Eva Brooks

EVA BROOKS
BORN          DIED
APR.12       DEC.24
1891.           1903.

12-year-old Eva Brooks died on Christmas Eve 1903. Very little of her and her family are mentioned in the Baldwin City newspapers. Her father, Lewis Brooks, was born a slave in Kentucky and came to Kansas in 1883, settling in Baldwin City--specifically Media (West Baldwin). There is no mention of a wife/mother or siblings and even the one mention of Eva isn't clear if they are the same person.

In October 1903, it was reported that the little child of Lewis Brooks was severely scalded. In January 1904, Lewis Brooks buried his infant daughter. I am just assuming they are the same child and lax reporting contributed to the confusion.

Eva is buried in Oakwood Cemetery. On August 29, 1920, Lewis died. His obituary doesn't mention where he was buried.

Towhead Creek Bridge

Towhead Creek is a small tributary of the Wakarusa River that flows between Shawnee and Osage counties. A neighborhood known as Towhead was also on the county line of Shawnee and Osage south of Wakarusa with a school located at 125th and Lewelling.

This bridge is located between the former Jason Stewart and John C. Blood properties over Towhead Creek, west of Wakarusa. It's possible this bridge was built around 1915 by John C. Blood.

Jaketown

Jaketown Road is one of the last reminders of a neighborhood that existed from about the 1870s until 1920s in central Wabaunsee County, Kansas. Jaketown Road is three miles of gravel road from Skyline Road to the west to Snokomo Road to the east. Also called Snokomo (or Lower Snokomo) and Pleasant Valley, Jaketown was specifically a small cluster of about eight families to the south of the Snokomo area situated where Newbury, Mill Creek, and Mission Creek townships come together. Based on maps and some county biographies, the prominent families in the Jaketown neighborhood were Weekes, Woody, Connell, Iott, and Mix.

It's unknown where the moniker 'Jaketown' came from. A post office existed in the area about a quarter mile south of Snokomo School named Snokomo from 1875 to 1881 and then again from 1886 until 1901. The postmasters were George Kneeland and Jasper Dallas. Schools in the area were Snokomo School which started in a log cabin in 1869. A stone building was constructed in 1883 and still stands today on the National Register of Historic Places. Lower Snokomo School was constructed in 1890 and still stands, though abandoned, along Skyline Road near Boothill Road. The third school was Union Center, a wood frame building, was at the southwest corner of Skyline and Dawsen Hill roads but burned down in 1990.

Snokomo School, District 24
Photo from author.

Lower Snokomo School, District 32
Photo from Wabaunsee County Historical Society

Union Center School, District 35
Photo from Wabaunsee County Historical Society

There was one church in the area, located in the southwest corner of E. Stephens property at the corner of what is now Jaketown and Bobcat roads. The Olive Hill Methodist Church was completed in 1884. Sadly, it burned down in 1891 and was never rebuilt. Typically, church services were held in schoolhouses or the Woodman Lodge.

The Woodman Lodge was built just north of the Snokomo School in about 1890. It held many events including the annual Woodman Picnic and Royal Neighbor Picnic. Events at the Lodge and the school also spilled over into Stratton's Grove across the road. The Lodge became a hay barn for Elmer Woody and was then moved to Paxico where it is now Mill Creek Antiques.

Woodman Hall
Photo from the Kansas Resources Historical Inventory (KHRI)

Most of the families mentioned above are buried in the surrounding cemeteries. Mission View and Bethlehem, which was also known as Jaketown Cemetery in local newspapers. There are also a couple of family cemeteries nearby, one for the Kuenzli family and another for the Iott family. One nondescript grave in Bethlehem Cemetery is for John Anderson Woody, who was killed in 1909 by Rufus "Rufe" King in Maple Hill.

Never much more than a small farming and ranching community, Snokomo/Jaketown/Pleasant Valley/possibly Spring Creek according to one account remains a small farming and ranching community near the center of Wabaunsee County.

View of Jaketown Road looking west from Snokomo Road. Photo from author.

An odd mention of Jaketown in a 1904 edition of the Alma Enterprise announcing a new store.

William Nottingham

William P. Nottingham was born in Palmyra, New York around 1833. He apparently never married or had children. He served during the Civil War serving in the 111th Regiment of the New York Infantry. He participated in the defense of Harper's Ferry and Washington, D.C. along with Gettysburg, the Siege (and Fall) of Petersburg, and Appomattox Courthouse among many other battles. After the war, Nottingham seemed to just wander the country mostly traveling between Kansas and Oklahoma Territory and living on a small military pension and inheritance allowance.

