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The "fateful" message came from America. This letter came to the family of Jacob Christian Hasart Sr. Newly married on February 10, 1887 to Magdalena Weisshaar and with one son just over a year old this letter brought hope and promise to them as the doctor had told Jacob that he had tuberculosis and that he had one year to live unless he would leave the country. The area around the Black Sea was damp so they needed a place where the air was dry. His brother-in-law wrote that "this country could be the answer to their desires of wanting to go to a better place. Here one could hope for a better life and with hard work and the blessing from God a new beginning could be made." The thought of obtaining "land for the settling" was a dream to those whose future was very bleak due to crowding and life under Russian rule. So the decision was made to leave. Goodby'es were said and off the couple sailed to somewhere near Idalia, Colorado. We do not know which port of embarkation that they arrived, just somewhere on the east coast. They made arrangements with the railroad people to go to Idalia but they could not find it on the map so they figured that Otis, Colorado was near there. Their thoughts of this trip are mostly unknown but we do know that it took them three weeks to sail across and they came in stearage class and brought along bread and cheese to eat on the trip. One comforting thought was that they were going to be with relatives and Lena's brother, John Weisshaar, lived near Idalia. Upon arriving at Otis they hired a man with a team of thin horses and a wagon to haul their trunks and little children. Two other families came with them on this trip. They were the Kamlas who later went on to St. Francis, Kansas and the Howagners. The adults had to walk along and they were very depressed. Lena said that she was so frightened on this trip from Otis to Idalia because the man who was taking them could not speak German and they couldn't speak English. She was afraid that this man was not taking them to the right destination. They stopped at farms along the way and they were given shelter for the night in their barns. They stopped at a farm just south of what is now highway 36 just north of Kirk and found that this family, the Reidasels, could speak German and she was so happy to know that they were near their destination. At this time Jacob vowed that as soon as he could earn enough money they were going back! No one could live on this bleak barren land, the rabbits even died here as they found dead rabbits along the trail. It was in April that they arrived in Idalia and found the farm of John Weisshaar. They had left Russia on March 11, 1889 and on May 1 he took up a homestead five miles southwest of Idalia. He purchased a relinquishment and took a tree claim. They must have lived with the Weisshaars until they could build their home which was made of rock held together with adobe. That first year he broke out 20 acres and planted it all to wheat. He had obtained a pair of oxen and some implements and tools. The other settlers made fun of him for doing this. At harvest time he cut it with a hand scythe and stacked it. He proceeded to fashion a threshing rock out of native limestone and threshed the wheat. He was able to sell his extra wheat to the miller. He also worked for J.P. Evans and they became very good friends. He possibly worked for others to earn the much needed cash and was able to purchase a saddle horse. Supplies were hard to get so he and a neighbor went to Burlington, a two day trip, with the team and wagon. Mrs. Lehman came to stay with Lena and Toby as it was very scarry to stay alone out on the prairie. After it was dark the women heard something outside. Mrs. Lehman's son Eads thought it was Indians. They kept hearing this scratching sound and were really frightened so they decided to put on the coats and hats of the men folk and lit the lamp (there were no curtains on the windows) so the Indians would think the men were home; they stayed up all night. The next morning they gathered their courage and went outside to find that the source of all the sound was the horse. It had gotten loose and had rubbed on the house all night. Such was the life on the prairies. They saw very few Indians as they rarely passed through and they were in small groups and bothered no one. Jacob made caskets for the community. One winter he ran out of lumber and there was another death so he pulled up the flooring in his bedroom and made the casket. They stayed on the farm and survived the dry years in the middle 1890's. Their children Lena, John and Jacob Jr. were born during this time. Toby became ill with osteonyelitis and died on March 10, 1902 and was buried in St. John's United Brethren Church's cemetery. In 1904 Jake traveled to Fall River, Kansas to see a farm that was for trade. He was pleased with what he found and the trade was made with the Motsenberger family. They wanted to go where there was more rainfall so they loaded up their personal belongings, as they had made a swap for the machinery and other farm items, boarded the train and moved to Kansas. When they got there and looked around they found that the equipment that they had traded for was all gone and had been replaced with other pieces. They were heart broken as they had left good equipment back, in Colorado. Jacob went to the barn and brooded for days. They made the best of the situation and proceeded to get to work. While in Fall River the children attended school and Jacob also attended so that he could become proficient in the English language and could figure and learn the skills necessary for the carpentry trade. The family never spoke German at home as they were in America now and they were Americans. They farmed and raised Galloway Angus cattle and were able to make a go of the farm. They lived in Kansas until 1918 when they moved back to Colorado where their boys, John and Jake were living and working. They had bought the farm land from the Fisher brothers who moved back to Nebraska. This farm is located 7 miles north and 4 miles east of Stratton, Colorado. At that time there was a trail that headed northeast across the prairie that came by the farm. When Jake came out from Kansas he brought some horses -and arrived in the middle of the night and he headed out across the prairie with the horses and arrived at the farm by daylight. After John and Jake were married, Jacob and Lena moved to Burlington where he helped construct the "Penny" building on Main St. This building housed "Penny" Bros. Machinery and Hardware for many years. In 1930 they moved to Stratton, Colorado where they spent the remaining years of their lives. While living on the farm they were members of Immanuel Lutheran Church and Jacob helped supervise the building of the new church building in 1925-26. All the benches were made in the barn by him with the help of others. He also constructed the barns and other buildings on the home place and John's place. The frame house on the home place was built in 1925-26. Jacob Christian Hasart Sr. was the oldest son of Tobias Hasart and his wife Frederika. He was born in Lichenthal, Bessarabia, South Russia on November 2,1865. He was married to Magdelena Weisshaar on February 10, 1887. Lena was born on September 29, 1867 at Lichtenthal, Bessarabia, Russia and died on May 7, 1943. Jacob died on October 1, 1948. After Lena passed away Jacob went to live with his sons Jake and John. They were members of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Stratton. Their children were Tobias who died in 1902. Magdelena (Lena) Kirby of Great Falls, Montana; John F. of Stratton; and Jacob C. of Burlington. All of the children are deceased. Grandson Jim Hasart now resides on the farm northeast of Stratton along with his sons, Jerold who lives on John's farm and Lester who lives north of the home place. |