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From Earliest Settlement To The Year 1877.
BY F. F. CREVECOEUR,We will commence our narrative with a few families who settled near the western border of Lincoln township:
Benjamin F. Buzbee first came to this locality in August, 1856, with his two brothers, Leonard and George, and paid a visit to Henry Hoover, who was living here then. They camped for dinner on the rocks at the ford on the McBride farm, and the same day started to return to Osawkie, in Jefferson county, where he was living then. He enlisted in Company G, Tenth Kansas Volunteer Infantry. He married during the war (in 1864), and came to Lincoln township with his wife, Mary, and daughter, Anna (who was then two months old), in company with T. J. Roosa, who brought him out here in his wagon. He settled on a homestead now the property of Joe Johnson. His second house (a frame one) built on this farm was erected in 1870. To him were born, while living in the old house, Maggie (Mrs. Charles Harris, of Laclede,) and Richard, now of Belvue. Claudius and Clarence were born in the new house. Claudius died in December, 1875. Anna was married to Samuel Thomas, and died June 26, 1886. Mr. Buzbee is a native of Illinois, while his wife was born in New Jersey, but she lived in Illinois before coming to Kansas. Mr. Buzbee sold out in 1887, to W. A. Heald, and moved to the Anthony farm. In 1874 he purchased a thrashing machine in partnership with Major Jenkins, and ran it two years. He once took the machine into Nemaha county, where belts and one thing and another were stolen. He found it a poor- paying investment, though it was new when he got it. In the early 60's Mr. Buzbee made a trip through the south part of the county, and be found every stream from Soldier creek to the Vermillion had a toll bridge. The year Mr. Buzbee came to Vienna he was living near Leavenworth. May 3, when his daughter, Anna, was born, was very sultry and hot, while the next morning there occurred a heavy frost, necessitating the putting up of a stove in the house. Corn was about eight or ten inches high, and was frosted so it had to be replanted.
CORRIGENDA Page 6 - Maria and Lemira Furman were full sisters to I. H. and Daniel. Lemira went back to New York in 1862. It was Maria who married Elijah Collins. Mrs. Annetta Furman, Miles Furman's widow, married Lyman Clark, and is living in Oklahoma with her son, Orra.
Miles Furman and his wife, Arvilla, were natives of New York. They had two sons, Isaac H. and Daniel, when they came to Kansas, in 1859. Mr. Furman first went up the Solomon river to make himself a home, but came back to Oskaloosa, in Jefferson county, the fall of the year. His wife died while he was living there, and during the war he moved back to New York, among his folks, with his children, as he supposed he would be drafted and did not care to leave them here among strangers. There he married his second wife, Mrs. Maria Ellison, and returned to Kansas about 1866. At Oskaloosa he went into the nursery business, which occupation seems to run in the family. In 1869 he moved to this locality, to what is now the Lank (Leander) Fields farm, where he opened up the nursery business anew. Mr. Furman died on his farm in 1874. The records of the varieties of fruit trees he had in his nursery are supposed to have been buried with him, as it is thought they were in the clothes in which he was interred, a search elsewhere failing to find them. As it was not policy to sell fruit trees without knowing for certain what they were, the trees were allowed to go to waste. Mr. Furman had two children from his second marriage, Ora and Cora, both of whom were born in New York. Cora is now Mrs. Sigel Ingalsbe, and is at Perkins, OK., where her husband is postmaster. A third child, Fred, was born to him after he moved out here, who went to Oklahoma, married, and died there. Mr. Furman's second wife, Mrs. Ellison, had three children from her first marriage, who accompanied their mother when she came out here. These are Mary (Mrs. James Blaine, of Dakota), Sarah Jane (Mrs. Hiram Fields), and Irwin, who was married to Miss Ella Robison. When last heard from he was a mail carrier in Colorado. After Mr. Furman's death, Mrs. Furman went back to New York, where she married Elijah Collins, moving back to this locality during the 70's. Mr. Collins and his wife lived on different rented farms, and are at present back in New York again. While living at Oskaloosa, Mr. Furman wore wooden shoes, such as the German peasants wear. When Mr. Furman was living on the Solomon river, in 1859, he found but five families there besides himself in all of what is now Saline county. Food was rather scarce there then, and the few people who were there resorted to hunting the buffalo, which were plentiful not far away. Most of them were killed only for their tallow, which they tried out by the barrelful and