Wonderful old lady, full name from her own writing. We all called her Etta. Dates from grave markers. She took care of and raised her two children with little help.Took care of her father and brother and sister till they died and in the meantime helped raise three grandchildren ( whose mother was incapable of caring for them for some time ). We enjoyed visiting with her, a great family person. ----------------------------------------------------------------- The story of Zalmon Storrs and Rosa Cummings as written by their daughter, Etta Storrs Zurcher,Oct 23, 1946. John Cummings, my grandfather, came from Ireland at the age of 14 landing in Nova Scotia. Mary Mullen came from Ireland at the age of 11 with her aunt and uncle landing in Nova Scotia where she and grandfather became acquainted and moved to Albany, N.Y.. When Rose Cummings, my mother, was born. In a few years they moved on a farm in Ohio where grandfather died at the age of 36 of pneumonia leaving grandmother with eight children, seven girls and one boy. Being inexperienced in business she hardly knew what to do. Some of her neighbors were from Madison, Wisconsin, so she decided to sell the farm and go with them. It was the year of 1853. They went by the way of the Great Lakes to Chicago and then on to Madison, Wisc. by train. Zalmon Storrs, my father, was born in New Milford, Penn. where he lived on a farm with his father and mother. His uncle, W. R. Storrs, was quite an influential man of Standing Stone, Penn. He was engaged in the logging business. They floated the logs down the Susquehanna River which was very dangerous. When he became 21, he got the Western fever and went to Madison, Wisc. He boarded with Miss Moxley right across the street where mother lived. Naturally they fell in love and were married on Oct 25, 1856. Mother at the age of 18 and father at the age of 23. Mother's sister said that she would never forget the day they were married. She thought that they were a handsome couple. Mother had black curls and blue eyes. She wore a brown taffeta dress, made tight at the waist and full skirt, flowing sleeves with the ? under sleeve. A brown velvet jacket with a bonnet and ? and ? garters. Father wore a smaller tailored coat, silk brocaded vest, plug hat and cane. Father was a carpenter by trade. He met a Mr. Linsley who was contemplating moving to Omaha and asked father to come with him. As he was a mason and brick layer he thought that they could work together. So bidding the folk goodbye, in March 1857, they left on the train for St. Louis. From there they took the boat which came up the Missouri River. They enjoyed the boat trip very much. Every night after supper the dining room was cleared and those who cared could dance. The only unpleasant thing was when they reached St. Joseph, Missouri, they had a layover of a few hours so some of the passengers went uptown, seeing a crowd they went over to see what was going on and there they were selling slaves. they had a pretty mulatto girl on the block selling her as you would a horse or a car. On the boat they met two sisters, Mrs Rogers and Mrs. Whipple whom they liked very well. In comparing notes they found that my folks were on the way to Omaha and persuaded them to get off at Bellevue as they said that it was going to be the PLACE. Mr Linsley went on to Omaha. Judge James Gow met the boat with his bus. He and his wife ran the hotel in Bellevue. Mr Gow lived to be 102 years old. Always living in Bellevue father found plenty of work as a carpenter. Bellevue soon had a seige of typhoid fever. So many died. Father took sick with it and nurses were unheard of in those days. Everyone depended on his neighbors and they were really neighbors.When father took sick, their first baby, a girl, was four months old. Mother was so busy with father that she had to leave the baby with strangers to take care of. It died at the age of 4 months. Mother also had the fever and Mrs. Whipple died which was a great blow to the folks. So with the aid of friends father built the house that now stands across from the Presbyterian Church, which is the oldest church in Nebraska. Father built the steeple bell on the Presbyterian Church and some of the other work. The house is now occupied by Ranie Jones. It was built of ? lumber and is still in good repairs. We were all born in that house. Twin girls who died in infancy. My brother, Wm H. Storrs (bachelor) died at the age of 75 in April 1935. Margaret Storrs Stevens, my sister, who passed away at Ault, Colo. at the age of 80. She had five children, Mrs. Beth Kleber, Storrs Stevens, Johns Stevens, all of Ault, Colo. Roy Stevens of Portland, Oregon and Mrs Wm. Cady ( Marion ) of Sutherland, Nebr. Then Etta Storrs Zurcher and Harriet Storrs. (The house has now been torn down and a community house is in its place). My husband passed away in January, 1924, he was 49. Born to us were two sons, John Leslie Zurcher and Clarence Zalmon Zurcher. When the folks came to Bellevue, it had two grocery stores, Mr. Henry Clark and Mr. Keyser, a hotel, lumber yard, blacksmith shop, four churches ( Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian,Episcopal ) All the law they had was a vigilant committee which settled all accounts. The Indians were plentiful. Having received word that the Indians were coming they took their families and went to the Courthouse and stayed. The courthouse is still standing. Nothing came of it but a lot of days were spent there. The Indians would come to the door begging for a cup of sugar or flour. They would cut a large pile of wood for a cup of sugar. Father continued to live in Bellevue until 1872 when they moved on a farm two miles from Bellevue. We lived there until 1884 when we moved to a farm at Oakdale, Nebr. Father's Uncle William Storrs owned a ranch, a farm and a hotel in Oakdale, Nebraska. We lived there 10 years moving back to Bellevue on a farm, farming until 1908 when they built the present home at 2402 Clay St. Bellevue, Nebr. Mother died Jan. 25, 1911 at the age of 72. Father died June 11, 1927 at the age of 94. A grand old man. So this ends the history of Zalmon and Rose Storrs. ---------------------------------------------------------------- The following is written by Harriet Sullivan who is her granddaughter. We lived with Grandma Zurcher and Great Aunt Hattie Storrs from the time I was 12 years old. We lived in the house that grandfather Storrs built. In the winters when we could not play outside , Grandma would tell us stories over and over. Or we would pop corn on the old cook stove- or make rolls, cherry tarts or a cake or a lemon pie. Or she would go in the living room and play the piano and sing or we would sing with her. I loved to hear her play the piano and sing. She also wrote poems and every occasion brought on a new poem. Here are a few. These poems always were put on her bedroom wall."
UTOPIA Wouldn't this old world be better if folks we met would say "I know something good about you" and then treat us just that way?
Wouldn't life be lots more happy if the good that is in us all were the only thing about us that folks bothered to recall?
Wouldn’t life be a lot more happy if we praised the good we see? for there's such a lot of goodness in the worst of you and me.
Wouldn't it be nice to practice that fine way of thinking, too? You know something good about me I know something good about you.
A POEM TO ALL OF US I would rather have one little rose from the garden of a friend, than the choicest of all flowers when my stay on earth must end.
I would rather have a loving smile from the friends that I know are true than tears shed around my casket when the world I bid adieu.
So bring me all the flowers now whether pink or white or red I'd rather have one little blossom now than a truck load when I am dead.
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From death certificate-She died of a cerebial hemorrhage after one week.
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