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Submitted by Margery DeMott Bittner
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 176.
After graduation from Dental School he arrived in Arkansas City at about the time his older brother, James, accepted the principalship of Hutchinson.
A prominent civic leader and churchman, he was active for many years in church, civic affairs and youth activities. He was awarded the Beaver Scouting Award, one of the higher national awards for scout leaders. Dr. Gilliland died of a heart attack at the age of 59, in 1952.
Submitted by Marjorie Gilliland
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 176.
Jim was a community leader. He was one of a small group of charter members who started the Arkansas City Rotary Club. (This was one of the earliest Rotary Clubs in the United States.)
He was also a very active leader in the United Presbyterian Church (5th Avenue and B Street). In 1924 he accepted the principalship of the Hutchinson High School.
Submitted by Marjorie Gilliland
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 176.
Dean's grandfather, Austin, moved to that area with his father, Henry Lewis Clark Gilstrap around 1870, where he spent the remainder of his life ranching and farming.
As Dean was growing up in the Silverdale area, east of Arkansas City, Elaine's parents, Daryl Biven Kirkpatrick and Mary Winifred Conely, were beginning their family and their farming venture in the Geuda Springs and Rainbow Bend area. The Kirkpatricks and the Conelys were descended from immigrants of Scotland, Ireland, Holland and England.
Dean and Elaine met when they were attending the Arkansas City High School. Prior to his departure to serve aboard the U.S.S. Hornet in the South Pacific, they were married.
After V-J Day, there were years of working and going to colleges in order to become educators. Dean is presently in his 39th year of serving Kansas students. Elaine worked fifteen years at Southwestern Bell before she went into the field of education. She is now in her 23rd year of serving Cowley County students.
Dean's great-grandfather, Henry Lewis Clark Gilstrap, grandparents, Austin and Dora Mae Darnell Gilstrap, and parents, Leroy Risdon and Frances Maude Crabb Gflstrap are all buried in family plots at Parker Cemetery.
Elaine's great-grandparents, Christopher Columbus and Elizabeth Johns Cottingham Bivens, great-grandparents, Adam Ervin and Rebecca Wallace Kirkpatrick, and parents, Daryl Biven and Mary Winifred Conely Kirkpatrick are also buried in family plots at Parker Cemetery. Her grandparents, John William and Anna Biven Kirkpatrick are at rest in Riverview Cemetery. Her grandparents, Allen Augustus and Emma Catherine Isminger Conely are at rest in Memorial Lawn Cemetery. Dean's and Elaine's children, Linda Jane Gflstrap Dawes and Richard Dean GUstrap, Jr., grew up in Arkansas City and attended the local schools. Linda and her husband, Kenneth Lealon Dawes, live near Cushing, Oklahoma. They have four chfidren: Corey Vance Dawes, Casey Wayne Dawes, Leigh Ann Lawson, and Kelly Jayne Dawes. Richard and his wife, Caroline Jeanette Johnson Gilstrap, live in Wichita, Kansas. They have two children: Andrew Dean Gflstrap and Mary Katherine (Katie) Gilstrap.
Dean has three brothers and one sister. They are: Jack GAstrap, who married Geraldine Brewer Seeley (Jack is deceased and Geraldine lives in Arkansas City); Austin Mack Gilstrap who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with his wife, Amelia Katherine Snyder Gqstrap; Morris Doyle Gilstrap who lives in Bartlesvide, Oklahoma and married Ramona Irene Braman Gflstrap and Georgia Blanch "B" Gflstrap Spore who lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Elaine has one brother, William Daryl Kirkpatrick, who lives in ElDorado, Kansas with his wife, Betty Jean Crabtree Kirkpatrick.
Dean is presently serving as principal of the Arkansas City High School and finishing his sixth year on the Executive Board of the Kansas State High School Activities Association. He has been president of the board this past year. Dean's degrees were earned at Kansas State University and Emporia State University.
Elaine is a former first grade teacher and is now in her sixteenth year as a learning disabilities teacher in Cowley County. Her degrees were earned at Cowley County Community College, Southwestern College, and Wichita State University.
