The
Iowa / South Dakota / Texas / Wyoming Kipps
Earl Lloyd
and Lillian Mae (Nelson) Kipp
Johann Heinrich Kipp --
John George Kipp – George Kipp – George William Kipp Jr. – John
Wilbert Kipp – Earl Lloyd Kipp
IOWA
Earl Lloyd Kipp was born in Lester,
Lyon County, Iowa on August 3, 1896 as the youngest of the six children
of John Wilbert and Susan (Bauman) Kipp. John Wilbert, Earl’s
dad, sold the family farm north of Lester in 1913 and the family moved
to South Dakota.
SOUTH DAKOTA
Lillian Mae Nelson was born in Flandreau,
Moody County, South Dakota on July 6, 1899, the first of three children
of Anton Nickolai and Margaret May (Wilcox) Nelson. Lily had one brother,
Arnold Henry Nelson who was born on March 8, 1901. He contacted
diphtheria and died on October 1, 1907 in Duluth, Saint Louis, Minnesota.
Lily had one sister, Laura Belle, who was born on December 10, 1903.
Lily had polio when she was about 12
years old. It was most likely a severe debilitating form called
paralytic polio. While most people with the other forms of Polio
make a full recovery, paralytic polio can cause muscle paralysis.
The complication for Lily was that she was not able to put her heel
on the ground. She would live with this condition the rest of
her life.
President Woodrow Wilson outlined his
case to declare war on Germany on April 2, 1917, and declared war on
April 6, 1917. Earl, like many young men, responded to the declaration
of war and enlisted immediately. Earl’s enlistment date was
April 4, 1917. His enlistment was short lived however as he had
lied about his age and was discharged on July 31, 1917.
While Earl lived in Flandreau he met
Lillian Mae Nelson. They married on Saturday, December 1, 1917 in Sioux
Falls, Minnehaha County, South Dakota.
TEXAS
Soon after they were married Earl
and Lily relocated to McAllen, Hidalgo County, Texas with Earl’s parents.
They 
lived there for about
four years. Lily’s parents, Anton Nickolai and Margaret May
(Wilcox) Nelson and her sister Laura relocated to Bay, Texas soon afterwards.
Bay, Texas is about 150 miles from McAllen. The 1920 census records
indicate that Earl was a farmer. The occupation of John Wilbert Kipp
was listed as “none”. Anton’s occupation was listed in the
1920 census as a car repairman for the BM Railroad. While living in
Texas, Earl and Lily became new parents with the birth of Clinton (1918),
and later Adrian (1920). They were the first two children
toward Lily’s lifelong dream of having twelve children.
SOUTH DAKOTA
Earl and Lily returned to Sioux Falls,
South Dakota about 1922. While living in Sioux Falls, Earl worked in
a meat packing plant and later worked for the Chicago, Milwaukee &
St Paul Railroad as a coach cleaner and car repairman. During
this time there were four new additions to the family with the birth
of Colleen (1922), Wayne (1923), Margaret (1925), and Eugene (1926).
WYOMING
In late August 1926, Earl, Lily and
their young family visited Lily’s folks, who had previously moved
to Sundance, Crook County, Wyoming. Earl returned to Sioux Falls after
a few days and Lily stayed a few more days to visit. Soon after that
they relocated to Sundance as did Lily’s sister Laura. Earl
worked for the railroad so they received free passage from Sioux Falls
to Spearfish, SD. They then caught a ride with the mail
carrier from Spearfish to Sundance. The mail route was at that
time operated by Fred Schloredt. The family made this relocation in
two groups. Memories vary on who came to Sundance first and who came
with whom.
Laura started a Millinery and Gift
Shop soon after her arrival in Sundance. There are ads in the
October and November 1926 issues of the Sundance Times saying she will
“remodel your hat up to comply with current styles”. Laura had
considerable millinery training and experience in St. Louis, Missouri.
In 1926 Laura became known as Mrs. Bill Schloredt. The Schloredt
family was among the earlier settlers of Sundance.
When they initially moved to Sundance
they stayed in the home currently (2008) 
owned
by Evelyn Sisson. Soon afterwards they moved into the second
floor of the Sundance Shoe and Harness Shop. The shop was owned
by Lily’s parents, Anton and Margaret Nelson, and was located on the
north side of Main Street between 2nd and 3rd
Street. In 1934 they purchased a house on the north end of 4th
Street for $200. By this time the family had grown by two more children,
Iris (1928) and Sandy (1930), for a total eight. Four more children
were born at their new home bringing the total to twelve. They
were Patricia (1934), Tobylea (1936), Earlene (1938), and Michael (1941).
The house is estimated to have been about 788 square feet when purchased.
Soon after purchase of the home, two bedrooms were added to the back
of the house to bring the square footage to about 1,160 square feet.
The old photo of house shows how it appeared in the early 1890s.
A 20 X 28 warehouse was added to the property in the spring of 1946.
It included a small bedroom to provide additional sleeping quarters.
The house on 4th Street remained under the ownership of the
Kipp family until 1973. All twelve children attended and graduated
from Sundance Schools.
