Posts Tagged ‘Kansas’

Norwalk Daily Register
Norwalk, Ohio
20 Oct 1894
Pg 4 Col 6

After visiting friends and relatives a couple of weeks in Clarksfield and New London, Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Stocking left on last Wednesday for their home in El Dorado, Kansas, via St. Charles, Illinois, where they halted to spend a few days with relatives, whence they would start direct for their home; but on Sunday evening, on retiring for the night, Mr. Stocking fell down a flight of stairs, rupturing a blood vessel, the blood flowing from his nose and ears; no bones broken, he never spoke, but lived one hour, when his spirit took its flight across the dark river to that “undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns.”  Mr. Stocking was one of nature’s nobility, a true and good man.  To Mrs. Stocking and their son, in their bereavement, we extend our sympathies.

John Hurlburt Stocking’s son, Roderick Remine Stocking, was my great-grandfather, and you can find a photograph of him here, as well as more information about him.

Roderick’s mother, Betsey Jane Ames, died in Oct 1856 shortly after Roderick’s little brother Bishop was born.  After Betsey’s death, John Hurlburt married Caroline Gates in April 1860.

In 1894, my great-grandfather, Roderick was living on the farm that he homesteaded in Sumner County, Kansas with his wife, Frances “Fannie” Hitchcock.

More Links:

Roderick Remine Stocking Photograph 
http://www.familytreewriter.com/2011/05/wordless-wednesday-roderick-remine-stocking-photo/

The J. H. Stocking Bible
Carnival of Genealogy – the J. H. Stocking Bible

I love this photograph of my Grandma and Grandpa Jones.  Although this was taken before I was born (as my grandfather was in it) this is how I remember my grandmother looking.  Round-faced and smiling, and just a bit plump. Comfortable to snuggle up against. (Grandma’s are supposed to be plump, right?  I hope so, because I’m working on being a good Gramma.)

I wish that my grandfather had lived long enough for me to meet (and remember him), but this Carnival of Genealogy post is about my Grandma Carrie Breneman Jones, who died when I was eight years old.

Warner LaRue and Carrie Esther (Breneman) Jones

When I was just a little bitty girl, my mama told me that her mama was really unhappy that they had named me “Sherry”.  She said that Sherry is also the name of an alcoholic beverage, and her mama just wasn’t happy with her for giving me that name.

So I guess it’s no wonder when I went to grade school and I really didn’t know what my Grandma’s last name was, that when the teacher began talking about Kansas’ Carrie Nation going into bars with an axe to fight for temperance I kind of wondered for a short time if that was my Grandma Carrie that did that.  I don’t know why I didn’t run home and ask my mom about it, but I didn’t, but I did figure out, after awhile, that my Grandma Carrie wasn’t the infamous axe wielding Carrie in my history book.  (The above doesn’t look like the picture of an axe-wielding Grandma, does it?)

My Grandma Carrie was a very crafty lady.  Her hands were always busy making something.  She loved to crochet, from the very tiny delicate flower shaped earrings to the beautiful heirloom bedspread that she made for my mother, and that my mother later gave to me.

She crocheted doll clothes for my dolls and when my new favorite plastic horse needed a rider and there were none to be bought in the correct size, she created one.  My Grandma Carrie created an Indian, excuse me, a Native American brave complete with tiny leather fringed breeches and shirt, and bendable legs so he could sit a horse.  I still have him, tucked away (somewhere) and when I find him, I’ll try to add the picture here.

And as I write this, I just realized that she may have fashioned the brave after the Native Americans that came to their cabin in Nebraska asking for food when she was just a very small girl, and they lived on the Nebraska prairie where my Grandma herded cattle on horseback by herself on the prairie during the day.

When she was older, Grandma Carrie taught herself to paint and she loved the National Geographic magazine for its beautiful photographs that often inspired her painting.  She also painted a picture of my brother’s 4-H Dairy Cow “Jenny,” too, for him, and “Jenny” hung on our kitchen wall while I was growing up.

