Draper Family Stories by The Draper Family

Thomas Draper Sr. a.1690 - 1735

Meet your Grand Father: Thomas Draper Sr. A man of many mysteries!"

Everybody hits a brick wall sooner or latter when searching for their ancestors. Our grandfather, Thomas Draper Sr. together with his wife Sarah built a huge big brick wall to keep us from finding their mail box and drive way! Our car of genealogy speeds down the ancestry highway into a fog, crashing head first in North Farnham Parish, a British Colony on the east coast of America, which gets stuck in the mud before falling into the Atlantic ocean on a swim to British-Irish shores.

The year is 1690! We are trapped in a foggy haze, where if you look down at your feet, you might not see them or what you are standing in due to the murk and muck! But, thanks to some hard core researchers in our family, who brought in lights, we can now see where our car crashed!

Virginia is a very hard area to know where to look for records. Birth, marriage, death, and census records do not exist in many areas. Some counties are classified as "burned" where records were lost due to fires, wars, floods and other reasons. Researchers can find land and tax records on the state level. The language and hand written documents of the day are the next challenge for researchers. Property descriptions are streams, rivers, hills, valleys, tree lines and trees written in the language of the day. Smudges on the records pose another problem. A genealogist has to learn a a lot of of things and acquire some geographical knowledge to be successful!

Here is what we know:

Thomas Draper Sr. and his wife Sarah lived in modern day Richmond County, Virginia.
In 1690 the area is called North Farnham Parish (implying there was also a South Farnham Parish and also implying before that it was called Farnham Parish.
There should be records, land deeds, birth and death recordings, legal dealings and law suits recorded. Turns out, there are a few. Most have gone missing!
Thomas is in the area settling a law suit in 1710, at the age of about 20. 1710-20 = 1690. That is the jest of how we know when he was born.
Thomas and Sarah's wedding date is reported as October 7th, 1711. but so is the birth of their daughter Elizabeth. We don't believe it was a "shotgun wedding"! It could be a filing date problem, or something else altogether. WikiTree says 1713 as Elizabeth's birth.
Thomas did get into some legal problems. He was in court a lot of times between 1711 and 1722. (see below all court appearances)
We know where Thomas lived! He sold a parcel of land, about 100 acres to William Brockenbrough: This is very close to where Thomas and Sarah lived:
- The property was located in Richmond County “Beginning at a marked red oak standing in the line of Bedwell and corner tree to Henry Fan, and running along the line of Bedwell to a white oak, corner tree newly marked, thence along a line of now marked trees down to a branch known by the name of Christopher’s Branch, thence up the Maine branch to a line of marked trees that divides this land and ye land of Henry Fan, thence up the said line to the place where it first began.
- NOTE If you GOOGLE Search that location, you will be disappointed!
We do know where North Farnham Parish was located. A brick church building was erected beginning in 1730 in the area was known as the "Church of North Farnham Parish".

Farnham_Viginia_Draper_Descendants_Tour_Guide_-1-12.jpg The date 1737 on this sign is misleading! The Head stone on the Church says it was built in 1730 -1740

Thomas and Sarah were in this area when this church was built. This would have been the biggest event ever in the area in the years between 1730 - and 1740. The congregation members were no doubt already meeting in this area before erecting a more secure building.

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From Bill Draper Ancestry Tree:

COURT MATTERS, PROBATE, PROPERTY. CHANCERY SUIT & ARRESTS

16 Court matters involving: Debts owed (dismissed); giving oath concerning a will; James Toone together with Thomas sued by Buxton(charges dropped); paid to get back indentured servant that "snicked" away for 3 days; surety on a bond, trespass; called to answer complaint of his indentured servant Richard Cornelius.
1 Probate: 1718 James Toone Jr. gives property to Sarah and 3 year old 1st born son William.
3 Property: 1722 Sale of 100 acres to William Brocket; Sale of 50 acres to Thomas Curtis on the south side of the main Pocoson (a swamp) of Totesky Creek; and purchase of a mill from William Stone.
1 Chancery Suit: 1723 John Buxton filed suit for paying Thomas to build a house that was never finished. 500 lbs of tobacco worth of work completed, Thomas to pay 1,344 lbs. worth of tobacco back for uncompleted work.
Arrests:
- 1st in 1723 involving Thomas and Bartholomew Dodson found guilty of assaulting and “did beat wound and pursue with staves, clubbs, stones, and chaires” Christopher Pridham and his family. Fined 20 lbs sterling each. (Criminal Proceedings in Colonial Virginia)
- 2nd: 1723 Thomas was fined 40 lbs sterling, and Hugh Harris and Henry Fann were fined 20 lbs sterling each for not keeping the peace.

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All of Thomas and Sarah Draper's children were born in North Farnham Parish. Thomas died in 1735, probably before the "The Church of North Farnham Parish" was in operation. There are no Draper burials on the church grounds, and the oldest burials are in the 1800's.

Thomas Draper is buried somewhere between that tall red oak tree and the newly marked white oak tree, that runs along a line of trees....well you get the idea; we don't know.

To find out more, please visit My Generations, by Bill Draper

What we do know: his kids left us a lot of stories of a rich family history! Please, enjoy the following stories collected by the Draper Family!

**Clarintha Choate Draper 1836 - 1944**

*Simulation: (photo from ShutterStock)

Meet: Clarintha (Choate) Draper who could ride a horse better than most men!

Clarintha, born near Nashville, at age 3, traveled with her parents and large family to Texas. The story says she was 16 when she married George Washington Draper, but there were claims that George was embarrassed that she was older than him, so they switched birth dates.

George and Clarintha raised cattle, and drove them to Palo Pinto county to sell them to the government for the Indians being placed on a reservation. On one of those cattle drives, they were attacked by hostile Indians. The Indians stole most of their horses, and shot their Negro cook off his horse! George and his ranch hands chased the renegades down and recovered their property!

George inherited a young female negro slave, but he had to travel to Arkansas to get her. This was such a valuable piece of “property” to have, so he became very determined to fetch her. He invested everything to journey to Arkansas.

They could not have picked a worse time to travel! On their journey, they became entangled in the Civil War. George enlisted in the Confederate army, was wounded, then returned to the fight and was captured by the Union and imprisoned for two years.

This left Clarintha in a bad way, alone with two children to raise. The Union army swept down on her property, stole her horses and burnt her house to the ground! She decided to return to Texas, thinking her husband had been killed. She had one horse left, that had been loaned to a friend, that the Union soldiers didn't find. With her two very young children, on horseback, they started the journey. When they reached Walden, Arkansas, a battle was raging all around them. Cannon fire was so intense, she described it as hail raining down on them. Her son picked up a cannon ball that landed near them and burnt his hand on it as it was extremely hot!

They continued on, wading through the dead victims of the battle which covered the area. They had to cross a stream, which was so deep, that when they plunged into the waters the horse had to start swimming. Her little son fell off the back of the horse, but somehow clung to the rigging. They were frozen, but alive, and they encountered Union soldiers who warmed them with a fire.

They continued on and encountered another group of Union soldiers who took their horse. Clarintha kicked the first soldier in the face causing blood to gush out! She didn’t win the fight. Now they had to walk! Fate was with her as she found a horse, with no owner, who could have been shot off of it! She put the children on the horse and walked.

Later they arrived at a farm, and asked for help, in which they were turned down. The owners later had a change of heart and let them stay. She spent six weeks paying her “dues” by weaving cloth and helping in the farm activities.

When they arrive back to their home in Texas, Clarintha found her mother was starving as Union soldiers had taken everything. Meanwhile, her husband, George, is released and makes it back to Texas and is reunited with his family. They prosper and have many more children.

George never came home with his negro slave that he sought out to get. Ironically, she would have been freed anyway at the end of the Civil War. He died November 13, 1884, at 48 year old.

Clarintha claimed she could ride a horse better than most men, even at 100 years of age, if the family would let her ride. She only weighed about 90 pounds, but was tough as nails! She passed away on May 10th, 1943. She lived to be 105 years of age.

George and Clarintha Draper are resting in Cold Creek Cemetery, located in Llano County, Texas . One of their children, E.A. Draper, (1870-1945), age 74, is resting there also.

FAMILY TREE:

Thomas Draper Sr. (abt. 1690 - 1735)
Thomas Draper Jr. (1733 - abt. 1812)
James Draper (1766 - 1836)
Daniel Draper (1806 - 1859)
George Washington Draper (1838 - 1884)
- Clarintha (Choate) Draper (1836 - 1944) Wife of George Washington Draper

WikiTree https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Choate-835
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L4YQ-HWJ
Find A Grave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23738038/clarintha-draper

When Clarintha Draper was 100 years old, Hazel Bowman, a newspaper reporter, interviewed her and published her story. (see photos below)

For pictures of the newspaper articles go to: Find A Gave Memorial ID: 23738038

Thomas and Lucy Coleman Draper 1725 - 1811

In the story above we met George & Clarintha Draper. Now let's meet their Great Grand Father:

Meet Thomas Draper Jr (1733 - abt. 1812) and Lucy Coleman Draper (1739 - abt. 1805)

In 1773, when Thomas Draper was born, a big party was thrown! The Boston Tea Party!

Recently, in December of 2022, many of us became aware of the files of Susan Wheeler Watt of Naperville, Illinois, a descendant of Thomas Draper Jr and Lucy Coleman Draper.

According to her research and family history, Thomas and Lucy Draper packed up their wagons and moved the families, both Draper and Coleman members, to South Carolina. The axel on one of their wagons broke near the convergence of Mill Creek and the Pacolet River in an area called Twelve Mile. The Draper and Coleman families made a group decision that they had gone far enough. Lucy Coleman Draper's brother, Christopher Coleman, opened Christy's Tavern in that area, which served thirsty forces of both the Continental and British troops.

Thomas Draper was given a Royal Land Grant of 451 acres in Craven County, SC which was renamed later and is part of present day Union County, SC

This contradicts previous information that Thomas and Lucy Draper made it much further south and are buried in Moncks Corner, SC.

Road Construction in the area of "Twelve MIle" later destroyed the Draper/Coleman Family Cemetery. The following poem was then written in December of 2022 which was inspired by that construction project. Enjoy!

Thomas Draper Jr., from Farnham, Virginia way,
Was in need of a wife, and was married one day
To Lucy Coleman, who became his wife,
And moved to South Carolina, to start a new life!
They had a lot of kids, and farmed in "Twelve Mile"
They lived and loved, and had hard times for a while.
But, they never lost a smile, as they grew old and weak,
They were buried in a plot out by "Mill Creek"
Well, one day the State needed a road to carry
Trucks and cars through that Draper Cemetery.
It was built over their graves, because they didn't care
They removed the old tombstones located there!
But they left what was left, just dust in those graves,
With rock and asphalt , the highway was paved
So, be warned, when traveling down there at night,
Strange things some have seen really gave them a fright!
Ghost like specters have been said to appear,
When you take a look back in the rear view mirror
If you are family, there is nothing to fret
Road Workers, beware! It's YOU they will get!

Click here If you want to see Lucy Draper's ghost spooking travelers !

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Farnham_Viginia_Draper_Descendants_Tour_Guide_-1-693.jpg

State Road S44-73 (Jerusalem Rd) where it crosses Mill Creek is the probable cemetery location. This area was once called "Twelve Mile" as it was 12 miles north of some prominent location said to be the city of Union, SC. A lot has changed since 1812.

Graves in the middle of a road have company! See what happened to Nancy Kerlin Barnett:

Nancy Kerlin Barnett 1793 - 1831

Meet Nancy Kerlin Barnett! The Lady Buried in the Middle of the Road

Nancy Kerlin Barnett

BIRTH 14 May 1793 Indiana, USA

MARRIAGE 1808 to William S. Barnett(1785–1854 )

DEATH 1 Dec 1831 (aged 38) Indiana, USA

BURIAL Middle of the Road Grave Franklin, Johnson County, Indiana, USA

The Grave in the Middle of the Road!

Today, road improvements have made the area safer.

From: Find A Grave Memorial ID 7605185

Your 20th cousin five times removed (Dave Draper) (Check Your Connection) Your common ancestor, Ralph Basset II (abt.1155-1211), is her 19th great-grandfather. Your common ancestor, Robert (Stuteville) de Stuteville (abt.1116-1183), is her 20th great-grandfather

Nancy Kerlin Barnett, married William Barnett, Febuary 29, 1808, also a 22nd cousin three times removed!. He was born September 27, 1786. He drowned in Ohio River September 24, 1854. William was the great great great grandson of Pocahontas and John Rolfe. Daniel G. Doty, 1846 - 1934. protected his grandmother's grave by staying at her graveside with his gun, while the county relocated this Cemetery in order to build the road. A concrete slab was placed over the grave to protect the marker, August 8, 1912

NOTE: if you trace William Barnett back to James Francis Barnett (1703 - abt. 1785, you will see he comes from Londonaerry, Ireland! Refresh your memory on the Draper Name:

English and Irish: occupational name for a maker and seller of woolen cloth, Anglo-Norman French draper (Old French drapier, an agent derivative of drap ‘cloth’). The surname was introduced to Ulster in the 17th century. Draperstown in County Londonderry was named for the London Company of Drapers, which was allocated the land in the early 17th century. William's family came from that area also!

Nancy Kerlin passed away on December 1, 1831 and is buried what is known today as "The Grave in the Middle of the Road".

It has to be one of America's most unusual burial grounds: A grave that singularly divides a county road.

At each end of the grave is a divided highway sign with a cross in the center, indicating a cemetery. One can only wonder if there's another like it anywhere in the country.

Here's the story: Nancy Kerlin was only 14 — soon to be 15 — when she married William Barnett in 1808. Her husband was the great-great-great grandson of Pocahontas and John Rolfe. Nancy and William lived near present-day Amity, a small community south of Franklin which wasn't actually founded until a number of years later in 1855.

When she died in 1831 at age 39, she was buried at what was apparently one of her favorite places — on a small hill overlooking Sugar Creek. In the following years, several others also were buried there and a small cemetery was created.

Like many Indiana counties, Johnson County had innumerable small cemeteries. One researcher has identified 163 in the county with 54 of them lost and nine removed. This biggest move of all came in the 1940s when a large number of graves were moved so Camp Atterbury could be constructed.

Over time a foot path developed through this small cemetery and later a county road was planned through it. Other graves probably were moved, but one of Nancy's sons objected to moving her grave. Since it originally wasn't a problem, her grave was left behind.

The trouble developed still later when the county wanted to widen the road. Now the grave would have to be moved.

So the story goes, her grandson, Daniel Doty, went to the gravesite with his shotgun and, in essence said, "over my dead body." How long he remained there and what was said by whom to whom isn't definitely known.

The upshot, however, was that the county agreed not to move the grave. Instead, they built the road around it. A concrete slab was placed over the grave to protect it and on Aug. 8, 1912, a historical marker was placed at the site as well.

That's how things still stand today.

In almost any writing about unusual places in Indiana, you will see the gravesite of Nancy Kerlin Barnett included. Also, it is easily seen by traveling a short distance north off U.S. 31 in southern Johnson County. (See "If You Go" box for more information.)

Incidentally, the grandson who protected his grandmother's grave was the son of one of Nancy's daughters, also named Nancy, the eighth of her 11 children. The second Nancy was 20 years old, if records are correct, when she married John Doty in Johnson County in 1843. Daniel was the second of her nine children.

The first Nancy's husband, William, died by drowning in the Ohio River 13 years after her death.