Nottingham took up residence in the old Curtis House at 216 West Curtis Street but was forced out due to the 1903 floods. He had been staying with J.F. Blake at 2009 Harrison but had returned to his room at the old Curtis house on July 31. Nottingham was found dead in his room later that night. Originally, it was believed death was caused by a combination of old age and alcoholism--Nottingham had sadly been a heavy drinker and taken the habit back up after the flood. Luckily, the coroner thought the death seemed suspicious and saved the stomach. A chemical analysis showed that Nottingham had more than enough morphine in his system to kill him. Focus now shifted on who had done the deed.

Frank Brown could've had a storied life and career. A lawyer, Brown even served as a deputy attorney for the city of Topeka. In 1898, Brown was arrested for passed forged checks and embezzling money. In Topeka alone, Brown passed more than two dozen fraudulent checks. Famed Topeka attorney A.H. "Hib" Case noted that "[Brown] is not insane. But when he is drinking, his mind is gone." Brown also lived in the old Curtis house which was run by his mother, Sarah. Newspaper articles from 1900 to 1913 had several instances of police going to the Curtis house because Brown was bootlegging, gambling, or just contributing to societal nuisance.

William Nottingham and Frank Brown spent July 31, 1903 together drinking and carousing around town. Around noon, Nottingham returned to his room where he ate lunch and retired to bed. Brown returned home shortly after but soon left to go back downtown. Nottingham was found dead around 5 p.m. Brown, meanwhile, appeared over the next day in different saloons and gambling houses with more money than he had ever been seen with. It is known that Nottingham had $200 on him and a search of his room yielded no money. It was theorized that Brown gave Nottingham the morphine while they were riding together in a carriage before Nottingham went home. Brown then disappeared and wasn't heard from in at least two weeks.

Nottingham was buried in the G.A.R. section of Topeka Cemetery.

There is no evidence that Brown was ever arrested or convicted of Nottingham's death. Brown did return to Topeka and, as noted above, continued being a nuisance to the people of Topeka. He continued to pass forged checks occasionally, bootlegged, gambled, and even posted advertisements violating a city ordinance. Even as late as 1921, Brown was arrested for manufacturing 5 barrels of moonshine which his then 84-year-old mother had to bail him out for. Sarah Brown was aunt to Vice President Charles Curtis and lived at 216 Curtis, one of the first houses built along the Kansas River, from 1875 until her death in 1931. She is buried in the Curtis Family Cemetery in North Topeka. Her obituary mentions Frank as living in Washington, D.C.

The Kafton Family

Between 1820 and 1870, only 7,750 Russians immigrated to the United States. Due to land scarcity, poverty, and starvation, more than 10,000 Russians immigrated to the U.S. in 1881. Sometime between 1866 and 1881, the Kafton family arrived in Kansas to start a new life. Raised Lutheran, the Kaftons were said to be very devout.

George Conrad Kafton was born December 3, 1842 in Mariupol, Russia (now present-day Ukraine). His parents were Johann and Catherine. He married Catherina Charlotte on June 15, 1861. They had 15 children, at least four of which were born in Russia and the others born in Kansas.

They came to Kansas with Charlotte's parents, Leonhard and Johnna Philippa. They originally settled in the Hillsboro area in Marion County, Kansas, but George and Charlotte moved to Topeka. Charlotte passed away January 5, 1901 at their home on Lake Street. George moved back to Hillsboro to live with his son, John, where he lived until he passed away September 30, 1920.

Little India May

On January 7, 1912, dozens of people gathered in the office of Dr. Eva Harding to admire a seven-month old, chubby, hazel-eyed baby girl. The baby girl was being put up for adoption and within twelve hours, hundreds would express interest in Little India May.

India May was born June 9, 1911 in a small town in Oklahoma. The mother was the daughter of a minister and India May had no father. Before arriving in Topeka, Kansas, mother and daughter were residing with a school principal in Oklahoma City. When the principal got sick and she decided to go to a spring, the mother and child were left without a home. They made their way up to Topeka on January 5 to find a relative of India's father. The relative refused to aid them so the mother sought out other help.

She first went to the Orphan's Home, but was turned away because she could not afford the cost there. The Orphan's Home was established in 1888 in a building at 3rd and Fillmore. The orphanage closed in 1947 and the building was gifted to the Capper Foundation. It was later learned that the mother was offered $4 a week to work in the kitchen to pay for the placement, but refused. The mother then went to the Provident Association. The Provident Association was started in 1904 to help people affected by the 1903 flood. It was located in a brick building at 4th & Jackson streets. It would later become Family Service and Guidance Center. However, they had no room to place India May. In desperation, the mother and child came to the office of Dr. Harding.

