John Kunz
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John Kunz |
The third child born to Joseph and Mary Kunz was John Kunz, born February 2,1851 in Wayne County, NY. His parents moved to Illinois when he was four years of age and it was there that he grew up.1
In 1872, at the age of 21, John filed for a homestead near Cawker City, KS.
Two years later he abandoned the homestead because of drought, grasshoppers and
pests, and returned to Illinois. There he married Mary Margaret Wetzel, on
August 7, 1879. Judge Bisse performed the ceremony in Carthage, IL.
Mary Margaret, born 1861 in Carthage, IL, was the daughter of Nelson Marion and
Susannah Somers-Wetzel. The Wetzels were farmers whose land
neighboured that of Joseph Kunz. Their name can be found in the upper left
corner of the
1874 Prairie Township map.
While living in Illinois, John and Mary Margaret Kunz had three children:
Effie May, Joseph Nelson and George Franklin.
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John & Mary Margaret Kunz |
In 1885 John and Mary sought greener pasture and moved west with their three children. They travelled by train to the end of the rail line, arriving at Island City, OR in 1885. Their fourth child, Maud, was born at Island City, OR on June 22, 1886. As soon as the baby was strong enough to travel, the family headed north to Washington Territory. They took up residence in the Sherman area of Lincoln County in the fall of 18872 – the first Kunz to arrive in Sherman.
John and Mary and their children "had
Thanksgiving dinner that year in the small frontier home of Mr. and Mrs. Walker Hudkins and there was turkey on the menu, the bird being supplied by Mrs. Jim
Dungan. About 20 persons were crowded into the small room.
"The Kunz family was temporarily housed in a deserted shack but on Christmas Day they moved to the substantial log house on their homestead north of George Sherman’s ranch. The house was 14 x 16 feet and stood many years near the modern house built later by Mr. and Mrs. Kunz."3
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| L>R: Maud, Alice, Effie May |
John and Mary had four more children, born in the Sherman area, for a total of eight:
Effie May, born 2 January 1881 in Illinois; married to Frank Arthur Hudkins; died September 1960
Joseph Nelson, born 18 March 1882 in Elvaston, IL; married Florence Leona Badger; died 17 October 1940
George Franklin, born 18 March 1884 in Carthage, IL; married to Bessie Copenhaver; died 13 November 1977 in Davenport, WA
Maud, born 22 June, 1886 in Island City , OR; never married; died 1947
Alice Josephine, born 27 July 1889 in Sherman, WA; married Jesse Dobbs; died 1951
Mary Magdalene (Mame), born 3 September 1894 in Sherman, WA; married to Leonard Levi Naff; died 1957
Olive Othello, born 20 December 1895 in Sherman, WA; married to Repass Gollehon; died 1971
Harvey Wetzel, born 8 April 1899 in Sherman, WA; died 25 February 1905 in Sherman, WA
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| John Kunz family farmhouse |
October 15, 1890, John filed for homestead rights in Lincoln County in the Sherman region, northeast of Wilbur. According to the Wilbur Register of March 11, 1898, John Kunz "expect[ed] to build a handsome residence on his farm this coming summer. Mr. S. R. Eva [was] the contractor."
John and his wife later "purchased
the Mangis place, better know as the Boyd place. This makes two sections
of good farm land owned by Mr Kunz. besides some timber land in the canyon."4 In April 1904, they purchased a half section of land near Govan from Mr. Magee.5
In all, John Kunz had extending his
Washington land holdings to 2500 acres of
excellent wheat land.6 "He was president of the
Farmers State Bank in Wilbur until it was merged [in 1929] with the State
Bank of Wilbur. He was a charter member of the Tuscan Masonic lodge when it was
organized and was its first tyler."7
"In 1907, [John and Mary] began a
second siege of pioneer life in the Calexico country [CA], and there the they
had serious difficulty with the pests known as ground squirrels. For more
than a quarter century they spent the summers [in Sherman] and the winters in
Los Angeles" where he had considerable land holdings at Los Angeles,
along with property in Holtsville, CA.8
There are letters between family
members that indicated that his brother Michael, his wife and two younger
children, Gertrude and Hilary, visited the John Kunz family in California.9
It seems the two brothers who were
miners in the southwest, Amile and Nicholas, might also have visited at some
point.
In 1913, John and his wife retired
from the farm and bought resident's property in Wilbur, WA. For many years
he spent the summers there and the winters in California: "Having quit
active farming operations in 1912, Mr. Kunz acquired a residence in Wilbur where
he has lived since, except four years that he spent in Calif. when he was active
in looking after his business there. But after returning to make his home
in Wilbur he has gone back to Los Angeles for the winter months."10
John Kunz died June 12, 1931, a few
years after celebrating his Golden Wedding Anniversary in 1924.11
His wife, Mary, continued to live in Wilbur with her daughter Maude until her
death in September 1950.12
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Mother Mary M Kunz 1851 - 1950 Sherman Cemetery, WA |
Father John Kunz 1851 - 1931 Sherman Cemetery, WA |
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1 Obituary of John Kunz, Wilbur Register, June 18, 1931.
2 Notes on John Kunz compiled by Laura Bell Childers Kunz.
3 Wilbur Register, Golden Jubilee Edition, June 1939.
4 Wilbur Register, February 28, 1902.
5 Wilbur Register, April 1, 1904.
6 Obituary of John Kunz, Wilbur Register, June 18, 1931.
7 Obituary of John Kunz, Wilbur Register, June 18, 1931.
8 Obituary of John Kunz, Wilbur Register, June 18, 1931.
9 Letter from Nicholas Kunz (Good Springs, NV) to Josephine Kunz (Hamilton, IL), September 4, 1910.
10 Obituary of John Kunz, Wilbur Register, June 18, 1931.
11 Obituary of John Kunz, Wilbur Register, June 18, 1931.
12 Wilbur Register, September 14, 1950
