“JACOB COMBS, farmer, P. O. Louisburg, Section 8, Township 16, Range 24, has eighty acres of land, was born in Ross County, Ohio, in 1819, moved to Crawford County while quite young, was brought up on a farm; moved to Buchanan County, Mo., in 1839, spent seven years in that locality and then moved to Iowa. In 1862, he with his family immigrated by wagon to Oregon, spending six months without sleeping in a house. He spent two years in Oregon and Washington Territory but being dissatisfied with the climate, he brought his family back to Iowa by team, spending four months on the return trip. During their travels over the then unsettled regions of the West they were exposed to attacks from numerous bands of hostile Indians then ranging over that region. In 1869 Mr. Combs moved from Iowa to Kansas and located on his present farm in Wea Township.”

“LORENZO D. CROTCHETT, farmer, Section 5, Township 16, Range 25, P. O. Louisburg was born in Pope County, Ill., February 20, 1821. His parents were among the very earliest pioneers of that region. He was brought up on a farm and resided in Illinois till the fall of 1866, when he removed to Jackson County, Mo.; remained in that county till March, 1869, when he came to Kansas and settled on his present farm, Section 5, Wea. Mr. CROTCHETT has a finely improved farm of 87 i/2 acres. He was married in Pope County, Ill., in 1845, to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Tanner. Mrs. CROTCHETT was born in Kentucky. They have ten children, eight of whom are living. The eldest Amanda J., died aged seventeen years. William H. and John W. are extensively engaged in farming in Wea Township, Thomas J., Lorenzo D, Margaret E. [CROTCHETT] (now Mrs. Jacob Combs, of McPherson Co., Kan.) Charles P., Charity E. (died aged ten years) Luzan and Mary J.”

“HON. HENDERSON RICE, Farmer, Section 18, Township 19, Range 22, P. O. Mound Creek, was the first white settler south of Osawatomie, in Miami County. He was born in White County, Tenn, March 29, 1825, and was brought up in Henry County in Western Tenn. He moved to St. Francis County, Mo. in 1849 and from there to Kansas. In 1854, November 11th of that year, he located a claim on Section 16, Township 19, Range 22, where he has continued to reside nearly twenty-nine years. He now has a tract of rich bottom and prairie land of 340 acres in extent. In politics he was a radical Free-state man, but did not participate in any of the turbulent scenes of early days, and was never molested. During the late war he served in the Kansas Militia, in defense of Kansas. Was in the battle of Westport, Mo., and various skirmishes. On the organization of Mound Township, he was chosen supervisor. When the County Commissioner system was adopted, he was elected the third Commissioner; in 1866 was re-elected, and served four terms, during which time he was Chairman of the Board of Commissioners. He was elected to the State Legislature for the years 1862, '65 '79 and '81 and served on important committees. He was married in Illinois in 1843, to Miss Rebecca J. McINTYRE. They had six children, one son and five daughters;-Sarah, is the wife of John CAMPBELL, of Dade County, Mo.; Mary, wife of Charles FRESH, of Colorado; James, married and lives in Mound; Martha, wife of S. ADAMS of California; Ellen, wife of Joseph SMALLEY, of Mound. Mrs. Rice died May 15, 1857. Mr. RICE was married again January 6, 1858, to Miss Susan RANDOLPH. Mrs. RICE was born in Tennessee. They have two sons and five daughters-Susan, Marcella, (died aged twenty-two years), Nettie, wife of Charles Coombs, of Mound; Ida, Fannie, Hendleson and William T. Mr. RICE's father Thomas RICE, came to Kansas at the same time his son did. He made a claim on Section 15, Township 19, Range 22, and resided in this township till his death, which occurred in 1860.”

“Jacob N. Combs moved from Winterset [Madison Co], Iowa to Wea Township, Miami County, Kansas in 1869. With him were his wife, Elizabeth, their ten children, a son from his first marraige and a stepdaughter. The Combs family lived on a 160 acre farm until 1883 when they moved to Gridley, Coffey County, Kansas. Several of the children married and remained in Miami County.

“Jacob was born 6-17-1819, in Ross County, Ohio the son of William and Barbara BAUM Combs. He was married on September 6, 1837, to Sarah Ann VANGUNDY in Ohio. They were the parents of eleven children ( three sets of twins ). Six children died in infancy. Sarah died in 1852 in Winterset, Iowa, and is buried there.

