Donald Charles Fletcher was born to the youngest daughter of Clifford Romaine Fletcher and Margaret Edna Cowan on October 16, 1950 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan.  As a young child, he went to live with his Uncle Bill Fletcher and family in Miami, Florida.  Don was the perfect addition to this family and when Bill tried to look into adopting Don, about the same time that Don’s mother married, she chose to have Don move back to Michigan, where he was adopted by his step-father, Jerry Thomas McFarlin.

At the age of 7, he was blessed with a half-sister, whom he loved dearly and spoke of often.  When he was nearly 13, his half-brother was born.  Don did not have many happy childhood memories that he shared with us.  By 1970 Don entered the military, moved to Kansas, and legally changed his name to Bishop.  Don had a second half-brother who was born after he moved to Kansas.

The following is a collection of the memories that were shared at Dad’s funeral.

A Celebration of Life for Don Bishop
October 16, 1950 – November 3, 2005

In the 1970’s, Don was kinda wild.

Don met Connie Laughlin at the apartment complex where they both lived. Connie asked the landlady to introduce them and her response was “Oh, no honey, you don’t want to meet him. He’s not your type.”

During the early years, the couple was young and foolish. Doing young and foolish things for that era. They married after knowing each other for only 3 months. Everyone said that it wouldn’t last. Well, it did… 35 years.

Don held several jobs during those younger years. He always managed to be employed. Some jobs were not that good and some didn’t pay that well, but he always brought in a paycheck.

By mid 1976, they had two girls that Don totally adored. He had a hard time showing affection in his early days. By him receiving affection from his new family and friends, he then learned how to give affection back. This took many, many years.

His form of discipline was “the look”. When dad got that look, the girls knew that he meant business.

Don never met a person that he didn’t like… except for a few of the boyfriends that came around. Once he became your friend, he was your friend for life. When Don and Connie married, he not only married Connie but her entire family. He was loved dearly by his extended family.

He was always willing to help whoever asked. Asking for nothing in return. He helped around the house doing laundry, dishes, vacuuming and anything Connie would ask, he would do. Yes, even windows. He was always right there helping the girls with school projects.

Don loved to party and he usually was the life of the party. Even though Connie would be mad and upset, that didn’t stop him any at all.

During these party times, he could be heard yelling “GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM!” after the movie with the same name. Or he would say, “I’ll drink to that!”  YYYOOOOOOOOO was another favorite of his.

He was daring as well. He’d do anything that anyone suggested or mentioned, just to prove that he was a macho man. That included attempting an Evil Knevil motorcycle turn in front of Sonny and Alan. Hitting the wrong brake, the bike stopped and Don went flying over the handle bars on to the hood of the truck. Coming back to the house, he was bleeding and limping along. He made an ER visit that is still memorable to this day. This was one of many ER visits that Don made while visiting family in western Kansas.

At Christmas in 1972, the family received a Santa that sang “Jingle Bells.” As the girls grew older, he would take this Santa to their doorways and turn it on. Even as late as two years ago, he would have Connie call each of them and he would play that Santa. It became a family ritual.

He took pride in decorating the outside of his house. He would start decorating in November and would continue to add decorations throughout December. Many times these additional decorations would blow the breakers.

When Connie worked the 3-11 shift at the hospital while the girls were school age, he fixed them beanie-weenies. He added baking soda so that it wouldn’t be gassy for the girls. Not knowing exactly what baking soda did, the beanie-weenies were horrible. The girls remember that to this day and always laugh about his cooking abilities or I should say his cooking inabilities. He was dynamite with the grill though.

Don loved sports. During the ‘70s and ‘80s, he was a devoted Royals baseball fan. We attended many games since he lived in Kansas City. He would also watch all the games on TV or listen to them on the radio. When the Chiefs got started, he watched all of their games. His deepest love of sports was for the KU basketball. Don and Connie were able to attend all the home games in 2003. He loved every minute of those games. Their computer room is decorated with KU memorabilia, many that Don had picked out or that his girls had given him.

