Trego County Census
1887 Farm Census Substitute
The entries below were the result of a canvas done by the WaKeeney Western World reporter in the month of August, 1887. I'm sure it does not include all Trego Co. farmers, but the survey seemed to end with the last week of August--I could find no more similar lists in the paper, either before or after that time.
BIG CREEK VALLEY, AUG. 1, 1887
I arrived at O. A. Sperry's to-day. Mr.
Mr. S. lives on the s 1/2 of sec. 22, t. 12, r. 25.
He has been a settler in western Kansas
for 9 years. Owing to his old age, and
he serious accident which happened to
him last fall, his crop this year has been cut down to about 5 acres of corn and
some truck patches. He says he is too
old to make a living at farming, and he
intends to go back to Connecticut this
fall on a visit, and will probably remain
there for a time.
I next met Mr. Andrew Larson. His
homestead is located on the ne 1/4 of sec.
26, t. 12, r. 25. He has in about 40 acres
of corn, which looks tolerably well, considering the
dry weather. He has several
tons of hay left over from last year's crop.
This reminds us of what he told us when
he came here a year and a half ago, and
had to buy his hay at $14 per ton. He
said if he lived and kept his health he
would not have to buy hay another spring.
This would be a good resolution for all
Kansas farmers to adopt, especially in
the western part.
Mr. Lars Larson lives southeast of
Collyer, on the n. 1/2 of sec. 22. t. 12, r. 25.
He has in 6 acres of corn and 4 of sorghum. In addition to this, he has a tree
claim, which undoubtedly accounts for
his small crop. There is a scarcity of
weeds in his timber. He has taken
great care in cultivating his trees, and,
judging from his ten acres, any one who
tries can raise timber in western Kansas.
W. F. Stramahan lives on the s. 1/2 of
the sw. 1/4 of sec. 32, t. 12, r. 25. He has
3 acres of corn, a few raspberries and 250
trees. He says this is only his third
year here.
Mrs. Lorimer has a homestead and a
timber claim on the s. 1/2 of sec. 26, t. 12,
r. 25. She has 10 acres of corn and sorghum. Her timber is good, and will
make more than half a stand, i. e., fill
every other row 4 feet apart. Mrs.
Lorimer is a widow, with 4 children, and
she surely deserves praise for the way in
which she is bringing up her boys, and
making a living for them.
Jacob Tetzloff lives on the se 1/4 of sec.
35, t. 12, r. 25. He has been here but 18
months, and wants to sell out and leave.
I know not why, for he has 35 acres of as
nice corn as any one around here; his
millet made about a ton and a half to the
acre; he has some old corn left yet, and
an acre of as good potatoes as he ever
raised, he says.
Messrs. Zeman and Yonda have been
visited this morning. Their corn is drying some, and they are cutting it up.
Although there is not much corn on it, it
is excellent fodder. Their crops are generally light, excepting potatoes. They
are a good crop. The buffalo grass here
has matured, and is in the proper stage
to place the fat on cattle.
BIG CREEK VALLEY, AUG. 2.
Chas. Neff is located southwest of WaKeeney, and owns 520 acres of sec. 28,
tp. 12, r. 24. He has 25 acres of corn,
10 acres of rye, which he thinks will
make 15 bushels per acre, 6 acres of barley, 10 bushels per acre, his sorghum is
good, and one half acre of extra potatoes.
Mr. Neff also has a pasture fenced and a
large stone house and other things which
add greatly to the looks of a farm.
Chas. Jackson lives on sec. 34, t. 12, r.
24, has 35 acres under cultivation, a little
corn, rye, millet and an acre and a half
of potatoes, and is making hay.
Mr. Keraus lives on sec. 10, t. 13, r. 24.
He says his oats are fair; his spring
wheat is extra: corn not very good. Mr.
Keraus says he thinks spring wheat is
the best for western Kansas. His two
sons are in partnership on the sw. 1/4 of
the same section. They have 25 acres of
corn. Their rye and oats are good, and
they have one acre of fine potatoes.
A. Spena, north 1/2 sec 12, 1. 13, r. 25,
has 60 acres of corn, which will probably
make an average of 5 bushels per acre.
This is as good a crop of corn as we have
heard of so far. His millet about crop.
He has 37,744 trees on his tree claim, on
which he made final proof last fall. He
has 160 head of nice cattle. He waters
his cattle from his well. They look the
best of any we have seen.
BANNER, TREGO COUNTY.
Wednesday, Aug 3.
