Notes |
- Known as "Big Belly Bisbee, the Wheat Baron of Meade,County. Also writt
en as "Big Bellied Wheat King of Meade County."
Source: A History of Meade County Kansas by Frank S. Sullivan 978.175 h2d Genealogy Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. picture and article on Page 141
B.F.Bisbee, frequently called "The Big-bellied Wheat King of Meade County," was born at Ann Arbor Michigan, on June 22nd, 1842. He was married at Mason City, Ill., in January 1867 to Rebecca Grisson. through this union were born six children, to wit; Carrie, Grace, Leona, William I.,and Maude and Myrtie the last two being twins.
Mr. Bisbee came to Meade County in 1887, and has ever since been engaged in farming and stock-raising..
Years ago he earned and carried the title of " Farmer Bisbee" because he was one of the very few in Meade County who were making a success of farming at that time.
He has been Trustee of his township, and is a member of I.O.O.F at Meade.
Mrs W.I. Bisbee(Rena) (daughter in law wrote)
"B.F. Bisbee was a pioneer of Western Kansas, including Seward and Meade County. He and his family came from Mason City, Illinois in 1887 and proved a claim near what is at present Kismet, Kansas. When the railroad was built, their dugout was right beside the railroad, just west of Kismet. They bought a relinquishment at what is now the Herman Bender home sight, and the children each took a quarter of land that is now the Bisbee estate and proved their claim by living on it the required number of years. They knew the privations and joys of conquering the elements in primitive fashion while resting their livelihood from the soil. There were 5 girls, Carrie, Grace Leona and the 2 youngest twins, Maude and Myrtle. A son, W.I. Bisbee grew to manhood and reared his family of five near Plains on his and the families' homestead".
Another article from Bernard Melia's file (son of Leona who was daughter of B.F. Bisbee) Bernard says that Leona wrote:
"I was born in Champaign, Ill, May 27, 1876 and migrated to Kansas in 1886 with the rest of the family. My father, Benjamin Franklin Bisbee, earlier was an engine man on the Chicago and Alton railroad. A conductor on this line owned a farm at Champaign, Illinois and offered our father a job of managing this farm if he would quit the railroad; which was accepted. After a few years of renting, B.F. decided to homestead in Kansas, so the family boarded a train in Illinois and disembarked from the Santa Fe in Garden City. A team and wagon were purchased there and their household goods, which had been a box car on the same train, was loaded on the wagon. We then proceeded south from Garden City in this covered wagon to a site southwest of Kismet to settle on a homestead. Later that year, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railroad, which later became the Rock Island was extended from Bucklin on to Liberal. The survey of this railroad took it right through our dugout, so enough compensation was received to enable our family to move and construct another soddy."
These stories seem to parallel close enough that both seem accurate and are close to the information found in the Plains, Kansas Centenial book on page 154.
"The B.F. Bisbee family came to Meade County in 1887, from Champlain Co. Il. in a covered wagon with their six children and driving two white mules. They first settled on some land southwest of Plains where they lived in a dugout for a short time. They then moved southeast of Plais, where they filed on a quarter of land and proved their claims up. This land is still owned by members of the Bisbee family. They were pioneers in the Plains settlement.
When B.F. built the first wood frame house for his family, he hauled the lumber form Dodge City, taking 4 days with a lumber wagon. His children hunted buffalo chips to burn in the stove to heat their house the first winters when they were cold and hungry.
All the family wanted to return to Illinois, but Grandpa Bisbee said "No, it would all work out okay, if they try a while longer, and worked diligently." As with all old pioneers who had the fortitude to suffer those first several years, later they were rewarded with a comfortable home and living......"
|