USA > Kansas > Marshall County > History of Marshall County, Kansas : its people, industries, and institutions > Part 7
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SOLDIER SON DIES.
In the winter of 1861, Isaac Walker and his eldest son enlisted in Com- pany D, Eighth Kansas Infantry and were stationed at Iowa Point on the Kansas-Missouri border. While there the son contracted measles and died. and the father decided to bring his body home for burial. A kind man loaned him a team of ponies and wagon and he started on the long journey. over the bleak, barren prairie to bring to that brave mother the lifeless form of her eldest born, who had been to him not only a son, but a soldier and comrade.
When Isaac Walker reached the site where Vermillion now stands the team, broken down from the long travel and insufficient food, was unable to go farther and the weary father stopped, feeling to himself that he could
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not proceed farther on his sorrowful journey. A settler living near saw the distressed group and came to inquire the cause and to give help. Word was sent to the family at West Fork and the younger son, David B., came with an ox team and together. father and son brought the body of the soldier boy to Frankfort, where burial was made.
MOTHER WORKS ON LAND,
Isaac Walker returned to his regiment and the following winter was crippled with a wound in his leg and became an invalid for two years. Dur- ing this time the younger son. David, enlisted in Company Ninth Kansas and went away to the front. Mrs. Walker was left not only with the care of her husband but the responsibility of making the living. Undaunted, she plowed the land with her ox team and raised what crops she could. Those who recall that frail, delicate woman with gentle face and softly-glowing dark eyes are filled with admiration at the great power of endurance and the fer- vent patriotism she displayed. Once in reminiscent mood she told the writer, "Davy was always a good boy to his mother. When he was at the front he always sent me his wages. It was not a great sum, but it seemed a great deal in those days, when money was so scarce and hardship so plenty."
Before going into the volunteer service. David Walker had been one of E. C. Manning's "home guards," and had gone on several expeditions after marauding Indians. On one of these trips the party had taken refuge at a place called Hewitt's ranch on the Big Sandy. They found there an entire family had been massacred by Indians the previous night. An old Indian trail, which can be traced at the present time, ran near the Walker homestead. This was a foot trail, and led to the old Indian village near there and farther on to the west. Thousands of Indians traveled over this trail, for the Indian village was a trading post for many tribes, but principally the Pottowatomie and Delaware Indians.
David Walker became very familiar with the different tribes and could distinguish them readily by their garb and tribal emblems. An afternoon spent with him when he is in a talking mood, is like reading the pages of Fenimore Cooper. He inherited much of the intrepid spirit of his mother and is a respected pioneer of Marshall county.
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JENNETTE BARBER HUTCHINSON.
In the history of a county there are certain names that stand out prom- inently and around which a deep interest centers. Such a name is that of Jennette Barber, who was married at the age of eighteen and one-half years to Perry Hutchinson.
Mrs. Hutchinson's parents, Chemplin and Malancy Barber, were pion- eers in Herkimer county, New York. They resided near Fredonia, Her mother was a very capable woman, a fine housekeeper and with great frugal- ity and forethought. They lived on a farm and her father was one of the substantial men of the community. Mrs. Barber was a member of the Pres- byterian church and her family was brought up in that church.
After her betrothal to Perry Hutchinson, the young man desired to pre- sent her to his parents and together they made the trip in a buggy. The day turned stormy and rained and she she was somewhat tired on their arrival, Mr. Hutchinson's mother was a large woman, weighing about two hundred pounds. His prospective bride was rather slight and timid. Miss Barber naturally wished to know the opinion the young man's parents had of the future daughter-in-law and finally Perry confided to her that they thought her "rather small."
After their marriage the young people moved to Iowa, where they resided for four years, part of the time on a farm, and part of that time Mr. Hutchinson engaged in milling. His partner, not proving satisfactory, he returned to the farm. In 1859 they had in sixty acres of corn. On July 3, a hard frost- destroyed the corn. They had planted ten acres. of cucumbers for the purpose of raising the seed for a seed house in Fredonia, New York. These escaped with little injury; but the opportunity of obtaining govern- ment land interested them and Mr. Hutchinson decided to come west and locate a claim and later return for the wife, little son, Frank, and baby daughter.