As time passed and the lottery and gambling became legal in Kansas and Missouri, his enjoyment turned to this. He loved to go to the boat and he would go every chance he got. When the power ball started, he picked his numbers that are still used to this day. Whenever Don and Connie went out of town, he always had to make sure that he had his picks for the time that they would be gone. When he was in the hospital, he would always make sure that either one of the girls or Connie would get his picks. He made Connie promise that she would continue to get his picks even after he was gone. For the first few years, she did continue to get the picks, but as the economy turned, and things began to get tight, she knew that he would understand.

When he became sick, it was very hard on him. He had to give up his job with KDOT. Losing the contact of his work buddies was very hard. He would often call and chit-chat about the projects they were doing. He wasn’t strong enough to drive to a site to visit. The inability to be functional and work was extremely hard on him. He even had difficulty doing the little “honey-do’s” that Connie left for him to do so that he just wouldn’t sit. Often these little jobs took all day, but he got them done. The last two weeks he was bothered by the fact that he could no longer do much to help me around the house. He was told not to worry about it, but he did.

Every time his son-in-laws would come over, he would have a list of stuff for them to do. Many of which wasn’t necessary or important. But, it was important to him and they obliged him.

Don and Connie adopted a 5 year old black lab, Cooper, to keep Don company. Cooper and Don would often drive up the road or to the grocery store so that Cooper could get her daily ride in.

When KU won the 1988 NCCA basketball tournament, her dad took his youngest daughter, Michelle, to Crown Center to get the champion tee-shirts. He even let her stay home from school to do this.

For the last couple of weeks Don was reminiscing about the times that he had to take on Paula’s boyfriends. He was protective of his girl.

His greatest thrill of all was being able to be here and see the birth of his first grandchild. He called her “his little angel”.

Now, at the age of 4, Abby refers to Don as “Mimi’s PawPaw” (Mimi being her word for her Grammy Connie). Abby knows that Mimi’s PawPaw is in heaven and that when she sees the stars, it means that he is watching her.

Funeral Card

On behalf of the family, we wish to express
their gratitude for your many kindnesses
evidenced in thought and deed, and
for your attendance at this service.

---

GOD SAW

God watched you as you suffered
And knew you’d had your share
He gently closed your weary eyes
And took you in His care
God has you in His keeping
We have you in our hearts
Your memory is our keepsake
With that we’ll never part
God saw you getting tired
And a cure was not to be
He put His arm around you
And whispered, “Come with Me.”
With tearful eyes we watched you
And saw you fade away
Although we loved you dearly
We could not make you stay
A golden heart stopped beating
Hard working hands now rest
God broke our hearts to prove to us
He only takes the best.

---

In Memory of

DONALD C. “DON” BISHOP

Date of Birth
October 16, 1950
Detroit, Michigan

Date of Death
November 3, 2005
Lawrence, Kansas

MEMORIAL SERVICE
1:00 p.m. Monday, Noevember 7, 2005
Warren-McElwain Mortuary
Lawrence, Kansas

OFFICIANT
Angela Lowe, Chaplain

INURNMENT
Oak Hill Cemetery
Lawrence, Kansas

---

Obituary

1950-2005
LAWRENCE

LAWRENCE JOURNAL WORLD
Thursday, November 10, 2005

Donald C. Bishop, 55, Lawrence, died Thursday, Nov. 3, 2005, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. Memorial services were held Monday at Warren-McElwain Mortuary in Lawrence. He will be inurned in Oak Hill Cemetery.

Mr. Bishop was born Oct. 16, 1950, in Detroit, Mich., the son of Jerry and Mary Ellen Fletcher McFarlin. He moved to Kansas in 1969, where he lived in the Kansas City and Lawrence areas. He was an engineer technician for the Kansas Dept. of Transportation from 1998 until the present. He formerly worked for the Lanter Trucking Co. in Edwardsville.

He married Connie Laughlin July 10, 1970, in Lawrence. She survives at the home. Also surviving are two daughters, Paula Hawk and Michelle Spiess, both of Edwardsville; his parents; two half-brothers, Michael McFarlin, Tempe, Ariz.; and Jerry McFarlin, Jr., Taylor, Mich.; half-sister, Susan Proto, Taunton, Mass.; and one grandchild, Abby Spiess.