J. J. Hrabak lives on nw. 1/4 sec. 18, t.
12, r. 24. He has 30 acres under cultivation. He moved to Kansas 8 years ago,
and remained here five years. He then
went to Colorado, and returned after
an absence of three years. His corn is
yielding better than any we have seen.
He is cutting it up, on account of its
drying up so. The corn which is already
too hard for roasting ears will, of course,
make pretty fair corn.
W. A Hunt is on ne 1/4 sec. 30, 1. 13, r.
24. He has 30 acres under cultivation,
22 of which are in corn. He came here,
from Tuscola, Ill., about a year ago.
Jasper Hideout is on sw. 1/4 sec. 34, t.
13, r. 24. He has 25 acres of corn, which
will make about half a crop. He has
been here about one year, and is from
Tuscola, Ill.
J. A. Frease lives on n. 1/2 sec 6, t. 14,
r. 24. Mr. Frease has a homestead and
timber claim, and is a settler here of two
summers. He has 20 acres under cultivation on his tree claim, and 10 on his
homestead. He has the nicest truck
patch we have yet found, a large cabbage
garden, and sweet and Irish potatoes,
both of which are extra good.
John W. Reynolds has three eighties
in sec 6, t. 14, r. 24. Mr. Reynolds is a
settler of nine years in western Trego,
and is an old soldier. He has 100 acres
under cultivation. He also has a tree
claim on the ne. 1/4 of sec 12, t. 14, r25.
He says he has over one-third of all the
trees he put out, and would have had
more but for the dry weather.
Mr. A. W. Purinton lives northeast of
Castle Rock, on sec 28, t. 14, r. 25. Mr.
Purinton has not raised any grain of any
kind, but has quite an amount of rough
feed. He has a grocery and provision
store, and also the Banner post-office.
Mr. P. feels somewhat discouraged, but
there is many a man in a worse fix than
he is.
Mr. T. H. Courtney lives on the ne 1/4
of section 34-13-25. Upon visiting his
farm we find a good garden of potatoes,
tomatoes, cabbage, melons, strawberries,
raspberries and so forth. Mr. Courtney
has a small patch of red clover which, he
sowed last spring, some of which, upon
measuring, was found to be 30 inches in
length, and has a good crop of seed on it.
He has a patch of corn about ten acres
in size which is in roasting ears, and
looks as though it would make thirty
bushels per acre without a doubt his
place looks likens back-east place set
down in the west. He has trees which
have made a growth of 5 feet in height
and are an inch in diameter.
C. F. Hawkes has the w. 1/2 sec. 29-13-25
and n. 1/2 sec 30-13-25. Mr. Hawkes has
1 3/4 acres of peanuts, a mulberry-grove
two years old, from which he picked one
bushel of berries this year. He has
black and honey locust, catalpa, box-elder and ailanthus trees all in nursery
rows, which be intends to replant on his
tree claim in the spring. He has sixty
three acres in corn, which will make
excellent fodder, but not much corn. He
has an acre and a half of nice potatoes;
also five acres of oats, which he thinks
will go 30 bushels per acre, and 10 acres
of rye which will go about 13 bushels
per acre. Mr. Hawkes has sixty head of
cattle which are in good order.
Several of the farmers around here
have been trying a new kind of corn
Kaffair corn. This corn seems to be the
thing for this country. While the other
corn is drying up some around here, the
Kaffair corn has a fresh bright appear
ance. Samuel Bingaman has a splendid crop
of rice corn.
Co. Supt A. B. Baker lives on the
Hackberry, on the s. 1/2 sec 32-14-25. He
has 10 acres of good corn and a splendid
garden. He has 5 acres of timber on his
tree claim, most of which are ash, 150
fruit trees, quite a number of seedling
trees. The general appearance of his
place is good. Mr. Baker is repairing
his house and painting it inside.
OGALLAH, Aug. 5, 1887.
W. F. Brabb is located on the ne 1/4 of
sec. 28, t. 11, r. 21. Mr. Brabb has 30
acres of corn, which he thinks will
average 40 bushels per acre; 11 acres of
oats, estimated at 25 bushels per acre, and
1 acre of extra-good potatoes. His truck
patch generally is very good. Mr. Brabb
has turned almost his whole attention to
corn growing, and, from his crop last
year and the looks of the present one,
he has surely made it a grand success.
He came here three years ago, in the
horse business, and has made up his
mind that farming is about as sure as
any thing in western Kansas.
J. B. Ruppee has a part of sec. 28, t. 11,
r. 21. He has 50 acres of corn, which he
estimates at 85 bushels to the acre; 10
acres of wheat, which he has guessed at
6 bus. per acre; 3 acres of potatoes,
which are hard to beat, and 2 acres of
melons, which can not be beaten. He
has 800 cabbages, which are good. Mr.
