Research trip journal, day 10

2014.05.19 Monday

2014.05.20 Tuesday

2014.05.21 Wednesday

2014.05.22 Thursday

2014.05.23 Friday

2014.05.24 Saturday

2014.05.25 Sunday

2014.05.26 Monday

2014.05.27 Tuesday

2014.05.28 Wednesday

I had been in contact with St. Boniface Catholic church in Tipton, Kansas over several months. My first questions were on the parish history, then on the physical properties of their parish registers. Then, I listed all the sacramental "events" I hoped to document in family while they lived in and near Tipton. From this preparation, they realized I had much more to accomplish than merely a few baptisms and marriages. We came to agreement that I might do the work in place of the secretary, who typically answered isolated requests for parish records.

I arrived at the parish office around 10:30 today and introduced myself to Fr. Damian Richards and his mother. Fr. Damian and I spoke a bit about the parameters of photographing parts of the parish registers: I could photograph the double-page spreads, but I could only photograph those spreads that presented information for the Kohn, Ohnsat, Reinert, Gradig, Steichen, Schandler, Streit, Gasper, Gillen, Schwinden, Simeon, Ottley, Deneke, Ottley, and Riedel families—the in-law families of each of my uncles, aunts, granduncles, and grandaunts.

Baptism Register 03

I began with a fairly recent baptismal register, reading the entries and photographing a page where I saw a relative's name. At Fr. Damian's suggestion, I stopped the photography around 1960 and at the time to break for lunch. Baptism Register 03 has a full description of the source, although not the pages themselves.


The entries held a surprise for me: Some Kohn families who eventually lived some distance from Tipton had several baptisms performed at St. Boniface. It may be they resided nearby and later moved or they returned to Tipton for the baptism in their "home parish." My first cousins once removed, Ves and Ernest Kohn, who lived in Cawker City, Kansas, brought their babies to St. Boniface for baptism; my uncle Nick Kohn brought his babies from as far as Burr Oak in Jewell county for baptisms at St. Boniface.

Baptism Register 02

After lunch I set up the next previous baptismal register and photographed relevant pages through its entirety. "Baptismorum Registrum" appears to be the oldest baptism register; its spine, covers, and pages are very worn. But it is not the oldest; I was to photograph the rebound first volume next. Baptism Register 02 has a full description of this source.

I noticed also that at least one bound volume was missing. When I expressed concern that it was mislaid, Fr. Damian admitted that he had removed the more recent register of marriages, first communions, and confirmations from those that I could photograph.

Baptism Register 01

The earliest baptismal register, "Baptismorum Registrum Tipton, Kans 1884-1929" on the spine only has been rebound. The spine and covers exhibit only light shelf wear. The text, however, shows greater wear, discoloration and fragility at the edges of all pages; the ink on some pages has become quite faded.  Baptism Register 01 has a full description of the source.

Marriage Register 01

The first register of marriages is bound together with the first registers of first communions and confirmations. The title on the cover reads "Register of Marriages 1884-1935; First Communions 1890-1949; Confirmations 1892-1949 Vol. 1." Marriage, Communion, and Confirmation Registers 01 has a full description of the source. The photography went much more quickly, since the format of the marriage entries presented names per page. Thus, the criterion of one appearance of any of the family names was met on every spread.

Several marriages of brides from Beloit occurred at St. Boniface.

Confirmation Register 01

Similarly for the confirmation registers, which typically consisted of the names of a dozen or more youth receiving the sacrament. Every page was photographed.

First Communion Register 01

The registers here also consisted of lists of children receiving their first communion, generally 8 to 15 at a time. Every page was photographed.

Funeral Register 01

The state of this register is alarming. The original saddle-stitch binding was fairly inadequate for use as a register. Most pages are loose and torn at the fold of the saddle. Most pages are extremely worn at the edges. The paper is discolored, although the paper likely did not have a high acid content. At least that aspect has helped preserve the register, such as it is. The handwritten title reads "Liber Mortuorum Ecclesiae St Bonifacis Loco Tipton, Mitchell County Kansas 1884 to April 1914." Funeral Register 01 has a full description of the source.

The register entries were very short, and several entries could fit on a page. Because the criterion could be easily met, I was able to photograph each page.

Funeral Register 02

This volume has no title. Its covers are edged with adhesive plastic wrapping tape. Many pages have damage to the edges, and some pages are loose. Its poor condition is second only to Funeral Register 01.  Funeral Register 02 has a full description of the source.

Tipton Heritage Museum

I finished photography by 4 p.m., and called Carolyn Ellenz to meet at the Tipton museum. She and her husband Dave have been working on the museum since 2007, and it has been open to visitors since late 2013. Carolyn led me through the displays, which fill the ground floor and part of the 2nd floor. She showed me their acquisitions about Caledonia, Minnesota, which was the first home of many families who resettled to Tipton. The amount of background information about that town is second only to the Houston County Historical Museum in Caledonia! She also proudly showed the genealogical studies of area families that local genealogists had published.

• Tipton Heritage Museum
• Hours:  1:00 to 4:00 p.m. each Friday
• Special hours:  (to be determined) Saturday and Sunday of the St. Boniface Harvest Festival (first weekend in August)
• Location: 602 Main Street, Tipton KS 67485 
• Phone:  785-373-4315

Carolyn spoke of their outreach to local schools and the interest evidenced by volunteer workers in the museum. We shared ideas on making fragile documents available to researchers, rotating displays from the museum placed in local storefronts, and digitally archiving some of their collection.

