Barber County Kansas
|
Barber County Kansas |
|
(Communicated.)Is this a government that believes in stealing from its poorest citizens and giving to a railroad company?
On the first day of October, 1865 there entered into the United States on board the Steamship "City of Cork," Mrs. Elizabeth Fishburn, four daughters and one son, the father and one son having sent for the other members of the family to come to Lawrence, Kansas, where they arrived on the 9th day of October, 1865, and saw some of the destruction done by Quantrell's band.
My father, in the winter of 1867, in February I think, filed on a government homestead of 160 acres, in the northwest corner of Lyon county and moved his family on it immediately after filing and went to work improving the land, building house, barns, etc., and in November, 1870 he was notified that owing to a shortage of land in the 20 mile strip (the "strip" was extending 40 miles, which included the quarter section of land that we were living on, and several others) he would be obliged to look to the A. T. & S. T. Ry. Co., for his patent, notwithstanding that the family had complied with every requirement of the law and had made settlement in good faith on government land.
Thereby the government deliberately stole three years work of three men from that family, and there were numbers of others in the same boat, and although P. B. Plumb and several other United States senators of Kansas have promised to try to reimburse us for our money and labor expended there has never been a penny paid, not even the money paid the government for filing. No member of the family has ever received the least recognition.
We moved off that land into Barber county in February 1873 and located one half mile west of Sun City and have stood the trials of life ever since.
J. V. Fishburn.
Thanks to Shirley Brier for finding, transcribing and contributing the above news article to this web site!
|
|
|