Some time ago, I commented on Lana Johnson’s posting of a photograph of Sarah Ann Oliver. Mrs. Oliver’s tombstone at the Old Stone Church Cemetery, was hand-made in cement and the letter was cast in reverse.

I wanted to say more about the Black families who settled in Wabaunsee County, Wabaunsee, Maple Hill, Alma and other communities.

After the Civil War, Black people in the South heard about “bleeding Kansas” and about the opportunities to come to Kansas and settle among friendly people. The little community of Wabaunsee, was known throughout the United States because of the Beecher Bible and Rifle Company. Henry Ward Beecher was a world-famous minister who sent bibles and rifles to Kansas to fight for the cause of freedom. There was great controversy over whether Kansas and Nebraska would enter the United States as free or slave states.

I haven’t the space here to give the history of Wabaunsee, but a drastic over simplificiation would be to state that a number of families came from the East and settled at Wabaunsee to help fight for Kansas to become a free state. Wabaunsee settlers were mostly educated city people who were well intentioned but ill prepared for life on the Kansas prairie. They learned the hard way by trial and error but gradually became successful in their endeavors.

Wabaunsee County and the town of Wabaunsee became known as a place where Blacks could migrate, on the Underground Railway or otherwise, and settle. Captain William Mitchell’s home, among others, became a stopping place on the Underground Railway. I hope you’ll read further about it on this website: http://mountmitchellprairie.org/mountmitchellprairie.org/Home.html

As early as 1870, Blacks began to settle permanently in Wabaunsee County, and during the early 1900s, Maple Hill and Paxico joined other communities in Wabaunsee County in welcoming black families.

In the 1900 U. S. Census, the following family names were listed as Black and living in Maple Hill Township or Maple Hill City. I will list their state of birth and also whether they were living in town or on a rural farm:
Oliver – Tennessee – Town and Farm
Medley – Kansas – Town
Bolton – Tennessee – Farm
Martin – Tennessee – Farm
Boot – Arkansas – Town
Davis – Kansas – Farm and Town
Stanley – Tennessee – Farm
Bradley – Georgia – Town
Reynolds – Tennessee – Town
Wallace – Tennessee – Town
Smith – Town and Country
Farrar – Tennessee – Farm
Stevenson – Mississippi – Town
Wall – West Virginia – Farm
Wilson – Kentucky – Farm
Helm – Kentucky – Town
Gordon – Louisiana – Town

In all, the total number of Blacks is several dozens of people. In 1910, the Black community in and around Maple Hill raised the funds to build their own church in the north end of Maple Hill at Main Street and Seventh Main. The church was the center of the Black community in Maple Hill for four decades. It was torn down in the early 1950s. After that time, Black families were welcomed into the Maple Hill Community Congregational Church.

Since the tombstone was that of Sarah Ann Oliver, I want to provide some information about their family history.

Sarah Ann Jennings was the wife of Shelby Oliver. I have also found the name spelled “Shelvy” Oliver. Shelby Oliver was born in Carthage, Blount County, Tennessee in January 1850, a decade before the Civil War. I have not been able to find a record of his death date or location.

Sarah Ann Jennings was born in March 1862, in Austin, Travis County, Texas. She was married to Shelby Oliver on November 29, 1869 in Wilson County, Tennessee. The name is spelled “Shelby” on their marriage license. I have not found the name of Sarah Ann Jenning’s mother and father or how they migrated from Texas to Tennessee.

Shelby and Sarah Oliver are enumerated on both the 1900 and the 1910 census still living and farming in Wilson County, Tennessee. It is not until the 1920 Census that they are listed as residents of Maple Hill Town, Maple Hill Township, Wabaunsee County, Kansas.

They were the parents of at least eleven children:
Lucy Oliver – 1871
George Washington Oliver – 1878 – 1926
Sophie Oliver – 1880
William Horace Oliver – 1882 – 1926
Mamie T. Oliver – 1884
Kittie Oliver – 1888
Annie Oliver – 1890 – 1975
John Davis Oliver – 1891 – 1952
Wendall L Oliver – 1895
Edgar Oliver – 1897 – 1981
Glenn F. Oliver – 1899

The Olivers were living in the town of Maple Hill when the 1920 U. S. Census was taken, and Shelby Oliver was listed as a Maple Hill City employee working on the streets. The last reference I’m able to find to Shelby Oliver, is the 1925 Kansas Census which lists him as a resident of Maple Hill, a widower, living with his daughter Sopie.

The Maple Hill News Items carries the following announcement of Sarah Ann Oliver’s death: “1923, January 5 Mrs. Sarah Ann Oliver died January 2, 1923. She leaves to mourn her a husband, Shelby, five sons and three daughters.”

Several of Shelby and Sarah Oliver’s children remained in the Maple Hill area and become well-known members of the community.

George W. Oliver married Neppie S. Bradley, whose family were farmers living between Maple Hill and Paxico. Neppie was born in Tennessee in 1878 and died at Maple Hill, Kansas in 1955. They were the parents of:
Minnie (Oliver) Officer – 1900 – 1976
Charles L. Oliver – 1902 – 1976
Pauline Oliver – 1905
Horace W. Oliver 1907 – 1995
George W. Oliver, Jr. – 1912 – 1992
Alfred S. Oliver – 1916 – 1984

Minnie (Oliver) Officer and Alfred S. Oliver both lived in Maple Hill most of their lives, married and raised families in Maple Hill.

Annie Oliver, daughter of Shelby and Sarah Ann Oliver, married Courtney Miller. They had two children Mary Lee and Oliver D. Miller. Annie (Oliver) Miller was well-known and much loved in Maple Hill. I remember her very well. Everyone’s first name was Honey, and she was always kind, helpful and had something good to say. She worked for the Horace G. Adams first, then worked for Raymond and Jessie (Stewart) Adams the remainder of her live.

Mary Lee Oliver married Glen W. Smith who worked for the railroad. Mary Lee and Glenn Smith had three children:
Glenn Smith, Jr., Constance, and Sarah. Glenn and Mary Lee Smith spent their final years in Maple Hill, where they were good neighbors and well-known.

Oliver Dee Miller followed other relatives to Saginaw, Michigan where he became a highly respected teacher, educator and administer of schools.

John Davis Oliver was born in Tennessee in 1891 and Helen M. Bradley in Wabaunsee County, Kansas. John Oliver moved to Saginaw, Michigan with other members of the family and they had two children. He died in 1952.

Wendall L. Oliver married Helen L. James and moved to Topeka, Kansas where he became an automobile mechanic. The Olivers had four children.

Edgar Oliver married Maggie B. White and they moved to Wichita, Kansas where he worked for Stout Pontiac for many years.

I will write further about Maple Hill’s Black families in future articles. Our Black families provided an important element in the community’s history and culture.

(Photos: a picture of the Beecher Bible and Rifle Church at Wabaunsee, Kansas. A photo of the Black Protestant Church in north Maple Hill. I have seen reference to this church as both a Christian Church and as an African Methodist Episcopal Church. I remember this church, but I was very young when it was torn down and I don’t remember being inside the church. Third is a photograph of Sarah Ann (Jennings) Oliver’s tombstone in the Old Stone Church Cemetery.)