Snooping the museum leads to more clues to Dayton's history

There are many treasures hiding throughout the Dayton Museum. I've spent several years ferreting out interesting tidbits of information to report to my readers. I open drawers and doors in hope of finding a story to tell.

Well, I've found it's not just unique with me but with my new docents too. They see things I've glossed over thinking I would get back to the "find" later.

One of those stories exposed itself after a docent uncovered enough of a story to fill in the blanks I was experiencing with the husband of Dayton diarist of yesteryear, Emma Nevada Barton Loftus.

Emma spoke often of her husband, Andrew Jack Loftus, in her diaries. However, I knew little or nothing about this man, other than the little Emma wrote, until one of our new docents found a bank account ledger and Jack and Emma's marriage license tucked away in a secret hiding place in the museum. I am now able to connect the dots about this ambitious man.

Jack was born in Fiddle Town, Calif., on Oct. 4, 1862. The bank ledger let me know that at the age of 20 in 1882 he was in business in Napa, Calif.

He sold the business and moved to start a business in Dayton in 1885, using money raised from the sale of his first business. He and Charles Braun opened a mercantile at the Corner of Pike and Main Streets in Dayton. He was only 23 years old. The ledger reflected that he was a precise businessman who had his ducks in a row.

I don't know how he met Emma, except he and Emma's first husband were from Fiddle Town, so they may have met there. Emma's first husband died five years after they were married, and Emma had a small son, Chester Barton. Jack and Emma married in October 1896 in Virginia City.

Jack and Emma were hard workers, and the mercantile was a good business. Jack bought property in the area and became justice of the peace for Dayton Township in 1924, serving until August 1937 when he resigned due to failing health. As a result, the mercantile was too much for Emma to manage, and it closed in May 1935. The building (now the Old Corner Bar that's being remodeled) was rented to Angelo Quirconi and Testa Petrini and became a bar.

During the 13 years he was a JP, Jack married quite a few people and Emma often acted as a witness. It's apparent from her diaries that Jack was a very serious man, a no-nonsense kind of guy.

Although he treated Emma kindly, he was demanding right before he died on December 29, 1939, and until then she always met his needs. He's buried at the Dayton Cemetery.

The Dayton Museum is located on Shady Lane and Logan in Old Town Dayton, and is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and 1-4 p.m. Sundays. Check the Web site: daytonnvhistory.org. Group tours are available. Call 246-5543, 246-0462 or 246-0441.

The Historical Society of Dayton Valley meets at noon on the third Wednesday of the month at the Dayton Valley Community Center. Visitors welcome.

• Ruby McFarland has lived in Dayton since October 1987. She serves as a board member of the Dayton historical society and as a docent at the Dayton Museum.