he could hold it. When the walls of the house were up, he thought it would be a good idea to burn the grass around it, for the fear of prairie fires. There were plenty of dry chips around the house and those that took fire, and while he was on the other side, the chips on the other side blazed up again, communicating the flames to the walls, and the structure was soon burned down. The Gilson brothers coming soon after this , he sold his homestead claim to them for three hundred dollars, sold a yoke of oxen for ninety-five dollars, and with the proceeds of these sales he succeeded in paying the taxes on his land and the loan with which he bought it. In 1871, Mr. Vautravers built a frame house on the location of his present one, the old one being built up into the new structure in which he is now living. He had native lumber sawed with which to build his frame house, but not being able to use it immediately, he piled it up, and by the time he got ready to use it had rotted so much as to render it useless, and he had to buy considerable imported lumber to finish with, paying fifty dollars per thousand for it. Mr. Vautravers is a tailor by trade and the winter of 1856 and 1857, while living in Leavenworth, he followed his profession, paying $3.75 per week for board, yet he cleared a dollar a day, making pants and vests, receiving fifty cents each for making a pair of pants or a vest. From February until July, 1857, he stayed near Holton, where he had got a piece of Indian land. He built a small house on it, and sold his right for $220. He was present while much of the Indian land was being sold, and paid for, and he never, before or since, saw so much money as he did then. The table in the room where the sale was going on was covered a foot deep with twenty dollar gold pieces and bills. On New Years day, 1857, while living at Leavenworth, Mr. Vautravers had occasion to visit his brother-in-law, Aime Bonjour, who lived nine miles away. There had been a light fall of snow, and the weather was quite cold. He started before breakfast. He wore a pair of light boots and upon arriving at his brother-in-law's he found he had one of his toes frozen and it had swollen as big as an egg, and his boot had to be cut open in order to be removed. The flesh all dropped off and his leg swelled to the knee. Local doctors said he should go to St. Louis to have the limb amputated, but he went to Dr. J. P. Koontz, who treated his frozen member and saved his leg. In February following, while staying at his brother-in-law's, the latter, who had considerable dealings and experience with the Indians, left Mr. Vautravers at home while he went to look after a piece of land to pre-empt (sic). Mr. Vautravers sat on the edge of the bed nursing his sore foot, when two Delaware Indians came in. They addressed him, but he didn't know a word of English and failed to understand them. They had been in the habit of getting eatables from Mr. Bonjour, for which they always liberally repaid him, and it was supposed that they are now on a mission of this kind. The Indians sat down by the fire-place, and getting tired, ,perhaps, waiting for what they wanted and seeing no show of getting it, they commenced punching him with sticks taken from the fire-place. As long as they did not hurt him too much he did not say anything, but they got bolder and bolder and harder, and finally one of them stuck a fire-brand against his forehead. Not being able to stand it any longer, Mr. Vautravers jumped off the bed and grabbing the Indian that applied the fire to his forehead, he threw him into the fire-place, while the other he hurled onto a pile of wood that stood out doors beside the door. The Indian that had been thrown into the fire rushed at him with an open pocket knife, intending to stab him with it, but the one outdoors had got a stick of fire wood and struck Mr. Vautravers blow across the forehead, cutting a gash two inches long and an inch wide and an inch deep. In the scuffle one of the Indians stepped on his sore toe, rendering him helpless with the pain, so he crawled up to the bed and leaned with his head against it. While reclining in that position, they struck him another blow on the back of his head. Thinking him dead, they left him and went away. His wife was so badly scared at the sight of the Indians she could offer him no help. For a week, Mr. Vautravers was left without any care, except what his family could give to him, but at the end of that time Dr. Koontz was called and the wound sewed up. A big scar still remains to remind the owner of this experience. Finally, when Aime Bonjour started to come out here, the sore had started to bleeding again, so Mr. Vautravers had to stay to have it dressed, and where skilled hands could treat it, so no evil results would follow, as there would have been little chance for this on the way, or after he came here. Mrs. Vautravers died December 18, 1890. Mr. Vautravers bears the distinction, of those before 1860, of those still living, who came to the territory covered by this paper before 1860, of being the only one who has always made his home on the place on which he first settled.

