New Information - Courthouse Trip

Today I went to the Butler County Courthouse in El Dorado to research my house's history. I am happy to report that I was able to trace my house's history back to the original owners of the land. I followed a woman back into a little room with a low, metal doorway, where she proceeded to pull out a couple of giant books (ledgers, maybe?). They were bound in some kind of red material and had yellowing pages, with all the information handwritten. The room used to be a vault...spooky. Very interesting indeed. Anyway, here is the information.





2/2/35 - Duncan sells the house to O.T. Nitz.





1/14/31 - Duncan purchases the property from L.A. Wish. "Wish" is listed as "West" on the line below, so it could have been either name. In 1920, an L.A. West, male, age 35, born in Kansas, is listed as living in Augusta. A Lyman (love the old name!) A. West had an obituary published by the Wichita Eagle on September 13, 1962. That means he died at age 77. Lyman West, age 15, is also listed in the 1900 census as living in Augusta. In the 1920 census, his occupation is listed as real estate agent.
A WSU newsletter states that Lyman A. West's wife, Flossie E. West, died in 1953. The newsletter goes on to suggest that she died of uterine cancer. Following Lyman's death in 1962, his trust began granting money to cancer researchers at WSU.





2/20/28 - West purchases the house from Wright.





12/4/20 - N.R. Chance and wife sell house to Wright. A Nathan R. Chance, age 56, born in Indiana, is listed in the 1900 census as living in Augusta. This means he sold the house to Wright when he was 76 years old. Nathan is listed in the 1920 census as living in Sedgwick county; however, I located a picture of him and his wife in a book about Augusta history, and the caption says that they lived in a house in Augusta (not mine) until 1933. That would have made him 89 years old when he "stopped living there" (died?). He also was a resident of Butler County in 1880, living in Bruno township, which today includes Andover.

A wife, Mary Emily McKnight Chance, is listed in the same book where I found the picture of Nathan. A Mary E. Chance, age 37, born in Ohio, is listed in the 1880 census as living in Bruno township in Butler County. Interestingly enough, a Mary McKnight, age 58, is listed in the 1900 census as living in Butler County. If this was really her, which the age suggests it is, why was she using her maiden name?





Okay, here's where it gets kind of out of order. This is being transcribed from my crude handwritten notes, so I apologize.





10/18/05 -sold to John Black. A John Black, age 44, is listed in the 1880 census as living in Augusta. His job is listed as farmer. A wife, Sarah E. Black, age 43, and children Mertie (13, f), Nellie (12, f), and Horace (7, m) are also listed (as of June 1, 1880). All of their birthplaces are listed as either Indiana or Illinois. He and two other John Blacks are listed in the 1900 census, and with such a common name, it is difficult to determine which one actually owned my land. I chose to believe it is the John Black that is listed as being from Indiana, and he is listed in the 1910 census as being 74 years old. He is not listed in the 1920 census.




1/3/05 - lots 5-10 sold to M & W (master and wife?) Arthur Offill. Ok, MW may not be master and wife after all. According to 1910 census records, there was a Mathias W. residing in Butler County, age 66, born in Kentucky. Indeed, I was able to find other records stating that a Mathias W. Offill was born in 1843 in Kentucky. For the 1920 census, James, 23; Leslie S., 33 (m); William M., 36; and Maggie Offill, 51; are all listed.

And...dun dun dun...the original owner of the land was:

4/4/02 - James Wilkinson purchases land from Butler County. A James C. Wilkinson, age 43, is listed in the 1900 census as living in Butler County. He was born in Kentucky as well. He is not listed in the 1910 census, so this means he had either died or moved away by the time the house was built. In the 1880 census, he is listed as living in Liberty, Kentucky, Casey county. He is age 23 at this time, so I assume it is the same man. A 13-year-old James Wilkinson, no middle initial, is listed in the 1870 census as living in Falmouth, Kentucky, Pendleton county. Indeed, I found a James C. Wilkinson, no age listed, but living at the time of the 1910 census back in Casey county, in Liberty.




Of course, the Native Americans who most likely were killed for the land were the original owners. But I have no way of tracking them down. Osage