Sarah Edna Eutsler KENNEDY Autobiography

Sketches From 1879 to 1956

Long years ago there was a young man - named Jonah Eutsler and a young woman - Mary Hollingsworth by name who decided to marry, so in the early part of 1879 they were married in Winfield, Ks. They went to live with the brides mother who was a widow living on a farm about 6 miles west of Atlanta, Ks. The mother was homesteading this farm of 160 acres and she- three sons and daughter and husband lived in a two room house. Slept on beds without springs - just board slats to hold the ticks filled either with straw or hay.
On Dec. 8, 1879 a browneyed - brownhaired baby girl was born to the young couple. They named her Sarah Edna but nicknamed her Sadie, the name she went by the remainder of her life. Jan. 30, 1882, another baby girl came to live with them. They named her Anna Laura. She was browneyed too and had brown curly hair.

Later a little son was born. The mother took sick with fever and soon left this world - leaving the father and grandmother (Hollingsworth) with three babies- the eldest not quite four years of age. In about six months the baby boy passed away.

The oldest little girl can remember her little sister Anna standing at the window crying for her "mama". She can remember of trying to comfort her in her childish way. The father became ill with asthma and could not live in Kansas and work during the summer. So the grandmother took care of Sadie and Anna while their father went to Colorado and worked in the higher altitudes. We were very poor so when Sadie got old enough to go to school the kind teacher said Anna could come too so the grandmother beg an to teach school again. One of the uncles would take the little girls to school and come for them in bad weather but in nice weather they walked with other boys and girls. The school was three fourths of a mile from their home.

Sadie can remember how the grandmother would get the two little girls ready for school early. We wore hair in long curls or braids so Sadie would wash dishes while the grandmother combed Anna's hair and then Anna would take her turn at the dishes while Sadie's hair was combed. Then the grandma would have to leave for her school in another district.

Later on she taught a few years in our home school and Sadie and Anna went to school to their grandmother which they did not like very well although they love their grandmother dearly.

Although a very busy woman the grandmother took time to teach the girls as they should be taught and lead them to love and serve the lord. She also found a way to buy an organ for us to learn to play on and would sit down and help us often with our lessons.

Sadie attended school at Prairieview until she was grown and was considering attending the college in Winfield, Ks as in those days students could enter college from the grade schools. Her father thought it would be possible for him to pay the expenses - but a young man by the name of John Kennedy had been waiting for Sadie to grow up. John's home was only half a mile east of where Sadie lived. His mother had made him carry Sadie around one time when she was a baby which certainly did not please John. When Sadie grew to be a young woman some way she looked different to him so he decided to try to get her to change her mind about attending college.

He went to town and bought a new buggy and began to take her places. He was successful so in September 28,1898 they were married in Winfield, Ks and began housekeeping on a farm.

In 1899 a baby girl was born. She lived only a few days. Then June 9, 1902, a little son came to live with them. His name was Aaron Jonah. Later another baby girl who only spent one day in this world.

John had been sun stroke when twenty years of age and soon found he could not continue working in the hot sun so sold his cattle and farm implements and moved to Winfield where he built a new house. He kept his household goods and horse and buggy.

There were no cars in our part of the country and anyone who could keep a horse and buggy felt that they had a very good way to go. While they were in Winfield, Kansas, July 1, 1905, Edward Scott was born. There next move was to El Dorado, Kansas, where November 28, 1907, Percy was born. There they tried running a store but in doing so lost all that they had but a farm of overflow land which everyone thought wasn't worth paying taxes on - John was determined to keep the land which afterward proved to be blessing because of the oil lease money they received from it.

Then partly by inheritance and partly by buying the part of other members of the family they got an eighty acres of land in Cowley County, Kansas where Sadie was born and raised. This land was always called grandma's eighty. After trading the store John went to work for a lumber company in El Dorado, Kansas and then later moved to Atlanta, Kansas, to take charge of the lumber yard for T.M. Deal Lumber Company of Wichita, Kansas. He remained in their employee for several years. Moving from Atlanta to Elkhart, Kansas, living there three years and then moving to Piedmont, Kansas, as manager of the lumber yard there for several years.

The three years spent in Elkhart were happy years although they would long for the home folks sometimes. But the town was new and building up. They enjoyed the work in the church which at first seemed very poor but as more people came in it began to be carried on in a better way and they were there when a new church was built. John and Sadie also built them a new four room cottage with a large attic upstairs. This they enjoyed a lot as it was the nicest home they had ever owned.

Then Mr. Deal decided to send John to take charge of the lumber yard at Piedmont, Kansas, a small village at the foot of the world famous Flint Hills - known for their fine pasture with plenty of springs for water. Aaron, Scott, and Percy always seemed to be happy here as there were plenty of trees and water to swim in and boys to go swimming with.

The family remained in Piedmont where Oct. 20, 1918, Harley was born and May 15, 1921 Paul was born. They were very much interested in a good high school building and they with many others worked to bring it to pass and were very happy when the spring of 1923 the community could attend the senior play in the new auditorium of the high school buildind. Their son Scott was a member of this class. The class before of which Aaron was a member had their commencement in the Christian Church. All five boys graduated from this high school. Aaron in 1922, Scott in 1923, Percy in 1925, Harley in 1936, and Paul in 1939. This high school was a great blessing to the youth of our community as many of the parents were not able financially to send their children to other towns to high school.

John had charge of the lumber yard and hardware store for several years. During the depression the lumber yard was moved out and later the hardware and left John without employment. Thet went through a period of hard times and then John was appointed Postmaster at Piedmont and held the office 15 years.

In the year 1947 Sadie fell on the ice and broke her left leg. The circulation was never right. Then in 1949 she received a small injury on the leg which caused a bad ulcer and up to the day of this writing in 1956 has never healed. July 13, 1956, it hemoraged badly and four pints of blood had to be given to replace loss of blood.

In Jan., 1956, John had a light stroke in his left leg from which he seemed to recover but Feb., 1956 he suffered a bad stroke on his right side from which he did not recover and at 2 A.M. March 11, 1956, he left this world for that better home where there will be no sickness or sorrow or weeping. His funeral was in Piedmont M.E. church and buried at Atlanta cemetery March 13, 1956.

Written for Sheila and Linda - first part while in their home July, 1956, and last part while in the Osteopathic Hospital, Wichita, Kansas. If any of the family want a copy let them have it.

God bless my little girls and all of my dear grandchildren.
Grandma Kennedy

(From handwritten copy typed by Allen Scott Kennedy, son of Edward Scott Kennedy. No attempt was made to correct punctuation, spelling, etc.. S.L.K.)

Contributed by Steve Kennedy