Our ancestors began arriving in eastern Kansas about 1855. Few white people were in Kansas at that time as it was illegal to settle in "Indian Territory" until the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. But soon thousands of newcomers began arriving, especially after the Civil War, and by 1900 the area was fully settled. But life remained largely unchanged from that experienced by people for thousands of years previously. Automobiles, telephones, television, tractors, air travel, electricity and good roads did not exist on the farm in 1900 much less in 1855. The United States was still an agrarian...

Our ancestors began arriving in eastern Kansas about 1855. Few white people were in Kansas at that time as it was illegal to settle in "Indian Territory" until the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. But soon thousands of newcomers began arriving, especially after the Civil War, and by 1900 the area was fully settled. But life remained largely unchanged from that experienced by people for thousands of years previously. Automobiles, telephones, television, tractors, air travel, electricity and good roads did not exist on the farm in 1900 much less in 1855. The United States was still an agrarian...