Omaha daily bee., 1917-01-17
Early Life of Buffalo BiW'

While there is much being written Of the
career OF the noted scout and Snowman, William
F. Cody, have nothing as to his immediate
ancestors or his early childhood As my span OF
life includes all OF his and almost nine years more,
| will give as best can some facts Of interest:
In the spring OF lS44 my father, James Miller,
moved from Pennsylvania to lie Clare, Scott
county, Iowa, and had near neighbor Isaac
Cody and family, which consisted OF father,
mother and three children, two girls and
boy, Martha. Louise and Samuel People were
very neighborly in those early days-as | re-
member the families quite friendly.
Mr.. Cody a small man and spry OF move
ment. Mrs Cody was feshy lady and like most
heshy people was good natured and Jolly Some
time early in the year 1876 there was born to
them second son, destined to bring fame to the
Cody name. He was noted from his birth, tor
he tipped the scale at fifteen pounds
Like many other famous men he was born In
log house-a house OF one room with loft
as sleeping room. A stone chimney stood on
the outside on the east end, and the usual fire
place upon which all cooking done within.
There were few black locust trees the
house. This house has long since disappeared.
This place is now included in the farm now be-
longing to man by the name of John Wilson
and is located west of the town of LIE Claire.
Isaac Cody, like his distinguished son, believed
Colonel Breckenridge to break up and improve
5000 acres OF land near the north line of Scott
county, For this work he bought at least 100
yoke OF oxen, twenty-five pows and hired twen-
ty-hve young men to run them one OF whom was
my Oldest brother.
| do not recall the year the family moved to
Kansas. Cody was an ardent free-soer and an
anti-slavery man. 1t was during the time that
Kansas was struggling to become free state
that Mr. Cody was killed
All know OF the Codys since they left Iowa
| got from the colonel in two visits | had with
him within the last three years He told me he
believed me to be the only person living who
had known his people in Iowa. He seemed
greatly pleased that l had called upon him and
those early times and insisted that | stop and
have dinner with him, which | did and greatly
enjoyed in his mess tent
He told me that each time he came to Dav-
export, Ia, in his travels that he hired team
and drove out to Walnut Grove-a distance Of
twenty miles-to visit his brothers grave.
He said, did you know Bob Porter, livery
man, there"
az did" said. '... ..,. .,.'
We'll, asked him for the best team he had
you want driver?' NO | want to go alone.
We don't let strangers drive our best team, it is
hard to manage Porter if you have team
Bill Cody can't drive, I want to see it. oh! |
didn't recognize you
Cody got the team.
He told me Of his father preparing to go to
California in the spring of lS49 and backing out
the morning the caravan to have started.
As very well remember as my Oldest brother
went with the caravan. He also told me that he
enlisted in the Seventh Kansas mounted infantry
otherwise known as the Kansas Jayhawkers.' -
| doubt if there was another regiment in the
western army that was its equal in its art of con-
fscating and destroying the property of the
enemy. As to his having served in the legislature
I have this to say he told me he had been elected
in early times as state senator, but resigned and
didn't serve. / have also heard that he ran
against D. P. Ashburn of Gibbon and was de-
clared elected and the latter contested Codys
election and won out.
| Kearney, Neb. J. E. MILLER.