Barber County Kansas
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Barber County Kansas |
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Gravestone for John T. Jesse, Jesse Family Cemetery, Barber County, Kansas.
Photo courtesy of Nathan Lee.
Gravestone for John T. Jesse, Jesse Family Cemetery, Barber County, Kansas.
Photo courtesy of Nathan Lee.
Gravestone for John T. Jesse, Jesse Family Cemetery, Barber County, Kansas.
Photo courtesy of Nathan Lee.
The house of the John T. Jesse Family, Barber County, Kansas, photo taken in December 2006.
The house is about 200 yards east of the John T. Jesse gravesite.
John T. Jesse and Bettie Ellen (Drennon) Jesse had 10 children.
Photo courtesy of Nathan Lee.
The Chosen Land: Barber County, Kansas, page 251. John T. Jesse
by Jane KimballMy parents, John T. Jesse and Bettie Brennon Jesse, were born in Kentucky and became true pioneers as they made several moves toward a new frontier. My father's parents were slave owners, and as a young man he fought in the Confederate Army.
After their marriage in 1862, they moved to Dade County, Missouri. While living there, five children were born. The next move was to Jackson County, Kansas, near Holton. Here two more children were added to the family. Then about 1883 they came to Barber County and located on the farm where a sister and I were born. This was to be their home the rest of thier lives except for the time spent on the claims they got in the Famous Oklahoma Strip in 1883. Homes were maintained in both Barber County and Oklahoma for a time and many trips were made by covered wagon during this period. During these travels my father learned diplomacy in order to be friends with the Indians who occupied a large territory of Oklahoma.
While living near Holton, Kansas, our family became acquainted with the "Sockless" Jerry Simpson family. this friendship continued after the Simpson family moved to Barber County. My youngest brother and the Simpson's son, Lester, were playmates as young boys and caused Lester's mother, Jane, many unhappy moments by chewing tobacco; however, she kept a close rein on them.
My sisters and brothers all lived in Barber County so I list them as follows: Robert (Bob) Jesse, 1863-1834, never married; Harriet (Hattie) Graves, 1866-1953; Charles Jesse, 1868-1907; George Jesse, 1872-1927; Sara Toombs, 1875-1945; John Jesse, 1879-1951; Mamie Toombs, 1882-1951; Blanche Hartley, 1886-1933; Jane Kimball, 1889.
Our father was always hospitable and many a stranger on horseback found welcome food and a night's lodging at our home. My mother and sisters were not always so happy for another mouth to feed.
My brothers and sisters and I attended the Number 10 school located a couple of miles west of My own story of my life with my husband Wilbur Kimball appears elsewhere in this book, having been written by my daughter Georgia Mae Johnson.
I have made my home at Indian Hills Lodge, in Medicine Lodge, since it opened about 9 years ago.
-- The Chosen Land: Barber County, Kansas, page 251, by Jane Kimball.
Email to Nathan Lee from Judy Bales, 14 December 2006 "Thanks for the pix which I will hard copy and add to family scrapbook. The building is indeed the (John T. Jesse) home, which according to reports I heard as a child, replaced a much larger home which had been taken by a tornado. The high opening on the right was a door to the quite mysterious "upstairs". There were very steep steps and I was never allowed to go there with the adults. The adults were my aunt, Bettie Mills and my grandmother, Jane Kimball. There was said to be a china head doll among the treasures up there and I was to have it when Aunt Bettie passed away. She died when I was about 12 and I never saw the doll. I loved spending nights in that house with no electricity, wood burning stove, and a cistern near the front door as water source. There was one bedroom with a feather bed in it. That was my idea of pure luxury then. I can recall the total layout of the house, location of the outhouse, the cistern, etc. I have a complete genealogy of the Jesse family and a lot of stories which were passed along if anyone is interested. My maternal grandmother was the youngest of the eight Jesse children who grew up on that place. John T. Jesse died of skin cancer which ate away a large portion of his face. Although there is only one headstone, there are supposedly graves of two infants also. Believe they were both his grandchildren."
Email to Nathan Lee from Judy Bales, 31 July 2006 "Another Barber County cemetery or gravesite which may be of interest is that of my great grandfather and at least two infants who were buried on his home place west of Medicine Lodge. It, too, is surrounded by a wrought iron fence. The gravesites have sunken over the years. The name on the tombstone is that of my mom's grandfather, John T. Jesse. The old house, which is small and replaced one that was taken by a tornado, still was standing last time I was there. It is a beautiful piece of property."
Email to Judy Bales from Nathan Lee, 31 July 2006
I don't know why that couldn't be named the "Jesse Cemetery" and included in the Rootsweb site. I believe there must have been MANY private cemeteries, literally in the backyard, just because there are not enough graves to go with the number of people living at the time of the various censuses (censi?). People also did not have enough money to put up any sort of monument other than wood. That could explain the missing stones in the 2 cemeteries that I have looked at recently."
From the site guestbook: Name: Clara Hoag Louthan
E-mail: louthan@giantcomm.net
Date: 2006-08-29
Comments: Thanks for posting the obit. for Mrs. Jesse on the website. Aunt Hattie and I shared the same birthday. Also Bettie Mills was a close friend to my father Mitchell Hoag and Florence Graves Hoag. I would like to see Bettie Jesse Mills', Medicine Lodge Ks., obituary. I think she had a daughter?Clara
Name: Connee Assells
E-mail: cassells1@earthlink.net
Date: 2007-02-17
Comments: It was great to see the house of my great grandparents. I remember my father telling me that his grandfather was buried under a tree on the homestead. My father was John Lloyd Jesse, son of John Louis Jesse. He was the son of John T and Bettie.
Nine urban cemeteries, three still-maintained country cemeteries, and at least fifteen additional burial sites are located within Barber County boundaries... The majority of rural cemeteries were never deeded out and remain private, untended and almost forgotten burial places. Names ascribed to them were derived from the land owner or families buried therin. --The Chosen Land: Barber County, Kansas.
Also see:
Bettie Ellen (Drennon) Jesse, Obituary, The Barber County Index, November 3, 1927. (Mrs. John T. Jesse)
Confederate Veterans Meeting, 1892, Barber County Index, May 16, 1892. (John T. Jesse was a Confederate veteran.)
Thanks to Judy Bales and Nathan Lee for contributing the above information and images to this web site!
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