Dean and Elaine Gilstrap count themselves very fortunate in that they came from strong, hard-working, and caring forebears. Their aim in life together has been and continues to be, to pass along to their descendants and to their students, those same characteristics that enabled their ancestors to help settle and tame the wilderness of southcentral Kansas.
Submitted by Elaine Gilstrap
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 176.
My father's parents came to Kansas in the late 1800's. John and Nancy Gladman came from Fairfield, Iowa, They settled in Tisdale, east of Winfield. Grandmother's two brothers, William and Elmer Dunlap, and families also came with them.
My mother's parents, Adolph and Dorcus Lohman came from Gibson City, Illinois, along with her brother Tom and Jane Swan. They settled north of Geuda Springs, Kansas, near Slate Valley Church in the late 1800's. Grandmother operated a grocery store in Geuda. This was when the Hot Springs was in full swing and Geuda was quite a thriving town. When the Cherokee Strip was run, both sets of my grandparents made the run. They settled in Oklahoma, just across the Oklahoma line, northwest of Newkirk around Vernon School.
My parents, Herman and Carrie Gladman, met and were married at Newkirk, August 15, 1900. They farmed awhile. My oldest brother was born in a log cabin on the farm, and it was still standing until about twenty years ago. The folks moved back to Ark City when World War I was declared. My father went to work to build Camp Funston.
When Strother Field was to be a Air Training Base, Dad was one of the first men to lay out the land and build the barracks. He also worked for years at Chilocco, with the school in carpentry. He also worked at Ponca City building the Marland Mansion, doing the finish work inside the mansion, from start to finish. He worked on many homes, churches here in town, and the old Post Office building in 1915.
Lots of memories for me to hold dear, One story Mother told us as a child, was her Father sent her and her brother, Edward, from their farm northeast of Newkirk to Geuda Springs for a load of straw. Was a full days trip. The wind came up on the way back, and the wind blew so hard, by the time they got home, the only straw they had on the rack, was what they were sitting on. Also the tornados were bad, she had seen chickens stripped of all feathers and no harm to the chickens, also saw straw driven into fence posts like nails.
The first two years after the Run, my grandparents and four children lived in a dugout, until Grandfather could build a two story house to house his family, seven boys and one girl, (my Mother).
I very well remember the street cars, interurban, five theaters, the old, but beautiful buildings, that have been torn down. The North Hill back then was a place we could hike up a sandy road on a Sunday afternoon and sit on the rocks and look around over the country side. The Methodist Church sits there now. I also enjoyed going on over to the scripture "Christ Died for the Ungodly". So many early day memories.
Ark City is my home town and always will be.
Submitted By Esther (Gladman) Barker
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 176.
Submitted by Joan Taylor
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 176.
Submitted by Joan Taylor
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 177.
In 1870 there was one other white woman, twenty men, three buildings, and five-hundred Indians living in the area. Their first home was a dug-out on the bluff overlooking the Walnut River valley, three miles northeast of town. Wild game and turnips were the main food that first winter. Albion, then fifteen, and his brothers made money by hauling freight by wagon from Emporia, until the Santa Fe Railroad came several years later. They quarried stone from the hill on which the lettering, Christ Died For the Ungodly, is located and built a stone house on the hill and that home was torn down in 1975. Along with the land that was homesteaded, they bought farm land and the entire family worked together, livestock and machinery were shared. The family held fast to their Bible teachings, and Jane Goff was a charter member of the First Baptist Church. Several ministers and missionaries were descendents of this Goff family.
Lydia Gillis Goff came with her parents, Alexander and Maria Pittman Gillis, from Springlake, Ohio in 1875 and they bought a farm near Hackney. Albion and Lydia were married in 1884 and they farmed until his retirement in 1916. Their two sons, John Brainard and Herman Alexander, continued to farm the land until their retirement. The Walnut River bottom land produced bountiful crops, and during their lifetime, floods were not a problem until cities created run-off water. The native pecan grove was a favorite picnic place, as well as to gather pecans each fall, by the community, and those trees are still producing pecans under the direction of granddaughter, Verna Davis and husband, Charles. New trees are now being planted and newer varieties grafted onto them.
