We had the honor recently to call on one of Lincoln county’s earliest settlers, Waldo Hancock, and Mrs. Hancock. With possibly one exception, Waldo Hancock has lived in Lincoln county, Kansas, continuously longer than any person living at present; it is believed, also , that he is the third oldest person in the county. Mr. Hancock was anticipating the celebration of his 92nd birthday which was forthcoming our pleasant visit with him on December 17.
Mr. Hancock came to Kansas from Milford, Massachusetts, by himself at the age of twenty-one in February 1869. Having come as far as Salina on the train, Waldo became impatient to complete his journey and walked the remainder of the way to the home of his cousin, Ed Johnson, near the present townsite of Beverly, Kansas. Waldo admits that after having ridden so far, the long trek at the end of his journey seemed like a "a good day’s work," in fact, it took him from 9 a.m. until the following night to reach the home of Ed Johnson. Johnson, one of the "Colorado boys" who built the first residence in Lincoln county, had been the lucky one of the group to draw the lot which entitled him to homestead the land which boasted of the dugout built by them. The five men known as the "Colorado boys" fought with the First Colorado Cavalry during the Civil War and, having been honorably discharged in the winter at the close of the war, the "boys" returned to Kansas and staked claims on land in what is now known as Colorado Township because it had appealed to them when they had ridden through this territory on one of their wartime excursions.
Enroute to the dugout of the Colorado boys, Waldo slept one night at Fischer’s ranch in a huge dugout known as the "halfway" house. He had great reason to feel thankful that night because it seems almost miraculous that he found the dugout at all by night in a strange frontier land.
When Mr. Hancock arrived in Colorado Township, only one of the local citizens was a woman – namely, Mrs. Tom Skinner. The mother of Eli Ziegler, then a lad of 18, lived near Shady Bend. From 1869, however, the county continued to "fill fast" with entire families moving in at frequent intervals. Mrs. Tom Skinner, the first school teacher in the county, taught her sons, Everton, Alfred, and Bing Skinner, and the two Ziegler boys, Eli and Frank, in a little dugout. E.T. Skinner, our legislator thirty some years ago, was instrumental in preserving numerous historical landmarks.
Shortly after coming to Kansas, Waldo was employed by a neighbor, Calvin Skinner, to do farm work. One day while Skinner was in Salina, Waldo was confronted by an Indian. Waldo had been advised to wear a gun whenever working in the field; but on this particular day which was unpleasantly hot, Waldo left his guns and holster on the bed following dinner. The team of cattle Waldo was driving while plowing was so slow that Waldo was practically asleep when an Indian apparently took form out of thin air within four feet of Waldo and demanded food. Waldo had never seen an Indian before, and in an effort to cover up the fact that he was extremely nervous in the presence of an Indian, he courageously "took his life in his hands" so he thought and began firing questions at the intruder. Waldo expected to be shot at moment after impudently refusing to acquiesce to the Indian’s wishes. After bravely asserting that he would inform men that an Indian was near and that they would kill an Indian on sight, Waldo was amazed to see the Indian stalk away without having molested him. Because the Indian had asserted that fourteen members of his tribe were camped in the nearby woods, Waldo promptly unhitched to and hurried to the men on neighboring farms with the message that 14 Indians were purportedly camping nearby. A thorough search soon dispelled all fears and revealed the fact that the Indian was alone and had merely been trying to bluff his way to some "free grub." Waldo has never forgotten the comfort he felt in wearing pistols at work thereafter.
Mr. Waldo may well be proud of the fact that he bagged the first buffalo he saw with one shot from his rifle. Three years after having come to Kansas, Waldo and his friend, Cal Skinner, spotted a buffalo in a slough while hunting. Creeping up from the windward side of the animal as quietly as possible, Mr. Skinner cocked his gun in readiness in the event that Waldo missed his target with the first shot; but Waldo "did himself proud" on this memorable occasion.
