|
Year |
Event |
|
|
|
|
1854 |
Swiss
immigrants first arrived and settled in Potawatomie, Nemaha, and Allen
Counties. |
|
Mid 1800’s |
Immigrant
from Germany starts building a mill in Reamsville. It was completed in 1879. |
|
1857 |
A
group of German immigrants settled in Allen County and founded the towns of
Humboldt and Iola. They also settled
in Wabaunsee County and founded the town of Alma. They also had large
settlements in Leavenworth, Seneca and Topeka. County THE WELSH towns of Llanfynydd, Corwen,
Cyfarthfa, Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil, Anglesey, and Aberystwyth figuratively
became Carbondale, Reading, Burlingame, Arvonia, Lebo, and Emporia in Kansas
as natives of Wales settled in this country west of the Mississippi in search
of "the land of milk and honey." Wales was not a rich agricultural
country and at the beginning of the 19th century there had been a series of
bad harvests followed by famine. The dream of owning one's own plot of land
might come true in America. Even the miners in South Wales thought they could
find riches in the new land. Flowery brochures were printed in Welsh
newspapers offering cheap land to the emigrant as illustrated in a Union
Pacific railroad advertisement describing the Nebraska-Kansas area as a land
where "the gentle Spring and wonderful Summer pour down their blessing
from overflowing coffers and only the playing of the red deer and the
wonderful singing of the birds break the silence. Wagon roads which reveal
the black earth, cross green and verdant slopes where the tall grass of the
prairies waves in the breeze." The first Welshmen came to Emporia
in 1857, the year the town was formed by five men from Lawrence. [5] Land in
Kansas at this time was under the PreÎmption act of 1841 which provided that
the head of a family, a widow, or a single man over 21 years of age could
file a claim for 160 acres of the public domain. The settler was required by
this law to erect a dwelling on the claim, make proof of his settlement to
the register and receiver at the land office. Then the settler was allowed to
purchase the claim, which was usually $1.25 an acre. The site for
Emporia was an excellent one as it lay in rich fertile land between two
rivers, the Neosho and the Cottonwood; and yet the town itself was located
beyond the reach of floods. An abundance of timber was available, which was
to play an important part in the economic adjustment of the first settlers. [7] Limestone
was abundant; and coal was discovered early in the county. Good sand for
building was found along the entire length of the Cottonwood. He built and operated a sawmill on
the Cottonwood and another on the Neosho river near Forest Hill called
"Humphrey and Goodwill." By the summer of 1860 the county supported
seven saw mills.
Edward Bennett Morris was a miner in Wales. He brought his wife, Anna
Williams, and six children to America in 1854, following the coal mining
industry through Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Illinois. In 1858
he settled south of Emporia on Coal creek and later moved into town buying
property on Merchant street. One of his sons, D. W. Morris, became a druggist
and at his death two of his grandsons, Edward and Warren, took over the
family business. It is still operating under the name of Harris Drug Company.
[
In 1869 a Welshman named Lewis Lewis left his homeland because his doctor
told him he had tuberculosis and could not live in that climate. Accompanied
by his brother, he came to America, emigrating to St. Paul, Minn. Both of
them joined a group who were coming to Kansas. In Wales Lewis had been a
building contractor, so he continued in that profession in Emporia, working
for the Santa Fe railroad. Perhaps the greatest contribution
the Welsh have given to Emporia is their love of good music, especially good
singing. It was natural they would bring their festivals and folk songs with
them when they came to this country. Walter and Evan were the youngest
sons of J. D. W. Jones, a Welshman who was brought to the United States by
his parents and settled in Ohio. Here he grew up and married Margaret
Griffiths, a member of another Welsh family from Cincinnati, Ohio. J. D. W.
decided to come west to Kansas where he believed there would be greater
opportunities for his family. They settled near Emporia where J. D. W. began
to succeed as a cattleman. He became known as "Cattleman" Jones for
the large number of cattle he raised and shipped to market. |
|
1860 |
French
– Cloud County |
|
1860 |
Irish
were located in large numbers near Chapman (Dickinson County), near Seneca
(Nemaha County), at Boston (Chautauqua County), and in Pottawatomie County. |
|
1861 |
Kansas
was admitted into the Union as the 34th state on January 29, 1861. |
|
1862 |
Homestead Act created to help settle western public lands. |
|
1867-71 |
Swedish
– Lyon, Morris, Osage, Republic, Pottawatomie, & Rile Counties. At first the men worked on the building of
the Santa Fe railroad, which in 1870 had reached Osage City. Later they
worked in the stone quarry and strip mines. |
|
1869 |
Norwegian
– Republic County |
|
1869 |
French
colony of Silkville (Franklin County) was founded for development of the silk
industry. |
|
1870 |
English/Dutch
– Jewell |
|
1871 |
Many
Italians came to the coal-mining region of southeast Kansas. They settled in
Crawford County (Arma, Bruce, Mulberry, Pittsburg, Litchfield) and Cherokee
County (Stilson/Scammon, Wier City, West Mineral). |
|
1872 |
British
(English) town of Victoria was established. |
|
1874 |
1700
German Mennonites immigrated to Kansas from Russia. They settled in Harvey County and founded Halstead where they
built a flourmill by the Arkansas River. They settled in Reno County and
founded Buhler – one of the oldest Mennonite Brethren churches in
Kansas. They also settled in Marion
County (Hillsboro) and North Newton.