I wish my Grandma had lived long enough for me to get to know her as an adult, because I think I inherited many of my interests and talents from her.  Like my Grandma, I’m crafty, though I’ve not had much time to do it lately, and if I can see something, particularly a fabric something, I can often make a pattern for it or create it from one I find.  Also like my Grandma and my mom, I painted for several years till I learned I was sensitive to the oil and turpentine smells, and like my Grandma and my mother I love a good book!

And, I wish she had lived long enough to ask her all those many genealogy questions that I now wish I had the answers to!

Other Links:

 Wordless Wednesday: Stocking & Jones Family
http://www.familytreewriter.com/2010/10/wordless-wednesday-stocking-jones-family/

Wordless Wednesday: Constantine Breneman & Carrie Breneman Jones & family
http://www.familytreewriter.com/2010/04/wordless-wednesday-constantine-breneman-carrie-breneman-jones-families/

by Sherry Stocking Kline
18 May 2011

My cousin Maxine and her son Larry loaned me a HUGE box of photographs.  It’s so heavy that I can’t lift it!  I’ve spent the past 2 – 3 weeks scanning off and on, and some time this week to re-organize and locate the ones that I have questions about. 

But just one of the treasures that they’ve loaned me is here below, a photograph of my great-grandfather, (and my cousin Larry’s as well) Roderick Remine Stocking. 

I was between 2 and 3 when Great-Grandpa died, and I remember him as a very tall, white-haired gentleman.  My mother, his granddaughter-in-law, dearly loved and respected him. 

He and his wife, Frances Hitchcock Stocking homesteaded in Sumner County, Kansas, just west of Mayfield and the Chisholm Trail. 

 Their first home was 10 X 12 and they had to put the table out at night to put their bed down, and their oldest child, my Grandfather Elmer Leverett Stocking was born while they still lived in that home.

 I think he is a very handsome and distinguished looking gentleman.  And I sure wish I had had the opportunity to get to know him better.

And to ask him all the questions that I now have about family history!

Related Posts:

Where Were My Ancestors during the 1930 Census!

Carnival of Genealogy – the J. H. Stocking Bible

Carnival of Genealogy – Scrapbooking My Family History – One Page at a Time

How Many Descendants Does Roderick R. Stocking Have? 

Roderick & Frances Stocking’s Tombstone – Osborne Cemetery, Mayfield, Sumner County, Kansas

by Sherry Kline
15 Mar 2011

A copy of the following letter was e-mailed to me by cousin Valerie, whose grandfather was Herbert Deffenbaugh, and I have to confess to not knowing a great deal about this, my husband’s mother’s family.

I very much appreciate Valerie sharing not only this letter, but also several family photographs with me so that I can send them to the branches of the family who would most cherish them!  What an awesome, kind, genealogy-friendly thing to do!

Milan, Kansas
May 17, 1908
My Dear Brother,

I will write you a few lines today as it is rainy and not many coming in to bother me, I would of written sooner byt we have been very busy trying to get straightened up.  Lou has been staying with us and has helped a great deal.  We are just getting things now so we can live.  The girls are so tired at night they can hardly sleep.  I will be glad when they get things fixed up to suit them so they can rest a little.  I wish you could have been out here and seen the way (they) did us when we got home of course Pa can tell you all about it but that isn’t like as it you could see it your self.

I was very mutch disappointed  that there wasn’t more of you folks come I rather expected you to come if none of the rest did.  You know you always seemed a little nearer to me than the rest of my brothers did any way and for that reason I was more disappointed than I would have been. We had a very quiet Wedding there was only about 35 there but they made up for it when we got home.  The people certainly gave us a warm welcome and we appreciated it very mutch.

I don’t remember whether I thanked Mr. and Mrs. Sandy for their Picture or not but I intended to and you tell them if I didn’t that we thank them many times for it I think it just fine it looks as tho it had ought to talk it is so natural.