The family suggests memorials to the Lawrence Memorial Hospital for the benefit of the Oncology Unit or the charity of the donor’s choice and may be sent in care of the Warren-McElwain Mortuary, 120 W. 13th St., Lawrence, KS 66044-3402, (785) 843-1120.

James Henry Corel Driving Horses

Over Memorial Day weekend I had the opportunity to talk with my grandparents about our family history and I was able to go through some old photos, scrapbooks, and other items that had been saved over the years.

I was awestruck when I saw this first photo of my great great grandpa, James Henry Corel  (son of James Pickens Corel) driving his horses – I just think this is a GREAT shot!  James Henry, like many of my ancestors, farmed the Kansas soil to provide for his family.

In having the opportunity to talk with my grandma, I learned some interesting things.  Some things I learned, I probably shouldn’t share, but I will, and I will just hope that no one gets mad or offended!

James Henry Corel on his Plow

I should probably start with my estimation of the age of these photos.  They were glued (ugh) into a scrapbook on pages that also had photos of my great grandma, Kathryn Corel, as a very young girl.  Kathryn was born in 1908, so I am going to guess that these photos were likely taken around 1910.

Grandma told me that the land that she now lives on used to be covered with potato crops.  Today the fields alternate between corn and soy beans.  I never would have imagined potatoes being the crop of choice, after all, we are the Wheat State!

During World War II there was a prisoner of war barracks just down the road from the family farm.  I still can’t wrap my head around Nazi prisoners being sent to Kansas!  Great Grandpa James Henry had a German that came to work on the farm while he was staying at the prisoner of war barracks.  Grandma recalls that the German would eat with them, just like he was one of the family.  Grandma would ride her horse carrying water for the men out in the fields as a young girl.

James Henry Corel wasn’t always nice to his work horses.  One day one of the horses fought back and knocked him down to the ground and stomped on his ear!  Grandma said that he was lucky that he didn’t die that day and that he just lost that ear.

James Henry Corel with 7 Great Grandchildren

I included this last photo of James Henry with his great grandchildren to show that all that our ancestors did, it was always for the family.  Plus, I had teased one cousin about a photo I found and today is her birthday, so I thought it would be a great way to end this post.  This photo was taken about 1953 and has James Henry Corel holding Debbie McCoy and surrounded by Laurie Head, Connie and Sonny Laughlin, Dale and David Corel, and Wayne Hurrelbrink.  Personally, I think that the look on James Henry’s face is simply PRICELESS!!

John Beasley Corel

John Beasley Corel was the sixth child and fourth son born to Emma Augusta Miller and James Henry Corel (son of James Pickens Corel) on Monday, June 27, 1904 at 3 PM in Wakarusa Township, Douglas County, Kansas¹.  I often wondered where the middle name of Beasley came from….

In early March 2009, I was surfing Ancestry.com and seeing if I could make any connections with aunts and uncles from previous generations when I found the husband of Emma Miller’s sister, Louisa Miller.  Louisa had married John H. Beasley about 1888.  This was quite a find for me, as although Emma and James had 8 children, only 3 of the children had appeared to be named after other family members.

That John Beasley Corel was named completely after his uncle explains why he had a nickname, if not the reason for the nickname.  Jiggy, or as his wife often called him, Jigs, is a nickname that is still attached to him today, more than 60 years after his death.

John Beasley lived with his parents in Wakarusa Township, Douglas County, Kansas through, at least, 1925 where he is shown on the Kansas Census².  On June 4, 1927, John Beasley Corel married Miss Gertrude Nichols of Pawnee County, Kansas in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri³.  The couple may have met while John Beasley was serving in the Kansas National Guard.

On August 21, 1928 John was in an unfortunate accident as described by this article from the Thursday, August 23, 1928 Lawrence Daily Journal-World in Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas:

COREL’S CONDITION
PROMISING TODAY
Guardsman Wounded by
Machine Gun Bullet
Is Resting Easily
PRIVATE SMITH HURT

Sergeant John C. Corel, of Co. H. 137th infantry, a Lawrence, Kansas National Guard unit encamped at Camp Whitside, near Fort Riley, Kans., was reported this morning as resting easily after being wounded with a machine gun bullet Tuesday. The bullet struck Corel in the right chest and lodged behind a rib on the right side of his back, according to George Reed, deputy sheriff, who was at the camp yesterday.

