I am still looking for information on what happened to Katie (Geeske)
Johnson Greenfield. No divorce record is on file in
Beadle county which doesn't surprise me. Below is the timeline of information that I do have on Menno & Katie. Hopefully this will spark some new leads!
Menno
Greenfield & Katie (Geeske)
Johnson (
Janssen) timeline
22 June 1877 – Menno & Katie married in
Grundy county,
Iowa10 April 1878 – son, Frederick Menno
Greenfield born
October 1879 – son, Thomas
Greenfield born; died between 8 June 1880 – 19 April 1883
26 August 1881 – daughter, Bertha
Greenfield born
20 April 1883 – settled in
Beadle county,
South Dakota and filed for land patent (Menno’s brother Peter & their mother also settled in
Beadle county around this time in the same section of land; Peter’s wife Johanna was Katie’s best friend)
May 1883 – son, Tinus
Greenfield was born
April 1883-October 1884 – Added house and stable to land; broke 25 acres and planted 15 acres
15 December 1884 - Final proof of claim to land was printed in The
Wolsey Journal from 31 October 1884 through 5 December 1884; witnesses of residence included Robert Lambrecht, Caroline Rackebrand, Joseph Anthony and D.P. Whorton, all of
Wolsey.
1885 – Menno, Katie, Fred, Bertha and Tinus listed in
Dakota Territory census
14 January 1885 – paid $256 for 160 acres of land in
Beadle county, SD; Mortgagee was American Investment Company
3 July 1885 – son, John
Greenfield born
April 1887 – Peter’s & Menno’s mother passes away, originally buried on Peter’s land and later moved to cemetery in
Wolsey,
Beadle,
South Dakota12 July 1888 – daughter, Myrtle
Greenfield born
24 November 1888 – sold 160 acres of land to C.F. Blivan for $1,000 (Menno continued to live on land)
18 December 1888 – agreement with Aaron
Vance to buy 3 cows and 2 heifers for the sum of $27.50; sum payable on 18 March 1889
(This is the start of 5+ years of at least 5 court cases regarding paying for these 5 cattle and them being taken and advertised for sale. According to the court papers, Thomas
Sargent was not a resident of
Beadle county,
South Dakota. Attorneys involved include K.W. Wheeler for Thomas
Sargent and A. B. Melville for Menno
Greenfield. No final resolution was included in the court files that I received)
15 April 1889 – Menno paid $15.00 on his $27.50 mortgage to Aaron
Vance.
2 May 1889 – Thomas
Sargent took the cattle from Menno Greenfield’s property with the intent to sell them to pay the remainder of the mortgage plus the $25 in attorney fees allowed by the mortgage papers
6 May 1889 – Order of court to show cause why foreclosure should move forward – foreclosure sale was stopped
10 June 1889 – Menno filed complaint against Thomas N. Sargent (some papers list the last name as Sarchett) for unlawful retention of Menno’s personal property (3 cows and 2 heifers) – Katie signed affidavit of surety (meaning Menno had the funds for a court case) with legal name of Geeske
Greenfield (her mark only)
11 June 1889 –
Summons served on Menno
Greenfield regarding the following: Thomas U Sarchett (aka Thomas N
Sargent) files first complaint against Menno
Greenfield for foreclosure on the mortgage for the 5 cattle bought from Aaron
Vance – Menno failed to pay $12.50 of the $27.50 that was owed to Aaron
Vance (no note is in the court paperwork of why Thomas
Sargent is pursuing this action versus Aaron
Vance);
Summons delivered to wife of the defendant
17 July 1889 – land patented to Menno
1890-1891 – Menno’s brother Peter & his family move back to
Iowa. Katie is reported to have still been with Menno & family when Peter & Johnana leave
South Dakota8 February 1890 – Thomas N
Sargent files complaint against Menno
17 February 1891 – Menno refiles complaint against
Sargent3 March 1892 – Case of Menno
Greenfield v. Thos. N. Sargent heard by jury trial &
Judge Campbell – verdict for Menno for return of cattle plus monetary damages
October 1892 – case officially closed in
Greenfield v
Sargent27 September 1893 – Order of reference in
Sargent v Greenfield;
Judge Campbell referred case to mediator (attorney within court system) to resolve issues once and for all
25 September 1894 – Mrs Katie
Greenfield had mail to pick up in
Huron per ad in
Huron newspaper
1895 – Katie and Tinus not listed with Menno, Fred, Bertha, John and Myrtle in
South Dakota state census
14 December 1895 – M.F. Greenfield (Menno) had mail to pick up in
Huron per newspaper
November 1896 – C.F. Blivan loses land in foreclosure sale
18 March 1897 – M.F. Greenfield (Menno) had mail to pick up in
Huron per newspaper
11 June 1900 – Menno, Fred, Bertha, Tinus and John listed in census living in Winnebago county, Iowa; Menno listed as divorced (no divorce record exists in
Beadle county for Menno & Katie). According oral family history, Tinus was not with Menno when he came back from
South Dakota but Myrtle did come with Menno.
December 1901 – January 1902 – Menno moved to
Cambridge,
Wilkin,
Minnesota with son, John
GreenfieldJuly 1904 – May 1905 – Menno in hospital for kidney problems
24 May 1905 – Menno dies in
Breckenridge,
Wilkin,
Minnesota from . Obit states that his wife died 9 years previously (this is suspect – he likely meant that she left him 9 years earlier and it was interpreted as she had died). Bertha & Myrtle were living in California at this time. Menno died a pauper.