hauled to Leavenworth. They had to subsist mostly on "jerked" dried buffalo meat, and fish, some of which, taken in the Solomon river, were as tall as a man. This last statement is corroborated by Alfred Cory, so it must be so. Mr. Furman's family could not live on meat alone, which accounts for his leaving there so soon. While there Mr. Furman took part in a rather exciting buffalo chase, in company with his neighbors. They struck a herd that was so vast they could not see across it. They had to lay their plans so as to not scare them away at the first fire, nor did they care to be attacked by the whole herd should they kill some of those in front and get the rest mad; so they drove half a day before they came to the rear of the heard, where they killed some sixty head of them. Those they killed they tried to drive towards and nearer the camp, so they would not have so far to drag them to where they could better attend to cutting up their carcasses. In this hunt one of the men had shot a yearling, which it was intended to carry home so they could have some fresh beef. The animal, however, was only stunned, and when it was grabbed by the ear it commenced fighting by striking with its front feet. About the first lick it gave it rather surprised its captor, whose name was Burroughs, by ripping his trousers from one end to the other. This amused Mr. Furman so much that he lay on the ground, laughing for dear life and utterly unable to offer the least assistance. Finally, when Mr. Furman got over the worst part of his hilarity, he grabbed the creature by one of its feet, but it continued striking with its other foot and once landed a well placed blow in the region of his shirt collar, which made this garment of use only for the rag man. All this time Mr. Furman was vainly striving to stab it with a butcher knife which he held in his free hand.
George Mason, his wife and son, Randolph, came from Lawrenceville, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, in 1866. He settled in or near section 20, in Lincoln township. Mrs. Mason died here and is buried in
the Jenkins cemetery. Mr. Mason was a painter by trade, and painted the first Jenkins home.
Mr. Sprague, wife and two daughters, one of whom was named Mary, came from New England and settled just east of the Masons.
Rev. Willard Thompson, who is a native of New York, came here from Michigan in 1870, and homesteaded the farm on which he is now living. He commenced preaching during the winter of 1872-3. He went to conference and was ordained to the ministry in 1874. He preached continuously for three years, working his farm at the same time. He organized the Baptist churches at Wheaton, Bluff Creek and Westmoreland, during the winter of 1874-5, all three of which are still in existence. Afterwards he did missionary work at Neuchatel and Mulberry, also in Neuchatel township, Nemaha county, and in Jackson county.
Robert Wilson and his wife, Hannah, came to Lincoln township from Ontario, Canada, in 1868. He homesteaded his present home, and built his house (a frame one) of lumber hauled from Corning, Kan. His children, who were born on the homestead, are; Ada (Mrs. Arthur Wilson, of Canada), Andrew, Robert, Henry, and Eddie, who died in 1878 or 1879.
Charles W. Thompson, sr., with his wife, Alice May, and children, Henry, C. W., jr., Allie (Mrs. Lute Kidney), Cora (Mrs. John Davis), and Mel J., came to Lincoln township in 1870, from Illinois, and homesteaded a farm near Fairview school house, now owned by Fred Bob. Mrs. Thompson died in Onaga, in 1874, while Mr. Thompson's demise occurred in Topeka a few months ago.
Isaac N. May came from Valley Falls to his present home, which he homesteaded, in 1870. He built a frame house on his farm. His wife, Emma, came with him, and to them were born; Mary (Mrs. Edward McClellan), Joe, who was killed by a horse a couple of years ago, and Arbie. He served in Company I, Eleventh Kansas Cavalry, during the war. He and Robert Wilson are the only ones in that neighborhood who came so early who are still living where they then settled.
Benjamin Michaels and wife, natives of West Virginia, came to Kansas, at Valley Falls, from Ohio, about 1871; then moved to Vienna about 1872 or 1873, and took the homestead now occupied by Abe Godlove, in Lincoln township. His children, who came with him are; Minnie (Mrs. E. S. Lewis), Zany (Mrs. Will Jenkins), Lena (Mrs. Will Elliott). George was born on the homestead. Mr. Michaels died on his farm about 1891. Mrs. Michaels and her son, George, are now in Chautauqua county, this state.
James W. Slater, who is a native of Ohio, and his wife, Lydia, who is from Illinois, came from the latter state 1876. Their children, brought with them, are:; Lewis, Nettie (Mrs. Henry Randall), Flora, and another young daughter, who have since died. Mr. Slater bought his farm of Orin Foote.
Fred Bonjour
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