End

Koby, Kirsten and Kristopher Draper

Meet these beautiful Draper children we lost way to early! (no WikiTree profiles have been created)

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Pictured above, left to right, Koby "Grasshopper Draper, Kirsten Renee "Sis" Draper and Kristopher Robby "Kris" Draper, taken about 2014. Koby and Kirsten were killed April 22, 2015 when the car they were riding in was rear-ended about 8:40 p.m. by a pickup truck driven by John Canche Alvarado of Austin. Department of Public Safety Trooper Robbie Barrera said Crystal Draper, 37, was attempting to turn left off US Highway 183 into the Saratoga Springs subdivision when a drunk driver slammed his Ford F-150 pickup into the Nissan Altima she was driving. Koby and Kirsten were killed, Kristopher suffered severe injuries and brain injury and died later, in November of 2021. They are listed below:

Kirsten Renee “Sis” Draper 1 Feb 2005 – 23 Apr 2015 Find A Grave Memorial ID 145468085
Koby “Grasshopper” Draper 24 Aug 1999 – 22 Apr 2015 Find A Grave Memorial ID 145468007
Kristopher Robby “Kris” Draper 31 Oct 2001 – 4 Nov 2021 Find A Grave Memorial ID 234099095

Their story appears in the Draper Tour Guide: Tour de Farnham Texas, Williamson County, Bagdad Cemetery

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Farnham_Viginia_Draper_Descendants_Tour_Guide_-1-445.jpg

Entrance to Saratoga Springs Subdivision, April 2015 after the deadly car crash killing Koby and Kirsten Draper SATELLITE VIEW of intersection 183 and Saratoga Springs Subdivision

William Fountain Draper 1836 - 1889

Meet: Willian Fountain Draper A Builder Of Towns!

BIRTH 7 Dec 1838, Vandalia, Jasper, Iowa, United States

MARRIAGE 14 Sep 1867 to Lenora Hatcher

DEATH 1 Oct 1889, Age 51

BURIAL Mount Moriah Cemetery Sundance, Crook County, Wyoming, United States^[1]

William was born in 1838. He was the son of Ira Draper and Celia Means. ^[2]

William Fountain Draper set his sights on a lovely girl in Iowa in the early 1860's. Her name was Lenora Hatcher. She was a Hoosier by birth and traveled with her parents to the Vandalia, Iowa area now part of modern day Des Moines, Iowa. They were about to be married, when a life and death situation occurred that forced them apart.

In 1864, William's father, Ira Dillingham Draper, was a Station master in the Underground Railroad was targeted with a "Wanted Dead or Alive" for the high crime of helping runaway slaves get to safer areas in the North. The pro-slavery activists were out to slaughter him and his family for this act of treason! The family was packed up in an instant with only essentials. James Madison Deweese also gave the word to his family to grab their stuff and get in the wagons. He no doubt was involved in the ordeal and feared for the safety of his family.

They headed West for the Nebraska Territory, crossing the Missouri River at Brownville, where, by ferry, only one to two wagons could cross at a time. Both families arrive 3 miles NW of what is now the Dawson, Nebraska area, with-in 5 days of each other. They had to sleep in and under their wagons. We believe both families had about 25 to 30 mouths to feed, and the main priority was to build two log cabins quickly to survive the harsh Nebraskan winter.

Sometime in 1864 or 1865, Ira Dillingham Draper and James Deweese and some of the older sons, return to Iowa twice, to pack up their belongings and take them to Nebraska. The Civil War had ended and the situation in Iowa is much safer now. William and Lenora were re-united and she returns with the Draper and Deweese families back to Nebraska on the first round trip.^[3]

William and Lenora are married on the 14th of September, in 1867. They applied for a homestead on the exact location of where Dawson, Nebraska is located today.

William Fountain Draper divided up his homestead land of 160 acres to sell lots and to form a town as settlers kept coming to Nebraska. On March 4, 1872, while on the train trip to Falls City to get the survey and paperwork registered for his town, he decided to call the town's name Noraville to honor his wife Lenora Hatcher Draper. This did not set well with farming residents in that area. Joshua Dawson owned a grist and sawmill by the Nemaha river and had already established a post office called Dawson Mills, and Mr. Dawson was the postmaster.

The Falls City Journal ran a story on this event, and in the 5th paragraph down from the top we read William's words in the paper: "March 4: I went to Falls City this morning. Went down on the passenger train and came back on the mixed train. I took my town plat to have it recorded. I decided on calling our burg Noraville. (after his wife "Lenora") I don't know how it will wear. I paid for the recording of the town plat, $2.50, for dinner 25 cents, .... and for fare down and back $1.40....(in all) a total of $5.65....."

The story continues: "March 20: Heard more today concerning trouble about the name of our town. I must go to work and build a town and let somebody else run it. NOT BY DAMN SIGHT! Hanging is too good for some people in this world." It is believed William was referring to Joshua Dawson as the one that "Hanging is too good for some people"

The Atchison & Nebraska railroad built through William Fountain Draper's land in 1871 so William moved the town lots north of the tracks to higher ground because of the Nemaha river's frequent floods and for future expansion.

The heated fight over the name of the town continued. Mail delivery was confusing as now there was Noraville and Dawson Mills addresses.

The post office was called Dawson Mills. When the Post Office relocated within the city limits of Noraville, Joshua Dawson convinced the U.S, Postmaster to keep the name. The U.S. Postmaster agreed, without any consideration that legally the town was called Noraville. He did drop the name "Mills" to be called the Dawson Post Office. However, to this day, in legal descriptions, property here has to be described as The Town of Noraville now called The Village of Dawson.^[4]

A newspaper article quotes from William Draper diary: "On March 21 1872, William Till moved his general store from the banks of the (Nemaha) river to the lots he bought a few days ago, paying me $20.00, he having paid me $10.00 the other day. I had measured off three lots for him...This was the first building in our town of Noraville...The first child born in the town was Charlie Till...in 1873...the first death was that of Mrs. Till in 1874."

This 1880 U.S. Census title page show the confusion, bias, peer pressure or ignorance by the census taker who wrote the location as Dawson Mills. It was crossed out, and "The Town of Noravilla" (Noraville) was added. In the next pages of the Census, both are crossed out and "Grant Precinct" is inserted.

After all the property lots sold, and because hard feelings between the Dawson family and the Draper family continued, William and his wife Lenora moved to Sundance, Wyoming. William Fountain Draper was at it again, measuring and plating lots and streets for a new town called Sundance! This didn't set well with the local Indians as Sundance Mountain was a holy place to give worship to thier Gods. Poor William! He was hated by Dawson residents and the Wyoming Indians, but beloved by the Drapers!

From Wyoming History we read:

Becoming A County

By mid-1884, the population had increased significantly. In October, the required 500 signatures appeared on a petition to organize a Crook County government. Territorial Gov. William Hale appointed W.F. Draper, J.S. Harper and W.H. Harlow as founding commissioners. They met in Sundance on Nov. 28, 1884, and set Dec. 9 as the date for the county’s voters to select a county seat and elect officers.

Sundance made its way into the legends of the West after desperado Harry Longabaugh, then about 20, spent 18 months in the Sundance jail for horse theft beginning in 1887. Afterward, Longabaugh became known as the Sundance Kid. Longabaugh, his friend Robert Leroy Parker, a.k.a. Butch Cassidy and members of Cassidy’s Wild Bunch were responsible for a string of successful train and bank robberies between 1889 and 1901, when Longabaugh and Parker left the West for South America.^[5]

William Fountain Draper lived to be 51 years of age. He passed away in 1889 on the first day of October, in the shadows of Sundance Mountain. He would have known about the Harry Longabaugh AKA the "Sundance Kid", but never lived to see all the havoc raised by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and the Wild Bunch!

But his wife Lenora Hatcher Draper, did live to see all of those things! She died in 1929. She lived to be 93.

___Story by Dave Draper

Sources

↑ Find A Gravehttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25570844/william-f-draper
↑ History of the Draper Family by Mabelle Estella Draper Hummel
↑ The Profile of Ira Dillingham Draper https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Draper-4254
↑ History of Richardson County Nebraska https://casde.unl.edu/history/counties/richardson/dawson/ Virtual Nebraska Our Towns The Story of Noraville called Dawson
↑ WyoHistory.org https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/crook-county-wyoming

Lyman Copeland Draper 1815-1891

Meet Lyman Draper

Lyman Copeland Draper devoted his life to documenting the famous lives and historic events of occurring between the French and Indian War and the War of 1812 (ca. 1755-1815)

The stories of Daniel Boone had become so fictionalized over time that one project Lyman focused on was discovering the real truths about this historic figure. His book now published is The Life and Times of Daniel Boone

His numerous manuscripts were at one time dubbed "The Draper Papers". A more in depth description of Lyman Draper's manuscripts and their importance is found on Wikipedia in the link. Lyman Draper Wikipedia

**Eileen H. Stroup Blurton (1921 - 2012)**

Meet: Eileen Blurton

This beautiful woman was the first "Miss Nothwest Passage" and almost made it to the Miss America Beauty Pageant. She entered, and was a finalist of the Miss Idaho Beauty Pageant!

Her last marriage to Robert Blurton was aired on National Television

PEDIGREE

Thomas Draper Sr. (abt. 1690 - 1735)
Solomon Draper Sr. (1731 - 1807)
William Draper Sr (1760 - 1818)
John Harrison Draper (1789 - 1866)
Jesse Frasier Draper (1826 - 1900)
Susan D. (Draper) Stroup (1855 - 1935)
Alonzo Atwood Stroup (1873 - 1931)
Benjamin A. Stroup(1895 - 1979)
Eileen Blurton

THE NEXT STORY IS ABOUT ELIEEN BLURTON'S GRAND AUNT!

**Hattie Belle Ingersoll Draper 1867- 1954**

Meet: Hattie Belle Ingersoll Draper

Born in Illinois, she was married to John Achilles Draper in 1883, a marriage that lasted 69 years!

She was a correspondant for the San Francisco Examiner, Portland Oregonian and a United Press representative. She gained national recognition in her coverage of Williams Jenning Bryan's "Western Campaign" in his bid for the U.S. Presidency.

Her mother was Mary Coolidge Ingersoll, a cousin of President Calvin Coolidge

Weldon Draper 1906 - 1967"

Meet the fastest Draper boys on Planet Earth! Weldon Draper and his little brother Foy

Weldon Allen Draper 1906 - 1967 Find A Grave Memorial and WikiTree Profile

Star athlete for the University of Southern California in the sprint and sprint relay events, class of 1929. Draper first developed as an outstanding sprinter under the coaching of C.W. Berry at Central High School in Fort Worth, Texas, class of 1925. Berry urged him to compete at the collegiate level, and, after graduation, Draper bought an old jalopy Ford and drove to California'

He joined the nationally-ranked track and field team of the University of Southern California (USC). USC was the alma mater of Draper's idol as a youth, the famous sprinter and two-time 1920 Olympic gold-medalist Charlie Paddock.

Draper quickly made a name for himself in the sprint events under the coaching of USC's renowned coach, Dean Cromwell. Draper became one of USC's nationally ranked sprinters for USC in those years--he competed successfully against teammate Charley Borah (Olympic gold medalist in the 1928 Olympics) in numerous meets as they headlined in the sports pages across the nation.

After besting Borah in the 1928 Amateur Athletic Union national track and field 100 meter championship, Draper joined with Borah and two other USC sprinters to win the 440 yard four-man sprint relay, setting a new world record in 41.6 seconds. Despite a history of injuries, Draper entered the US Olympic track and field trials in 1928, competing in both the 100 and 200 meter events, He failed to qualify, finish in 5th place of the heats of both events.

Pictures by "THR" FAG ID 48277533 Story contribution uncertain, from Find A Grave

Now meet Weldon's younger brother, who brought home the Gold!

Foy Draper 1911 – 1943

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Foy Draper was an Olympic Athlete. A native of California, he attended the University of Southern California. A track and field athlete he won the IC4A championship in 200 m in 1935, and then attended the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany,

Foy Draper won the Gold Medal for the 4x100 m relay with a new world record of 39.8

From Wikipedia:

Foy Draper (November 26, 1911 – February 1, 1943) was an American track and field athlete who won a gold medal in 4 × 100 m relay at the 1936 Summer Olympics. As a University of Southern California student, Draper won the IC4A championships in 200 m in 1935.
He reportedly held the world record for the 100-yard dash, at the time that would have been a hand timed 9.4, made all that more remarkable with Draper standing only 5'5".
Although his date of death is listed as January 4, 1943, it is usually given as February 1, 1943. His memory is honored at the North African American (ABMC) Cemetery and Memorial in Tunis, Tunisia.

1936 U.S. relay Team Jesse Owenss, Ralph Metcalfe, Foy Draper and Frank Wykoff at the 1936 Olympics

Foy Draper and Draxy Trengove, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, 1936

Note Draxy married George Wallace Belsey III November 7, 1936, and died March 21,1943, with in 2 months of Foy's disappearance. Family Search ID LZZ3-4NS Draxy is buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California under her maiden name, with no birth or death dates displayed. Find A Grave: Memorial ID 6432934 Draxy Trengove

During World War II, Foy served as a pilot on a twin engine A-20B Havoc in Thelepte, Tunisia. On January 4, 1943, he and two crew members took off to fly to Fonduck, Tunisia, to take part in the Battle of Kassarine Pass. The plane taxied down the runway and lifted proudly into the sky. The Havoc, Foy and his crew were never seen or heard from again.

Last known picture of Foy Draper before being shot down in WW2

Foy Draper is still considered Missing In Action. His cenotaph marker is in Tunis, Tunisia (picture by Doc Wilson FAG ID 4746039 0

Foy Draper Find a Grave Memorial and WikiTree Profile

From Wikipedia: The Battle of Kasserine Pass was the first major engagement between U.S. and Axis forces in Africa. The American troops were numerically superior, but inexperienced and poorly led; they suffered many casualties and were quickly pushed back over 50 miles (80 km) from their original positions west of Faïd Pass.

After the early defeat, elements of the U.S. II Corps, with British reinforcements, rallied and held the exits through mountain passes in western Tunisia, defeating the Axis offensive. As a result of the battle, the U.S. Army instituted sweeping changes in unit organization, and replaced commanders and some types of equipment.

Frank Price Draper 1918-1944

Frank Draper Jr. 1918-1944

Frank Price Draper Jr. was born to Frank Price Draper and Mary Lena Smith Draper, in Bedford County, Virginia, on September 16, 1918.

On February 3, 1941, Frank and the other members of Company A reported for duty, to the Bedford Armory.

In September 1943, while stationed at Tidworth Barracks, Frank played as an outfielder for the 116th Regiment's baseball team,

in a four-day, U.S. services, baseball tournament in London. Their team had a pitcher named Elmere Wright, and a catcher named Tony Marsico; both of these men were, like Frank, from Bedford, Virginia. They won the tournament.

On D-Day, June 6, 1944, more than 150,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, as one of the largest seaborne invasions in history. A Nazi artillery shell struck the landing craft, which was carrying Frank toward Omaha Beach. Frank's arm was blown off, and he bled to death, on the floor of the landing craft, in a puddle of blood, seawater, and vomit.

Frank was buried in the Greenwood Cemetery, in Bedford, Bedford County, Virginia. He was 25 years of age. His name is listed among "the Bedford Boys" at the National D-Day Memorial, in Bedford, Virginia. USA

Greenwood Cemetery Bedford, Bedford County, Virginia, USA, Plot location: Block 2 Lot 52 Space B

D-Day June 6, 1944

Arta Draper Parriott 1891 - 1963

Meet: Arta Draper Parriott A lady with with passion for books that founded a library!

Arta Draper Parriott Find A Grave

BIRTH 30 Aug 1891, Dawson, Richardson, Nebraska, United States

MARRIAGE 24 Sept 1916 to John Parriott CHILDREN

Genevieve Parriott Gergen 1917-1991? estimated
Margaret Partiott Tynon 1918-1991
Verna Parriott Arnold 1919-1917
Phyllis Parriott Comstock 1931-2000? estimated

DEATH 16 May 1963, Kearney, Buffalo, Nebraska, United States

BURIAL Mt Vernon Cemetery in Peru, Nebraska.