Ruppee has locust trees which have
grown 5 feet this summer from the broken roots of other trees.
Joshua Musgrave, sr., lives on the se 1/4
of sec. 32, t. 11, r. 21. He has 125 acres
of corn, which, to the best of his judgment, will make about 35 bus. to the acre;
2 acres of good sorghum; 7 acres of millet, put at 2 tons to the acre; 1 acres of
potatoes, which are good; lr acres of rye,
which will yield about 7 bus. per acre; a
good sized bed of beets, which he thinks
will averege a pound a piece; yearling
trees 1 ft. high: seedlings 2 ft; trees
from 3 to 7 years, 15 to 20ft. high. His
cattle are in good condition, and he has
56 head of hogs. Mr. Musgrave says he
feels as much encouraged in Trego county farming as he ever felt, if not more so.
E. S. Coffey has the e 1/2 of sec. 18, t. 12
r. 21. He has about 35 acres of corn,
estimated at 50 bus. per acre; 22 acres of
wheat, which he has threshed, securing a
yield of 17 bus. to the acre; 12 acres of
oats, guessed at 50 bus. per acre; 2 acres
of potatoes, guessed at 150 bus. per acre.
Mr. Coffey has a small patch of alfalfa
and one of timothy, both of which are
doing extra well. He has some peaches.
The trees on his timber claim look well.
He says his cattle are in as good order as
he has ever had them at this season.
Eli McCollum is on the nw 1/4 of sec.
18, t. 12, r. 21. He has 30 acres of corn,
which he thinks will average 30 bus. per
acre; 23 acres of wheat, which went 18
bus. per acre; a good garden; of an
acre of potatoes, fair; 10 acres of oats,
which will make 50 bus. per acre. He
intends to put in a fair-sized crop this
year. His cattle are fat. The trees
around his house gives the place the
appearance of some Eastern home.
L. Warne, of sec. 24, t. 11, r. 22, has 30
acres of corn, which will yield 30 bus. to
the acre; 7 acres of millet, 3 tons to the
acre; 1 acre of good potatoes; 1/2 an acre
of trees in nursery row, which are good,
and 52 head of cattle in good living
order.
John S. Kelly is situated on the nw 1/4
of sec. 12, t. 11, r. 22. Mr. Kelly has 20
acres of corn, which will probably make
20 bus. to the acre; 30 acres of oats, 30
bus. to the acre; 9 acres of sorghum,
extra good; 1 acre of fair potatoes; 1 acre
of pretty good melons. His hogs are do
ing nicely. He has 48 fruit trees set into
an orchard. Mr. Kelly says he wants it
understood that he never gets the blues.
He thinks this is a good farming
country.
A. V. Hixson lives 4 miles ne of Ogallah, on the ne 1/4 of sec. 8, t. 12, r. 22. He
has 100 acres of corn, which he thinks
will average 35 bus. to the acre. He has
25 acres of wheat, guessed at 5 bus.; 15
acres of rye, about 8 bus.; 20 acres of
oats, at 50 bus. per acre; 1/2 an acre of
good potatoes; 6 acres of millet, 1 ton to
the acre; some cane, which will make 3
tons per acre. He also has a nice lot of
strawberries and raspberries. He has 28
head of registered Poland China hogs.
He has a pair of bronze turkeys, the gobbler of which weighs 36 pounds and the
hen 18. He also has full-blooded Plymouth Rock chickens. Mr. H. has been
here a little over a year, and his place
looks like that of some old settler.
Saturday, Aug. 6.
Jons Eklund lives on the sw 1/4 of sec.
12, 1. 12, r. 22. He has 25 acres of corn,
which he guesses at 30 bus. per acre; 10
aores of millet and sorghum, which will
make about 2 tons to the acre; and 2
acres of good potatoes. His cattle are in
good order.
Foster Palmer lives on the sw 1/4 of
sec 34, t. 11, r. 22. He expects to have
about 1,200 bus. of corn off SO acres; 1/2
an acre of fair potatoes; 6 acres of oats,
about 50 bus. per aore; 6 acres of millet,
13 tons to the aore.
Chas. P. Chase, on the sw 1/4 of sec 11,
t. 12, r. 22, has 45 acres of corn, which he
thinks will average about 10 bus. to the
acre; 10 acres of millet, 3 tons per acre;
2 acres of oats, about 40 bus per acre, and
a acre of good potatoes.
