In June 1989, my great-grandparents sold their farmhouse on the outskirts of Plainville, a small Kansas prairie town. It had been their home for 42 years. They raised their four children in the house, and hosted countless family gatherings that grew to include grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
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| Marion and Nevella (Benedick) Lumpkins at their Plainville, Kansas home |
Recently, during a trip to the Rooks County courthouse in Stockton, Kansas, I had an opportunity to review original land records (not available online) and trace the property's history to the early 20th century. I spent a day with my mother in a courthouse vault trawling through leather bound volumes. Mom poured over the grantor and grantee indices (dutifully wiping the dust off each book cover), flagged every mention of our surnames and the corresponding deed book and page numbers, and I pulled and copied the records. We were an efficient team, logged several hours, worked through lunch, and walked away with dozens of family documents.
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| Outside the Rooks County, Kansas Courthouse with mom |
With the dates and names of different owners, I was able to complement the land records with accounts from the town's newspaper which occasionally shared snippets of local happenings and old family photos. Collectively, I've been able to identify eight separate owners.
1. Marion and Nevella (Benedick) Lumpkins: July 24, 1947 - June 1989
On July 24, 1947, an indenture was made between Marion and Nevella (Benedick) Lumpkins, my great-grandparents, and Verda Esther (Bair) Veatch. Verda, a widow at the time of the sale, was Nevella's maternal aunt - sister to her mother Bessie (Bair) Benedick.
The deed doesn't mention the full amount that my great-grandparents paid Verda for the home only the sum of "one dollar and other consideration." The record provides a description for the land, which appears nearly verbatim in each of the preceding deed transfers.
A five (5) acre tract located in the Southeast Quarter (SE1/4) of Section Thirty-four (34), Township Nine (9) South, Range Eighteen (18) West, more particularly described as follows: Commencing at a point 544.5 feet west of the Northeast Corner of said Quarter Section, thence West along the North line of said Quarter Section 518.6 feet, thence South at right angle 420 feet, thence East at right angle 518.6 feet, thence North at right angle 420 feet, to the place of beginning.
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| Verda (Bair) Veatch sells Plainville home to Marion and Nevella (Benedick) Lumpkins July 24, 1947 |
A couple months later, the local newspaper wrote that Marion, whose young family had been living in rural Rooks County outside town, was remodeling the home and planned to move in later that month. Apparently, the home needed some TLC. Aunt Esther, as she was called, had raised chickens in the north bedroom's closet. After they bought the home, Nevella spent hours scrubbing chicken feathers and droppings from the closet walls.
The home made cameos in a handful of old family photographs:
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| Nevella (Benedick) and Marion Lumpkins c.1948 |
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| Marion and Nevella with daughter Carolyn (right) Vernon (Marion's brother) and Lorene Barber with daughter (left) and unknown with back to camera |
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| Nevella (Benedick) Lumpkins outside the home |
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| Author pictured with his great-grandparents outside the home's garage |
In June 1989, the Plainville Times advertised an auction at my great-grandparents' home, selling many of their possessions including farm equipment and household items. Later that month, the paper announced that Marion and Nevella had sold their home and moved to a retirement community ending the family's ownership of the property.
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| Plainville Times June 1, 1989 |
2. Verda Esther (Bair) Veatch Byers: August 10, 1946 - July 24, 1947
On August 10, 1946, less than a year before she sold the home to my great-grandparents, Verda Esther (Bair) Byers Veatch bought the property from her brother Forrest Michael Bair for "one dollar and other valuable consideration."
On August 10, 1946, less than a year before she sold the home to my great-grandparents, Verda Esther (Bair) Byers Veatch bought the property from her brother Forrest Michael Bair for "one dollar and other valuable consideration."
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| Verda Esther (Bair) Byers Veatch |
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| Forrest Michael Bair sells Plainville home to sister Verda Esther (Bair) Veatch |
The Plainville Times published a note that Verda Esther had bought the place from her brother. The paper indicated the Nick Dreiling family lived in the house, suggesting that Forrest had been renting the property.
3. Forrest Michael Bair: October 22, 1945 - August 10, 1946
Ten months earlier, on October 22, 1945, Forrest Michael Bair bought the home from Ralph H. Noah, "a single man" for "one dollar and other valuable consideration." Ralph was an attorney and had represented Forrest's mother Mary Jane (Andrus) Bair in a dispute with her daughter Daisey Ellen Burton over "titles and interests of a part of the estate of the late Mike Bair" in October 1943.
