MySource:Scot/SETTLERS MOVE WEST: AN AUSTIN FAMILY HISTORY

SETTLERS MOVE WEST: AN AUSTIN FAMILY HISTORY

By George Charles Austin, son of Frank P. Austin, and great grandson of Harmon and Elvira (Parks) Austin (with some editing by Patricia Austin Horrigan)

In the year 1871 James Smith of New York decided to go to Kansas and take up a homestead. (Smith was a nephew of Harmon Austin.) He was interested in raising cattle. He was a veteran, many of his buddies had gone to Kansas, and the new frontier was calling him. His relatives painted a dreary picture of the hazards of this New Country, and urged him to settle down in New York. But in spite of their pleas he decided to go. He went to Russell, Kansas (60 miles south of Bull City) by rail, and made the trip to Bull City with a freight hauler. He made his headquarters in Bull City. Then he walked miles in all directions to locate a place that suited him best, and what he thought would make the best cattle farm. He picked out land on the Little Medicine Creek, southwest of Bull City, and wrote to his Uncle Harmon Austin, who was his favorite uncle back in New York. He wrote in glowing terms of the great country, and he urged his uncle and two cousins to come so that they could all get land together. In this way they could help each other, and be better able to protect themselves against Indian attacks and renegades. At this time Bull City was the town farthest west in the Soloman Valley. The settlers started a town about every ten miles, fearing to go further apart because of Indians.

Harmon D. Austin had a good farm between Buffalo and Niagara Falls in New York. He lived there with his wife, Elvira and his three sons, Delos, Cassius, Lafayette and one daughter, Emma. His mother and father, John Austin and Lucy French Austin also lived on the farm. Harmon was a fine carpenter and stone mason. His sons, Lafayette, Cassius, and Delos, were also carpenters. After receiving letters from his nephew, James Smith, Harmon Austin gave much thought to the opportunity of getting 160 acres of land for himself, and for each of his sons. His wife was not overly enthusiastic about the move, but said she would go if they thought it was the right thing to do.

The third son of Harmon Austin, Lafayette Carver Austin, had moved from New York. He had met and fallen in love with Josephine Hathaway of North Boston, New York. Lafayette and Josephine were married in North Boston May 16, 1867. They had three children, Frank Perry Austin (born in Hamburg, Erie County, NY on Sept 29, 1871), Charles Lafayette Austin, and Charlotte. After the birth of his children, Lafayette moved with his family to Michigan where he did carpenter work and operated the Mears Hotel near Pentwater, Michigan.

Harmon Austin decided to go west. Buffalo, NY was a thriving little city. Little did he know that his farm of 158 acres would someday be in the heart of Buffalo. However, one problem had to be solved before he could go west. His father was 88 years old, and his mother 86. They could not stand such a drastic move. In 1872 Harmon solved the problem by giving his farm in trust to relatives, who were to take care of John and Lucy, which they did.

Harmon had all arrangements made by May 1872, and he, with Cassius and Delos, left for Kansas. They went by rail to Russell, Kansas. They came on to Bull City by wagon. A few days after their arrival in Bull City the Austins met James Smith. During that interval they met and talked with Lyman Earl and Gen. Hiram C. Bull. Gen. Bull heard about Harmon Austin's skill as a carpenter, stone mason, and contractor. They talked Harmon into building a hotel. At this time there were four buildings in Bull City, three log cabins and Gen. Bull's log store. There was a partial building on the corner that Lyman T. Earl had started. It had no roof. Antone Korb rented it, put a tent over the top, and used it for a home while he built his log house. Harmon Austin also rented the partially built Earl building while he built the hotel.

They began building at once. Harmon was a fine carpenter, and stone masons were plentiful as many homes were built of native rock. The hotel was built of hand hewn, native yellow sandstone blocks; the interior woodwork was all finished in native black walnut. When completed the hotel had 15 rooms, a lobby, dining room, with a two-story frame building at one end to be used as a kitchen on the lower floor, and the Austin family sleeping quarters upstairs. In November the hotel was finished, and Harmon sent word back to New York for his wife and daughter to come west. They arrived in Bull City on November 16, 1872. It was a big change for Mrs. Austin. The bleak prairies of Kansas were in direct contrast to their beautiful farm in New York. The only thing that seemed plentiful to her was the endless prairie, cotton wood trees, sunflowers, and grasshoppers. They shipped their furniture from New York, and when it arrived the new hotel was opened for business.

Gen. Bull was sure Bull City would be the metropolis of the west. In 1873 Charles Guttery built a large one-room house with a basement, where the water tower later stood. He ran a blacksmith shop. His son, Harry, was to be a barber. He gave me, George Austin, my first haircut. (One of my curls is in Grandmother Barber's watchcase which was handed down to me by my mother, Lucretia Hibbs Austin.) The first frame house was built by Lyman T. Earl and later used by Pat Campbell for a residence and a Post Office. The building used for the central office of Gen. Bull and Earl was of stone, and later used as a store. The first school was taught in an upstairs room of the Austin Hotel. It was taught by Mrs. Ira Stockbridge. Ira used a team of oxen on his farm. Mrs. Stockbridge walked back and forth to her school. In 1873 Harmon Austin built the first school house of the same stone construction as the hotel. Sunday school, elections and other meetings were held in the Austin Hotel. The second sermon preached in Bull City was in the hotel by Capt. Osborne, a Congregational preacher. After the schoolhouse was built most gatherings were held there.

