Barber County Kansas
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Barber County Kansas |
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One of the most conservative and successful stock men that we have encountered in Barber county is Mr. Orville Mills of Lake City township. He is level headed, and while he has been in the cattle business all his life - twenty-three years in Barber county - he has never allowed himself to be lured into any wild cat speculation by which so many men have been ruined, but has made it a rule of his business life to cut his garment according to the cloth, to live within his means and never enter into any deal he could not clearly see his way out of. The result has been that he is now independent and in a condition where no financial panic or slump in the market can affect him. Tonk Mills, as his friends call him, believes in good stock. He holds over an average herd of 500 head, has seven male Herefords for which he paid over $1400, and in 1898 sold $2500 worth of bull calves for breeding purposes. Mr. Mills' ranch comprises something over 2000 acres and he resides in a beautiful and comfortable home in Lake City.
The Chosen Land: Barber County, Kansas, page 330. Orville Tonk Mills
by W.C. MillsOrville Tonk Mills was born in East Tennessee, May 21, 1856. He came to Barber County in early spring of 1877. in 1892 he married Mary Heavilin. To this union was born two girls, Mary (Mrs. Ervin Lake) and Celia (Mrs. Mark Purdy). Mrs. Mills died in 1895.
He was married to Lora McColl in 1896, and there were five children born to this union: W.C. 2nd. Orva, Ethyl, Elizabeth and Orville. Tonk and his brother, Govan, bought the W.C. Mills' interest in Barber County holdings before "Uncle Billy" W.C. moved to Texas.
Tonk was sheriff of Barber county in the 1890's. He followed the one trail herd from Texas to Barber County. He worked on the Salt Fork and Eagle Chief Pool from 1878 until the spring of 1885. He and Clark Bunton from Kiowa roped all the calves that they branded. One year they branded 15,000 head.
Tonk and Govan divided their cattle and land in 1910, he taking the west end which was on Dog Creek, his brother Govan, taking the east end which touched part of Dog Creek and part of Bear Creek, and Medicine River.
Also see:
Thanks to Ellen (Knowles) Bisson for finding, transcribing and contributing the above Medicine Lodge Cresset article to this web site!
It is one of a series of articles published together on 2 March 1900 under the title of Barber County Profiles: Men Who Have Taken a Prominent Part in Developing the Stock Industry in Barber County.
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