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Reno County Queries

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January - December 2007

 

WITHERS

Joy Bowser January 3, 2007
Looking for information on John Withers descendants. John Withers started the Hutchinson railroad Station in 1888. AM searching for any links to his descendants who may still be in Reno County

 

BROWN

Barb January 28, 2007
I am looking for any information on the deaths of a father and daughter, Francis Marion and Lotus Eleanor Brown.  They died together on November 16, 1920. They are buried in Maple Hill-Langdon Cemetery.
They were my cousins down the line a bit. The wife/mother, Edna McCain Brown (Banks) was my g-grandmothers sister.  Any information would be greatly appreciated.   

 

 
FERNIE

R. W. Jefferis  February 3, 2007
I am seeking information about a lady named Arabella Fernie.  She was engaged to one of my ancestors but he died before they married.  She was born in Derby England in1860 and came to Kansas ,with her brother George K Fernie in 1912.They are both buried in Fairview/Elmer cemetery Yoder township -Elmer Reno county.  They both entered the USA via Ellis Island centre in 1912.

Any information that you can discover would be most welcome.  I believe that the lady had possibly been in Kansas prior to arriving in 1912,but my records are not entirely clear on this point.  Many thanks for your help ,
with kind regards.
 
 

JACKSON

Tom Jackson March 21, 2007
This is really a response to Cathy Routh, who published an inquiry earlier.  Her e-mail address did not work for me, so I would like to enter this information in response to her query, if possible.  My relatives were in the adjacent county, in Inman.

My mother by adoption, Kathryn Wilma Jackson, nee Kliewer, was one of eight children of Aganetha Willems Kliewer and Gerhard P. Kliewer.  The family was of German-Russian Mennonite background.  Aganetha's family emigrated before her husband's.  She was apparently born in a small village called Friedensdorf, which would now be in the Ukraine, and he in Kansas.  Gerhard had a Ford Auto business in Inman, near Buhler, emigrating to Reedley, California, some time in the late teens or early twenties, I believe.  My mother and her youngest brother were born in Hooker, Oklahoma, where Grandpa had another Ford dealership at the time.  They moved back to Inman shortly thereafter.  The towns of Inman, Buhler and Hooker were all linked by the Rock Island Railroad line.  The three eldest children remembered being raised in "dugouts" on the prairie, prior to building a home in Inman. 

My mother is the only sibling still living.  She recently turned 98.  She once corresponded with a cousin named Helen Lovelock, who was, I believe, an Enns still living in Inman as of about 1989 or so.  My mother remembered cousins named Enns, Siebert and Friesen, all of whom lived in Inman and, later, in Reedley.  As a child, I remember visiting my great aunt and uncle Friesen in Reedley.  He owned a furniture store, I believe.  Of the eight children, one died as a youngster of something known only as "summer complaint."  There are currently eight living cousins of my generation, all in California.

The church the family belonged to in Reedley was, I believe, the Mennonite Bretheren Church.  Every one of my mother's generation adopted the faith of their spouse in preference to remaining with the Mennonite faith.  I still do remember the huge traditional family reunions we had each Thanksgiving, with many traditional Mennonite dishes being served.  I hope this is helpful in some way for you.  In a search for my birth parents, I was reunited with my own Danish family from South Dakota in 2001.

I should add that my mother's mother, Aganetha, suffered from severe dementia, though in those days, it was simply called "forgetfulness."  She died in a dreary Mennonite home in Reedley in 1943.  I remember seeing her as a small child in that place. 

Of those siblings in my mother's generation who survived past 65, every one had some form of dementia or Alzheimer's disease in the last years of life.  My mother began losing her memory in her seventies and is now in end-stage dementia.

 

                                                                       

GRIFFITTS, SCHREUER

Rita Boyd  April 11, 2007
Looking for any info on my grandfather, Ross C. Griffitts, b. 1884, d. 1920.  Parents: Henry Carlton Griffitts and Amanda E. Haydon Griffitts.   Ross had several sibs, one of whom was Edwin and also a Melissa.  Ross was married to Ethel Leah Schreuer and a Stella after Ethel died.  His only child as far as I know was my dad, Roy A. Griffitts.  We think Ross may have lived near McPherson or Hutchison.  His mom and he are buried in Iola, KS, Allen Co., which was my home town.  Amanda was also married to SD Harris on Allen Co., KS.  Any help appreciated. 

RUKES

Anne  April 29, 2007
I'm looking for info on Newton Rukes.   I found him on 1880 census Vigo

Co., IN when he was 8 years old........  Then found his picture when he was 20-21 taken in Hutchinson, KS   I was told that he died soon after the picture was taken.   I would like any info I can get on him.    Here is what I do know about him:
Newton Rukes
b. 1872-73 in Vigo Co., IN
d. 1893-92 in Hutchinson, Reno Co., KS
Father: James N. Rukes
Mother: Elizabeth Hoffman
Did not married or have kids
Sister lived in Hutchinson, Hannah "Rukes" Farley
  This is all I know about him.    Hope someone can help me.    
His mother remarried in 1884 in Vigo Co., IN to Wm. Edgar Dodson, Elizabeth & Edgar had 2 daughters.    Newton is my mystery man......

 

KOOP, WEINS

Darlene Colborn September 11, 2007
I am looking for information on Isaak T Koop. He was born 2/7/1833 and lived in Reno County.  Isaak married Katherina Weins.  I have very little information, but I am willing to share what I have.  Thank you.

 

 

 

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