As settlers came west, Gen. Bull and Lyman Earl interviewed as many as possible. If they felt they would make good citizens they were urged to stay. According to Niles Endsley, a second cousin of min, the following notes were found in his mother's (Emma Austin Endsley) notebook.

"David and Nancy Campbell, their daughter Mary, and husband pat were here when we came. Their daughter Nell was the first white girl born here. There were no better folks than the Campbells. Lyman T. Earl should not be forgotten, his daughter and her husband, Dr. Hill also cam to Bull City."

Dr. Martin was the first doctor to open an office in the city. Gen. Bull had hired men to freight for him between Bull City and Russell. His top driver was George Whiteman, an Indian fighter who took part in the last Indian attack in the country. This was at Bullock's Ranch down near where the village of Bloomington now stands. This was July 3, 1870. Gen. Bull bought buffalo hides and bones which he traded for other goods which he stocked in his store.

The Post Office was established on May 31, 1871. Gen. Bull was the first postmaster. A minimum quantity of mail had to come to a town before a post office could be established. Mrs. Bull sent many letters to her friends in the east and had them remail them to help build the mail volume up to the requirements. The general would dump the mail out on the bed to sort it.

Bob Bates came to Bull City in 1874 and worked as a freighter for bull. This freight line continued until the Missouri Pacific R.R. came to Bull City in 1880. This became a distributing point for many towns and communities. It was a busy town in those days. The first passenger train came in Jan. 1, 1880. Mary Lewis was on that first train.

Bull City was now a boomtown. All the good land was homesteaded by 1879. The first gristmill was built and ready to run in 1873. Chas. Cook spent all his money on this mill. It burned to the ground before it turned a wheel. Cook became so despondent and deranged that he killed his baby, and tried to kill his wife with a hatchet. She got away and ran for help. When the help arrived they found that Cook had killed himself. The mill was rebuilt by Mr. Rush. It was later operated by Stover and Powers, and burned to the ground again. The Miller brothers built a new frame mill near the bridge, and it also burned. I have a picture of this mill, and the old Soloman River Bridge, where it was $5.00 fine to cross faster than a walk. The founders of Bull City felt their dreams were coming true, and that their city would truly become the metropolis of the Middle West. Then came the tragic death of the General and two of his employees. On Sunday morning October 12, 1879 the employees went to feed the animals in the park. The elk raced across and pawed the ground furiously when they started to open the gate. Bob Breckel went to the house and told the General, "We will get some good stout clubs and go down there and subdue him." So they armed themselves with clubs. The General was the first to go in. The elk charged furiously and knocked him down and gored him. When Breckell went to the rescue, he was also knocked down and gored. After seriously wounding Breckell, the elk turned again on the General. Nicholas went to his rescue, he was also gored.

The fourth man, Sherman, was caught in the elk’s horns and tossed over the fence. A heavy book in his pocket saved his life. General Bull had 44 wounds, and Dr. martin said he was no doubt killed instantly. Breckell was 32 years old and Nichols 64. They had helped the General all they could. Nichols owned the Fefield Place, known now as the Steven's Place. Nichol's wife was a doctor and a nurse and a very helpful person in the community.

Bull City continued to grow. Pete Mitchell came to town and built a three-story frame hotel with full basement on the corner east of the library. After the death of Gen. Bull, Pete became the number one man of the city. He was the richest man in the county at the time. Mr. Taylor bought the Austin Hotel and tore the inside out to make a store. It was first run by Beal and Taylor, later by Taylor and Loomis, and still later by J.B. Taylor alone. It was the largest general merchandise store in Osborne County. Many old timers will remember the slogan, "Get it at Taylor’s," where you could get almost anything you might need in those days.

At one time Samuel J. Hibbs, my uncle, had the largest hardware and implement business in the county. Fred Gaunt had the grain elevators, lumber business, and the lime, coal, and cement business. In 1884 a movement was started to change the town name. The wife of Mr. Clark, the town's drug store owner, said the name Bull was vulgar, and no industry would come to such a town. She interested T.M. Walker in the change. After many attempts, it seemed that their cause was lost. Names were cut off of a road petition, and posted to the change the name petition. In due time the name was changed. The date of the change was Feb. 27, 1885, and the town was incorporated as Alton on Oct. 1, 1885.

