Mary Jean McGaughey
Mary Jean was born November 24th, 1926 to Olin Arthur and Inez Reike Ravenscroft in Blairstown (Benton County), Iowa on the family farm. She had six older brothers: Willis, Myron, Francis, Donald, James, and Calvin; and a younger sister Ruth was born in 1931. In 1930, Olin and Inez Ravenscroft and their growing family migrated from Iowa to the Sandhills of Nebraska. During the first ten years, they lived somewhat of a nomadic life, leasing and living on several ranches. These included the “Black Place” 13 miles southwest of Dunning on Wild Horse Flat in Logan County, the “Haney Place” near Hyannis in Grant County, the “Stinsman Place” and the “Sillesen/Morgan Ranch” (both near Arthur in Arthur County), and the “Box T/Christopher Ranch” west of Brownlee in Cherry County. Living conditions on these leased places during the Depression years of the 1930’s was often crowded and primitive.