Fredrick Glonar Countryman (22 Jul 1866 – 11 Nov 1948)

Fredrick Glonar Countryman was born on 22 Jul 1866 at Ovid in Seneca County, New York (781, 782, 788). He was the second child of George Washington Countryman and Amelia Alice (Kniseley) Countryman. At Fred Countryman’s birth, his father was 27 years old, and his mother was 21. Fred Countryman’s mother Amelia was a daughter of Elijah M. Kniseley and Abby Jane (Benjamin) Kniseley (771).

The 13 Jun 1870 federal census of Seneca County, New York enumerates the household of George W. Countryman and his wife, Ameilia Countryman (524). George was 30 years old and Amelia (Kniseley) Countryman was age 24. The George W. Countryman household included four children: William L. Countryman, age 5 years; Frederick G. Countryman, age 3; Emma J. Countryman, age 2; and Samuel E. Countryman, age 10 months and born in August. All members of the household were born in New York. George W. Countryman worked as a stone mason. Amelia Countryman held real estate valued at $1,200 and a personal estate of $150.

In May of 1876, the George Washington Countryman family migrated from Seneca County, New York to Larned in Pawnee County, Kansas, arriving by excursion train on 10 May 1876 (760, 783). Fred Countryman was nine years old. George W. Countryman’s mother, Abby Jane (Benjamin) Kniseley, accompanied the family to Kansas. Fred Countryman’s father, George Countryman, went to Kansas a year ahead of the family. Fred Countryman would later explain that his father came to Kansas to find work as a brick mason and to acquire land near the developing railroads (760).

At about 12 years of age, Fred Countryman began herding cattle on the Bartlett and Badger Ranch in Edwards County, Kansas (760). Edwards County was adjacent to Pawnee County on the south, and the George W. Countryman was near the county line.

At the 1880 federal census, Frederick G. Countryman age 13 was living in his father’s household in the Garfield Township of Pawnee County, Kansas and working as a farm hand (362). His father, George W. Countryman was 41 years old and working as a brick mason. Amelia Countryman, Fred Countryman’s mother, was 33 years old. The census enumerates six children: William L. Countryman, 15 years old and working as a herder; Emma J. Countryman, 12 years old; Samuel E. Countryman, 11 years old; John V. Countryman, 9 years old; George W. Countryman, Jr., 6 years old; and Katharine Countryman, 4 years old. All of the children of George and Ameilia Countryman were born in New York.

At the 1885 Kansas state census, the composition of the George Countryman household in the Garfield Township of Pawnee County, Kansas was unchanged from 1880 with the exception of an additional son, Charles E. Countryman who was two years old in 1885 (762). The 1 Mar 1895 Kansas State Census enumerates Fred Countryman as 28 years of old and living at Valley in Reno County, Kansas (785).

Fred Countryman worked on the Bartlett and Badger Ranch until 1887 when he entered an apprenticeship to a blacksmith at Great Bend in Barton County, Kansas, about 22 miles northeast of Larned (760). He ran in the Oklahoma land race of 1889 and staked a claim at the current location of Dover in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma. Later, he explained that there was a “little dispute about who the place belonged to,” so he sold to the other party and returned to Great Bend, Kansas, where he stayed until about 1891 (760).

On 16 Feb 1896, Fred G. Countryman and Maude Ellen Griffith married at Midway Station in Ellsworth County, Kansas (782). Midway Station was a rural railway station about half-way between Geneseo and Kanoplis, Kansas (790). Born on 25 Feb 1879 at Geneseo in Rice County, Kansas, Maude Ellen Griffith was a daughter of Michael John Griffith and Agnes Leticia (Livingston) Griffith. At their marriage, Fred Countryman was 29 years old, and Maude Ellen Griffith was age 16.

Between 1896 and 1899, Fred and Maude Ellen Countryman lived in Rice County, Kansas. Their first child, George Washington Countryman, was born on 4 Jan 1897 at Mitchell in Rice County, Kansas (787). A daughter, Amelia Alice Countryman, was born on 19 Dec 1899 at Galt in Rice County.