Arta Draper was born on a Sunday, in the late summer of 1891, on the 30th of August. She was the daughter of William and Isabelle Talboy Draper, William being the son of John M. Draper, who was killed when William was but 13 years of age.

Arta graduated from Peru Teacher's College, in Nebraska, USA, in 1913. She married John Parriott at the start of the fall season in 1916. September 24, 1916 was another Sunday, the day they exchanged vows.

Arta taught in various schools, among them, Dawson, Nebraska, where several of her family members had taught school from the early days in 1865 and onward, when the first school was held in the back room of a log cabin house owned by James Madison Deweese, and his daughter, Ellen Deweese Draper, would later teach in Dawson, Nebraska.

These are the children of John and Arta Parriott about 1935ish!

Arta is best remembered as leading the charge to have a library established in Dawson, Nebraska, which was, and still is, extremely unusual for small Nebraskan villages to acquire. But she mustered the support from the community to get a building built and to fill it with books. Today it is called the John G. Smith Memorial Library, and she became the first librarian from 1944 to 1959.

A visit to the library in July of 2021 tells the tale of time and change. The library is closed and the books, scattered all over the floor, give the local mice an education, a meal and a cozy nest to raise their children.

After a full lifetime of loving her family and the strict examination of literature, she rests in Mt Vernon Cemetery, in Peru, Nebraska, while we endeavor to keep her life story an open book as an inspiration of personal achievement!

John G. Smith was a prominent store owner in Dawson, Nebraska. There is a newspaper article in the story of Ira A. Draper that mentions John Smith. The story mentions Ira Draper's daughter, Grace Schlosser taking care of the bedridden John. It could be his financial contributions to the library is how the library came to be named. The History of the John G. Smith Memorial Library

Obituary from the Plattsmith Journal May 30 1963

Malinda Draper 1877 - 1879

Meet Malinda Draper

This photo was contributed by Daniel Draper which appears in Malinda's Find A Grave Memorial

Malinda Draper, who never reached age 2, was buried in Ashland Chapel Cemetery She took a secret treasure with her to the grave that was hidden for 143 years. Finding her burial in Mingo, Iowa raised questions if distant cousins of the Draper family were communicating and following each other across the Midwest, USA!

Farnham_Viginia_Draper_Descendants_Tour_Guide_-1-700.jpg

Malinda descended from Thomas and Sarah Toone? Draper in Richmond County, Virginia.

Take a close look at her pedigree:

Thomas Draper Late 1680s–1735 shared
Solomon Draper 1731–1807 shared
William Draper1760–1818 shared
Thomas Jefferson Draper1791–1869
Solomon Draper1809–1844
John Robert Draper 1838–1901
Malinda Draper 1877-1879 burial Jasper County Iowa

Now compare Malinda's pedigree with that of William Henry Draper (1811 - 1897) who lived in the same area of Iowa:

Thomas Draper Late 1680s–1735 shared
Solomon Draper 1731–1807 shared
William Draper Sr 1760 - 1818 shared
John Harrison Draper 1789 - 1866
William Henry Draper 1811 - 1897 buried Jasper County Iowa

By comparing both pedigrees above, we see that Thomas Jefferson Draper and John Harrison Draper are brothers and are sons of William Draper Sr. (1760). In the Find A Grave Memorial for William Draper Sr. (1760), John Harrison Draper is NOT listed, which was causing much confusion.

Now let's explore how the brothers John Harrison Draper and Thomas Jefferson Draper traveled, how or why their descendants converge in Iowa.

The John Harrison Draper Family Migration

Malinda's grand uncle, John Harrison Draper (1789 - 1866), moved with his wife from Virginia into Kentucky to Burkesville. From 1811 to 1821 he stopped traveling, while his wife, Ruth Clark Draper, gave birth to 4 children. By the time her their fifth child is born in 1826, they are living near or in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Who was this young married couple, John and Ruth Clark Draper, traveling with? Probably the Clark family! There is only one Draper burial in Burkesville, Kentucky, namely: Fannie Draper whose birth and death dates are unknown. Is she the child of John and Ruth Draper, or is she someone else? Meanwhile, look who we find buried in Cumberland County, Kentucky: The Clark burials in Cumberland County Are some of those Ruth "Clark" Draper's family? It is difficult to tell as there is much information lacking in the memorials of the oldest burials listed. But we did find this: (Clark, Draper and Nunn names are part of our family)

As mentioned above, John Harrison Draper moves his family to an area near Indianapolis, Indiana, where Ruth Draper has her fifth child, Jesse Frasier Draper (1826 - 1900) in 1826. Ruth Clark Draper dies in 1831 when her son William Henry Draper is 20 years old. Two years later, William Draper marries Nancy Means in 1833, and his first 4 children are born in Indiana, the fourth child being born in 1844. But the 5th child, Eliza Jane (Draper) Williamson (1854 - 1893) is born in Iowa.

Their move to Iowa

William Henry Draper's brother Ira Dillingham Draper(1814 - 1891) has a child, Lewis Cass Draper (1843 - 1866) born in Iowa in 1843.

Lewis Cass Draper (1843 - 1866), son of Ira Dillingham Draper, was born April 16, 1843 in Iowa
John Jefferson Draper (1844 - 1922), Son of William Henry Draper, was born June 20, 1844 in Indiana.

Looking at the birth dates of these two cousins, above, the Draper family is moving from Indiana to Vandalia, Iowa, but not all at once.

Thomas Jefferson Draper Family Migration to Iowa

Thomas Jefferson Draper (1791 - 1869) was born in Henry County, Virginia. He was married twice and had 12 children. He is buried in Draper Cemetery in Knox County, Tennessee.

His son, Solomon Draper (1809 - abt. 1844) lived in Tennessee and his burial, in a biography, written by his grandson, says that he is buried in a churchyard near Nashville, TN.

His son, John Robert Draper (abt. 1838 - 1901) (Malinda's Father) traveled from Tennessee to Iowa, married two times, had children, divorced two times, then back to Tennessee. He married his 3rd wife in Tennessee.

This family's migration is a little sketchy, but at this time, this is what we know:

Malinda father, John Robert Draper, travels to Iowa in 1855. He is 16 years old. He is not traveling with his father Solomon who died in 1844. Malinda has 5 aunts. One of those aunts, Amelia Millicent Draper Hickman (1836–1913) is buried in Restland Cemetery in Baxter, Jasper County, Iowa. So who is 16 year old John Robert Draper traveling with? His sister, Amelia Draper, who married a Callison, then married a Hickman. It was the Callison family that was traveling to Iowa.

. *Malinda's father stays in Iowa for 30 some years, then moves back to Tennessee. Her mother moves on to Nebraska. Malinda and her aunt Amelia Millicent Draper Hickman are left buried in Iowa. That being said, we never explored where Amelia's children ended up.

Malinda's mother, Caroline (Millhouse) Draper (1845 - 1919) is resting in West Lawn Cemetery in Gering, Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska.

Malinda's father, John Robert Draper (abt. 1838 - 1901) was married 3 times, and is resting in Oaks Cemetery, a run down forgotten cemetery somewhere in Union County, Tennessee.

Malinda's brother, Jacob Franklin Draper (1873 - 1950) was one of the last of Cheyenne, Wyoming's most picturesque pioneer cowboys, owner of the 444 Ranch! Jacob Franklin Draper Find A Grave Memorial

Since this story was written, Daniel Draper contributed this update, which fills in the gaps:

John Robert Draper’s sister Amelia Millicent Draper (Callison) Hickman married into the Callison family in 1854. A year later they moved to Iowa via wagon train. Very Very popular in the 1850s.

John Robert Draper (JRD) went with them too. He was upset about wages in TN. People could rent slaves. JRD couldn’t compete economically. He needed to make $4 a month to make it. No matter how hard he worked he could only make 2.50. So he went to Iowa with the wagon train.

I asked, " Didn't JRD (Milinda's father) go to Scotts Bluff Nebraska with the family?' What Daniel contributed next was mind boggling!

JRD lived in Iowa for some 30 years. Between 1885 and 1890, then went back to Tennessee.
The divorce is "complicated" as there was NO divorce.
First wife? No Divorce
2nd wife? No Divorce
He filed for divorce, but it was NEVER granted!
JRD got married again, anyway! (JRD did that two times!)
When he died the US government looked at the widow’s pension and said he had 3 living wives and never properly divorced the first two, (nor was he properly married to his 3rd wife) thus they did not give the pension to anyone. The mother of JRD was buried in Oaks Cemetery under a faded tombstone named Miller in 1889.. Her first husband and JRD's father, Solomon Draper 1809-1844, is buried in somewhere near Nashville. JRD was buried in Oaks Cemetery near his mother.

Well, after hearing all this new testimony, did JRD and his sister Amelia actually know they had family living just to the south of them a few miles in Vandalia? Did the descendants of the two brothers Thomas Jefferson Draper and John Harrison Draper really keep in touch. Or was the wagon train path to Iowa so popular, the two brothers families ended up just a few miles apart totally by chance?

And in hindsight, I guess it doesn't matter. Discovering Malinda was still amazing. This little girl, without ever saying a word, told us all about our heritage and family history we never could have known. Thank you, Malinda. Rest in peace!

Note Martha Callison Veach is the daughter of Amelia Millicent Draper (Callison) Hickman.

Amelia, her husband, John Calvin Hickman (1846–1930) and their daughter, Martha (Malinda's cousin), are resting in Restland Cemetery in Baxter, Jasper County, Iowa, USA

There are 10 Callison burials in Jasper County Iowa in Rushville and Newton, Iowa (see map below) Find A Grave

Farnham_Viginia_Draper_Descendants_Tour_Guide_-1-701.jpg

Malinda Draper is buried in Mingo, Jasper County, Iowa at the top of the map. William Henry Draper is buried in Vandalia, Jasper County, Iowa. Many of the Callison family are buried in Newton, Jasper County, Iowa.

Ira Alexander Draper (1849 - 1943

Meet Ira Alexander Draper

... ... ... was a Nebraskan.

... ... ... was involved in the westward expansion of the USA. See Pony Express.

Ira Alexander Draper was the son of Ira Dillingham Draper and Celia Means Draper. His life story gives us a view to life and conditions during the American Civil War and into the 20th century.

He carried food to fugitive slaves who were hidden on his parents Iowa farm.
Ira also helped deliver mail via a Pony Express sub contract.
He served in the military fighting in the Indian wars clearing way for westward expansion.
He was a musician, crafted violins and repaired them for his neighbors.

Ira became a respected member of his community, known for his hard work, honesty, and generosity. He remained involved in local affairs and helped to establish a school for the children of the town. He passed away in 1943, leaving behind a legacy of service and dedication to his community that would never be forgotten.

Background Information:

Ira A Draper (21 May 1849 - 25 Apr 1943)^[6]^[7]

BIRTH 21 May 1849 said to be in Honey Creek, Henry County, Indiana, USA

MARRIAGE to Elsie A Libbee (1862–1903)^[8]

CHILDREN

Nellie Lucilia Draper Gibbs (1882–1962)
Newton Draper (1883 - 1968)
Fern Draper Farris (1885 - abt. 1980)
Bertha Lenora Draper Crandall (1886 - 1938)
Idabel Draper Proctor 1888–1918
Joy Sterling Draper 1890–1943
Grace Darling Draper Schlosser 1892–1973
Cinda Draper (1900 - 1900)

DEATH 25 Apr 1943 (aged 93)

BURIAL Heim Cemetery Dawson, Richardson County, Nebraska, USA

Early Life

Ira Alexander Draper, the son of Ira Dillingham Draper and Celia Means Draper, was born in Honey Creek, Indiana in May of 1849. His father left Indiana shortly after his birth and the family settled down to the east of modern day Des Moines, Iowa.

Image:Draper-4306-16.jpg

"Grandpa is throwing black babies in the toilet"!

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Ira's father took a stand against slavery and hid fugitive slaves on his farm. Ira carried food and supplies to assist in this effort. The old family tale handed down by the Draper family was that the runaway slaves were hidden in a converted outdoor toilet. The family evidently kept quiet about the matter to the younger children. One night a grandchild screamed out, "Grandpa is throwing black babies in the toilet"! (see Research Section 1.7 on Draper Family Historians)

The Draper family also handed down verbally pro-slavery activists became aware that the family was involved in hiding runaway slaves and sent bounty hunters to kill the family. (see research notes) Apparently these stories were true! The following is a clipping that was found in the Draper Family History Album from Who's Who In Nebraska.^[9]

Who's Who In Nebraska features Ira Dillingham Draper's son, Ira A. Draper. Notice the part where it says a bounty was offered for his father dead or alive.

Who's Who in Nebraska

Ira's family was tipped off that they had been targeted. The Dawson Herald reviewed the event in their paper on August 20, 1936 that Ira's father "sent the word out that he kept his powder dry"!^[10] The Draper family was ready for a fight, but they abandoned their farm, took only essentials and disappeared from Iowa in November of 1864. November, in the central part of the United States, is not the time to be traveling with a family on horse back, walking or riding in a wagon. Winter comes early with bone chilling temperatures. An early blizzard could have killed them all. It was a risk they felt they had to take. It would not take long for those seeking their lives to pick up their trail and give chase. Those violent men would be capable of torturing and killing anybody to get the information they needed to hunt the Draper family down.

The Draper family historians have pieced together what may have taken place based on Robert Reece Draper's account.

On or about November 10, 1864, they headed west across Iowa.
They crossed the Missouri River at Brownville on a flat boat that hauled wagons.
Next they traveled south towards Kansas.
They stopped near modern day Falls City, Nebraska, on November 20, most likely because of harsh weather.

The route they took from Iowa lines up with where other underground railway station masters lived. These station masters were not only well connected, they constantly sent messages along the route while moving the runaway slaves. They knew each other very well. They probably knew the Draper family was coming! Ira's family could get the needed supplies at each of these stations and directions to the next station.

Pioneers crossed rivers on flat boats^[11]
Photo credit: Wyoming.org

UGRR "Stations"^[12]

The drawing above shows part of the Lane Trail where the locations of underground railway stations masters lived. The Draper family could have followed this route. They settled just north of Sabetha, Kansas. Notice in the picture the dot to the north of Sabetha, KS. This was the location of a underground railway station near Falls City, Nebraska, where the Draper family could have been given help. It was to the west of that spot the Draper family settled.

It seems that Ira's family was forced to stop as winter set in upon them. They settled about one mile north west of modern day Dawson, Nebraska. They would have to quickly build a shelter to survive the winter, however there could have been settlers in the area ready to house the family while they worked on their own dwelling. The Nemaha river was close by where they could get water and fish. Wild game was plentiful in those days so they had no wants and all survived. No family deaths were recorded as a result of this episode in Ira's life.

The Nemaha Valley
Photo credit Dave Draper

This photo is the view of the Nemaha Valley the Draper family saw everyday from their camp near modern day Dawson Nebraska. Except for the power lines, the area has not changed for 160 years

The Pony Express Adventure

After getting settled in Nebraska, Ira's father was handed an opportunity to deliver mail on a sub-route of the Pony Express between Falls City and Pawnee City. Ira, now about age 15, and his brother, John, about age 13, eventually ran the route for their father.

Draper family historians verbally handed down a comment that Ira was home every night. They believe he may have started his journey from his home near modern day Dawson, Nebraska, then traveled to Falls City to pick up the mail. He then traveled back to his family home to spend the night. The next day he traveled the route to Pawnee City and then returned home to spend the night. His brother, John, about age 13, also assisted in delivering the mail and his brother, Robert, tended to the horses.

Pony Express Sub-Route Ira Draper Traveled
Photo credit: Google Maps

The Draper farm is located centered between Fall City and Pawnee City, supporting the claim by the Draper family that Ira was home every night. A round trip from the Draper farm to Pawnee City and back home to spend the night, then a round trip to Falls City the next day and then back home to spend the night seems to fit with the distance and time it would take.