“Jacob then married Elizabeth PITMAN ( Morrow ) on November 20, 1853, in Des Moines [Polk Co], Iowa. Elizabeth was born in Indiana on October 7, 1827, the daughter of Isaac Noah and Mary E. (Betsey) GRANT Pitman. Jacob and Elizabeth had ten children; Isaac Gibson, George Wesley, Sarah Ann, Lyman J., Mitchell R., Thomas Jefferson, Ursala C., Jennie Alice, Elma Melodia and Newton Foster.

“Jacob died May 30, 1907, and Elizabeth July 17, 1907. Both are buried at Moniter Cemetery in Conway [McPherson Co KS]. Family tradition is that Jacob was the father of 21 children and that lefthandedness was a family trait.

“George Wesley Combs was born on December 21, 1856, in Iowa, the son of Jacob Noah and Elizabeth PITMAN Morrow Combs. He came to Kansas with his parents in 1869, settling in Wea Township, Miami County, He was married on October 25, 1883 at Paola Township, Miami County, to Mary Jane CROTCHETT, the daughter of Lorenzo Dow and Elizabeth TANNER Crotchett. They were the parents of six children; Denton, July 22, 1884, McPherson County; Arthur Wesley, April 5, 1886, Burlington [Coffee Co] Kansas. The rest of the children were born in Louisburg [Miami Co], Kansas; Charles Franklin September 25, 1889; L.D. June 27, 1891; Edna Zora, November 21, 1894; and Mary Ruth Hazel, April 2, 1897” - Susan Price

Thomas Jefferson Combs

“Thomas Jefferson Combs was born in 1862 in Iowa, the son of Jacob Noah Combs and Elizabeth PITMAN Morrow Combs. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Oregon, Staying there two years; then they moved to Washington for two years. Not liking the climate, they returned to Iowa. They moved to Miami County, Kansas in 1869. Thomas was married in Louisburg [Miami Co], Kansas on November 20, 1883, to Louzie Ann CROTCHETT, the daughter of Lorenzo Dow and Elizabeth TANNER Crotchett. In McPherson County they had three children; Levi Dow, July 25, 1884; infant daughter, July 25, 1884, died July 25, 1884; Perry Allen, February 13, 1886. The last three children were born in Louisburg, Kansas; Vernade Wade, April 15, 1888; Isabella, August 18, 1890; and George Floyed, July 20, 1892.” - Susan Aiken Price

“Lorenzo Dow CROTCHETT. Lorenzo Dow, second son of John Isaac CROTCHETT, was born February 20, 1821, died May 28, 1906. He was named for a circuit riding preacher, Lorenzo married Elizabeth Christian TANNER (born August 3, 1823 - died August 7, 1908) on August 7, 1845, in Pope County, Illinois. There were ten children, all born in Golconda North, Illinois. (1) William henry born September 1, 1846 died August 20, 1933, Louisburg, married Mary Jane MORROW; (2) Amanda Jane, born February 10, 1848, died October 3, 1863; (3) John Wesley born July 17, 1850, died September 27, 1926, married Sarah Elizabeth McKee, 1876 went to New Mexico in 1910; (4) Thomas Jefferson born March 17, 1852, died December 4, 1926, married Belle Schoonover, 1876, two sons, went to Texas 1920; (5) Lorenzo Dow born December 7, 1853, died June 14, 1932, married Nancy COOLEY, 1876, three children, moved to Edwardsville, Kansas;(6) Margaret Elizabeth, born October 31, 1855, died December 15, 1951, married Jacob Gentry Combs 1874, ten children, moved to California 1886; (7) Charles Perry born September 16, 1858, died April 18, 1924, married Amanda Jane WEIR 1878, seven children, went to California 1887;(8) Charity Emeline born August 14, 1860, died March 8, 1869;(9)Louzie Ann born June 28, 1862, died July 12, 1951, married Thomas Jefferson Combs 1874, six children, went to Oklahoma 1907; (10) Mary Jane, born June 6, 1865, died November 30 1954 married Wesley Combs, 1883, six children went to western Kansas 1912.

“Lorenzo Dow and Thomas [CROTCHETT] married sisters, Elizabeth Christian and Martha Susan TANNER, Golconda, Illinois. In 1866, these brothers planned to go west so Lorenzo, his family, Thomas and wife and children, a third TANNER sister and her husband, Amanda Jane and Reuben TOWLAND, boarded the train for Pleasant Hill, Missouri, the end of the railroad line. In 1869, Lorenzo and the Rowlands came to Louisburn in Miami County and settled four miles north in Section 5, Township 16, Range 25, where they lived until 1906. On August 7, 1905, family and neighbors gathered to celebrate their 60th anniversary. They died here and are buried in Louisburg Cemetary. They were charter members of the Baptist Church.