Before 1905, Frederick Glonar Countryman settled on land in Woods County, Oklahoma north of the Salt Fork River within Section 27 in Township 27 North of Range 9 West of the Indian Meridian. This land was about two miles northeast of the Great Salt Lake in Woods County. According to the 1910 federal census of Alfalfa County, Oklahoma, Fred Countryman rented this property.

The 1910 federal census of the Beard Township of Alfalfa County, Oklahoma enumerates the household of Fred Countryman, 44 years old and working as a farmer (778). Both of Fred Countryman’s parents were reported as born in New York. Fred Countryman’s wife, Maud Countryman, was 32 years old and born in Kansas. Both of her parents were reported as born in Ohio. Six children were living in the Fred Countryman household: George Countryman, 13 years old and born in Kansas; Cornelia Countryman, 11 years old and born in Kansas; Lewis Countryman, 10 years old and born in Kansas; Paul Countryman, 10 years old and born in Oklahoma; Frank, 4 years old and born in Oklahoma; and Dorce Countryman, one year old and born in Oklahoma.

In Apr 1913, the Fred G. Countryman household migrated from Alfalfa County, Oklahoma to Fairview in Major County, Oklahoma (760). Fred and Maude Countryman remained residents of Fairview the remainder of their lives.

At the 14 Jan 1920 federal census of Fairview in Major County, Oklahoma, Fred Countryman was 59 years old and working as a blacksmith in a shop that he owned (748). His wife Maude Countryman was 40 years old. Fred Countryman reported that he was born in New York as were both his father and mother. Maude Countryman reported both parents as born in Ohio. Seven children were living in the Fred Countryman household: George W. Countryman, 23 years old working as a blacksmith; Louis Countryman, 19 years old; Frank G., age 13 years; Doris G., age 11; Agnes L., age 9; Fannie L., age 5; and Georgia W. Countryman, 1 year old. The census enumerates George W. Countryman as born in Kansas; all other children were born in Oklahoma.

The 1930 federal census enumerates the Fred G. Countryman household on 22 Apr 1930 as Fred G. Countryman, 63 years old, and born in New York (780). Both of Fred Countryman’s parents were recorded as born in New York. Fred Countryman’s wife, Maude Countryman, was 51 years old and born in Kansas. Both of Maude Countryman’s parents were born in Ohio. At their marriage, Fred Countryman was 30 years old, and Maude Countryman was 17 years old.Also living in the household were three children: George W. Countryman, 33 years old and born in Kansas; Fannie L. Countryman, 16 years old and born in Oklahoma; and Georgia W. Countryman, 11 years old and born in Oklahoma. The census enumerates Agness Montgomery, a daughter of Fred and Maude Countryman, and her husband Cyril E. Montgomery with the Fred G. Countryman household. Agness Montgomery was 19 years old and born in Oklahoma. Cyril E. Montgomery was 24 years old and born in Oklahoma. At their marriage, Agness Montgomery was 19 years old and Cyril E. Montgomery was 24 years old. Fred G. Countryman held real estate valued at $1,500.

The 7 May 1940 federal census of Fairview in Major County, Oklahoma enumerates the Fred G. Countryman household (779). Fred Countryman was 73 years old and born in New York. His wife Maude E. Countryman was 63 years old and born in Kansas. Fred Countryman responded to supplemental questions to state that his father was born in Holland and that his mother was born in New York. Fred Countryman was working as a Blacksmith. Fred Countryman completed school through the 8th grade. He owned the property he lived in and Fred and Maude Countryman were living in the same house in 1935. The census enumerates the household of Fred Countryman’s oldest son, George W. Countryman at the adjacent property.

Fred Countryman retired as a blacksmith in 1943, but maintained a shop behind his home in Fairview, Oklahoma where his oldest son, George Washington Countryman continued the trade.

Fredrick Glonar Countryman died on 11 Nov 1948 of injuries he incurred during an assault and robbery at his blacksmith shop behind his home in Fairview, Oklahoma (782, 786, 788). His remains are buried in Lot 18, Block B in Fairview Cemetery, Major County, Oklahoma (786).

Notes and Comments

The 1870 federal census enumerates Fredrick Glonar Countryman as Frederick G. Countryman, three years old and living in the George W. Countryman household (542).