The Anti-Horsethief Association was a "must" in every community, and Albion was an active member until his death, the name had been changed to Anti-Thief Association. Lydia Goff was known for her wonderful meals. Albion was a lover of flowers, and the peony plants are still cherished by the family. He served a term in the State Legislature in 1917, and was a tax assessor in the city for many years. Albion died in 1942 and Lydia in 1942, and both are buried in Parker Cemetery.
Submitted by Charles Davis
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 177
Bountiful crops and gardens were raised on the Walnut River bottom land, but floods took their toll many a year. It was with the faith of Job that kept them there to try again, The most severe floods were 1923, '28, '43, and'47, and that convinced them to move to town, to the home Albion Goff, at 502 North First Street, built in 1916. Flood water would get three feet deep in the house, livestock drown, hay and grain ruined. While the house dried out, the family would stay with family and friends, but the clean up and odor was most difficult. The floor boards warped and had to be nailed down and crack filler put in before rugs could be put down. Survival was based upon the belief that everything possible was stacked on the bed springs, rugs and clothing on top of chairs, etc., and one did not borrow money, nor accept help. Just do without till next crop. The Great Depression was weathered on the same "do without" principal ... the big garden and orchard provided canned goods, the excess tomatoes where traded with neighborhood grocers for staples. City friends would visit, enjoying the good meals, and once commented, "At least you have enough to eat". One year they couldn't afford to have grain thrashed, so it was put in the hay barn and fed to the cows. Ten cows provided milk to sell to the A.C. Dairies and that money kept the five children in their needs.
John graduated from the Albuquerque Business College, and that knowledge was used in serving as Cresswell Township Treasurer and Assessor many years. After retiring, he served two terms as County Commissioner, endearing himself for the many farm to market roads black-topped into the city and honoring the early settlers by making private cemeteries the care of the county.
John died in 1965 and Mabel in 1990. Their children are: Helen Jay, Verna Davis, and Gilford (Johnny) of Arkansas City; Laureda Hartley of Wichita; and Marianna Stickel of Ponca City.
Submitted by Verna (Goff) Davis
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 177.
Arthur enlisted in the Air Force when World War I was declared. When the Armistice was signed in 1918, Arthur was in the hospital near a battlefield. His commanding officer volunteered his companies services to help clean up the destruction in Germany. It was July of 1919 before Arthur was discharged at Camp Funston.
I, Clara King, the oldest daughter of Erbie and Elsie King, was born February 14, 1902 and had six brothers and three sisters. All ten graduated from the Grandview one-room school west of Floral. My mother and some of her brothers and sisters attended the same school. We used the school house for Sunday School and church until a new church was built north and east of the Grandview School.
Ours was a very busy and happy family. There was much work to do but many hands can do much work and if someone needed help, there was always someone to lend a helping hand. My father spent many hours reading to us after our work was finished while mother did the mending or sewed quilt blocks. We didn't have radio or television.
I married Arthur in 1921 and our first home was two miles south of my parent's home. We raised three children, Betty born 1924, Eleanor born 1929 and James Arthur born 1935.
In 1936, we bought a farm near Cambridge on Grouse Creek. In 1940, we lived for a time in Georgia then moved to Louisiana. Betty graduated from high school, Eleanor finished grade school there and we returned to the Cambridge farm in 1943.
Betty married Orville Franks and they raised Two daughters, Deborah and Janet. Betty has three grandchildren. All live in Oklahoma.
Eleanor married Orville Bair and they raised four children; Linda, Rita, Melissa and Roger. Eleanor has thirteen grand children. Eleanor and Orville live in Cowley County.
James married Jessie Taylor and they raised two sons, Tom and Scott, James has one grandchild.
Arthur Lyman died in 1958 and is buried at Winfield.
I continue to live on the farm. We lived close to my grandfather Wright's farm and my mother's brother, Sam Wright, had worked for us at times when we needed help. He had stayed and taken care of his parents as long as they lived. He was 75 years old when Arthur died but he helped me on the farm until his death at 83.
I married Ray Colglazier in 1965. He owned a farm south of mine but he had never lived on a farm. He had retired from teaching. We farmed and took care of the cattle. Ray died in 1977 and is buried in Oklahoma.