Geo. McKinley, ne 1/4 of sec 10, t. 12,
r. 22, has 23 acres of corn, put at 20 bus.
per acre: 2 acres of millet, which will
make 1 ton per acre; 1 acre of potatoes
as good as the best; about 600 head of
cabbages and an extra garden.
A. E. Mickel, on sec 32, t. 11, r. 22, has
15 acres of fair corn and 25 of fodder; 1
acre of fair potatoes. His cattle are in
good order. Mr. Mickel is putting up
about 35 tons of wild hay,
Geo. Carter is on the nw 1/4 of see 10,
t. 12, r. 22. Mr. Carter has 30 acres of
late corn, which looks fresh and green,
and, should it rain frequently through the present month, it will make heavy
corn; otherwise, it can not. His oats
and garden are fair and potatoes good.
He has set out a small grove around his
house, which is doing nicely. One thing
we have seen here that we have not seen
elsewhere a large pumpkin patch, which
looks well and is in full bloom. This is
another crop that would pay in western
Kansas. Pumpkins make good cattle
feed.
S. P. Bartlett lives ne of Wa-Keeney,
on the north 1/2 of sec. 2, t. 12 r. 28. He has
7 acres of fodder, 30 acres of sorghum,
put at 4 tons per acre; 18 acres of millet,
at3 tons to the acre; 25 acres of oats, at
30 bus. per acre. Mr. B. has 58 head of
cattle. They are in extra condition.
W. H. Dome, on the se 1/4 of sec. 2, t.
12, r. 23, has 100 acres of corn, which will
go 10 bus. to the acre; 6 acres of wheat,
6 bus. per acre; 15 acres of rye, 10 bus.
per acre; 15 acres of millet, which will
make 2 tons to the acre; 10 acres of oats,
20 bus. to the acre. Mrs. Dorns has a
beautiful flower bed north of the house.
I visited F. O. Ellsworth's Thursday
morning. He has nothing but corn to
speak of, except his beautiful place. He
has 60 acres of corn, which his brother-in
law thinks will average about 10 bus.
per acre.
Leaving Ellsworth's to the southwest,
I next came to W. P. Shaw's, on the sw 1/4
of sec. 34, t. 11 r. 23. Mr. Shaw has in a
fair crop of corn, sorghum, oats and millet, all of which are in fair condition for
this year.
Just east of Mr. Shaw's, on the se 1/4 of
sec 34, t. 11, r. 23, lives S. T. Bartlett.
Mr. Bartlett is an old settler in Kansas,
and has had experience enough to know
that one kind of crop alone will not do
to depend on here. He has three kinds
of early corn, which are extra good, and a
piece of common corn, which is not so
good. He also has 8 acres of millet, and
calls it 50 tons of hay. His potatoes are
good, as are his oats and cane. He
wishes it stated that the dry weather has
not hurt him, but the chinch bugs have.
J. M. Ostrander lives ne of Wa-Keeney,
on sec. 36, t. 11, r. 23. He has 10 acres
of fair corn. He says his millet prospect
is good. His sheep are doing better than
he has ever seen them do before. He has
two colts which he calls extra good for
their age. Mr. Ostrander says he does
not expect to winter his sheep in Norton
county on 18-cent corn the coming
season. He thinks corn will be as cheap
in Trego as in Norton county this year.
Thos. Powell, living on the sw 1/4 of
sec. 28, t. 11, r. 22, has 30 acres of corn,
which he thought would make 40 bus.
per acre if he had rain soon. The rain
came last night, and I hope the gentleman will not be disappointed. He has 2
acres of potatoes, which he calls extra.
He has an acre of watermelons in partnership with Mr. Harrower, which are as
good as have been seen so far.
Mr. C. W. Sweet has 1/2 of sec. 18, t. 11,
r. 22. He says he is farming 100 acres.
Mr. Sweet has an excellent crop of sorghum. He thinks his cattle are as fat as
he has ever seen them.
Dan'l Countryman, the owner of the se 1/4
of sec. 28, t. 11, r. 22, has 8 acres of
corn, some parts of which are much better than others, but he feels sure it will
average 35 bus. to the acre He has an
acre of nice potatoes. Mr. Countryman
received a back pension some time ago,
which will help him out some. He has
bought some cattle, and is putting up all
the hay he can.
Jas. Snelling, on the nw 1/4 of sec. 20,
t. 11, r. 22, has 8 acres of good corn and
some good sorghum and potatoes.
B. Shank lives on C. H. Gibbs's place.
Mr. Shank has 120 acres of corn, a part
of which is extra good. He says he has
50 acres which will make 50 bus. per acre.