The 1895 Kansas state census on 1 Mar 1895 enumerates Fred G. Countryman as 28 years old and born in New York (785). Apparently two other persons with the surname Countryman were living in the same household; however, the census only recorded their initials. Fred G. Countryman did not marry Maude Ellen Countryman until 16 Feb 1896. The other household members are more likely his siblings. A three year old male may have been a child of a 22 year old female with first initial F.

Fred Countryman recalled Midway, Kansas (760):

It was out in the jungles, called Midway - just a section house, in the middle of a 17,000 acre cattle ranch. The Pacific Railway leaves Wichita and at that time connected with the main line of the Missouri-Pacific that went through Geneseo, and they wanted to extend it to Kanapolis and went right through those hills and in order to do that they had              and the ranchman specified what it was to be in the way of a depot and they put that depot there and called it Midway, just half way between Genoseo and Kanapolis and stationed a section boss there, and it went both way, down to Genoseo and up to Kanapolis.

Woods County, Oklahoma was created in Oklahoma Territory from part of the Cherokee Outlet on 16 Sep 1893. Alfalfa and Major Counties were created from parts of Woods County on 16 Nov 1907. Township 27 North of Range 9 West of the Indian Meridian was within that part of Woods County that became Alfalfa County.

The 1910 federal census of Alfalfa County, Oklahoma enumerates Maude Ellen (Griffith) Countryman as Maud Countryman, Louis Countryman as Lewis Countryman, and Doris Gladys Countryman as Dorce Countryman.

At Fairview in Major County, Oklahoma, the Fred G. and Maude Ellen Countryman family resided at 201 South 3rd Street.

Sources

362. George Countryman Household. 1880 U.S. Federal Census, Garfield, Pawnee County, Kansas, 4 Jun 1880. Enumeration District: 369, Roll T9_392, Family History Film 1254392, Page 55.1000, Image 0763. (Images: Ancestry.com. Image on file)

542. George W. Countryman Household, 1870 U.S. Federal Census, Ovid, Seneca County, New York, 13 Jun 1870. Roll M593_1093, Page 119A, Image 243, Family History Library Film 552592. (Images: Ancestry.com. Image on file.)

748. Fred Countryman Household, 1920 U.S. Federal Census, Fairview, Major County, Oklahoma, 14 Jan 1920. Roll T625_1472, Page 11A, Enumeration District 158, Image 179. (Images: Ancestry.com. Images on file.)

760. Recollections of Fredrick Glonar Countryman, Fairview, Major County, Oklahoma, ca 1938. (Originals and images on file.)

762. George Washington Countryman Household, 1885 Kansas State Census, Garfield, Pawnee County, Kansas. Roll KS1885_105, Line 8. (Images: Ancestry.com. Images on file.)

771. Elijah M. Kniseley Household, 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Varick Township, Seneca County, New York, 13 Sep 1850. Varick, Roll M432_597, Page 65, Image 132. (Images: Ancestry.com. Image on file.)

778. Fred Countryman Household, 1910 U.S. Federal Census, Beard, Alfalfa County, Oklahoma, 20 Apr 1910. Roll T624_1242, Page 3A, Enumeration District 0002, FHL microfilm 1375255. (Images: Ancestry.com. Images on file.)

779. Fred G. Countryman Household, 1940 U.S. Federal Census, Fairview, Major County, Oklahoma, 7 May 1940. Roll T627_3310, Page 21B, Enumeration District 47-10. (Images: Ancestry.com. Image on file.)

780. Fred G. Countryman Household, 1930 U.S. Federal Census, Fairview, Major County, Oklahoma, 22 Apr 1930. Roll 1914, Page 18A, Enumeration District 0010, Image 703.0, FHL microfilm 2341648. (Images: Ancestry.com. Image on file.)

781. Fred Glonar Countryman Memorial Book, Speece Funeral Home, Fairview, Major County, Oklahoma, 22 Aug 1948. (Original and images on file.)

782. Obituary, Fredrick Glonar Countryman, Major County, Oklahoma. 1948. (Original and image on file.)

783. Connelley, William Elsey. A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans. Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1919.