I have eight grandchildren and seventeen great- grandchildren. I still live on the Grouse Creek Farm and enjoy tatting, gardening and my children and grandchildren.
Submitted by Clara Colglazier
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 177.
Lyman Henry was born in Iowa in 1860. He married Elva Cannon in 1889 and they moved to his homestead in South Dakota. They raised six children, Zola, Elva, Arthur, Lloyd, Ernest and Paul. They lived for a time in South Dakota and then moved back to Iowa in 1897. They came to Cowley County in 1908 and lived in Winfield for some time before settling on a farm five miles north of Winfield. They moved back to Winfield in 1920.
Zola graduated from Southwestern and married Frank Gray in 1910. They raised three children; Floyd, Glen, and Ruby. All are deceased. Frank died in 1952. Zola died in 1980. Both are buried at Winfield. (continued on page 178)
Submitted by Alice Jones & Clara Colglazier
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 177.
Arthur L. graduated from high school in 1915, enlisted in the service during World War I and later went to mechanical school in Wichita. He married Clara King in 1921 and they raised three children, Betty, Eleanor, and James Arthur. Arthur L. died in 1958 and is buried at Winfield.
Lloyd never married. He spent most of his life in Cowley County.
Ernest married Mildred Brashear and they raised one daughter, Joan. She lives in Oklahoma. Ernest died in 1947 and is buried in Memorial Cemetery.
Paul graduated from Winfield High School and attended Southwestern College. He married Bernice McCabe and they raised three daughters, Harriette, Delores and Beverly. Paul worked at Coleman's in Wichita and moved to Rio Rancho, New Mexico when he retired. Lyman Henry Goodrich died in 1950. Elva Rose Goodrich died in 1952. They are buried in Winfield.
Submitted by Alice Jones & Clara Colglazier
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 178.
During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps, in the Middle East Theater, and also a period of internment in Turkey. He flaw 200 missions, was recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross; later retired from the Air Force Reserve as Lieutenant Colonel.
Ann Elizabeth Gordon (Bette) was born in Farmington, Missouri. As an infant her parents moved to the state of Washington. She graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, Washington and attended Washington State University.
Kern and Bette were married in Spokane in November 1941 . In a few days he left for overseas duty. She worked in the Federal Reserve Dank in Portlcind, Oregon.
They moved to Winfield, Kan. in December of 1949, where he was founder and president of Gordon & Platt Inc., a mcinufacturer of burners with its plant located at Strother Field. They had offices in England, Holland and Australia. He retired from G & P, and (president & founder) Heatmiser Inc., which is located at Gordon & Piatt Energy Group.
He is a trustee of Southwestern College, a trustee of H.L. Snyder Memorial Research Foundation, a member of Elks, First Methodist Church, 376th Bombardment Group Veterans Assoc., and Mens Golf Assoc, of the Winfield Country Club.
Bette is a member of Entre Nous, the Aux. of the H.L. Snyder Mem. Research Foundation, the Aux. of the William Newton Hospital, First Methodist Church, and Womens Golf Assoc. of the Winfield Country Club.
They have four children: Merrill Kern Gordon III, a graduate of Winfield High School and Kansas State University. He is a partner in Potter and Gordon architects of Winfield, Kansas.
Helen Lynn Johnston, is a graduate of Winfield High School and Kansas State University. Her husband is Gary Johnston, president of Wenger International, Kansas City, MO.
Suzanne Gordon Lecht, is a graduate of Winfield High School and Kansas State University. She was an interior designer in New York City and now lives in Tokyo, Japan with her husband Charles, president of Lecht Sciences Inc.
Barbara Ann Gordon, a graduate of Winfield High School and the University of Denver, lives in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and is manager of fishing yachts.
Kern and Bette have five grandchildren, Cory and Rebecca Johnston, Chad and Heather Gordon, and Johnathan Lecht.
They also have a special member of the family, Maria Games, an American Field Service student who lived with them in 1965-66 and Graduated from Winfield High School. She still visits with her three children, Rodrigo Makarlos, Pernanda Mcikarios and Renate Makarios. They live in Curitiba, Brazil.
