Should it be an "A" or Should it be a "W"?

      John Andrew Bell was the son of John Richard Bell and father of John Fletcher Bell. All three live in Labette County, Kansas in 1775¹.  

      But wait a minute.  That 1775 Kansas Territorial Census shows the name John W. Bell.  How do I know that this is my John A. Bell?  This John Bell was born in Indiana and lived in Indiana prior to coming to Kansas. That is what I expected.  He was married to Amanda who was born in Kentucky.  He had a son named John Fletcher Bell.  The ages are about what I would expect.  If we examine land records, a John W. Bell owns land adjacent to a Benjamin F. Jones and near John R. Bell and Mildred Bell.  Benjamin Fletcher Jones is the father-in-law of John A. Bell. Mildred Bell was his mother.  I am convinced that this John W. Bell is the same person as my John A. Bell.

     For some reason all records that I have found prior to Labette County refer to a John Bell.  In Labette County the records refer to our John A. Bell several times as James W. Bell and then in 1885 as John H. Bell³.  When the family moved west to Comanche County for a few years, land records referred to him as John W. Bell.  

     After the family arrived in Stevens County, John A. Bell was the name used.  It was used in court records, land records, tombstone, and a published county history.  For now I am leaving the name, John Andrew Bell, in my records, but  . . .
     Why did the name change?  Was it intentional or accidental?  I would love to know the reason.


1. Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, Kansas; 1875 Kansas Territory Census; Roll: ks1875_10; Line: 75  Ancestry.com. Kansas State Census Collection, 1855-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.
2. "HistoryGeo.com" 14 July 2015 <https://www.historygeo.com/>
3. Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, Kansas; 1885 Kansas Territory Census; Roll: KS1885_69; Line: 1  Ancestry.com. Kansas State Census Collection, 1855-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.

Bell Marriage in Jasper County

     John A. Bell and Amanda C. Jones wed on 7 Aug 1873¹ in Jasper County, Missouri.  In the "History of Stevens County & Its People" several of their children state that this marriage took place in Indiana².  This may have been the story that John and Amanda told their children but no record has been found to show that they were married there or that Amanda ever lived in Indiana.  At the time of the marriage they were living in Mount Pleasant Township, Labette County, Kansas^3,4.  In the years prior, Amanda lived in Kentucky and Missouri. John had arrived from Indiana.  Later they homesteaded land in Labette County, near Mound City, where several of their children were born before moving west to Stevens County, Kansas..  

     At the time of the marriage John Andrew Bell was probably eighteen years old and Amanda was most likely sixteen years old.  Was it legal for them to get married at that age?  Did their parents approve? In any case, John and Amanda chose to travel from Labette County, through Cherokee County, crossing the Kansas-Missouri border, and to Jasper County, Missouri.  At that time it appears that Jasper County may have served as the area's 'Gretna Green'.  (Gretna Green is a border town in Scotland, which is famous for weddings of couples who elope.)  Twin Groves is one of the townships in Jasper County that borders Kansas.  There is a William Bishop in that township in 1880 Census.

     So, considering John's and Amanda's ages and location of wedding, is it possible that they eloped?  

    

1. "Missouri, County Marriage Records, 1819-1969." Marriage of John Bell and Amanda Jones. Jasper County, Missouri FamilySearch. https://familysearch.org : accessed 7 Apr 2013.
2. The History of Stevens County & Its People. pages 367-373, Hugoton, Kansas: Stevens County History Association, 1979.
3. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch
4. Year: 1870; Census Place: Mount Pleasant, Labette, Kansas; Roll: M593_436; Page: 48B; Image: 100; Family History Library Film: 545935

Small Town Americana

The Gazebo at Old Town Poway Park

     Yesterday, we drove a few miles down Interstate 15 in order to listen to the Shoreline Symphonic Winds play at the Pomerado Community Band Festival in Poway.  The band set up in the gazebo of the Old Town Poway Park.  As I was enjoying the band play, I was reminded of images of Small Town Americana. 

     The music was great and in spite of the recent nearby fires, the sky was clear and weather was great.  

     As the band played I though back to our ancestors who played in community bands like L. J. Kilbourn and J. F. Bell in Hugoton, Kansas¹.  It is too bad we can't go back in time to listen to them play.

     

         Why did we drive for an hour to listen to an hour of music?  It might have something to do with our son, Luke, who played the baritone sax in the Shoreline Symphonic Winds.

1. "The Early 1900s." The History of Stevens County & Its People. Hugoton, Kansas: Stevens County Historical Association, 1979. 

Taking a Horse to School

     When Jayme's grandmother passed away, her belongings stayed with her husband, Bill Larned. When he passed away several years later her belonging passed to Bill's daughter.  Last fall his daughter found us because of our genealogical postings and two suitcases of photographs made their way to our house.  Buried in the middle of a collection was a photo that will make my granddaughters jealous.  
     Among the great-great-granddaughters of Betty are a few that like horses a lot.  A couple even have their own horses.  I am certain that Hailey, Abbey, Mickey, and Laney would think it was fun to ride a horse to school. (At least the first day)  

     Based on information and a picture in a history of Stevens County, Kansas this is likely a picture taken outside Good Luck School southwest of Hugoton, Kansas.  We believe that the girl in front on the middle horse is Fayetta (Betty) Kilbourne. A couple of the others are siblings of Betty. This picture was likely taken around 1920.  