Later, when Ira reached maturity he joined the military and was involved in what became known as the Indian Wars. He was part of the movement to tame the West by rounding up indian tribes and relocating them to the reservations. Pioneers moving westward would be much safer as a result.

Family Life

Ira Alexander Draper fell in love with Elsie Libbee the daughter of prominent tradesman Marshall Libbee, who was a Civil War veteran and was self employed as contractor in Dawson, Nebraska. The Libbee's had two children, a boy, Albert, and a daughter, Elsie. Elsie grew up in a family environment that was very industrious. While most children in the area grew up in a farming environment, Albert and Elsie grew up in the carpentry business.

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"Many were the difficulties but none as great as when the long distance line filled with cross talk!"- Elsie Draper, 1902

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Marshall and Albert became known as skillful and conscientious in their trade by the townsfolk. They built a number of residences in Dawson and built the fixtures in the Dawson Bank. Elsie A. Libbee said, "I do!" on December 22, 1880 to Ira Alexander Draper and proudly became Mrs. Elsie Draper. The day was cold but the loving atmosphere would warm the hearts of the Drapers, Libbees, and all in attendance as the couple's lips pressed together! Ira was 31 years old, and Elsie was 18 when this event took place.

Ira and Elsie gave birth to 8 children, starting in 1882 to the loss of their last child Cinda (1902 - 1902) All of the first seven children would reach maturity.

Ira and Elsie were the first to own a telephone, along with her father, Marshall, in 1902. It was installed in the home that Marshall was renting to John O'donnell. It operated from there to the Jerry Kean farm where Ira and Elsie lived. "Many were the difficulties but none as great as when the long distance line filled with cross talk!", remarked Elsie. She would only have her phone line "filled with cross talk" a few months. On September 28, 1903 the phone lines would be filled with the news of Elsie's death. She was only 41 years old. Ira would never remarry.

Ira A. Draper With His Violins

Ira kept himself very busy raising the children, farming, and making violins. He even taught his son Newton the skills needed to build and play the violin.

Ira Draper's Violin Advertisement^[13]

Later Life and Death

Ira, daughter Grace and grandson Dean @1925
Draper Family Album

Ira was 67 years old when his daughter, Grace Schlosser and her son, Dean, moved in with him after her husband of 5 years died. Her son, Dean, was two years old at the time.

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"He lived and died on the trail"

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Ira and his grandson Dean Schlosser became very close over the years and were the Draper family historians of the day. The stories they knew and told have apparently been lost forever, with the exception of a few fragments that have been verbally passed down and noted in this story. Ron Heim, a family friend noted some small details about Ira that are worth mentioning. He noted that Ira only came to town on election days, would buy an ice cream cone from the drug store and sit on the curb of Main Steet in Dawson to enjoy his treat.

Newspaper Interview With Ron Heim
Draper Family Album

Ira lived to the south of Dawson on property where he once carried the mail through. The path from the house to the garden was the original mail trail.

Ira Alexander Draper

Ira lived the longest of all the Draper family. He became part of the ages in the spring of 1943. He lived to be 93 years of age. He rests with his wife Elsie in Heim Cemetery, in Dawson, Nebraska.

Ira Rests by Elsie in Heim Cemetery
Photo credit Dave Draper

His grandson, Dean Schlosser also rests nearby in the same cemetery. Like the newspaper article caption reads: He lived and Died on the Trail!

Newspaper Clippings

These were accessed by Melissa Jamison in research for the profile of Ira Dillingham Draper
1891, Ira's Obituary^[14]
1891, Public Probate Notice^[15]
1891, Public Creditor Notice^[16]
1918, Pioneering in Richardson County^[11]
1925, Pioneer Sketch, part 1^[17]
1925, Pioneer Sketch, part 2^[18]

Image:Draper-4306-16.jpg

Acknowledgements

This reconstruction of this profile was guided under the direction of Melissa Jamison who mentored Dave Draper, the original profile manager, in his efforts to improve the quality of this profile.

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Other Research Notes

Ira Draper's Hobby and Home Location^[19]

Newspaper article showing Ira Draper's Childhood Home Location near Apple Grove Post Office
Courtesy of [http://www.geonames.org/ Geo Names
and [https://www.mindat.org/feature-4847102.html Mindat

Map Location of the Ira Dillingham Draper Farm in Iowa^[20]

Ira Draper's Childhood Home Location near Apple Grove Post Office

Farnham_Viginia_Draper_Descendants_Tour_Guide_-1-27.jpg

Royal E. Draper 1914-1985

Meet Royal Edward Draper The Electrician with a Skeleton Key!

Royal E. Draper

Ira Alexander Draper had a grandson named Royal E. Draper. He was an electrician in the Valparaiso, Nebraska area. Royal's grandson, Jeff, tells the story of the Skekleton Key!

Royal and his grandson, Jeffrey, went to the church one cold Saturday night to start the furnace so the Congregation would be comfortable for the Sunday Services. The doors to the church were stuck shut. Royal sent Jeffrey down into the basement with his keys, which led to stairs that he climbed to gain access into the church and to the front doors to help get them open. The key ring had the keys to the church, an extra house key and a few padlock keys. But one key was very odd looking to Jeffrey.

"Grandpa, what does this strange looking old key open?" Jeffrey thought this was a key to a secret door or treasure chest.

Royal replied, "That is a skeleton key that opens the Gates of Heaven which will probably be locked when I get there. That key will get me past the gates!"

Years passed and Royal died in 1985. Jeffrey remembered the story of the "skeleton key" to the 'Gates of Heaven' and wanted to find it to put in his grandfather's casket before he was buried. He couldn't find his grandfather's keys. He asked his grandmother who searched but couldn't find them either.

Again, more years passed and then one summer day in 2023, Jeffrey lost the keys to his pickup truck and camper. They searched and searched but never found them, but at one point while searching, Jeffrey knocked a whole stack of papers off his write up desk and Royal's keys were discovered. They then found the keys to the truck, in plain site, on the floor of the pickup truck where they already had searched!

Was Royal waiting at the locked Gates of Heaven for 38 years, finally sending a message to Jeffrey to fetch his key? We may never know, but Jeffrey later told everyone the key is now on his key ring. This leaves us to wonder if Royal is still at the Gates of Heaven waiting for the key to be delivered to his grave so he can get to it and then get back to unlock the pearly gates! Again we may never know!

Now meet Ira Alexander Draper's brother:

Robert Reece Draper (1854-1941)

Meet: Robert Reece Draper The Draper Family Story Teller^[21]^[22]

BIRTH 25 Aug 1854

MARRIAGE 18 Feb 1880 to Ellen Deweese Draper Richardson, Nebraska, United States

CHILDREN

DEATH 19 Jul 1941, Dawson, Richardson, Nebraska, United States

BURIAL Starr Cemetery, Humboldt, Richardson, Nebraska, United States (Starr Cemetery is a country Cemetery, 3 miles NW of Dawson, NE)

Achievments Successful farmer, and journalist for the Falls City Journal, Falls City, Nebraska.

Robert Reece Draper was born in Vandalia, Iowa in 1854. Vandalia is now an unincorporated community east of Des Moines, Iowa. When he was 10 years old, the adventure of his life began. His family was helping runaway slaves move to the safe areas in the North. The radical pro slavery activists in Missouri found out what the family was doing and put a bounty out on his father: Wanted Dead or Alive! Bounty hunters would have slaughtered the entire family just for the money offered!

The family moved so abruptly to Nebraska, they had to return twice to Iowa, after the Civil War to collect their belongings left behind. This was no small feat! It was a 400 mile round trip, and they made it twice!

They traveled south west to Brownville, where they could cross the Missouri River on a ferry. Robert and his brothers mounted their horses while his sisters and younger brothers road in the wagons. They were not alone. The Deweese family living nearby joined them, also leaving in hurry. There is little doubt that they were also involved in aiding runaway slaves. They also had a large family. Robert would, years later, marry into this family.

At Brownville, the river ferry could carry one wagon at a time, and maybe two if they would fit. At this bottleneck, many settlers had to wait their turn to cross, so it might have taken, not hours, but days to cross.

The fear running through the families was the bounty hunters and activist mobs would catch up to them. They would have to fight to the death to defend the families. Other settlers nearby waiting to cross the river, would have been caught up in the crossfire. The older ones had their guns loaded and their eyes focused to the east for any movement of oncoming danger. One by one the wagons crossed the river painfully slow on the ferry powered by 6 oarsmen. The women and children crossed first, as the young men in the family stood guard. Tension was mounting. Campfires burning at night would have given away their position, even so, this trail to the West was well traveled.

Once the wagons crossed, and the family was safe, those on their horses charged into the river to cross, then up the muddy bank on the west side, and the entire family vanished over the hill.

This article was clipped from a paper featuring Robert Reece Draper's brother, Ira A. Draper. Notice the part that says is father was wanted dead or alive:^[30]

Robert Reece Draper would later write about this event. His story appeared in the Falls City Journal, January 15, 1918, and we read:

"I landed in Nebraska, November 20, 1864, crossing the Missouri river at Brownville on a flat boat, the same being propelled by oars, in the hands of 5 or 6 men, and carrying but one or two wagons at a trip.

My father, whose family was very large, moved into a log cabin, size 14 x 16, which is still standing 2 1/2 miles west of Dawson. The cabin had a fire place and was all in one room. but the size of the garret above just the size of the roof. So there were no room for bedsteads, consequently beds were made down on the floor. The ceiling was low, and keeping a big fire all day and well into the night, would warm the beds through the floor, and, gee! But it was a fine nest to crawl into on a cold night. Now there were 9 to 12 in our family and 2 to 5 transients most all of the time, and we all lived in that cabin and got along fine, and had lots of fun. Hard times? Well, I guess so, but we didn't know anything else, so we did not know it was hard times." ^[31]

Robert also assisted his brothers who carried mail, as they had a government contract and an arrangement with the Pony Express. He tended horses for his brothers, and would later write about these events.^[32] Robert would later write about the adventures of the horseback mail carriers!

From L to R: Frank, Harry, Robert, Mabelle Estella, little Helen, Ellen, Merle, and Fred. (One person is missing in this photo, Carl, age 8, who died a little before this picture was taken).

Robert Reece Draper also had a unique collection of canes. He not only made canes, but he collected them from all over the world. Emigrants seeking a "better life" would travel through the area to refresh their supplies. These canes were traded, bartered or given to Robert in appreciation. His canes are scattered about in many Draper homes, but the largest collection is in the home of private family member who allowed this picture to be taken.

His wife, Ellen Deweese Draper was one of the first school teachers in the area. She died in 1940, and would be laid to rest in the Draper Family Cemetery, now called Starr Cemetery. Before that, Robert would lose one of his children, 8 year old Carl Draper, who suddenly died while walking home from school.

Robert Reece Draper is best remembered for his lively stories and tall tales about his early life in Nebraska. These stories regularly appeared in the Falls City Journal, around 1918, before and after.

This photo, taken about 1939, was the last known photo of Robert and Ellen Deweese Draper. Her smile seams troubled and Robert's failure to look at the camera may be a tale tale sign he is already spiraling into state of depression.

Sadly in a state of deep depression, along with emotional and physical pain, 87 year old Robert Reece Draper decided to join his wife, committing suicide in 1941 with his Winchester shotgun, which is still kept by the Draper Family. (See Photo) He is resting in Starr Cemetery, Humbolt, Nebraska beside his beloved wife.

Starr Cemetery is located 3 miles NW of Dawson, Nebraska, with a Humboldt, Nebraska address, and was part of the farm Robert Reece Draper grew up on. His parents Ira Dillingham and Celia Draper, and Ellen's father (James Madison & step mother Matilda, and many of the Draper family, are resting here on a hillside overlooking the peaceful Nemaha Valley. Visitors beware: the wind still carries the sounds of laughter, love expressions and tears of the children playing on this hill one hundred forty five years ago.

Sources

↑ Find A Gravehttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25570844/william-f-draper
↑ History of the Draper Family by Mabelle Estella Draper Hummel
↑ The Profile of Ira Dillingham Draper https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Draper-4254
↑ History of Richardson County Nebraska https://casde.unl.edu/history/counties/richardson/dawson/ Virtual Nebraska Our Towns The Story of Noraville called Dawson
↑ WyoHistory.org https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/crook-county-wyoming
↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69003563/ira-alexander-draper: accessed 18 May 2023), memorial page for Ira Alexander Draper (21 May 1849–25 Apr 1943), Find A Grave: Memorial #69003563, citing Heim Cemetery, Dawson, Richardson County, Nebraska, USA; Maintained by Ann Atkinson (contributor 47591476).
↑ Hummel, Mabelle Draper, History of the Draper Family, Self Published manuscript, 1963. Copy of the 25 page manuscript in the possession of David Draper (copy of manuscript passed out at family reunions)
↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69003531/elsie-amelia-draper: accessed 18 May 2023), memorial page for Elsie Amelia Libbee Draper (27 Feb 1862–28 Sep 1903), Find A Grave: Memorial #69003531, citing Heim Cemetery, Dawson, Richardson County, Nebraska, USA; Maintained by Ann Atkinson (contributor 47591476).
↑ Who's Who in Nebraska Edwards, Lewis C., Who's Who in Nebraska - Richardson, County, NEGenWeb Project, a part of the USGenWeb Project. ( http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/county/richardson/whowhorc/whowhorc.html : accessed May 3, 2023) USGenWeb.org, NEGenWeb.net
↑ The Dawson Herald, Dawson, Nebraska, 20 August 1936, Thursday, Page 12, accessed 5 May 2023) Newspapers.com database with images Accessed May 5,2023 by Melissa Jamison
↑ ^11.0 ^11.1 "Newspapers.com"
The Falls City Journal (Falls City, Nebraska) Tue, Jan 15, 1918, page 3
Newspapers Clip: 124248774 (accessed 8 May 2023)
↑ Kansas Memory.org; Kansas Historical Society; Link: https://www.kansasmemory.org/item/221986; accessed 14 May 2023 by Draper-4171
↑ Dawson News Boy Dawson, Nebraska • Fri, Jul 3, 1903 Page 5; accessed/clipped by Melisa Jamison Apr 26, 2023
↑ "Newspapers.com"
The Falls City Journal (Falls City, Nebraska) Fri, Oct 2, 1891, page 2
Newspapers Clip: 124251933 (accessed 8 May 2023)
↑ "Newspapers.com"
The Falls City Journal (Falls City, Nebraska) Fri, Oct 23, 1891, page 3
Newspapers Clip: 124251318 (accessed 8 May 2023)
↑ "Newspapers.com"
The Falls City Journal (Falls City, Nebraska) Fri, Dec 25, 1891, page 2
Newspapers Clip: 124251731 (accessed 8 May 2023)
↑ "Newspapers.com"
Falls City Daily News (Falls City, Nebraska) Fri, Mar 27, 1925, page 1
Newspapers Clip: 124249132 (accessed 8 May 2023)
↑ "Newspapers.com"
Falls City Daily News (Falls City, Nebraska) Fri, Mar 27, 1925, page 3
Newspapers Clip: 124249197 (accessed 8 May 2023)
↑ The Dawson Herald, Dawson, Nebraska, 20 August 1936, Thursday, Page 12 (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-dawson-herald-1936-dawson-herald-hi/123540916/ : accessed 5 May 2023) Newspapers.com database with images Accessed May 5,2023 by Melissa Jamison
↑ Source: Iowa Gazetteer Maps; Home Town Locator accessed May 5, 2023 by Dave Draper
↑ Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L7KQ-SQW
↑ Find A Grave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/43522787/robert-r-draper
↑ Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LHZD-S5Z
↑ Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LHZD-SBR
↑ Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LHZD-S1G
↑ Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LHZD-3MV
↑ Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LHZD-39H
↑ Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LHZD-3SQ
↑ Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LHZD-333
↑ The Charlie Draper Album
↑ The Falls City Journal, January 15, 1918. Robert Reece Draper's Story
↑ History of Draper Family by Mabelle Estella (Draper) Hummel

The Charlie Draper Album Charlie collected newspaper articles from the Falls City Journal and the Dawson Bicentennial News, however, he clipped off the header and didn't write the dates on the clippings, making it difficult to search online for the articles.

