Dickinson County, Kansas, established in 1857, lies in the central part of the state, playing a significant role in the westward expansion and development of the American frontier. The county’s early economy was driven by agriculture, cattle trade, and the influence of the railroads, notably the Kansas Pacific Railway, which facilitated the movement of goods and people, contributing to the growth of towns like Abilene, its county seat. Abilene’s prominence as a cattle town in the late 1860s and early 1870s, serving as the terminus for the Chisholm Trail, marks a significant chapter in the county’s history, reflecting the dynamic economic activities that shaped the region. For genealogists, Dickinson County offers a wealth of historical records that provide insights into the lives of early settlers, including land deeds, agricultural records, census data, and vital records from the mid-19th century onwards. These documents are invaluable for tracing lineage, understanding family histories, and reconstructing the social fabric of the time. The county was also influenced by its Native American heritage, with the region historically inhabited by various tribes, which adds another layer of depth to genealogical research. The county’s archives, historical societies, and libraries are key resources for accessing these records, offering a comprehensive view of the people who lived, worked, and shaped the history of Dickinson County, Kansas.
T. B. Johns, farmer, P. O. Athens, was born in Galena, Ill., April 8, 1841. In 186l he went to California, and back to Nevada in 1862; thence to Utah; thence to Idaho; thence to British Columbia; thence to Oregon; thence to Montana; thence to Wyoming; thence back to Utah; thence to Prescott, Arizona, back […]
Richard Waring, during his long and active career at Abilene, won the respect and esteem of every citizen. He was a man whose character inspired confidence. He was the trusted adviser of many. Successful in his own affairs, strong in self reliance, he stood as a commanding figure in that community until the close of
Horace Greeley Kyle, whose name is widely known over the State of Kansas on account of his legislative experience and active participation in public and business affairs, is a successful stock farmer and owned a splendid place in Dickinson County known as “The Cedars.” That is the scene of his business activities as a farmer
William A. Hopkins, now living retired at Solomon, had turned the seventy-fifth milepost on life’s journey. His years have accounted for something not only to himself but to his country and his community. He was a gallant and loyal soldier of the Union during more than three years of the Civil war. After his part
John B. Favor, present sheriff of Sumner County, has been a resident of Western Kansas for over forty-five years, and though he was a small boy when the family moved here he knows both by recollection and personal experience all the vicissitudes and trials that beset the early pioneers. This story of a pioneer Kansas
Among the men who have come out of the Hoosier State to aid Kansas in its. real growth and development, there had been no finer man nor better citizen than Hom. Joseph Ralph Burton. Youthful in years as he was in experience when he came to Kansas in 1878, he plunged at once into the
Charles Moreau Harger, Kansas editor and old time resident of the state, is known to thousands of people outside Kansas through his writings in magazines and through his active participation in several movements recognized as of national scope. He was born in Phelps, New York, in 1863, came west to Dickinson County in 1879 with
John Loy, father of Mrs. Edwin Grant Betz, was born in Perry County, Pennsylvania, in 1840. He grew up and married there, took up farming as his vocation, afterwards moved out to Illinois and was a farmer near Freeport four years, then returning to his native state and county, where he remained five years. On
Hiland Southworth. Abilene was far out on the western frontier when a young lawyer named Hiland Southworth joined himself to the community in 1878. In the growth and development of the city and surrounding connty Mr. Southworth afterward had a most infinential and active part. His own success and prosperity rose with the community and
Mrs. H.P. Throe (Cala L. Fovargue) Mrs. H.P. Throe, a pioneer of Union and Wallowa counties, died after an operation performed at the Enterprise Hospital. Cala L. Fovargue was born May 2nd, 1854, in Elkriver township, Clinton county Iowa. She was married to Hans P. Throe January 14th 1872. In November of 1877 they moved
William C. Kandt, a native of Kansas, and member of a pioneer family in the state, has been a banker all his active career, and while he maintains offices and has his home at Independence he is active cashier of the Wayside State Bank and president of the Citizens State Bank of Elk City. His
George W. Hurd. In 1869, a few years after the close of the war in which he had fought for the Union with an Illinois regiment, George W. Hurd pioneered into Dickinson County, Kansas, and established himself on a homestead. However, during his long residence in the county and at the City of Abilene, he
Henry Van Deman Faris, of Kanopolis, is a Kansas around whom center many associations of territorial and pioneer times. He is by five years the oldest living pioneer in Kansas west of Salina. He had been continuously identfied with Ellsworth County more than half a century. Mr. Faris comes of that adventuresome pioneer stock that
David Franklin Shirk, a prominent Kansas educator and a worker in behalf of child welfare, had been a resident of this state thirty years. Born at Shannon, Carroll County, Illinois, July 10, 1859, he was reared and educated in his native state, and as a young man began teaching school in Illinois. In 1886 he
John K. Forney. Dairying is more and more looked upon as one of the most important means of elevating the general agricultural industry of the country. One of the pioneers in stimulating dairying as a farm resource in Western Kansas is Mr. John K. Forney of Abilene, president of the Belle Springs Creamery Company. This
George Rushton. The George Rushton Baking Company, Incorporated, at Rosedale, is the largest concern of its kind in the State of Kansas. Every day its ovens turn out 20,000 loaves of high class bread, sold and consumed principally in the two Kansas cities, while the weekly capacity of the pie plant is 75,000 pies. It
Christian Hoffman. While Kansas had produced many notable business men, the success of none of them had more perfectly represented the outflowing of integrity of character and a tireless energy and good judgment than that achieved by Christian Hoffman, founder of the City of Enterprise in Dickinson County and the founder and upbuilder of a
William G. Anderson. A native of Kansas, a member of a prominent old family of Dickinson County, William Gibson Anderson had had a varied experience but early found his real work and vocation in the newspaper profession, and had been actively identified with a number of papers in Southern Kansas. He is now editor and
John Harvey Staatz, M. D. The community of Rushton in Rice County had known and appreciated the services of Dr. Staatz as a capable physician and surgeon for the past seventeen years. Doctor Staatz is a man of real attainments in his profession, was unusually well qualified before beginning practice, and had kept in close
Baker City, Oregon Dorothy Norwood, 78, of Baker City, died March 15, 2002, at St. Elizabeth Health Services. Her memorial service will be held later at Palm Mortuary in North Las Vegas, Nev. Local arrangements are under the direction of Coles Funeral Home. Mrs. Norwood was born March 30, 1923, at Herington, Kan., to Wilhelmina