John M. Kohn parcel, section 25, Carr Ckreek twp, 1884

I had asked Carolyn to print three files that showed portions of the 1884 plat map for Carr Creek township. My great-grandfather John M. Kohn homesteaded in section 25 for a few years before he relocated to La Crosse, Wisconsin in late 1880.  (In the portion of the 1884 plat map shown here, the southwest quarter of section 25 was then owned by H. Hodge. The transfer to Hodge occurred shortly before John M. moved his family to La Crosse, Wisconsin in late 1880.) He and his wife Susanna (Reinert) were enumerated here in the 1875 Kansas census and the 1880 U.S. Federal census. I have transcribed the land patent that documents the transfer to John M. under the Homestead Act. A family document refers to their dugout and sod house that they lived in while "proving" the land.

Also in Carr Creek were the farms owned by William Schwinden, the father-in-law to Peter Reinert, and John Schwinden, a brother-in-law.

William and John Schwinden parcels, sections 15 & 16, Carr Ckreek twp, 1884

The 1884 plat maps show both farms adjacent to each other. William owns the NW quarter of section 15, and John owns an irregular parcel in the N half of section 14.

Going to Section 25 in Carr Creek township

After 7:30, Frank Ohnsat.and his wife Marilyn showed up at the museum. It was nearing the end of their work day. Frank advised me on finding the 1874-1880 residence of John M. Kohn with accurate advice on roads, as the property was near Frank's farm. I left to photograph that location while Frank drove home an implement that he needed for the next day's work. We would meet after sunset.

Although I had 1884 and 1902 maps for locations of William and John Schwinden properties in Carr Creek township, I didn't explore their current appearance. Sunset was approaching, and I wanted to have time at the Kohn homestead.

Self-portrait at the homestead—SW quarter of section 25 with Mill Creek dividing the land

The sod home in Carr Creek township where John M. and Susanna Kohn lived has long gone, but the charm of the location remains. The creek is a small one named Mill Creek, and it was dry today. It set off a small area that could be suitable for livestock—John M. had a few cattle, a horse, some swine. The creek, though small, is impassible for tilling implements; access can only be made by the roads at the parcel's west and south boundaries.

Frank and Marilyn Ohnsat

I headed west to Frank's farm along the dirt roads from the John M. Kohn homestead. I arrived a bit before they did, but the timing was almost spot on. Today as I viewed the St. Boniface baptism records, I realized that Frank is just 25 days older than I. For some reason, my database had his birth year as 1950. We had a wide-ranging conversation about the economics of farming today. His farmland is in three areas: next to his home, where his father and grandfather farmed just west of Tipton, and land about 25 miles away, near Lucas, Kansas. We spoke of Frank's sisters and parents, of growing up in a small town, the reliance on towns like Osborne, Beloit, and Cawker City.

I got to know Marilyn, who had grew up just north of the Kansas-Nebraska border and graduated from Marymount, as did her sisters. (Again my database has been faulty: it reported her birthplace as Missouri.)

Their daughter Amy came home, and we talked about her new job as a teacher at St. Boniface schools.

I headed back to Riverbend by rock roads until I reached KS-181, bypassing Tipton and an additional 12 miles. The way reached the blacktop a bit south of Corinth elevator, where floodlights made the buildings stand tall in the dark, Kansas night.

2014.05.29 Thursday

2014.05.30 Friday

Research trip journal, day 7

2014.05.19 Monday

2014.05.20 Tuesday

2014.05.21 Wednesday

2014.05.22 Thursday

2014.05.23 Friday

2014.05.24 Saturday

2014.05.25 Sunday

With all offices closed, I used the day as a chance to sleep in and take a slow start to the day. On the road, I started to follow the route of the Solomon Valley Trail as well as possible. I believe that the actual trail has been obliterated by the building of the Union Pacific railway that serves the valley at least to Downs.

The Solomon Valley Trail

George A Root found that "A state road was established by the legislature of 1866, running from Henry Whitley's, in Saline county, up the Solomon river, by way of Fort Solomon to Boblett's mill. George Hall, Henry Whitley and J. C. Boblett were commissioners appointed to lay out the road. This same year another state road was laid out from the forks of the Solomon river, via the State Salt Springs, on Salt creek, thence south, via Scripps and Mays' settlement on the Saline, to Salina, thence south, via Sharp's creek to the Santa Fe road. Charles Holtzman, Alexander C. Spillman and Mr. May were appointed commissioners to lay out the road." This was reported in Kansas Historical Quarterly of November 1934 (Vol. 3, No. 4), pages 339 to 342. His footnote 19 cited "Laws, Kansas, 1866, pp. 225, 227."

Kansas Territory, 1859

An 1859 map shows the trail's route along the north and east side of the river, never pulling very far from the stream. However, through plotting the mapped route over township sections displayed in Google Earth, I've come to the opinion that the mapped path and the river itself were approximations rather than a record of careful survey work.

At some date, the road was used as a path for the Kansas Pacific Railroad.The engineers who planned the railway path might have decided that the existing trail would form a proven, cleared path to lay track. Thus, while new roadways were developed along township and range lines, the railway could take the more diagonal path of the original Solomon Valley Trail.

