Sedgwick County KSGenWeb

Portrait And Biographical Album of Sedgwick County, Kan.

Chapman Brothers 1888

Pages 656 - 657

CHARLES M. TYRRELL, one of the earliest settlers of Salem Township, is a resident on section 21, where he carries on agricultural pursuits. He was born amid the hills and valleys of Berkshire County, Mass., May 27, 1821, and is a son of Trueman and Aurelia Tyrrell, both of whom were also natives of the old Bay State. His remote ancestry were English, and among the Colonists who first settled on the stormy and rock-bound coasts of New England. His maternal grandfather, John Morse, served as a soldier in the British Colonial army, during the French and Indian War, which lasted from 1755 to 1764. His service extended over a term of seven years. A study of the genealogical table of the Morse family shows that this Morse was an ancestor of Samuel Morse, the inventor of the telegraph. Truman Tyrrell, the father of our subject, was enrolled in the United States Army during the contest with Great Britain in 1812-15, and remained for a short time in the performance of active duty.

             When Charles M. Tyrrell was some fourteen years of age his parents removed to Western New York, and settled within the limits of what is now known as Wyoming County, which was at that time an old settled country. In this spot he was reared to manhood, assisting his father in the labor of the farm and receiving his first instructions in farming. He was fairly educated, as most New Englanders are, and having always been it persistent reader, has acquired a large amount of information and is well versed in the current topics of the day. On the 9th of September, 1852, while still a resident of Wyoming County, he was joined in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Ferris, who was born in that county, Jan. 8, 1832. She was the daughter of James C. and Alida Ferris, who were of Dutch descent, and were among the earliest pioneers of that section of the Empire State. By this marriage Mr. and Mrs. Tyrrell were the parents of three children: Frank; James and Charles, the two latter deceased. Jan. 19, 1862, Mr. Tyrrell was bereft of his wife, who departed to "the chambers in the silent halls of death," leaving behind her a bereaved husband and a large circle of mourning friends and relatives.

             Having been seized with a desire to see the great West, of which he had heard so much, in 1858 the subject of our sketch left his native home and removing to Minnesota, made his residence for several years in Hennepin County, on the site of what is now the business portion of Minneapolis. During the famous Indian outbreak which took place in 1863, Mr. Tyrrell held the position of clerk with the Chief quartermaster of the expedition under Gen. Alfred Sully, who moved with a column against the merciless Sioux Indians, and followed them as far west as the Missouri River. In the fall of 1864 our subject returned to Western New York, where he remained about a year, and subsequently spent about eighteen months in the oil regions of Canada. Returning to the States, he settled in Marshall County, Ill., but after a residence in that locality of several years, came to Sedgwick County, Kan., in 1871, and took up under the pre-emption act, the southwest quarter of section 21, in what is now known as Salem Township. He at once settled on this place, which was of course in a state of primitive wildness, and commenced making improvements. Like all pioneers he was compelled to lead quite a rough life. For the first seven years of his residence in this portion of the county, he and his son Frank kept bachelor's hall, the father doing the housekeeping and cooking and the son attending to the out-door work.

             During the year 1871 the first election in the township was held at a little log cabin, belonging to Mr. Tyrrell, and located on his farm. At this time the township, which was just being organized, embraced what is now Ohio, Salem and Waco, and was known by the latter name. Mr. Tyrrell was elected the first Justice of the Peace for his part of the township, and served in that office for the ten successive years to the great satisfaction of all concerned. He finally declined a re-election to the office, and it was said at the time of his surrendering it, that he had been continuously the longest in that office of any person in the county. He has always taken a deep interest and an active part in the development of Salem Township, and spares no pains to enhance its interests. He married the second couple ever united in the township, attended the second funeral, and helped erect the first schoolhouse. In politics he is a Democrat and adheres strictly to the principles and tenets of that organization.

[ Home ]