785. Fred Countryman, 1895 Kansas State Census, Valley, Reno County, Kansas, USA, 1 Mar 1895. Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, Kansas; 1895 Kansas Territory Census, Roll v115_127, Line 25. (Images: Ancestry.com. Image on file.)

786. Gravestone, Fred G. and Maude Ellen Countryman, Fairview Cemetery, Fairview, Major County, Oklahoma. Find A Grave Memorial 79193293. (Images: Find A Grave, Image on file.)

787. Gravestone. George Washington and Anna Frances Countryman. Fairview Cemetery, Major County, Oklahoma. Find A Grave Memorial 27846210. (Images: Find A Grave. Image on file.)

788. Fredrick Glonar Countryman Family Sheet. Fairview, Major County, Oklahoma, ca 1940. Handwritten by Fredrick Glonar Countryman. (Original and images on file.)

790. Plat Book of Ellsworth County, Kansas. Northwest Publishing Col, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1901. (Images: Kansas Historical Society. Images on file.)
URL: http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/209378

Fredrick Glonar Countryman Census Summary

1870 U.S. Federal Census (542)
Ovid, Seneca County, New York
13 Jun 1870
George W. Countryman, a: 33, b: New York (Stone Mason)
+Amelia (Kniseley) Countryman a: 24, b: New York
William L. Countryman a: 5, b: New York
Frederick G. Countryman a: 3, b: New York
Emma J. Countryman a: 2, b: New York
Samuel E. Countryman, a: 11/12, b: New York
Amelia Countryman: Real estate value: $1,200 and personal estate: $150

1880 U.S. Federal Census (362)
George Washington Countryman Household
Garfield Township, Pawnee County, Kansas
4 Jun 1880
George Countryman, a: 41, b: New York (Brick Mason)
Father b: Pennsylvania, Mother b: Pennsylvania
+Amelia Countryman (Kniseley), a: 33, b: New York
Father b: New York, Mother b: New York
William L. Countryman, a: 15, b: New York (Herder)
Frederick G. Countryman, a: 13, b: New York (Farm Hand)
Emma J. Countryman, a: 12, b: New York
Samuel E. Countryman, a: 11, b: New York
John V. Countryman, a: 9, b: New York
George W. Countryman, a: 6, b: New York
Katharine Countryman, a: 4, b: New York

1885 Kansas State Census (762)
George Countryman Household
Garfield Township, Pawnee County, Kansas
George Countryman, a: 46, b: New York (Stone Mason)
+Amelia Countryman, a: 38, b: New York
William L. Countryman, a: 20, b: New York
Fred G. Countryman, a: 18, b: New York
Emma Jane Countryman, a: 17, b: New York
Sam E. Countryman, a: 15, b: New York
John V. Countryman, a: 13, b: New York
George W. Countryman, a: 11, b: New York
Catherine Countryman, a: 9, b: New York
Charles E. Countryman, a: 2, b: Kansas

1895 Kansas State Census
Valley, Reno County, Kansas
1 Mar 1895
Fred Countryman, a: 28, b: New York

1900 U.S. Federal Census (777)
F. G. Countryman Household
Galt, Rice County, Kansas
4 Jun 1900
F. G. Countryman, a: 33, b: New York
+Maud Countryman, a: 21, b: Kansas
Father b: Ohio, Mother b: Ohio
Geo W Countryman, a: 3, b: Kansas
Amilia Countryman, a: 1, b: Kansas

1910 U.S. Federal Census (778)
Fred Countryman Household
Beard, Alfalfa County, Oklahoma
20 Apr 1910
Fred Countryman, a: 44, b: New York (Farmer)
Father b: New York; Mother b: New York
+Maud Countryman, a: 32, b: Kansas
Father b: Ohio; Mother b: Ohio
George Countryman, a: 13, b: Kansas
Cornelia Countryman, a: 11, b: Kansas
Lewis Countryman, a: 10, b: Kansas
Paul Countryman, a: 7, b: Oklahoma
Frank Countryman, a: 4, b: Oklahoma
Dorce Countryman, a: 1, b: Oklahoma
Maud Countryman was the mother of six children, all of whom were living.

