Descendants of Merritt RANSOM Generation No. 1 1. MERRITT1 RANSOM was born Bet. 1784 - 1787 in CT, and died 11 May 1861 in Cass Twp, Fulton, IL. He married SUSAN E.. She was born 1796 in CT, and died Bet. 22 Sep 1850 - 1860 in Cass Twp, Fulton, IL. Notes for MERRITT RANSOM: The source for the burial for Merritt, Susan Ransom et al at Cuba Cemetery is: Cemetery Inscriptions of Fulton County, Illinois - Volume 9 Published by Fulton County Historical and Genealogical Society. More About MERRITT RANSOM: Residence: 1860, Cass, Fulton, Illinois Notes for SUSAN E.: The source for the burial for Merritt, Susan Ransom et al at Cuba Cemetery is: Cemetery Inscriptions of Fulton County, Illinois - Volume 9 Published by Fulton County Historical and Genealogical Society. Seems strange that Susan's death date is shown as 1838 (I rechecked the book) - that's early for a stone to have lasted that long in these parts. Besides, I didn't think your Ransoms were here that early. I don't find them in 1850 census???? Maybe the Genealogical Society volunteers published the wrong date? There were no death certificates that early. Book says they're buried in Section D. Maybe the children had the stone installed as a memorial to her? Lyde Children of MERRITT RANSOM and SUSAN E. are: i. GUSTAVUS2 RANSOM, b. 1823, Ohio. ii. TRUMAN S. RANSOM, b. 1827, NY. More About TRUMAN S. RANSOM: Residence: 1860, Cass, Fulton, Illinois 2. iii. WILLIAM AUGUSTUS RANSOM, b. 11 Feb 1833, Ohio; d. 12 Oct 1909, Wichita, Sedgwick, KS. iv. MARY SCHOELLEN RANSOM, b. 1841, Ohio. Generation No. 2 2. WILLIAM AUGUSTUS2 RANSOM (MERRITT1) was born 11 Feb 1833 in Ohio, and died 12 Oct 1909 in Wichita, Sedgwick, KS. He married MARY E. JOHNSON 28 Dec 1858 in Fulton County, Il, daughter of WILLIAM JOHNSON and CASSANDRA JOHNSON. She was born 1839 in OH, and died 30 May 1916 in Wichita, Sedgwick, KS. More About WILLIAM AUGUSTUS RANSOM: Residence: 1870, Cass, Fulton, Illinois Notes for MARY E. JOHNSON: Buried at Maple Grove Cemetery Wichita KS next to William A. Ransom More About WILLIAM RANSOM and MARY JOHNSON: Marriage: 28 Dec 1858, Fulton County, Il Children of WILLIAM RANSOM and MARY JOHNSON are: 3. i. MELVIN3 RANSOM, b. 31 Jul 1859, IL; d. 13 Jun 1894, Mulvane, KS. ii. EVA RANSOM, b. 1862, Il. iii. LUELLA RANSOM, b. 1864, IL. iv. EDWARD RANSOM, b. 1868, IL. More About EDWARD RANSOM: Residence: 1880, Waco, Sedgwick, Kansas, United States v. ERNEST RANSOM, b. 1877, KS; d. 04 Dec 1930, Wichita, Sedgwick, KS. More About ERNEST RANSOM: Residence: 1880, Waco, Sedgwick, Kansas Generation No. 3 3. MELVIN3 RANSOM (WILLIAM AUGUSTUS2, MERRITT1) was born 31 Jul 1859 in IL, and died 13 Jun 1894 in Mulvane, KS. He married CHARLOTTE LEEDS SICKLER 25 Jul 1886, daughter of NAPOLEON SICKLER and PAULINA APPLEGATE. She was born 26 Apr 1869 in Washington, Tazewell, Illinois, and died 1942 in Mosca, CO. Notes for MELVIN RANSOM: Death of Melvin Ransom A squatter came on his property and Melvin Ransom went down to tell him to move. He lived about three months--he was shot through the chest and when the doctor at Blackwell gave up, that he couldn't handle the situation, he said, "Get him to Mulvane to Dr. Dorsey" who had a reputation for taking care of gunshot wounds. My mother and the neighbors fixed him a bed in a buckboard wagon, and mother and the children drove those thirty miles from Blackwell to Mulvane, Kansas, alone with the sick man in the back of the buckboard. There Aunt Lin invited them into her home (Dorothy & Harold's old house), and there is where he died, in my mother's arms. My mother has only told me about it a few times, and she always looked so grief-stricken. It was terrible for her--she was less than thirty years old at the time. Living close neighbors to them in Oklahoma was an Indian and his squaw wife and their baby, who Mama had befriended. In true Indian fashion, that baby was fastened to the Indian backboard from the time it was just a little baby. Mama said that baby's head was so flat from lying on that board all the time that it was just an elongation of the back