“Jewell – We’ve Got A Story To Tell”! This story is of the Saints who have gone marching through Jewell’s Sesquicentennial history.
Nathan Carlyle Saint of Jewell is the sixth generation of the Saint family to farm in the Jewell area. Twenty-six-year old Saint is the son of Curtis and Annette Higgins Saint who have been farming west of Jewell since their wedding on Aug. 17, 1991.
But it all began in 1871 with Nathan’s great-great-great grandparents, Nathan Albertson and Louisa Francis Dawdy Saint. They came to Jewell County from Hardin County, Iowa with five-year old William and three-year old Thomas. Two of Louisa’s older brothers, James and William Dawdy, also came to Jewell County. Both Dawdy men and their families were listed in Buffalo Township in the 1875 Kansas Census.
The N. A. Saint family arrived in Buffalo Township in time for the birth of their third son, Franklin, on Oct. 9, 1871. They homesteaded just north of what is now Wallace Cemetery, on the NE 1⁄4 of Section 28 of Buffalo Township. Saint and the two Dawdy brothers partnered with S. Porter and B.F. Wallace to establish Wallace Cemetery on land donated by B.F. Wallace.
On that Buffalo Township homestead, the N. A. Saint family eventually grew to include five sons; William, Thomas, Franklin, George and Forrest. As adults, William returned to Iowa, Franklin made his home in Oklahoma, George moved into Mitchell County, and Forrest elected to live in Nebraska.
But Thomas remained and farmed in Jewell County. He married Clara Elliott on Nov. 27, 1890. The Elliot’s came from Pennsylvania to Randall in 1886, later moving to the Burr Oak area. Thomas and Clara farmed both east of Jewell in Buffalo Township and west of Jewell in Calvin Township.
Thomas and Clara’s family consisted of five children, four sons and a daughter. Their daughter, Lulu, married Frank Kemmerer. The couple lived and farmed in Jewell County.
Son, Alvin, after serving in World War I, made his home in Sherman County. Their youngest son, Charles, farmed in Cloud County. But two of their sons, Otis and Birt, carried on the tradition of farming in Jewell County.
Birt Saint married Lilly Kemmerer, a daughter of John and Mable Brewer Kemmerer. (Yes, Birt Saint and his sister, Lulu Saint, married a brother and sister, Frank Kemmerer and Lilly Kemmerer. The Kemmerer family was in Jewell County by 1890 and the Brewer family came in 1886.) Birt and Lilly farmed north of Jewell. There they raised their two sons, Glen and Gerald.
Otis Saint also was a farmer. He farmed in Browns Creek and Washington Townships along with his wife. Grace Mae Snow Saint. Her great- grandparents, John and Marianna Brittain Hooker, came to Kansas in 1871 and Jewell County in 1884. The Hooker family lived in the Burr Oak area.
“Oat,” as he was called, and Grace raised their two children, Joy and Carlyle, on their farm. They were there through the dry and dirty years of the 30s and the war years of the 40s. Both of their children went on to farm in Jewell County. The late Joy Saint Dunstan was married to Ralph Dunstan. Their farm was in the Montrose and Formoso area where Ralph still lives.
Mary Gaskill, whose family was rom Mitchell County, married Carlyle. They farmed north of Jewell, raising five children on their family farm. Rodney, Larry, Donald and Denese moved from Jewell County after graduating from Jewell High School. However, their youngest son Curtis, remained in Jewell County and now farms west of Jewell. Mary Gaskill Saint died Nov. 19, 2000.
Curtis always had the idea that he was going to farm. “Nobody told me I couldn’t” and so he has farmed for more than 30 years. He went to the Vo-Tech School in Beloit (now North Central Kansas Technical College) then went to work as a Jewell County farmer.
He and Annette Higgins Saint have been married for nearly 30 years. Annette, a nurse, is an online instructor for both Ascend Learning and Grand Canyon University. Their sons, Nathan and Michael, have always been sure of what they were going to do. Michael was sure he was not going to be a farmer and Nathan just planned on it. Michael is a student at Fort Hays State University and a successful member of the Fort Hays State University Shotgun Team.
We have come full circle back to Nathan Carlyle Saint. Nathan graduated from Rock Hills in 2012. His parents insisted he go to school somewhere before farming. “Plan B,” said Nathan. So, he graduated from Southeast Community College in Milford, Neb., in 2014 with a degree from the diesel agricultural equipment service tech program. Being 15 minutes from Lincoln, Neb. was “eye-opening!”
Nathan has farmed with his father, Curtis and grandfather, Carlyle since 2015. The sixth Saint generation to farm Jewell County soil.
As for the Saint Homestead, it was entered into Jewell County Register of Deeds records on Feb. 23, 1880. Though not farmed by Nathan Saint, the land remains in the family. It is farmed by one of Nathan A. Saint’s great-great-grandsons, Steve Dunstan of Formoso.
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There are many other “Stories to Tell!” What is your family story? Homestead still in the family? Six or more generations with the same surname? Seven or more generations having lived in Jewell County? Let me know. Kerma Crouse 620-272-7160. And remember #JoinUsInJewell.
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