John Batie

Born: 19 AUG 1814 at Washington County, New York
Died: unknown
Buried; unknown

Married: JAN 1841 at Illinois

Frances Young
Born: abt. 1823 at Maine
Died: unknown
Buried: unknown

Children:
Matilda; Carrie; Libbie; Ellen
Frances, b. abt 1853 at Illinois
Mary/Marg, b. abt. 1856 at Nebraska
John, Jr., b. abt. 1858 at Nebraska
William, b. abt.1862 at Nebraska

The first meeting of the Commissioners' Court of Dodge County occurred January 6, 1857, the session being held in Fontenelle, at John Batie's house.

Biography Album of Northeastern Nebraska, pub. 1893:

JOHN BATIE, of Section 1, township 22, range 1, residing in Union Creek precinct, Stanton County, was born in Washington County, New York, August 19, 1814, and lived in his native county until four years of age, when his parents moved to Cayuga County, of the same State, where our subject remained until he was twenty-one years of age, then came West as far as Illinois, stopping in Chicago in 1835, when it was simply a fort and a boat-landing. The best house in the place at that time, was owned by a half-breed Indian; the same was a brick building, the only one of the place. The United States soldiers were stationed there near the lake shore. The emigrant company, with which our subject was traveling, went to Peoria, Illinois, and he settled in Peoria County.

He was married in January, 1841, and four years later bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in DeKalb County, Illinois, upon which he lived for nine years. He sold the place, started for Kansas, but changed his course and bought a quarter section of land in Lucas County, Iowa, remained two years, sold out and joined the Quincy colonization company and came to Nebraska. This was in 1855, and he stopped at Fontanelle, Dodge County, where he remained until 1883. In 1857 he built a hotel there which he operated for two years, and then sold for three thousand dollars. He also owned a quarter section of land where the town now stands, which he sold to the Town Company, he being president of the same. He then left Fontanelle, and bought land near Fremont and remained until 1864, and moved into the Elkhorn Valley, near where the village of Hooper now stands. In 1883 he left that locality and moved to Wayne County, where he lived two years. He rented a farm west of Wayne, called the Westerbrook farm, paying cash rent for the same. There he remained five years engaged in the stock business. Mr. and Mrs. Frances (Young) Batie are the parents of seven children living, and one deceased - Matilda (deceased); Carrie, Libbie, Ellen, Frances, Mary, John and William. In 1855, when our subject came for Fontanelle, two citizens of the place were out breaking prairie and were attacked by the Indians and murdered. The citizens rallied and followed the savages, but to no avail. The Governor issued a proclamation for the soldiers to go and defend the settlement, and two companies remained until autumn. In May, 1855, four hundred and fifty Sioux Indians came down the Elkhorn and Platte rivers from a junction, and there had a terrible battle with the Pawnee Indians, with a great loss of life to both tribes.

The first winter Mr. Batie was in Nebraska there came a fearful snow-storm, lasting three days and three nights. Many of the settlers were illy prepared for such weather and a number were compelled to leave their homes. After the storm subsided the snow was four feet deep on the level. Omaha was the market for provisions and it took four days to make a trip there by ox team. In 1856 three teams started from Fontanelle to Omaha, our subject having one of them. They were caught out the first day in a storm about twenty miles from Fontanelle. The thermometer registered twenty degrees below zero, and so fierce was the storm that they were compelled to stop, and our subject walked all night in the blinding storm to keep from freezing to death. During the Civil War he hauled freight for the Government along the Platte River, as west as Fort Kearney. All in all, Mr. Batie has had an eventful life, and has, perhaps, seen as much real pioneer hardship as any man in the Elkhorn Valley.

Source: Ruth Moss, Washington County Genealogical Society