Well Hurbert I suppose you will come out to see us this summer won’t you?  We want you to be sure and come and bring Ma with you I don’t expect she would like to come by her self but there is no use of that you can come and bring her with you. 

We were so glad to have Pa come out to the Wedding and I think it did him good to get away from home a little while to.  It was so good of Harvey to let Pa have the money to come out here on.  I am so glad Harvey is good to the folks and hope he always is. 

I tell you we can never do to mutch for our folks the more we do to please them the better we will feel when they are taken from us we know they have worked hard to raise us and it has cost them lots of money and that isn’t all it has cost them lots of worry and hard work so we had ought to do all we can to make life a pleasure to them now when they are old and lifes pleasures are most over for them.

About all the satisfaction they get now it to see us children do what is right and get along well.  I do hope that none of us ever do anything to disgrace them in their old age.  Pa seemed to be so well pleased the way you boys all do.  He thinks you and Harvey are sutch good boys and how nice it is that you are it is sutch a pleasure to him to feel that you boys are thought so mutch of and to know that you are always ready to do what is right by everyone.

Now Hurbert I hope you won’t think I am saying to mutch but it does me so mutch good to know you are so good to the folks I can’t help but tell you about it.

My wheat is looking some better than it was when Pa was out here we have got lots of good rain and that has helped the wheat wonderful we will have to start the binder about the 10th of next month.  I will be glad when that time comes then I can tell about how my wheat is going to turn out.

Well I will close for this time as it is just about dinner time come and see us as soon as you can and give my best regards to all of my friends.

Good bye write soon.
Your loving Brother and sister,
T.A. and Lynne Deffenbaugh

Deffenbaugh Link:

Herbert Deffenbaugh Graduates from the Eighth Grade

by Sherry Stocking Kline
19 May 2010

Some time back I posted a Tombstone Tuesday photograph of Cora Pauline Walter’s tombstone.

Always curious, I did a little preliminary research at the Sumner County History and Genealogy Center, and when I didn’t find something easily, stopped, because she isn’t family.

But recently I was at the Osborne Cemetery, near Mayfield, Kansas in Sumner County, and another Walter’s tombstone caught my eye and my imagination.  I wonder if they are related?  Married?  Siblings?

Donovan L Walters - Osborne Cemetery

On the Stone:

Donovan L. Walters, Sr.
Oklahoma
S Sgt Army Air Forces
World War II
March 16, 1910   (cross)    Sept 24, 1972

This tombstone is located just a few feet from Cora Pauline’s stone.  There is just one stone in between the two, which leads me to believe that research will show that there is some relationship between the two.

by Sherry Stocking Kline – 17 May 2010

It’s another Genealogy Happy Dance Monday!  While visiting the nearby town of Kingman, Kansas while my son had some dental work done, I kept busy stopping at several stores to distribute ad fliers for the upcoming Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies Meeting on June 19th, featuring the Photo Detective, Maureen Taylor. (See program info here.)

When I stopped at the Kingman Carnegie Library, the librarian agreed to post our KCGS flyer, and showed me the Kingman County History book where I located some information submitted by my mom’s cousin, Victor A. Breneman.  The book was a great source, and I learned some information that I didn’t already know.

I already knew the who-begat-who info, but I still find myself guilty of not asking enough questions, and thereby missing a lot of information.  I need to turn over a new leaf!

The following is transcribed from the Kingman County History book,  “Kingman County, Kansas and its People”.

Victor A. Breneman Family – submitted by Victor A. Breneman

The Breneman family came to Kingman in 1917.  The family name is Swiss in origin and the first members arrived in this country in 1709.  They were part of a group which later became known as the “Pennsylvania Dutch.”  They settled in Conestoga and Lancaster Counties.  The family came west by way of Ohio, Iowa, Nebraska, and later to Wellington, Kansas.