His millet crop is good, and his melons
are fair. Mr. Shank has been here a
year. He likes this country very much.
He says any man who will put his corn
in with a lister, and keep it clean, can
raise it every time. Mr. Gibbs's sheep
are at the ranch and are doing uncommonly well.
Wm. LaRue lives on sec 14, t. 11, r. 22.
He has 40 acres of fair corn. He thinks
it will average 25 bus. per acre. He has
12 acres of good sorghum; 15 acres of
millet, which will make 2 tons, to the
acre; of an acre of potatoes. His cattle are doing nicely.
Hiram Shaw is located on sec 26, t. 11,
r. 22. He says he has as good a prospect
for corn as he ever had. He has 5 acres
of good sorghum, a good truck patch, a
nice sage bed, 100 bus. of potatoes, nice
peas and beans, four acres of fairly-good
red clover, and 55 acres of corn and sorghum which he will mow for feed. His
cattle are in splendid condition.
Monday, Aug. 8.
T. C. Roberts lives on the sw 1/4 of sec
18, t. 12, r. 21. Thomas has 25 acres of
nice corn, which he thinks will make 25
bus. per acre, and 10 acres of good mil
let. The whole amount of his ground
under cultivation is in the neighborhood
of 60 acres.
W. S. Knapp, on the sw 1/4 of sec. 24,
t. 12, r. 22, has 9 acres of corn, estimated
at 5 bus. per acre; 12 acres of millet, 1 1/2
tons per acre; 5 acres of oats, 45 bus.
per acre. His garden is extra good. Mr.
Knapp has as fine, a grove on his tree
claim as there is in this end of Trego
county. His cattle are fat. He has 2
good colts.
W. H. Palmer, on the w 1/2 of the sw 1/4
of sec 26, t. 12, r. 22, has 15 acres of
fair corn, 12 acres of millet, which will
go 3 tons to the acre; 1/2 of an acre of
potatoes and 1 acre of extra good timber.
Messrs. J. P. Marquand and sons are
farming the w 1/2 of sec 80, t. 12 r. 21
They have in 85 acres of corn, which they
think will average 35 bus. per acre; 60
acres of wheat, 18 bus. to the acre; 4 of
rye, 20 bus.; 10 of flax, 10 bus.; 20
aores of sorghum,, about 3 tons to the
acre, and an excellent garden. Their
cattle are in extra good condition.
Ben Mapes, on the nw 1/2 of sec 8, t.
14, r. 22, says he has 25 acres of fodder,
1 acre of sorghum, a good garden, and
trees doing as nicely as could be expected
considering the dry weather.
C. C. Ridgway has the w 1/2 of sec 28
t. 12, r. 21. His corn field of 30 acres
he thinks will go 40 bus. to the acre. He
has 3 acres of potatoes, and 1 acre of
extra-good melons. Mr. Ridgway has
rented out 200 acres of ground this year,
which was planted to corn. He says
has as good an opinion of Kansas as ever,
and that it was always good.
Frances Ridgway rented the Barnes
place last spring, and planted 40 acres of
corn there which he tells us is very fair,
but he would not like to guess as to what
it would make, as it is late. It is not
damaged yet by the dry weather, but he
does not know that it will not be.
H. Cutler has the e 1/2 of sec 20 and
the w 1/2 of sec. 21, t. 12, r. 21. He has
110 acres of corn, which he places at 40
bus. per acre; 16 acres of wheat, 8 bus.
to the acre; 10 acres of oats, 22 bus. per
acre; 20 acres of sorghum, about 4 tons
to the acre. Mr. Cutler planted 10 acres
to trees in the spring. They are extra
good. His cattle are in excellent order.
W. M. Goble, on the ne 1/4 of sec 28,
t. 12, r. 21, has 32 acres of 25-bu. corn
and 1 acre of good potatoes.
W. D. Lombard, on se 1/4 of sec 2, t.
12, r. 21, has 40 acres of corn put at 25
bus. to the acre; 2 acres of sorghum,
estimated at all of 4 tons to the acre, and
1 acre of pretty good potatoes. He has
16 head of fat cattle.
Ed. Phillips lives on the ne 1/4 of sec
8, t. 12, r. 21. He has 46 acres of corn,
estimated at 30 bus. per acre; 3 acres of
extra sorghum, which will make 4 or 5
tons to the acre; 3 acres of good, large
potatoes; about 100 cabbages; 1 acre of
sweet corn; 3 bus. of sweet potatoes and
a good garden. Miss Ida has raised
about 2 bus. of peanuts.
