The History of the Early Settlement of Norton County, Kansas

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has since married and lives at this time at Marysville, Wyoming, and is practicing law. The following political history is here given as he writes it:

"One bit of political history of Norton county that has never been published was in reference to the establishing of party lines. This was done the summer of 1878. Prior to that time it was Norton or Leota pure and simple. I arrived in Norton in February, 1878 and soon tumbled to the situation. There were two factions of the Norton party, but the under party would always stay with Norton, as against Leota. It was easy to be seen that a coalition between the smaller Norton faction and the Leota would succeed, hence, after discussion, Albert Graves and myself drove over to Leota one pleasant day and explaining the situation to Dr. Green, Newt Cope and Alexander Morrison, we soon had the republican party of Norton county formed and upon terms which we then arranged, and I want to say that neither crowd ever violated any of the stipulations then made but worked harmoniously and successfully together and forever buried the townsite question."

Edward P. Hugill come here in 1875 he was by profession a teacher, taught school at Lenora and other places in the county and was for a short time editor of the Norton County Bee. He went to the Black Hills in 1878 and was married at Deadwood in 1879. He was elected county superintendent at Deadwood, Dakota, in 1882 but died before the expiration of his term; his wife was appointed to fill the vacancy.

Solomon Peak was born November 25, 1836, in Morrow county, Ohio; he moved to Iowa in 1865. He volunteered in Company E, Second Iowa infantry (this was General James B. Weaver's regiment). After the war he returned to Iowa where he remained on a farm a short time; in 1865 he moved to Kansas and settled at Atchison; he was in southern Kansas one year and Colorado one year. In 1869 he went on the range as a buffalo hunter with headquarters at Fort Hays and Grinnell. In 1872 he was married to Elizabeth Kenly. They then moved to Norton county and took a homestead on the Solomon two miles west of where Lenora now stands. He followed buffalo hunting on the plains of Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado until 1876. The buffalo having all left here at that time, he started for a years hunt in the Pan Handle country, or what is known as the staked plains of Texas. He lost his health on this trip and was a long time in the hospital at Fort Worth, Texas. This hunt was not a success financially. He returned to his farm in 1877, and has ever since given his entire time to farming and stock raising. They have had two children, one of these is dead, the other one, Nellie, was born February 14, 1874. She now lives at home with her parents. His father-in-law, John M. Kenly, came here in 1873 and has remained here most of the time since. He makes his home at this time with Mr. Peak.

Ole Peterson, who went by the name of Hansen, came here with Mr. Peak in 1872 and took a claim on the Solomon; he remained here until 1874, he then went to Sidney, Nebraska, where he still resides.

Andy O'Hare also came with Mr. Peak. He was born in Massachusetts, was in the regular army; he took the land west of Lenora, now known as the Epperson farm, in 1876. He married John McGeary's daughter. She died in 1879; shortly afterward he married her sister. He left here in 1882 and went to Brown county. He was afterward for some years, a guard at the state penitentiary at Lansing, Kansas.

Morgan Hansen came here from Rooks county in 1872, and took land on the Solomon west of Lenora; he had followed buffalo hunting for several years

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