of his neck. She tried to explain to the young mother that the bones of his cranium were not fastened together yet, and the bones of his head were being formed unnaturally because of that backboard. So the young mother learned to take the baby off the backboard and let him be on his side and on his tummy. So Mama felt it was rewarding that she'd gotten it across to that young mother to take him off that board sometimes. Mama told of picking wild mushrooms along the creek that ran through their claim. She told us also about how the wild prairie chickens were their greatest source of meat, and they could have all they wanted, because the prairie chickens were just that thick. She said it tasted like the pheasants she learned to like later. (12 years between Ethel & Izma, 8 between Will and Iz More About MELVIN RANSOM: Burial: El Paso, Derby, KS Section 0-3, Lot 16, Grave 2 Residence: 1870, Cass, Fulton, Illinois Notes for CHARLOTTE LEEDS SICKLER: Married Melvin Ransom 25 Jul 1886 More About CHARLOTTE LEEDS SICKLER: Residence: 1930, Mosca, Alamosa, Colorado More About MELVIN RANSOM and CHARLOTTE SICKLER: Marriage: 25 Jul 1886 Children of MELVIN RANSOM and CHARLOTTE SICKLER are: 4. i. ETHEL MABLE4 RANSOM, b. 23 Aug 1887, Derby, Sedgwick, KS; d. Jan 1973, Wichita, Sedgwick, KS. ii. WILLIAM A. RANSOM, b. 1889, Derby, Sedgwick, KS. iii. IZMA RUTH RANSOM, b. Derby, Sedgwick, KS. Generation No. 4 4. ETHEL MABLE4 RANSOM (MELVIN3, WILLIAM AUGUSTUS2, MERRITT1) was born 23 Aug 1887 in Derby, Sedgwick, KS, and died Jan 1973 in Wichita, Sedgwick, KS. She married FORREST PORTER JONES 1913, son of THOMAS JONES and MARGARET ROE. He was born 08 Sep 1889 in Walnut, Crawford County, KS, and died Sep 1968 in Wichita, Sedgwick, Kansas, United States of America. Notes for ETHEL MABLE RANSOM: Mama was five month's pregnant when Ethel was married, and Thomas came at the end of nine months. Dad went to the depot in the buggy to meet Ethel and bring her home the night Thomas was born. Forest Jones had a job --someplace else at that time--I think it was in Pratt, Kansas--and Ethel and I were put to bed that night in Mom and Dad's bed downstairs. Dad and Mother were sleeping upstairs. That night, sometime about midnight, Ethel's water broke, and it surprised her, having never had a baby before, and she screamed, "Mama." I went tearing upstairs and woke Mama out of her sleep. Then I was put back in my room with little baby, Nelda, to take care of, and Dad went after Dr. Dixon (he delivered Nelda, too). So baby Nelda and I went to sleep and in the morning, there was another baby--baby boy, Thomas Field Jones. Ethel lived with us for a number of months before Forest got settled someplace where he could take his family back. During that time, Ethel tatted yards and yards of tatting and sold it to the neighbors and people at church for seventy-five cents a yard. She was doing the best she could to help with expenses. And then's the time Ethel taught me to tat. She had learned to tat from her mother-in-law. Forrest and Ethel moved to Oxford and there, about eighteen months afterwards, Ransom was born. And then in due order came Charlotte and Porter, and the baby who was born with an opening in its back and died a few months after her birth, and then came the twins--Harold Roe and Hobart Lee. After Ethel and Forrest moved to Wichita and the children were all married, I remember Ethel saying, "These are the happiest, easiest days of my married life." They bought the bright red Ford and they took trips to Oklahoma and Texas, and they came out to Colorado in the red Ford. More About ETHEL MABLE RANSOM: Social Security Number: 512-09-1573 SSN issued: Kansas Notes for FORREST PORTER JONES: married Ethel Mable Ransom 3 Jun 1913 More About FORREST PORTER JONES: Residence: 1930, Oxford, Sumner, Kansas Social Security Number: 509-14-5447 SSN issued: Kansas More About FORREST JONES and ETHEL RANSOM: Marriage: 1913 Children of ETHEL RANSOM and FORREST JONES are: i. THOMAS FIELD5 JONES, b. 1914, Oxford, Sumner, KS; d. 25 Nov 1987, Wichita, Sedgwick, Kansas, USA. 