J. B. Keeney
James Barney Keeney, born in Hendricks Co., Indiana, where the
town of Rainstown is now Located. The youngest of nine children, four sisters and four
brothers. His ancestors were Irish, Scotch and English: staying in Germany for a short
time.
James Barney Keeney was married first to Elizabeth Shirley, had one son
Aurora. His wife died in childbirth. Them married Martha Coulter, from Pennsylvania, and
they had six children. Charles, Samuel, Lloyd, Alton Annabelle (myself) and George.
After farming in Indiana we moved to North Dakota in 1896 and rented
land near Cando, North Dakota...while there he and his second son, Charles, filed on 160
acres each, near a lake, which was later named Rock Lake, 25 miles north of Cando.
They built a sod house and barn in which we lived until we could build
frame structures. They bought horses, cows, pigs, sheep and chickens. Later he purchased
another 160 acres, bought a threshing rig and worked for all the neighbors. Also had his
own blacksmith shop and did the neighbors work. We had a smokehouse and cured our own
meat. He had the country post office to which mail was delivered every other day. Farming
was so slow those days often had to finish threshing after the snow had fallen. He had a
cook car that took care of the crews and grain haulers, taking their meals at the houses
where they were working.
In winter we often had three-day blizzards and kept snow shovels in the
house to dig our way out, as the drifts were so high. The boys had a wire leading from the
house to the barn to follow to feed the livestock. We had coal stoves and oil lamps. The
boys would drive to the closest town for fuel and staples, which took a day each way. The
boys walking beside the sled to keep warm. Not unusual to have 40 degrees below zero
temperatures.
Our school term was only three months, during the summer. For
recreation in summer the neighbors young folks would gather at our home for baseball,
horse racing, hunting and fishing, My mother having dinner ready for everyone. We found
many tomahawks and bison trails.
We had to plow firebreaks to protect the buildings from prairie fires,
which we often had in dry weather. The boys each had musical instruments and played for
the country-dances, entire families attended. We attended the Dunkard (now Brethren)
services each Sunday, held in the little schoolhouse 2 miles from our home. Then in
later years we attended the Seventh Day Adventist camp meetings, held every evening for
two weeks in a large tent.
Mr. Jim Hill built a branch line of the Great Northern railroad, going
northwest out of Devil's Lake, small towns began to spring up along the line, one being
Rock Lake, 2 miles from our home. Mr. Hill offered to finance my father in building a
hotel in Rock Lake, which he did, located near the depot. We moved into town. The train
left Devil's Lake one day and went to the end of the line, Hansboro, north of us,
returning the next day. Very few cars those days so the sales men would stop at our hotel
overnight. The cost of a meal was .50¢ and a room for the night .50¢. They called my
parents "Pa" and "Ma". "Ma" always had "left-over"
pie, cake, for evening lunches (free). The train crew came to the kitchen for lunch while
the train stopped. free, but anytime any of the family took the train to Devil's Lake we
were not charged a fare.
We had a very wee equipped butcher shop which the second son, Sam,
operated. This served the hotel and the towns' people. We put up ice in the winter and had
an icehouse. With the advent of more cars business became poor and my father sold the
hotel and rented some land, back to farming.
While in the hotel I was married to Peter Thoreson. We lived in Calvin,
North Dakota. where five children were born: Majorie, Lucille, Peter JR, (passed away at
the age of 8), Bradford and Samuel.
Marjorie married Forrest Stephens (2 girls. Jill and Susan).
Lucille married Nels A. Brakke (2 boys and 1 girl, Brad,
Jon and Barbara).
Brad Thoreson married Betty Sue Smutz, (3 boys and 1 girl, Luanne, Randy, Douglas
and Robert James).
Samuel married to Virginia Batson, (2 boys and 1 girl, Tracy, Gale Anne and Mark).
Peter Thoreson, my husband was born in 1883, died in 1951 at the age of 68.
James Barney Keeney, my father was born in 1853 died 1929 at 76. Martha my mother
born in 1856, died 1942, age 86. I Annabelle was born in 1892.
This was written by Annabelle (Keeney) Thoreson, I received it from Ray Keeney on 05 September, 1998. DLK
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