     The second picture was likely taken around the same time since all the kids seem to be wearing the same clothes.  Kids of that time may only have had one set of clothes so interpret the word around quite generously.  Betty is the tallest girl in the back.  Teachers of the Good Luck School around 1920 were 1917-18 - Roxie Schaeffer; 1918-20 Bertha Fields; and 1920-21 Grace Wagner.  In 1921-22 the teacher was  male and I doubt that Betty was in school after that time.  Betty was born in 1909 and married in 1924.

What A Marriage Date Might Tell Us About Abolitionists?

     On April 12, 1859 David F. Baylor and Annetta Rebecca Mannen were married in McLean County, Illinois.  The marriage was blessed with two children: son, Cory Oscar and daughter, Isabelle Maria (Marie Isabell on death certificate).  Isabelle was born on Nov. 25, 1862.  It is unlikely that Isabelle remembered her mother because Annetta passed away on April 27, 1864  when Isabelle was less than two years old.  
     But why did the young couple choose April 12, 1859 as a wedding date?

     A census record might shed a little light on the reason.  An 1859 Kansas Census shows that Rebecca's parents arrived in Lykins County, Kansas in May, 1859.  So it would seem that the date of the marriage was chosen as a result of her parents plan to leave Illinois.  But why the rush?

Ancestry.com.. Kansas State Census Collection, 1855-1925.
Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009.

     In the late 1850s Kansas was a battleground between pro- and anti-slavery forces.  Many abolitionists came from other states to live in the area and ensure Kansas' entry as a free or anti-slavery state.  The Mannens settled on a farm about 8 miles from where John Brown, famed abolitionist, lived. Lykins County had been named after a Baptist missionary, Dr. David Lykins.  Lykins County was renamed as Miami county in 1861 because of the pro-slavery views of Dr. Lykins.  

     Did Rebecca's parents, William R. and Mariah Mannen go to Kansas to help the anti-slavery forces?  Rebecca's brother fought with the Union Army but other than that I haven't found any other clues.  

Delayed Birth Certificate: Guy McBee

      Guy McBee, great-great grandfather of Hailey and Abbey, was born June 19, 1902 in Bronson, Bourbon County, Kansas.  Bronson is about 25 miles from the Kansas-Missouri border.  Births in Kansas were not recorded at the state level until 1913 so any record would be at the county level.  The McBees were dirt poor moved often and would have had a difficult time going more than twenty miles to the county seat.  
     Based upon Guy's Delayed Birth Certificate, the birth was not recorded at the time of birth. When Guy wanted to get proof of birth (probably at a time when he was registering either for Social Security or union membership) he submitted an affidavit from his father, his marriage license, an ID card, and a voter registration.  This certificate show his name as Guy Charles McBee even though at the time of birth he was named Charles Guyer McBee. He is listed as Charlie G. in the 1910 U.S. Census; Guy in the 1915 Kansas Census & 1920 U.S. Census; and Gui in the 1905 Kansas Census; Guy Charley on his 1940 marriage record.)

Western Kansas Homesteads

Clara and Jake Kilbourn

     In 1892 John Andrew Bell homesteaded 160 acres in the southwest quarter of section 15 in Township 33 South range 35 West of the Sixth Prime Meridan of Kansas.   This farm was about 12 miles east of Hugoton, Kansas.
     In 1894 Jonathan C. Kilbourn, homesteaded 160 acres in the northeast quarter of Section 4 in Township 35 South Range 40 West of the sixth Prime Meridian in Kansas.   The Kilbourn homestead was about 20 miles southwest of Hugoton.
     Lewis Joseph "Jake" Kilbourn married Clara Bell on 5 Sep 1901.  In 1913 they homesteaded 160 acres in the northeast quarter of section 28 in Township 34 South Range 38 West of the Sixth Prime Meridian in Kansas.
    All three homestead were within Stevens County.  Jonathan Kilbourn probably was not too successful at farming or he wasn't healthy enough to continue farming because in less than six years he was living in Indiana, where he had met and married his wife.
     While running the homestead, Jake drilled water wells as a sideline.  That eventually became his sole source of income so about 20 years after claiming the homestead he moved the family into Hugoton¹.     
     On aerial images from 1990 there appears to be farm buildings on Jake's property, but there doesn't appear to be any now on Jake's or Jonathan's old homesteads.


By zooming in on this map you can see the land as it appears today.


1. "Jake Kilbourn Passes Following Long Illness." Hugoton Hermes, Nov 7, 1947.

2. "Google Maps Engine Lite." 2012. 23 Aug. 2013 <https://mapsengine.google.com/>

Drilling for Water instead of Oil

                    



     In the wake of the Dust Bowl the United States Geological Survey together with the State Geological Survey of Kansas undertook an investigation of ground-water in Morton County, Kansas.  At the end of the study¹ is an acknowledgement to Jake Kilbourne for providing data on wells drilled by him in Morton County.
     In 1906 Lewis Joseph “Jake”  Kilbourn (1879-1947),  (Jayme’s great-grandfather) homesteaded 160 acres in Stevens County close to the border of Morton County.  He ran cattle and drilled wells as a sideline.  About 1922 “Jake and his family moved to Hugoton and after that devoted much of his time to drilling water wells in the Hugoton Gas field”².  


1. Morton County Geohydrology  Kansas Geological Survey 
Accessed 16 Aug 2013   http://www.kgs.ku.edu/General/Geology/Morton/03_intro.html

2. "Jake Kilbourn Passes Following Long Illness." Hugoton Hermes, Nov 7, 1947.

In the foreground
Jake Kilbourn and Clara Bell Kilbourn