The local family consisted of Ira J. Breneman, Adelia (Allen) Breneman, his wife, two sons, Paul A. and Victor A. Breneman.  Mrs. Adelia Breneman was of Scottish-English extraction.  Her maiden name was Allen and the family settled in New England prior to the Revolutionary War.  They were related to the family of Ethan Allen, the famous general in the War for Independence.

Ira J. Breneman was born in Muscatine County, Iowa, May 18, 1874.  He died January 11, 1963, and is buried in the Belle Plaine Cemetery.  During most of his working life he was a railroader.  He was a locomotive fireman, a maintenance employee, and in railroad bridge construction.

Mrs. Adelia (Allen) Breneman was born June 20, 1885, and died September 14, 1938.  She was a Registered Nurse and spent most of her working life at this profession and in raising her sons.

Paul Breneman was born in Conway Springs, Kansas, July 9, 1907.  He grew up in Kingman.  He was married to Laurilla White. Paul served on the police force in Kingman for several years and later became Chief of Police.  He later was employed by the Boeing Company as a member of its security force.  He is retired and now lives in Derby, Kansas.

Victor Breneman was born in Conway Springs, Kansas, September 16, 1911.  He grew up in Kingman, attended the Kingman Schools, The Infantry School at Fort Benning, Ga, The Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  He was married to Rachael A. Hoover, March 19, 1933.

Victor served many years in the Army National Guard, the Army Reserve, and on active duty with the Army during World War II.  He served in the 137th Infantry, 35th division during the entire war.  He took part in the Invasion of Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge, and three other campaigns.  He retired from the military as a Colonel.

His military awards included the Purple Heart for wounds received as a result of enemy action.  After his military service he entered the Postal Service, later becoming Postmaster.  He served a number of years in this capacity.

Transcriber’s Note: Victor and Rachel Breneman are now deceased, and like a very bad genealogist, I realized that I don’t think I have their dates of death in my family tree program, even though we attended their funerals.  Vic and Rachel are buried in the Kingman Cemetery, Kingman County, Kansas.  Both Paul and Laurilla Breneman and Victor and Rachel Breneman have children and grandchildren who are living, and I’ve taken their names out of this public transcription.

by Sherry Stocking Kline
4 May 2010

This eight and 1/2 month old child’s stone, located in the Osborne Cemetery, Sumner County, Kansas, about 10 miles west of Wellington, Kansas, and about 1/2 mile East of Mayfield on West 20th Street  is another mystery that I would very much like to solve.

Myrtle B. Jones - Osborne Cemetery

Kinfolk?  Or Just a Lot of Coincidences?

On the Stone:

Myrtle B. Jones
Dau of W.  & M. E. Jones
Died July 5, 1890
Aged 8 Mos 18 Days
(I was not able to read the inscription below the name and date, and as I had my granddaughters with me, and no safe way to clean the stone with me, I didn’t try to clean and read it while there and am not able to in the photograph.)

Is Myrtle part of my family?   I think so, actually.  Myrtle’s parents are W. and M. E. Jones, and just two stones over is a stone for Evan Jones, and Evan’s parents were Willis and Martha Ellen (Smith) Jones, originally from the Hart & Barren County, Kentucky area.

So Who was Ten-Year-Old George T. Hill?

In between Myrtle and Evan is a ten-year-old boy named George T. Hill (photo coming soon) and while so far the Hill name is not one that has shown up in our family tree, my mother feels that he is related, but she does not know how, and both Myrtle and George died thirty-some years before my mother was born.  My family lived next door to a Hill family for (at least) two generations in both families, but the Hill child next to Myrtle does not appear (according to census, etc) to belong to any of those Hills.