C. O. Yetter's place joins the Ogallah
town site on the west. He has 65 acres
of good corn; about 4 acres of oats, which
yielded in the aggregate 130 bus,; some
millet, about 3 acres of potatoes. Mr.
Yetter has an excellent stand of timber
on his claim, which shows that he under
stands his business.
Ed. Allen, on the ne 1/4 of sec. 20, t. 12,
r. 22, has 15 acres of nice corn, which he
thinks will make 50 bus. per acre; 5 acres
of millet, which will go about 2 tons to
the acre; of an acre of potatoes; 1
acre of good sorghum.
Chas. Warner lives on the ne 1/4 of sec.
18, t. 12, r. 22, in Wa-Keeney township.
He has 25 acres of corn, put at 35 bus.
per acre; 5 acres of millet, which will
make 2 tons to the acre; an acre of
good potatoes; half an acre of splendid
melons.
C. H. Benson is not a farmer. He
keeps the Ogallah store, and does not
want to be missed in the great write-up
of Trego county. So, read the following:
You can buy your goods of Benson Bros.,
at Ogallah, as cheaply for cash as you
can anywhere in the county. They keep
everything that is to be found in a first
class store. What you can't see, call for.
They have it, and don't you forget it.
Don't forget the place, at the Ogallah
Store, Ogallah, Kansas.
Capt J. M. Welch, of the sw 1/4 of sec
30, t. 11, r. 23, was visited Tuesday evening,
Aug. 9. He has 25 acres of sorghum,
which, he thinks will make 2 tons to the
acre; 30 acres of millet, which may be
called a fair crop. The captain has 104
head of cattle, which he claims to be the
nicest bunch in Trego county. He backs
us in this expression.
J. B. Walker has the w 1/2 sec 7, t. 11, r.
23. He has 75 acres of extra-good sorghum; 35 acres of fair millet; 10 acres
of oats; an acre and a half of good potatoes and an extra melon patch of half an
acre. Mr. Walker has 1,950 sheep in
first-class order.
Rev. T. W. Miller has about 3,000 sheep
in good order. He will have enough
rough feed to last him if the winter is not
too rough. He also has a nice bunch of
horses.
Mrs. Lyddie Richardson has all of sec
8, t. 12, r 22. She has 25 acres of corn;
60 acres of wheat and rye; 20 acres of
oats; 30 acres of millet. All of these will
make a fair crop. She also has 6 acres
of sorghum, 240 cabbages and 1 acre of
good potatoes.
A. S. Hughes has the se 1/4 of sec 34, t.
11, r. 21. He has 35 acres of corn, which
he thinks will make 20 bus. per acre; 2
acres of millet, 2 tons to the acre; 2
acres of potatoes, which are a fair crop.
A. S. Barnes has the nw 1/4 of sec 26, t.
11, r. 21. He has 60 acres of corn, which
he thinks will average 15 bushels per
acre; 3 acres of Irish potatoes; about 600
sweet potato vines; 12 head of cattle in
good order.
G. A. Douglas, on the se 1/4 of sec 14, t.
11, r. 21, has 10 acres of corn, estimated
at 20 bushels to the acre; 3 acres of sorghum; 5 acres of rice corn, which he
thinks will make 50 bushels per acre.
Some of the old settlers will remember
when they planted rice corn almost
exclusively, because it stood the drouth
better than maize.
H. M. Hallock has the w 1/2 sec 24, t. 11,
r. 21, and has 20 acres of corn, estimated
at 20 bushels per acre; 10 acres of millet,
2 tons to the acre; 1 acre of potatoes; 24
head of fat cattle. Judging from what he
said, he intends to keep his cattle so. He
said he was going to put up 100 tons of
prairie hay.
T. S. Howe lives on the e 1/2 of sec 26,
t. 11, r. 21. He has 25 acres of corn, which
he thinks will make 40 bushels per acre;
40 acres of good late corn, which yet remains unmolested, but he can not say
how much it will make. He also has 10
acres of sorghum, which will make about
5 tons to the acre; 6 acres of oats, which
will make about 35 bushels per acre; 3
acres of potatoes, which he guesses at 450
bushels; his garden is extra. Mr. Howe
has 37 head of cattle, which are in good
order, and 23 head of hogs. He has
planted an orchard of 115 trees.
A. A. Cockrell has the nw 1/4 of sec 35,
t. 11, r. 21. He has 45 acres of corn; 5
acres of sorghum; 8 acres of oats; 30
aores of wheat. He has 85 acres of his
160 broken. His crops are all on sod,
and he thinks they have done as well as
could have been expected. He also
states that he is well pleased with the
country.