Submitted by M.K. Gordon
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 178.
In the early 1800's Joseph Gordon, with a band of Scotch people, came to Zora, Ontario Canada province. Joseph and Ruth Ford Gordon's son, Eli Julian Gordon, is our family's descendant.
In 1866 he married Rosena Eva Weythman, daughter of John B, and Frances Watterer Weythman, originally from France. Frank H. Gordon, their first son was born in 1867. Soon the family moved to Schuyler County, Missouri near Greentop. Seven children were born later. Frank married Mary Elizabeth Wayman in Schuyler Co., Missouri in 1897.
Mary Wayman Gordon was the daughter of William and Sarah Scott Wayman, of Michigan and later of Jo Daviess County, Illinois. She was one of seven children. Mr, Wayman was a prosperous farmer and later became a judge in Schuyler County.
Mary Wayman Gordon relocated by train to Atlanta, Kansas in 1906 with her two children, William Eli and Rosena. Her brother, Washburn Wayman and family, accompanied them to Kansas.
William (Willie) attended Omnia school and graduated from Atlanta High School in 1921 as the first class in the new building.
Willie married Belva L. Lanier in 1928 and they had one son, Dale A. Gordon.
Willie has recalled many stories from the past. He spoke of the big fire in Atlanta that demolished a large part of the town.(continued on page 179)
Submitted by Gordon Ulbrich.
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 178.
Belva was the daughter of Arthur and Ida Kinkaid Lanier who resided in the Timber Creek area. She was one of four children. She enjoyed cooking, sewing and caring for her family.
Dale Gordon attended Omnia school and graduated from Atlanta High School in 1947. In 1952 he married Alta Totman of Beaumont, Ks. Alta, one of four daughters, of Ben Totman and Marie Devore Totman, originally from Arcadia, Ks. Ben was a coal miner, and later worked for the railroad. His wife, Marie had died in 1937, leaving her four daughters at an early age, to be raised by their father.
Dale and Alta Totman Gordon have two children, Randy and Gloria. The Gordons are farmers and ranchers raising wheat, milo, and cattle.
Bandy is a farmer and rancher residing at Burden. He is married to Pamela Parsons Gordon and they have two children: Kristy and Mark.
Gloria works at First National Bank of Winfield and is married to Rick Ulbrich. Rick is an avionics technician in Augusta, Ks. Rick is the son of Ernest Ulbrich, Seneca, Missouri and Helen Dobbs, Burden, KS. Rich and Gloria have one daughter, Crystal Nicole Ulbrich, born May 14, 1989.
Submitted By Gloria Gordon Ulbrich
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 179.
Following graduation, she attended Southwestern College at Winfield and Phillips University at Enid, Oklahoma.
On October 20, 1946, Freda Mae was married to Elcy Max Grade at the Atlanta Christian Church. Max, son of Elcy F. and Etta Murlin Grade, was born May 17, 1925 at Enid, Oklahoma. He served in World War 11 in the Army Air Corps in Europe. Upon his return from the service, he received his high school diploma from Goltry, Oklahoma, High School in 1946. He attended Enid Business College and a number of technical schools.
Max and Freda Mae lived in Enid for fourteen years before moving to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1960. In 1985, Max retired from the Federal Aviation Administration after thirty years of government service. He was an electronics technician.
The Grades are active members of Metropolitan Baptist Church. Freda Mae has been on the staff of the Beginner Department for twenty-eight years and Max serves on the grounds committee.
Their daughter, Carla Sue, was born in Oklahoma City on April 26, 1958. She graduated from Western Heights High School, Oklahoma City, in 1976. She attended Oscar Rose Junior College in Midwest City and Central State University, Edmond, Oklahoma. Carla was formerly employed at FAA.
On May 12, 1979, she was married to Carl Thomas Woodrow in Oklahoma City. Carl is employed by AT&T. The Woodraws are members of Metropolitan Baptist Church where both wurk in children's departments. They reside in Yukon, Oklahoma with their three daughters: Rachae born 1981; Shannon born 1984; and Ashton born 1989.