Is Myrtle my great-great aunt?  I think so.  In this small cemetery, buried so closely together, and within a few stones of my father that would be a lot of coincidences for there not to be a kinship.  But before I add Myrtle to our family tree as a lost child of Willis and Martha, I’m going to be looking in area newspapers for obituaries and making sure there weren’t any other W. & M. E. Jones in this area.  And then I may just use a pencil when I add her in…

by Sherry Stocking Kline
19 April 2010

I recently learned from my Aunt Mary that her grandfather Thomas J. McGinnis died in Emporia, Kansas!  That was very beneficial info, as he is buried in the same small cemetery, Osborn Cemetery, Mayfield, Sumner County, Kansas as two of his children, many of his grandchildren, and a few of his great-grandchildren.

And since I’ve learned one of the fastest ways to ask a question is by telephone, I picked up the phone, found out the Emporia Library’s phone number, and found out who to e-mail with my information request.  My request letter below:

Hello Ms Sundberg,

I was given your name on Saturday, and so am writing to ask if you can help me locate some information about my great-grandfather.

His name is Thomas J (I believe this is Jefferson) McGinnis, and he and his wife, Margaret Corson McGinnis lived in the Emporia area for a time, and that is where he is supposed to have passed away.

What I am hoping to find is his obituary, especially if it tells who his parents are, but I will be very happy to learn all that I can about he and his wife Maggie.

If they lived in the town of Emporia, then perhaps they will show up in a city directory with their address, etc.,

And if you have any way of learning if he had a will or probate record in the court there, that would be helpful also.

Here is some of the info I have for him. I also have the 1880 and 1900 Federal Census and the 1905 Kansas Census.  I do not have the 1850, 60, or 70 census, yet.

Thomas Jefferson McGinnis
birth: Aug 17, 1842 – Ohio (or Illinois according to one census)
death:. May 12, 1911 – Emporia, KS

Married: 1872 – according to Ancestry.com

Margaret Corson

Thomas & Maggie are both buried in the Osborne Cemetery, Sumner County, Mayfield, Kansas

1910 U. S. Federal Census

Thomas J McGinnis
Age: 67
Est birth year: abt 1843
Birthplace: Ohio
Spouse’s Name: Maggie E
Home in 1910: Emporia Ward 1, Lyon, Kansas
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Gender: Male

Household Members:

Thomas J McGinnis   67
Maggie E McGinnis   61
Mertie E. McGinnis   18
Joseph L Davis         26
George Hetzel            31
Lee J Taylor              23
Daniel Pederson      22
John O’ Brien           24

I understand that there is a $10 charge per hour, so please let me know what I owe you and how best to pay.

Thank you very much,
Sherry Kline
www.TurnMemoriesIntoBooks.com

Ah, the speed of e-mail!  At 6:48 a.m. this morning, I typed my request to the librarian’s genealogist, and by mid-afternoon, I had my answer!

Other Related McGinnis Posts

My Maggie Corson/McGinnis Happy Dance!

Three Hundred Years With the Corson Families in America

Carnival of Genealogy – My Poem to My Ancestors

Christmas Advent Calendar Grab Bag – My Gift from my Grandma Maud McGinnis Stocking

Wordless Wednesday – Margaret Corson McGinnis’ 100th Birthday

by Sherry Stocking Kline
06 April 2010

This week’s Tombstone Tuesday is my Mom’s Great-Aunt Bettie Crabb.

Bettie Crabb's Stone - Glasgow Cemetery, Barren County, Kentucky

On The Stone:

Bettie Crabb
Oct 15, 1866
Oct 31, 1932

What you can’t see in the photograph here is that Bettie is buried next to her father, J. R. U. Crabb who died 11 years before she did.  (Bettie never married.)

For a few years, J. R. U. and Bettie’s mother, Elizabeth Laird Jones Crabb lived on a farm in Sumner County, Kansas, just east of Milan, Kansas.

Bettie’s mother Elizabeth, died and is buried there, far away in the Milan Cemetery, Sumner County, Kansas.  You can see her tombstone here.