J. E. Cockrell, father of A. A. Cockrell,
has the sw 1/4 of sec 35, t. 11, r. 21. He
says he has 25 acres of corn, which will
make 50 bushels per acre without a
doubt; 4 acres of sorghum, 5 tons to the
acre; 5 acres of oats, 45 bushels per acre;
14 acres of potatoes.
S. T. H. Baird lives on the se 1/4 of sec
35, t. 11, r. 21. He has 80 acres of corn,
which will average 25 bushels per acre; 9
acres of sorghum; 4 acres of millet, 3 tons
per acre; 40 acres of wheat, 10 bushels
per aore; 16 acres of oats, 30 bushels per
acre; 3 acres of Irish potatoes; acre of
sweet potatoes; a good garden a better
one that he has had in Illinois for 6 years.
Mr. Baird says that it beats Illinois to
death, from his way of thinking.
Edward Griffith has the s 1/2 of sec 26,
t 11, r 21, and the nw 1/4 of sec 2, t. 12, r.
21. He came here in the latter part of
May, so his 10 acres of corn was planted
late, but it is very good, and will make a
good crop in time. He has 50 acres of
sod broken, has built a large house and a
barn, has bought 5 head of cattle, and is
well pleased with his prospects and the
country.
David Griffith has a homestead on the
se 1/4 of sec 2, t. 12 r. 21. He has a little
corn; an apple orchard of 50 trees; about
a quarter of an acre of extra melons, and
a few castor beans planted around his
house. This kind of beans seem to do
well in western Kansas.
Mrs. J. M. Cook has the se 1/4 of sec 11,
t. 12, r. 21. She has 1 acre of potatoes; a
good garden, including 150 cabbages.
Mrs. Cook is a widow, and rents most of
her ground.
Captain Joseph Runyon has the e 1/2 of
sec 10, t. 12, r. 21. Mr. B. has 30 acres of
corn, whioh he places at 50 bushels per
jtcre, and 5 acres of corn, at 15 bushels
per acre, making in all 85 acres; 10 acres
of oats, 35 bushels per acre; 10 acres of
millet, fair for sod; 1 acres of sorghum,
5 tons per acre; 2 acres of good potatoes.
His timber grove is doing nicely. Mr.
Runyon thinks he will have enough
peaches for his own use this year. He
also has apple trees in bearing. His cattle, 51 in all, are in good condition.
Wm. Webster has the sw 1/4 of sec 12,
t. 12, r. 21. He has 50 acres of corn, which
will average 30 bushels per acre; 1 acre
of fair potatoes and 150 cabbages.
John Cotton has the nw 1/4 of sec 14, t.
12, r. 21. He has 40 acres of corn, which
will average 30 bushels per acre, and 2
acres of good sorghum.
W. J. Glasby, on the nw 1/4 of sec 10, t.
12, r. 21, has 40 acres of corn, which will
make about 15 bushels per acre, and 3
acres of potatoes. He is putting up considerable hay.
Hngh Caskey is on sec. 14, t. 13, r. 22.
He has 8 acres of corn, estimated at 15 bus.
per acre; 11 acres of oats, at 50 bus. per
acre; 10 acres of wheat, at 8 bus. per
acre; 24 acres of potatoes, at 160 per
acre; Mr. Caskey also has lots of timber
around his homestead. He has apple,
peach and cherry trees, grape vines, and
various kinds of berries growing nicely,
and bearing this year. His garden is extra, there being, among other things, 500
cabbages.
Thos. Tarpy has some nice corn and
good potatoes and a good garden, the
most of which he has sold in the market.
Chas. Cludas has the se 1/4 of sec. 8,
t. 12, r. 21. He has 20 acres of corn, which
he guesses at 35 bus. to the acre; 221 bus.
of extra oats; an acre of potatoes which
are up to the average, one acre of extra
watermelons; 11 acres of timber, which is
doing well, half of which is nursery stock.
Mr. Cludas has a young orchard started.
He also has strawberries, blackberries,
grapes, etc.
Ex-County Commissioner Glick owns
the s of sec. 20, t. 12, r. 20. Mr. Fidler
is farming Mr. Glick's land. He has 60
acres of good corn, his rye is a fair crop,
and his garden is good. Mr. Glick's
timber on his tree claim is looking nice,
considering the dry weather.