Robert Reece Draper in 1900 photo is cropped from a family picture which remains in the Draper family photo album.

Gravestone photo is an original photo taken by David E. Draper on location at Starr Cemetery, Humbolt, (Dawson) Nebraska July 15, 2021 at 11:34 am

The Winchester Shotgun photo is an original photo, by private Draper family member, of the gun Robert Reece Draper used to leave this world in 1941. The gun remains in the family at a private location.

Cane Collection photo original by private family member.

NOTE Some of the references above are from the original story of Ira Dillingham Draper and of his son Robert Reece Draper. The story was copied with all the references, then edited here without changing the references. See their WikiTree profiles.

Fern "Draper" Farris (1885 - abt. 1980)

Meet Fern (Draper) Farris She was an Auto Mechanic that couldn't drive a car!

Fern Draper was born on a winter day in Dawson, Nebraska, on the the 9th of January, five years before the turn of the century, in 1895.

Fern was the last of eight children born to Ira Alexander and Elsie Libbee Draper.

She was only about 7 years old when her mother passed away. Her father never remarried. Her older sisters and brother had to help raise her, and each other.

She met and married 20 year old Elden Ray Farris, when she was 17 years old, on another winter day in 1912, on the 15th of February.

Fern and Eldon Farris moved to Lincoln, Nebraska and "lived there for many years. Believe he is a machinist and repair man." quoting from the Draper Family History by Mabelle Estella Draper Hummel Fern and her husband, Eldon Farris did indeed operate an auto repair garage near 9th and L Street (Rosa Parks Drive today) in Lincoln, Nebraska. Fern is quoted as saying, "It was open around the clock. That meant sometimes getting up in the middle of the night to help motorists with car trouble." Later they moved to the country on a farm near what is now known as Holms Lake.

While Fern helped her husband repair cars, he would not let her drive one! She relates what her husband always told her, "Women always ruin a car...because they ride the clutch too much." She could never convince him to let her drive a car!

Fern and Eldon would have 1 son by this union, and they named him Eldon Edward Farris, who was born in 1913, a year after getting married. Eldon would reach maturity to marry Virginia May Tapp in 1937. Eldon and Virginia would give their parents two grandchildren.

When Fern was 85, an article in a Lincoln, Nebraska newspaper reviewed her life's story as she was voted one of the top 12 women as a "groundbreaker" by the Lincoln-Lancaster Commission on the Status of Women

The Draper Family History loses track of the descendants of Fern and Eldon Farris'. There is always another "rabbit hole" to explore.

Molly Draper Gray (1857 - 1922)

Meet Molly Jane Draper Gray, (1857 - 1922) The Mail Order Bride!

This story starts with William Breathitt Gray, who was the son of James Daniel Gray and Levicy Rena Fowler. He went out west after the Civil War and worked as an axe man in the Redwood timber area of California, earning money for an education. William made enough money to attend college and become a school teacher where he taught school in California and Oregon. Being a very enterprising man, he engaged in the dairy business in Oregon for about a year. He also took a herd of sheep from Oregon to Montana, and later settled in the Judith Basin.

In that time, where William lived, the available girls for marrying were far and few between. So he figured if he placed an add in a magazine, seeking a bride, he would have PLENTY of girls to come calling! He was right! It was our Molly Draper who would answer that advertisement. It must have been “love at first read!”

Out of all the young ladies that wrote to him, Molly’s reply must have been very special, proving, once again “words matter”! She was a very well versed young lady at the time, compared to the others who wrote back.

Mary Jane "Mollie" Draper lived in Chestnut Mound, Tennessee. William traveled across the country to meet her after corresponding for some time. He stayed with her family for two weeks, during which time they got hitched, on December 15, 1885 and he then he brought her back to Utica.

He and Molly became a leading citizens of Utica, building a store with a dance hall on the second floor, a hotel, and a saloon. In fact, he was so popular, he is pictured in Charles M. Russell's painting, "A Quiet Day in Utica". (says story in Find A Grave

However, when we looked up information about the painting, William Gray is not mentioned in the history of the painting's production. The time period is correct and William was a prominent citizen in the community. So he may very well be one of those figures along with a lot of other prominent locals honored in the painting. The painting was commissioned as an advertising ploy for Lehman's Store, which closed before the painting was completed. They still had to pay for the painting!

UTICA (A QUIET DAY IN UTICA)

Artist: Charles M. Russell
Year Completed: 1907
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 24.125 x 36.125 inches
The Lehman store in Utica, Montana, had already closed when this action painting of Utica’s main street was commissioned in 1907 by Charles Lehman’s sons to advertise the Lehmans’ Lewistown store. Russell created a portrait gallery of the Lehmans’ former Utica customers. Charlie Russell leans on the hitching post just in front of his old friend Jake Hoover. Charles Lehman lounges in the doorway. Frank Hartzell’s bucking horse and the tin-canned dog cause just enough excitement to bring a little wild to the West and enliven what would have otherwise been a dull day in Utica. Lehman’s sons neglected to ask the cost of this painting by their old customer. Expecting a watercolor, they received an oil instead. While telling their father it cost a hundred smacks the boys had to pay off the actual figure in installments. From: A Quiet Day In Utica

Molly Draper Gray's Pedigree

Thomas Draper Sr. (abt. 1680 - 1735)
Thomas Draper Jr. (1733 - abt. 1812)
Phillip Draper (1771 - 1856)
Davidson J. Draper (1805 - 1866)
James Ward Draper (1830 - 1895)
Mary Jane (Draper) Gray (1857 - 1922)

William and Mollie have 5 children. From Family Search:

James Draper Gray 1886–1975 • MC9J-KRQ
William Breathitt Gray II 1888–1976 • KZ1Z-XMW
Lucy Levicy Gray 1891–1894 • M9VV-TMQ
Tabitha Gray 1894–Deceased • L4SK-3DG
Wallace Edwin Gray1899–1970

Obituary: posted on WikiTree by James Draper (be sure to thank Jim for this)

Obituary June 1922, Judith Basin Star (Posted 21 Sep 2020 by James Draper)

On last Saturday afternoon at Utica occurred the impressive funeral service for Mrs. Mary Jane Gray, one of the highly respected pioneers of that section, who died early last Wednesday morning after an illness of heart trouble following an attack of influenza. The funeral services were conducted by Rev. O.A.White of the M.E.church of this city (Hobson), assisted by the Rev. Belle Harmon of Benchland, and the remains laid at rest beside those of her husband in the Utica cemetery. The large concourse of neighbors and friends who gathered to pay their last respects, attest to the esteem in which she was held in the community.

Mary Jane Draper was born at Chestnut Mound, Tenn., on August 22, 1856. On December 15, 1885, she was united in marriage to the late Breathitt Gray and to this union five children were born; four are now living and are as follows: Wallace E. Gray of St.Louis, James D Gray of Milaca, Minn, Mollie T.Gray and Breathitt Gray of Utica. The deceased with her husband came to this section in 1886, locating near the town of Utica and which has since been her home. She died at five o’clock A.M. , just with the awakening life of a new day. She went to sleep like a tired child. It was just as the birds caroled the coming of the morning and just as the rosy fingers of the orb tinted the eastern sky with a sheen of glory. After a long, busy and useful life she died as she had lived, honored, trusted, and loved. She reared her own monument while she lived in the hearts of all who knew her.

Her Christian life was beautiful from its beginning to its close, and through all the vicissitudes and sorrows that she met in the way, her faith in Him never wavered. It was here that the best days of her life were spent and her retiring nature led her to hide her best qualities from public gaze, but they were revealed to those who enjoyed her acquaintance; yet it was in her own home that her true worth was most conspicuous. She was once introduced as “the lady from Utica who made such fine biscuits and had so many chickens.”

Disclaimer: * Answering an add to meet someone in a newspaper, magazine, or corresponding in an Internet chat room, or any of the modern day apps and programs may not have the desired results as the story above!

Farnham_Viginia_Draper_Descendants_Tour_Guide_-1-91.jpg

Mary Jane “Molly” Draper Gray (1857 - 1922) https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Draper-30 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/68006108/mary-jane-gray https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L4SK-QR5

William Breathitt Gray (1847 - 1915) https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gray-305 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/68006003/william-breathitt-gray https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L4SK-SRN

Andrew Jackson (Davis) Draper (1862 - 1935)

Meet Andrew Jackson Draper: The man who never seen his 10 children!

Andrew Jackson Draper was not a Draper at all! He was last of the No-wa-se Indians!

His early life is a little sketchy, but what we know is this:

Two pioneer settlers, William Draper and a man named Davis, traveled from Arkansas to California around 1860. Davis married (or got involved with) an Indian woman from the Nowase Indian tribe. We never learned her name.
Davis and his Indian "sqaw" gave birth to a bouncing baby boy April 7, 1862 in Round Mountain, Shasta, California. They named him Andrew Davis.
Apparently, Andrew's Dad leaves this world with that "wagon train in the sky", when little Andrew is just two years old! We are not sure what happened to his mother.
When Davis passed, William Draper took charge of this two year old "half-breed" child. We don't know much about William Draper, if he was married or if he also took care of Andrew's Indian mother. However, Andrew, being half white and half Indian, was probably better off with white folk. It could be Andrew and his mom were outcast from the Nowase tribe.
Andrew grew up "white" and he kept the name Draper, instead of Davis, living in Oak Run, between Redding and Millville. That could imply William Draper and the Indian woman hooked up!

Andrew reached adulthood, then was employed as a stage coach driver between Bieber and Alturas.

This is a picture of a typical stage coach operating in California.

He settled down in Montgomery Creek when he married Lilly May Hawkins November 2, 1890 in Shasta, California. They had 11 children:

William Edward 1894
Willie O 1895 (may be same person as above)
Mamie Sophia Holcomb 1897-1945
Olive Ellen (Blies) Dooney 1899-1994
Everett Martin 1901-1967
Clara Sylvania Costa 1903-1986
Archie Homer 1905-1969
Dudley Roy 1907-1942
Hazel Irene Draper Lamoureaux Viscaino 1911–1984
Edythe Mae Draper Tedeschi Harrell 1918–2005
Adonna Estelle Draper 1920–

But Andrew Draper never got to look into the face of any of his children!

In 1894 he became entangled in a fight with a man with a shot gun who discharged the gun into Andrew's face. This left him severely injured and blind, when his first child was born. Now Andrew had no job and little opportunity to work at any job because he was blind. There was one thing he did well, he had many more children!

The time line when his Indian mother dies is obscure, but Andrew tried to get back the Nowase tribal land from white settlers after his mother died. He claimed he was the last of the Nowase Indian Tribe and was entitled to the land. His attempts were unsuccessful.

What happened to the man who shot Andrew in the face? He was convicted and sent to Folsom Prison.

Enter Johnny Cash with his hit song: (Too bad, this man would never live to hear it!)

I hear the train a comin'
It's rolling round the bend
And I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when
I'm stuck in Folsom prison, and time keeps draggin' on
But that train keeps a rollin' on down to San Antone
When I was just a baby my mama told me, Son
"Always be a good boy, don't ever play with guns"
But I shot a man in Shasta, I blew out both his eyes
When I hear that whistle blowing, I hang my head and cry'

(O.K. we changed the lyrics a little)

Charles Stark Draper (1862 - 1935)

MEET Charles Stark Draper: The "Rocket Scientist", Inventor and Receiver of 70 Awards!

Charles Stark Draper

BIRTH 2 Oct 1901 Windsor, Henry County, Missouri, USA

PARENTS

Charles A. Draper[2] 1864–1945
Martha W. Stark Draper 1865–1939

MARRIAGE 1938 to Ivy Hurd Willard Draper 1908–1994 (m. 1938)

DEATH 25 Jul 1987 (aged 85) Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA

BURIAL Newton Cemetery Newton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA

PLOT section Alcove D, 408 NI

Dr. Charles “Doc” Stark Draper developed the theory, invented and developed the technology, and led the effort that resulted in inertial guidance. Inertial guidance allows a craft to detect directional changes by coordinating gyroscopes (devices that rotate in reaction to change in direction) and accelerometers (which measure changes in acceleration). Inertial guidance is used in aircraft, space vehicles, and submarines. To this day, aircraft across the world keep to their global flight paths thanks to inertial guidance systems derived from Draper’s original inventions.

Born in Windsor, Missouri, on October 2, 1901, Charles Draper attended the University of Missouri in 1917. In 1919 he enrolled at Stanford University, California, and graduated in 1922 with a B.A. in Psychology. He entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) the same year, earning a B.S. in Electrochemical Engineering in 1926 and an Sc.D. in Physics in 1938. Dr. Draper taught at MIT from 1935 until his retirement in the mid-1980s. As a member of the MIT faculty and later head of MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, he developed an extensive program in instrumentation and control. His team of students and technicians formed the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory in 1939, and in 1973 that lab became a separate, nonprofit research and development laboratory, the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.

“Doc” Draper first won acclaim by developing a spinning gyroscope used to stabilize antiaircraft gun sights for the U.S. Navy during World War II. This led to gyroscopic-balanced bombsights for aircraft, and later inertial guidance system for missiles. Draper later devised the Spatial Inertial Reference Equipment system for automatic aeronautical navigation, which was then miniaturized for use in Polaris submarine missile systems.

First used in targeting systems, then in navigation, Draper’s “inertial guidance systems” were able to automatically sense minute degrees of drift and correct them quickly‚ producing precise projectile trajectories or flight paths. He then designed the spinning gyroscope, used to stabilize antiaircraft gun sights, and leading to the development of guidance systems for launching long-range missiles at fast-moving targets, such as jets.

In 1949, his inertial guidance systems for aircraft navigation were introduced, and in 1954, Draper’s technology was applied to marine vessels. In the 1960s Dr. Draper and his MIT team developed the guidance systems for Project Apollo as well as the submarine-launched Polaris missiles and other strategic missile deployment programs. His guidance systems were crucial to the success of the Saturn missiles that sent the Apollo astronauts to the Moon and back from 1968 to 1972. In 1973, Charles Stark Draper became a senior scientist at the Draper Laboratory, Inc., where he oversaw development of the guidance systems used for the Space Shuttle, various satellites, and the MX missile.

By the time of his death at the age of eighty-six on July 25, 1987, “Doc” Draper had received more than 70 honors and awards from several nations, including the National Medal of Science from President Lyndon Johnson, the Langley Medal of Smithsonian Institution, the Robert H. Goddard Trophy, and the National Academy of Engineering’ Founders Award.

Dr. Charles Draper was a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the French National Academy. He was also president of the International Academy of Astronautics, and a member of the American Physical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Dr. Draper is commemorated through one of the world’s preeminent awards for engineering achievement, the Charles Stark Draper Prize, which honors an engineer whose accomplishment has significantly impacted society by improving the quality of life, providing the ability to live freely and comfortably, and/or permitting the access to information.

Well, if you are wondering if Charles Stark Draper is blood related to our Draper family, the simple answer is: Yeah, he could be!

Family Search traces Dr. Draper back to John Draper 1740 – after 1782 married to Lucinda, with no birth or death dates. John Draper was born in Virginia, and died in King and Queen County, Virginia. Our Draper family comes from Richmond County, Virginia which is just to the east of King and Queen Co.. And Just like our family, his parents have not been discovered. The history of families in that area seem to have been erased. He does not seem to be from the upper east coast Draper families from New York, Massachusetts, Deleware and Canada, nor does he seem to be associated with Quaker Draper families in North Carolina. Maybe he is our family simply because no one can prove he isn't!