A report from the camp this morning stated Corel spent a restful night in the Fort Riley hospital last night, and that if complications do not occur, the injured man will recover. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Corel, of route 2, Lawrence, expected to start for Lawrence today.

Same Bullet Hit Two Men

The accident occurred when a machine gun in a truck was discharged. The bullet struck Private Emmett Smith in the foot and then struck Sergeant Corel in the right chest.

The force of the bullet knocked Corel down, according to accounts from the camp, but the sergeant got up and was looking after Smith when the pain in his chest caused him to fall again. The wound in Smith’s foot is slight, according to the report.

In speaking with my grandmother, Billie Hahn Laughlin – a niece of John Beasley Corel, about this incident, her recollection was slightly different than this report.  From what she had been told as she was growing up, John was struck by shrapnel while training for World War I.  She recalled that John’s face was also struck by the shrapnel and that he grew a mustache (such as he is sporting in the photo on the left) to hide his wound.  Billie went on to explain that the wound to John’s chest was so extensive that he ended up losing a lung.

As you can see, this photo is from 1937.  Pictured from left to right are Charles Wesley, Eugene William, James Henry, Glenn James, and John Beasley Corel.

I have not been able to figure out what happened with John’s wife Gertrude.  There is no mention of her in the article reporting the accident at Fort Riley.  I have not been able to locate either John or Gertrude in the 1930 census.

Reverend Ernest Jones married John Beasley Corel and Katheryn A. Reeves on January 8, 1941 in Richmond, Ray County, Missouri⁴.  The couple soon had a daughter, Glenna Kay Corel.

Sadly, the story of John Beasley Corel ends much too quickly.  John passed away on August 10, 1946 in Kansas City, Wyandotte County, Kansas.  The following is transcribed from a newspaper clipping with a date handwritten of 8/10/46.

To Hospital Tuesday

John Corel, 42 years old, Sunflower Village, DeSoto, Kas., died early today at the University of Kansas hospitals where he was admitted Tuesday. He leaves his wife, Mrs. Kathryn Corel, and a daughter, Glenna Kay Corel, both of the home; his father, James H. Corel, Lawrence, Kas.; three sisters, Mrs. George Dunkley, Lawrence; Mrs. Kathryn Hahn, Lawrence; Mrs. Herbert Buchanan, a resident of the state of Nevada, and three brothers, Charles Corel, Arthur Corel and Eugene Corel, all of Lawrence. Private graveside services will be held at 5 o’clock this afternoon in the Oak Hill cemetery, Lawrence.

These five cases of infantile paralysis were reported:

Ralph Nesbit, 13 years old, son of Mr. and Mrs. Red Nesbitt, Parkville, Mo., in the General hospital.

Flora Mae Hedrick, 14, of Stotesbury, Mo., in the General hospital.

John Hogan, 12, son of Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Hogan, Polo, Mo., in the Menorah hospital.

John Beeks, 14, son of Mr. and Mrs. Claude Beeks, Baldwin, Kas., in the University of Kansas hospitals.

Lyle Hunter, Edgerton, Kas., in the University of Kansas hopsitals.

—
DELAY A FAMILY REUNION
—
Polio Case Leads to Postponement at Oak Grove

The thirty-second annual Webb family reunion, which was scheduled for tomorrow in Webb park, near Oak Grove, has been postponed until September 15, because of a case of infantile paralysis in Oak Grove. The victim is Donna Owings, 5 years old, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walker Owings.

W. Conrad Hahn

As I try to keep themes going, as much as I can, this Tombstone Tuesday post is a follow-up to my post last week in Smile for the Camera ~ A Noble Life.

William Conrad Hahn was born March 19, 1903 in Bartlett, Labette County, Kansas to Margaret Violet Burns and Adam Hahn.  After his mother, Margaret Violet Burns Hahn, died in 1915, Con, as he was often called, is found in  Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas with his aunt, Pearl Lois Burns Burke, and her family in 1920¹.  In 1925, he is back in Labette County, Kansas with his father, step-mother, and siblings².

