F. 1 tfffenbacher was there in 1885 and preached also occasionally elsewhere, being one of the tir-t to preach at Rushville.

Rev. Diffenbacher preached the sermon in commemoration of the life of General Grant, in 1885, in a big tent which had been set up by the quartermaster of Civil War veterans, in the town of Rushville.

The first marriage license issued in the new county of Sheridan was to Benjamin Robbins and Miss Lila Abbott. They still reside in Rushville.

HISTORY OF WESTERN NEBRASKA

CREATION OF SHERIDAN COUNTY

In June, 1885, James W. Loofbourow and others called upon the Governor of the state to create by* proclamation the new county of Sheridan, the same being a strip sixty-nine miles long and thirty-six miles wide off of the east edge of Sioux county. This proclamation was issued, and the county came into existence July first of that year.

The proclamation named T. B. Irwin, L. E. Post and J. D. Woods as special county commissioners, and James W. Loofbourow as special county clerk. Rushville was named the temporary county seat. The duties of these officers were to conduct the county affairs through the formation stage of an election for the selection of the county officers in a regular way, and for the location of a permanent county seat.

The board met on the 25th day of July, 1885, and its first act was to divide the county into three commissioner districts. All of ranges forty-one and forty-two comprised the first district ; all of ranges forty-three and forty-four were the second district, and the third district was composed of ranges forty-five and fortysix. Irwin acted as chairman of the board and Post made the above motion, which was seconded by Woods.