Dr. Harding and the mother chose a couple late in the afternoon of the 8th. Of the more than a hundred people who were interested in India May, Mr. and Mrs. John R. Graham were selected. "We are tickled to death to get her," Mrs. Graham said. John Graham worked for the Charles Wolff Packing Company as a trimmer and owned a home at 112 Fillmore Street. The Grahams did not any children of their own. "Nothing will be too good for the child," said Mr. Graham.

Information on India May and the Grahams end with the adoption. A John R. Graham is buried in Memorial Park Cemetery in Topeka having died in 1950. His wife is listed as Ada, but no children are listed with them. It could also be a case of mistaken identity as an Ada Moss was married to a John J. Graham who died around the same time. John R. Graham in Memorial Park Cemetery is buried in an unmarked grave.

Our Darling

MARY ELIZABETH

Dau. of

W.E. & M. SEQUINE

1900 - 1903

OUR DARLING

Mary Elizabeth died of pneumonia at two and a half years old.

Jordan Road Bridge

This bridge, located between Wakarusa and Carbondale in Osage County, was built in 1920 and features a steel girder construction with wooden planks for a deck. It crosses a small unnamed stream and run perpendicular to a railroad track.

The bridge has been deemed structurally deficient and due to circumstances like its age, width, deterioration, and stream bank erosion, replacement is probably not too far down the line. However, it's estimated only 40 cars travel on this bridge per year and it may be easier and cheaper to close it and dead end the road from the north and south.

Whatever Happened to the Heber Institute

The only photograph of the Heber Institute

As early as 1856, a group of Episcopal churchmen settled in Prairie City, Kansas and established a congregation under Rev. Charles Reynolds. At the urging of Bishop Thomas Vail, a college was established and construction of a two-story stone structure had begun.

The building was constructed by George Miller and H.E. Dodge, but due to a lack of funds, the school was scrapped for the time being. The school building, which had one room on each floor, was used as a meeting house. One of the more famous uses was a visit from Horace Greeley who spoke in front of 400 people. The building was complete enough to open the Episcopal Church's State School for Boys, now named the Heber Institute. The Institute was named for Rev. Heber of New York. I could find no record of who Rev. Heber was. Despite a push to get some kind of upper-level school in Prairie City, it's close proximity to Baldwin City and Baker University doomed any endeavor.

Dr. Henry J. Caniff finally got a school in the Heber Institute building in 1858 and called it District 1, it being the first organized school district in Douglas County. The old Heber Institute was used as a school and community meeting place for numerous years until 1903. At some point between 1858 and 1871, the district number was changed to 78 and in 1903, it was decided to consolidate Prairie City Number 78 and Peach Grove Number 45 into Prairie City Number 87. With this, a new school was built with brand new furniture on land donated by Robert Miller, which burned down in 1919 and was replaced later that year. This building still stands at the corner of North 150 and East 1550 roads.

As for the Heber Institute building, it was sold to Timothy Keohane and Capt. Nathaniel Cradit who dismantled the building in 1905 to construct a story and livery on High Street. It later served as a Ford dealership, a recreation club, and barbershop. Today, the building is used as a fitness center and apartments.

South and southwest elevation view of Keohane & Cradit Building, 2023.
📷Megan Bruey and Stan Hernly

The Grote Children

Edwyn and Merwyn Grote were the twin sons of Edward F. and Lotta Mae Grote. E.F. was a grocer with a store at 17th & Kansas. Lotta passed away shortly after the birth of her sons in February 1897. E.F. would remarry to Elizabeth Munn. Both are buried in Mount Hope Cemetery. Lotta and the twins are in Topeka Cemetery.

Edwyn Grote, aged 9 months, son of Mr & Mrs. F.E [sic] Grote of 1328 Tyler Street, died this morning. The child was one of twins, the other still survives. The funeral will be held at the family residence tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock." -The Topeka State Journal, July 7, 1897. According to the Topeka Daily Capital, Edwyn died of "dropsy of the brain."

Merwyn, who passed away in January 1898, did not receive an obituary that I could find.

The Boley House

Hidden by trees along a busy country road, this is a terrible picture of this abandoned house. No owner appears on this section in the 1873 atlas but George Boley is shown as owner in 1898 with two residences, one of them probably the older house in this picture as the county has down the older house was built around 1900.

Both George Boley and his wife, Theresa, died in 1901 and the property moved to George N. Boley. The Boleys were devout Catholic and services were held at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Topeka and burial was in Mount Calvary.

The newer house was built around 1930 but both are abandoned and boarded up now. The land and outbuildings are still occasionally used as people are seen working.