Sometime after Elizabeth died, J. R. U. and Bettie returned to Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky, to be near Bettie’s sister, Sally Crabb Mayfield, wife of George. Sally and George are buried in the Glasgow Cemetery, Glasgow, Kentucky, also.

The photograph below shows Bettie and J. R. U.’s  place in the cemetery next to each other:

L - R: Bettie Crabb and father J. R. U. Crabb Stone - Glasgow Cemetery, Barren County, Kentucky

Our new-found cousins, Dennis and Nancy (Bertram) Bush who so kindly showed us around Barren County, told us that just a couple of years earlier, some man picked this spot, and this tree, to hang himself…  Gave me shivers then.  (Still does.)

Related Posts (also included in the Text):

J. R. U. Crabb’s Tombstone

Elizabeth Laird Jones Crabb Tombstone

Milan Cemetery Listings, Milan, Sumner County, Kansas

by Sherry Stocking Kline
January 14th, 2009

Yes, I’d be glad to…?

When someone asks for my help I tend to say “yes, I’d be glad to…” though frankly in the last couple of years I’ve had to learn how to say “I’d love to, but I just can’t.”  With only 24 hours in a day, no matter how I try to stretch it there needs to be time to sleep in there somewhere.

Possibly the most important ‘job’ I volunteer to do as Vice President of the Sumner County (Kansas) Historical and Genealogical Society is to find speakers that are interesting, informative, and that reflect county, state, national, and sometimes international history. And an important part of that is to try to find speakers that will attract new people into our group so that it will grow.

The Lord provides…

Finding fascinating people who will ‘speak for their dinner,’ even at a steak house, isn’t always easy but when our members ask me how I do it I usually answer “The Lord provides…”  Once, during a casual conversation standing in line at Wal-mart I met a talented woman who just happened to be a Native American speaker. Several months later she brought us a very interesting informative program.

In November 2009, Tuskegee Airman Major George Boyd shared his fascinating story with us, and this week I will connect with our speaker, Jim Baumgardner, author of the historical children’s fiction “Sarah” books, interview him, write a press release, and send it out to eight newspapers, two cable television stations, one radio station, and so many people by e-mail that my internet provider threatens to shut me down for spamming.

This summer, on June 19^th in Wellington, Kansas, our county will host the Kansas Council of Genealogical Society meeting, (you’re invited!) and we’re working to prepare and promote that already.

Video-Tape the Gen Society meetings….

About a year ago, I started video-taping the SCHGS programs with my camcorder and our city’s cable station re-plays most of our programs on the local channel in the months following.  My goal is to have a library of DVD’s that members can check out and re-watch, and that we can share with elderly members who can no longer attend meetings.  (this is something that I think other societies might be interested in trying to do!)

Transcribed Cemetery Information…

In 2003, my husband and I walked a (small?) cemetery of several hundred people, transcribed the stone information, entered it into a database, and shared the information locally with the SCHGS Center as well as published it in “Mayfield: Then & Now” a small-town history book that I co-authored with Elaine Clark. I plan to re-walk the cemetery this year to make new additions, and take photographs of some or all of the stones while there. And I try (but fail miserably) to share all the tombstone photographs that I take with www.deadFred.com.

Because my name is in the paper often, and because I like to help others research and preserve their family history I get phone calls out of the blue asking for help.

I get to meet fascinating people…

How many hours do I volunteer each month?  It varies, but more than I have time for and less than I’d like to. But when we get photographs and memorabilia back where it belongs, locate tombstone(s), farmsteads, historic bridges, or the reporter finds info about the old one-room schoolhouse that he needs to polish up an article, it’s all worthwhile.

The most rewarding part for me is that I get to meet, interview, and get acquainted with some very interesting people and hear some fascinating and little-known family and historical stories. I get a sense of satisfaction knowing that I’ve helped preserve (and possibly share) another small piece of history.

As someone I interviewed a few years back about photograph preservation told me:

“The best you can do is to preserve it so the next generation can preserve it again…”