Submitted By Freda Mae Holt Grade
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 179.
One mile east of M.A.'s claim was the home of John C. Roberts who came to Kansas from Mahaska, County, Iowa, April 14, 187 1, The family spent their first night in the bottom northwest of the State Hospital and a few days later preempted the homestead where Maple Grove School stood. The land was secured through the land office in Wichita. My grandmother, Emily Jane Roberts, was the oldest daughter, 1858-1942.
Moses Asbury and Emily Jane were married in 1877. Two children were born. One, a son, died at birth. My mother, Mary Ethel Graham, was born in 1892. Emily Jane also had an encounter with an Indian, leaving food on the kitchen table and hiding with Mary Ethel under the bed.
Frederick Ferdinand Bernstorf, 1856-1946, was born in Meitze, Germany. He homesteaded in Rice County and entered the Methodist ministry in 1886. He served in the Southwest Kansas Conference all his ministerial life- He married Dorothea Gerlach. My father, Warren Frederick, 1892-1967 was born in Frederick, Kansas. By 1907 the family was located in Cowley Co, and all six children attended Southwestern CollegeWhen my grandmother died in 1917, the organ at Grace Methodist Church was given as a memorial by her husband and children. This was the first Router organ in Winfield.
Warren F. Bernstorf, M.D. and Mary Ethel Graham were married in 1922 in her family home at I 00 I E. 8th in Winfield. They lived in Pratt, Ks., where Warren F. practiced medicine until 1935. After a year studying in Vienna, Austria, they moved to Winfield where he practiced medicine until the day he died. Two daughters were born. An infant died. Doris Emily Bernstorf was born in 1924, I am named for my two grandmothers.
Emily Bernsturf and Stephen Keith Frazier were married in 1946. Five children were born. June Ellen, Stephen Kendal, Warren Farley, John Eric and Graham Philip. After spending fourteen years as a Geologist with a major oil company, we moved to the family farm north of Winfield in 1961. We now have live grandchildren. Jeremy Lee, Angela Lynn, Erica Michelle, Christa Nichole, Kendra Lea. My grandfather Graham and his great-grandson, Graham, constitute 120 years in Cowley County.
Submitted by Emily Fruzier
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 179.
Mell and his brother, Dr. Wm. and his wife Fanny, were the first three charter members of Winfield's First Methodist Church. The three sawed lumber by lantern light to build the very first church in Winfield. AL of the Graham family are buried in Union cemetery, which was originally called "The Graham Cemetery".
Mell, a teacher, returned to Ohio and married a former pupil, Caroline (Carrie) Powell. Mell's ancestors were Scotch-Irish and Carrie's came from England. They returned to Cowley County and settled on a farm just east of Winfield. It is now the site of Winfield High School. Mell and Carrie were the parents of six children: C. Edward(Ed), Stacy, Arthur, Alice(Kendall), Grace(Morrow), and Harold A.
Harold was born September 12, 1897. He attended the Kansas State University and there he met another student, Laura M. Zwiebel(Me) from Sedgwick Kansas. I was born May 18, 1897 in Sarpy Co. Nebraska. My ancestors were from Germany.
We were married on August 22, 1918 in Sedgwick Kansas. We formed on the home place for 28 years. We had a herd of Holstein cattle and sold milk to Armour Creamery and The State School. We named our farm "Broadview Farm".
Three children were born to us. Harold A. Jr., who later changed his name to H. Allen, born May 31, 1919. Because of his red hair he was nicknamed "Red". Hugh Warren, born May 29, 1923, and Patricia Arlene, born June 17, 1925.
All three children attended Science Valley, District 41, as had their father. It is now a residence. All are graduates from Winfield High School. Allen graduated from Oklahoma State University and served in WWII. An Air Force career man for 25 years, he retired cis a Lt. Colonel. He has two children and is married to Eloise Terrel. They live in Tucson, Arizona. Hugh graduated from the University of Nebraska in Omaha and also served in WWII. An Air Force career man for 22 years, retired as a Major. Later, he was with the Federal Aviation Administration for 19 years. He married Lola Goodnight and they have one daughter and reside in Winfield. Patricia graduated from the University of Kansas and received her Masters from Illinois University. She married James R. Fuller and taught seven years. Jim has been an engineer with The Boeing Company for 35 years. They have three children and live in Bellevue, Washington.