The young wife took this under advisement. If she remained, it would mean hiring help to gather the cucumber seed and boarding them while they worked. Her children were small and after some thought she decided to accompany her husband in search of a home. When she told him of her decision .he answered, "You can't stand the hardship," She answered, "I can stand whatever you can." With that thrift and clever management which have been livelong characteristics of Mrs. Hutchinson, she prepared for the journey. The neighbors came in and provision was prepared to last for the noonday meals during the entire journey. Chickens were roasted and pre-
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serves made and bread baked. No preparation was made for camping out. They stopped at any home that could and would shelter them for the night. At noon they had their dinner by the way while the horses were being fed.
HUTCHINSON FAMILY ARRIVE AT MARSHALL COUNTY.
Mr. Hutchinson was always fond of good horses and knew how to take care of them. Having heard of the good land in Marshall county they pushed along and they slept in their wagon for the first and only time on the trip within the borders of Marshall county. After reaching Marysville they heard of a man named John Hyatt, who was in search of a man and wife to assist him on his claim.
Hyatt asked Brumbaugh what he thought of the "Yankee," and Brum- baugh gave him a favorable answer, so the young pioneers drove back over the trail of the previous day until they came to a log cabin which was to be their first dwelling place in the county.
The cabin had a puncheon floor and plenty of fresh air. The cracks were "big enough to throw a cat through." and there was a wide fireplace so low that one could look out of doors by glancing up the chimney. One stormy day. Mrs. Hutchinson hung a blanket across in front of the fire place to shut out the bitter wind and seated within, near the fire with her two children, she made for her eldest son, Frank, his first pair of pants.
While they lived in the Hyatt cabin, Mr. Hutchinson joined a party of buffalo hunters and went west in search of meat. Mrs. Hutchinson stayed alone in the cabin on the prairie, with her children. A neighbor coming that way invited her to go along and visit another neighbor. On returning towards evening they saw that her cabin door was open. This made her timid and the neighbor persuaded her to spend the night with her, which she did. After a sleepless night she preferred to brave the Indians and returned to her own cabin. This was the only time in all those early years of loneliness and privation that she ever left her own rooftree by reason of being left alone.
The buffalo hunters did not find game as near as they expected and many returned. but Perry went far enough west to obtain a good supply of the meat. Much of this Mrs. Hutchinson cured and the remainder Perry sold along the trail, realizing enough to lay in a supply of groceries from St. Joe. It also gave him an opportunity to see the land and he soon selected a claim seven miles east of Marysville : as there was good timber on the land,
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EARLY-DAY TRANSFORTATION ON THE PLAINS.
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he built a substantial log cabin with one room below and a chamber over- head.
Into this first real home Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson moved on February 2, 1860. That spring a party of men becoming dissatisfied with their driver, made Perry a good proposition to drive them to Denver. There were eight in the party. Having found someone to stay with his wife. Mr. Hutchinson made the trip, leaving in May, returning in August. While there he joined with some miners and after a month or so of mining he real- ized five hundred dollars, a munificent sum in those days. He immediately invested in another mine, which proved a failure. Meanwhile Mrs. Hutchin- son had "looked after" matters at home. She sold hay at four cents a pound and corn at two dollars a bushel and when her husband returned she had more money than he had, lacking a few cents of having fifty dollars. The night after his return from Denver, a horse died and she gave him the fifty dollars, with which he bought a pony and later traded for another horse.
Mrs. Hutchinson was a good manager and never was without some provision. In all those years she really never found her cupboard bare, and never turned a weary wayfarer from her cabin door hungry. They had a splendid well on their place and this attracted travelers, as good well water was scarce.
CYCLONE VISITS THE PIONEERS.
One day just as Mrs. Hutchinson had taken her wash from the line and laid it on some chairs a cyclone struck the cabin tearing off the roof and scattering the shingles far and wide.
The man and wife who were keeping her company during her hus- band's absence, were so badly frightened that they sprang into the bed and covered up with the feather tick. Mrs. Hutchinson put little Frank under the covers and, outside behind the house, bending over her baby sheltered her from the driving hail and rain. The man in the bed fainted, the woman screamed and cried, but Mrs. Hutchinson revived the man with camphor and quieted the others and directed the re-roofing of hier cabin. She was bruised and lamed by the storm, but her children were unhurt, so she made light of it.
