Clay County KS Genealogy – Access Genealogy

Biography of O. F. Walke

O. F. Walke who has spent most of his life in Kansas has developed a very substantial business career, and for several years has been proprietor of the Independent Laundry, one of the best equipped establishments of its kind in the southern section of the state. He is of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and his great-grandfather came from the North of Ireland, and was an early farmer in Ohio. Mr. Walke’s grandfather, William Walke, was born in Ohio in 1840, came to Kansas about a quarter of a century ago, and was an active farmer until he retired and died at Columbus, … Read more

Biography of William E. Durant

William E. Durant. Few citizens of Clay County are better known than William E. Durant, who is clerk of the District Court, a veteran of the Civil war, and a representative and bearer of a name that had been honorably known in this state for over a half century. He was born in Will County, Illinois, April 25, 1843. His parents were Edward T. and Sally Ann (Whallon) Durant, and his paternal grandparents were Edward and Lucina (Willey) Durant, natives of New York. The Durant ancestors went from France to England and in colonial days came to the United States … Read more

Biography of G. Leroy Ramsey

G. Leroy Ramsey. Among the men who are marking their names indelibly upon the stockraising history of Southeastern Kansas, one who had been more than ordinarily active in this field of endeavor and whose operations have assumed large proportions is G. LeRoy Ramsey, who owned and operates 1,760 acres six miles north of El Dorado and 560 acres northeast of that city, all in Butler County. Mr. Ramsey not only raises and ships cattle extensively, but of recent years had been interested in oil leases. He was born at Belle Center, Ohio, December 22, 1872, and is a son of … Read more

Biography of De Witt C. Tyler, M. D.

De Witt C. Tyler, M. D. Though he is now retiring from the work which had engaged his attention for so many years Doctor Tyler is properly credited with being the oldest physician and surgeon of Clifton, where he began practice thirty-six years ago. By intense devotion to his work Doctor Tyler long enjoyed a splendid practice in Clay and Washington counties, and though much of his service had gone unremunerated he had exercised fine business ability and owned a large amount of property in this section of the state. Doctor Tyler was born at Roscoe, Illinois, March 13, 1850, … Read more

Biography of Gerald Francis Wilson

Gerald Francis Wilson. Among the contributing factors to progress and prosperity in Clay County are the newspapers, and in taking them into account the Leader, at Longford, should by no means be overlooked. It is a live, wide-awake, progressive journal becanse such are the characteristics of its able editor and manager, Gerald Francis Wilson, who had the advantage of being a practical printer and before assuming charge of the Leader had had editorial experience. Gerald Francis Wilson was born at Racine, Wisconsin, November 4, 1891. His parents were Fred Morgan and Miranda (Kennedy) Wilson, the latter of whom was born … Read more

Biography of Isaac E., Lambert, Sr.

Isaac E. Lambert, Sr., whose tragic death in the burning of the Copeland Hotel at Topeka in 1908 is generally recalled, was in his time one of the most prominent attorneys of Kansas and stood in the forefront of his profession and also as a public leader. His son, Isaac E. Lambert, Jr., is also a lawyer, a resident of Emporia, and is now serving as chief clerk of the Kansas House of Representatives. At the time of his death Isaac E. Lambert, Sr., was fifty-five years of age and in the prime of his powers. He was born in … Read more

Biography of William Henry Bond

William Henry Bond came up the Missouri River in 1865 to the City of Leavenworth and founded the wholesale grocery establishment of Bond & Funk. Though now living retired with home in Kansas City, Missouri, Mr. Bond had been more or less vitally and closely identified with Leavenworth’s welfare and progress for half a century. He was born in the State of Missouri at Weston on July 19, 1840. His parents, William H. and Mary (Hitchcock) Bond, arrived in Missouri when it was on the western frontier. His father was a miner by occupation. Mr. Bond is a direct descendant … Read more

Biography of James H. Campbell

James H. Campbell. Prominent among the men identified with the financial and business interests of Iola, Kansas, is found James H. Campbell, cashier of the Iola State Bank and an official in various other enterprises. Mr. Campbell had been a resident of this section all his life and here had worked his own way to an edifying and well-deserved success, unaided save by inherent business acumen and persevering labor. He was born on a farm twelve miles northeast of Iola, in Anderson County, Kansas, January 31, 1874, and is a son of James H. and Bethia A. (Simpson) Campbell. James … Read more

Kansas Registrations of Enemy Aliens, 1917 – 1921

The series contains original affidavits of registration that record personal information about each registrant, their photograph affixed to the majority of documents, and the registrants fingerprints. All of these are specific to Kansas, and most have the actual documents attached.