Local newspapers identify this project to have occurred between 1870, when initial appropriations were enacted by the state legislature, and 1872, when local governments succeeded in acquiring bonds through elections or local government action. The New York Herald of 21 Jan 1870 reports on legislation regarding the Solomon Valley and Denver City Railroad Company, as does the Evansville (Indiana) Journal of 21 Jan 1870. The Saline County Journal of 6 Jul 1871 reports on bonds to build bridges and the start of survey work for the Solomon Valley Railway. The Saline County Journal of 29 Feb 1872 reports that Ottawa county has approved $150K for the Solomon Valley Railroad. The actual opening of any railway segment does not seem to be reported. Only as early as the Weekly Kansas Chief of 9 Mar 1876 is ticketing and route information advertised.

My route today followed as much as possible the railway and the Solomon River. Starting from Beloit, I followed the railway beside U.S. Highway 24 to the turnoff for Asherville. From Asherville, I headed south and east to Simpson, where I visited my cousin Stan Deneke.

Solomon Valley Trail, 1859 map with future towns shown
(Click image to view larger format.) Only counties east of the start of the
trail had been formed by 1859. Clay county is magenta, Dickinson yellow.

After saying my goodbyes, I drove the rock roads toward Glasco, passing the land once owned by my great-grandfather Richard Butler. Driving south of Glasco, I passed through the corner once called Butlerville (no relationship to the Butler family in my lineage), and headed south and east in one-mile right angles to reach Delphos. I began using my Garmin only when I reached Delphos, so I have a record of my exact route for the last two thirds of the excursion, through Minneapolis, Bennington, and Solomon.

The route stays in the broad flood plain that stretches between .75 mile and 2 miles to the left and right of the river. I tried to imagine whether the land was open prairie or (more likely) overgrown with shrubs and trees. I crossed the railway often, almost every mile as I drove, alternating east and south along the country roads. If the trail has been taken over by the railway, likely no artifacts of the trail and its passing travelers remain. I came across these museums or historical societies that I hope to contact.

• Delphos Museum—101 North Washington St., P.O.B. 338; 785-523-4540; Raymond Pachta (785.523.4673) or Roger Yager (785.523.4527) or Billye Yowell (785.407.7343, docby@twinvalley.net); http://skyways.lib.ks.us/museums/delphos/delphosmuseumnews.htm; hours irregular or by appointment.
• Ottawa County Historical Museum—101 S Concord St, Minneapolis KS 67467; 785.392.3621; otcomu@networksplus.net; http://www.ottawacountyksmuseum.com; hours 10 to 12 and 1 to 5 on Tuesday through Saturday. 
• Staff at the Ottawa museum spoke of a researcher-writer Ron Parks (620.767.3403; 300 Morning Glory Circle, Manhattan KS 66502; ronald6349att.net@att.net) who has published  The Darkest Period about the Kansa indians, and who may have unpublished research on the Solomon Valley.

Reaching Solomon late in the afternoon, I had to turn around without exploring and use the fastest routes available back to Jewell. Because in the evening, I was to meet Marla and Adrian Cordel to correct and update information for his family and his parents and siblings. I had planned to drive to the area of Clyde, Kansas and find the location of St. Joseph Catholic church, the home parish of Rev. Louis Mollier, a pioneer priest of 1874-1911 who had brought the sacraments to Catholic families as far as Tipton, some 80 miles by horse. The church is inactive today, and the sacramental registers may have been lost. [Note on 2014.06.04: I wrote to the Cloud County Historical Museum to find a local researcher who has information on the church.]

[Some notes for other mentions online of the Solomon Valley Trail:

• The Centre Hall Reporter of June 09, 1871 reports "From Kansas. Correspondence of the Reporter. Solomon City, Dickinson co. Kan. May 22nd 1871.
  As it is raining, and I am thereby kept from my employ, I thought of devoting an hour to my friends through the worthy columns of the Reporter, and speak more particularly about our excursion, in search 'homestead' up the valley of the Solomon, and tributaries.
  "Imagine a line of emigrant teams, with wagons, full of miscellanies, such as household good, provisions, old men, women, and children, and you have a good idea of our appearance, as we strung our along the Solomon Valley trail, in a north-west course, presenting a spectacle 'vert military,' from the fact that the most of the men, besides rifles, carried revolvers and Bowie knives, in true desperado, or western style.
  "Our progress was necessarily slow, there being many sloughs, ravines and creeks to cross at times we were swamped; then, again, we plunged to the bottom of a ravine or creek, down a slope of about 20 degrees, from which we were able only to proceed by 'double hitching,' and shoulders to the wheels, but driving early and late we came about 25 to 40 miles a day.
  "The scenery was varied and beautiful and on our second days travel we began to have considerable sport; not and then a few antelope, or a pack of Coyotes or prairie wolves would start up and bound away across the plain, till lost to view in the distance; these fellows were so shy, and kept at so great a distance that we did not have a fair shot at them. And the only game we brought down were ducks, snipes, and prairie fowls; while now and then a large snake attracted our attention, which was rendered duly, in the shape of a grand rally of our part; of course, the snake died, from the effect of perhaps fifty revolver shots.
  "We now enter a town of those spry little fellows, the prairie dogs, this town covered an area of several miles, and our advent in their city created great excitement; so far as we could see, the town was in a state of uproar.
  "The dogs are about the size of a half grown cat, of a brown color, and the sauciest, and most impudent fellows we ever saw; they have a queer, shrill bark, somewhat resembling the bark of a pine squirrel; and, sitting on top of their moulds [sic], straight on end, while others peeped from the entrance of their subterraneous [sic] abode, all in 'unison' barked at us.
  "The little fellows are exceedingly hard to catch or shoot; for on our near approach, those out in the grass immediately run for their holes, and a twinkle of the little tales, and they are gone. When one is shot, it tumbles back into its hole, so there is no telling whether you hit or miss; we had the luck, however, of securing one, which was closely examined.
  "At the repost of a rifle, all disappear; and quiet, reigns supreme. Many a ball have went whizing [sic] into their towns without effect.
  "We continued our research up the Solomon Valley for a hundred miles or more, and found the soil invariably good and fertile; but, notwithstanding thsi fact, there seems to be some doubt in regard to the powers of production, it is believed the soil contains too much alkali, (produced by the great fires of the prairies,) which must be removed by cultivation and manure; lime would do it, but this would not pay as it costs eighty cents a bushel.
  "Corn, the great staple of the west, is admitted to be a very uncertain crop here; last season there was none—a perfect failure; while wheat they tell us averaged ten bushels to the acre.
  But the country and soil is new, and there is no telling what a little care and farming will do; while it would note be fair to judge the section from teh partial failures, from teh fact that these were on 'breakings,' or first plowings.
  "But I have neither time nor room to enter into a minute detail of our observations, by the way, the land, prospects for emigrants &c., &c, which I will do hereafter, would only add that one hundred miles in the 'Wilderness' that is from the nearest R.R. was too much, and so we turned back, located within nine miles from here, with our head quarters in the city, were [sic] we will spend the season. More anon. T.C. Moyer."
• In a search for articles including "Solomon Valley" from 1855 to 1891, the Library of Congress engine returned 902 newspaper pages. However, the search engine did not consider the two words as one search term, so many returns are not relevant. Here are some significant returns to read through:
• The Kansas Herald of Freedom of 22 May 1858.
• The Smoky Hill and Republican Union of 23 Aug 1862.
• The Independent Oskaloosa of 30 Aug 1862.
• The Smoky Hill and Republican Union of 20 Sep 1862. The article is repeated on 29 Nov 1862.
• The Smoky Hill and Republican Union of 13 Aug 1864. 
• The Cedar Falls Gazette of 29 Sep 1865. Similar information is reported in the Daily Davenport Democrat of 4 Oct 1865, the Chicago Tribune of 6 Oct 1865, and the Hold County Sentinel of 13 Oct 1865.
•  After several short reports in other papers, the Emporia News of 21 Aug 1868 reports some detail about indian raids.
• The Emporia News of 4 Sep 1868 reports on land surveys of the south fork of the Solomon River. The information is repeated in the New York Herald of 15 Feb 1869.
• The Chicago Tribune of 6 Aug 1869 reports on land prices and productivity.
• The Delaware (Ohio) Gazette of 19 Nov 1869 reports on north-central Kansas farm land, river valleys, and railroads.
• The Emporia News of 14 Jan 1870 reports on the Solomon Valley railroad enterprise, and the New York Herald of 21 Jan 1870 reports on legislation regarding the Solomon Valley and Denver City Railroad Company, as does the Evansville (Indiana) Journal of 21 Jan 1870.
• The New York Tribune of 23 May 1870 mentions the Great Spirit Springs (Wakonda).
• The Emporia News of 17 June 1870 reports on an Osborne county settler, 35 miles from Wilson Station on the Kansas Pacific Railroad and a hundred miles from the mouth of the Solomon River.
• The Leavenworth Weekly Times of 21 Jul 1870 mentions Minneapolis and development along the river.
• The New York Tribune of 21 Jul 1870 reports on the New-Haven Colony of Kansas plans to settle on the Solomon River.
• The Chicago Tribute of 26 Sep 1870 reports on the receding area of buffalo grazing lands.
• The Emporia News of 21 Oct 1870 reports that a young wife brought her family from Genessee county, New York to the Solomon Valley to join her husband, with a trip that lasted from mid-July through early September, about 75 days.
• The Saline County Journal of 16 Mar 1871 seeks to place a land office in that city.
• The Saline County Journal of 25 May 1871 opines in favor of building bridges and a road from Salina to Minneapolis, and refers to the road from Minneapolis to Solomon City.
• The Saline County Journal of 22 Jun 1871 describes rail routes that are planned to run north from Salina and other directions.
• The Saline County Journal of 6 Jul 1871 reports on bonds to build bridges and the start of survey work for the Solomon Valley Railway.
• The Iowa Voter of 2 Nov 1871 has a report from a person who lives 25 miles north of Solomon City (north of Minneapolis) and on the Kansas Pacific Railroad. [This could be anticipatory reportage.]
• The Emporia News of 19 Jan 1872 reports the transfer of the Waterville, Concordia & Solomon Valley stage line to the Southwestern State Company.
• The Saline County Journal of 29 Feb 1872 reports that Ottawa county has approved $150K for the Solomon Valley Railroad.
• The Saline County Journal of 14 Mar 1872 reports that two bridges in Concord twp, Ottawa county have been completed.
• The Saline County Journal of 21 Mar 1872 reports that the county has ready bonds for $200K if the Lawrence and Solomon Valley Railroad will be built to Salina instead of Solomon.
• The Saline County Journal of 28 Mar 1872 contains a detailed description of Beloit, as does the 2 May 1872 issue, from a different reporter.
• The Baltimore County Union of 17 Aug 1872 reports on federal law that establishes post roads in Kansas and other states.