Look at the map where we come from, Richmond County where Farnham is located, and where Charles Stark Draper's GGGG Grandfather, John Draper, died in King and Queen County, and draw your own conclusions!

END

"Haller Gibboney Prillaman 1933-2020

Meet Haller G. Prillaman: Industrial Engineer

Virginia Tech: Industrial Engineering Class of 1955, BS

Haller G. Prillaman has never strayed far from his roots. Born in Martinsville, Virginia, some 70 years ago, he continues to live in the southside community today. He is a well-respected businessman and civil leader who was named Virginia’s Volunteer Economic Developer of the Year in 1999.

His affinity for Virginia Tech developed while he was in high school. As a senior, he built a Geiger counter for a design competition. The contest judge, the department head of Virginia Tech’s electrical engineering department at the time, summoned young Hal for a meeting, and he thought he was in trouble. Instead, as Mr. Prillaman recalls today, “Professor Murray said, ‘Son, I’d like for you to come to Virginia Tech and study electrical engineering.’ I was surprised. I thought I had done something wrong. But I had won first place.”

Dr. Murray’s invitation was well-received but as Hal reviewed the university catalog, industrial engineering (IE), not EE, piqued his interest. More of these courses addressed business and management issues where he had his strongest interests. “IE challenged me,” Mr. Prillaman says, “and my membership in the Corps of Cadets kept me busy.” He did find time to participate in the Honor Court, the American Institute of Industrial Engineers, and for fun, dance lessons.

When he graduated in 1955, he started his career as an IE for the Celanese Plant in Narrows, Virginia. He worked on various projects to improve its manufacturing of acetate fiber. He spent enough time in the community to meet his wife, Wanda, the daughter of the local police chief. But in 1957, he was called to active duty in the U.S. Army. Given the option to enter the reserves, he spent six months at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, and then he became a captain in the Virginia National Guard and served until 1965.

In 1958, Mr. Prillaman returned to Martinsville to join his family’s business. His father, one of Martinsville’s former mayors, started the Prillaman Company, a specialty coatings manufacturer, in the 1930s. His older brother, Nick, a Virginia Tech 1949 chemical engineering graduate, was now running the business, and Hal served as the Vice President until 1960 when he became President of Prillaman Chemicals, a chemical distribution company.

Hal Prillaman grew his company to 130 employees who served predominantly the southeastern United States. They serviced a wide variety of businesses as the company moved various chemicals from one location to another. For example, Prillaman Chemicals became one of the largest distributors of phosphoric acid since it was used in everything from soft drinks to cleaning products to charcoal.

Mr. Prillaman found a good niche for his company but he also knew chemical distribution was a dangerous business. “Our focus was on safety and the environment. Every company meeting started with these issues. Of course, we had to make a profit, but we also spent a lot of time making sure that what we did that day was good for tomorrow also.”

In 1984, he sold the company to England-based Ellis and Everards, but retained the presidency for four more years. He also served on the British company’s Board of Directors for the next four years. Owning his own company remained a family tradition so he and brother Nick started the Prillaman Brothers, an investment firm, in 1988. They continue to operate this Martinsville business on a part-time basis.

And, like his dad, Hal remains a prominent member of the community. In 1976, he became a founder and director of the Patrick Henry National Bank. In 1995, he was elected as a director of Mountain National Bank. He was a charter member of Martinsville’s Human Relations Council, helping to guide the city in its integration process. For 15 years, he was a director of the YMCA, and he is a past president of the Junior Chamber of Commerce. He spent 10 years on the Economic Development Council. “I walk in my father’s shadow,” he says modestly.

He is also active in the First Baptist Church, serving as a deacon and chair of the Board of Trustees. He has served as President of Forest Park and Chatmoss Country Clubs.

He remains active with Virginia Tech, serving two five-year terms on the Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) Advisory Board. He funded the Hal G. Prillaman Professorship in the ISE Department. He is a member of ISE’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni, the College of Engineering’s Committee of 100, and the university’s Ut Prosim Society. He is a Golden Hokie with the Athletic Association (AA) and endowed an AA scholarship. “I always appreciated the education I received at Virginia Tech, especially in IE. I found that when I was President of my company, I needed to know about manufacturing but I also needed to know about accounting. Tech taught me a lot about management and about engineering.”

The Prillamans have one daughter, Ann Hamre, who lives in Fort Worth, Texas, with their four grandchildren.

Class of: 1955 Year Inducted into Academy: 2004

PEDIGREE

Thomas Draper Sr. a.1690–1735
Solomon Draper 1731–1807
William D. Draper 1785–1863
Elkanah Brammer Draper 1827–1902
Eliza Sue Draper Prillaman 1865–1949
Nick Prillaman 1891–1975
Haller Gibboney Prillaman 1933 -2020

BEHIND EVERY MAN IS A GREAT WOMAN: Now meet Haller's Wife:

Lois Wanda McNeil Prillaman 1934 - 2014

Meet Lois Prillaman: A celebrated artist!

From Find A Grave: MEMORIAL ID 136871973

Wanda McNeil Prillaman, 80, of 495 Hickory Ridge Road, Martinsville, VA passed away on Thursday, October 2, 2014 at Carilion Memorial Hospital in Roanoke, VA. She was born on June 19, 1934 in Nebo, VA to the late Alda “Big Mac” McNeil and Ocea Ann McNeil.

Mrs. Prillaman will always be remembered as one of the area’s most celebrated artists. She was a graduate of Radford College where she majored in Art. Wanda enriched our community by teaching art at Martinsville High School, Bassett High School, Drewry Mason High School, Patrick Henry Community College and in her home.

Mrs. Prillaman was a Virginia water-colorist who showed her work in many regional and state shows and received countless awards. Her painting can be found in numerous private collections in the United States, France and England, and in collections owned by libraries and colleges.

Wanda enjoyed being an active member of the community where she was involved in many different clubs and organizations. She co-organized the Lynwood Artists - a group of regional painters and artists, was a past president and sustaining member of the Martinsville Charity League, helped found the Piedmont Arts Association where she later became President, and was a past President of the Virginia Watercolor Society for the year 2000. She was also a member of the Garden Study Club, the El Libro Book Club, did artwork for the Baptist Cookbook and was a Master Gardner. Even with all her teaching, art-work and busy schedule she never lost sight of being a great wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend to all that knew and loved her.

Earl Bryant Anderson 1934 - 2020

Meet Earl Bryant Anderson: The most prolific entrepreneur in the Anderson/Draper family!

Earl was born in Bloomington, Illinois, on April 1, 1934 to Benjamin Franklyn and Jessie Pearl (Bryant) Anderson. He graduated from Decatur High School and attended Millikin University, Decatur, Illinois.

He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1956 - 1962, after which he worked at Slavens Collection Agency in Bloomington, eventually acquiring the agency.

Earl enters our family when he marries Suzanne Draper:

PEDIGREE:

Thomas Draper Sr. (abt. 1680 - 1735)
James Draper (1724 - 1780)
Isaac I Draper (abt. 1759 - abt. 1839)
Jacob Draper Sr. (abt. 1779 - 1856)
Isaac R. Draper (1800 - 1878)
John Bussenberg Draper (1822 - 1907)
Ezra Morton Draper (1898 - 1986)
- Suzanne Draper (still living) daughter of Ezra Morton Draper

Note: Suzanne Draper Anderson shares a Grandfather with Abraham Lincoln! Her grandmother Sarah Hanks Draper, married to James Draper (1724 - 1780), was a grand daughter of William Hanks Sr. (1655 - 1704) who is a grandfather of Abraham Lincoln.

Earl re-named his collection agency: Anderson Financial Network, Inc. Yours truly, Dave Draper, lettered his storefront windows when he changed his business name. I did not know that his wife, Suzanne, was my First Cousin! Later, he would buy a Sign Company and compete against me. Earl had big plans to put up high rise signs, while I was content to letter and pinstripe trucks! We actually worked together on many sign projects! Still, I had no clue that Earl and Suzanne were my cousins!

Earl served as President of AFNI from 1975 to 1995. AFNI grew to world wide influence with 10,000 employees! Click here to see AFNI today: AFNI Earl sold the business in 1995, however was still part owner of the property AFNI was operating on.

In addition:

Co- owner of Prairie Signs, Inc.,
A partner in the insurance firm: Insurance Producer
He was also a partner in 462 Partners in Decatur, IL.
Founder & Owner of the following:
- Credit Bureau of Woodford County
- McLean County License & Title, Property Owners and Managers Association (POMA,)
- The American Distributing Company,
- Crossroads Auction Company
- Anderson Advantage Holding company
- Anderson Triad Company

He served as Mayor, President or Board Member of:
- President of the Illinois Collectors Association,
- The Illinois Sign Association
- Credit Bureau of Bloomington
- Bloomington-Normal Transit Authority
- Bloomington Unlimited
- The Minonk Planning Commission
- President of the Tri-County Mayors' Association
- Mayor of Minonk, IL, from 1997 - 2001.

Along the way he obtained his private pilot's license, which Earl Describs as "a thrilling achievement."

Earl had many friends and loved to tell stories and jokes to make people laugh. He made an impression on everyone he met. He liked to tell anyone who would listen about being absolutely smitten the first time he saw his future wife Suzanne, and how he had never recovered-he loved her more with each passing day.

One of the stories he told was from the days he was collecting telephone debts for GTE.

Earl had to be firm, but compassionate dealing with people who could not manage money. He told us that one day a lady had come into pay on a $400 telephone bill. She stated with teary eyes that she could only pay some of the bill, but not all of it. 'We need money to buy our baby a bed, because she is sleeping in a box!" Earl asked, "Where did you get the box that your baby is sleeping in?' The woman replied, "Oh, that is the box the new color television came in!" Earl just shook his head. He realized that many people were in debt for various reason, and, sometimes it was not their fault. But the majority of cases were just poor money management by people with their priorities of of balance.

Earl Bryant Anderson

BIRTH 1 Apr 1934 Bloomington, McLean County, Illinois, USA

MARRIAGE to Suzanne Draper

DEATH 12 Apr 2020 (aged 86) Bloomington, McLean County, Illinois

BURIAL East Lawn Memorial Gardens Bloomington, McLean County, Illinois

Find A Grave MEMORIAL ID: 209068262 ·

Dr. Glenn Wright Draper Sr. 1928 - 2019

Meet Dr. Glenn Draper: His music was heard the world over!

Dr Glenn Wright Draper Sr.

BIRTH 18 Jul 1928 Roanoke City, Virginia, USA

DEATH 15 Jun 2019 (aged 90) Signal Mountain, Hamilton County, Tennessee, USA

BURIAL Chattanooga National Cemetery Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee, USA

PLOT SECTION NN SITE 1546

Dr. Draper was born on July 18, 1928 in Roanoke, Virginia. His love of choral music thrust him into a career that included forming the Keesler Air Force Base Male Chorus, becoming Director of Music at Pheiffer College, the University of Miami, Coral Gables United Methodist Church, UT Chattanooga, the Lake Junaluska Singers, and the Glenn Draper Singers. In 1968 he teamed up with the late Ben Haden at First Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga, and soon his music was broadcast all over the world. His accolades are too numerous to mention, but he brought unparalleled passion and energy to everything he endeavored to do.

He set a godly example of how to be a husband and father. His love for his sweet wife Lounelle was on display for everyone to see. They were " a match made in heaven." She grabbed on to his coat tails and he took her on a 63 year adventure that most could only dream about. He was also the best father a son could ever have.

His legacy is the lives he influenced. Countless singers and students credit him for changing the course of their lives. They too, held on for dear life, as he took them all over the world. He loved each of them dearly.

Dr. Glenn Draper Obituary in Legacy

Pedigree There are some sketchy spots tracing Glenn Draper's pedigree.

Notes from Bill Draper

Dr. Glenn Draper
Son of John Wesley Draper
Son of Henry Clay Draper
Son of John Wesley and Mary Jane Turner Draper (or John William Draper) (this is where the confusion begins)
Son of Asa and Sarah Mitchell Draper
Son of William Draper Sr (1760 - 1818)
Son of Solomon Draper Sr. (1731 - 1807)
Son of Thomas Draper Sr. (abt. 1690 - 1735) Richmond County, Virginia (old North Farnham Parish, Rappahannock County, Colonial America)

From Bill Draper Concerning Asa Draper

This is more of a connection than I (Bill) have on most people.

1. William DOES mention Asa in his will as his son. He leaves 5 shillings to Asa and his family. This made me ignore the 1813 death date, but the court inventoried Asa’s property in 1813 and it shouldn’t be ignored. So Asa is included in the will as his son, just not as an equal inheritor.
2. Asa married in 1811, had John in 1812, died in 1813 and nothing is ever heard from him again. Most trees claim Asa died in 1853. Because Frankie’s 1853 Will (actually 1851) did not include Asa, we said he died “Before 1853” which got shortened to 1853. Then we found the 1813 inventory which seemed to conflict with William’s Will.
3. William leaves 1/4 of his property to his “GRANDSON” John Wesley Draper, but does not state who his father is. He WAS NOT related to the other three sons, who split the property amongst themselves and ignored the 5 year old. So he is Asa’s son.
4. In the 1830 census he is 17, living alone and is listed as John.
5. In the 1850 census he is listed as “RICHARD W.” Don’t know why! This is verified as John because he is living with wife, Mary J., 23, daughter Sarah, 2, and son Edwin B., 1 - the same family we find “John W.” living with for the next 30 years.
6. In that same census he is also living with Sarah Draper, 58 (the same age as his mother, Sarah) and two Mitchells. Sarah’s maiden name was Mitchell and she would be living with Mitchell’s since the Drapers ignored her.
7. In 1851 William’s wife, Frankie, writes a will that leaves everything to her three living sons, and $1 to “John W. Draper”. In 1855 “JOHN WESLEY DRAPER” contests the will in court and loses.
8. From that point on he legally goes by John or John W., but his last daughter’s death certificate in 1957 identifies her father as “JOHN WESLEY DRAPER.”
- To my knowledge there is no John William Draper who this person could be. That’s why he is a brick wall.

Find A Grave Find A Grave can trace back to John Wesley Draper then brick walls, as Asa Draper is not verified as John's father.

Dr. Walter Levell Draper 1865 - 1940

Meet Dr. Walter Levell Draper! The Mayor of Niagara Falls!

Walter Levell Draper (Not profiled on WikiTree)

BIRTH 24 Feb 1865 North Wilna, Jefferson County, New York, USA

DEATH 26 Jan 1940 (aged 74) Buffalo, Erie County, New York, USA

BURIAL Saint Pauls Evangelical Protestant Reformed #2 Wendelville, Niagara County, New York, USA

MEMORIAL ID 131392140

Story from Find A Grave

W. Levell Draper, of Wilson, Niagara County, N.Y. Member of New York state assembly who represents Niagara County 2nd District, 1906-09. Draper, W. Levell, M. D., was born on a farm in Carthage, Jefferson County, N.Y. , February 24, 1865, a son of Philorus and Emaline (Cowan) Draper, both born and reared in Jefferson county, where she died in May, 1872. The grandfather of W. Levell was a native of Rhode Island and was one of the first settlers of Wilna, Jefferson county, where he lived and died. He built the first log and first frame house in that section and owned about 1,000 acres of land. He was a prominent man of the place and left a large family. W. Levell Draper, was reared on a farm and educated in Ives Seminary, Antwerp, N. Y ; he began the study of medicine with Dr. F. L. Santway, of Theresa, N. Y., in the mean time teaching at Natural Bridge and Carthage. He was graduated from the Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago in 1890, and was with Dr. J. E. Oilman of Chicago one year, when he came to Wilson where he has since had a successful practice. Dr. Draper is a member of the Western New York Homeopathic Society, and is also a member of the Masonic order, the I. O. O. F., the I. O. F., the F. M. C.and K. O. T. M. In February, 1896, he married Anna Schoelles, of Wilson, N. Y.

