August J. Vaughn

August J. Vaughn (born August Johnson)
Born	February 8, 1854(1854-02-08) Vestergatland or Smaland, Sweden (Source Conflict)
Died	January 7, 1947 (aged 92)
Resting place	Platte Valley Cemetery in Phelps County, Nebraska
Residence	Sweden (1854–1874) «Did not recognize date. Try slightly modifying the date in the first parameter.–Did not recognize date. Try slightly modifying the date in the first parameter.»"Marriage: Sweden to August J. Vaughn" Location: (linkback:http://jimlindstrom.com/mediawiki/index.php/August_J._Vaughn) (est., see below) Illinois, USA (1874–1877) «Did not recognize date. Try slightly modifying the date in the first parameter.–Did not recognize date. Try slightly modifying the date in the first parameter.»"Marriage: Illinois, USA to August J. Vaughn" Location: (linkback:http://jimlindstrom.com/mediawiki/index.php/August_J._Vaughn) (est., see below) Phelps County, Nebraska, USA (1877–1947) «Did not recognize date. Try slightly modifying the date in the first parameter.–Did not recognize date. Try slightly modifying the date in the first parameter.»"Marriage: Phelps County, Nebraska, USA to August J. Vaughn" Location: (linkback:http://jimlindstrom.com/mediawiki/index.php/August_J._Vaughn) (est., see below)
Spouse	Matilda Swan Peterson (m. 1877) «Did not recognize date. Try slightly modifying the date in the first parameter.»"Marriage: Matilda Swan Peterson to August J. Vaughn" Location: (linkback:http://jimlindstrom.com/mediawiki/index.php/August_J._Vaughn), Illinois
Children	Ira C. Vaughn (1882-1969) Oscar Albion Vaughn (1878-) Ira Clarance Vaughn (1880-1882) Alice Irene Vaughn (1884-1925) Edward Phillip Vaughn (1886-1975) Henry Carroll Vaughn (1888-1974) Fred Walter Vaughn (1890-1955) Alvin August Vaughn (1893-1986) Ernest Harold Vaughn (1896=1983) Togue Thedford Vaughn (1898-1976)

Account of A.J. Vaughn's Emmigration by Dean Randall Lindstrom

This is the story that my mother, Aline, and my uncle, Lee Vaughn, have told me about the origin of the Vaughn name taken by their grandpa, August J. Vaughn, sometime in the 1880's when he came from Illinois to Phelps County, Nebr.: At age, 18, my great grandfather, August Johnson came from Sweden in the early 1880's and worked for a few years for a Swedish farmer in Illinois with a last name of Vaughn. He appreciated the job opportunity in Illinois and admired his employer, Mr. Vaughn. August Johnson was later convinced by someone to move to Phelps County, Nebraska and homestead 160 acres about 2 miles south of the pioneer cemetery, which we now call Platte Valley Cemetery. Upon arriving in Phelps County and doing the homestead claim he discovered that the county had many families with the name of Johnson who were not related to him and made it confusing. (or maybe there was another reason or two) I have not examined the real estate title or homestead document at the Phelps County Clerk's office to see how the name is recorded, but, at some time during the 1880's when he first came to Phelps County, he assumed the name of A. J. Vaughn. His wife, 8 sons, and all of male offspring have used the Vaughn name ever since. A.J. and his wife, Matilda, and 4 of their sons, Togue, Fred, Ernest, and Carroll, are buried at the Platte Valley Cemetery. A.J. & Matilda had 4 other sons and a daughter who were married were buried with their families in Holdrege & Overton, Nebr. and near Akron, Colo. My grandfather, Edward P. and wife, Ethel A. are buried in Moses Hill Cemetery northwest of Holdrege where my parents are buried.

Birth Dates of Vaughns in Phelps Co.