Anna Faidley

Anna M. Faidley was born in Evansville, Indiana in March of 1846. She married John Peter Faidley on August 21, 1895 in Topeka, Kansas and moved with him to Wakefield, Kansas, where he worked on the railroad. John would die in 1918 after being hit by a train while sitting down to rest on the tracks.

Anna practiced as a "mental scientist and magnetic healer" while in Wakefield. She promised to cure any disease without drugs and her ads were prominent fixtures in the local newspaper.

From the Hutchinson News, February 5, 1923: "Declaring in a long note that she had read her Bible through carefully and found nothing advising against suicide, Mrs. Anna M. Faidley, 77, ended her life early today by gas asphyxiation. 'It seems there is no place in the world for old persons,' she wrote." Outliving most of her close family and faced with the possibility of homelessness due to who she was living with planning to move, Mrs. Faidley decided to "end it all."

If you or someone you know is having emotional distress or suicidal thoughts, contact the National Suicide Hotline at 988.

Chang Kim

Chang Wha Kim immigrated to Topeka, Kansas around 1900 to work for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. He was killed April 4, 1913, while cleaning an engine that was being turned on and was crushed between the engine and the wall of the Santa Fe Round House. His fellow employees took a collection to save him a pauper's burial and got him buried in Mount Hope Cemetery with a simple stone to mark his grave. Kim's death didn't even make the local newspapers until June 10, 1913 when Frank E. Forbes sued the Santa Fe Railroad for Kim's death on behalf of Kim's wife, Song.

Chang Kim came from what is now Cherowon County in Kangwon Province in South Korea. I am not positive about this because newspapers would just spell foreign place-names phonetically. In the Topeka Daily Capital, Kim's home is phrased "Whagaichon, Dawiree, Chull Won county, state of Kang Won, Korea." His marriage to Song consisted of bowing in front of witnesses followed by a feast. Song had to admit her marriage certificate as evidence when she was brought to Kansas for the lawsuit. Chang would send some money back home to Korea for his wife and elderly parents. Apparently, he didn't send very much and never wrote a letter to accompany the money. He was also apparently going to bring his family over to America when he was killed.

The lawsuit was asking for $10,000 to Mrs. Song Kim and, according to the Daily Capital, she was "an uncivilized native" from the "mountain wilds" of Korea and "had to be tamed" before going to trial. Her lawyer was Frank Drenning and a Korean student attending the University of Kansas was brought in as a translator. At the end of it all, Song Kim was awarded $2,000 and, presumably, returned to Korea.

Charles Junod

Charles F. Junod was a confectioner in Topeka, Kansas, known for ice cream, cakes, and candies, with his brother Frank. The Junods came to Topeka in 1878 and opened a confectionary and catering business at 606 Kansas Avenue. Charles married Margaret "Madge" Reese in 1881.

Charles and Madge went to Colorado and then California for his health. It's assumed he had tuberculosis, but it didn't help and he quietly passed away on February 7, 1887 and was interred in Topeka Cemetery. Frank sold the business a few months later.

Charles and Madge were only married six years. Madge returned to Topeka and ended up remarrying to Henry Dowding, an old school mate of hers, in 1889. Mr. Dowding would pass away in 1894 after only five years of marriage. Madge returned to her home in New York, never marrying again.

Rest. Sweet Rest.

Salt Creek Bridge

This steel truss bridge, built in 1945, crosses Salt Creek in Osage County just east of Lyndon.

Agnes Lawrence

"Miss Agnes Lawrence, an unusually attractive and pretty girl, who was employed as a nurse in Stormont hospital, committed suicide between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. last evening, by drinking two ounces of carbolic acid. The only explanation of the suicide was an unsigned note left by the girl which read: '𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒏.'" -Topeka State Journal, July 30, 1909.

Agnes Lawrence was only 16 and had worked at Stormont only six months. She was discovered on the floor of her room on the third floor after her shift with the note and bottle of acid lying next to her.

On June 1, 1908, she enrolled in Christ's Hospital. She was dismissed after four months, returned home to Perry, then entered Stormont's program. Both programs require girls to be at least 20, which Agnes claimed to be despite only being 15.

Agnes was born to Louis and Eva Lawrence in Lees Summit, Missouri on March 6, 1893. According to the 1900 Census, the family lived in St. Louis, Missouri, and Agnes had a brother, Louis, and sister, Essie. Neither doctors and nurses at Christ's Hospital or Stormont nor Agnes' mother could fully explain why Agnes committed suicide and the identity of the man is unknown.

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide or emotional distress, please contact the National Suicide Lifeline at 988.