Family History and Generational Gypsies
Summer 1997
Visiting Kansas and Iowa, I am struck with a sort of warm feeling concerning family history. The Sterling, Turner, and Gaddie (Pat’s grandmother’s family) lines came from Kansas and the Heacock and Knowles from Iowa. From the perspective of genealogical time, only a generation or two was spent in these states. Not unlike most other families, one generation establishes a stable home base where a family is raised, then the children leave to establish their own homes elsewhere. It strikes me that we come from a long line of transients. We are generational gypsies. Of course, sometimes members of two or more generations may live their entire lives in one community, but that seems to be the exception. This is very clear from visiting cemeteries. The Kingsley, IA cemetery contains the graves of both the Heacock and Knowles families from about 2 generations. The sturdy, but not ostentatious, headstones on the graves of my great-grandfather, Ianthus Schaler Knowles and his wife Mary Dodge Knowles can be found in Kingsley.
If a cemetery can be attractive, this one serves as an example. Located on a hillside adjacent to and on the north side of Kingsley, it has been well-maintained. The grass is green and mowed. But, the defining characteristic of this cemetery is the trees. Although I made no inventory of the types of trees, large red maple trees shelter and shade the cemetery from the north and west Several narrow, paved roads run in an east-west direction and they, too, are bordered by various evergreen and deciduous trees. There is often one large family headstone, surrounded by the individual headstones of members of the family. Thus, when searching for a Heacock or Knowles, it is not necessary to inspect each headstone. Driving into the cemetery on the south side, we spied a Heacock headstone. Adjacent headstones included the names of E. Vernon (1903-1996), Edna W. Heacock, Patricia Zaleta Heacock and Mark Edwyl Hobbs. Maybe some family historian can explain our relation to these folks.
While I was inspecting the E. Vernon family group, Pat bounded off across the cemetery and soon yelled at me from a considerable distance, “I found some more.” She had found the graves of Ianthus and Mary Knowles. A little further north, we found the graves of James S. Heacock (1862-1945), Minnie M. Heacock, and Edwin G. Heacock. After that, we decided to initiate a more systematic search. We covered the entire cemetery, row by row in the 94 F heat and full sunlight, but found no other graves with names that were familiar to us.
I took a few photographs of headstones, a few of the town of Kingsley then drove into town. Spying an older lady entering her Chevy, I asked if she knew of any Heacocks or Knowles living in the town. She mentioned that her neighbor was a Heacock (she pronounced it Haycock) but that they were out of town. She directed me to the Heacock millstones that have been preserved as a historical treasure by the city.
They are located on the east side of a city park across from a church in the south-west part of town. My great-grandfather, Joseph John Heacock, had contracted with Close Brothers of LeMars to bring his water mill to Kingsley in return for 20 acres of land. The millstones had originally been shipped from Europe to West Branch, Iowa, then by railroad to Odebolt, then by wagon to Quorn, IA. To find Quorn, follow 1st street west as it passes by the tall, white grain elevator on the south side of Kingsley. About 1 mile west of town, 1st St. intersects Quorn road. There are about 3 houses and some outbuildings on the corner. About 50 yards from the intersection on 1st St. is a faded sign on the north side of the road identifying the location of Quorn. Joseph John Heacock and his son (my grandfather) Joseph Wilson (Wils) Heacock, hitched a harrow behind horses and laid out the road between Quorn and Kingsley. Evidently, the family home was in Quorn and the mill was on 11 Main St., Kingsley.
Visiting Kingsley was not something we had planned. We left Bartlesville, OK where we visited with Aunt Mary, then traveled to Wichita, KS and visited with Pat’s 92-year-old aunt, Hazel Lister. We installed a WebTV for her to use for sending an email. Then we continued our travels to Great Bend, KS to visit with Pat’s cousin, Larrie Turner and his wife, Janet. Obtained a copy of the Gaddie genealogy from them that was compiled by Robin Turner Ratliff. Copies are available from robin_ratliff@toyota.com for a cost of $3.00 each which covers the cost of making copies.
Leaving Aunt Mary in Oklahoma, we had passed through the town of Winfield, KS, south-east of Wichita. After leaving Aunt Hazel in Wichita, we visited Sterling, KS near Great Bend, KS. Later, near the Nebraska border, we got groceries in Lincoln, KS. Wonder if there is any connection between these towns and where Grandpa Winfield Lincoln Sterling got his name?
Stayed a couple of nights in one of the neatest RV parks yet. It is not an especially well-maintained or distinctive park, but its location makes it fairly unique. It is located in South Sioux City, Nebraska, directly across the Missouri River from Sioux City, Iowa. On Sunday morning, before we left for Forest City, I watched the sun rise over Sioux City and the Missouri River from a window in our motorhome. Saturday afternoon the river was filled with pleasure boats and a paddle steamer riverboat was tied up across the river. It is also a casino, so bar-room music drifts over the Missouri River, especially at night. A thunderstorm which struck about 2:30 am, added some excitement to the visit.
The city of Sioux City, IA has built a riverfront park where a free concert was being held Friday and Saturday. They also constructed a paved hiking and biking trail, extending about 3 miles along the river toward the town of Sioux City North, which is located upriver in South Dakota. We counted at least a dozen casinos on the street entering the city limits of Sioux City North, apparently to attract gamblers from Iowa and Nebraska. They were unsuccessful in attracting potential gamblers from College Station, TX. From our RV park in South Sioux City, Pat and I were able to bike the bridge over the Missouri River into Iowa, then up the trail which follows the edge of the river. Large trees shelter the bike rider from the sun along this trail and it is very scenic. We enjoyed a very relaxed ride.
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