331 – Mary Belle Hestwood

Mark Jarvis

Two events occurred in Garfield, Kansas in the same week in April 1890 that influenced our family history:

  • Dr. E.R. Cheney decided to locate his practice in Garfield
  • Rev. A.B. Hestwood was assigned to the Garfield Methodist congregation

These two unrelated events led to E.R. Cheney meeting and then marrying Mollie Hestwood.

Let’s meet the players in this romantic story, and see how it happened. Here’s the cast:

E.R. (Enos Ralph) Cheney

Enos Ralph Cheney

Dr. E.R. Cheney had scouted locations and opportunities to start his medical practice. He decided on Garfield, Kansas. He began making arrangements for office space and living quarters. E.R. was age 20.

A.B. (Albert Bascom) Hestwood

Albert Bascom Hestwood

Rev. A.B. Hestwood was assigned to the church in Garfield by the Methodist Southwest Kansas conference. He and his young family moved into the Methodist parsonage. A.B. was age 32, his wife Mary was 34. They had three young sons.

C.D. (Charles DeWitt) Hestwood

Charles DeWitt Hestwood

Rev. C.D. Hestwood, younger brother of A.B., was assigned to the church in Burrton, Kansas in the spring of 1891. After being delayed by a spring snow storm, C.D. and his family arrived in Burrton and moved into the parsonage. C.D. was age 27, his wife Stella was 24. They had a young son and an infant daughter.

Mother Matilda Hestwood

C.D. Hestwood had been in Burrton only two weeks when he got word that his mother was in very poor health. He traveled to Illinois, intending to bring her to Burrton.

The Burrton Weekly Graphic – April 16, 1891

Rev. Hestwood’s father William Finley Hestwood had been a traveling Methodist circuit rider, serving congregations in Ohio, Illinois and Iowa. He and his wife Matilda had eight children.

William Hestwood died in 1885 in Iowa at age 48. At that time, Matilda still had five children living at home.

Now, in 1891, Matilda was age 53. Her health was an issue. C.D. Hestwood brought his mother Matilda and his five siblings back to Burrton.

His five siblings were:

  • Rosanna Ellen (Rosa), 24
  • Mary Belle (Mollie), 21
  • John William, 16
  • Eva Pearl (Perrie), 12
  • Carrie Matilda, 10

Mary Belle (Mollie) Hestwood

Mary Belle “Mollie” Hestwood

Mollie Hestwood was one of the children living in her mother’s household in 1891. When C.D. Hestwood brought the family to Burrton, Kansas, Mollie came too.

At age 21, Mollie found herself living in Burrton, Kansas.

Family visits

The families of A.B. and C.D. Hestwood often visited each other.

An easy commute

Garfield was eleven miles southwest of Larned in Pawnee County, Kansas. Burrton was nineteen miles west of Newton in Harvey County, Kansas. A passenger could travel between the two towns without changing trains.

A westbound passenger could leave Burrton on A.T.S.F. Train No 7 at 7:15 am and arrive in Garfield around noon.

An eastbound passenger could board A.T.S.F. Train No. 6 around 8:00 am and arrive in Burrton at 11:40 am.

A.T.S.F. train – 1890s

Trains No. 2 and 6 connect at Burrton for St. Louis, reaching St. Louis the next morning at 7:25. This makes fine service – free reclining chairs east of Burrton, equal to point of equipment and time to that via Kansas City.

Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Ry. – Middle Division Timetable 1892

A long distance courtship

It was inevitable that E.R. Cheney would meet Mollie Hestwood. Newspapers of the day provide the evidence. E.R. and Mollie had the means, the motive, and the opportunity for a courtship.

The Burrton Graphic – November 6, 1891

From November 1891, there were frequent visits. The scene of the romance shifted back and forth between Garfield and Burrton.

During one of those visits, the couple decided to get married.

Marriage

Enos Cheney married Mary Belle Hestwood at 5 pm Wednesday, June 15, 1892, at the home of Rev. C.D. Hestwood in Burrton, Kansas. Rev. Hestwood was the bride’s brother.

Wedding Invitation – E.R. Cheney and Mollie Hestwood – 1892
The Burrton Graphic – June 17, 1892

After a wedding trip of a few days in McPherson to visit relatives. the couple was at home in Garfield.

Garfield, Kansas – ca 1900

Enos Ralph Cheney and Mary Belle “Mollie” Hestwood Cheney are our 2nd great grandparents.

Mollie’s parents, William Finley Hestwood and Matilda Wingfield Hestwood, are our 3rd great grandparents.

Sources:

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