They lived one year on the farm and then the Barrett Hotel being with- out a landlord, friends suggested that they take charge of it. Mr. Hutchin- son applied to Barrett for a lease and was refused, because he had not money
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for the rent. Somewhat downeast he was met by F. J. Marshall, who, on learning the facts, guaranteed the rent and the young people took charge of the hotel.
While they yet lived in their log cabin the pony express passed by their door and many of the messengers had cause to remember Mrs. Hutchinson. She always had a kind word for them and something special, a slice of ginger- bread or some of her good doughnuts. She remembers them as fine boys, many being from the East and college bred. Billy Bolton was a favorite with Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson and oftimes he would stop a few minutes and sing for her. He had a sweet tenor voice and sang with great feeling some old favorites, "Annie Laurie," "Sweet Evalina," and the "Old Log Cabin in the Lane." This latter song was a great favorite with General Sherman; Clara Louise Kellogg once sang it for him, when encored in a St. Louis opera house.
The pony express and Overland stage stopped at the Barrett house. Mrs. Hutchinson was a good housekeeper and cook and it soon became a popular hostelry. Mrs. Hutchinson managed every detail of the hotel and did much of the work herself. In that hotel she entertained many men who afterwards became widely known. Albert D. Richardson, Schuyler Colfax, members of Congress, Mormon celebrities, Mark Twain and scores of others were guests under that roof. The lawyers who practised at the Marshall county bar made the Barrett hotel headquarters. John James Ingalls, Albert H. Horton, Nathan Price. Bailey Wagener and others always stopped there.
The parlor of the hotel was the only floor large enough that could be used for dances and many a night the people, young and old, gathered there for a social evening. Mrs. Hutchinson gave the first socials ever given in the county.
While she was in the hotel it became necessary for a legal residence to be established on the claim. Business kept Perry in Marysville and it fell to her lot to "live" on the claim. She cooked up food and with her children took up her legal residence on the claim, living in a wagon and shed until the required time was fulfilled. The cabin was rented to a settler,
Under the hard work Mrs. Hutchinson's health gave way and the war coming on, Mr. Hutchinson was commissioned captain and they gave up the hotel, which was taken over by J. H. Cottrell and wife.
THE RAISING.
The following item appeared in the Blue Valley Union in the issue of October 15, 1865 :
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Last Wednesday about forty men, who have willing hearts and helping hands assembled at Hutchinson's mill site to raise his flour mill. With a hearty good will did they shake that two-story frame together, completing the job just as dark came upon them. A good dinner was prepared by the lady of the house to which they all did justice.
Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson lived near the mill and they kept open house for many years. It was not the life of ease for the wife and mother, but she bore her own burdens and helped others bear theirs. She turned none away empty handed and many a pioneer had cause to remember her with gratitude. She cared for her family, husbanded her resources and helped every good work of the town. It was through her efforts that the Memorial Presby- terian church in Marysville was built. Mrs. Hutchinson had a good bay team, was a fearless driver and many times took her team and drove the venerable blind preacher, Rev. Charles Parker, to different points in the neighborhood where he held religious services.
Church and Sunday school were held in the old stone school house and she taught a Sunday school class and led the singing, assisted by Attorney A. Parks and Mrs. Fisher.
One of the chief amusements of those days was dancing. On one occasion Reverend Parker came to Marysville during the week and, as was his custom, night found him at the house near the mill. Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson were preparing to attend a dance and the good man volunteered to keep the children.
While they were absent some belated travelers came along and the min- ister took them in and made them comfortable. Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson returned in "the wee sma' hours" and the gentle, white-haired man arose and opened the gate for them to drive in.
In 1867 the three-story stone mill was built on the west side of the Blue and before the machinery was installed they decided to have a "mill warming". Notice of the night was sent far and wide and scores came, bringing well-filled baskets for the midnight refreshments. John Pecenka's orchestra furnished the music and to this day that night is recalled by "the oldest 'un".
