Mappy Monday: Bartram Farm in Wabaunsee County, Kansas

There's so much more to genealogy than just collecting names and dates. I love learning about the stories of my ancestors: where did they come from, what did they do, what were the hardships, joys and adventures of their lives? Both sides of my family had the pioneer spirit. I have family who moved with William Penn from England to what would become America in the 1600s (more on my Quakers later), folks who became the first white settlers in Indian Territory (before it became Oklahoma) and ancestors who moved from Germany to New York to San Francisco and then to Tracy, California, where they were some of the pioneering settlers in my own hometown.

My maternal great grandfather, Joseph Bartram, was a Welshman who immigrated to the United States in the early 1880s. I'm still trying to figure out the whole story, but legend has it that he came here by ship with his father to bring Herefordshire cattle to Kansas. His father headed back home to the UK, but died at sea before he could reach his homeland. Joseph stayed in Kansas, married Alice A. Veale, and they had 17 kids together (including my Grandpa John).

Before they moved from Kansas to California in around 1930, Joseph and Alice had quite a spread in Plumb, Wabaunsee County, Kansas. Fortunately for me, I was able to find the Kansas Memory website (I love the Internet!) which had, available for download, a 1902 plat map that showed exactly where Joseph's farm sat in relation to his neighbors, as well as how many acres he held. It also shows, with a little dot, where the house stood on the farm. This is the house where Grandpa John grew up! My Aunt Brenda said that she's been out to where the old farm stood but, sadly, there's not much left.

The Bartrams lived in Plumb Township, Wabaunsee County, Kansas

Joseph's farm is near the bottom left of the top map. See below for detail.

You can see that the Bartrams had two parcels at a total of 180 acres.
The little square dot is where the house stood.