Rev. Eugene Laporte, a French missionary, was sent from Wisconsin, to Labor in the Lord's vineyard at Neuchatel, in 1862. He went back late in 1865 or early in 1866. It was through him that Henry Labbe, August Seigneur, the Gilson brothers, Casmir Steinnon, and Desire Wery were induced to come here. Mr. Laporte came back again a year or two later, and returned to Green Bay, Wisconsin, about 1869.

August Sandoz came here from Switzerland about 1868, coming here from Illinois, where he had stopped a couple of years. He married Adele, a daughter of Fred Bonjour about 1881 (corrected by author to 1871, fb). He owned the place where Charles Keuhl is living, in Mill Creek township, but lived on the Fred Bonjour farm, now Mrs. Theys. He went to California in 1875, where he is now living.

Henry Sandoz, a brother of the above, was a pedagogue in Switzerland, and came to Illinois, leaving his family there. He then came to this locality, about 1870 or the year following, and was joined by his family after he came to Neuchatel. This consisted of his wife and children, Aline, Henry, John, Jeanne, and perhaps Paul, though the last may have been born here. He bought the Charles Kuehl farm of his brother, where he lived until 1875, when he went to California, where his family joined him the following spring. He had one of the best libraries in this part of the country and it was a pleasure to the writer to look through his varied assortment of books and borrow the most instructive ones.

Mr. Jean Jaquet, who was a watch maker, came here from Switzerland, in 1869, with his wife, who was a German lady, and five children, two boys and three girls among whom were Lena and Theodore. He bought Louis Savageot's claim, the Mat Gurtler place, where he lived perhaps a year, and then went to Illinois.

August Simon, a brother to Charles, and a cousin to Louis C., came here from Illinois, with his wife, Sarah, a sister to Benjamin Benton, and children, Margaret, who married Norris Herrick, in 1872, Edward, Frank, Rebecca (Mrs. Tom Peattie), Fred, and Louis, in February, 1869. He lived on the Alfred Bonjour farm a few years, where Emile lives, then he homesteaded the north half of the Otto E. Teske farm, in Mill Creek township. He built a house on the west side of the slough on his claim, where he lived a couple of years. His son, Louis, died there. He then moved over to the east side of the slough, building almost opposite Henry Cross'. Frank went to Illinois with his uncle, Mr. Benton, in 1874. Mr. Simon sold out to L. J. Glover in 1875, and moved back to Illinois. His sons Ed and Frank, came back to this locality, in 1877, stayed a year, and then went back to Illinois and stayed that winter, and the next spring they came back to Kansas, with their parents and their brother, Fred. Margaret and her husband lived on the Teske place, where her two children, Frank and Sarah, were born. Margaret died at Neuchatel, in 1881, and her daughter died there the same year. Mr. Simon died in 1881, while living on the A. Linderman farm, near August Kolterman's. Edward died in the southwest part of the state, five or six years ago. Mrs. Simon died, southwest of Onaga, last spring. Mr. Simon was a broom maker, and made the article at odd moments while he was living on the Teske place. Adolph Henry and his sister, Albertine, came here from Switzerland, about 1869. He was a brother to Mrs. Louis C. Simon, and a tinner by trade. He put up a shop at Neuchatel, where he followed his trade. In 1872, he married Mrs. Louise Miguery, a native of France, who had just come here from Nebraska, with her two youngest sons, Emile and Willie. After he was married he went to Nebraska, after his wife's two oldest children, Henry and Louise (Mrs. Xavier Dulac). To him were born here three children, Ida (Mrs. Edward Paulin, of Missouri), Adolph, and Marcellus. He went, with his family, to Nebraska in the spring of 1876, where he died in 1884. His widow in now Mrs. Alfred Bonjour.

