ANDREWS, BENJAMIN B. AND GINA (SKOUG)

by Helen Fitzgerald

Entry F5 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

Benjamin Andrews Wedding January 4, 1894.

Gina (Skoug) Andrews Wedding January 4, 1894.

Benjamin Beland Andrews was born in
Syracuse, New York June 15, 1861. He moved
with his parents to Sioux City, Iowa when he
was a young man. He was employed by the
Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Co. as a
conductor for several years and this job took
him to Sioux Falls, South Dakota where he
met Gina Skoug.

Gina Skoug was born in Lillihammer,
Norway on April 8, 1869. She came with her
parents to Sioux Falls when she was sixteen
years old. She and her sister were taught to
sew by their father, an accomplished tailor.
They opened a dress making shop and were
in business together until she married Ben
Andrews on January 4, 1894.

They came to the Sandhills of Cherry
county, being influenced by Henry Emmick,
stepfather of Ben who had earlier home-
steaded in Cherry county. He filed on a claim
four miles east of the Big Creek ranch and
later bought the land owned by Emmick,
which was adjoining, when Emmick returned
to Iowa.

By 1903 Ben and Gina had four children.
The two oldest, Fred and Mildred were of
school age and there was no place for them
for miles around so Ben made a long difficult
wagon trip through the sandhills about fifty
miles to Woodlake to put Fred and Mildred
on the east-bound train to Sioux Falls and
Sioux City. Fred went to Sioux Falls to go to
school and to live with his Norwegian grand-
parents. They could not speak English.
Mildred went to Sioux City, Iowa to live with
her aunt, Gina's sister. Later, when he
reached school age, Dudley joined Fred in
Sioux Falls.

It was soon apparent to Ben and Gina that
there had to be a better way to educate their
children. Ben donated land, organized the
nearest neighbors and established Cherry
County District No. 147. He helped build a
school house about one-half mile east of the
Andrews home.

Ben and Gina had ten children; Fred,
Mildred, Dudley, Lucien, Harvey, Ralph,
Gerald, Helen, Doris and Ruth. Each of them
attended the District No. 147 school for all
or part of their elementary education.

The family's first home was a log cabin.
Later, with the help of neighbors a larger, sod
house was built which, in turn, was replaced
by a frame house, still larger. This housed the
family until the time of Ben's death, January
28, 1928.

Gina moved from the ranch to Mullen
where Gerald, Helen, Doris and Ruth and a
grandson, Joe Richardson graduated from
Mullen High School.

The three older boys were in ranching
locally until Fred moved to Idaho, Dudley to
Los Angeles and Lucien retired and moved
into Mullen. Harvey and Gerald owned and
operated a refrigeration business in North-
ridge, California and Ralph was in the same
line of work in Bakersfield, California.

Mildred married a homesteader, Frank
Richardson and they lived on his Cherry
County claim north of the Big Creek Ranch.
Their son, Joe made his home with his
grandparents, Ben and Gina after Mildred
died in 1919.

Doris taught south of Mullen and then
went to Sioux Falls College. Upon graduation
she taught in South Dakota and later moved
to Los Angeles, California.

Ruth graduated from the University of
Nebraska at Omaha with a degree in nursing.

After Ben's death in 1928 Gina's move into
town became permanent. Earlier she had
spent each school year in town and had
returned to the ranch during the summer.
Helen and Doris were teaching in Hooker
County. Ruth was in college and grandson
Joe was still attending high school. Her home
in town was week-end and summer headquar-
ters for Helen and Doris and home to Joe.

After Ruth had graduated from college and
Helen had married, Gina accompanied Ruth
to Los Angeles in 1934. In 1950 she returned
to Mullen and lived with Wayne and Helen
Fitzgerald until her death in August, 1958 at
age 89.