Harold sold the farm in 1946 and became an employee of Cities Service Gas Company. He was transferred to Lyons, Kansas in 1949 and retired in 1962. Harold died in April, 1984 (continued on page 180)
Submitted by Laura M. Graham
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 179.
Winfield was very dear to Harold. All of us, as a family, are proud to have called Winfield and Cowley County our home.
Submitted by Laura M. Graham
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 180.
Back to the top.
Mel and Carrie (Powell) Graham had seven children: Francis (who died in infancy); Edwin; Stacey; Arthur; Alice; Grace; and Harold. My father, Ed, (born April 2, 1877), was the oldest. He was very well thought of by all of the neighbors. He was elected Worshipful Master of the Masonic Lodge. Ed and Alice (Brooks), his wife, lived on a farm homestead north of Winfield. It is beautiful, with a wooded area, the Walnut River, and rich soil.
Ed was a very hard worker and expected those who worked for him to work hard also. He, of course, used horses to plow, drive the mowing machine, and for all of the other work done on the farm. The last few years of his life, he used a small Ford tractor. During the Depression, my father, mother, and the hired man, milked twelve cows by hand twice a day. They delivered the milk in town for five cents a quart.
As a child, I had delightful times on the farm with friends and a cousin who stayed with us during the summer. When I was five years old, I experienced a cyclone on our farm. It tore down two barns, killing the animals inside. It uprooted trees and took the kitchen off of our home. My father shouted to the hired man, "Hold the door shut!" while he, my mother and I held hands and ran back and forth, with our cat, Jerry, following. I can also remember riding my spotted pony to Bethel School, and carrying a water jug to the workers in the harvest field.
When I grew up, I graduated from Southwestern College and married a classmate, William T. Ward. Following our marriage, we spent a year at Columbia University in New York City, where we received our Master's degrees. Then we returned to Kansas, where Bill served as superintendent of schools in Deerfield and Bucklin, Kansas, for eight years. Then Bill was selected as principal of a Wichita school and worked in the Wichita Public Schools until he retired in 1974. During the last years of Bill's life, we traveled to all the continents of the earth. We enjoyed this, and Bill took wonderful pictures. We showed these pictures on three screens simultaneously, while giving talks, about our travels, to community groups.
I was a kindergarten and pre-school teacher until I retired at the age of seventy-eight years old; lam now eighty-one. My husband died in 1980 at the age of seventy-two.
We had two sons, Bill and Bob. When growing up, they enjoyed visiting my parents on the farm. Bill, the elder, was graduated from Friends University and received his Master's degree from Greeley, Colorado; he is currently an industrial arts teacher at Wichita High School East. Bill married Janet Studer, now a nurse in the Wichita schools. Bill and Janet have two daughters, Deborah and Amy. Deborah is a teacher in Wichita and Amy is an elementary education major at William Jewel College.
Our younger son, Bob, received both his Bachelor's and Master's degree from Wichita University; he is now a hydrologist in Colorado. His wife, Jana Bennett, is an accountant. Bob and Jana also have two daughters, Lynn and Chris. Lynn married LeRoy Butler and is the proud mother of a baby daughter, Kelsey. Chris is attending college in Colorado.
Although it has not been inhabited since my parents died, I still own the family farm and we have kept the house furnished as it once was. As children, Bill and Janet's daughters enjoyed picnics there, playing make-believe games in the barn and the wood. Today, it serves as a family retreat where we escape the city. Very busy and productive years have been ours. Always, we have come back to Winfield, our home.
Pauline Graham Ward
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 180.
Back to the top.
Tom homesteaded a place on Plum Creek, northeast of Dexter, Cowley County, Kansas. In May 1875, he married Elizabeth Ellen Mitchael. She was born on September 6, 1854 close to Quincy, Illinois. Her parents were James and Hester Ward Mitchael. Her family had come to Kansas in 1866 and lived on a farm near Otto, in Cowley County. Her family went on to Arkansas.