• The Emporia News of 8 Nov 1872 reports on plans to use Dickinson county bonds to build an M.K.&T. road through Abilene and up the Solomon Valley. A similar article is in the 20 Dec 1872 edition.
• The Saline County Journal of 24 Jul 1873 documents that many planned railroads have yet to be built, as amplified in the 11 Sep 1873 issue.
• The Weekly Kansas Chief of 9 Mar 1876 has ticketing and route information in an advertisement.
• An Abilene Daily Reflector article from 1915 reports "The proposed Solomon Valley Trail was discussed to some extent. This new trail will extend from Solomon to Osborne and will pass through the towns In the Solomon valley. It will be of sufficient length to be listed In the Blue Book. The association endorsed the proposed trail and Instructed J. W. Smith to keep In touch with outside action concerning tho same. If the present plans of tho promoters of the trail are realized, the association will appoint a committee to meet with representatives of other towns on tho trail and perfect an organization." ) OCR text
• A Junction City Daily Union article from 1915 also reports "SOLOMON VALLEY trail. I Tonus Along: Proposed Route 1'iish.lnfr Ee.r Organization. j The Business .Men's Association held permanent roads in Kansas some day. We might, just as well have them now. while the hairs of your head and mine are not nil silvered. "There's many a plan and nianv a scheme offered, but I have reached the conclusion that Kansas as a state- [and later] t special meeting in the club rooms j last week wit ha large attendance. The I proposed Solomon Valley Trail was ! discussed to some extent. This new t." OCR text
• A Hutchinson source from 1916 indicates that the trail may have eventually become part of old U.S. Route 24: "The Belolt people 'want to mark a new state highway, to be known as the Solomon Valley Trail. How about making a good road of it before marking it? "
• A Salina Journal story of 1985 has quite a bit of material for research: "ON THE QUINDARO ROAD - ***"* photot Harry Hughes, 763 Vassar Drive, Salina and Quindaro State Road daro route on a map of Saline a member of the Saline County used between 1869-72 in eastern County. Arrows point to other Historical Society, stands in Saline County. At right, Hughes roads and trails he has docu- shallow (above) carved out by points to portion of Salina-Quin- merited in the county. Historic wagon, supply trail now cattle haunt Quindaro Rd.revisited a^^ By BILL BURKE A part of Saline County and Central Kansas history was rediscovered recently in a pasture owned by Byrne Kelley east of Salina. A route, believed to be the Salina and Quindaro State Road, winds its way southeast through Greeley and Solomon townships, cutting through sections 13 and 19. Several miles of the road may have overlapped with the (W. A.) Phillips road. Phillips was the founder of Salina. The old road is highly visible through pasture land east of Iron Mound, a landmark about six miles southeast of Salina. It was to follow the Salina and Quindaro Railroad, which never materialized and the road has remained untouched for more than a century, trod on only by cattle, and far enough off the main highways through Saline and Dickinson Counties to be forgotten. Kelley, 2063 Raymond; Neil Olson, Rt. 6; Harry Hughes, 763 Vassar Drive and I traveled a short portion of the frontier road by modern automobile where wagons and oxen plyed their trade more than a century ago. Trails and wagon roads were nothing new to Saline County during the middle of the 19th century. Byrne Kelley dies Byrne Kelley, 63, died Monday morning at St. John's Hospital. Funeral services for the farmer and purebred livestock breeder, will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Mary, Queen of the Universe Catholic Church. See details, Page 9. Hughes, a member of the Saline County Historical Society, who once farmed in the northwest portion of the county, has documented most of the old roads and trails in the county. Such roads as the Smoky Hill, Fort Barker, Mulberry Creek, Fremont, Old Military, Phillips, Fort Riley and Santa Fe Trail routes crossed and crisscrossed the county. One which cuts across the northeast corner of Saline County in Dayton township came out of Solomon in Dickinson County, went northwest into Ottawa County and was dubbed the Solomon Valley Trail by Hughes when he failed to find a name for it. He has marked and documented most of the road, but the road believed to be the Salina and Quindaro Road, was new to him. "You can get spotted documentation," Hughes said as he walked a portion of the trail, which sinks into the prairie to a depth of two or three feet, and is quite wide, at places. "But here you can walk out and say here it is. This is like finding a gold mine — well almost." When the original section lines were surveyed about 1858, the surveyors often took field notes of geographic features, vegetation and the type of soil. The trails were recorded with the register of deeds. But sometimes the surveys where not accepted because of herd laws, home owners and private owners. And when township section roads began to develop, the trails or roads were abandoned. Travelers had to stay on section lines and out of private pastures. The Salina and Quindaro Road was noted from records and maps in the Saline County Engineer's office as a project of the WPA in the 1930s. The state road strecthed out of Salina, beginning at the center of town at the ferry crossing, now marked by a monument to the ferry at the corner of Iron Avenue and Fourth Street. The road continued out what is now Iron Avenue, rambling around Iron Mound to the east of Salina, crossing central Greeley township to southern Solomon -township and into Dickinson County. The trail evidently was a supply route to Salina and was well used, judging from the depth and width as it wound through Kelley's pasture. It was authorized by the Kansas Legislature and opened Nov. 18, 1869, 11 years after the founding of Salina. It remained in use until June 22,1872. Where it went after it left Saline County is a matter of speculation. It could have joined the Chisholm Trail in Dickinson County, or swung south to Marion and on to Council Grove, which 3 . 20-Cr«i. tut k '' 10 Link'. iwtfY, fat, provided Salina and the area with much of its provisions. Or it may have merged at Marion with another route south out of Salina. The key to moving from Saline County into Dickinson County might be because there was only one creek to cross as opposed to three creeks if it continued straight south," Hughes said. "About all we can do is speculate. Much of the road has been plowed up or otherwise obliterated. But, with imagination, one could see the wagon trains appear out of the morning mist which blanketed the pasture. And from the trail one can spot the communities of Kipp and Gypsum in Saline County; Miles in Ottawa County; along with Abilene, Solomon, and sometimes Pearl and Navarre, in Dickinson County. Five to six miles north of the Quan- daro route trucks and cars zip by on Interstate 70. The pioneers of yesteryear would be surprised at the progress in transportation. " OCR of text
• Although not of the historical trail, of note is a 2010 plan for a bike trail: "Solomon Valley Trail Proposed The Solomon Valley US 24 Heritage Alliance is exploring area trail opportunities including development of a 150-mile recreational trail between Hoxie (E. of Colby) to Glasco (SW of Concordia). The trail would traverse the scenic and rugged Greenhorn and Dakota ranges of the Smoky Hills and link the following:(1) Cottonwood Ranch State Historic Site; (2) Nicodemus National Historic Site; (3) Webster Wildlife Area; (4) Glen Elder Wildlife Area and State Park; and, (5) Solomon Valley Bluffs. The trail would follow the South Fork of the Solomon River and the Leavenworth-Pikes Peak Express Stageline (1859) and cross the Pawnee Indian Trail and Zebulon Pike Trail. Part of the recreational path could utilize the US 24 right-of-way and part could utilize the Solomon Riverway."
• A genealogist provides several details in 2014 about use of the trail, although no notes are provided for the basic information.]