There had been a double wedding at Frank Marshall's residence the day before the dance. Two sisters, Rose and Emma Weber, were the brides. Rose married Sam Raines and Emma married John Crump. This bridal party attended the big dance. Captain Frank Kister was the head miller and master of ceremonies. Such gay young fellows as Ike Davis, Bob Shibley, the Barretts, John Watson, the Vaughns, Trospers, Aulds, Dave Walker and Cale Osborne were among the guests.
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THE BABIES MIXED.
An amusing incident occurred that night which has been perpetuated by a popular novelist. A corner had been reserved for babies too young to be left at home. Some hay was thrown on the floor and covered with heavy blankets and on this bed the babies were put to sleep while the mothers danced.
Dave Walker. Cale Osborne and Andy Travelute decided to have some fun ; so unobserved they changed the wrappings of the babies and also their places on the bed. The dance being over, mothers took their infants and some drove away before the joke was discovered. Such crying of babies and screaming of mothers and hustling off wraps until each mother had her own again. One young mother of a fine boy, found herself with a tiny girl. Finally, as the morning broke, all were adjusted and merrily rolled home- ward. Owen Wister in "The Virginian," has told the tale.
Shortly after the new mill was built the big house on the hill was erected, which for so many years was the hospitable home of the Hutchin- sons.
flere, as while in modest homes, Mrs. Hutchinson gave personal atten- tion to her household duties. She entertained the leading people of the state during a period of nearly half a century. Among them were Governors Martin, Humphrey, Morrill and Hoch ; Noble Prentiss, the well-known news- paper writer, and Gower, superintendent of the Grand Island railway. Favorites with the Hutchinsons were James Smith, Case Broderick and especially Senator Preston B. Plumb, who never failed to visit them when in this part of the state.
With all these duties Mrs. Hutchinson yet found time to visit the sick; to arrange benefit balls for yellow fever sufferers; to prepare the dead for burial and to comfort the living. She was always prepared for emergencies and rose to them with great courage. In times of business hurry she was ready and helpful. She once cooked dinner for forty men on an hour's notice.
Her knowledge of the men employed about the mill gave her a good insight to their fitness and she often spoke a kind word in someone's behalf, that to this day is gratefully remembered.
Mrs. Hutchinson devoted her life to her husband's interests. She never wearied in well doing. In the early years she boarded the mill people. cooked the meals and kept the house. After the big house on the hill was
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built, she continued to work and do all she was able, and many times beyond the limit of her strength, in order to "help the business." Her family increased with time and social duties grew as the years passed. Her husband once said of her, "She made me what I am. She never knew when she was 'licked.'"
In all those early years of struggle she was the far-sighted partner of the firm. Mr. Hutchinson's parents on visiting them, found her plenty big enough for the job. She numbers her friends in every home in Marshall county and the members of her own household "arise up and call her blessed." She lived up to the full measure of duty each day and now as she makes her home in the city she helped to build, all doors open with pleasure to greet her. She will celebrate her eightieth birthday in May, 1917.
THE CRANE FAMILY.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Crane came from Illinois to Kansas reaching the Vermillion on October 22, 1869.
After leaving Illinois, on their way to the West, Mr. and Mrs. Crane went to Iowa to visit Mrs. Crane's sister, Mrs. Samuel Parks. The Parks family became imbued with the Western spirit and sold out in Iowa and came to Kansas with the Cranes.
There were three children in the Parks family and six in the Crane family, Mrs. Gertude Scott, of Marysville, being then a babe six weeks old. On the way from Iowa the party was joined by the Frost brothers, Tom and Simpson. Tom Frost had a wife and two children; Simpson Frost was a single man.
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Robert Crane, the Parks and Frosts had wagons drawn by horses. Other emigrants joined them until there were thirteen teams in the party, some being ox teams, among these were Enoch Manning and family. The "movers" camped at night and slept in their wagons.
On the day following their arrival on the Vermillion, the women all went to the creek to put out the family washings. The day was fine and the clothes were nearly all dried and taken in by night. The next morning a Kansas blizzard had arrived. Snow, mingled with sand, driven by a fierce wind, dealt cruelly with the newly-arrived settlers. The men in the party found a log cabin which had been used for a sheep "bye," but which they cleaned out and soon had a roaring fire in the big, friendly fire place. Here the women and children were gathered while the men took the best care they could of their horses and cattle. The women heated their irons in front
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of the "forelog" and ironed the wash and thawed out the clothing that had not dried the previous day. As night came on, the blizzard increased in violence and the anxiety about shelter was great.