Tom was a blacksmith, farmer, grew sorghum, and had a sorghum mill. He also had a merry-go-round and traveled with a carnival. Ellen raised lots of chickens, had milk cows, and sold eggs, butter, and chickens. They lived in a stone cave while building the house. Tom drove a team of oxen hitched to a wagon to Independence, Kansas to get window frames for the house. Part of the cave, barn, and stone fence are still on the property but the house is gone.
Tom and Ellen had nine children born on the farm. They were William Russell Graham, Calvin Britten Graham, Thomas Edgar Graham, Sarah Alice Graham, Millie Viola Stiner, Mary Catherine Love, Elizabeth Ellen Watsonberger Smith, Clara Augusta Love, and Birdie Augusta Harris (my mother). Seven of the nine children grew up, married, and had families (many of the descendants are still living in Cowley County).
Tom and Ellen were hard working and thrifty people. They had to be, to have a large family of children and survive in those days.
They enjoyed having the family around them. The following newspaper article about the Graham Homestead was saved but was not dated.
OLD SETTLER MOVES
"The public sale on the farm of T.C. Graham, northeast of Dexter on Wednesday of this week brings to a close an interesting chapter in the life history of a Cowley County settler, a story that from which might well be painted a picture of the early pioneer life in this part of the state, however, at this time we will leave that part of the epoch to the imagination of the readers, after saying that Mr. Graham had lived for 52 years on the same farm. He will retire and expects to spend some time in Arkansas. The sale was very well patronized and everything offered brought a fair price. The Editor attended this sale."
Tom and Ellen lived in Dexter, Kansas the rest of their lives, in a house which is still there, Tom died on May 21, 1932 and Ellen died on March 20, 1942. They are buried in Dexter Cemetery.
My recollection is of them being dedicated to the family. We are trying to keep their memory alive by getting the descendants together every year for a reunion.
Submitted by Vera Elizabeth Harris Pack
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 180.
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Kenneth's family moved to East Bolton Township in 1934, neighbors to the Stacktons. Over the following years romance blossomed. We hunted coon, possum, skunk, etc, to make spending money. We rode horses, played marbles, smoked grapevines, learned to ride a bicycle. When we did attend a picture show the ticket cost ten cents. On the way home we would buy a pint of ice cream to share.
We were married July 16, 1940 in Winfield, Kansas by the honorable Judge Ellis Fink. Our attendants were Francis and Leta Lang, Kenneth's sister and brother-in-law. In April 1942 our first daughter was born, Charlotte Ann. November 6, 1944 our second daughter, Arnetta Kay, was born. Five years later our first son was born November 15, 1949. We named him Russell Kenton. Three years later, our second son was born on August 15, we gave him the name James Kenneth. These children ore married with families of their own and making their mark on the world.
Charlott Ann married Robert Skinner from Burden, Kansas. They ore both teachers in the Salina school system. They have three children: Elizabeth Ann Finnin (her husband is career Army and stationed in Germany); Jerol Courtland, is attending Arkansas University on a football scholarship and plays for the Razorbacks; Kenneth Wade is attending Hutchinson Junior College to become a banker.
Arnetta Kay married Micheal Curless. She is a beautician, realtor, and has a dog grooming business. Mike is a railroader for the Santa Fe. They have two children: Nicohle Marie, nine teen, is employed at Gott's; Tyler Wayne attends middle school.
Russell Kenton graduated from Manhatten with an industrial engineer degree. He is employed at Conoco Refinery in Ponca City. He has a Brokers License and his own Real Estate office in Arkansas City. He is single. His four children are:
Keele Simone, a junior in high school; Austin Lee, in middle school; twins Seth Allen and Kurt Ryan are in the second grade.
James Kenneth married Cheryl Triggs. They live in Kildare, Oklahoma where she is the cook for the school and Jimbo works for Conoco Refinery in Ponca City. They have four children: Jomie Kay, a senior and basketball star, will be attending (continued on page 181)
Submitted BY Cleo Graves
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, Page 180.
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| State Coordinators Tom & Carolyn Ward, Columbus, KS ks@rootsquest.com tcward@columbus-ks.com |