Charles Nettleton Strevell

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Charles Nettleton Strevell, was presumably born about 1857 or 1858 to someone named Nettleton (possibly Z. N. Nettleton, one of the founding fathers of Pontiac, Illinois) and Elizabeth Butler Kelley in Pontiac, IL. Local sources refer to him as "Charles Nettleton". In 15 August, 1858, his mother married local founder [[Jason W. Strevell]]. Strevell was a lawyer who also operated hardware stores.
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Charles Nettleton Strevell, was presumably born in 3 June 1858 to Zelus H. Nettleton (possibly Z. N. Nettleton, one of the founding fathers of Pontiac, Illinois) and Elizabeth Butler Kelly in Pontiac, IL. His parents had two other children before him: John & Mary. When his mother was pregnant with him, his father died (late 1857). In 15 August, 1858, his mother married local founder [[Jason W. Strevell]]. Strevell was a lawyer who also operated hardware stores. When Charles was 10 years old, Strevell adopted him, although it required a special act of the legislature to do so. At this time, his father was a legislator and Charles was a page.  
  
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In 1969, when Charley was about 11 or 12 years old, he went on a surveying adventure that almost cost him his life.  
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[[File:CNStrevell.jpg|thumb|300px]]
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In 1969, when Charley was about 11 or 12 years old, his older brother John Nettleton went on a [[Nelson Buck massacre|surveying adventure]] that almost cost him his life. Three years later, John sued his stepfather for the inheritance and received all the property plus a share of the farm's proceeds for the previous 15 years. He then married and soon left the county.
  
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'' "Another of the first trustees, Nel­son Buck, who came from near Bloomington, was a widower with three children, and shortly after his coming, was married to the widow of Augustus Fellows who lost her family to cholera a few years before. Mr. Buck was a man of many interesting peculiarities and was al­ways first and foremost in everything that went for the up-building of the town. He was a sur­veyor and was elected to that position for several terms. Mr. Buck was one of the first trustees of the village of Pontiac, organized in 1856, and was the leading force which brought about the incorporation. He was a ready writer for the press in the early days of Pontiac, and many of the older residents now living remember the caustic articles printed over his signature. In 1869, while engaged in writing the first his­tory of the county, he received an appointment as surveyor from the United States government, with orders to proceed at once to the territory of Nebraska. The history was about one-fifth completed when he left for the west. ''
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He missed two winters of education while in Springfield, and afterwards contracted typhoid fever, which sidelined him for almost a year. At age seventeen, he entered the business world (?working for his father's hardware store?).  
  
