Robert Newberry IMEL

                   "Eliza A. H. Imel was born July 15, 1835, in Switzerland county, Indiana.  She was united in marriage at the age of 18 years to Isaac Moler, of Jefferson county, Indiana.  To this union 8 children were born, 3 boys and 5 girls, all of whom are living except one.  Mrs. Moler came to Ford county in 1879.  In early life she joined the United Brethren Church but since coming to Kansas she united with the Methodist Church.  She died at Kinsley, Kansas, November 9, 1916, after an illness of two weeks, aged 81 years, 3 months, 24 days. Funeral services were conducted by S.L. Kiser at the M.E. Church. Interment was made in the Spearville cemetery."
                  

                   Dates of service: 13 Sep to 27 Sep 1862; 9 Jul to 18 Jul 1863; 9 Jun to 15 Jun 1864.  2nd Lt. in Capt. Richardson's 9th Legion; fell from his horse during fighting and was partially paralyzed for many years afterward.
                  

                   "James Madison, 5th child of Robert and Mary Elizabeth Leatherberry, was born 24 July 1843 near Vevay in Switerland County, Indiana.  His father, Robert, was a Brethern minister who was converted while using the Bible to learn to read so that Mary Elizabeth would marry him.  He became a circuit-riding minister and later established a United Brethern church in Bee Camp, which was five miles east of Madison, Indiana.  Anna Gray, 7th child of John and Matilda Bellamy Gray, was born 14 April 1842, in Jefferson County, Indiana.  Her father and mother were natives of Kentucky and Tennessee who in the latter 1870's moved to Ford County and then to Woodson Co., Kansas.  James and Anna were married 17 March 1864, in Madison, Indiana.  Seven children were born while they lived in Indiana.  They were:  Sarah Eugenia, Flavius Josepheus, Matilda, Robert Louis, John Gray, Elizabeth Florence, and George Washington.  While in Indiana, James fought in the Civil War. He was a private in Company G, 12th Regiment, Indiana infantry of the Federal troops.  He served under McClelland.  His discharge papers list him as James M. Immell, a private of Captain A.F. Reed's company and states that at the date of discharge on nineteenth day of May 1862, he was eighteen years of age, six feet, 1 inches high, light complexion, blue eyes and sandy hair and by occupation when enrolled, a farmer.  The certificate was signed by Capt. Reed and R. Jones, Ass't Inspector General.  On 9 October 1878, James and Anna and their family moved to Spearville, Kansas.  Three more children, James Madison "Matt", Serrelda, and Arthur Blaine were born there.  The James Madison Imel family was one of the six families of children of Robert who moved to Kansas at that time, to be followed seven years later by their parents.  Five years later James and his family settled north of the Arkansas River across from Ford.  During the early years, James was interested in doing truck gardening in the river bottom. The land which he homesteaded was about 1/2 mile from the Arkansas River.  There was a low place near the bluff and the Imels blocked the river and forced it to overflow onto the field.  They also dug irrigation ditches.  They raised vegetables to sell at Dodge City. One year they planted a field of onions.  At harvest time the onions were stored in two big cellars dug into the bluffs.  That year they could not sell the onions which all rotted.  Everyone tried to stay upwind from those cellars.  Following that experience, James gave up the vegetable business.  James encouraged young men to file and prove land while working for him.  After they had proved up and wanted to move on, he would buy their land.  He accumulated 3000 acres of land and operated a cattle ranch.  In later years, the cattle were kept for part of the year on two sections of fenced land called "Big Pasture" which was located 2 or 3 miles north of Ford.  The rest of the year, the cattle grazed the land near the river.  Providing fo the cattle required much labor during the warm months.  The river grass was mowed, raked, windrowed, and stacked by go-devils on big stacks.  Some of the hay was stored in the barn loft.  One year during haying time the man who was operating the mower left it to get a drink.  The horses ran away with the wheel-powered mowing machine.  