Trails to the Past: Dickinson County Kansas Families
Dickinson County, Kansas Families
Brief biographies and data on early Dickinson County Kansas families. I am compiling these biographies to assist researchers who are looking for more information about their families who resided in Dickinson County. I'd like to start with some of the earlier families who called Dickinson County "home." If you'd like to contribute your own families to this page, email me for more information, and I'll post your story here. Copy and paste this email address into your email template, and be sure to add "Dickinson County KS" to the subject line:
[email protected]
Timothy Fletcher Hersey
It is only fitting to begin this page with a biography of Timothy Fletcher Hersey, founder of the town of Abiline. Mr. Fletcher was born in Sumner, Oxford County, Maine, August 17, 1827. His family immigrated to northern Illinois when he was 10 years old. In 1852 he married Eliza Rachel Johnson, a daughter of Stephen Johnson and the late Lucy Stone Johnson. He came to Dickinson County in 1857, began farming, and in 1858 became a Government contractor, furnishing hay, fuel, and grain for the Government fortifications, extending westward to the Rocky Mountains. During the Civil War he was appointed an Indian trader and had many experiences and adventures among the Indians on the Plains. After the war, he erected a mill at Abiline and ran it until 1869. Late in 1869 he immigrated to the Solomon Valley, where he erected a mill and laid out the town of Beloit.
Timothy & Eliza Hersey were the parents of the following children:
1. "S" Hersey, a female; age 6 in the 1860 census for Dickinson Co., born in IL. Not listed in the 1865 Kansas State Census.
2. Maria (Mariah in 1860 State census), age 4 in the 1860 census, born in IL.
3. Sylvia, age 1 in the 1860 census, born in Kansas Territory.
4. Ellen, age 4 in the 1865 State census, born in Kansas.
5. Charles, age 1 in the 1865 State census, born in Kansas.
6. Willie, age 4 in the 1870 census (Dickinson Co.) Listed as Wilbur J. in 1880)
7. Clarence H., age 5 in the 1880 census (Mitchell Co.)
Timothy tried mining in Colorado and Wyoming, and spent some time in California before finally ending up in Castle Rock, Cowlitz County, Washington. He died there in 1905. Eliza and her daughter Mariah ran a boarding house in Castle Rock County. Some of their children also lived in Nez Perce County, Idaho. Eliza moved there after 1910 to be with her children. She died in Lenore, Nez Perce County Idaho in 1912.
More to Come
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October 13, 2010