“The CROTCHETTS were basically farmers, but all had other interests. Lorenzo was a veterinarian and experimented early in the growth of alfalfa and was one of the first to erect a silo” - Mary Crotchett

Isaac Noah and Mary E. (Betsey) GRANT Pitman

“Isaac Noah PITMAN was born in 1804 in Virginia and was married on November 10, 1825 at Corydon, Harrison County, Indiana to Mary E. (Betsey) GRANT. She was born in 1807 in Kentucky. Family tradition says that her parents were Daniel and Jane SMITH Grant, but this has not been proved. The parentage of Isaac is undetermined, but it was known that he could speak German. As a young man, he was an Ohio River boatman and lived in Marion County, in 1845, and moved his family to California during the gold rush.

“In 1861, he moved on to Oregon, not liking the atmosphere of mining camps to raise a family. He returned to Marion County, Iowa by was of the Isthmus, Gulf of Mexico, and up the Mississippi to Iowa. In 1869, the family came to Miami County, Kansas. They lived near their daughter and son-in-law, the Jacob Combs Family. They had seven children, Elizabeth, born October 7, 1829, married first a man named MORROW, who died of cholera, and then Jacob Noah Combs on November 20, 1853 at Des Moines, Iowa; Fletcher, Thomas; Franklin married January 10, 1861 to Rebecca WINTERHALTER. She died August 1863. He then married Margaret POLSEN on April 29, 1866; Robert D. ( Doc ) born 1842 in Iowa and Phillip Wesley.

“Isaac died in 1878 and Betsey died in 1873. Both are buried in Glenwild Cemetary, Westline [Cass Co], Missouri. - Susan Price

“Joseph Riley and Elma Melodia Combs Whitaker. Joseph Riley WHITAKER was born near Lerna, Illinois on July 29, 1862, the son of Asbury and Emmaline McKEE Whitaker. He had a twin sister, Ellen. He came to Miami County, Kansas as a small child in 1869. He was married on December 28, 1886, in Gridley [Coffee Co], Kansas to Elma Melodia Combs. She was the daughter of Jacob Noah and Elizabeth Grant PITMAN Combs. Elma was born on March 6, 1868 in Iowa.

“They lived on a farm in Wea Township and became the parents of thirteen children; Tassie Ora October 2, 1887-January 4, 1896; Clarence Alva, April, 1889-January 3, 1896; Elizabeth Emmaline, July 2, 1890; Ruby Eva, June 17, 1892 - January 1, 1896; Riley Dean, February 1, 1895; Esther Grace, January 21, 1897; Leura Adeline, May 23, 1899; John Wesley, December 11, 1900; Gladys Marie, July 29, 1902; Walter Glen, December 23, 1904; Truman Orval, June 16, 1907; Leonard Laverne, December 5, 1908; and Genevia Elma, June 28, 1910. Tassie, Clarence and Ruby died within days of each other during a diptheria epidemic and were buried in the Bucyrus cemetary.

“Joseph Riley died on April 1, 1937, and Elma died on December 25, 1954. Both are buried in the Bucyrus Cemetary [Miami Co, KS] - Susan Price”

“Joseph Henry RING. Joseph Henry Ring was born on October 23, 1854, in Bloomington Illinois, the son of Samuel Patch and Susan Senff Ring. When a small boy, his grandfather, Ira Ring, decided to sell his high priced land in Illinois, and invest in a cheaper land in Missouri. He placed his married children on these farms which were near Burlington Junction. Samuel P. Ring's farm happened to be on the Nodaway River, and the family was so plagued with malaria each summer that they decided to move the family to Kansas. They bought a farm near Louisburg.

“Joseph was married on November 15, 1874, to Sarah Ann Combs, born October 7, 1854, in Winterset [Madison Co], Iowa. The marraige took place at the home of the bride's parents, Jacob Noah and Elizabeth PITMAN ( Morrow ) Combs near Louisburg. Joseph and Sarah lived on a farm near Louisburg until 1879 when they then moved to a farm purchased by his father in Anderson County. They lived there three years when Joseph decided to move further out in western Kansas. They returned to Louisburg and rented a farm near Wea while seeking a new home. As three of Sarah's brothers were doing so well in McPherson County, they decided to go there in the spring of 1884.

“They were the parents of 12 children, the oldest of whom was stillborn. The children were Clarency Lyman, Samantha Irwessa, Fulton Dixon, Alva, Myrtle June, Ray B., Elma Adina, Susan Mable, Bessie Lola, Jacob Noah and Vera Ethel.

“Joseph died on November 16, 1941, and Sarah on March 6, 1942. Both are buried at the Monitor Cemetery in Conway, McPherson County, Kansas” -Susan Price