Settlers bring “Turkey Red” wheat grains with them from Russia. |
|
|
Swedish-speaking settlers who came to Stotler in 1874. The first years of life in Stotler were trying ones for these colonists. All the settlers were poor and could afford only the most meager living. Many times the meals consisted of black bread and coffee or mush and milk. Before wells were dug, water was taken from the creek. Farming did not progress rapidly. Each settler could at first break up only eight or ten acres. For a number of years corn was planted by hand, a hole being made with a hoe and the corn dropped in and then covered. This was customarily the children's task. Quite early some of the families commenced using hand planters. A two-shovel plow drawn by one horse served as the first cultivator. Corn, cattle, and hogs could not be sold for cash as they are today. Hence the settler would barter a hog or bushel of corn for clothing or groceries in Burlingame or Osage City. If he purchased a plow or other implement, he paid for it with cattle or hogs. Money was scarce, and interest rates were high. There were no banks nearby, and if money was to be borrowed, it had to be obtained from well-to-do individuals, who charged around 20 percent interest. Many were the hardships that the Swedish pioneers suffered. Prairie fires were a constant hazard. Grasshoppers destroyed crops and left the pioneers destitute. Sickness took its tragic toll. In the community cemetery, which is today neglected and almost forgotten, lie the bodies of some seventy or eighty of these pioneer Swedes. Many of them were children who were unable to withstand the hardships of pioneer life. Many incidents are related about the hardships, which the Swedes suffered when working in the Fagan woods. The men's bedding was spread on boards in the open air. In the morning they often awoke to find several inches of snow on their beds. The hardships of pioneer life fell equally heavy on the
women. It was their task to care for the homes during the long weeks when the
men were away working. Bravely they met the Indians when they came to the
doors to beg for food. |
|
1876 |
Volga
Germans, German Catholics who emigrated from Russia, founded small western
towns such as Catherine, Munjor, Pfeifer, Schoenchen, and Liebenthal in the
middle 18702’s. |
|
1874 - 79 |
Swiss
and German Mennonites from Russia founded Bethel College at Newton. |
|
1876 |
Middle-class
English gentleman emigrated to Victoria, to engage in farming. They were not successful and left. |
|
1876 |
English
– Clay, Ellis, and Harper County |
|
1876 |
Bohemian/Czech
– Ellsworth, Marion, & Rawlins (Prag) Counties |
|
1876-79 |
Irish
- Anderson, Franklin & Jewell Counties |
|
1877 |
African-Americans,
called “Exodusters”, migrate from the South, and settled in Nicodemus. |
|
1878 |
Danish
– Lincoln |
|
1877
– 81 |
Austrian
– Brown |
|
1878-79 |
German
Mennonite – Dickinson County |
|
1878-79 |
German
Hungarian – Rawlins County |
|
1881 |
Swedish
immigrants founded Bethany College of Lindsborg. |
|
1182 |
First
group of Russian Jews settle in the colony of Beersheba. |
|
1885-86 |
Swedish
– Gove County |
|
1887-87 |
German-Ellis
County |
|
1888 |
Many
large Swedish colonies were being settled in western Kansas. The Swedish Colonization Company sold
nearly 50,000 acres in the past seven month to immigrants moving to Kansas. |
|
1888 |
A
colony of English people settled near Runnymede, Harper County and
established farms and cattle ranches. |
|
1891 |
Forty-seven
German Russians located in the settlement south of Russell. The immigration
bureau in New York detained thirteen others. |
|
1902 |
A
colony of Swedes bought 3,900 acres of land in Lyon and Greenwood counties
for $50,000. They planned to farm the
land. |
|
1900 |
The
last ethnic groups to enter Kansas in large numbers were Spanish-speaking
Mexicans, brought to the state as laborers for various Railroad companies.
They settled mainly in Railroad centers. |
|
1913 |
A
Russian colony of 27 persons built homes in Finney County. |
|
1920s |
Large
numbers of Arabs leave Syria and settle in Wichita, Kansas. |
Sources:
www.ukans.edu/heritage/owk/128/lineoftime.html
http://www.kshs.org/library/khq/1971/71_3_berneking.htm
http://www.kshs.org/library/khq/1935/35_2_olson.htm
Wichita Eagle, May 7, 2002