I was born on Long Island on January 7th, 1880, and I have lived here all the later part of my life. My father was born in Farmingdale on May 29th, 1853. As a young man of 20 years he worked for a short time on the Long Island Railroad selling foodstuffs on the train. He was the youngest of eleven children and had a roaming disposition and left home to see the world. He got as far as Lake City, Iowa and a short time later met his future wife to be, a Mary Jane Puckett, who was a young school teacher at the time. After about six months, [on October 15, 1874] they were married and lived in Iowa for about one year when my oldest sister was born. Then they came back to Long Island for about three or four years where my next older sister and I were born. But my dad still had that longing for the Old West where things were rugged, so he left again and settled in Nebraska near the Niobrara River, which was 20 miles from the nearest town called Atkinson. This was a very lonely place. ... I am resolved now that God had a purpose in saving my life, and I sincerely hope I can carry out his plans.
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