Elias Putnam WEST

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ELIAS PUTNAM WEST, b. March 14, 1820, Simpson County, Kentucky77; d. January 26, 1892, Lawrence, Kansas78; m. LOUISA HOCKER, November 20, 184479.

Notes for ELIAS PUTNAM WEST:
From THE WEST FAMILY REGISTER (1326-1928): IMPORTANT LINES TRACED by Letta Brock Stone, W. F. Roberts Company Inc., Washington D. C., 1928:

Elias Putnam West, son of James West and Mary Mourning Howard, was born in Simpson County, Kentucky, Mar. 14, 1820. he married, Nov. 20, 1844, Louisa Hocker, who was born Apr. 28, 1822, and who died Oct. 31, 1914, aged 92. She died in Pleasant Hill and was buried there. Elias Putnam West was a lawyer of ability. He went from Kentucky to Independence, Missouri, where he practiced his profession and in addition owned and operated a hotel. he was living there when he received his appointment, about 1845, as Minister to Mexico. He took with him his wife and two children, and slaves, and they went overland by ox teams, it requiring three months to make the trip. While there, they lived in a grandeur that is still recalled by their relatives who were children then.

He served as judge of the Probate Court of Cass County from 1858 to 1868, and lived at Harrisonville. He later became a geologist and for many years was connected with the Kansas State University at Lawrence in geological research. It has been said that he left a monument there more lasting than time in his collection of geological specimens, which is considered one of the best in the United States. He died Jan. 26, 1892, and is buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Lawrence, Kansas.