1920 U.S. Federal Census (748)
Fred Countryman Household
Fairview, Major County, Oklahoma
14 Jan 1920
Fred Countryman, a: 59, b: New York (Blacksmith, Shop Owner)
Father b: New York, Mother b: New York
+Maude Countryman, a: 40, b: Kansas
Father b: Ohio, Mother b: Ohio
George W. Countryman, a: 23, b: Kansas (Blacksmith)
Louis Countryman, a: 19, b: Kansas
Frank G. Countryman, a: 13, b: Oklahoma
Doris G. Countryman, a: 11, b: Oklahoma
Agnes L. Countryman, a: 9, b: Oklahoma
Fannie L. Countryman, a: 5, b: Oklahoma
Georgia W. Countryman, a: 1, b: Oklahoma

1930 U.S. Federal Census (780)
Fred G. Countryman Household
Fairview, Major County, Oklahoma
Enumeration District: 47-10
22 Apr 1930
Fred G. Countryman, a: 63, b: New York (Blacksmith)
Father b: New York, Mother b: New York
+Maude Countryman, a: 51, b: Kansas
Father b: Ohio, Mother b: Ohio
George W. Countryman, a: 33, b: Kansas (Blacksmith)
Fannie L. Countryman, a: 16, b: Oklahoma
Georgia W. Countryman, a: 11, b: Oklahoma
Agness Montgomery, a: 19, b: Oklahoma
Cyril E. Montgomery, a: 24, b: Oklahoma (Son-in-Law)
Father b: USA; Mother b: USA
Real estate value: $500
The Fred G. Countryman home was located on Third Avenue at Fairview, Major County, Oklahoma.

1940 U.S. Federal Census (779)
Fred G. Countryman Household
Fairview, Major County, Oklahoma
7 May 1940
Fred G. Countryman, a: 73, b: New York (Blacksmith)
Father b: Holland, Mother b: New York
+Maude E. Countryman, a: 63, b: Kansas
Fred G. and Maude E. Countryman owned the house in which they lived, and it was valued at about $1,000.
On 1 Apr 1935, Fred G. Countryman and Maude E. (Griffith) Countryman were living in the same location.

Obituary

Frederick Glonar Countryman, born July 22, 1866, at Ovid, New York. Lived in Ovid, New York until he was 9 years old, when he went to Kinsley, Kansas, with his parents, who homesteaded there. He lived with his parents on the homestead and in that community until 1895, when he went to Midway, Kansas, where he met, and on Feb. 16, 1896, married Maude Ellen Griffith. This couple celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary on Feb. 16 of this year.

To this union were born 10 children: George Countryman of Fairview, Okla., Mrs. Amelia Summers of Winfield, Kans., Louis Countryman of Oklahoma City, Paul Countryman of Bakersfield, Calif., Frank Countryman of Lawton, Okla., Mrs. Doris Knoop of Longdale, Okla., Mrs. Agnes Montgomery of Harrisburg, Ore., Mrs. Fannie Emanuel of Denver, Colo., Mrs. Georgia Sutton of Los Angeles, Calif., Henry Countryman, who died in infancy.

Mr. Countryman was a blacksmith by trade. He and his wife and seven of the children came to Fairview 35 years ago. The other three children were born in Fairview. The family have lived in their home at 201 So. 3rd Ave. In Fairview for 30 years.

Mr. Countryman retired from active service as a blacksmith in 1943, at the age of 77 years.

He ran in the race when the Indian Territory was opened for settlement in 1889, homesteading near Dover, Okla.

He is survived by nine children, 28 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. He was a beloved husband, father and grandfather; a man of fine character, honest and trustworthy; a good friend and neighbor, respected and loved by all who know him; truly fulfilling Longfellow’s tribute to “The Village Blacksmith.”
                                                                                                    

Transcribed from an original newspaper clipping by William R. Emanuel, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, 23 Mar 2017. (Original spelling and punctuation retained.)

Recollections of Fredrick Glonar Countryman

I remember my grandparents on my mother's side of the house, and I just remember my grandfather on the other side of the house.

