John Lush

From roots web.ancestry.com:

LUSH, JOHN AND FIANNA John Lush, born in 1887 and died in 1964. Fianna (Pletcher) Lush born in 1892 and died in 1979. In 1907 John Lush was working the family farm near Stuart, Iowa, anxiously awaiting his 21st birthday when he would be eligible to file for homestead land. His brother, Charles and two of his friends who were older had already gone to Wyoming on a scouting trip. In the same month of his 21st birthday, October 1908, John was in Wyoming, joining his brother Charles, who had filed on a homestead claim. They lived together in a small homestead shach until 1910. They had realized for sometime that one of them should be helping their father on the farm in Iowa. When John and Fianna Pletcher decided to get married in the spring of 1910, the decision was made for John to take over the homestead claim and Charles would return to Iowa. John and Fianna were married on March 17, 1910 at the M.E. Parsonage in Cheyenne. They were attended by John's brother Charles. The first class mode of transportation to Cheyenne at that time was by horse and buggy to Burns and passenger train into Cheyenne. The horse was put up at the Livery Barn in Burns until they returned. A new house had been completed for the bride to set up housekeeping. Although extremely small, 12'x20', it had a finished attic for extra sleeping space and a cellar for storage. Within a few years additions to the house would double it's size. In 1912 they were to experience a bumper crop of wheat and oats, which they would long remember but not until 1941 would see it repeated. On January 8, 1914 a patent was issued to John Lush on his claim, legally classified as E1/2 S28 T17N R62W. They bought their first car in 1916, a one year old Dodge touring car from Jake Romsa. In good weather it was now possible to make a trip to Burns and return in one-half day. Could even go to Cheyenne and return in the same day. In the winter time the car was probably put up on blocks and the battery removed and stored in the basement. Burns was 18 miles from the Lush farm and was the closest shopping and trading center. Wheat and other grain to be sold was hauled to Burns with wagon and four horse team. The return trip could include coal, lumber, hardware and almost always groceries either for their family or neighbors along the way. Wheat hauling in the winter time involved leaving before daylight in the morning to assure getting home before darkness in the evening. These long arduous trips were eliminated with the purchase of a Model T truck in 1925. John Lush had brought some work horses from Iowa and had bought more in Wyoming. Plowing ws done with a three bottom gang plow pulled by eight horses, some times he attached a small drill behind the plow for spring seeding and added a ninth horse. Early in the spring of 1925 Charles and his family had decided to return to Iowa. John bought all of the Charles Lush land and buildings. In 1929 he bought a used John Deere tractor which would pull the same plow and drill but would cover more than twice the ground in a day because the long feeding and resting periods of the horses were eliminated. Except for a couple of teams of horses for cattle feeding and pulling cars out of snowdrifts, horses were phased out. Later on came more and larger tractors and combines. Grassland formerly needed for hourses and cattle pasture were broken out for wheatland. Postal service to the farm is now served by Rural Carrier out of Albin, but this wasn't always the case. As a result the John Lush farm mailing address began as Salem, then Golden Prairie, and Wauneta and Divide and Burns and again Divide. Access to country schools was better than average. The Phillips school ws 1 ½ miles S.E., the Davis school 1 ½ miles N.W. After the mid-twenties enrollments dropped off so that both never operated simultaneously. The Davis school was closed in May 1925. The Phillips school 7 years later and everyone ws bused to Albin. In 1947 when John and Fianna retired and turned the farm operation over to their son, Fred, they were farming a total of 1600 acres including rental property. Three children were born and raised on the John Lush farm. William, born in 1916, Mary in 1922 and Fred in 1923. William, a retired machinist and his wife, Melva, live in Cheyenne. Mary (Lush) Wagner, a retired teacher and Librarian and her husband, John, live in Colorado Springs, Fred and his wife, Mildred, live on the farm where he was born and raised.

Census Data: 1910 Federal Census, Wyoming, Laramie Co., Little Horse Creek Precinct, E D# 92 dated May 9, 1910 Lush, John age 22, married once, 0 years, b. Iowa, Parents b. Iowa Occupation is too hard to read. Fannie age 18 married once 0 years, b. Missouri, Parents b. Missouri

1920 Census, Wyoming, Laramie Co., Golden Paririe Precinct, ED #17. She et 1B Lush, Charles B. age 33 b. Iowa Father b. Canada Mother b. Iowa (shou ld be Illinois?) Arvilla age 27 b. Iowa Parents born Ohio William age 1 2/12 b. Iowa Father b. Iowa Mother b. Illinois (should be Iowa?) Living next door were Lush, John age 32 Fannia (Wife) age 31 b. Kansas, Father b. Indiana, Mother b. (Unable to R ead) Donald (Son) age 5 2/12 b. Wyoming I think the enumerator made an error in listing the sons of John and Charl es, William should be John's son and Donald should be Charles' son. In 1930 John is still living in Wyoming and Charles is in Iowa. John h as a son William listed and Charles has a son Donald listed. Also looks like birthplaces of parents are reversed.

1930 Federal Census, Wyoming, Laramie Co. ED# 11-24, Sheet 1B Lush, John age 42, b. Ioway, Father b. Canada, Mother b. New Jersey, fir st married at age 22, Occupation-Farmer, General Farm Fianna age 37, b. Kansas, Father b. Ohio, Mother b. Penn., first marri ed at age 17 William age 13 b. Wyoming, Father b. Iowa, Mother b. Kansas Mary age 8 b. " " " Fred age 6 b. " " "

1930 census:
Election District 10, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
Head John Lush 42 - Farmer - General farm - says mother was born in New Jersey
Wife Fianna Lush 37
Son William Lush 13
Daughter Mary Lush 8
Son Fred Lush 6

1940 census:
Election District 10, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
Head John Lush 52 - Farmer - Farm
Wife Fianne Lush 47
Daughter Mary Lush 18
Son Fred Lush 16

1950 census (April 1st):
Las Cruces, Dona Ana, New Mexico, United States
Wife Fianna Lush 57
Head John Lush 62
Lodger Lee L Peek 30 - born Missouri
Wife Mary L Wagner 28
John Bass 73 (not sure if at this address)