DENSON, BEN AND MAUDE FAMILY

By Alida Denson Fisher

Family Histories • Entry F107

Ben Denson Family about 1949 in Mullen. L-R: Alida Fisher, Maude, Ben and Richard.

Alfred Richard Denson came from En-gland. He married Catherine Collingwood of Pennsylvania and they later moved to Neb-raska. George Bennett (Ben) Denson was born January 26, 1889, was the youngest of their ten children. The family lived in Madison County during Ben's childhood, and as a young man, he moved to Cherry County.

Maude Ethel Howe was born August 4, 1891 in Iowa. She was the second of four daughters of Bart and Ruby (Sturgis) Howe. The family later settled in Cherry County about 20 miles north of Mullen. Maude and her sisters attended Wells School. Some of the older Charlie Long children were among their classmates.

Ben and Maude were married in 1910. To this union were born 2 children Darley Alida February 12, 1911 and Richard Barton, October 24, 1914. They lived on their home-stead place in a sod house, 22 miles north of Mullen. Alida and Richard also attended Wells School. Some of their classmates were Vedor, Arnold, Glen, Mildred and Fred Palmgren; Laverne, Elwin, Lucille and Evelyn Johnson; LeRoy, June and Eileen Anders; the Charlie Carter children and the younger ones of the Charlie Long family.

In 1926, the Densons went to Pierce, Neb-raska to be near Ben's aging mother, and the 2 children attended school there. In the spring of 1927, they moved to Hooker County and lived on the Fred Zempke place on the Middle Loup River, just north of Mullen, for 5 years. Besides having range cattle, they had a dairy and a big, big truck garden, delivering milk and vegetables in town. Alida and Richard graduated from High School in Mullen.

Ben and Maude bought the Louis Palm-gren place joining their homestead in Cherry County. They moved there in the fall of 1931 and farmed and ranched during the depres-sion years. They sold out in 1937 and moved to Mullen. They bought the Art Jacobson house in the west part of town. They spent several winters trapping in the Big Creek and Carver Ranches area. They traveled for several summers running a shooting gallery but home was always in Mullen.

Maude died June 2, 1955 and Ben contin-ued to live in Mullen and with his children part of the time until his death December 13, 1966. They are both buried in Cederview Cemetery Mullen, Nebraska.