On September 11, 1927 he married Kathryn Corel, granddaughter of James Pickens Corel, in Lawrence, Kansas.  They soon moved to Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri, where Con supported his wife working as a clerk³.  Kathryn and Con had two children, Billie Kay and James Conrad.  In 1938, after the death of Kathryn’s mother, the young family moved to Lawrence, to help take care of Kathryn’s father, James Henry Corel, and the family farm.

Once their children were grown and having children and grandchildren of their own, Kathryn and Con would often spend winters in Florida.  The couple was at their winter home in Polk County, Florida when Con passed away from heart failure on April 27, 1978⁴.  His body was returned to Kansas and he was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery at the Corel family plot on May 1, 1978.

1954 Conrad Hahn & grandson, Sonny Laughlin

This photo portrays the two things held most dear to my ancestors.  Family and farming the land, and in my opinion, nothing could show more nobility than those two facets combined as they are in this photo.

William Conrad “Con” Hahn is photographed with his grandson, “Sonny” Laughlin, playing on the tractor in 1954.

Conrad Hahn was married to Kathryn Corel, granddaughter of James Pickens Corel.

James Henry Corel

James Henry Corel was born on June 3, 1865 to Susannah Clay McGee and James Pickens Corel in Wakarusa Township, Douglas County, Kansas.  He was the fifth child, but the first born son.

In April of 1892, James Henry, along with a group  of others from Lawrence, Kansas, had traveled by spring wagon to the Oklahoma Territory to stake a claim on the Cheyenne and Arapaho land that opened for settlement on April 19, 1892.  They traveled through the Big Red Hills to the South Canadian River behind a couple of Indians who were detecting quicksand.  The group camped overnight on the south side of the river near Caddo country.

“That morning the womenfolk got breakfast and we waited for the time we knew the opening to be.  When that hour got there we all climbed into the wagon and rode out to stake our claim.

James Henry Corel 1953

“It was a kind of secluded place, with wild bluestem growing as high as a man on horseback.  Each of us got 160 acres and all our claims were close together… We missed the greatest rush, because it was from the border places like El Reno.”

After the homesteads were recorded by the government officials, each new land owner had six months to return and plant crops.  I now know where my procrastination comes from, because it was five months later, on September 28, 1892 that my great-great grandfather, James Henry Corel married Emma Augusta Miller in Lawrence, Kansas.  It would be another month before another traveling group would leave Lawrence for their new homesteads in the Oklahoma Territory.

“We left here with a four-horse covered wagon and one riding horse.  There were six other wagons from Lawrence making the trip, and it took us 16 days.  After we got there we lived in a log cabin until we could get lumber from El Reno.”

Old Farm House 2008

James would farm this land for only two years before returning with his wife and young son to Lawrence, Kansas in January 1895 to care for his parents and their farm.  He “proved up” his land by putting up $1.25 per acre to the government in order to keep the land in his name.  It was during this year that James Henry Corel built the first part of the ‘old farm house‘ that is still inhabited by his descendants today.

Over the next 13 years Emma and James Henry would have seven more children, requiring James to add on a second story with four bedrooms.

After all the children had grown and moved out to start their own families, tragedy struck when Emma died suddenly from a cerebral hemorrhage in May 1938.  The youngest child of Emma and James Henry, Kathryn, moved her young family ‘out home’ to the ‘old farm house’.

In the late 1940’s James realized he would not be returning to his homestead claim in Oklahoma.  He sold the land to someone living in that area.

Corel Family Tombstone

James watched his grandchildren grow up and start families of their own.  He would even see his great grandchildren grow and play at the ‘old farm house’.  James Henry lived a very full life, living until he was 95 years old.  He passed away January 20, 1961 and was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in the family plot four days later.

]]> http://corelcousins.com/2009/03/24/tombstone-tuesday-james-henry-corel/feed/ 0 http://corelcousins.com/2009/03/11/brothers-and-sisters-smile-for-the-camera/ http://corelcousins.com/2009/03/11/brothers-and-sisters-smile-for-the-camera/#comments Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:29:20 +0000 Paula http://corelcousins.com/?p=437 For the 11th Edition of

Anyone who knows me knows that I am incapable of making decisions and narrowing things down! So, for my first participation in the Smile for the Camera carnival, I have selected eight photos of brothers and sisters from youth to adulthood. I did at least pick only one photo from each family, although I did have a few different photos I could have included, I thought I should save those for another day!