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''Before leaving for the west, Mr. Buck inserted an ad­vertisement in one of the local papers for eight young men to accompany him on the trip, assur­ing them of plenty of sport, with an excellent chance to see the country. The opportunity af­forded by the expedition for exploring the wilds of western Nebraska attracted the attention of several of the more adventurous young men of this place, who made application to Mr. Buck for employment, and were enrolled as members of the party, and on the [[29 June, 1869]], Mr. Buck, Frank McFarland, Buxton McGregor, John Nettleton, Will McCulloch and James Sager started from Pontiac for the field of their labors. None of these young men were over seventeen years of age. They left Pontiac and proceeded to [[Council Bluffs, Iowa]], by rail, and from that point proceeded to a point opposite Plattsmouth, Nebraska, where they crossed the [[Mis­souri river]]. At Plattsmouth, they were joined by six others and proceeded without interrup­tion to [[Fort Kearney]], Neb., where they were to receive a military escort. While at Fort Kearney, Mr. Buck was cautioned not to proceed further by the commandant, [[Colonel Pollock]], who stated that the country was full of Indians on the war­path and that they had been engaged but a few days previous by a troop of cavalry from the fort. After waiting for several days for the escort and not procuring one, Mr. Buck decided to push forward, and accordingly left the fort with his party. After journeying two days west­ward and encountering many of the Sioux tribe, Mr. Buck became alarmed and sent young McGregor and Nettleton back to Fort Kearney with a request to the Colonel that he send an escort at once. The boys returned to the fort and de­livered the message, and as no troops were forth­coming decided to remain until one was provided. No troops being available the escort was not provided and McGregor and Nettleton left the fort with their faces turned toward the east and worked their way back to Pontiac, having seen all the Indians they desired. The surveying party, ten in number, had left Fort Kearney about the middle of July, and as nothing had been heard of them, an expedition from North Platte headed by [[Lieutenant Haskins]], U. S. A., with [[William F. Cody]] (Buffalo Bill) as a scout, left that place the first of October in search of them. On the 10th of October, Lieutenant Haskins reported to his superior of having found about thirty miles southeast of McPherson, where Mr. Buck's party was supposed to be, two tripods, a camp and camp equipage, and some canned fruits. The camp had the appearance of being deserted. He also saw some parts of a wagon. Not long after this, a band of Indians were captured, and it was ad­mitted by them that they had a fight with a party at the point above mentioned; that it was a desperate one and that the last to fall was a tall man, who was in charge of the party. The In­dians denied that they burned the bodies of the men, but careful search by expeditions sent out in search of the missing party failed to find them, and as not one of them ever returned or has since been heard of, it was generally supposed at the time that after killing every member of the gallant little band, their bodies were disposed of by the Indians in a manner peculiar to their own." ''
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Broken in health when he was 20, the family doctor advised them to go west for a drier climate. After his next birthday, his parents moved to the new frontier town of Miles City, Montana in 1879 (3 years after Custer's Last Stand and 2 years before the railroad reached town). Those seeking a fortune were getting into the open range cattle business as the Native Americans were subjugated and the bison herds decimated. Charley's father combined livestock and law in the new town. Charley's younger sister married the nephew of the town's namesake and top military officer. George M. Miles followed his uncle Nelson A. Miles to the new post and started a business selling things to the soldiers. Soon he and the Strevells had gone into the hardware store business together ("[[Miles & Strevell]]", then "[[Miles, Strevell & Ulmer]]", which later was just "[[Miles & Ulmer]]"), as well as founding a local Presbyterian church together.  
  
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When he was about 21 or 22, his parents moved to the new frontier town of Miles City, Montana in 1879 (3 years after Custer's Last Stand and 2 years before the railroad reached town). Those seeking a fortune were getting into the open range cattle business as the Native Americans were subjugated and the bison herds decimated. Charley's father combined livestock and law in the new town. Charley's sister married the nephew of the town's namesake and top military officer. George M. Miles followed his uncle Nelson A. Miles to the new post and started a business selling things to the soldiers. Soon he and the Strevells had gone into the hardware store business together ("Miles & Strevell", then "Miles, Strevell & Ulmer", which later was just "Miles & Ulmer"), as well as founding a local Presbyterian church together.  
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Charles married Elizabeth Crawford (b. Illinois c. 1856) in 1881 in Pontiac, Illinois.
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In 1886, Charles and George Miles visited Utah (Ogden and Salt Lake City). And in 1890 they opened a hardware store in Ogden, Utah, Charles and Elizabeth moving to Ogden to run the daily operations. They had missed the boom years from the railroad activity, but were able to invest at more reasonable post-boom prices and the business did well. He and Elizabeth then moved themselves and their store to Salt Lake City, consolidating with the George M. Scott Co in 1899. The firm later became the Strevell-Paterson Hardware Co., of which he was president for 28 years before his retirement in 1931.  
  
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Charles married Elizabeth Crawford in 1881 in Pontiac, Illinois, and after several years in Miles City, they extended the hardware store to Ogden, Utah in 1890. He and Elizabeth then moved themselves and their store to Salt Lake City, consolidating with the George M. Scott Co. The firm later became the Strevell-Paterson Hardware Co., of which he was president for 28 years before his retirement in 1931.  
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It was customary for Charles to return to Miles City twice a year.
  