Descendants of Frank Ohnsat

Marla worked in the Longterm Care unit where my mother was last hospitalized after her debilitating stroke and before her death. Marla remembered her there, and also when she had worked as a nurse at Community Hospital. I had met Marla through Margaret Cordel Reinert. I had asked the Reinert family on Facebook for leads to the Nick Reinert descendants and Frank Ohnsat descendants in the Tipton area. Margaret fit the bill through her marriage to Don Reinert, a great-grandson of Nick Reinert. Adrian fit the bill through being a grandson to Frank Ohnsat.

At first, Adrian didn't want to talk much about his family. He was concerned that I would publish the information broadly on the internet. I explained that I've published my database once, about five years ago, and have left it without updates since then. The data "out there" is limited to people who were born before 1930, and anyone still living has their given name removed. This fits well, I think, with needs for privacy among all living contributors to the database and yet allows other researchers to see my areas of interest. And I think Adrian softened a bit in his willingness to talk about himself and his origins.

Marla, in contrast, was very helpful. She had printed and marked up some reports about the family. It turns out there are quite a few errors in what I have recorded. I hope to provide some background of how Marla and Adrian met, who her parents are, but my greatest interest is to find an accurate view of the families of Adrian's parents and grandparents. I recorded our conversation, and I hope that I reached my goal. One thing I failed to do, though: I had not snapped pictures of Adrian and Marla. And Marla's Facebook presence has no photos of the family either.

2014.05.26 Monday

2014.05.27 Tuesday

2014.05.28 Wednesday

2014.05.29 Thursday

2014.05.30 Friday

Recent work: early Kansas and Native American peoples

I've been bogged down in Kansas history, trying to read the detailed account of Territorial Kansas from William G. Cutler's History of the State of Kansas: Containing a full account of its growth from an uninhabited territory toa wealthy and important state; of its early settlements; its rapid increase in population and the marvelous development of its great natural resources. Also, a supplementary history and description of its Counties, Cities, Towns and Villages, their advantages, industries, manufactures and commerce: to which are added biographical sketches and portraits of prominent men and early settlers.[1] The book was published in 1883 in two volumes, with a total of 1616 pages. The first 306 pages contain the history; the remaining 1300 pages (Volume 2) describe the counties and larger towns.

His discussion of the period between territorial status in 1854 and joining the Union in 1861 is as bloated as his title. Filled with full transcripts of letters between the governor and legislature, of party platforms, of newspaper editorials, its minutiae threaten to overwhelm a clean description of those times. Granted, "Bleeding Kansas" was brought through many twists and turns before the state was fully formed. Two legislatures, two governors, two constitutions—not in sequence, but in parallel. Just as the Territory was formed from two electorates in pitched battle between pro-slavery and free-state camps—including an electorate that crossed over from Missouri only to vote in the elections of legislators favorable to slavery.

Some day I will bring a more readable summary of Cutler to this space. But I'm wading through the muck from whence Kansas emerged.

Native Americans of the Great Plains

I've finished reading large amounts of background material about the Native American people who inhabited Kansas before and as the Territory was being formed.

