Long before Callaway was even an incorporated town, a young man from Denmark emigrated to the United States to begin a new life and eventually settled in the South Loup Valley. His name was Paul Seyerson.

The Homestead Act of 1862 offered land seekers 160 acres of public domain at no cost other than the $14 filing fee. In exchange, the filer was required to live on the land for five years, making whatever improvements were necessary to provide a living. Seyerson saw it as an opportunity for a new life, and in 1876, he established roots on a piece of land. That original homestead remains with the descendants of Paul Seyerson to this day, and this past weekend, more than 80 of them gathered at the place now occupied by Dave and Jo Chesley to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the ranch.

According to family history, Paul arrived in the United States in 1867, when he was just 17-years-old. In 1876, he came to Nebraska, arriving late in the fall. With winter setting in, he built a dugout, then turned his wagon upside down over the top of it to help provide shelter from the harsh conditions.

Paul was engaged to Sedsel Marie Olsen at the time he came to America. It was 10 years before he returned to Denmark for Sedsel, and together they returned to what is now Custer County and started their family. The couple had four children: Ole, born in 1878; Seyer, born in 1880; Maren, born in 1882; and Anna, born in 1884. In 1908, Maren married a local boy named Harry Chesley. The couple welcomed a son, Orville, and a daughter, Evelyn. Tragically however, the birth of Evelyn cost Maren her life just two days later - which was not terribly uncommon in those days.

As recounted by family members, Maren’s brother Ole and his wife Almeta, who lived in the next place up the road from the Seyersons, were unable to have a child of their own. After Maren’s passing, a distraught Harry decided to allow Ole and Almeta the opportunity to raise baby Evelyn.

“She always knew who she was and was included in the family photos and everything,” explained Marian Chesley, wife of Roger Chesley. “After Maren died, Grandpa Harry took Orville and went north of Arnold, mourning his wife, and stayed up there for a year.”

After Harry returned to the home place a year later, he married Maren’s younger sister, Anna in 1913. Together, Harry and Anna had four children: Cora, Elgin, Rhoda, and Ole. Marian’s husband Roger is the oldest of Ole’s children.

Harry and Anna continued to live on the place with Anna’s father, Paul Seyerson. Paul lived in the log home he built until his death in 1916. When Elgin returned home from World War II, he bought the farm from Harry and Anna, who moved into Callaway. Elgin Chesley married Doris Shaw, and they had four children: Darrell, David, Mary, and Marla. In 1962, a modern home was built around the log house, which was restored and used as a family room.

It still is.

When Elgin and Doris made the decision to leave the farm and move to town, David and his wife Jo Chesley moved to the farm and have been there ever since.

“There have been others in our area who have celebrated a century or more of the homestead being in the family, but finding one with a line as straight as this one is pretty rare,” Marian added.

Jo and Dave hosted the two-day celebration in honor of the Seyerson/Chesley legacy on July 11 and 12, with guests from at least five states in attendance. All of them were direct descendants of Paul and Sedsel.

Many of them still reside in the area.

The roots of the Seyerson/Chesley family run as deep in this valley as those of the century-old trees that surround the property homesteaded 150 years ago. It is part of the fabric that makes Callaway, Nebraska…and America, such a unique and special place.