Mr. Hancock well remembers his first experience with Kansas floods. His cousin’s abode, situated along the river bank, was in danger of being destroyed the first time a heavy rain fell. Waldo and his cousin, Ed Johnson, built a levy higher than the door of their house, and because the rain continued falling, the young men were kept busy for some time bailing water from their door yard. Waldo recalls that they got pretty wet while tossing the water up and over the wall because of the cramped quarters in which they sought protection from drowning.
Waldo Hancock, a protégé of the Colorado boys, and the only survivor of the Militia boys who formed a club in Beverly, Kansas, homesteaded 160 acres of land east of Beverly. At present, he owns land adjoining his original claim which he sold years ago. Mr. Hancock is the recipient of a life-long pension which has been increased at intervals until, at present, it amounts to $55 a month.
Although Mr. Hancock is slightly hard of hearing and has difficulty in reading fine print in his advanced years, he says he feels strong and that he can eat absolutely anything set on the table before him. Mr. Hancock has not so much as had a single headache in the past 40 years. Mr. Hancock’s many friends enjoy hearing and repeating his humorous wise cracks. One is surprised to hear that Mr. Hancock is as old chronologically speaking as he actually is because he looks and acts like a man much younger and seems to thoroughly enjoy the privilege of living.
It is truly a privilege to witness the results of Mr. Hancock’s natural talent. Mr. Hancock, for many years a photographer of good repute, is proud of his photographic triumphs. Especially fascinating to this writer who also has a gift for free-hand drawing were the large pictures which adorn the walls of the living room in the cozy and unpretentious Hancock residence at Beverly, Kansas. One, the likeness of an attractive young girl in old-fashioned dress and surrounded by the beauty of a rustic garden scene, was drawn with pencil by Mr. Hancock 79 years ago when he was but 13 years of age. Time has given the surface of the picture the effect of a rich sepia tone. Another picture, drawn free-hand in crayon colors about 70 or 75 years ago looks like a true photograph of a beautiful large long-haired dog such as a child adores for a pet. One picture in Mr. Hancock’s possession which would be of especial interest to everyone at all interested in historical events pertaining to Lincoln county is a photograph made in Milford, Mass., many years ago from a free-hand drawing which Waldo had sent to his mother and which both deserved to have a copy of. The picture depicts the rough-hewn log interior of the dugout made by the Colorado boys – the first house in Lincoln county. Even the slight crease down the center of the picture made by the fold when mailed is distinct in this unusual photograph. The subject sitting by a table to the left of the center in the picture represents Ed Johnson, owner of Lincoln county’s first residence.
The gracious lady who has been Waldo’s wife for nearly half a century was formerly a Miss Lewis from Franklin county, Indiana. Mrs. Hancock, the great-grand-niece of Merriweather Lewis, who is famous for his part in the Lewis and Clark Expedition of early U.S. history, taught the first and second grades at Central school in Lincoln Center in 1889-90-91. One of her pupils for two of the three terms mentioned was the late Martin Johnson who became world-famous for his exploration trips in the African jungles. Due to the fact that many of the 95 pupils enrolled in her room the first year she taught in Lincoln, were only five years of age, Mrs. Hancock saw to it that all of her four children and a stepson were at least six years of age before enrolling in public school.
Mr. and Mrs. Hancock enjoy life perhaps much more than most people who are many years their junior. They not only attended the World’s Fair in 1915 in San Francisco, but rode in a glass-bottomed boat, visited Catalina Island, and rode to Portland, Oregon, on a ship. In 1929, the Hancocks toured Niagara Falls, N.Y., and Boston and Milford, Mass. They can therefore rightfully say they have been on both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In October, 1939, Mr. and Mrs. Waldo Hancock enjoyed a three weeks’ trip which took them through Missouri, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee. They traveled 160 miles of the way by Greyhound Bus. In the eastern part of Arkansas, Mr. and Mrs. Hancock witnessed an unusually beautiful sunset which caused a mirage resembling a magnificent red and gray mountain scene to take form in the eastern sky.
Friends who drop in on this serenely quiet and lovable pair of pioneer people are also impressed by the beautiful sunset exemplified by long and worthwhile living.
