BOYCE, JOHN H. AND JENETTE (JOHNSON)
John H. Boyce was born in Peru, Illinois, October 13, 1864. His parents were Joseph and Matelda Boyce. He had 2 brothers and several sisters. The family left Illinois and went to Kansas to farm. When the gras-shoppers moved in, the family packed their covered wagon and moved back to Kansas to try farming again. After several years they moved to Gordon, NE where John's mother filed on a homestead. This is where John met his bride, Jenette Johnson. They were married May 21, 1890 in Gordon.
John's wife Jenette was born September 6, 1867 in Oslo, Norway to Hilmar and Dorthea Helmerson. John and Jenette raised 5 chil-dren – Elsie May Ellison, Ida Ellen Ellison, Clarence, Jennie Viola Wright, and Florence LaVina Wiese. The family made their home in Gordon till 1900. John and his brother, Joe, came to Hooker County in 1899 and filed a claim on 1 section of land apiece. They each built a house on their land and put up the hay. In 1900 they moved the family of 4 small children by covered wagon to their home-stead 18 miles southwest of Mullen. Florence was born after they moved to Mullen. John bought out his brother a few years later. They called the homestead the J.H. Boyce ranch. To this day it is called the Boyce ranch.
John farmed, raised cattle, some hogs and horses. The horses were their transportation as well as they were used to pull the machinery as no tractors were heard of. As time passed on John bought more land, more cattle and put more improvements on the place. The wood frame house that he built when he homesteaded in 1899 still stands at the ranch.
John served on the school board, county commissioner, auctioneer at social box suppers, and took part in anything else where a helping hand was needed. He liked to play ball, horse shoes, cribbage and checkers. He made lots of tops out of spools for the children.
Mrs. Boyce was one of the best cooks and was always willing to lend a helping hand where ever needed. She raised lots of turkeys, ducks, chickens and a bog garden. She did lots of canning. The pork was salted down for the table use. Mrs. Boyce pieced quilts in winter and quilted them in the summer. She quilted them in the hay mow of the barn where she tied the quilts to the rafters with ropes, so she could set on a chair and quilt. She also sewed carpet rags and they were sewed together by hand and used as a carpet to cover the floors in the winter. Corn shucks or straw was put under them to make it warmer. This was all removed in the spring and the carpets put up for the next winter. Mrs. Boyce sewed, crocketed and read her Bible, lots. She made her own soap for dishes, laundry and cleaning. Her laundry was done on the wash board.
In the spring the neighbors went together for several years on a fishing trip. John, Ike Wells, Jess Kemp, and Walt Sailor hitched 4 horses to a big wagon, took camping equipment, barrels and salt. Ike Wells was the cook, cleaned the fish, salted them down in the barrels while the other men caught the fish. They stayed until they filled their barrels. The fish kept all summer. They fished at “Mother Lake'' north of Hyannis. These same men in the fall would go duck hunting, always starting from the Boyce ranch and returning there. Ike Wells would divide the ducks in even piles, so they came out even for each man. Ike Wells lived where Benny French lives now.
Many ranchers went together and built a dipping vat at the Ike Wells ranch. They dipped their cattle in the spring to delouse their herd. This would take many days to get each ranchers herd run through the vat. They would push most of the cattle through, but some had to be put in cages and pulled through by a team of horses. They had to make sure the cattle's heads went under the dip.
For entertainment the neighbors would gather some nights and have an oyster supper. The men would play cards to see who would pay for the oysters. The ladies baked cakes and the children played. John always hitched a team of horses to a wagon and took the family to Sunday School and church on Sundays, which was held in school houses. All the traveling Pastors and Evangelist's stayed at the Boyces. Many other travelers made the ranch their over night stop. They were always welcome.
The ranchers had to drive their cattle to Hecla to load them on the train to be shipped to market in Omaha. Hecla was 9 miles north of the ranch. Hecla had stock yards, water tank for trains, a store, section house, a big hall, several other buildings and people. The Boyce ranch was a night stop for the ranchers taking cattle to Hecla. Passengers trains always stopped in Hecla, too. There are no buildings left at Hecla now.
The Boyce's had a radio, but no T.V., as it had not been heard of.
The Boyce's retired from the ranch in 1943. John bought the Lizzie Ladley house in the south part of Mullen (now the Ernest Kraye house). He sold the ranch to his son, Clarence (Bill). Clarence's grandsons Steve and Mark Lattin have the ranch now.
John passed away December 1, 1957 at 93 years of age. Mrs. Boyce passed away July 4, 1952 at the age of 86. They are buried at the Cedar View Cemetery at Mullen.
Elsie Ellison of Kennewick, Washington, Ida Ellison of Lomita, California, and Jennie Wright of Mullen are still living. Clarence passed away April 29, 1963 and Florence Wiese passed away May 28, 1984.