In the late 1870's, my great-aunt Sarah Ellen Syfert, left Iowa for Churchill County, Nevada, where she was employed as a housekeeper on the Lemuel Allen Ranch at Fallon. In 1881, she married Thomas S. Grieves, a Scottish miner; they had 2 children, William and Sadie. The family moved from mining camp to mining camp, and they finally settled in Tonopah before it even had a name. Most likely she was widowed by 1900 as there is no record of her husband being there. She was one of the first women to arrive in that area, and she was there when Jim Butler first came ‏(Jan. 1901)‏ to stake his mining claim after his silver ore discovery. The town was first named Butler City after him; a few years later it was changed to Tonopah. ‏(Written by author.)‏
«i»To find out more about Sarah Ellen and her family, go to the loofbourrow.me family website.
«b»«/i»
18 May 1847:«/b» Sarah was born in Lancaster, Fairfield, OH. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to Iowa.
«b»1850 «/b»US Census: Sarah ‏(2)‏ lived in Union, Van Buren County, IA, with her parents and older sister, Mary.
«b»1856 «/b»Iowa State Census: Sarah A. Syfert ‏(8)‏, lived in Washington Twp., Van Buren County, IA, with her parents and 3 siblings.
«b»1860 «/b»US Census: Ellen ‏(Sarah)‏ ‏(11)‏ lived in Washington Twp., Van Buren County, IA, with her parents and siblings
«b»1870 «/b»US Census: 23 Jun, S.E. ‏(Sarah E. Syfert)‏ ‏(22)‏ lived in Washington Twp., Van Buren County, IA, with her parents and 4 siblings.
Late 1870's to Fallon, Churchill, NV.
«b»1880 «/b»US Census: 17-19 Jun, Ellen ‏(Sarah)‏ Syfert ‏(33)‏, single, housekeeper, lived in Churchill, Churchill, NV.
«b»9 Feb 1880«/b»: Thomas and Sarah's son, Wm. "Bill" Oswald Grieves, born in Lewis, Lander, NV.
«b»1881«/b»: Sarah married Thomas S. Grieves in Grantsville, Nye, NV.
1900 US Census ‏(Jun)‏: Daughter, Sadie ‏(16)‏ servant for Keats' family, Delamar, Lincoln, NV.
«b»1900 US Census:«/b» ‏(Have not located Sarah in this Census)‏
«b»21 Apr 1908«/b»: Sarah resided in Tonopah, NV, according to her father's obituary.

«b»1909 July-Aug: S«/b»arah attended a Syfert Family Reunion, Fairfield, IA.
"First Lady in Tonopah".
"Mrs. Sarah E. Grieves, who enjoys the distinction of being the first woman to arrive in Tonopah and who has resided here ever since her advent, leaves this morning for a visit to the scene of her childhood in Van Buren County, Iowa. Mrs. Grieves has been a resident of Nevada for the past 31 years and with the exception of a few months has been out of the state but seldom. She came to Tonopah during the early days of this camp accompanied by her daughter and during the days of the leasers they conducted a boarding house, which in the opinion of the old-timers, was equal to the famous Delmonico. During her absence, Mrs. Grieves will visit with relatives, whom she has not seen since she left the state of her birth."
Source: newspaper article, "First Lady in Tonopah", Tonopah Daily Bonanza, dated 27 Jul 1909, Tues., Pg. 4.
«b»1910«/b» US Census: Sarah ‏(62)‏ ‏(widowed)‏ was living in Alamo, Lincoln, NV, with her son and daughter.
«b»1920«/b» US Census: Sarah ‏(72)‏ ‏(widowed)‏ was living in Tonopah, NV, with her daughter, "Sadie" Zada Elrada Chambers ‏(37)‏. Some information from Benjamin F. Syfert obituary.
«b»1925«/b»: Sarah Ellen Grieves ‏(widowed)‏ moved to Las Vegas, NV, to be near her son and daughter.
«b»1930«/b»: Apr 12, Sarah, 81, widowed, was living next door to her son and daughter-in-law, Las Vegas, Clarke, NV.

Obituary for Mrs. Sarah Grieves
Tonopah, 6 Jan 1939
"Funeral services were held in Las Vegas Friday afternoon, January 6, ‏[1939]‏ for Mrs. Sarah Grieves, an early resident of Tonopah, and one of the oldest residents in the state of Nevada. Mrs. Grieves was born in Ohio, 93 ‏[91]‏ years ago but came to Nevada 57 years ago ‏[1880]‏. With her family, she first settled on the Lemuel "Lem" Allen ranch at Fallon, ‏[The Lemuel Allen family was also from Van Buren County, IA.]‏ later moving to Tonopah where she lived until 14 years ago when she moved to Las Vegas. The Grieves' family was said to have been one of the first white families in Tonopah. She is survived by her daughter, Mrs. Sadie Risch of Las Vegas, a son, William Grieves of Alamo, and a grandson, William Grieves of Beatty."
Source: "Obituary for Mrs. Sarah Grieves", Reno, Nevada Newspaper, publication date, 7 Jan 1939.

Documentation Sources:
Newspapers: Reno Evening Gazette, Reno, NV.
US Census'
Nevada, Death Records, 1911-1965, Death Certificate
Ancestry.com family trees and Redhead Collection Extractions, Donnellson Public
«sup»
«/sup»From Kelly Grieves: 19 Jan 2019
­https­://­www­.­newspapers­.­com­/­clip­/­27130799­/­reno_gazettejournal­/
­https­://­www­.­newspapers­.­com­/­clip­/­27130721­/­nevada_state_journal­/
­https­://­www­.­newspapers­.­com­/­clip­/­25492527­/­tonopah_daily_bonanza­/

Authors Research:
Central Nevada Historical Society, Tonopah, Nye, Nevada; Book Number 269; Tonopath, Past, Present and Future, History of the World's Greatest Mining Camp; James W. Travers; 1902
A history of Tonopah, Nevada; Robert E. McCracken; 1990; Nye County Press, Tonopah, Nevada
Documents from Nye County Courthouse, Tonopah, Nye, Nevada. ‏(Documents regarding marriages of Sarah Ellen's son and daughter)‏