Birth:
Jul. 4, 1819
Charleston
Kanawha County
West Virginia, USA
Death:
Feb. 18, 1900
Taylor
Loup County
Nebraska, USA
Excerpt
from Taylor Clarion Newspaper, Loup County, Nebraska, dated March 1, 1900. Copyright
expired, no permission needed:
Lost--Frozen to Death--
Francis Britton was buried on Sunday, Rev. Wizner
officiating. Grand Pa Britton was born in Virginia eighty-one years
ago last July. His boyhood days were spent in his native state and
Ohio and previous to locating in Loup County, about 1887, he resided
in Iowa and Kansas. His wife died three years ago last June, since
which he has failed in health very fast. He leaves four sons and four
daughters; all in this county except three - two in Iowa and one in
Kansas. He has been a member of the Baptist church for twenty years,
which is as far back as we can learn at this writing.
On Tuesday, the 13th, ult., he left
his daughter's residence in Taylor, Mrs. F.A. Wirsig, in the afternoon, saying
he was going home, which he made with another daughter, Mrs. Jos. Ferguson, about
five miles northwest. That was the last seen of him until his body was found on
Friday, the 23rd, on the ice about nine miles up the river, and no one knew he
was missing until the day before, Thursday, when Mr. Ferguson came to town and
chancing to meet Mr. Wirsig, the question was asked, "How is father?"
As he could not be found at any of his usual stopping places it was soon noised
around that he was lost north of the river and in a short time there were thirty
or forty over there searching which was kept up until dark, The next morning over
50 started out and scoured the north side of the river when they found the body
on the ice, and that is all that is known of his wandrings after he left town
13 days before. Had the finding of the body been delayed another day the chances
are it would have been under the ice and there is no telling when it would have
been found, perhaps never.
You all remember that
was the Tuesday afternoon when the big snow storm commenced and continued for
nearly 24 hours, and that Wed. night the wind blew quite hard, then of Fri. the
wind blew so hard the snow was drifted into the low place and where there was
anything to check it was piled up two foot deep or more. Consequently every track
of whatever description made before Thursday morning was completely obliterated.
Mr.
Britton had very poor eyesight - could not recognize an old friend ten feet distant,
unless spoken to - so you can judge the condition he might have been in, as he
had to face the storm. It would have staggered a well and strong young man. We
are told this was the third or fourth time he strayed out of his course, but under
more favorable conditions.
This is the saddest occurence
we have ever been called upon to chronicle. Sad, to contemplate. Sad, for the
manner of his death. Sad, to think that he, an old, feeble, blind, decrepit person
should be allowed to start off, alone, in the face of such a storm. Sad, to think
that a human being had been wandering indescriminately, lost, and finally obliged
to lay his aching benumbed and weary body down on the cold ice with no covering
to shield his emaciated form from the cold blasts of winter except the stars above,
to breathe his last, almost within hailing distance of succor.
No
news, probably, has ever shocked or caused the cold shivers to course through
the veins of our community as did this. For four or five days past the air has
been full of criticisms, etc., but if there is any blame to be laid at the door
of any one for the sad occurences, we will leave it with the JUDGE of Judges.
______________________________
Taken
from letter by Eva Britton, Taylor, NE
"After his (Francis Britton) wife passed on, he went to stay
with his children for a week at a time. This time he was at Lem's
dad's home - Charlie Britton's place - 7 miles, north 2 miles &
5 west of Taylor. He would stay a week or so at each one's place he
had four children: Charlie, Albert, Mary Wirsig, Ida Ferguson. So
he went from Charlie's home to Mary Wirsig's home in Taylor and stayed
5 or 6 days ( in the meantime it had snowed about 5 inches (Lem, my
husband always said) it was a rather fair morning so he said he was
going to ride up to Ida's and stay a week with her, well he left Mary's
about 10:30, the wind came up pretty soon and got colder every hour
and finally you couldn't see and it was zero cold, no phone, no way
of knowing he left nor knowing if he got to Ida's home: Well, on a
Monday or Tuesday morning his faithful old horse was in Lem's parents
yard waiting to be unsaddled and fed. Well, they knew something was
wrong so they went down to Ida's to see what she knew. He had ate
dinner with them the day he went to Aunt Marys and didn't know anything
more so her husband and Lem's dad (Charlie) went down to Aunt Mary
in Taylor. He left about 11 o'clock the day the blizzard came up and
got colder - the temp fell to 30 below - next morning no wind so they
told people in Taylor about him being lost; people turned out to hunt
him. They found him the second day. There was a family living across
the river and they figured he had taken shelter in the brush and a
bank, but got sleepy and laid down, stomach on ground and arm under
head. He probably thought he would go over there when morning came.
They didn't know how long he had been gone - maybe lived in willows
a day or so, thought someone would find him or come to cut willows
for fuel and find him. Some thought the horse had waited 3 or 4 days
for him to come to and some thought he had tied the horse to the willows
and he would sleep arm under his forehead, coat all buttoned up. Water
had ran, they had to chop him out of the ice, he hadn't moved after
he laid down, Lem always said.
_____________________________
According
to Cora Ferguson: he left Fort Madison, Iowa as a young man when gold was discovered
in California in 1849. He sailed down the Mississippi river to the Gulf of Mexico.
He boarded a ship and sailed around the southern tip of South America and back
up to California where he searched for gold for several years. He didn't find
any so he worked his way overland back to Fort Madison where he packed up his
family and went to Nebraska
______________________________
from
e-mail from Marilyn & Glenn Britton: "My father-in-law, Harry Britton
(dec.1979) used to tell us that 2 brothers came out to the Gold rush in California.
'One became homesick for Iowa/Neb and went home and the other brother (who stayed)
was not heard from again'
______________________________
According
to Mahala Britton Thompson, Francis was born in Dublin, Ireland and came to this
country alone as a young boy. She remembers him speaking with an Irish accent.
[There doesn't seem to be any proof that Francis was born in Ireland. All records
point to him being born in VA (now WV)
______________________________
According
to Eva Britton (Letter 11/8/77)
"I would say the Brittons left Iowa to
get 640 acres of land for filing on it, then living on it for 5 to 7 years and
put enough improvement on it to make it worth $1200 or $1500. It was poor land.
Congress enacted the Homestead Act or law and people got homesteads. In 7 years,
Congresss got taxes off those acres. Schools, churches, bridges and post offices
were built, blacksmith shops, grocers store, roads & schools....When people
came to Nebr. they followed a river for water for their family, for their horses.
Most had a chicken crate on the side of the wagon, also a pig or so, and led a
cow along ..
______________________________
According
to Melvin Hyde letter 20 Apr 1978--Cora Ferguson says she can remember Francis
quite well as he stayed at their place and she was 6 when he died. She said she
liked him and got along good with him. She said he got himself in the predicament
he did because no one could tell him what to do and his horse was lame and he
wouldn't ride it.
______________________________
from
letter of Ruth Wirsig " I have heard my mother tell of my gr grandfather
Francis Britton, saying he was a very good singer. Also, left his family &
went to look for gold in California. was gone for some time. She remembered of
his death by freezing.