• VAUGHN, OSCAR ALBIN: 23/06/1878
• VAUGHN, IRA CLARANCE: 28/02/1882
• VAUGHN, EDDIE PHILLIP: 8/04/1886
• VAUGHN, CARROLL HENRY: 8/01/1888 (buried at the Platte Valley Cemetery)
• VAUGHN, FRED WALTER: 5/02/1891 (buried at the Platte Valley Cemetery)
• VAUGHN, ALVIN AUGUST: 12/06/1893
• VAUGHN, ERNEST: 26/09/1895 (buried at the Platte Valley Cemetery)
• VAUGHN, TOGUE THEDFORD: 18/06/1898 (buried at the Platte Valley Cemetery)

Assuming that Oscar Albin Vaughn is a son of A.J.'s, A.J must have migrated to Nebraska no later than 1878. This and Dean's assertion that A.J. was in Illinois for a few years are the basis for estimating (box on right) that A.J. moved from Sweden to Illinois in 1874 and from Illinois to Nebraska in 1877.

A.J.'s Farm

This [Directory Listing, 1889 Phelps County Map (Phelps County Museum)] lists A.J.:

VAUGHAN, A. J. Occupation: FARMER. Post Office: WESTMARK. WILLIAMSBURG TOWNSHIP, PHELPS COUNTY, NE.

In an email, Dean Randall Lindstrom writes:

Great grandpa homesteaded in northern Phelps county. [...] The land that he homesteaded is about 16 miles northwest of Holdrege in Westside Township with a legal description as follows: The Southeast quarter of Section 32, Township 8, Range 19 West of Principal Meridian, Phelps County, Nebraska. The county recorder's office doesn't have the old real estate deeds inserted on their computerized database, so I will have to go to Holdrege sometime and walk in the Phelps County Recorders Office and find the original or microfilmed recorded deed from United States of America to A.J. Vaughn, August J.Vaughn, August Johnson, or whatever name he used back in the 1880's when he first homesteaded it. The landowner now on that place is Ryan C. Vaughn, who is my cousin, Stanley Vaughn's son, who now owns and farms the land which is identified as parcel ID # [004357.00] by the Phelps County Assessor, and, contains 165.44 acres more or less. You can see the parcel description on the Phelps County Assessor's records, and, [Rd & 744 Rd, Loomis, Phelps, Nebraska 68958&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=FTyzawIdltgR-g&split=0&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=23.875,57.630033&hq=&hnear=H Rd & 744 Rd, Loomis, Phelps, Nebraska 68958&ll=40.620044,-99.50562&spn=0.017721,0.038581&t=h&z=15 view] the parcel map on Google Earth if you wish. There is no house or farm buildings on the farm now. and, it is used only for farmland for corn and soybeans.

(The address of the above map is "H Rd & 744 Rd, Loomis, Phelps, Nebraska 68958")

I can remember when A. J. Vaughn raised registered Hereford cattle on the farm. My uncle Lee says that in the early 1900's A.J. Vaughn (his grandpa) sold high quality registered Hereford (red & white) bulls and bred cows to other ranchers and producers at auction at the farmstead on an annual basis. My mother, Aline, when she was a young girl, used to help her grandparents by helping to cook meals at harvest time or on special occasions when they needed to feed extra farm workers. A.J. Vaughn and his wife, Matilda raised 8 sons and 1 daughter. Great Grandpa Vaughn loved his trotting horses and had a race track behind his horse barn where he trained the "trotting gait" to his horses. My uncle Lee says that he remembers the horses in training wore a harsh metal appliance on the horse shoulders and legs which would cause them to bleed until they learned the special gait to make them a trotter. Then they were used to race with a two wheel cart which had bicycle-like tires.

Identifying A.J's Wife

Two records indicate that an August W Johnson married a Matilda Swan in Illinois (Rock Island County) in 1871. It is doubtful that this is A.J., as Matilda (born 1856) would only have been 15.

• JOHNSON, AUGUST W married 5 Jan 1871 in ROCK ISLAND COUNTY, ILLINOIS, U.S.A. a bride named MATILDA SWAN.
• JOHNSON, AUGUST W SWAN, MATILDA 01/05/1871 00C/0162 00007611 ROCK ISLAND

More likely is another source that claims the marriage to Matilda S Peterson occurred on 31 Dec 1877 in Galesburg, Illinois.. The Illinois Statewide archives has a similar record (differing only in the day of the month):

• Groom: JOHNSON, AUGUST
• Bride: PETERSON, MATILDA S
• Date: 1877-12-3
• Volume/Page: 00E/0238
• License #: 00004716
• County: KNOX (Note: Knox's county seat is Galeburg)