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| Plainville Times August 29, 1946 |
Ten months earlier, on October 22, 1945, Forrest Michael Bair bought the home from Ralph H. Noah, "a single man" for "one dollar and other valuable consideration." Ralph was an attorney and had represented Forrest's mother Mary Jane (Andrus) Bair in a dispute with her daughter Daisey Ellen Burton over "titles and interests of a part of the estate of the late Mike Bair" in October 1943.
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| Forrest Michael Bair |
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| Ralph Noah was attorney for Mary J. Bair Plainville Times October 7, 1943 |
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| Ralph H. Noah sells Plainville house to Forrest Michael Bair |
4. Ralph Henry Noah: July 24, 1945 - October 22, 1945
In an indenture made August 8, 1944, Mary Jane (Andrus) Bair and ten of her children including Forrest and Verda (with the notable exception of the aforementioned Daisy Ellen (Bair) Burton), "in consideration of the sum of one dollar and other valuable consideration" conveyed the property to Ralph Henry Noah.
There were two caveats to the transaction. First, "Mary J. Bair shall have the possession, use, income, rents and profits of and from said property during her lifetime and at her death, Ralph Noah shall become the owner in fee simple thereof."
Second, "Forrest M. Bair shall have the right or option to purchase said property at any time before the death of Mary J. Bair and for a period of six (6) months thereafter for the sum of One Thousand Dollars ($1000.00), and provided further if Forrest M. Bair does not exercise said option on or before Three (3) months after the death of Mary J. Bair, then any of the other heirs of M. T. Bair, deceased, except Daisy Ellen Burton, may purchase said property for said One Thousand Dollars ($1000.00) until the expiration of said Six (6) months after the death of said Mary J. Bair."
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| Mary Jane (Andrus) Bair and 10 children leave the property to Ralph H. Noah |
Mary Jane passed away on July 24, 1945 and the property passed to Ralph Noah. Forrest bought the farm two days shy of the three month deadline and narrowly avoided the window when his siblings would be eligible to purchase the home.
5. Michael Theodore and Mary Jane (Andrus) Bair: August 23, 1927 - July 24, 1945
Nearly 18 years earlier, on August 23, 1927, Michael T. Bair bought the five-acre property from William Perry Smith and his wife Edith for $3,000.
5. Michael Theodore and Mary Jane (Andrus) Bair: August 23, 1927 - July 24, 1945
Nearly 18 years earlier, on August 23, 1927, Michael T. Bair bought the five-acre property from William Perry Smith and his wife Edith for $3,000.
In a curious twist, Edith was the daughter of John Lorenzo Bair - one of the earliest settlers of Plainville alongside his brother Michael. In other words, the transaction was a family affair with Michael buying the property from his niece.
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| William and Edith (Bair) Smith sold the property to Michael and Mary Jane (Andrus) Bair |
Michael and Mary Jane were my third great-grandparents and had 16 children (two of whom later owned the home). Family photos include appearances of the house.
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| Michael and Mary Jane (Andrus) Bair pictured in front of the house |
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| Michael and Mary Jane's daughter, Bessie with her husband Ernest Benedick (my 2nd great-grandparents) with daughter Nevella (future owner of the home) seated at left
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| Michael and Mary Jane Bair seated surrounded by their daughters Verda Esther, future owner of the home, pictured at far left |
6. William and Edith (Bair) Smith: August 8, 1919 - August 23, 1927
William Smith bought the property from Peter and Anna (Grotz) Spellman on August 8, 1919 for $4,000. This is the last record I was able to retrieve for the property.
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| Photo courtesy of Ancestry.com user PamScoggan |
The deed index recorded a transaction (book 51, page 105) where C. G. Cochran transferred property to P. D. Spellman. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to locate the original deed before we had to leave the county courthouse, so I don't know when this purchase occurred. But, we know that the eighth owner of the property was Casey G. Cochran, enumerated as bank president living in Plainville on the 1910 census.
Was Cochran the first owner of the property or did he acquire it from someone else? More research needs to be done to answer the question. For now, we can celebrate taking this home's history back over a century.
