Robert Bull Jordan Family
Pioneer Days in Allen County, Kansas

The following is a copy of a record made by Robert Osgood Howard (b. 1881) at Wichita, Kansas, September 27, 1929 as told to him by his uncle Samuel G. Jordan (b. 1849) who was Laura Jordan Howard’s brother. It concerns the travels of Samuel’s parents, Robert Bull and Emaline Jordan and their family from New Jersey to Kansas, and some of the history of pioneer life in the middle of the nineteenth century. Previous to moving west, Robert and Emaline lived for a while in Gloucester City, New Jersey, where Robert had a planing mill. They were both born in Pennsylvania and when they started west in 1850, they left from Philadelphia. They traveled to Iowa via Stage Lines to the Mississippi River, and then by water to Iowa. Their family of five children, Amos, Francis, Caroline, Robert and Samuel (twins) accompanied them. While they were in Iowa, their sixth child, Laura, was born. After R.B. Jordan got off the boat in Iowa he bought a government wagon, the wheels of which were held on by linch pins. These wagons were used throughout the country at that time.

Robert and Emaline Jordan with their family left Centerville, Iowa April 21, 1857 and landed at Carlyle, Kansas, May 15, 1857. [Samuel Jordan was then eight years old.] They drove one team of oxen and one team of horses and had one extra horse. The oxen were named Duke and Darby. Duke and Darby weighed 1200 to 1400 pounds each. Each ox knew his name. They had one plow and teeth for an “A” harrow which were used to make an A-shaped harrow from pieces of timber cut from their own land. One wagon was a double-decker and contained provisions such as meat, sugar, flour, a grindstone, hoes and other useful articles. On the trip west, there was no road to follow and an occasional wagon track was the only trace to guide them through the timber and prairie. They were able to make ten to fifteen miles a day. The oxen often lolled their tongues out on the trip. At one place they were very thirsty and could not be prevented from going directly down a bank into the middle of a stream. But after they cooled off, they went to the riffle and made the crossing without accident. On going down steep hills the oxen held the wagon back with their yokes.

Another incident that made a deep impression on them was a snow that fell and stayed on the ground for one day. This delayed the journey for a day until the trails could be seen again.

When they arrived in Allen County, camp was set up one half mile east of Carlyle on what is known as the Dunlap farm, just north of the grove. This was on an Indian trail. The first thing that was set out of the wagon was the grindstone and within a half hour many Indians swarmed about the stone to sharpen their dirk knives. They galloped their horses close to the wagons, and then turned them loose until they had all of their knives sharpened. All of the family had heard of many scalpings of the whites by the Indians, so they did not know but what they were to be scalped. No harm was done but the Indians begged for “hoggy meat” and “bacca” - as well as for any food which might be given them. This was the first night’s camping place. Robert and Emaline settled on a farm two miles east of Carlyle. At first they lived in a log cabin and then built a frame house from lumber hauled from Leavenworth, Kansas by oxen.

At the steep bank of the creek east of the house Indians camped for five years and some stayed for ten years before moving south to new country. They were Osage, Sioux and Comanche. The latter were quarrelsome and fought with other Indians. The Indians gave the whites no serious trouble but out west the Comanche were very bad. Osages camped in the timber and traded with the whites. They would trade a pony for a sack of flour. The Indians would stay all winter in the timber using buffalo and bear hides for tents. Most of the bear hides were from Montana. They were good tanners and the hides were as soft as quilts. Many of the settlers used the hides for lap robes.

By going fifteen or twenty miles west of Iola, hunters could get as many buffalo as they wanted. The buffalo herds would go north in the spring and south in the winter. Thousands would travel together. Sometimes a herd would be stampeded over a steep bank and the hunters would get meat and hides. The hindquarters only were taken for meat.

Sod was broken with three teams of oxen. Duke and Darby were used as the wheel team; second was Ruff and Ready and third was Tom and Jerry. This latter team was quick and obeyed well. Sometimes four yoke of oxen were used to break sod. The means of breaking oxen was to catch a couple of steers and put the yoke on them and turn them loose to run until they were tired out, and then hitch them to a wagon, etc. Oxen were worth $15 to $20 apiece at that time. The first hay was mowed by scythe. Mowing machines were short-lived. Much hay was cut and hauled home by ox teams. All the hay land from Deer Creek to Rock Creek was high blue-stem. The first year they settled, sod was broken and planted to corn. This was then seeded to wheat. The wheat was thrashed by horses tramping it out. Samuel said he had ridden one horse all day, going in a circle. The sheaves were spread out as shingles on a roof and the horses tramped against the heads. It required a half day to tramp out one layer. Then the grain had to be winnowed to rid it of chaff and it had to be cleaned before it was ground into flour. The tramping floor was twenty to thirty feet in diameter. Riding the tramping horse was always a boy’s job.

The ropes that were used at that time were made by the Indians from buffalo hides. Strips were plaited. There were no modern ropes at that time. Fences were made from rails. No nails were used. All groceries were hauled from Leavenworth. The trip to Leavenworth was made about every six months, requiring a week to make it. There was no railroad to Leavenworth at that time. . There was a flour mill at LeRoy, Kansas. After two years, Mr. Ed Cosine established a sawmill at Neosho Falls, Kansas.

When they first came to Kansas, Emaline had a barrel of dried peaches. Soon after coming, fruit trees were started. These were from seeds which were planted. Then, grafting was done on these seedlings. They had one of the best orchards in the country.

When he left Iowa, Robert Jordan sold his Iowa farm for $2000, half cash. The next year he rode a horse back from Kansas after the balance. At that time the trip was very hazardous as there was so much talk of war and ill-feeling was very pronounced between Kansas and Missouri over the Free State question. On his trip from Kansas to Iowa, Robert was taken prisoner. He showed his captors his notes and told them his business. One of the men was an Odd Fellow and Robert gave the distress signal and was recognized by this man. Finally after much effort on his lodge brother’s part the bunch decided to turn him loose and he continued on his journey to Iowa. He collected the $1000 and placed it in a belt and carried it back to his Kansas home. On the trip back he came a different route so he would not be robbed. He used the money to buy stock and live on. With it he paid $400 for the Fackler place, paying a Mr. Giles Sater this amount. Mr. Sater had homesteaded it and then gone back to Missouri. Some land warrants could be bought for $60 to $70.

Miss Bertha Simpson taught the first school located about one mile north of the present school house. School lasted three months - April, May and June. Parents paid $2 per month for each pupil.

Emaline had a flock of turkeys and early one morning a flock of wild turkeys joined them and were fighting the tame ones. Samuel shot one of the big gobblers and the flock flew south. The one shot by him fell about 200 yards from where he was shot. Samuel used the bone from the wing of this turkey to make a “turkey caller”, and was able to call a big gobbler very close to him. Deer were plentiful in the woods, hence the name “Deer Creek”. Prairie chickens were very thick then too, and it was easy to get them for meat.

Virgie Chilcote Anderson (no date), with minor editing by Scott Jordan, December 2005