Geo. W. Houseman has the w 1/2 of sec
26, t. 12, r. 21. He has 55 acres of corn,
which will be a fair crop; 10 acres of volunteer millet, which will make about 1
ton to the acre; 9 acres of potatoes averaging about 60 bus. to the acre. His
cattle are in good condition. He aims
to put up about 100 tons of hay.
C. F. McLean is on the se of sec.
34, t. 12, r. 21. He has 120 acres of corn,
which he estimates at 30 bus. per acre; 6
acres of wheat, at 10 bus. per acre; 5
acres of oats, at 50 bus. per acre; 8 acres
of millet, which will average 4 tons to the
acre; 1 acre of potatoes, which he thinks
will make 200 bushels. He presented to
me a potato 12x19 inches in circumference. He wants to put up about 75 tons
of prairie hay.
J. Madsen, on the nw 1/4 of sec. 2, t. 13,
r. 21, has 40 acres of corn, which will
make about 25 bus. per acre; 4 acres of
fair oats; 4 acres of millet, about 2 tons
to the acre; 2 acres of potatoes, about 60
bus. to the acre, and a good garden.
Mr. Madsen expects to put up about 75
tons of prairie hay.
M. T. Morgan and son live on the w 1/2
of sec. 34, t. 12, r. 21. They have 60 acres
of corn; 12 acres of oats, 40 bus. per acre;
20 acres of sorghum, 4 tons to the acre,
and a good garden.
K. W. Phelps lives on the Pat Hickey
place, 4 miles west of Ellis. He has 40
acres of corn, which will make 20 bus. per
acre; 5 acres of millet, which he thinks
will make 3 tons per acre. He has lived
here 6 months, and finds that the place
suits him as well as he had expected, if
not better.
Fred Hemisegger has the ne 1/4 of sec.
12, t. 13, r. 21. He has 60 acres of corn,
put at 25 bus. per acre; 30 acres of oats,
at 50 bus. per aore; 10 acres of sorghum,
at 3 tons per acre; acres of extra po
tatoes. He expects to put up 80 tons of
prairie hay. He has lived here a year,
and likes the place.
Geo. W. Cross, on the sw 1/4 of sec. 10
t. 23, r. 21, has 21 acres of corn, which he
thinks will make 25 bushels per acre on
an average; 9 acres of wheat, 15 bus.
per acre; 6 acres of oats, 30 bus. per acre,
and about 1,000 cabbages. Mr. Cross
has 39 head of cattle, looking as well as
he ever saw them. He has 6,000 black
locust trees in nursery rows, which have
grown 2 1/2 feet in height from the seeds
this year.
W. F. King lives on sec 8, t. 14, r. 21.
He has 10 acres of late corn, which has
not been damaged by the hot wind or dry
weather, and will make heavy corn if it
holds out; 15 acres of sorghum, 5 tons
per acre; 4 acres of fair oats; 1,200 sheep
doing nicely; 90 head of cattle in good
condition. He has 11 acres of timber,
some of which has made a growth of 7
feet this summer. Mr. King says he
wants to put up 200 tons of hay this year
if he can.
Mr. King, father of W. R., has 10 acres
of millet, whieh he thinks will go 2 tons
per acre; 20 acres of corn, 15 bus. per
acre; 10 acres of late corn, which,
with frequent rains, will make a good
crop.
John Locker has 1/4 of sec 12, t. 14, r. 22.
He has 67 acres of good corn and 1 acre
of potatoes.
Gus. Sundell, on sec. 12, t. 14 r. 22, has
20 acres of corn, which he says will make
40 bus. per acre. He also has 2 extra
colts.
Ben. C. Rich has the w 1/2 of sec 22, t. 13,
r. 22. He has 10 acres of extra sorghum,
which will make about 6 tons per acre,
And 10 acres which will make 2 tons per
acre; 460 bushels of small grain; 65 fat cattle. Mr. Rich has 8 varieties of trees on
his timber claim; Some of his walnut
trees are bearing nuts this season. He
has 13 acres of timber on his
John Allman lives on sec 30, t. 14, r. 21.
He has 300 head of cattle in good order,
100 of which are steers in excellent condition. 100 acres, fenced, constitutes his
farming land. He has 35 acres in corn,
looking nice; 20 acres of millet, uninjured
by bugs; 10 acres of trees, looking nice,
all of which are from 8 to 10 feet high.
The most of his trees are black locust.
He has 35 acres of sorghum and a nice
young orchard.
H. P. Nelsen, on sec. 34, t. 13, r. 22, has
4 acres of early corn, which will make 25
bus. per acre. He also has 183 bus. of
wheat.
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This website created March 13, 2012 by Sheryl McClure.
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