They crossed the irrigation ditches and finally the sickle caught in a hay stack. The sudden stop threw the horses, but they were not hurt.  Some of the children in the field had to be pulled out of the path of the sickle as the horses ran by them.  One year when it was time to ship the cattle to Kansas City, the ranch had a roundup and penned the cattle in the corral overnight.  The next day when they were ready to drive the cattle to Ford where 2 or 3 empty boxcars waited, a flood had come down the Arkansas River.  The men tried to drive the cattle into the rolling waters.  Finally one of the cowboys roped a calf, rode his horse into the river pulling the calf and when the calf's mother followed her bawling calf, the men were able to drive the o
ther cattle into the river and swim them across.  (They could not use the river bridge because the floor was out to be replaced).  Another year some of the cattle disappeared.  A neighbor traveling south of Ford saw the cattle with the Imel markings.  Two of the sons rode down and when they saw the cattle they told the foreman at that ranch that he had two choices: 1) Round 'em up and bring 'em back, or 2) We'll send you to the penitentiary.  The cattle were returned.  The Imels also raised saddle horses and work horses.  Each spring three-year old horses were broken to ride.  The horse was brought into the corral and the rope from the horse was tied to a "snubbin post".  The horse was run around the post until it was tight against the post.  Then it was saddled, the bridle put on and the cowboy would yell, "turn him loose".  They would ride the horse until it tired.  The saddle was left on overnight and the horse ridden again the next day.  People came to watch this activity; some bought horses.  Anna did not share the family's enthusiasm for horses.  When she would travel to Ford in the buggy, she always insisted that her husband stop the buggy as they neared the river bridge so that she could walk across.  She feared that the horses would go over the edge of the bridge into the river. James would drive across, wait for her to walk and get into the buggy and they would continue to town.  James Madison was a believer in "heavy-handed" discipline who used a stick to encourage obedience from his sons, even though his wife begged him not to whip the boys.  In later years, he encouraged his children to "whale the kids" to make them behave.  His wife, Anna, a small woman who weighed about 85 pounds, also did as he said.  He took an active part in the church, and usually led the testimony meeting.  Following his beliefs, he protested most vigorously when a man came to put in a saloon in the town of Ford.  James, having a number of boys and young men in his household, confronted the man and demanded that he give up his plans. After a brief discussion which consisted of James saying "No, you won't" to each of the man's statements about opening his business the matter was resolved.  There was no saloon  Anna was a very religious person.  She once left a large Sunday family gathering because someone there began playing the fiddle.  She prayed that her daughter, Rella, would not marry a non-Christian to whom she was engaged.  He came at Christmas to spend time with the family.  The men left in a buggy from the Imel home in Ford to hunt prairie chicken.  About a block from the house the man's gun slipped through his hand, caught on the edge of the buggy and the shot entered under his chin and went through his head.  He died instantly.  Anna repented of that prayer.  She insisted that her children also observe Sunday as she did and so they were not allowed to play croquet on that day.  One Sunday afternoon while she and James were gone, the older boys played croquet and paid the younger ones to be still and not tell the parents.  The money so excited the young boys that as soon as James and Anna drove into the yard, they ran to her to show her the money "the big boys" gave them. Very few questions were needed to uncover the truth.  Between 1894 and 1899, James and Anna built a house in Ford.  They lived there until 1910 when Anna became ill.  Then they moved to San Diego, California. Their daughter, Eugenia, cared for them.  Anna died 12 June 1913 and James on 19 September 1917.  They are buried in the Greenwood Cemetery in San Diego."