They were all born in New York State. My mother's people all came down from Connecticut, Virginia, and Rhode Island. They were born in New York State. Dad's father and mother were both born in New York State. I don't know what his grandfather did for a living. He was born in Holland. My grandfather on my father's side of the house was born in Holland. He was 17 years old when he came over here, with two older brothers, and was over here just a year and enlisted in the revolutionary war. I think the war was pretty well over with when he enlisted, and then after that war was over with, he came back to New York and then went over in Pennsylvania and married, then went back to New York. There were seven boys in that family. My father was the youngest of the seven. All boys in that family.

I was born in 1866 on the 22nd day of July, and on the 10th day of May, 1876, we landed out here at Larnard, Kansas. Father was a mason and a contractor. That's what took him west. He came out west to get 160 acres of land out there and improve it so as to make a value on a railroad company's land by the side of it. But the principal thing was to come west to get mason work, building and contracting. We all came on an excursion train. My father came out a year ahead of that, and my mother, grandmother, and six or seven of his kids. Ed was born out in Kansas. There were eight of us. Kate was born the winter before we came out. She was born in 1876.

My mother's folks came from Massachusetts to New York - The Benjamins and Cronks, and my mother's name was Nizley before she married Dad. Dad was married in New York. But Grandfather Countryman and Grandmother separated when Dad was just a small baby, and Grandmother and Grandfather Nizley raised him. Grandmother Countryman married a fellow by the name of Von Bleat and she had a boy named Charley Von Bleet.

Uncle Will was the oldest in his family and Dad next. Then Jane, Sam, John, George, Kate, and Ed.

There were 7 boys in Dad's Grandfather's family, and then when Grandmother remarried, she had another boy.
His mother's father died in 18-

Grandmother died in 1877, just out at Larnard a year and then about a year after that, Grandfather died in New York State. Grandfather Countryman died in New York State; but Grandmother Nizley came out here with us. She died and is buried in Larnard cemetery. She had a hard stroke.

They settled on that homestead. His father never preached. He was a licensed preacher, but he never did follow that as a profession. He just farmed. He just mostly worked at the mason trade until he retired, and then he went out on the farm; rented the land and stayed in the house and kept chickens and a few pigs. He never farmed to amount to anything. Grandmother Countryman died in 1911. Grandfather Countryman died in 1918. Both Grandfather and Grandmother are buried at Kinsley, Kansas.

I just worked on those ranches out there. I went to work on Bartlett and Badger ranch herding cattle. I was about 12 years old. Dad's dad laid first stone they ever laid in mortar. Shacks, just had loose rock or posts driven in the ground. The depot was a box car set off on rails beside the track. There were plenty of soldiers up at Ft. Larnard at that time. The indians were not fighting after we went there. They made one break. They went in west of us, and I think the soldiers up at Ft. Hayes headed them off, but we never had any fighting in there where we were.

I worked on Bartlett and Badger ranch when a pair of steers, unbroken and running in the herd, was worth 25 or 30 dollars apiece, and if broken so you could drive them, they were worth 100 to 125 dollars for a pair. They were closing out cattle and steers and for that reason they were breaking prairie and breaking steers. I used to drive 40 head all strung out, two abreast, breaking prairie. I worked there until 1887, and then I went down to Great Bend and got in blacksmith business.  That's where I learned the blacksmith trade. Horses began coming into the country. I just thought I wanted to shoe horses and I went in with a professional horse-shoer and worked with him one summer, and then I went into a   _________? shop. Now when you get next to that so you understand how it was done, it wasn't so much. It was always a day herder and a night herder. They ran about 600 head of cattle on that ranch and there were two or three cowboys on the ranch. Getting these cattle out in the morning, three or four to get them out. Just go in the corral, pull to snubbing post and put a yoke on him. In two teams. Each team pulled a 20-inch two-bottom gangplow ????   I had a shetland pony and I rode her to drive these cattle. I had a pair on the tongue and a pair on the front and in the middle fairly well broken those just hitched up, and in making rounds if an ox got astradle I                 him and he would jump back over. Four rounds. We had miles to work, clear across a section, and four rounds was a half days work and when we went four rounds turned loose to graze on the prairie and then hitched up again. I rode that pony, and when I cane to a corner I would jwnp off and grab the head team and turn them and if an ox got astraddle or out of line, he got the whip until he jumped back

I had been working here and there. I was in the feed barn business in Great Bend for a year and a half, and was in everything. I was in Rooks County a year and a half and at Stockton and worked in blacksmith shop part of time.