5. ii. RANSOM MELVIN JONES, b. 14 Jul 1916, Oxford, Sumner, KS; d. 12 Apr 1993, Wichita, KS. iii. CHARLOTTE JONES, b. 1918, Oxford, Sumner, KS. iv. PORTER F. JONES, b. 17 Aug 1920, Oxford, Sumner, KS; d. 09 Aug 1993, Winfield, Cowley, Kansas, United States of America. More About PORTER F. JONES: Social Security Number: 514-01-2512 SSN issued: Kansas v. HAROLD ROE JONES, b. 14 Jun 1926, Oxford, Sumner, KS. vi. HOBART LEE JONES, b. 14 Jun 1926, Oxford, Sumner, KS; d. 17 Aug 2002, Guthrie, Logan, Oklahoma, United States of America. More About HOBART LEE JONES: Social Security Number: 511-18-2910 SSN issued: Kansas Generation No. 5 5. RANSOM MELVIN5 JONES (ETHEL MABLE4 RANSOM, MELVIN3, WILLIAM AUGUSTUS2, MERRITT1) was born 14 Jul 1916 in Oxford, Sumner, KS, and died 12 Apr 1993 in Wichita, KS. He married LEOLA IRENE ROLL 29 Sep 1935 in Oxford, KS, daughter of RALPH ROLL and JESSIE DEWATER. She was born 18 Apr 1914 in Arapaho, Custer, OK. Notes for RANSOM MELVIN JONES: Ransom was a Sergeant with the Wichita, KS, police department. He rode a motorcycle and was tough. He had a motorcycle accident and hurt his back so had to retire from the policy department. He sold used cars for awhile then worked for many years as a legal investigator. He was an officer of the NALI. Ransom was also a "Tin Lizzie" Shriner. He raised lots of money for the Scottish Rite chidren's hospital and also drove a van with children from Kansas to the hospital in St. Louis. He loved to drive and was restless. He could not sit around and was constantly in motion. He liked to meet peopel and he loved to negotiate "deals". He loved his family but could be a little difficult to get along with. He had to have his way. More About RANSOM MELVIN JONES: Residence: 1930, Oxford, Sumner, Kansas Notes for LEOLA IRENE ROLL: Leola Norene Roll My mother’s people were apparently from England and the Netherlands. They came to America and settled in Michigan. They came to KS by covered wagon. My father’s people were from Germany in the Baltic area. In Germany, my grandfather was a shoe cobbler and my grandmother, who had a club foot, herded geese. They came to America because of high taxation in Germany. My grandfather told of walking home through the Black Forest after work and saw his friend coming towards him but he disappeared and grandfather heard the friend had died at this exact time some distance away. They settled in WI and came to KS by covered wagon. They got a homestead from President Ulysses S. Grant. One of the sons (Gus) walked approximately 8 miles to a brick yard to work. They also drilled water wells. One day my papa was resting under a tree. His father said “Why aren’t you plowing?” My papa replied ‘If I get my work done in ½ day who’s business is it what I do the rest of the day?” I’m sure he found out. Growing up in Arapaho, OK In 1909 Ralph Roll and Jessie Dewater Roll moved their three children, Frieda, Hubert, and William (Bill) by covered wagon from a farm near Peck, KS to a farm xx miles west and xx miles north of Arapaho, OK. Ralph did this so he could raise cattle. They lived in a two room house with no lights and no running water. Gladys, Lester, twins Leona and Leola, and Pauline were born there. Leona died when she was 6 weeks old of whooping cough. She weighed 4 pounds 4 oz when she was born and I weighed 3 pounds 12 oz. About my name—my parents named me Leola Irene and my twin Leona Lorene. In high school and on my marriage license I used Leola Norene because at that time I did not want my mother’s name and I pretended this name more nearly matched that of my twin. When I was little my nickname was Odie. When I was 3 years old my folks built a big new house with carbide lights and a coal furnace in the basement. It had 4 bedrooms upstairs and 1 downstairs. Each room had windows on 3 sides. We ate in a large kitchen with boards put together and placed on saw horses. The outside toilet was quite a way down a little incline and the boys often threw rocks at us. We had telephone that hung on the wall and a lot of people were on the