Several biographies of the Osborne county and Tipton settlers refer to encounters with the native Americans who still lived in the area. For example, the “Henry Streit and Anna Marie Schmitt” sketch[2] refers to their “large 2 story limestone block house used by early settlers as a protective fort against Indian raids.”[3] The “Frank Ohnsat” sketch includes his memories: “As did many of the earlier settlers, Frank remembered the Indian raids in Western Kansas. Now and then, some rowdy cowboys rode in from the West and, for the fun of it, scared the settlers by telling them the Indians were coming. Many times when Frank's father was working away from the home, his mother and three children sat in fear in the tall prairie grass away from the sod house until Robert returned from work.”[4] The “John Beck and Anna Hollerich” sketch refers to their “many hardships of pioneer day living, the fear of Indian attack was always something to keep in mind. One time Grandmother Beck told of one of these attacks and they took refuge in a rock house West of town, the old Geo. Streit home.”[5] The “Matheis Eck and Eva Schauf” sketch quotes Eva with her memory, “I sometimes saw Indians crossing the prairie, but never any hostile ones and they were always in small groups.”[6]

Such biographical sketches were often handed down through the families to be finally captured as a set of recollections for the local newspapers. Most of the sketches were originally published in the 1950s and 1960s, and then collected in bound volumes in the 1970s and later. The anecdotes lack the specifics we need to understand the character of any interactions between the Tipton community and the native Americans that remained in the area. So I have turned to the verbal history of the native Americans themselves and to later anthropological research to understand with whom the Tipton residents came in contact.

Footnotes

1. Cutler, William G., History of the State of Kansas: Containing a full account of its growth from an uninhabited territory toa wealthy and important state; of its early settlements; its rapid increase in population and the marvelous development of its great natural resources. Also, a supplementary history and description of its Counties, Cities, Towns and Villages, their advantages, industries, manufactures and commerce: to which are added biographical sketches and portraits of prominent men and early settlers. (A.T. Andreas, Chicago, 1883).

2. Early Day Couples of Tipton Kansas (EDC), Boberg, Helen (Mrs. A.J.); Arnoldy, Mrs. Edmund; Lingg, Warren J., ed. Compiled and printed by the Cawker City Ledger; 1975, Cawker City KS, p. 2. Call number 978.123/T1 D3c FHL US/CAN Book (available only at main LDS library). Contains reprints of articles published in the Cawker City Ledger.

3. Lingg, p. 5. Henry Streit (1850-1931) and Anna Marie Schmitt (1848-1913) arrived in Tipton in 1877 with their son John and several friends and family.

4. Lingg, p. 16. Frank Ohnsat (1873-1961) and Apollonia Streit (1883-1947) were second-generation Americans. Frank reached Tipton in 1877 or 1878 with his parents, and Apollonia was born in the Tipton area. Perhaps his memories refer to the Cheyenne Raid of 1878 in Decatur county.

5. Lingg, p. 24. John Beck (1864-1941) and Anna Hollerich (1885-after 1975) arrived in Mitchell county in 1878 and 1905, respectively.

6. Lingg, p. 33. Matheis Eck (1847-1938) and Eva Schauf (1860-1940) separately arrived in the Tipton area in 1878.

Letter in answer to a distant Ohnsat relative

I recently met a very distant relative on Facebook. We are related through my grandmother Louise Ohnsat.(1875-1959) and her brother Frank Ohnsat (1873-1962). When she found we were related, she asked about the family history. This is my first reply.


Hi,
I have a lot of bits of a story. Perhaps the bits we put together can tell more.

First, my grandmother Louise Ohnsat died when I was almost 8 years old. I have a few memories of her, but her death and burial are what really stick in my head—not in any bad way, but it was my first observation of what death means. She died at age 83, I guess from heart failure or a stroke. She wasn't hospitalized, but was at home bedridden with a lot of my aunts in attendance. (My mother—a daughter-in-law—was a registered nurse, and a daughter—Sr. Edna Louise—was also a nurse who specialized in pediatrics.) I think she lingered a few days before death took her. She lay in the front bedroom, my grandfather slept on a sofa in the next room. The house was always dark and quiet then, even with a bustle of family members.

Grandpa and Grandma lived in a very small town, Tipton Kansas. There was no funeral home there, and Grandma was laid out for a while in her bed. Then when a casket was bought from Osborne a few miles away, she was laid out in the gym of the local Knights of Columbus hall, which was also a practices and game location for the nearby Catholic high school. Grandma's coffin was set up in front of the stage, and several rows of wooden chairs arced around the coffin and dim lamps that the undertaker had brought in for the rosaries and votive. After the funeral mass and burial, we returned to the hall for a dinner, which the whole town of Tipton attended, including many of my Ohnsat relatives.

I didn't know the Ohnsats very well, except for a few 2nd cousins who lived in Tipton and Beloit Kansas. (They are grandchildren of my Grandma's brother Frank Ohnsat (1873-1962).) Many, many years later I heard that Grandma's brothers Frank and Ben did not get along. There was some dispute among them, perhaps about their father's land (Robert Ohnsat, 1835-1897), and each accused the other of being untrustworthy and money grubbing. I bet that there was a bit of truth there, but also some source of longstanding sibling rivalry that finally burst to the surface, perhaps to the point of neither brother talking to the other.