Dr. W. Levell Draper became mayor of the city of Niagara Falls in January 1936 with the following words to the people of the city: "I extend the season's greetings. Prospects seem bright for the coming year and I am firmly convinced that the people are going to be much happier in 1936 than they have been for some years past. I am going to do what I can to make the coming year a successful one. I realize the responsibilities I have assumed and I am praying for strength to meet them."

Born on a farm in the Lamb district of the town of Wilna, N.Y., on Feb. 24, 1865, he was the son of the late Philorus and Emeline Cowan Draper. He attended district school and lived on a farm during his boyhood learning farm work and farm life. Following early district school, he enrolled at Ives seminary at Antwerp and after his graduation he became the principal of the public school at Natural Bridge, not far from his boyhood home. He later served as principal for two years at a union school at West Carthage, which later became the West Carthage High School.

Draper began the study of medicine with Dr. F.L. Santway of Theresa and enrolled in the Hahnemann Medical College in Chicago where he received his degree of doctor of medicine in 1890. After graduation, Dr. Draper established the practice of his profession in Wilson in Niagara County. Nine years later he was also graduated from the medical department of the University of Buffalo. He continued his practice in Wilson until 1909 when he became interested in the growing of citrus fruits and pineapples in Puerto Rico and became the manager of a pineapple plantation there and retained his interest in that enterprise until his death.

During his early years in Wilson, he took an active part in the interests of the Republican Party. Dr. Draper was the president of the Village of Wilson and was also a member of the Wilson Board of Education. His political interests continued and he became a member of the Republican County Committee of Niagara County and also served as a member of the executive committee of that body for three years when he decided in 1905 to seek a seat in the New York Assembly from the county's second Assembly District. He received 4,652 votes to 3,445 cast for Tuisco Genier, a Democrat.

In 1906 he was successfully re-elected, receiving 4,751 votes to 4,099 cast for J. Allen McCollum, Democratic Party and Independence League candidate. In 1907 he defeated Henry A. McMahon, Democrat by 994 votes and in 1908 it was a smaller win with only 43 votes separating him from Philip J. Keller, his Democratic opponent. Dr. Draper's time in the state Assembly ended in Dec. 31, 1909. Philip J. Keller defeated Robert L. Rice the Republican nominee. It was through Draper's efforts as an assemblyman that the state appropriated funding for an elevator in Prospect Park which has carried thousands of tourists below Niagara Falls for a close-up view of the cataracts. During his time in the Assembly he served on the Insurance Committee, Public Health, Electricity, Gas and Water supply, Privileges and Elections and Printed and Engrossed Bills. He was appointed by James W. Wadsworth, speaker of the Assembly.

Dr. Draper also served for 14 years as Niagara County coroner, being elected in 1918, 1921, 1927 and 1933. We already knew was elected mayor of the city of Niagara Falls in 1935 with a four-year term expiring at the end of 1939.

The population of the city grew from 30,445 in 1910 to 75,398 in 1930. It was noted in the city directories of these times that 60 percent of the U. S. population and 80 percent of the population of Canada lived within a 500 mile radius of Niagara Falls which was about one night's ride. The metro cities of Norfolk, Virginia; Boston; Portland, Maine; Quebec City, Quebec; Marquette, Michigan and Chicago were listed among others. Many railroads ran into the city such as Erie, Grand Trunk, Lehigh Valley, Michigan Central and many others. Connections were available to reach the Canadian side also. Bus lines servicing the area were Greyhound line, grey Coach Lines, International Bus Line and lots more. If one wanted to come to Niagara Falls, there were plenty of options to choose from to get there.

Entertainment at the time consisted of several moving picture theaters, a country club, two private clubs and active Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions and Zonta clubs. The city maintained several municipal parks, an excellent public golf course and various athletic fields throughout the city itself.

During Mayor Draper's second year, the world began to emerge from the dark days that allowed the debacle of 1929. Business increased, jobs became more plentiful and a feeling of confidence returned. The city directory noted that, locally, a revival of the south end of the mercantile districts, after a number of years in which it appeared to be moving backward instead of forward had been one of the major local developments during his second year.

Walter Levell Draper's Grandfather was:

Amos Draper was one of General Washington's body-guard

BIRTH 1786

DEATH 11 Jun 1854 (aged 67–68)

BURIAL Black Creek Cemetery Jefferson County, New York, USA

MEMORIAL ID 14072194

Amos Draper, who served in the Revolutionary war and was one of General Washington's body-guard, came from Argyle, R.I., to Champion about 1804, and located on a part of the Isaac Bohall farm, where he remained a few years, when he removed to Wilna, where he died

You probably would like to know if these Drapers are related to our family! While we can't find a connection, neither can any of the Draper families. But, William Draper. son of Thomas Draper is believed to have died in Oswego County, New York. Amos Draper was buried in Jefferson County, New York, which is just north of Oswego County. There are many Draper burials in that area of New York. Many of those Draper have unknown origins. There is so much more to discover! To the future family genealogists: Keep searching!

But the next time you visit Niagara Falls, you will remember this story!

Jacob Franklin Draper 1873 - 1950

Meet Jacob Franklin Draper: Wyoming's last, and most picturesque, pioneer cowboys!

Jacob Franklin Draper

Find A Grave See Obituary at Find A Grave

BIRTH 18 Jan 1873 Story County, Iowa, USA

DEATH 11 Dec 1950 (aged 77) Wyoming, USA

BURIAL Lakeview Cemetery Cheyenne, Laramie County, Wyoming, USA

PLOT Lot 21 Sec A

He came to Wyoming as a boy in his early teens (in the 1880s), from Story, Iowa. His parents settled at the head of Pumpkin Creek, just east of La Grange. For some time he was employed as a cowhand by the old JQ ranch owned by Colin Hunter and sons, Tom and Jim.

He knew such famous westerners as Charlie and Bill Irwin of Wild West show fame; Waggoner the horse thief, Tom Horn and John McShane.

In the early 1900s he met and married Mary Repp Robison and left the spread he had homesteaded to take over the management of her ranch. Later he purchased the "444" ranch where he lived until stricken ill, with the exception of a couple of years when he was the foreman of the Iron Mountain ranch at the request of Mrs. Annie Allen, whose husband had died.

As mentioned, Draper was the owner of the "444" ranch near Albin, which he purchased in 1923, and had been a Wyoming range rider for the past 66 years.

The magazine section of the Sunday Denver Post featured a full page article concerning Mr. Draper's career in September of 1949. A full-page painting on the cover pictured the famous cowhand on his favorite horse, "Brownie," given to him by Tom Hunter.

Mr. Draper was urged by his physician to quit ranching three years ago, but replied, "As long as I can sit in my saddle that's where I aim to be."

Jacob Draper was one of the last of the Wyoming's picturesque pioneer cowboys. He died after an extended illness at Memorial Hospital. He lived to be 77 years old.

PEDIGREE

Thomas Draper Sr. (abt. 1680 - 1735)
Solomon Draper Sr. (1731 - 1807)
William Draper Sr (1760 - 1818)
Thomas Jefferson Draper (1791 - 1869)
Solomon Draper (1809 - abt. 1844)
John Robert Draper (abt. 1838 - 1901)
Jacob Franklin Draper (1873 - 1950)

NOTE: Pictures by Daniel Draper FIND A GRAVE ID 47146926

**Lucy J. Stone Nunn 1864 - 1911**

Meet Lucy J. Nunn: She lost her husband, then 8 children in a fire that killed her too!

Lucy Jane Stone Nunn (1864 - 1911) (granddaughter of Martin Samuel Draper (1796 - 1878), Husband:
- Joseph Henry Nunn 1853-1910

From Find A Grave:

THE HENRY BULLETIN, May 5,pages 1 & 8 [edited very long articles]. Date Line: Roanoke World, April 28. Almost the Entire Family of the Late J. H. NUNN, formerly of Marinsville, Lost in Fire. Mrs. Lucy J. NUNN, widow, and 7 children were charred beyond recognition.

Children who died with Lucy:

William;
Georgia, age 24;
H. Mortimer, age 17;
Myrtle, age 15;
Dillard, age 12;
Stafford, age 10;
Lucille, age 7;
Helen, age 5.

Suvivors:

Lelia,
J. Edward
Willie NUNN.

Mrs. Lucy J. NUNN was the widow of J. H. NUNN who died in this city March 10th, 1910. His wife Lucy was the former Miss Lucy J. STONE of Reed Creek, and she is survived by one living relative, George B. STONE, of Philpott, Henry Co., Va.

Burial in family burial ground near Dyers' Store. Two graves were dug. The remains of Mrs. Nunn and the two youngest children were laid to rest in the smaller grave besides Mr. J. H. NUNN who died last year. The other children were buried in the longer grave which was twenty-four feet long.

PEDIGREE

Thomas Draper Sr. (abt. 1680 - 1735)
Solomon Draper Sr. (1731 - 1807)
Solomon Draper Jr. (abt. 1756 - 1827)
Martin Samuel Draper (1796 - 1878)
- Mary Jane (Draper) Stone (abt. 1829 - abt. 1905)
  - Lucy Jane (Stone) Nunn (1864 - 1911)

Farnham_Viginia_Draper_Descendants_Tour_Guide_-1-16.jpg

Nunn Family Cemetery There are newer pictures in the link of the cemetery after it was cleaned up.

Farnham_Viginia_Draper_Descendants_Tour_Guide_-1-358.jpg

Simulation of a period 1910 Fire Truck (not the one used to distinguish Lucy's house fire)

George Sanford Draper 1807-1862

Meet George Sanford Draper A father and son gunned down in front of his family!

Farnham_Viginia_Draper_Descendants_Tour_Guide_-1-426.jpg (simulation: stock art from shutter Stock)

This picture best describes the murder of George Sanford Draper and his son, John, while his family watched the events unfold. The conflict could have been over the issues of slavery between religious abolitionists and slave owners, but we really don't know!

The following is an edited excerpt from the book "PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF JOHNSON AND PETTIS COUNTIES MISSOURI Containing Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the Counties" published in 1895.

George Sanford DraperCounty, Missouri. For three years he cultivated a farm in township 4 5, range 25. The place contained one hundred and sixty acres, on which he made improvements, but when a favorable opportunity presented itself he sold out and invested in nearby land. Several years later he re moved to what is now known as the Draper Farm, in this township,‘ this also being a place of one hundred and sixty acres. In the evening of September 24, 1862, he was called to the door of his house and was shot through the breast, after which he was unable to speak a word, death soon resulting.

His wife, and now widow, Amelia went to live with the family of Dr. Lea, taking her children with her and remaining there for six months. In the fall of 1863 her family returned to Caldwell County, Ky., where they spent eight years on a farm. At the end of that time they went back to the old Draper Farm, where the father had been murdered.

The reason for this piece of villainy was never fully understood, as Mr. Draper was well liked by everyone as far as known. His wife was a member of the Baptist Church of High Point and always took great interest in religious work.

The events of the day unfolding in Missouri in September of 1862, was the Civil War was dividing the country, abolitionist against slave owner. At one time it is thought George owned slaves at some point, as well as his son. His son joined the Confederate Army. A person could have gotten killed no matter what side he took in those days.

Eleven children were born to George Sanford Draper and Amelia Draper.

Adelia Jane, born October 5, 1832, married H. Stewart, who was formerly a merchant of Xenia, Illinols, Mrs. Stewart is making her home in Montserrat.
William Lafayette, born October 29, 1833, was killed in the army; his widow afterward married, and is now a resident of Texas.
Sallie, born August 26, 1835, is now living with her sister in Montserrat.
Milton A., born July 22, 1837, was married in Kentucky to Betty Perry; after her death Charity Luster became his wife, but she, too, died a few years later. The lady who now bears his name was formerly Nanny Burgett, and their home is in Kentucky.
William T., born August 11, 1839, died April 14, 1889; his wife, whose girlhood name was Carrie Stewart, is now living three miles northwest of Montserrat.
John Tandy, born January 14, 1844, was murdered at the same time as was his father.
Robert Allen, born June 12, 1845, married Sally Tandy, and is a farmer in Kentucky.
James D., born January 26, 1847, married Mollie Weller, and operates a farm in Arkansas.
Jesse Lee, born March 27, 1850, married Annie D. Wadlington, and lives on a farm in Macon County, Mo.
Mary Elizabeth, born August 14, 1852, is the wife of D. H. Coffman, who owns a farm south of Knob Noster, Missouri.
Henry Thomas, born October 5, 1854, married Anna Marie Bethel and they farmed in Johnson County Missouri.

Amelia Tandy Draper holding her Bible

Royal Rosco Draper 1871 - 1938

Meet Royal Rosco Draper: A Prison Trusty Serving 5 -15 on a Morals Conviction!

Ross Draper spent the last days of his life in the Idaho State Penitentiary, in Boise, Idaho. They found him "dead in his bed" evidently dying in his sleep from a heart attack.

He was a "Prison Trusty." That means he was given special privileges of helping the prison staff keep watch over the hard core criminals.

From Wikipedia: The "trusty system" (sometimes incorrectly called "trustee system") was a penitentiary system of discipline and security enforced in parts of the United States until the 1980s, in which designated inmates were given various privileges, abilities, and responsibilities not available to all inmates.

Ross must have been well respected as he lived in a cottage outside the prison walls. As a model prisoner, he probably could have been released early on good behavior, so he did not try to run away. But his heart gave out before he was released and seems there was no family to to take his body, so he was buried in the prison cemetery.

The moral of the story is don't be immoral!

PEDIGREE

Thomas Draper Sr. (abt. 1680 - 1735)
Solomon Draper Sr. (1731 - 1807)
William Draper Sr (1760 - 1818)
John Harrison Draper (1789 - 1866)
Jesse Frasier Draper (1826 - 1900)
Royal Rosco Draper (1871 - 1938)

Ross was married to Lou Effie (Johnson) Draper (1881 - 1920) she seems to have passed away before her husband got into trouble!

Lewis Henry Barlow 1868- 1964

Meet Lewis Henry Barlow, A Draper Descendant who started a dynasty of Wyoming Ranchers

Our story begins with Lewis's mother: Ruth Clark (Draper) Barlow (1845 - 1877)

This is the only photograph of this lovely daughter of Ira Dillingham Draper (1814 - 1891). She was married to Stephen Conely Barlow on March 11, 1864, exactly 11 months to the day before her parents had to flee from Vandalia, Iowa, East of Des Moines, into Nebraska, being tracked down by bounty hunters who were looking to kill them to collect a reward put in place by the Missouri slave owners. Her father, Ira Dillingham Draper was a station master on the Underground Railway, and was hiding runaway slaves to escape to the North!

Ruth's husband, Stephen, was away fighting with the Union Forces, marching with General Sherman "to the sea!

Stephen Barlow returns from the Civil War with a disturbing personality change. Today we would call it PTSD. From the Draper family history, and from historical events, we find some disturbing details that would indicate this could be the case. This would lead to the historic events that would follow in Wyoming history!

Ruth and Stephen have 4 children, starting with Eugene born in 1866, Lewis born in 1868, Elvon born in 1869, and Ada Celia born in 1873. Ruth dies from "consumption" , now called Tuberculosis at age 32. Her oldest son, Eugene is only about 11 years old.

In less than a year, Stephen Barlow marries 16 year old Frances Mariam Ingram (1862 - 1930). While the Draper family history refers to her as Aunt Fannie, it says that Stephen and Fannie have a very disturbing or "troubled" relationship. Stephen keeps her "barefoot and pregnant" having 10 children with her!

Eugene and his brother are furious with their dad and step-mother! Eugene runs away to Sundance, Wyoming to live with his aunt Lenora and uncle William Fountain Draper. He would die at age 16 in a tragic coral accident when the horse he was riding crashed at "high speed" through the fence with the horse landing on top of him.