same line. We had 3 cement wells (cisterns) to hold water for drinking. The rain water ran off the roof into the wells. Water was heated on a cook stove and we took a bath on Saturday night. We attend the Christian church faithfully every Sunday morning and evening. We went 7 miles to church in a wagon with straw quilts to sit on. All the children except Pauline started school in a one room school called Sunnyside. We walked to school. By road it was about 2 ½ miles. My papa built a foot bridge across the creek so it was perhaps 1 ¼ miles. To get drinking water for school we went ¼ mile from the school to get water from the teacher’s pump. We all drank with the same “dipper” from that bucket. There was a coal shed on the side of the school and my friend and I often ate lunch in there. Our school consolidated for my 2nd year of school and we rode in Model T Ford busses. The seats were one long bench built along each side. Frieda lived in Arapaho with Mr. And Mrs. Applegate to attend high school until Sunnyside consolidated with the Arapaho school. My mama was very kind to us when we were ill but very strict and sometimes a bit cruel. My papa was old enough to be my grandfather. I loved to sit on his lap while he read the newspaper. I slept with him and my baby sister slept with my mother until I was about 10 years old. He had a sense of humor and loved his kids. My papa smoked a pipe and we always bought him a can of “Prince Albert” for Christmas. Papa spoke German but it was not used in our home. I loved going to the Hardware Store with my papa. All kinds of harness were hung on the walls. Again, there was a water pump and 1 tin cup from which everyone drank. My papa raised cattle and hogs and we had an orchard with apples, pears, plums and cherries. We had a good home and plenty to eat. It was sometimes my job to take corn to the pigs. I carried ears of corn by putting it in the full skirt of my dress which was pulled up to make a holder for the corn. We had a pony for riding ¾ mile to the mail box or for bringing the cows from the pasture at milking time. I walked most the time. Once, lucky for me, I rode for the cows and one had rabies. It sure scared me! I yelled for my brother to open the gate. He made fun of me for being afraid but he soon found the cow was chasing everything in sight. We had a nice little place down at the creek where we could wade and there also a grove of trees where we could have picnics. The house was on a hill between two creeks. When I was a teenager I liked to go up on a hill and sit on a ledge and dream. In the winter my big brother made a long sled and we all rode it down on an icy hill. We played dolls and house. We set-up boxes and stakes with string to divide off rooms our under some trees. When I was older we played ball on Sunday afternoons or a game called “New York”. Once when I was very small (about 3) my mama caught 5-year old Lester shaving me with a straight edged razor. Another time I shut Lester in an old oven because he was my chicken on some eggs and it took all day for the family to find him. He was really ready to pass out. All birthdays were special with a cake and we always received a silver dollar. It would be under our plate or in the cake or anywhere unusual. Once I even had a surprise party. At Christmas my papa would take a wagon and go 30 – 40 miles from home and bring back a tree that touched the ceiling. We always went to church Christmas eve and had a Christmas program. Santa came and delivered candy and oranges. I remember little pillow shaped mints on the tree- Santa always brought a big bucket of candy that was divided into 4 sections with 4 different kinds of candy. The tree was decorated with real candles and strings of popcorn. It was around 1918 when we got a REO Touring Car. I must have been about 10 years old when we got an Edison phonograph. It had cylindrical records. Our first radio came several years later. I was thinking today of my childhood friends. I went through all grades with Lovella Jones and Marion Spore. It seems I got along best