Town: Goehner

Willard & Celia Black Family of Merrick County, Nebraska

A History of Merrick County, Nebraska to 1895

Willard E. Black and Celia McCollister Black, high school sweethearts from Central City, Nebraska, are set to celebrate their forty-fifth wedding anniversary on July 27, 1981. Willard, born near Fullerton, Nebraska, moved to Merrick County in 1917. Celia, born near Goehner, Nebraska, moved to Central City in 1920. The couple has primarily lived on a farm north of Central City, where Willard and his brother Merlin formed a farming partnership post-World War II. They have three children: Dale, Linda, and Jolene, and have been active members of the Methodist Church. The Blacks plan to retire to Central City soon.

Biography of W. B. Graul

Pioneer Stories of the Pioneers of Fillmore and adjoining Counties title page

W. B. Graul came from Pennsylvania to Nebraska with his father; Levi Joseph Graul arrived at Milford, April 1, 1871. They settled on a farm one and a half miles north west of Goehner, in Seward County, where the mother still lives; the father was killed by lightning on May 19, 1897. Their first night in Nebraska was spent in visiting with William Bivens, the wind that evening was so strong that it upset their wagon. When the father commenced farming he had only a team of horses and five dollars, so he rented a small house; which was guaranteed … Read more