It was exactly at this point that "the West began." The neighbors on the Vermillion had heard of the new arrivals and finally located them in the old log cabin.
John Life took two families home with him. True, "home" was but a ten by twelve-foot cabin, but it would shelter from the storm.
The Mitchells and Butlers took some. Millet had an unoccupied cabin ; the Frosts were housed in it.
A family across the Vermillion sheltered the Mannings.
William B. Lewis had six children, but he did not hesitate to take in Mr. and Mrs. Crane and their six.
Elijah Bentley had a house twelve feet square. He took Mr. and Mrs. Sam Parks and their three children home with him. So before night fell all were safely housed from the storm.
Those were the days of true hospitality, when every man was a brother, when hospitality was open and kindness ruled.
The prairies were wide and bare of habitation, and so the settlers drew close together and shared the hardships and privations of pioneer life. They forgot the toil and anxiety, when the greeting was friendly and the handclasp warm.
DR. ALBERT MORRALL.
Dr. Albert Morrall of Wamego died at University hospital in Kansas City, Sunday, March 4, 1917, and was buried at Wamego, Wednesday, March 7. He was eighty-seven years, three months and ten days old. He is sur- vived by one daughter, Mrs. Fred Darling, of Wamego. Doctor Morrall was one of the pioneers of Marysville. He arrived here July 8, 1856, along with R. Y. Shibley, James S. Magill and others, who had formed a company to organize a town company. They organized the "Palmetto Town Con- pany," and laid out a half section of land in town lots. That half section is now the north half of the city of Marysville. Doctor Morrall was the first president of the town company. Doctor Morrall was also one of the incor- porators of Ballard & Morrall's addition to Palmetto, which is now the south- cast one-fourth of the city of Marysville. Of the original Palmetto Town Company, R. Y. Shibley of this city is the only survivor. Doctor Morrall and Mr. Shibley were both South Carolinians and left there in the spring of 1856 to go buffalo hunting. They got as far as Atchison, when they fell
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in with the party coming to Marysville and joined the party. Shibley is still here. Morrall left here in 1866 and moved to Wamego. He held property interests here for many years and frequently visited here.
JAMES M'CLOSKY.
Many men of different nationalities and avocations had traversed the land which is now Marshall county prior to 1849, but in that year Francis J. Marshall became the first permanent settler.
Following Marshall, came James Nelson, a Dane, G. H. Hollenberg, a German, and James McClosky, a Scotchman. So that from its pioneer days until the present this county has been the abiding place of mixed nationalities.
Of this trio James Nelson and G. H. Hollenberg came from the West, both having been sailors and, landing on the California coast, had crossed the great desert towards the East.
McClosky had become familiar with the country from traversing the trail, carrying on trade with the Indians. He had worked out from St. Louis and was attracted by the fertility and beauty of the Valley of the Blue and in 1854 he returned to make a permanent home, bringing with him a party of mountaineers.
It was the intention of the party to settle near the Alcove Springs and Independence Crossing, where McClosky had camped on former trips, but Marshall having moved his ferry to the upper crossing, McClosky settled near it. At that time the small settlements on the Vermillion and Marshall's on the Big Blue, were the only permanent settlements in the county.
SCOT WEDS SQUAW.
McClosky had a Sioux Indian girl for his wife and in 1857 J. S. Magill, a regularly elected justice of the peace, united in marriage James McClosky and the Indian maid, Monlawaka. This was the first marriage in Marys- ville.
Mr. and Mrs. McClosky sent their sons to the Iowa Indian Mission school in Doniphan county and their daughters to the Highland University, giving all their children educational advantages. The eldest son, James, was an interpreter for the government at Ft. Laramie, where he was killed by a man named William Boyer, who was hanged for the crime.
Henry, the second son, was interpreter at Ft. Halleck. He was killed near Hanover, at Cottonwood Station. Charles, the younger, was acci-
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