This photo from the 1890s shows that two brothers were able to get along well enough to participate in a community band together.  Gaston Dobbins is on the right in the first row with his trombone, and his younger brother, Scott Dobbins, is nearly hidden on the right hand side of the back row.  Scott and Gaston are the sons of James Sellars and Nancy Maryland Corel Dobbins.

This photo was taken about 1890 of James Pickens and Susannah Clay McGee Corel and six of their children.  Pictured are, from left to right, Ella Corel Bowman, Catherine Corel Hughes, Susannah Clay McGee Corel, Anna Corel Stanley, James Henry Corel, Eugenia “Jennie” Corel Engel, James Pickens Corel, and Charles Wesley Corel, DDS.

This photo of Olivia Gillespie Corel McGee and her sons is from 1906.  Pictured, from left to right, are Richard Oney, Albert Edward, Olivia Gillespie Corel, Thomas Stewart, John Jacob Jr., Solon Neidigh, and Oliver Corel McGee.

This image is from about 1911 and is of Frieda Margaret and Rowena Ruth Newcomb, youngest children of Margaret Salathiel and Frederick Newcomb.  The girls are the grandchildren of Jemima Morris Corel and John Morgan Salathiel.  Jemima Morris Corel is a daughter of Henry Highland and Nancy Matney Corel.

This photo from about 1916 shows the many brothers and sisters of my Great Grandma (Kathryn), also pictured are her parents!  From left to right: James Henry, George Arthur, Glenn James, Augusta “Billie”, Eugene William (front row), Charles Wesley, Kathryn (front row), Gladys Faye, Emma Augusta Miller, John Beasley Corel.

James Henry Corel is the son of James Pickens and Susannah Clay McGee Corel.

This photo is from about 1940 and shows two sets of siblings, left to right, James Conrad “Jimmy” Hahn, Daphne Lorina Canterbury, Billie Kay Hahn, and William Huttig “Billy” Canterbury.  The Hahn children are great grandchildren of James Pickens Corel and the Canterbury children are great grandchildren of Olivia Gillespie Corel McGee.

This photo from about 1954 shows siblings Connie Kay Laughlin and Clinton Ray “Sonny” Laughlin Jr., great great grandchildren of James Pickens Corel.

These three siblings from 1965 show from left to right Susan, Michael, and Donald Charles McFarlin.  In 1970 Donald Charles  (Fletcher – McFarlin) Bishop married Connie Kay Laughlin, second great granddaughter of James Pickens Corel.

Jennie's note

Engle Family Marker

I personally know very little of Jennie and Charles Engle, but it was a name I grew up hearing.  I have chosen to show their story today because of what I found a couple of years ago when going through some of the documents and photos that my mother obtained after her grandmother’s death.

Every time I see the funeral card for James Pickens Corel, it is not him who I think of, but his daughter, Eugenia E. “Jennie” Corel who married Charles E. Engle on March 10, 1892 at the age of 33.  To finally find the love of your life at such a late age, in those times, must’ve been a fairy tale for Jennie.  When I held the card and read the note that you see on the right, I could feel the pain that consumed Jennie after Charles passed.

The note reads:

March 2
1931
Dearest
+ Truest
+
Best
how I loved
none but
god can kno
Jennie

Charles E. Engle was born on August 10, 1858 in Pennsylvania.  He passed away on March 2, 1931.  The obituary found pasted to the back of the funeral card for James Pickens Corel reads:

Charles E. Engle, 73, resident of Lawrence since 1876 when he came here from Manhattan, died last night at his residence, 2236 Massachusetts street.

He is survived by his wife and three sisters, Mrs. M. S. McCreight of Oskaloosa and Mrs. S. J. Churchill and Miss Ella Engle of Lawrence.

Funeral services will be held tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 o’clock from the Trinity Lutheran church of which he was a member. The Rev. C. A. Puls will have charge of the services. Burial will be made in Oak Hill cemetery.