Ben Ohnsat (1878-1948) married a neighbor girl, Cecelia Riedel (about 1883-about 1950), about 1903 and moved to Garden City Kansas, some 150 miles away. They had one daughter, Josephine, in 1904. Josephine married Joseph Jeremiah Ohmes (1899-1981) about 1922, and they had 14 children. I've been told that many of the children were deaf and needed to learn sign language at a boarding school. (I've not been in touch with any members of this family, so the information is at best second-hand. However, I do have all the children's names and birth and death dates at least through about 1995.)

I hope you can provide some information about your grandfather Francis Ohnsat (1917-1976) and his wife Mille Wiese (the name I have for her at least, 1920-1995). He was among several of the children of your great-grandparents Frank Ohnsat (1873-1962) and Appolonia Streit-Ohnsat (1883-1947) who moved from Kansas to California, generally in the 1930s. Among them were

Anna Marie (1902-1994) and husband August Arnoldy (1889-1961) of Yuba City
Mary Isabelle (1904-2000) and husband Alex Simeon (1904-1981) of Orange County
Robert Charles Ohnsat (1912-1937) of Marysville CA
Matilda Barbara (1915-1998) and husband Victor Stoffel of Fallbrook CA and/or Anaheim
Alice Marie (1925-) and husband Leo Waldman (1915-) of Anaheim.

I visited Alice perhaps 8 years ago, during one of the spring breaks we used to spend in Palm Springs CA.

-o-

My great-grandfathers John M. Kohn (1839-1919) and Robert Ohnsat owned fairly large amounts of land very close to each other in southeastern Osborne County Kansas. The land there has rocky, rolling hills and little rain. Very little of the area is tilled for crops, and the large expanses of native grass are best for cattle grazing. My aunt told me of annual cattle drives that she would see her grandfather starting out, either to drive them all the way to Kansas City (about 250 miles east) or --more likely-- to a railway siding where the cattle were loaded for transit to Kansas City. Their land is about equidistant from the county seat of Osborne and the German community of Tipton. I think the families seldom went to Osborne for supplies and social activities. Instead, they drove wagons to Tipton, about 9 miles away, where they felt at home with the older part of the community who also had a common heritage and language.

Land and its inheritance split many families, I think. My grandfather inherited his father's land, though I guess that he arranged a buy-out of the ownership of his 2 brothers' and 2 sisters' rights. I believe the inheritance occurred to everyone's satisfaction, even though Grandpa Mike (1879-1965) was not the eldest son. The eldest was Peter Kohn (1877-1941), and next were Kate Kohn-Gasper (1881-1955) and Annie Kohn-Streit (1882-1956), then Ben Kohn (1884-1955). All lived in the Tipton area, and I believe all on farms, but the original Kohn land was not split among them. I guess the same happened in the Ohnsat family. Perhaps Ben felt he was cheated on the value of the property; perhaps he was hurt that the land wasn't divided among the three of them.

Maybe you have some information to add here?

Tipton Kansas was settled by many German families from about 1870 through 1880. Though my grandfather spoke a few words of German, his primary language was English, but he had a slight German accent. My father retained even less German, perhaps a vocabulary of 50 words only. Maybe you can tell me whether there is or was a strong German community in Yuba County, which might have persuaded some of the family to settle there. There are also some extended Kohn cousins who also live the region.

Quickly I'll answer some of your other questions:

The Ohnsat family is indeed German, and they likely came from around Paderborn in the central-northeast part of Germany. However, the family I have records for so far is that of Franz Ohnsat (1803-perhaps 1870) and his wife Catharina Scholz (1806-perhaps 1870). They lived in what is now Poland, near the Neisse River, in a very small town named Grabin (today) or Grüben (then). I suspect they were part of a settling of the area while Prussia was building its empire, and that the move was temporary, tied to political pressures and economic encouragements. While they lived there, their citizenship was either Prussian (Preußen) or East Prussian (Ostpreußen).

At least two brothers of the family emigrated to the USA around 1870-1872. They were greatgrandfather John Robert Ohnsat and his brother Joseph August (1842-1880). They both lived in Pittsburgh PA through 1880. Robert married there and brought his family to Kansas between 1875-1878. Joseph married Elizabeth Rothamel (1848-perhaps 1915) there, had three children, and "He was walking down the street in East Liberty next to a tanning factory when a worker threw a piece of scrap metal out the window striking Joseph in the head. He died a day later from a fractured skull," according to contemporary newspaper reports. I've been in touch with his great grandson Larry.

The name has always been a close variant of Ohnsat, with occasional spellings of Ohnsatt and Ohnsaht in baptismal records. I too thought that Onstat, Onstott or Onstodt might be a possibliity, as that name occurs in some Pennsylvania records of unrelated individuals.

I know nothing about the Thompson seedless grape story you refer to. Perhaps your family in California has been involved in grape farming?

I know very little about your grandmother Millie. I beleive that the Social Security data includes her as "MELLADENE H OHNSAT 30 Apr 1920 22 Apr 1995 (not specified) (none specified) 429-18-9616 Arkansas" so she lived in Arkansas when she first registered for Social Security withholding from her employment. I have no other information, so this may not be her. However, I have assumed that Arkansas is her state of birth.

My data shows your father was one of 4 brothers and 1 sister (Robert, Michael John, Jim, Rick, and Donna Marie). Since I have no marriage information for your grandparents, I guess that they were all born approximately 1935-1945. I don't know who are your parents; I have only a husband for Donna Marie, Roger Baker.

I hope you can relate some of the family stories.