All the Pretty Children

Jesse Peers arrived in the plains an unhappy despondent man. Rose Sikes entered his life through the manipulation of the mothers. Such matchmakers these women were. The young entrepreneur tried many things that always seemed to turn out well, make a profit or gain. Jesse managed a sheep camp, then developed an implement business with machines that moved Nebraska farmers into progressive ways of farming. Jesse Peers quilted together property: a patch of land here, a failed homestead there, and a piece of farm land nearby. Hessie, the Oglala Sioux woman, was protected and nurtured by Rose. Pearl Lux, in the background but very prominent in their lives, becoming a county sheriff and finally a US Marshall, directing the lawlessness into a time of peace and prosperity. Hans Sikes seeking to protect his daughter and keep her close. Rose's family so close knit but troubled and sometimes volatile, ready to ignite and burn. Rose and Jesse married secretly sustained their vows and created a life. Rose's desire to have a large family when Jesse had ambivalence about it all. The families were huge, the land holdings were vast, and the people industrious and ambitious. This story from the late 1800's until the turn of the century and beyond, portrays the struggle of families who lived in the plains.