with younger friends Emma Scarce and her sister, Estelle. Velma Dunn, who was my age, and her sister, Charlene, who dated Lester some. There were Almeda Homan and her sister Ethel Mae. I liked Estelle, Charlene, and Ethel Mae best. I kept in touch with Ethel Mae for quite a number of years. Her first child was a boy the age of Ruth Elena. We met in Arapaho when the babies were about 8 weeks old. I met Dorothy Gorsching my first year in 7th or 8th grade. She became a lifelong friend. She died in about 1996. After High School When I finished high school in 1931 I went to St. John’s Lutheran School in Winfield KS for one year. That was the year I met Ransom. He went to school in Oxford and I went there on weekends to visit my cousins. After school was out in 1932 I went to Peck and lived with my Aunt Annie until September of 1935 when Ransom and I married. Aunt Annie taught me to piece and quilt quilts. In later years at a High School Reunion we reunited with 2 men with whom I had gone to HS, Jack Steinberg and Ima (his wife who I had not known) and Leon Dunn. All lived in Oregon. There was a reunion every 3 years so Jack and Ima would come by and play cards. We visited them once or twice. Had a nice trip around there and lots of card playing. Leon moved to Arapaho after his wife died and we kept in touch until his death. I met Creta Dudgeon at St. John’s College. She married John Snook. They attended our wedding on September 29, 1935, at 9 pm on Sunday night at the preacher’s house. We had them at our house and they had us at theirs. We played cards, cards, cards and cards. Not long before Ransom’s death Creta died so that ended that. I worked in the auditing department at Sears Roebuck for 23 years and was active in The Daughters of the Nile- an organization that helped the children of the Shrine Hospital in St. Louis. Frieda married Berna Snider in 1923 and lived in and around Arapaho until her death. There were 10 children. I was very close to the first one, Waneta. Frieda’s life was hard. Hubert died at age 21 of a burst appendix. This was one of the worst times of my life. Bill married Claire Smith and had 3 children. They lived near Arapaho until Claire died in 1937. Bill then married Ruby XXX and moved to Clinton, OK. Gladys married Walter Kinsey and lived in the eastern part of OK. She had 8 children. Lester married Viva White and lived on a farm NW of Arapaho. They had 3 girls and later moved to Wichita, KS where he was employed by Steffen Dairy and later retired from Safeway. Pauline married Howard Lauterbach and had 6 children. She lived in the Wichita, KS area and was living in El Dorado at the time of her death in 1975. Next: Courtship-dating, why secretly married, eloping, the wedding, how parents found out, When started living together Life as wife and mother Friends Marriage Notes for RANSOM JONES and LEOLA ROLL: Leola and Ransom were secretly married at the Baptist parsonage at 9 pm Sunday. Creta Dudgeon and John Snook were the only guests. Leola was 21 and Ransom was 19. They had 9 flat tires that day! Ransom made $7 per week More About RANSOM JONES and LEOLA ROLL: Marriage: 29 Sep 1935, Oxford, KS Child of RANSOM JONES and LEOLA ROLL is: 6. i. RUTH ELENA6 JONES, b. 29 Jul 1936, Wichita, Sedgwick Co., KS. Generation No. 6 6. RUTH ELENA6 JONES (RANSOM MELVIN5, ETHEL MABLE4 RANSOM, MELVIN3, WILLIAM AUGUSTUS2, MERRITT1) was born 29 Jul 1936 in Wichita, Sedgwick Co., KS. She married KENNETH EUGENE INGLE 01 Aug 1953 in Wichita, Sedwick, KS, son of WINNER INGLE and MARY WHITE. He was born 15 Dec 1933 in Murdock, Kingman County, KS. More About RUTH ELENA JONES: Divorce: 1983 More About KENNETH EUGENE INGLE: Divorce: 24 Aug 1983, Tarrant, Texas More About KENNETH INGLE and RUTH JONES: Marriage: 01 Aug 1953, Wichita, Sedwick, KS Children of RUTH JONES and KENNETH INGLE are: i. CATHY LYN7 INGLE, b. 15 Jun 1955, Wichita, KS USA/Wichita, Sedgwick Co., KS. ii. DEBRA SUE INGLE, b. 24 Mar 1959, Wichita, KS/Wichita, Sedgwick Co., KS. iii. KEVIN SCOTT INGLE, b. 23 Aug 1962, Wichita, KS/Wichita, Sedgwick Co., KS.