"Imel - at the residence, 3336 Julian avenue, this city, Sept. 19, 1917, James Madison Imel, father of Mrs. Rolla Hageman and Mrs. S. Eugenia Yeakel of San Diego, John Imel of Grants Pass, Ore., Louis Imel of Bucklin, Kans., Mrs. Florence Meador and F. J. Imel of Forgan, Okla., George Imel of Kernville, Cal., and A. B. Imel of Henrietta, Okla.; a native of Indiana, aged 74 years, 1 month 25 days. Announcement of funeral services will be made later by Johnson-Saum Co."
                  

                   Peter Imel and Margaret Lyon were both born and reared in Madison, Indiana.  Margaret was born on April 8, 1845.  She died in Dodge City, Kansas, March 2, 1922, at the age of 76 years.  Her obituary states that she was survived by four living children.  Clara, Stella (Mrs. Carl Van Riper), Violette (Mrs. C. M. States), all of Dodge City; her son, Will A., Fairbury, Nebraska; and a brother, Ed Lyon, Madison, Indiana.  Her obituary states: "Mrs. Imel was of Scotch ancestry, and it was a source of great pride to her.  She was not a doer of great things, excepting the greatest of all things...rearing a family of fine children.  She was a great lover of home and her church, in which she was active until her declining years.  Mrs. Imel until only a few weeks ago followed world and local current events through the columns of the daily press, and found much enjoyment in discussing the various political and other developments of the day."  Peter Imel was born about 1847 and died July 29, 1918, aged 71 years.  Peter Imel and Margaret Lyon were married on November 12, 1867.  Mr. and Mrs. Imel were among the first residents of Ford County, settling on a homestead on the Coon Creek, south of Spearville and about 12 miles east of Dodge City.  The blizzard of 1886 practically wiped out the cattle ranch Peter Imel had established.  In 1895, the family moved to Dodge City, where Peter started a grocery store which was located at the northeast corner of Walnut (now Gunsmoke) and Second Avenue.  The family lived at First and Vine and later at 710 Fifth Avenue.  The children of Peter and Margaret Imel were Clara, Stella, Violette, Charles, William A., and Mary.  Clara remained unmarried.  Stella was married to Carl Van Riper.  At the age of 16 or 17 Stella Imel took the County Examination for a teacher's certificate.  For her first year of teaching she drove a horse and buggy back and forth each day to teach at Ft. Dodge.  The next year she taught in the Sawlog neighborhood.  Then she taught eight years on Boot Hill at the old Third Ward School.  As a young woman she was active in the Methodist Church where she played the organ and sang in a quartet.  Violette married Charles Morgart States on June 22, 1903.  He was a pharmacist and owned the Palace Drug Store in Dodge City for many years.  Their children were Margaret States Young (Mrs. Maurice R. Young) and O. B. "Bus" States.  Margaret and Maurice's son is Charles M. Young.  O. B. "Bus" married Veneta Slepake, who had lived in Garfield, Kansas. Their children were Sydney and Dana.   Charles, born in Kansas, was married to Cora Startet.  He died about 1917.  William A. was born in Kansas.  He married Cecil Jennings.  Their daughter was Jane (Mrs. Richard Bissing).  Mary married a minister.  William Reace, from Chicago.  She died in Chicago in December 1920.  They had no children. [Written by Margaret States Young]
                  

                   The Imel/Immel genealogy speculates on burial place.
                  

                   "A.J. Imel is dead after long illness.  Came to Spearville in 1878 and Settled on Homestead six miles south of town.  Andrew Jackson Imel, a resident of this community since 1878, died at his home here Sunday after an illness of more than four years.  He had been suffering from paralysis and other ailments.  He was 73 years, 5 months and 3 days old.  "Uncle Jack", as he came to be known in this territory, was born in the city of Madison, Jefferson county, Indiana, November 1, 1851. He was married at that place on December 1, 1870 to Miss Catherine L. Haskell.  To this union were born eleven children - seven sons and four daughters.  In 1878, when this territory was being settled by the earliest homeseekers, he and his wife came to this country and settled on a claim six miles south of town.  There they made their home and reared their children until about seven years ago when they moved into their present home.  In his youth Mr. Imel became a member of the Baptist Church.  In 1908 he joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Dodge City, transferring his membership to the local body in 1911.  He served as representative in the state legislature for two years, some ten or twelve years ago.  He was a man of sterling qualities, of good business ability and a successful farmer.  In the death of a friend and neighbor people in this community feel that they have lost a good brother and citizen; one who was always ready to extend the helping hand to all mankind without distinction as to social or financial standing.  In the last hours of his illness he prayed that God would soon call him Home that he might be with his mother and other loved ones who had gone on before.  Nine of his children survive him as follows:  Mrs. Marguerite Moody, Haskell county; Mrs. Viola Steele, Gray county; Mrs. Lilly Beever, Spearville; Andrew J. Imel Jr., Harper county; John T. Imel, Colorado; Abraham Imel, Colorado; Mrs. Lulu Perkins, Spearville; Freeman Imel, Harper county; and Elmer D. Imel, La Junta, Colo.  Two sons, P.M. Imel and Carl Imel preceded their father to the Great Beyond.  He also leaves sixty-nine grand-children and eighteen great grand-children.  Funeral services were conducted at the Federated Church Tuesday afternoon by the Rev. J.E. Henshaw, pastor of the First Christian Church at Dodge City.  Burial was in Spearville cemetery where services were conducted by local members of the Odd Fellows lodge."