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Last Updated
December 15, 2007
From BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM OF JOHNSON AND PAWNEE COUNTIES
Page 505
ASA E. HEYWOOD. Prominent among the very earliest pioneers of Pawnee County is the subject of this brief personal narrative, who has been a property holder here since the fall of 1856, when he settled on the land where he now lives. His homestead comprises 120 acres of arable land, which at that time was in its virgin state, not a furrow having been turned. There was a small log house on the place, occupied by the Hintons, into which he moved, and the following spring he commenced breaking up and improving the land. He has set out a good orchard, fenced his entire farm, and has it now all under good cultivation, excepting fifty acres of fine timber land. In 1859 Mr. Heywood built a good frame house in Table Rock, where he lived for some time, but which he subsequently moved to this place. In 1860 our subject visited Ohio, and on his return freighted farm produce from here to Denver. He afterward bought a ranch twenty-two miles west of Ft. Kearney, on the Platte River, where he carried on an extensive ranch business, furnishing meals and feed for stock, and having stable room for 300 horses. After living there two years he was driven out by the Indians, who stole his property and killed some of his neighbors, he being obliged to evacuate his premises on a few moments' warning. He left on the stage, traveling in it until he met the soldiers, when he returned with them, and for two weeks assisted in burying the dead and hunting the savages. After leaving Ft. Kearney our subject went to Omaha, thence to White Cloud, Kan., where he engaged for one year in the mercantile business. In 1865 he returned to his homestead, and has since that time devoted himself to agricultural labors. Since coming here Mr. Heywood has had the same obstacles to combat that beset other early settlers of this beautiful State, having been visited by grasshoppers that for two or three years reaped his harvests for him, and having his crops blighted by drouth during the season of the Nebraska-Kansas famine, no rain falling the entire summer with the exception of two slight showers. Our subject, however, felt that he had no grounds for complaint, as he raised twenty bushels of corn to the acre in spite of the unfavorable season. He carries on general farming on an extensive scale, feeding his large annual crop of corn to his cattle.
The subject of this sketch is a native of Ohio, born June 11, 1838, on a farm near Troy, Miami County, where he was reared and educated. Wesley Heywood, the father of our subject, was born in New England, and after living there many years moved to Ohio, where he subsequently met and married as his second wife Miss Amanda Elliott. After a few years of pleasant married life Mr. Heywood died in 1847, leaving his widow with three children. She reared and educated her family by her own efforts for a few years, and then remarried, and subsequently removed to Nebraska, where her death occurred June 30, 1880.
When Asa E. Heywood, of whom we write, came to this county he was accompanied by his mother, his step-father Nathan Heywood, one brother, one sister and two half-sisters. The sister and brother have since died, he being the only surviving member of the family of Wesley Heywood. For the greater part of the time since making his home in this precinct Mr. Heywood has taken a prominent part in educational matters, having been Moderator of the school district, and one of the men who assisted in building the present school-house. Previous to its erection the only schools in the precinct were one taught by Mrs. Bull of this district in a log house of her own, and one taught by Miss Frances J. Mumford (now the wife of our subject) in the village of Table Rock, in a log school-house that had formerly been used as a dwelling, that being one of the first schools in the county. It was a select school where each pupil paid his own tuition; she had thirty scholars enrolled, and made $25 a month. Mrs. Heywood while a young lady was a student of Arrow Rock prior to teaching in Table Rock. She gave up the calling of teacher to become the wife of our subject. Their marriage was consummated April 17, 1860. She is a native of Wayne County, Pa., born March 16, 1839. Jerry Mumford, her great-grandfather, was one of the very earliest settlers of Wayne County, where he spent his last years. His son Thomas, grandfather of Mrs. Heywood, spent his entire life in that county, and there his son Martin J., the father of Mrs. Heywood, was born Feb. 26. 1808, in Mt. Pleasant Township. He was reared and educated in his native town, receiving a good education, and teaching school there until twenty-two years of age. He then moved to Susquehanna County, where he married, in July, 1829, Miss Maria Tracy, by whom he had twelve children, five of whom grew to maturity, and three are still living. Mr. Mumford settled on a farm in that county, and remained there until 1856, when he disposed of his property and came to Nebraska with his family. He became one of the orginal (sic) settlers of Table Rock Precinct, and at once identified himself with its interests, taking a prominent part in public affairs. He was the first Justice of the Peace ever elected in that part of the county, and held the office for thirty years, from 1856 to 1886. He served as County Assessor for one year, and has also been a conveyancer. He is a worthy representative of the stalwart pioneers of the early days, who, with their energetic and industrious characteristics, sound common sense and excellent business tact, leave so well advanced the interests of their communities. He has retired from the active labors of life, having by assiduous toil amassed a sufficient sum to enable him to spend the remainder of his years free from care. Mrs. Mumford, who died Feb. 23, 1885, was born in Connecticut, Nov. 18, 1801, and is the daughter of Jeremiah Tracy, a farmer of that State, who subsequently moved to Wayne County, Pa. Both Mr. and Mrs. Mumford communed at the Methodist Episcopal Church after coming to Nebraska, although in Pennsylvania they had been members of the Presbyterian Church.
The union of our subject and his wife has been blessed by the birth of eight children, four of whom are living, namely: Albert L. was married, Jan. 10, 1889, to Miss Mary A. Harrison, and they reside in Table Rock Precinct; Elliot M., Katie M. and Wilma. The three latter are at home and are receiving the benefit of a good education.
During his long career as a pioneer and citizen of Pawnee County our subject has ever displayed most excellent business qualities and discriminating judgment, and has proved it most valuable counselor in all matters pertaining to the welfare of this township. Both he and his wife are people of high consideration in social circles, and are much esteemed for their courtesy and geniality. Politically, Mr. Heywood formerly was it Republican, but is now a Prohibitionist.
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