Members of the Odd Fellows, of which Mr. Engel was a member for over 50 years, will conduct services at the grave. Pall bearers will be: Gene Corel, Charles Corel, Perry Palmateer, A. G. Alrich, Oscar Lane, Dr. Edward Bumgardner.

Mr. Engle was the son of Solomon Engle, a Civil War veteran who moved to Kansas from Pennsylvania in 1871, settling at Manhattan. Charles Engle attended the Kansas State Agricultural college in the early days of that school.

While a resident in Lawrence, Mr. Engle was actively engaged in the lumber business for several years. Later he moved to Hoquiam, Wash. and Alvin, Tex., where he engaged in the same business. After returning to Lawrence he bought the old Brackett farm and lived there a number of years. Moving to Lawrence again he, together with his brother, John, a Spanish-American war veteran, operated a grocery store in the 1300 block on Massachusetts street.

At one time Mr. Engle served as county assessor. His other interests, outside of business and his home, were the Odd Fellows, which on the completion of his fifty years of membership, presented him with a gold button, and the S. Engle camp of the Sons of Veterans which he served as a commander and treasurer. The camp was founded by his father and was named in his honor.

Jennie would go on to live another 19 years without her husband.  She was five days away from turning 92 when she passed away April 5, 1950.  Both Jennie and Charles are buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas.  Charles’ parents, Solomon and Sarah Jane, are buried in the same area.

Kathryn Corel Hahn Henson

Kathryn Corel is the granddaughter of last week’s Tombstone Tuesday, James Pickens and Susannah Clay McGee Corel, and is my great grandmother.

Kathryn was born November 28, 1908 in Lawrence, Kansas.  She was the youngest of eight children born to James Henry and Emma Augusta Miller Corel.  James Henry Corel was the fifth child of James Pickens and Susannah Clay McGee Corel.

My “Grandmama” was the first person who was close to me that died.  Two years ago, on the anniversary of her death, I wrote a blog post about how her death affected me.

The obituary for Kathryn Corel Hahn Henson comes from the Lawrence Journal World and is dated April 16, 1990.

Services for Kathryn C. Hahn Henson, 81, rural Lawrence, will be at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at Warren-McElwain Mortuary with the Rev. Ron Goodman officiating. Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery in Lawrence.

Mrs. Henson died Sunday at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Topeka. She was born Nov. 28, 1908, in Lawrence, where she was a homemaker.

Mrs. Henson was a member of the First United Methodist Church, the Dorsey-Liberty Post No. 14 of the American Legion Auxiliary, the Eagles Auxiliary, the Retired Eagles Activity Club and the Rebekah Lodge, all of Lawrence.

She married W.C. “Connie” Hahn on Sept. 11, 1927, in Lawrence. He died April 27, 1978. She married Claude H. Henson on Oct. 27, 1982, in Miami, Okla. He survives of the home.

Other survivors include a son, James C. Hahn, rural Lawrence; a daughter, Billie Laughlin, rural Lawrence; two stepsons, Clifford Henson, Greeley, Colo., and Wilbur Henson, Kansas City, Kan.; a stepdaughter, Pauline Reitzel, Bonner Springs; four grandchildren; nine stepgrandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; eight stepgreat-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.

The family will meet with friends from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Warren-McElwain Mortuary in Lawrence.

The family suggests memorials to the St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center Cardiology Department in care of the mortuary.

Copyright (c) 1990 Journal-World

James P. Corel & Susannah C. McGee Corel

James and Susannah are my great-great-great grandparents.  They are buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas.

James Pickens Corel was born February 16, 1832 in Tazewell County, Virginia to William and Rebecca Oney Corel.  He moved west with his parents and several of his brothers and sisters in 1849, first settling in Kaw Township, Jackson County, Missouri, then in 1854, his widowed mother moved her children into the newly opened Kansas Territory where she staked her claim along the Kansas River.  Rebecca Oney Corel signed over her land to James Pickens, which he claimed after her passing in 1860.  Descendants of James Pickens Corel still live on this land today.

