My Genealogy Hound

OLIVER EASLEY. More than a third of a century has passed since Oliver Easley came to Woodson County, entering a tract of land from the government in Owl Creek township. He now resides in Belmont township and as the result of his long years of identification with the agricultural interests of this part of the state he is the possessor of a valuable and highly improved tract of land.

Mr. Easley has always resided in the Mississippi valley, and the enterprising spirit which has promoted the rapid growth and development of this section of the country has been manifest in his business career. He was born in Fulton County, Illinois, April 15, 1839, and is a son of Isaac Easley, a millwright by trade, who settled in Illinois many years before the birth of our subject, having gone to that state from Freeport, O. His birth occurred, however, in Virginia. Becoming a pioneer settler of Illinois, he there spent his remaining days, his death occurring in Fulton County about 1860, when he was fifty-five years of age. He was one of four brothers, the others being John, Thomas and Stephen, and all resided in Fulton County, at Ipava, a place which was formerly known as Easleytown. Isaac Easley was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Norris, who died at a comparatively early age. In the family were ten children, and those who reached mature years and reared families of their own were: Albert; Oscar, now deceased; Eliza, who married William Knock; Edith, deceased wife of Isaac McCarty; Mrs. Mary A. Dougherty, and Frank, of Woodson County.

The home farm was the scene of the labors and joys of Oliver Easley in his youth. His educational privileges were somewhat limited, but his training in the work of the fields was not meager. After reaching man’s estate he married Miss Emma E. Stafford, the wedding being celebrated on the 20th of September, 1860. The lady is a daughter of Thomas Stafford, who removed to Illinois, from Providence, Rhode Island, and had four children; Eliza, deceased wife of Samuel Larkin; George, a resident of Quincy, Illinois; William, who is living in Vermont, Illinois, and Mrs. Easley.

Our subject and his wife continued to reside in the Prairie state until 1865, when they came to Kansas, locating first in Bourbon County, where they remained for a year and then removed to Vernon County, Mo., when, in 1867, they came to Woodson County. Kansas. In 1875 Mr. Easley located on West Buffalo creek, owning land on sections twenty-eight and thirty-three, township twenty-six, range fifteen. His farming interests are profitably conducted and his place, neat and thrifty in appearance, indicates the supervision of a careful and progressive owner.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Easley was blessed with seven children: Chester, who married Linnie Cowan and is living in Wilson County, Kansas; Annie, wife of Frank Powell, also of Wilson County; Osro, of the same county, who married Annie Surprise; Clarence; William, of Topeka, Kas., who married Selecta Dick; Sarah, wife of Frank Thorn, of Liberal, Kas., and Ethel, who completes the family. The members of the household have uniformly commanded the respect of those with whom they have come in contact and Mr. and Mrs. Easley enjoy the warm friendship of their neighbors and of a large circle of acquaintances. In early days the Easleys were Whigs and when that party passed out of existence and the new Republican party was formed they became supporters of that organization. Oliver Easley has by his ballot indicated the same political preference, and while he is not an active politician or an office seeker, he never fails to attend the elections and thus support his political principles and the men who represent them. He has contributed in a quiet but effective way to the general progress and upbuilding of Woodson County during the thirty-four years of his residence here and is one of its worthy citizens.