While Lily was raising a rapidly growing
family, Earl worked in Sundance as a carpenter, painter, and on construction
of the road from Sundance to Beulah. The 1930 census lists his occupation as a carpenter in
the housing industry. In 1932 he started to drive the Star Mail
Route between Sundance and Spearfish. The mail route still remains
within the Kipp family. With the mail route, Earl started to deliver
cream from the local ranchers to the creamery in Spearfish. Several
ads appeared in the Sundance Times at that time telling people to drop
off their cream at the Shoe Shop for the best price. He later
added the delivery of bread to local grocery stores. In 1934 he
started a freight line, Kipp’s Transfer, between Sundance and Deadwood,
South Dakota. 
The photo
shows Gene on the hood of a 1934 Chevrolet truck.
Earl applied for a Certificate of Public Conveyance from the Interstate
Commerce Commission in 1938. The certificate was awarded on July
23, 1941. The freight line expanded over the years to serve communities
in Crook County including Hulett, Moorcroft, Oshoto, Devils Tower, and
Carlile. Kipp’s Transfer was the major means for transporting
items to the communities: groceries to meat, tires to toys, clothes
to liquor, and many other staples and necessities. Kipp’s Transfer
was sold to Gene and Vivian Kipp in 1968 and they continued to operate
it until 1972 when it was sold to Salt Creek Freightways.
Earl also leased the Commercial Theatre
building and purchased the movie equipment from the Commercial Club
in 1943. He operated the theatre on a continual basis until he
closed it in 1963, just months before his death. Earl also contracted
with the school district to transport students that lived on Highway
585 to and from school. The first school bus was a 1942 Chevrolet
Sedan. In later years a Chevrolet Suburban was used. The
seats were removed and replaced with two wooden benches that ran along
the sides of the suburban. A Sept. 21, 1944 Sundance Times note said
“Earl Kipp, bus driver for District #27 had six passengers this year”.
Transporting of students started in the early 1940s and continued into
the 1950s.
With twelve children, Earl and Lily
had a ready labor pool. All of the family members worked in the
theatre selling tickets, running the projectors, janitorial duties,
shoveling snow, or whatever needed done. All the sons worked on
the freight line with Wayne driving truck in the early years.
Gene drove for over 30 years beginning in about 1946. Many of the Kipp
kids carried the mail. Lily also carried the mail and handled
the paperwork associated with the businesses. Adrian, Wayne, and
Eugene, also drove the school bus. Earl served on the Sundance
City Council from 1939-47. He was elected by a landslide margin
in the 1939 election for city council by winning 67% of the vote.
Through an entrepreneur spirit and hard work Earl and Lily managed to
survive the depression, create several businesses, raise a large family
and become an integral and respected part of the community.
Earl died at his home on September
21, 1963 and is buried at Mt. Moriah Cemetery in Sundance. Lily
continued to live in Sundance for several years after his death.
She did spend some time in Phoenix, Arizona with a daughter but later
returned to Sundance. She later moved to Jesup, Georgia and lived
near another daughter. After suffering a stroke, she then moved
to the Dorsett Home in Spearfish, South Dakota. She died at the
Dorsett Home on June 6, 1995. She is buried at Mt. Moriah Cemetery
beside Earl.
Laura and Bill Schloredt continued
to live in Sundance for several years but also lived on a ranch in Rozet,
Campbell County, Wyoming. 
During World War II they moved to the Portland, Oregon
area where they both worked as welders in the ship yards as a part of
the war effort. After the war they returned to Upton, Weston County,
Wyoming where they operated a theatre and a motel. Bill died on
July 22, 1959 in Upton. He is buried in Mt Moriah Cemetery in
Sundance. Laura stayed in Upton and ran the motel for a few years
but eventually moved to Murray, Idaho where she married Carl Paul Carlson
in about 1961. Carl died on October 9, 1974 and is buried in Fairmount
Memorial Park, Spokane, Spokane County, Washington. Laura continued
to live in Idaho, and also in Apache Junction, Arizona. She returned
to Spearfish, South Dakota in the 1990s where she died on November 17,
2001. She is buried in Spokane next to her second husband Carl.
CENSUS
1920 Census
The 1920 Census for Bay City, Matagorda
County, Texas lists Laura as age 16 and living with her parents, Anton
and Margaret Nelson.
1920 Census for McAllen, Hidalgo County,
Texas lists Earl as age 23, Lily as age 20, and Clinton as age 1.
It states Earl’s occupation as a farmer on a farm on which he was
the employer. The farm was noted as Farm Schedule Number 65.
1930 Census
The 1930 Census for Sundance, Crook
County, Wyoming lists Earl’s age as 33, Lily as 30, Clinton 11, Adrian
9, Colleen 7, Wayne 6, Margaret 5, Eugene 4, and Iris 2. Earl’s occupation
is stated as being a carpenter in building houses. He was a veteran
in World War I. It is noted they rent a home at $5 per month and
that they had a “radio set”.
1940 Census
Census data for 1940 and on has not
been released.
Copyright 2009 by E. Michael Kipp,
All Rights Reserved
Sources
The Sundance Times, Sundance, Wyoming
(various dates)
Rock Rapids Review, Rock Rapids, Iowa
Death Certificates (Earl L. Kipp, Lillian
Mae Nelson, Laura Belle Nelson, William F. Schloredt, Carl P. Carlson)
Obituary (Earl L. Kipp, Lillian M.
Nelson, Laura B. Nelson)
Family Records
Social Security Records
US Federal Census of 1920, McAllen,
Hidalgo County, Texas
US Federal Census of 1920, Bay City,
Matagorda County, Texas
US Federal Census of 1930, Sundance,
Crook County, Wyoming
