John A. Egbert
Born October 27, 1870

In 1893, John Egbert married May Harper. He was in the mercantile business with his father A.A. Egbert and his brother Ray in Valley, Nebraska. They had two children, Violette born in 1904 and Paul born in 1906.

May Harper and Emma Egbert on her wedding day to John Egbert.  She looks deep in thought.  I've always wondered what she was thinking about at that moment.  Was she happy? Afraid? Considering she disappeared under mysterious circumstances, it adds to her mystery.

In 1907 or 1908, May Egbert left John, the two children, and Valley, Nebraska. No more is known about why she left, where she went, or what became of her. The children were cared for by their father and aunts. She must have had a good reason and that's what we should believe about her.


In 1909, Emma Egbert moved to Denver and Violette and Paul were placed in an orphanage in Denver--probably until John moved to Wyoming. The next five or six years, John was employed by Buster Brown Shoes as a salesman. His job required him to travel by train from town to town, with long periods away from home. This may have been the reason that Violette and Paul were cared for at the orphanage in Denver.

In 1914, John married 18 year old Verna Lancelot and they made their home in Exira, Iowa, where daughter Zona was born in 1915.

In 1915, the new family moved to Carneyville, Wyoming--a coal mining town north of Sheridan. There he managed the company store. Andrew Kuzara, Violette's future husband, worked at the Carneyville mine from 1918 to 1921. (Kuzaraville was about two miles south of Carneyville.) Andrew Kuzara and Violette Egbert met at a baseball game there. The courship ended in their marriage in 1921. A short time later they moved to Lewistown, Montana.

In 1921, John Egbert was well situated in Lewistown running the shoe department of the Stevens-Fryberger Store. His brother Ray was in Bozeman, Montana.

In 1924, John moved his family to Sheridan and lived there until his death in 1929.