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While hardware was his vocation, his real love was archeology. It is supposed that this was the reason for the move to Utah. He became known for his rare collection of historic, geological and archeological relics and established a museum. He became well known for his essay, "Dinosauropodes," which was published several times during the 1930s.  
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Among his various other pursuits, he was involved in a coal mine, which may have been hoped to help him with his hobbies.
  
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As a member of the Utah state constitutional convention, he helped draw up the state's first constitution.
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While hardware was his vocation, his real love was archeology. This may have influenced the move to Utah (or it may have just been a frontier-seeking, entrepreneurial spirit). He became known for his rare collection of historic, geological and archeological relics and established a museum. He became well known for his essay, "[http://allanmccollum.net/amcnet3/reprints/dinosauropodes.html Dinosauropodes]," [http://www.birchy.com/history/ExtPgsArchv/Dinosauropodes.html] which was published several times during the 1930s. The Charles Nettleton Strevell Museum was located in the old Lafayette School on South Temple Street from 1939 until 1947. Some of his specimens went to the Utah Museum of Natural History on the University of Utah campus, which opened in 1963 (now called the "Natural History Museum of Utah"). The plaque from his museum read "Strevell Museum - Presented to the Board of Education May 9, 1939 - For the boys and girls of Salt Lake City - by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Nettleton Strevell - In memory of their son". The door jamb from their Pontiac home, with Lincoln's height marked on it was put in the museum, as well.
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As a member of the Utah state constitutional convention in 1895, he helped draw up the state's first constitution.
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As an employer, he and his associates were fairly progressive, providing benefits and personal assistance to employees. Employees of his business interests had 1% of their pay deducted and the company matched. This provided them life ($1000), medical and disability (2.6% of salary) insurance, as well as $25 to help pay for a marriage and $25 to help pay for birth of a child. While the payouts weren't high, they would help a person survive. Often, assistance was extended beyond the stated terms.
  
 
In 1943, he published a 304 page memoir: "As I Recall Them". Recollections of Abraham Lincoln in Illinois in 1860, and Strevell's father persuading Lincoln to stand against a door frame and have his height verified as 6'4"; experiences in cattle ranching in Montana in the 1880s including the brands of prominent ranches, hardware sales in Ogden and Salt Lake City, Utah during the 1890s, as well as various banking and Mormon activities in Utah. "This privately printed book has some mention of Calamity Jane and the hanging of Big Nose George Parrott, as well as the hanging of Cold Turkey Bill and his gang, and Beaver Creek Jake and his bunch of rustlers." An informative and interesting book of the author's lifetime experiences in Illinois, Montana, and Utah.  
 
