Family Nibbles

We’ve come to the end of this series of stories. We’ve followed our Maninger family from 1700s Germany to 1920 Kansas.

In our previous story, Emily Maninger graduated and became a registered nurse in 1920.

Here’s an update on the rest of the family, and some sneak previews of what’s to come.

1920 Census

The 1920 census showed John and Priscilla Maninger’s family. All their children except Dude were living at home.

Uncle Buddy Weyeneth, Priscilla’s brother, lived with the Maningers. Curly Minger, Eunice’s betrothed, also lived with the Maningers.

Mattie Maninger

Mattie graduated from Harper High School in 1920. She was the senior class president. Mattie was age 17.

She won first prize for baking the best bread – $20 in gold! She would continue that winning trend.

Mattie will marry Carl Sanders in 1921.

Jess Maninger

Jess Maninger was discharged from the military in June 1919. He was age 26.

Jess had a land claim in Hartsel, Colorado. To “prove up” his claim, he had to live there and make improvements.

Jess courted Gladys Babcock.

The Babcocks lived four miles northwest of Harper. They were family friends and attended First Christian Church with several of the Maninger families.

Jess and Gladys will marry in 1922.

Frannie Maninger

Ferne “Frannie” was 8 years old in 1920.

Priscilla Maninger

Priscilla Maninger was in good health at age 49. She continued to entertain with her famous dinners.

John Maninger

The year 1920 got off to a stressful start for John Maninger.

In January 1920, John Maninger went to Hot Springs, Arkansas for his health. He was age 52.

We don’t know any health details, but we know there were some stressful events in his life.

Oil company failed

The Eldorado – Harper – Emporia Oil and Gas Company failed. The company had drilled two dry holes in Eldorado, and had abandoned their drilling attempt in Harper.

In January 1920, shareholder lawsuits caused the equipment to be sold at a sheriff’s sale. In February, the leases and wells were taken over by The Producers Oil & Refining Company of Eldorado.

Another mortgage

On March 1, John and Priscilla took a loan of $6,000, giving another mortgage on their farm. They had previously borrowed $1,500 against the farm in 1918.

Dude Maninger

Sylvester “Dude” Maninger was age 29 in 1920. He had married Hattie Baker in 1912.

Dude and Hattie Maninger lived on South Park Avenue in Wellington. In 1920, they had five children, with more to come.

Dude worked for the Santa Fe Railroad.

Billie Maninger

Clara “Billie” Maninger was age 14, a freshman at Harper High School.

Billie was born in 1915, the fourth of five girls in the family.

Billie will marry Frank Henderson in 1925.

Eunice Maninger and Curly Minger

Eunice Maninger and Curly Minger married Wednesday, September 22, 1920. The ceremony was at John and Priscilla Maninger’s home.

Thank you, Eunice, for all the photos. We’ve really enjoyed them.

Everybody happy

Let’s end our series of Maninger stories with this upbeat shot, a happy group gathered in front of John and Priscilla Maninger’s house. It’s a great photo from Eunice’s album.

Perhaps it will set the tone for the upcoming Roaring Twenties.

Stay tuned for the next series of stories. We’ll explore the history of the Cheney family. Once we do, we’ll return to 1921, when Emily Maninger and Ned Cheney will marry.

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Timeline

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Sources:

• Census – John and Priscilla Maninger – 1920 – ancestry.com – https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6061/images/4300850_01036?pId=106815744
• News – Mattie Maninger is president of senior class – Harper Advocate – October 2, 1919 – newspapers.com
• News – Mattie Maninger graduates Harper High – Harper Advocate – May 6, 1920 – newspapers.com
• News – Mattie Maninger wins baking contest – Harper Advocate – May 22, 1919 – newspapers.com
• News – Mattie Maninger is in senior class play – Harper Advocate – March 11, 1920 – newspapers.com
• News – Jess Maninger return from his claim in Colorado – Harper Advocate – March 24, 1921 – newspapers.com
• Land Patent – Jess Maninger – Park County, Colorado – 1926 – Bureau of Land Management – General Land Office Records – https://glorecords.blm.gov/details/patent/default.aspx?accession=982344&docClass=SER&sid=rmaess0t.lnu#patentDetailsTabIndex=1
• News – John Maninger to Hot Springs for health – Harper Advocate – January 1, 1920 – newspapers.com
• News – Sheriff’s sale of EHE Oil Company equipment – The Anthony Bulletin – January 15, 1920 – newspapers.com
• News – EHE Oil Company taken over – The Petroleum Journal – February 12, 1920 – newspapers.com
• Mortgage – John and Priscilla Maninger to Frank Zacharias – 1920 – Harper County Register of Deeds – Anthony, Kansas
• News – Eunice and John Minger get married – Harper Advocate – September 23, 1920 – newspaperrs.com
• Marriage License – Eunice Maninger and John Minger – 1920 – Harper County Clerk – Anthony, Kansas
• Image – Photos from Eunice Maninger’s album – Maninger family documents – Emily Maninger Cheney collection
• Image – Misc. Maninger Photos – Maninger family documents – Emily Maninger Cheney collection
• Family Tree diagrams – Ancestry.com and Mark Jarvis
• Music – Me Too Ho Ho Ha Ha – Paul Whiteman 1920-1935 Complete Collection – Internet Archive – https://archive.org/details/PaulWhiteman1920-1935CompleteCollection