One of the activities on our trip to Oklahoma was a recon at Independence, Kansas. My mother's great-grandfather, George Hunt is buried in an unmarked grave next to a son somewhere in Montgomery County, Kansas. George was born in Blount County, Tennessee, and moved to Iowa with his bride, Sarah Alexandar, before the Civil War. He fought with the 25th Iowa Infantry during the war, and in 1867 he moved to Kansas and homesteaded on Osage Indian land. Lots of settlers did, and we have found that the records for those homesteaders are not easy to find. George died in 1870 due to an infected wound he suffered during the Civil War, and his widow left Kansas for Iowa about 1873. George is buried on the homestead.
We visited the courthouse to see what records might be available, and found that the land records are indexed only by legal description. Sarah sold the farm before she left Kansas, but we know only the approximate time and not the location. There are lots of very thick books that have to be scanned line by line to find an unknown land sale.
The Independence Public Library has a very good historical and genealogical section, but most material is dated after George died. Independence was founded in 1870, the year that George passed away. Our next step will be to look for information online for the Osage area of Kansas. We do not expect to get lucky with this, but we can do it from home. A visit of several days to look through the old record books in the courthouse will be our best bet to find George and the son buried next to him.
One of the activities on our trip to Oklahoma was a recon at Independence, Kansas. My mother's great-grandfather, George Hunt is buried in an unmarked grave next to a son somewhere in Montgomery County, Kansas. George was born in Blount County, Tennessee, and moved to Iowa with his bride, Sarah Alexandar, before the Civil War. He fought with the 25th Iowa Infantry during the war, and in 1867 he moved to Kansas and homesteaded on Osage Indian land. Lots of settlers did, and we have found that the records for those homesteaders are not easy to find. George died in 1870 due to an infected wound he suffered during the Civil War, and his widow left Kansas for Iowa about 1873. George is buried on the homestead.
We visited the courthouse to see what records might be available, and found that the land records are indexed only by legal description. Sarah sold the farm before she left Kansas, but we know only the approximate time and not the location. There are lots of very thick books that have to be scanned line by line to find an unknown land sale.
The Independence Public Library has a very good historical and genealogical section, but most material is dated after George died. Independence was founded in 1870, the year that George passed away. Our next step will be to look for information online for the Osage area of Kansas. We do not expect to get lucky with this, but we can do it from home. A visit of several days to look through the old record books in the courthouse will be our best bet to find George and the son buried next to him.
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