By Paul G. Eisenbraun

Herbert Eisenbraun Sr. was born May 13, 1895 in the Crimea of Russia. He was the youngest of ten children born to Peter and Maria Eisenbraun. When Herbert was born, five of his siblings had already died, but with his birth five brothers remained alive and would grow to adulthood raising families of their own.

Six months after Herbert was born, his mother passed away. Peter soon remarried. Within 6 months, Mrs. Nachtigal Eisenbraun, his second wife, died of tuberculosis. Once again the five brothers were left without a mother.

In November of 1896, Peter married Elizabeth Traxel Moser. During their first nine years of marriage, five children were born to that union. One half-brother, however, died before Peter and Elizabeth brought their combined families to live in America.

In 1905, the Peter Eisenbraun family arrived in Tripp, South Dakota. They settled among emigrant friends and relatives who had already established farms in that area. They worked and lived in Tripp County for four years.

In 1909 the Eisenbrauns explored the feasibility of homesteading near Creighton, South Dakota. Peter and his four older sons eventually applied for claims northeast of Creighton. Here they experienced many hardships and often struggled to survive, while maintaining their homesteads. The loneliness of the treeless landscape often engendered the temptation to return to Tripp or even to go back to Russia. Herbert was not yet old enough to take up a claim, so at age sixteen, he returned to Tripp County where he worked for friends. In 1917 he was inducted into the U.S. Army and fought for America in Europe during World War I.

After returning from the service, Herbert applied for a 40-acre homestead, near his relatives, northeast of Creighton. Here he also purchased 160 acres of land from George Snell. For three years he farmed this dry land acreage and lived as a bachelor in a two-room house, built with the help of his brothers.

In 1923, Herbert married Emma Louise Willuweit of Herrick, South Dakota. For sixteen years, they found it particularly challenging to make payments on their land as they derived little income from their drought stricken homestead. Seven children were born during these years. Finally because of the drought and the hardships of the Great Depression, Herbert and Emma were constrained to give up their homestead and move their family elsewhere. With money from the sale of their possessions and a loan from the FHA, Herbert was able to establish a new home on 2000 acres of natural grassland along the Cheyenne River. On this remote ranch, three more children were born. The family now numbered ten children. They included: Elizabeth Johanna (Bette), Annette Mabel, Delbert Martin, Ivan Robert, Esther Lorraine, Lester David, Paul Gerhart, Herbert Howard, Wanda Marie and Andrew Earl. From these children came the following families:

Elizabeth married Erving Helms October 23, 1945. Their children are: Ester, Edith, Eileen, Earl, Eugene and Elden.

Annette married Willie Geigle December 11, 1946. Their children are: Wallace, Wade, Ned and Nan.

Delbert married Darlene Renner September 10, 1956. Their adopted children are: Shawn and Michelle.

Ivan remained single.

Esther married Harold Davis January 2, 1954. Their children are: Wesley and Bernita.

Lester married Marian Horn April 9, 1960. Their children are: Terri, Connie and Audry.

Paul married Kathryn Wisroth June 21, 1963. Their children are: Luke and Joel.

Herbert married Janet Wagner August 16, 1964. Their children are: Lonnie, Timothy and Jeremiah.

Wanda married Steve Goodrich June 10, 1961. Their children are: David, Thomas and Lori.

Andrew married Jo Reiner August 19, 1967. Their children are: Kari, Pamela, Kevin and Nathan.

Six of Herbert and Emma's children attended school in Wall, and five of them graduated from Wall Public High School.