The first officers of Alton were: Mayor - T.M. Walker, Police Judge - Wm. Rosegrant, Council - J.B. Taylor, President, and council members - T. B. Rhodes, T.J. Thurston, Miles Crippin, and Pat Campbell. Their second meeting was Oct. 22, 1885. George Hockenhall and F.P. Price appeared and addressed the council on the question of "too high taxes". Thirty ordinances were passed at the meeting.

Let us go back to the Austin Hotel of Bull City. Business was very good, for there were many prairie schooners coming, and many men walked 60 miles from the nearest railroad. Indians often stopped at the hotel and asked for bread. My Great Grandmother, Elvira, always gave them bread, even though it was sometimes needed at the hotel. The hotel never lacked for meat. Buffalo, antelope, deer, and occasionally wild turkey and quail were regular items. Milk and dairy products were plentiful at nearby farms. General groceries were available at the Bull Store. When a baby died in the community there were no coffins available, Harmon Austin took a walnut partition board out of the hotel and built a coffin.

The frame for the Common School Diploma of Frank P. Austin, Harmon's grandson, was made by Frank from walnut from the old Austin Hotel. He salvaged this wood when the hotel was later made into the Stephenson's store. The frame is now in the possession of Patricia Austin Horrigan, daughter of George C. Austin. He also made a bookcase of this walnut, now owned by Frank Clinton Austin, a grandson of Frank P. Austin.

In May 1874, just two years after coming to Bull City, my Great Grandfather Harmon Austin died of typhoid-pneumonia. Doctors had little training, and drugs were scarce. Castor oil and quinine were all that was available. As a result of these conditions, the death rate was high. Many families were entirely wiped out with diseases such as scarlet fever, diphtheria, and red measles. Small pox was also a dread killer.

Great Grandma, Elvira Austin, continued to run the hotel for a few years, and then decided it was too much for her and her daughter, Emma. She sold the hotel to Mr. J.B. Taylor and took up a homestead 1 1/2 miles from town, since all the good valley land had been taken. Undaunted she lived in a half basement house with walls four feet above ground on two sides. There were windows on the south and west. The ridgepole ran across the top with smaller saplings running down and resting on the sidewalls. Brush was laid and matted across these poles, and then a layer of prairie hay. All of this was covered with a layer of clay. After settling, roof was about 4 inches thick. The floor was dirt. This made a "comfortable" home, but she had to share it with snakes, centipedes, and scorpions. There was no way to keep them from coming through the roof. At night the coyotes howled at Great Grandmother's door, and she wondered if they would scratch their way through the dirt roof. They never made it. After a heavy rain, the roof would leak for a few hours.

Great Grandmother planted several hundred trees including several shad varieties, mulberry, and walnut. She planted 175 fruit trees; 100 peach, and the balance were cherry, plum, and apple. Wild plum, chokecherry, and wild grapes grew everywhere and were enjoyed by early settlers. Wild currants were available too. Great Grandma Elvira and her daughter, Emma, found ready sale for her fruit. She gave fruit to those unable to buy. She trimmed and cared for her trees and in winter shoveled snow deep around the roots. They prospered and were soon able to build a sturdy two-story frame house. She organized a Sunday school for neighboring children and taught them the Bible. The front of her house was shaded by two large crab apple trees. In the spring they looked like huge white blankets of snow with a purplish cast. They were loaded with fruit which she used for jelly and preserves. She found ready sale for her surplus. The greatest day of the year was Christmas when her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren came for a festival. Much of the food was raised and prepared by her. There were a few groceries that she needed to buy. One of her grandchildren remarked, "I feel sorry for any child that never knew the love of a grandmother."

She left the luxury of a rich farm in New York and faced the terrible hardships of pioneer life in Kansas. She never complained and always said that God was very good to her. She said 1874 was the hardest year when she lost her husband, and she couldn't have made it through the winter except for gifts of food and clothing from New York. There was a wonderful spirit and her New York neighbors never forgot her. When the freighters brought boxes from the east, they would gather and open the boxes and divide the contents. It was a joyful time. In addition to the loss of her husband, the grasshoppers had taken most of the local crops that year.

At 80 she was still tall and straight and looked to be about 60. There was a sparkle in her eyes and she was very active. At 84, she was standing on a chair trimming trees. She fell and broke her hip, and from that time on she was an invalid. Her main complaint was that she couldn't get out and do the work that needed to be done. She died three months after her accident in 1907. Kansas lost a noble pioneer.

Note: The information given so far in this narration has been mainly handed down to me from records left by my Mother and Father. My second cousin Niles Endsley, was the son of Emma Austin Endsly, and lived his entire life in Alton Kansas. He has interviewed many old-timers there. He was 22 years old when his grandmother, Elvira parks Austin, passed away. She gave him much information. Also Frank Clay Cross, who was a son of Charlotte Austin Cross, a professor of languages and literature at Colorado School of Mines, and an interpreter on the staff of General John G. Pershing (World War I), made a study of family history. He made special trips east to visit old cemeteries and county and state records. His work gave me the descent of the Austin's from Jane Cook and Francis Cook of the Mayflower, and Roger Williams,