Bracken, George – Obituary

George Bracken, 49, former city car salesman and instructor at Oklahoma City University, died Saturday [December 24, 1951] in El Reno sanitarium after suffering a series of strokes. Bracken had lived in El Reno with his sister, Mrs. Paul Strate the past three years. Born in Kingfisher, he was the son of the late Arthur E. Bracken, state pioneer and first licensed undertaker in the state. He was graduated from Kansas university in 1923 and for 14 years he was a salesman in Kansas City, Mo. He came to Oklahoma City in 1937 and was employed by Green-lease-Moore Chevrolet Co. … Read more

Biography of John F. Richards

John F. Richards, born October 23, 1834, in Bath County, Virginia, the founder of the wholesale hardware house Richards & Conover Hardware Company of Kansas City, Missouri, and now residing at 200 Forty-fourth Street in that city, is not only one of the merchants who have risen to prominence in this section of the Middle West, but had a career connected by many experiences and activities with the Territory and State of Kansas. His parents were Walter and Nancy (Mayse) Richards, both natives of Virginia. Their old farm, Cloverdale, was situated on one of the stage lines which then crossed … Read more

Biography of Charles Sumner Risdon

Charles Sumner Risdon. Among the men who have lent dignity to the educator’s profession in Kansas, Charles Sumner Risdon is deserving of more than passing mention. Throughout his career he has been a resident of the Sunflower State, and from the time of his earliest ambitions for a career as an educator until he realized the attainment of his goal, he attended the educational institutions of the state. His standing in his profession was recognized in 1901, when he was appointed superintendent of schools of Independence, and this office he has filled so capably, that there has been no thought … Read more

Biography of Earl A. Nossaman

Earl A. Nossaman, secretary of the Monarch Cement Company at Humboldt, had lived in Kansas since early infancy, educated himself for the teaching profession, which he followed for a number of years, and was in the drug business before he accepted his present official position with the Monarch Cement Company. He went with this company while it was being reorganised, and as manager of the sales department had had much to do with its successful operations in recent years. His ancestry goes back to Hesse Cassel, Germany, where his great-grandfather was born. Coming to America, this ancestor settled in Pennsylvania. … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Dr. W. W. Bryan

(See Grant and Adair) -William Wear, son of Charles S. and Mildred (Wear) Bryan born September 7, 1868 in Cooper County, Missouri. Graduated from Western Dental College of Kansas City, Mo. Married at Vinita August 11,1892, Rachel Bell, daughter of William Henry and Eliza Jane (Bell) Mayes, born September 12, 1868. They were the parents of: Charles S. born July 14, 1896, and died Nov. 9 of the same year; Frances, born May 17, 1895 and died June 21, 1895; William Mayes born July 14, 1896 and died Nov. 9, 1896; Joe Cullus, born February 10, 1903, and Mamie Alexander … Read more

Biography of Alvin L. Williamson

Alvin L. Williamson. The many business interests that at present serve to make Clay Center one of the important young cities of Kansas cover almost every modern activity and profession, and include also some of the oldest industries, milling for example, that aecompanied the settlement of the first pioneers in Clay County. Long before improved machinery and modern methods of using motive power had been thought of, every deep-falling stream that could be profitably dammed had a grinding mill on its bank before civilized living was accepted as complete in that section. Pioneer history is full of atories of the … Read more

Biography of Oscar Eugene Learnard, Col.

Col. Oscar Eugene Learnard was born in Fairfax, Vermont, November 14, 1832, the son of Stephen Tracy Learnard, and he died in Lawrence, Kansas, November 5, 1911. He grew to manhood in his native state, attended the common schools and Bakersfield Academy, taught school, and attended Norwich, Vermont, University. He did not finish his course at the University but that institution afterward conferred a Master’s degree upon him. Ill health compelled him to give up his studies, and he went to Tennessee, where he was for a time collector for a commercial house. After regaining his health he returned to … Read more

Biography of Theodore F. Ismert

Theodore F. Ismert, president of the Ismert-Hincke Milling Company of Kansas City, Kansas, is a director and controlling factor in the great milling industries of the Missouri Valley. He and his family have been prominently identified with flour milling in this and other states of the Middle West for over half a century. The Ismerts are of French lineage. Theodore F. Ismert was born at his father’s home in Lebanon, Illinois, February 10, 1866, the oldest of five children. Only two are now living, his sister being Mrs. Hincke. Their parents were John and Amelia (Berrard) Ismert, both natives of … Read more

Biography of Maj. Emanuel N. Martin M. C. K.

Maj. E. N. Martin, M. C. K. The medical profession in Clay County compares favorably with any in the state, the practitioners being not only well qualified in the main, but men of high personal standing. During the seventeen years that Maj. E. N. Martin had practiced medicine in Kansas, he had advanced to the front rank as a careful, skillful nd conscientious practitioner, and his professional judgment is valued in such organizations as the Clay County and the Kansas State Medical societies and the American Medical Association, of all which representative bodies he is a member. The war had … Read more

Biography of Horace E. Potter, M. D.

Horace E. Potter, M. D., had been located at Clifton for over thirty years, and besides his successful associations with the profession is a man of high standing and wide repute for his active relations with community affairs. Doctor Potter came to Kansas on his graduation from medical college. He was born in Henry County, Illinois, December 25, 1858. His ancestry is Scotch and his forefathers came from Scotland to Connecticut in colonial times. His father, Loren E. Potter, was also a physician. He was born at Potter’s Corners near Buffalo in Erie County, New York, in 1822. When he … Read more

Clay County Kansas Veterans of World War 1

1917 – 1918 Compiled and arranged by Frederick W. Hood From the official reports of General John J. Pershing, Commander in Chief Colonel Leonard P. Ayers, Chief of Statistics Branch and other reliable writers Dedication To the soldiers, sailors, marines and army nurses of Clay County, who served in the cause of our country, willing to give their lives for the freedom of the word from the most dreadful menace of all time, this volume is dedicated. The Telescope Publishing Company Belleville, Kansas The great war drama ended, our fighting men have returned home. The sound of the giant cannon … Read more