In 1943, he published a 304 page memoir: "As I Recall Them". Recollections of Abraham Lincoln in Illinois in 1860, and Strevell's father persuading Lincoln to stand against a door frame and have his height verified as 6'4"; experiences in cattle ranching in Montana in the 1880s including the brands of prominent ranches, hardware sales in Ogden and Salt Lake City, Utah during the 1890s, as well as various banking and Mormon activities in Utah. "This privately printed book has some mention of Calamity Jane and the hanging of Big Nose George Parrott, as well as the hanging of Cold Turkey Bill and his gang, and Beaver Creek Jake and his bunch of rustlers." An informative and interesting book of the author's lifetime experiences in Illinois, Montana, and Utah.  
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[[File:CNStrevell_Sig.jpg|thumb|200px]]
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Last residence was 105 E. South Temple St.
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Charles died in a Salt Lake City hospital (Utah State Miners Hospital) 21 September 1947 of causes incident to age (89). His death certificate gives the cause as colon cancer, prostate cancer and myocarditis. He had been in the hospital for 8 days. He was buried in Chicago.
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Elizabeth died 10 March 1950 in Salt Lake City of pneumonia, after a year of "generalized emanciation". She was 94 and was buried in Chicago.
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== ==
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By Lois Westermeyer
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Pontiac Daily Leader
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Posted Oct 13, 2011:
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Pontiac, Ill. —
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When Joyce Eckstrom of Red Wing, Minn., gazed upon the Strevell house Monday, she became the first known direct descendant of the property to visit the historic Pontiac landmark.
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Collins Miller and his wife, Candy, two of the forces behind saving the house, were with Joyce Eckstrom and her husband, Delano, Monday, talking about how their paths had finally intersected.
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“This was not originally the Strevell house,” Collins Miller said. “The left side of the house was the original building and it was actually built in the early 1850s by Mr. Zelus Nettleton. He and his wife, Elizabeth Kelly Nettleton, had two children, John and Mary, and Mrs. Nettleton was pregnant with their third child when her husband died in 1857.
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“Mr. Jason W. Strevell came forward and married her. When her son was born, he was named Charles Nettleton. Ten years later, he was adopted by Jason Strevell through a special act of the legislature and took the name Charles Nettleton Strevell. Jason and Elizabeth Strevell had a daughter together as well, Helen Strevell,” Miller said.
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When Jason Strevell married the widow Nettleton, he assumed ownership of the house at 401 W. Livingston St. and added on, giving the house its present look. The house is now owned by the Livingston County Historical Society, which has launched a fundraising campaign to restore the structure as it is the only remaining building in the county where it is documented that Abraham Lincoln spent time.
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Miller said he had been doing research on the family and house and lost the trace of the Nettleton family.
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“We followed the Strevell history, but really lost track of the Nettleton family after 1872.
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Mrs. Eckstrom said Charles Nettleton Strevell was the brother of her great-grandfather, John Nettleton, but she didn’t know how the Strevell name came about.
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“I just finally found the connection about a month or two ago. Since then I have been reading up on the property and finally we wanted to come and see it ourselves.
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“It is just amazing the amount of work that has gone into the home,” Mrs. Eckstrom said.
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“It’s not work, not when you love something,” Collins Miller responded.
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Miller also noted that when Mrs. Elizabeth Kelly Nettleton remarried in 1858, she and Jason Strevell traveled back to her home in Minnesota for the ceremony. It took place about 15 miles from where the Eckstroms currently reside.
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Zelus and Elizabeth Kelly Nettleton were Joyce Eckstrom’s great-great-grandparents.
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Collins Miller also had an interesting story about Mrs. Eckstrom’s great-grandfather, John Nettleton, who married Olive Potter in Pontiac in 1870.
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“John was age 7 when his father died and was age 10 when Abraham Lincoln visited the home. In addition to that house, Zelus Nettleton had owned a lot of farmland and Jason Strevell also assumed ownership of that land.
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“However, in 1872 he filed suit in Livingston County as the oldest son and rightful owner of the farmland,” Miller said, referring to copies of docket pages stemming from the suit which he obtained from the courthouse. “He was granted ownership of the land, plus was given a monetary settlement for a share of the crops raised and sold over those years.
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“Right after that is where we lost the trail of John,” he added.
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“Mrs. Eckstrom was able to tell us John packed up his family and moved (60 miles NNE) to the Joliet-Plainfield area (SW of Chicago outskirts). Now we are researching the family lines from there.”
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However, before they left Pontiac, John and his wife, Olive, welcomed a son, Wilson Nettleton, who was born in 1871. Wilson Nettleton and his wife, Millie Steffenhagen Nettleton, are Joyce Eckstrom’s grandparents.
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“Now that we have the Nettleton connection, it is even more exciting because the Nettleton family also had significant impact on Pontiac. We are looking forward to following these new avenues of information and being able to find out more about this family. Additionally, Del and Joyce are excited about uncovering more about her family tree,” Miller added.
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While in Pontiac, the Eckstroms purchased a brick for the walk, which is one way the Historical Society is raising funds for the home’s restoration.
  
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Charles died in a Salt Lake City hospital 21 September 1947 of causes incident to age (89).
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The Eckstroms’ son, Jerry, is a cabinet maker and he has promised to build a piece for the interior renovation, which will begin when the exterior is complete.

Latest revision as of 10:27, 20 January 2014

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