Dills of Bourbon Co, Kansas

Bourbon County was organized on April 14, 1874, amidst "bond fraud" issues and padded census returns, by Samuel A. Williams; William Barbee; H. T. Wilson; Charles B. Wingfield; B. F. Hill; J.J. Farley; John F. Cattrell and Thomas Watkins. It was named for Bourbon County, Kentucky. The name was proposed by Samuel A. Williams and William Barbee, early settlers who came from Kentucky. It contains the cities of Bronson, Fort Scott, Fulton, Mapleton, Redfield and Union Town. Bourbon County Courthouse, between 1892 and 1900The Denver Peace Treaty of 1858, promulgated by Territorial Governor James Denver, was an important part of county history. It was created in an attempt to end the long period of hostilities between the pro-slave element of Fort Scott and the free-state supporters of the Marmaton and Little Osage River communities. On December 15, 1858, "Jayhawkers" attacked Fort Scott resulting in the shooting of Marshal John Little. The Marmaton Massacre of October 22, 1864, involved approximately 60 rebels from Missouri attacking the town, and Marmaton, and the subsequent capture and execution of six townsmen. The town was also burned. The first church was the Episcopal church of Fort Scott, founded in September, 1859. The first county fair was held October 24-25 in Marmaton. The first school district was No. 10, founded December 10, 1859, in Marmaton. Important figures from the county include Hiero T. Wilson, the post sutler at Fort Scott, was one of the founders of the county and the city of Fort Scott. Eugene F. Ware, Civil War veteran, legislator, lawyer, and poet, settled in Fort Scott in 1867. Albert Bigelow Paine, a painter and poet, and the personal secretary to Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) was a native of the county. In 1860 a young schoolteacher by the name of Guthrie was accused of horse stealing by a posse of pro-slavers. He was caught with a horse supposedly stolen but if so, he did not know it. A kangaroo court met on top of a mound near the city of Mapleton and sentenced him to hang. Before dying he placed a curse upon his killers that each would die a violent death with their boots on, which they did. Today the hill is named Guthrie's Mound and is purportedly haunted by the martyred schoolteacher's ghost. https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/bourbon-county-kansas/15262 Harrison and Francis [Gooding] Dills brought sons, George and Harry to Redfield [Bourbon Co] Ks who helped build a small dairy. Harrison took work with a fencing company as the area was newly developed. The first post office in Redfield was established in 1872. The Dills family settled there 1881, 15 years after the town was founded and most were farming their estates besides specialized jobs. Tracks had been laid for the Missouri Pacific Railroad which made the area more desirable, but was more about family ties for Francis "Fannie" having two sister had already settled. While living in Quincy Ill [1834-81], Harrison had already bought land in Warrensburg, Missouri besides investing in a coal mine in Missouri, across the Ohio River from Quincy. In 1896, when Harrison's health began failing, he moved to Warrensburg 3 years before his death. Meanwhile, after George moved further west, half brother Harry married Myrtle Romans in Redfield in 1892. The following year, their first child LeRoy Dills was born and other siblings followed.

In 1905, Harry and Myrtle parted ways for the last time when Harry left for work in Louisana. In 1908, his mother Francis died and gave goods and land to his children, leaving Harry with one dollar. In 1924, another sad event happened when their daughter Fern Emily Dills committed suicide after the birth of daughter Rosanna. She was 24 and an unwed mother living in Salina, Kansas. Note: Rosanna was adopted by her grandmother, Myrtle Dills and grew up in Kansas. She believed that her father's surname was Oneal but not confirmed. She never met her biological parents.

This photo of Fern Emily Dills would have been around 1905 in Fort Scott, Ks

Exerpt from 1908 will of Francis Electa Dills in Redfield, Kansas [ancestry.com]