Susannah Clay McGee was born December 25, 1828 in Bellefonte, Centre County, Pennsylvania to James Joseph and Mary Ann Neidigh McGhee.  Susannah’s family also traveled west, first settling in Freeport, Stephenson County, Illinois about 1839.  Susannah’s father is first found in Kansas on the 1857 Territorial Census.

On August 20, 1857 Susannah C. McGee married James P. Corel in Wakarusa Township, Douglas County, Kansas Territory.  Together they had seven children and nearly forty years of marriage when Susannah passed on September 15, 1895.  Her obituary, from the Lawrence Daily Journal and Evening Tribune on September 16, 1895 was entitled “An Old Settler Dead – Susan Corel.”

Susannah Clay McGee Corel

Mrs. James Corel Dies at her Home East of the City.

Mrs. Susan Corel, wife of Mr. James Corel, who lives two miles east of Lawrence on his farm, died at her home there yesterday morning. She had been sick but a few days with fever, but gradually grew worse till the end came Sunday morning in the presence of her family.

Mrs. Corel was born December 25, 1828 in Center County, Pa. and was the daughter of James McGee, one of the first of Kansas settlers and well known all over the country. She came to Kansas with her father and has been a resident of the state for over forty years. She was married to James P. Corel and was the mother of seven chidren, six of whom survive her, five girls and two boys: Jennie, now Mrs. Charles Engle, eldest daughter, Ollie Sperry, deceased, Mrs. Geo. Bowman, Mrs. Anna Stanley, James and Dr. Charles Corel of Kansas City, and Mrs. Kate Hughes of Arapaho, IT [Indian Territory].

A more loving and affectionate mother did not live. The family are grief stricken and every one who knew her will miss her. She was universally beloved by everyone who knew her and in her long residence in the city made many friends who will join with the sorrowing family in mourning the loss of one who had lived so long among them.

The funeral will occur tomorrow afternoon at 2 o’clock at the family home two miles east of the city.

James lived on for another 30 years, passing on October 31, 1925.  The obituary for James Pickens Corel was found in an unnamed, undated Lawrence, Kansas newspaper and was entitled “Another Pioneer Gone.”

James Pickens Corel

In the passing away of James P. Corel at the home of his son, James H. Corel, Saturday afternoon, October 31, [1925] at three o’clock, one of the oldest pioneers of Douglas county passed to his reward. He was preceded by his good wife by about thirty years.

Mr. Corel was born in Tazewell county, Virginia, February 16th, 1832 and died at the ripe old age of 93 years 8 months and 15 days.

When a young man he moved from Virginia to Westport, Missouri with his parents, where after five years his father died, leaving a family of three boys and eleven girls. In the fall of 1854 with his widowed mother and her large family, he moved to Kansas, then a territory, and settled on the farm which his mother preempted in Kaw Valley; the present home of his eldest son, James H., and where he spent the remaining days of his life.

He was married to Susannah C. McGee, August 20, 1858, and to this happy union were born seven children, Mrs. C. E. Engle of Lawrence, Mrs. Watson Sperry, deceased, Mrs. George Bowman of Kansas City, Kansas., Mrs. W. R. Hughes of Arapaho, Oklahoma, Mr. J. H . Corel of Kaw Valley, Dr. C. W. Corel of San Francisco and Mrs. J. R. Stanley of Kansas City, Kansas.

Mr. Corel passed through all the struggles of border war-fare in the vicinity of Lawrence in the early sixties and has the historic prestige of helping to build the first house, a log cabin, in t he City of Lawrence, which was preserved for many years as a landmark of pioneer days.

He was a sincere Christian man, a loving husband and father, and besides his family he leaves fourteen grandchildren, thirteen great grandchildren and hosts of relatives and friends to mourn his departure.

In well chosen words of love and sympathy, Dr. Edward Hislop of the Methodist Episcopal church of Lawrence conducted the funeral service.

Mrs. George Lowman and Mrs. V. K. Bruner sang most sweetly, “Nearer My God to Thee” and “Asleep in Jesus.”

He was laid to rest in the family lot in Oak Hill cemetery, six of his grandsons acting as pallbearers.

“Leaves have their time to fall, and flowers to wither at the north wind’s blast; but Thou has all seasons for thin own, O Death.!”