It was out in the jungles, called Midway - just a section house, in the middle of a 17,000 acre cattle ranch. The Pacific Railway leaves Wichita and at that time connected with the main line of the Missouri-Pacific that went through Geneseo, and they wanted to extend it to Kanapolis and went right through those hills and in order to do that they had              and the ranchman specified what it was to be in the way of a depot and they put that depot there and called it Midway, just half way between Genoseo and Kanapolis and stationed a section boss there, and it went both way, down to Gaaeseo and up to Kanapolis.

Mrs. G. W. Countryman, born January 22, 1846; died June 14, 1911 65 yrs., 5 mos. 14 days.

I went in about where Dover is now. I drove from Stockton, Rooks County, Kansas, to the opening of old Oklahoma. I think I staked the very claim Dover is on. I ran in the race 1889. I was about 22 years old.

Grandfather born in Holland. He was cross between English and Holland dutch.

There was a little dispute about who that place belonged to, so I sold out to him and went back to Great Bend, Kansas, and stayed until about 1891 until I came down here.

I drove all the way through from Stockton, Rooks County, Kansas, and I just kept piecing along that way and did not stop and cook anything until got to Anorita, nice grass and lots of water. Camped there overnight and nearly all day, then I cooked some beans, started to; put in a gallon syrup bucket and put over the camp fire. Put coffee in half gallon bucket and put the lid on it. The bean bucket got hot and the lid blew off and beans went all over the ground and there was coffee in them. When I came back through there in the fall, I stopped and picked green beans.

We got married and lived at Mitchell three years.Then I went to Gault three years, then came to Oklahoma. Ran a blacksmith shop in Gault. George was born at Mitchell January 4, 1897. We moved to Gault after George was born. Sis was born at Gault December 19, 1899. Bill was born at Gault August 1, 1900.

Moved to Oklahoma and took a claim in 1901 at Florence, Oklahoma, in Grant County. We lived across the county line in Woods County. Paul was born on the claim July 19, 1903. We lived there almost five years. We moved off the claim and crossed the river and lived on a farm across the river. We sold our claim and then just took our stock and went across the river and rented.

(Source: In about 1938, Fannie Lee (Countryman) Emanuel interviewed her father Fredrick Glonar Countryman at Fairview in Major County, Oklahoma, USA. Mrs. Emanuel recorded her father's narrative in Gregg Shorthand and later transcribed her shorthand into a typescript. That original typescript survives, and is in the possession of William R. Emanuel, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. William Emanuel transcribed the above version of the narrative from the original typescript.)

Bartlett and Badger Ranch

Edwin Bartlett and F. C. Badger were likely the proprietors of the Bartlett and Badger Ranch, located in Edwards County, Kansas. J. A. Walker's "Sketch of the History of Edwards County, Kansas" as reprinted in the Kansas Historical Quarterly states that "Edwin Bartlett also has ten acres in timber, chiefly cottonwood of one year's growth. Messrs. Bartlett and Badger have, together, upwards of forty-five acres of growing timber, about twelve acres of which were planted this spring." And that "Edwin Bartlett and F. C. Badger, sixteen hundred and ninety bushels of barley from forty acres, and twenty-eight bushels of winter wheat per acre."

Walker, J. A. "Views of Kinsley and Vicinity, and a Sketch of the History of Edwards County, Kansas, Edwards County Leader, Kinsley, Kansas, March 14, 28, 1878. Reprinted as J. A. Walker's Early History of Edwards County, The Kansas Historical Quarterly, 19: August, 1940. Available on Kansas Historical Society Web pages at http://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-historical-quarterly-...edwards-county/12837; Accessed: 3 Apr 2013.

Edwards County is adjacent to Pawnee County on the south. The George W. Countryman homestead in Pawnee County was on the boundary between between Pawnee and Edwards Counties.