Family Nibbles

There were lots of Maningers in Harper County in the latter years of the 1890s. The family tree was sprouting branches.

Val and Lena Maninger family

By 1899, Val and Lena’s children were coming of age and marrying. Two sons, John and Frank, had married in the early 1890s. There were six more getting to marriage age.

John and Priscilla Maninger family

In 1898, John and Priscilla Maninger welcomed another child. Emily Corraine Maninger was born on Friday, July 22. Her nickname would become “Emmy.” She’s our grandparent.

By 1898, John and Priscilla had four children.

Frank and Frances Maninger family

Frank had married Frances Dotterer in 1892.

Frank and Frances bought the southwest quarter of Section 22 in Banner Township in 1897.

Frank and Frances had three children in the 1890s – Charles in 1893, Earl in 1896, and Magdalena in 1897.

Emma married John Barth

At 3 p.m. on the afternoon of May 28, 1899, Emma Maninger married John Barth at the Apostolic Christian Church. They were married by Gottlieb Kurz, longtime Elder of their church. Emma was age 25, John 24.

The couple would make their home with the bride’s parents, but only temporarily. It wasn’t Emma and John that would move, but Valentine and Magdalena.

Emma and John would live in her parents’ house, and farm the northeast quarter of Section 18, the Maninger’s original quarter section.

Val and Lena Maninger moved into town

1898 and 1899 hosted a chess match of Maninger moves, from farm to farm, and from farm to town. The moves are puzzling, but set the stage for Val and Lena Maninger’s plan to provide each of their children with a farm.

In 1899, Val and Lena had been farmers in Harper County for fourteen years. Val was age 64 and Lena was 58. In August, Val and Lena bought a house in Harper and moved into town.

Why they moved is a puzzle. Was the move for health reasons? Or part of an overall strategy to free up more farms for children? Or?

Whatever the reason, they bought a house and four lots at the corner of 7th and Washington, just a few blocks northeast of downtown Harper.

The house he and Grandmother lived in is still in Harper, but has changed a lot. When I was there, they had an orchard on the West Side of the lot and on the south side they had a barn and stable where old Buddy was kept. The “Clan” usually gathered on Sunday at their house. All the kids (including me) always sat at a bench in the orchard.

My Experiences Growing Up On Our Kansas Farm – Billie Maninger

Editor’s Note: Bob Henderson’s book “The Maninger Family” contains recollections by Bob’s mother. Clara “Billie” Maninger (Henderson Matzen) was the sixth of John and Priscilla Maninger’s seven children. Her memories of early years in Harper are wonderful. We’ll include some of her anecdotes in upcoming stories.

John and Priscilla moved too

John and Priscilla Maninger had married in 1889, and bought a farm in 1892 in the northwest quarter of Section 24 in Banner Township. That’s where they lived.

Now their puzzle:

1. In 1898 and early 1899, Valentine Maninger bought the northwest quarter of Section 13, half from Gottlieb Kurz and half from Barbara Smith.
2. In June 1899, Val bought John and Priscilla’s Section 24 farm for $1,300.
3. John and Priscilla’s family moved to Val’s newly acquired farm in Section 13, one mile north. John didn’t buy this farm from Val. Maybe Val and Lena were trying to equalize their plan to give each child a farm.

A farm overview

Here’s how things looked on the Maninger farms in 1899.

New Year’s Eve 1899

December 31, 1899, was the last day of the year, the last day of the decade, and the last day of the century.

Surely the Maningers hosted a New Year’s Eve get-together! If so, the guest list of family members could have exceeded thirty.

Val and Lena Maninger would have been present. Their eight children, three with spouses, would have attended. Seven grandchildren would have been underfoot. Leah Eggli, age 19, was living in Val and Lena’s household and would have been there.

Perhaps Barbara Smith, Lena’s sister, would have attended with her children and grandchildren. Priscilla Maninger’s brothers Albert and John Weyeneth could have attended, along with their extended families.

They would have talked about the old times, but conversation would have turned to the future. A new railroad coming? Who’s getting married? Telephone? A new grandbaby? Electricity?

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Timeline

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Sources:

• News – Frank Maninger and Francis Dotterer marry – The Weekly Bulletin – March 11, 1892 – newspapers.com
• Marriage license and record – Emma Maninger and John Barth – May 22, 1899 – Harper County Clerk – Anthony, Kansas
• News – Emma Maninger and John Barth marry – Harper Sentinel – June 2, 1899 – newspapers.com
• Newspaper – Val Maninger buys residence of Tom Brown – Harper Advocate – August 25, 1899 – newspapers.com
• Deed – Valentine Maninger from Thomas Brown – Lots 3, 4, 5, 6 in Block 14, Harper – 1899 – Harper County Register of Deeds – Anthony, Kansas
• Map – excerpts – Harper County, Kansas – Southwestern Map Co., Wichita, Kansas – 1893 – Library of Congress – https://www.loc.gov/item/2012593089/
• Map – Sanborn Map of Harper, Kansas – Sanborn Map Company – 1899 – Library of Congress – https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4204hm.g4204hm_g029791899/?sp=3&st=image&r=0.106,0.834,0.414,0.343,0
• Quote – My Experiences Growing Up On Our Kansas Farm – Billie Maninger – from the book “Maninger Family in America” – F. Robert Henderson – 2000
• Image – Harper – Looking north from fountain on west side of Central Avenue – Harper Historical Calendar – Harper Historical Museum – Harper, Kansas
• Image – John and Priscilla Maninger in front of home on Section 13, Banner Township, Harper County, Kansas – The Maninger Family in America – F. Robert Henderson – 1982
• Image – 1899/1900 New Year’s Card – Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/543387511276264091/visual-search/?x=16&y=16&w=368&h=579&cropSource=6&surfaceType=flashlight
• Family Tree diagrams – Ancestry.com and Mark Jarvis
• Music – Swanee Smiles – Clyde Doerr and His Orchestra – Internet Archive – https://archive.org/details/78_swanee-smiles_clyde-doerr-and-his-orchestra-fred-w-hager-justin-ring_gbia0015606b