Henry Ballou, his wife, two sons, and a daughter came from Switzerland to Pennsylvania, and the came to Neuchatel about the year 1868. He bought a piece of school land, west of where Fritz Barbier is living. His father came with him and died at the end of a year or so. He lived here but a few years, and went back to Pennsylvania. He sold his farm to a brother of George Syler.

Charles Gauchet came here, from Switzerland, in 1869. He stayed here until about 1877, when he went to Nebraska, where he died.

Ernest Descombres came to the United States, from Switzerland, in 1867, and came to Neuchatel in 1870. He lived on the Charles Simon place, which he bought of Mr. Simon's widow. He married Miss Henry, a niece of Adolph Henry, the tinner. He went to Colorado in 1874 or 1875.

Henry Mentha and wife, Francoise, came here, from Switzerland, with their oldest children, Jane (Mrs. Rush Burdett) and Rose (Mrs. Jade Keeney), about 1870. Mr. Mentha bought the claim (the Mat Gurtler farm) of Mr. Jeanjaquet. He lived on the place, where his two next oldest children, Henry and Emile, were born, several years, when he went to Coal creek.

Caesar Surdez came here, from Illinois, in the fall of 1871, and bought some railroad land, where his widow is now living. He married Clarissa Clerget, in 1874. His oldest child, Joseph, was born in 1876. He built a frame house on his farm.

Zelim Bonjour came to Neuchatel, in 1873. He married Eliza Mouton, in 1876. He in company with Alfred and Aime Bonjour, and Charles Gouchat went on a visit to their old home in Switzerland in the fall of the same year. The party returned the next spring, getting back about the first of April, or a couple of weeks after Zelim's wife and child had died.

Paul Junod and his wife, Bertha, came direct from Switzerland, in 1877. He had three children when he came, Henry, Maurice, and Paul. He lived a year where C. B. Bonjour lives, then bought the place where Zelim Bonjour is making his home.

Alexander Junod, who is a relative of the above only by marriage, came to Neuchatel, from Switzerland, with his wife, Julie, and children, Lina (Mrs. A. A. Bonjour), Bertha (Mrs. Edward Henry, of Denver, Colo.), and Eugenie, who died in 1888. In April, 1877, he and his family formed a party on the same ship with Alfred, Aime, and Zelim Bonjour, and Paul Junod, who were returning from their visit to their native land. Fritz Barbier also came over at the same time. Mr. Junod lived with Aime Bonjour two years after coming here.

The Swiss people are noted for their religious fervor, and the colony had not been here long until a stir was made to organize a church in their new home. Their first religious services were held in 1862, in Alfred Bonjour's house, the missionary, Rev. Laporte, conducting the services. After the old school house was built, near Tom Kelly's the services were held in it. When Rev. Henry Morel came here, in 1870, he started a movement to have a church building erected, which was accordingly done the first year after his arrival. Rev. Morel became pastor of the church (Presbyterian), a position he held until 1888. They had a Christmas tree in the church, in 1874, the first that had been gotten up for the benefit of many children, who had never gazed on such a scene before, for many miles around. In the matter of education, the Swiss nation is not behind any of Europe, and the settlers were not here long, until they began to agitate the question of a school for their children, who were beginning to grow up. A meeting to see about the erection of a school house, was called for the 21st of March, 1863. The matter of funds troubled the pioneers more, perhaps, than anything else. There had not been money enough raised by taxes to build a schoolhouse and to have a school taught, so a subscription list was passed around, to which $41 was subscribed, and as their being able to carry on a school, they held another meeting on the 14th of May following, when district number 14 was organized, with Fred Bonjour, director, Alfred Bonjour, clerk, and Aime Bonjour, treasurer. James Cooper was hired to teach a three months' term of school, commencing the end of June, the same year. He received the munificent sum of $9 per month, or $27 for the term, for his services. The school was held in Louis C. Simon's house, southwest of where Zelim Bonjour lives, there being a spring near, which furnished water for the use of the school. Mr. Simon's mother, who was the head of the family, received a dollar as rent for her room. The same fall the old log school house, which stood on the hill a little north and across the road from where Tom Kelly lives, was built. Most of the work was done by donation, some hauling the logs, others helping in the erection of the building. Among the teachers who taught in this school house were: Mrs. Hal, now Mrs. Brat, of near Centralia; Mrs. John Irwin, Peter Leroux, Clara Utzy, Miss Ensign, and Flora Preston, afterwards Mrs. Rev. Hogbrin, of the Sabetha Congregational church. In 1871 the district was changed by cutting off district No. 46, and the school site of the Neuchatel district was changed to its present one, and the present stone structure was built. The district then became joint district No. 5, of Nemaha and Pottawatomie counties.

