Abilene, Kansas, established in 1857 and incorporated in 1861, is situated in Dickinson County and historically served as a vital hub in the development of the American West. Known for its role as a key terminus of the Chisholm Trail, Abilene was a primary cattle shipping point from 1867 to 1871, where cowboys drove cattle from Texas to the railroads in Abilene, transforming it into a bustling town. Its strategic location contributed significantly to its growth, with the establishment of railroads facilitating commerce and the movement of people. The city’s early settlers, including a mix of European immigrants and Americans from the eastern states, were attracted by the opportunities in agriculture, cattle trade, and the railroad industry. Abilene’s genealogical records from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including land transactions, business records, and vital records, offer a window into the lives of these settlers and the rapid development of the town. The area around Abilene was originally used as hunting and camping grounds by Native American tribes, notably the Kansa, before the arrival of European settlers. For genealogists, Abilene’s historical societies and public records provide valuable resources for tracing ancestry, understanding the economic and social conditions of the time, and exploring the transformative impact of the cattle and railroad industries on the American Midwest.
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 […]
William Thomas Davidson, an old soldier, a pioneer in Western Kansas, and an expert abstractor at Abilene, was born in a log house on a farm in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, July 26, 1842. Several years ago he celebrated the birthday which made him three score and ten years of age. His had been a long
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
Frank Geoffroy, who is a successful commission and grain merchant at Abilene, is a native of Kansas, and he and his people have been identified with this state since early pioneer days. Kansas was a territory and was known throughout the country as”bleeding Kansas” when his father and grandparents came and located as pioneers in
Thomas M. Jones. From 1903 to 1917 Thomas M. Jones was assistant postmaster of Abilene, and in that time really handled the important responsibilities and executive details of the city postal system. He received his appointment under the late Richard Waring, and steadily continued in the office under subsequent administrations. Mr. Jones is an expert
Jacob E. Brewer. The author of the two cent railroad fare law in Kansas is Jacob E. Brewer of Abilene. Mr. Brewer proposed, introduced and successfully advocated that law during his membership in the State Senate from 1905 to 1909, representing the district of Clay and Dickinson counties. Mr. Brewer is an old and well
Gross, Daniel first came to Abilene, Kan. in 1874 and clerked some time, finally came to Bunker Hill and became a member of the firm of Eyler & Gross, dealers in general merchandise, opening the business July 21, 1879, and carrying a stock of about $12,000, occupying two rooms, 22×40 and 22×50 feet. Mr. Gross
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
James Harvey Stewart of Wichita,who had been identified with Kansas for thirty years, is a lawyer by profession, is vice president of the National Bank of Commerce, is former state senator, and for twenty years or more had played a very infiuential part both in business and civic affairs at Wichita. He is now chairman
Frank L. Abbey, M. D., long a resident of Newton and formerly a druggist but for twenty years a successful physician, had during the greater part of his professional career been identified with the Axtell Hospital as a member of its staff of physicians. Doctor Abbey was born at Kingsbury, Illinois, February 1, 1861. He
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
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
Charles H. Browne is proprietor and editor of the Horton Headlight-Commercial, now the only journal published in that enterprising and flourishing city of Brown County. Mr. Browne had been largely identified with newspaper work since he left school, and is a vigorous type of citizen and easily a leader in any community. For a number
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
Edward Everett Hazlett, M. D. From 1880 until his death on June 17, 1915, Doctor Hazlett practiced medicine and surgery at Abilene, Kansas. That was a period of thirty-five years. He was one of the pioneers in his profession at Abilene, and began practice there when the city to some extent still retained the prestige
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
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
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
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
Mrs. H. P. Throe (Cala L. Fovargue) Joseph, Oregon 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
