Ralph and Nellie Slider Collection

Content Description

The collection consists of photographs, postcards and letters concerning Ralph and Nellie Slider who homesteaded near Dewey (S.D.) in Custer County in the 1920s. Ralph Slider was the son of Thaddeus and Martha (Cady) Slider born on October 19, 1892 in Sioux County, Nebraska. Nellie Ball was born June 9, 1892 to Charles and Mary Ball near Crawford (NE). Ralph and Nellie were married on December 7, 1913 in Crawford (NE). They had four children, Dorothy, Winifred, Faye and Eugene. In the early 1920s, the Slider’s moved to Custer County, near Dewey (S.D.) where they claimed a homestead on Section 7, Township 6 South, Range 2 East. In 1928, the family returned to Nebraska. The family photographs cover this period at the Slider homestead in Custer County. The images show their log home, farming scenes, family scenes, school children, children around a May Day pole and a watermelon feast. The collection also includes color photographs taken in August 1977 of the town of Dewey (S.D.). The images show a school house, lumber yard, the town of Dewey (S.D.) and various views as seen from the Slider’s homestead in Custer County. Also included with the photographs are images of Oel B Cady (father of Martha Cady) at Spearfish in 1906 and an image of President and Mrs. Calvin Coolidge at Ardmore (S.D.), taken by Nellie, in 1927. The collection also includes reprint Wounded Knee Massacre postcards. The images mainly show the aftermath scenes of the massacre. The collection also includes postcards of various Native Americans including Chauncey Yellow Robe, Rosebud Yellow Robe, Chief American Horse, Knife (Indian Police), Red Cloud, Jack Red Cloud, Baptiste Garnier “Little Bat” (Interpreter), Stinking Bear, White Wolf, Crazy Bear, Good Lance, Kicking Bear, Two Strikes, Short Bull, and a postcard of Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill. The collection also includes a reprint issue from the Crawford Record printed November 7, 1984 of the January 2, 1891 issues of the newspaper detailing the events of the Wounded Knee Massacre. Finally, the collection includes twelve (12) scanned letters written by Martha (Cady) Slider (Ralph’s mother) to her daughter Anna Laura (Ralph’s sister) concerning life on the homestead, neighbors, relatives and locals. The letters date from 1928 to 1937. The digital files were run through the State Archives digital preservation program.

Acquisition Type

Gift

Restrictions Apply

No