When district No. 46, the Vautravers district, was formed, they held a term of school in Ami Bonjour's house. The seats consisted of boards laid around the room on blocks of wood, while the desks were boards laid on pins driven in the wall. Mary Todd taught this term. The first school house was the present frame one, and Miss Ellsworth taught the first term in it about 1872. The next teacher was Miss Francis Harth. James Summerfield was the first director; George Thomas, clerk; and Fred Vautravers, treasurer.

Early in 1864 Alfred Bonjour sent the government a petition to have a postoffice (sic) established, which was done the same year. As all the early Swiss colonists had come from the canton of Neuchatel, the request was made that the new postoffice (sic) should bear the name of their old home. Alfred Bonjour was appointed the postmaster, he keeping the office in his house. He was then living where Scheve lived and in 1869, when he bought out John Schneider, he moved into the house vacated by Mr. Schneider, but still kept the postoffice (sic) at his old place. A postoffice (sic) inspector came around soon after this and ordered the removal of the office to his new residence, where he could give it better attention and protection. When he moved to his stone house in 1872, where Ephraim lives, the office was again transferred to his new residence, where he held it quite a number of years, having held the office 15 years altogether.

P. Zimmerman moved his sawmill to Neuchatel in 1863, and had it set up where Alfred A. Bonjour lives. Then James Colyer took his mill there, setting it in the timber southwest of where B. Perrussel lives.

The history of the Neuchatel store - the French store - as near as we can unravel it, is as follows: Alfred and Charles Bonjour, Henry Labbe, and August Seigneur formed a partnership to carry on a general merchandise business, some say in 1867, while other authorities say 1868, but the former date seems to be the correct one. Store was kept in an old log house which stood on the site of the one where August Scheve lived. The partnership did not continue long, Charles Bonjour selling his interest to August Mouton, and August Seigneur to Armand Dehay. Later Fred Bonjour bought out Mouton and Dehay, and not long after (about 1870) also got control of Alfred Bonjour's interest, leaving the store in possession of Mr. Labbe, one of the original owners, and Fred Bonjour. They then built a frame building on the site of the present store building, and it burned down in 1875. Mr. Labbe then sold his interest to his partner, who became sole owner, and with his children, kept it running for several years after. When it burned, in 1875, Mr. Bonjour built the frame building, recently occupied by Mr. Scheve, in which he kept store until he put up the present building, which was not long after the accident. He then sold the small building to Charles Bonjour for $200, and the latter moved into it and made it his home for several years. We are told that calico was 40� a yard, thread 10� a spool, nails 10� a pound, and 4 inch and 5 inch bolts 10� each, when the store was first started. Kentucky jeans was sold at a profit of 25� a yard, but the loss through selling indiscriminately on credit ate up about all the profit. In 1867 flour sold for $9 per hundred, and potatoes at $2 a bushel. About everything used by the pioneers, such as wagons, plows, and hardware, as well as groceries, dry goods, and medicine, was kept, and the store drew trade from a large territory. The first goods were hauled from here from Seneca, then from the end of the Central Branch railroad between Corning and Centralia, and lastly from the latter point. In the 70's Messrs. Labbe and Bonjour employed Noel Lefebvre, who made weekly trips to Leavenworth, taking out butter and eggs and bringing back goods for the store, received in exchange for the produce.

