John Finley VanHuss

What! Shall I write the history of a township? I, a beardless youth with matted hair? Wait! Hold on, old boy, look in the glass. Well, no wonder, when I stop to think, it was more than thirty years ago since I first cast my eyes on the beautiful prairie that constitutes Glencoe township. My first night was spent in the little village of Keighley. On inquiry I found that this town had been platted and deeded by Moses Turpen and Josephine, his wife, August 16, 1880, the same year the Frisco railroad was built, who, by the way, were at this time living in a dug-out or sod house just south of town. L.D. Hadley writing in a History of Butler County, Glencoe Township, Chapter 10.

John Finley VanHuss

John Finley VanHuss (1859-1939), was son of Valentine Worley VanHuss, and father to Fred VanHuss, the grandfather to Robert J. VanHuss, my wife's father.

With the removal of the Osage Indians to Oklahoma, southern Kansas was opened up to settlement. John, his father and mother and several brothers came to Kansas in 1870. They first settled near Stillwell, Kansas where Lucinda died and is buried in Aubrey Cemetery. Eventually the family settled in Hickory and Glencoe Townships, near Beaumont and Latham, Kansas.

John Finley was born the 25th of April, 1859 in Carter County Tennessee. John was the 7th of 8 children born to Valentine Worley VanHuss and Lucinda Campbell.

The family arrived in Butler County at about the time the Santa Fe built a line with a stop in Beaumont, Kansas. The line is now gone, but a historic water tower remains. The town is home to the historic Beaumont Hotel and a has a landing strip for small aircraft.

detail of Hickory Township, Butler County 1905

This detail of the The Atlas of Butler County, 1905 shows the farm where John and Josie settled down to raise a family. As a point of reference, their home is between the north and south forks of Hickory Creek, between Stony Creek and Flinthills roads, south of 140th street.

Josie Brewer is buried in the Brewer family plot at Brownlow cemetery. This cemetery is down Munson Hill road and then east a little bit after 130th street.

The railroad spur on the map that once lead from Beaumont to Latham is now gone.

The deeds to the land can be found in the county courthouse in El Dorado.