Kansas Preservation Alliance

Seymour the Seneca Gnome with members of the Nemaha County Histrocial Society who presented on the Temple of Honor at the Kansas Preservation Alliance Conference in Abilene on September 27 & 28.

Archives in Nemaha County

Since October is American Archives Month AND Family History Month, this is a great time to check out the various archives in and around Nemaha County. The fact that both of these are celebrated in the same month is logical since it is often necessary to visit an archive to get that one piece of information to identify that ancestor or better tell the family story.

Since an archive collects documents or records that tell about the people or the place, a community can have a variety of places that have this type of record. Examples of places to look for archival type records in Nemaha County would include (but not be limited to):

• Nemaha County Courthouse
• Nemaha County Historical Society
• Albany Museum
• Pony Express Museum
• Public Libraries
• Churches (many of the local Catholic churches have items from high schools that have been closed)
• School Districts
• City Offices

All of the above are 'physical' archives which means one has to determine their hours, what types of records they might have and any special rules about using their resources.

Some archival type records are available online. For example, the Nemaha County Historical Society has a digital archive. This digital archive allows anyone to search the collection and brings up a list of results with small images of the item and a description.

Seneca Settlers

The Nemaha County Historical Society recently received a generous donation of Scrafford family items. Included in the collection is a large photo of Nancy Hayes Scrafford. According to the inscription on the photo, Mrs. Scrafford made history as she was the first woman to cast a ballot after women received the right to vote in municipal elections. (Note: We are assuming this to be the first woman in Seneca to vote.)

According to the article on "Women's Suffrage," by the Kansas State Historical Society, this vote was likely cast in 1887. (https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/women-s-suffrage/14524)

Also included in the family items was the funeral program for Charles E. Scafford. 

Several family letters were also included in the collection along with copies of teaching certificates.

What Did It Look Like?

The museum got an interesting inquiry today, "What did the inside of the old high school look like - particularly the stairwell?"

Since almost all of the historical society's pictures were of the outside of the building, this was a puzzle. After some more digging, pictures of the stairwell were found in the Seneca High School 1949 yearbook.

The 1968 yearbook had some additional pictures of the inside of the school.

This yearbook also had a brief history of the building along with several pictures of the building.

Beauty Around Us

Nemaha County, Kansas is home to some beautiful sanctuaries. St. Mary's Catholic Church of St. Benedict, Kansas was one of the finalists for the Eight Wonders of Kansas contest sponsored by Kansas Sampler.

Experience the wonder of this sanctuary:




In addition to St. Mary's, Nemaha County is home to several other beautiful sanctuaries:

Sacred Heart Catholic Church
Baileyville, Kansas

St. Bede's Catholic Church
Kelly, Kansas

Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church
Seneca, Kansas

Two of these churches were featured in the 'Holy Destinations' series by the Archdiocese of Kansas City.

• Sacred Heart Catholic Church
• St. Mary Catholic Church

Tales of a Lynching

The museum got a request this morning for info on a MOONEY that was involved in an incident recorded in the early histories of Nemaha County that resulted in a lynching.

This event is mentioned in Tennal's History of Nemaha County in the section, The State of Kansas vs. Wilton Baughn. The case involved the pursuit of 4 horse thieves: Jackson, Strange, Baughn and Mooney. The posse arrested Jackson and Strange. However, Baughn and Mooney escaped on foot and were pursued. When Baughn and Mooney were confronted, Jesse Dennis was shot. Melvin Baughn, the chief offender, was arrested in 1867 in Leavenworth. Baughn was tried in 1868. Judge Graham ordered that Baughn be hanged on Sept. 18, 1868.

No further mention of this Mooney is mentioned in Tennal's history. There is a James Mooney that migrated from Illinois to Centralia in the 1880s -- about 20 years after the hanging.

While trying to locate information on this Mooney, another hanging involving a Mooney was found.

The article, History of Lynchings in Kansas, indicates that Daniel Mooney was hanged in 1863 in Atchison. Additional information on Mooney being hung in Atchison is available in the book, Lynchings in Kansas, 1850-s to 1932 by Harriet Frazier.

Picture from Wikimedia Commons -- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Horse_thief_hanging.png

Kansas Probate Records Online

Did you know that Kansas Probate records are available on Ancestry?

The collection, Kansas Wills and Probates, 1803-1987, has over 8000 records for Nemaha County.

Below is Ancestry's description of the collection.