In 1873 some one had occasion to go to Seneca, where he fell in with Louis Kirsch, who was running a grist mill at that place. Mr. Kirsch, who thought he saw an opening at Neuchatel for a big-paying business in the grist mill line, came back with our Neuchatel friend and induced a number of the best-to-do farmers of this locality to go into a scheme for the building of a large water mill at this place. Those who backed the project were: Fred, Aime, Ami, and Alfred Bonjour, Louis C. Simon, and Henry Labbe, who mortgaged their farms to secure the funds to go on with the enterprise. Accordingly work was started that fall on the mill, which was built on Mrs. Julia A. Bonjour's farm, the structure being a massive stone building, which was made to contain three sets of burrs, though it was large enough to hold more. Men from all directions were employed, some to dig the mill race, others to quarry rock and some to haul them, others to get sand, while several masons found lucrative work there. Many of the men boarded with Louis Simon, who thus got back some of the money he invested, while Fred Bonjour and Henry Labbe paid many of them off with goods from their store. The building was finished the following summer, but the mill was not furnished for running for about a year more. When it finally did start to running there was but little wheat raised in the neighborhood to keep it going, and at other times the water supply fell short. It had cost about $15,000, and the money that had been borrowed brought 15 per cent interest, and the returns from the mill being practically nothing, it ruined several of those who had invested in it, and the others were badly crippled financially. All but Fred Bonjour lost a farm or more through the investment, but some afterwards redeemed the land they had lost. Ami and Aime Bonjour and Louis Simon each lost a quarter of land which they were unable to redeem. Mr. Kirsch, who was given a half interest in the mill for supervising the erection and running it, lived in the mill in a suite of rooms one side for the purpose. When it was seen that the mill would not remunerate its promoters, those who were in partnership sold their interest in it to Mr. Kirsch and Fred Bonjour, who then sold the machinery to Mr. Barrett of Barrett, Marshall county. About this time Mr. Kirsch tried to get away with a load of machinery, when John Labbe, who was constable then, was in pursuit of him. Mr. Kirsch, with his family, had started east with the booty, and Mr. Labbe caught up with the wagon near Mrs. Mary Kelly's, but Mr. Kirsch was no where to be seen. Looking around, he saw a man dive into the timber half a mile or so up the creek, and, thinking this might be the man, otherwise he could see no reason for his getting out of sight, so he hastily rode up to where he had seen the man disappear, and found Mr. Kirsch, as he expected to do, who was brought back and made to give an account of his action. The mill was finally altogether dismantled, nothing hardly remaining to show where it stood.

When Mrs. Melaine Simon died, in 1865, a cemetery was laid out where Emile Bonjour lives, and she and others who died before 1861 were buried there. When the church was built in the above year, the cemetery adjoining it was set apart, and the old one was forgotten and neglected. It grew up to grass and the site of the graves was practically lost, so that when Emile moved to the place, traces of it were gone. An apple orchard now marks the spot, so that living monuments, instead of marble, mark the last resting place of some of those who found a home in a wild and untried country, but their rest is as sweet and sleep as deep as of those whose graves are marked by the tallest shaft or dust embalmed in the costliest mausoleum, and their hope to arise, when Gabriel sounds his trumpet at the last day, is as strong as any, though their mortal bodies are resting in the humblest and most primitive surroundings.

In the fall of 1874, a branch of the Grange, or Patrons of Husbandry, was organized at Neuchatel, which it was promised it would assist its members, many of whom were in straitened circumstances at that time, but so far as learned there were only Henry Hastings and Casimir Stiennon who received any benefit from the order, and this, little enough, though each member paid in a sum sufficient to help more. So it is a question what finally became of all the money that the order received from many who could ill afford to lose what they paid in as initiation fee. The branch at this place only lasted about a year.

The first Fourth of July celebration held at Neuchatel, that we can learn of, was in front of the Neuchatel school house, in 1871. Thomas Points made the address. The next was in 1874, and was held in the new mill, which was just finished. A grand supper was served, and dancing was carried on in the afternoon and evening in the basement of the building. The Dodds boys had a stand in the mill, where refreshments and condiments as lemonade, candies, raisins, and cigars were sold. There was a notice stuck up, forbidding smoking a cigar inside the building, but towards evening a young man was seen smoking a cigar inside, when Mr. Kirsch Promptly knocked it from his mouth. The young man then struck him a severe blow in the face, from which the blood flowed freely. The young man stepped out of doors, where he was later hunted up by Mr. Kirsch, who was discovered to have a bowie or butcher knife about his person, which was taken away from him by Sam Taylor, who was constable of Mill Creek township then. After considerable blustering by Mr. Kirsch, the young man was induced to leave, thus settling the affair.

In 1875, the Forth of July was celebrated under the auspices of the local Grange, and the festivities were again conducted in front of the school house and church.

The earthquake of 1868, was noticed by several parties at Neuchatel. J. A. Bonjour, who was a boy then, had been fishing and was on his way home. He was going along one of the old-fashioned Virginia rail worm fences, when he saw the fence begin to squirm as if it were alive. Most anyone can imagine the effect it had on him. James Summerville was hauling a load of corn and was riding upon it, when he noticed a motion that seemed unnatural to him and knew that it was not due to the natural motion of the wagon.

The people of Neuchatel had their share of experiences with home-made coffees and native tea as substitutes for these beverages. For coffee, roasted barley, wheat, corn, and crusts of bread were used; for tea, some used the leaves of what was called cat's-foot (Antennaria plantaginifolio), while others took the blossoms of the common mullein. The leaves of the tall clover (Lespedeza capitata) were also used.

The following reminiscences were told us by some of the earliest settlers of this community: In 1857, Ami Bonjour bought at Leavenworth, an 18-inch breaking plow, paying $25 for it. It had levers for regulating the depth, and wheels to keep it from upsetting , as it was made to run by itself, the driver having to give all his attention to the three yoke of oxen required to pull it. There were also 24-inch plows, which took four yoke of oxen to pull them. The first reaper brought to this place was a Cayuga, or Ohio Chief. This was bought by Fred and Aime Bonjour and two others, in partnership, in about 1865. It required a man to ride on it to rake the grain to one side. It cost over $200. Ami Bonjour got it after all the rest were through with it. Aime Bonjour bought a Buckeye, handraker, (sic) also in 1868, paying $200 for it in Leavenworth. Wagons, during the war, sold for $150, and Aime Bonjour bought one, that had been made over, at P. Zimmerman's sale, for $105. Aime Bonjour bought a corn planter about 1870, which cost him $70. It was purchased of Mr. Manchester, the first to keep a hardware store in Centralia.

The early settlers had a habit of calling each other by their first or given name, or by the name of the profession to which the man belonged. Fred Bonjour was known by the name of "The Shoemaker," while Mr. Vautravers went, and still does, by the name of "The Tailor." Noel Lefebvre (Le fafe) had his name translated into English to "Christmas Beaps," by which name he was known by some of the English-speaking people. Mr. Perrod's name was changed to "Pearod," which was easily changed to "Peasick," by which cognomen he and the boys were for a long time known.

The writer had the curiosity to inquire of two of the very first settlers what had induced them to leave civilization to cast their fortunes in a wild country. The answer in both cases was practically the same. The spirit that inspired Horace Greeley to write, "Go west, young man, and grow up with the country," was the prime factor which caused our early pioneers to come here. Aime Bonjour tells us that he found Indiana a comparatively old-settled country when he came here from Switzerland, and friends told him they had found a raw, uninhabited country when country when they came there, and now they were well off and in easy circumstances (the land was then worth $30 per acre), and that if he would go west, where land was cheap, he might do as well. Henry Hoover had also come from the same state with his parents, and on the same purpose, but at Osawkie, his first settling place, he, being a Freesoiler (sic), had found the pro-slavery element too strong for him he came here.



Fred Bonjour
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