Lewis would follow his brother, selling some animals to make enough money to board a train and head into the history of the "wild wild west"!

The rest of the story is from the Barlow family history and the Wyoming Historical Society.

This is from the Gillette New Record at :Gillette New Record (search: Barlow Ranches)

Campbell County’s historic ranches: the Barlow Ranch

Julie Mankin for the News Record Mar 31, 2011 Updated Nov 5, 2013

This, each succeeding generation of the Barlow family has done. One of the oldest ranches in the county was founded by a legendary cowboy of German descent who ran horses here in 1898.

Lewis Henry Barlow was born in Nebraska, and as a kid became disgruntled after his widowed father remarried a 16-year-old. So he sold some hogs for an $8 train ticket and headed West.

Barlow spent 13 years in Idaho breaking horses, then in 1898 (with his wife, Ruth, and baby daughter, Mamie, in tow) trailed a small cattle herd to the mouth of Campbell County’s Bitter Creek, camping at Morse, near Miles City, Mont. He tried to push them on to Gillette, but the wolves killed so many cows he turned back and sold the rest right there.

Once in Gillette, he eventually traded some stock for a two-room structure on Main Street that he moved to Warren Avenue. He later built a house on the site — the first house in Gillette with plastered walls. There at the corner of Third and Warren (a block west of the current First Interstate Bank), L.H. and livery owner George Fox shared a barn and corral.

“He used to complain to his buddies about having to haul water from the railroad all the way up to his house,” recalled his granddaughter, Rosemary Schunk, 72. “They said, ‘Well, it’s your fault for moving it so far out of town.’”

Hardscrabble roots

L.H., who served as a Gillette city councilman from 1905-07 and mayor after that, was as enterprising as the first Barlow who had arrived in America.

Christopher Parlur left Prussia in 1717 and arrived in Virginia as an indentured servant, mining iron ore to pay for a land grant. Over the years, the last name evolved to Barler and finally to Barlo and Barlow. Unlike Christopher, however, L.H. wasn’t inclined to owe anyone anything. What’s more, he had land under what’s now Stocktrail School taken away from him by the government to be used as a stock trail.

“My great-granddad didn’t believe in the Homestead Act,” said Glenn Barlow, 56. “He liked the open range and thought owning was better than homesteading.”

So, in 1919, after 20 years of training horses, working for the Keelines’ 4J Ranch and running stock on the open range, L.H. bought 40 acres of a federal penal grant at the Pfister Dam on Deadhorse Creek for $10 an acre. He also bought out Earl Jensen, a sheepman on the north fork of the creek.

It was a day’s drive to his place on Warren by wagon, via the old road to Highway 50 just north of the 4J Ranch or by heading north and hitting the Montgomery Road (now called Echeta Road).

One of L.H.’s four children, Glenn (Sr.), eventually bought the ranch on the north fork of Deadhorse Creek, while another son, Lew, grew up to found an adjoining ranch on the south fork. Glenn and his wife, Meta, had one child, Henry Lewis (Hank), while Lew and Marion had three kids including Bill Barlow, whose son, Eric, now leases that ranch from his mother.

Glenn and Lew’s sister, Mamie, married Ed Littleton and their brother, Ted, had land northwest of town and founded Barlow Insurance. His son’s family for years owned Gillette’s Coast to Coast store downtown.

Still running horses

Today, Hank’s son, Glenn, and his family live on the same spot that L.H. chose 91 years ago on the Deadhorse’s north bank, nestled just to the east of the Powder River Breaks and visible 13 miles west of Gillette on the south side of Interstate 90.

The house that L.H. built in 1919 had seven rooms even before it was remodeled in 1950 by Hank’s family. The cheerful yellow structure was expanded yet again by Glenn and company, and today retains a few relics from open range days, including an old wooden sugar bowl.

Turkeys roam the grounds around the house near a loading chute to which a saddled horse is always tied. The quaint white home with the red roof just down the creek to the west was built by Glenn in 1949 after Hank took over the original place (it now houses Glenn’s hired hand).

Glenn and his wife, Joy, the daughter of Canadian champion saddle bronc rider Frank Duce, have kept alive L.H.’s horse-training legacy by raising and training their own horses. Like L.H., who bred and broke remount horses and teams raised from his Percheron stud and mustang mares, Lew used his team of Belgians to help neighbors dig basements and plow spring gardens. And Hank retained a team with which he did everything including work the family arena (they finally purchased a little tractor in the 1970s).

Glenn, who partnered for 20 years on the ranch with his namesake grandfather, also has a stallion and raises working cow horses. He operates the ranch more like his great-grandfather than ever — no ATVs and no farming.

“I had a four-wheeler once,” admitted Glenn, who does all his work on horseback. “But I don’t like ’em. I wrecked one. Plus, they beat your body up and they break down.”

Glenn is as esteemed as his forebear at training horses. Aside from his accolades as a steer roper, he won the National Reined Cow Horse Association Futurity world championship twice, in 1986 and 1996. Joy also is an accomplished horse trainer, and their grown kids, Trey and Duce, have competed in rodeo and cutting.

From the interstate, you can see the mares running the hills in the corner pasture. Just over the rise from the small indoor barn the Barlows built in 1990, you might get a glimpse of the yearling buffalo that Glenn uses for training cutting horses.

The most famous spot on the ranch is undoubtedly the tall hill just south of the house called Indian Butte, nicknamed for the 16 Indians that old Ben Doud found buried there when he was herding sheep one spring on the open range.

“There were two rows of them buried sitting down and their heads were starting to emerge from the sandy soil,” Glenn said. “Ben had a skull and took it in to the Montgomery Bar but when he stepped out for a minute, the bartender gave it away.”

Just south of the infamous butte and out of sight is a gas-fired generator, built to extract carbon dioxide out of coal-bed methane gas. Glenn is currently in court over imminent domain policies regarding the massive plant.

Legacies live on

While Glenn has carried on L.H.’s horse-training legacy, another great-grandson ranching just over the hill has taken up the penchant for politics and innovation.

“My family hasn’t raised sheep for 80 years,” said Lew’s grandson, Eric, who added the critters to his family’s Red Angus cattle herd about six years ago.

The enterprising 44-year-old veterinarian has established Gourmet Lamb of Wyoming, through which he markets lamb meat to private individuals and local restaurants using a sheep species that sheds its wool, eliminating the need for shearing.

While L.H. once tied turkey bells to his cows’ tails to frighten attacking wolves, Eric uses Italian-bred guard dogs to protect his woolies. His father, Bill Barlow, had picked up a love of the land from his arrowhead-hunting grandfather that took him to southeastern Asia in the 1960s to work with Cambodian farmers.

While in Phnom Penh, he met a French/Indian girl who took his fancy and followed him to Wyoming after completing her law degree at a Cambodian branch of the University of Paris. Bill was exiled from the ranch for marrying the dark-haired foreigner against his parents‘ wishes, but only for a year.

“It could have been forever, but his folks were kind enough to forgive us,” laughs 70-year-old Bernie, who has lived at the ranch ever since.

“A community either accepts you or turns down their nose,” she said with a still-distinct French accent. “The ranching community was amazing and the homemakers on 4J Road were so kind. To this day, they are my best friends.”

Bill was one of the ranchers who formed the Powder River Basin Resource Council in 1973 and helped pass laws requiring consent, compensation and increased public input for ranchers. Eric, who lives on the ranch with his wife, Kelly and kids, Graham, 15, and Kate, 17, has continued his mother’s work lobbying for landowner protections in the age of methane gas and uranium production.

“Here there’s a feeling that you belong to the land; that you belong to something,” Bernie has said. “The people who came before us took care of it, and if we take care of it too, it will be around for a long time to come.”

Back in touch

When Bill died in 2001, the family scattered his ashes on a rocky slope on the ranch, and Bernie has instructed her children to do the same for her. In their home is part of L.H. Barlow’s extensive collection of fossils, arrowheads and artifacts, another part of which is housed in the Rockpile Museum.

Rural clubs like the one at Pleasantdale that helped Bernie Barlow fit in barely exist now, and tiny rural schools like the one attended by Glenn Barlow, where Gladys Landers was his first-grade teacher, are extinct. Those losses, together with today’s transportation and communication technology, mean rural neighbors no longer even know each other.

That’s a travesty in Eric Barlow’s mind. So, five years ago he began an attempt to rekindle the kindred spirit by hosting neighbors at an annual potluck party complete with bonfire, food, drink and even fireworks.

“Ranchers used to support each other when things were tough,” he says. “Now we don’t need to rely on neighbors or even communicate with them unless it’s a phone conversation about whose cow is in the wrong pasture.”

The shindig is informally called Doce de Mayo, as a nod to the tough times survived by earlier generations.

“According to our friend and neighbor Bill Maycock and the late Louis McBeth, a terrible ‘killing’ blizzard in 1922 in this part of the county broke on May 12,” Eric said. “We figured it was the perfect time to have a gin and tonic, remove our longhandles and get together with the neighbors.”

The good times are the same, but Eric recognizes that, while today’s hardship might be the four-wheel-drive going out, his forebears sacrificed life and limb.

“We’re not all cowboys like they were, but we‘re stockmen,” said Eric, who donated his grandfather’s 1917 range rodeo trophy saddle to the Don King Museum in Sheridan. “I can’t take credit for a darn thing they’ve done, but I can appreciate and learn from previous generations. I want to emulate their philosophy if it was good and give the next generation an opportunity to be here.”

**Rhoda Mae Draper (Widner) (Jetton) Shupe 1913-1992**

Meet Rhode Mae Draper Shupe

Farnham_Viginia_Draper_Descendants_Tour_Guide_-1-720.jpg

Our story starts with the picture above. The year is 1913. The place is on farm near a dusty midwestern town called Arrowsmith, in the middle of Illinois, directly east of Bloomington-Normal. The car is about 1910, which I thought was a Ford, but Noel Goddard says it isn't! . Rhoda is being held by her father, Robert Marshall Draper in the front seat sitting next to her pretty mother Dora Mae Hudson Draper Her sibling and half siblings are all in the picture taken on one of the last peaceful sunny summer days before all hell would break loose with the Spanish Flu Pandemic and WW1. The world would never be the same again.

Rhoda Draper Shupe's parents were traveling musicians, who entered contests and performed on stage. She would marry a gifted musician!

See Jack Merrill Draper's story

Rhoda Draper Shupe's father Robert Marshall Draper

Rhoda Draper's mother Dora Mae Hudson Draper

Rhoda would almost grow up, meet and marry William Widner in 1927. That would make her about 15 years old!

William Widner was the Son of William Widner and Nettie Thompson of Delphi, Indiana, pictured above. He was an accomplished musician and played with the "Hoosier Hotshots" as well as Spike Jones (Lindley Armstrong Jones)

(Lindley Armstrong Jones AKA: Spike Jones

William and Rhoda took a trip from Indiana to visit her parents Robert and Dora Draper. On a warm October day the four were out driving in the county, heading west for Bloomington when E.A. Jacobs drove his vehicle from a side road into their path.

William died within 20 minutes with a skull fracture on October 27, 1936. He was just 32 years of age. He joins many musicians and famous people to die with a 27 number associated with their untimely passing. (see 27 Club Wikipedia

Rhoda's leg was crushed. She and her parents were taken to a Bloomington Hospital with serious injuries.

William leaves behind his living 9 year old son William Winston Widner (1928 - 1947) and another 6 year old son, Daryl

NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS:

Logansport Pharos-TribuneLogansport, Indiana Wednesday Evening, October 28, 1936 WILL WIDNER, DELPHI KILLED 'DETAILS OF FATAL ACCIDENT AT SAYBROOK, ILLINOIS, NOT CONTAINED IN REPORT' DELPHI, INDIANA, October 28—William Widner, Jr, 32, of Delphi, Indiana, was injured fatally in an accident at Saybrook, Illinois, where he was visiting relatives, according to advice received here this morning by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Widner, Sr. Details of the accident were not contained in the message received by the parents. Widner, with his wife and son, Winston, went to Saybrook several days ago to visit Mrs. Widner’s parents. Surviving with his wife and son and parents are two brothers, James Widner and Jesse Widner of Delphi, Indiana; five sisters, Mrs. Rose Clark of Indianapolis; Mrs. Nellie Otto of Chicago, Illinois; Mrs. Molly Widner Barton of Gary, Indiana; Mrs. Mabel Fife and Mrs. Jennie Mitchell, both of Brookston, Indiana.

Logansport Pharos-Tribune, Thursday Evening, Logansport, Indiana, October 29, 1936 BURY ACCIDENT VICTIM FRIDAY 'WIFE AND PARENTS-IN-LAW OF DELPHI MAN ALSO SEVERELY INJURED IN ACCIDENT' DELPHI, INDIANA, October 29—Funeral rites for William Widner, Jr. of Delphi, Indiana, who lost his life in an auto crash near Bloomington, Illinois, will be held at the Blythe and Son Funeral Parlors at 3 o’clock Friday afternoon and burial will be made in the Masonic cemetery. The body is due to arrive here on Thursday night. Details of the fatal accident reveal that Mrs. Widner suffered a badly crushed leg and that her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Draper and a neighbor also were severely injured. All are in a Bloomington, Illinois hospital. The families with Mr. Widner at the wheel were enroute to Bloomington, Illinois from the Saybrook, Illinois home of the parents, when their car was struck by a machine from a side road onto the pavement. E.A. Jacobs, driver of the second car, is held by officers to answer charges growing out of the death of Mr. William Widner who died twenty minutes after the crash from a skull fracture.

Logansport Pharos-Tribune, Thursday Evening, Logansport, Indiana Friday Evening, October 30, 1936 DELPHI—Mr. and Mrs. William Widner were called to Saybrook, Illinois by the accidental death of their son, William Widner, Jr. who has been living in Kokomo, Indiana for the past two years

Continuing with our story:

After William died, ten years pass and Rhoda marries Fred Bryan Jetton (1897–1977) in 1937 who owned Jetton's Grocery Store for 45 years which, located at 205 S. Evans St. in Bloomington.

Fred Jetton, would not let Rhoda's 11 year old son, William Winston Widner, live with them. It is never said why, but the youth probably had PTSD or high anxiety from a troubled upbringing. His brother Daryl is not mentioned at all. His birth and death dates are not known. Did William lose his younger brother setting off mental health issues or trauma? Whatever may have happened, William was a troubled and unstable young man. William Winston Widner commits suicide at age 19 after a break-up with his girl friend. Rhoda has now lost two loves of her, and possibly 3, if Daryl has met an untimely death, by 1947.

In March of 1972 Rhoda and Fred Jetton retired and moved to Arizona. After a long illness and only spending 5 years in retirement, Fred Dies at the age of 80 in Tucson. He was laid to rest in Cochise Memory Gardens Sierra Vista, Cochise County, Arizona in 1977.

Rhoda has now lost another love, but apparently, quickly strikes up a new romance with Gifford Wade Shupe (1912–1982) and they are married in 1978. In four more years she would be at still yet another funeral to bury Gifford next to his second wife, Nellie Carlyn Copeland Shupe (1909-1977)

Rhoda would live on to see the Christmas of 1992. Before decorations could be taken down, Rhoda passed on December 27. She lived to be 79.

PEDIGREE starting with Rhoda:

Rhoda May Draper Shupe 1913 - 1992
Robert Marshal Draper 1880–1960
William H. Draper 1848–1918 born in Clay County Tennessee
Unknown

But wait a minute! Look closer:

William H. Draper was born in Clay County Tennessee, (colored yellow) just a few miles from Smith County Tennessee (colored red)
We have Draper kin in Smith County!

As of yet, we just don't know if our families are connected. You decide!

But the real question here is: ARE WE RELATED TO SPIKE JONES? Well...I am!

Spike Jones is Your (Dave Draper) 23rd cousin! (check your connection) Your common ancestor, Matilda (Wellom) de Vesci (abt.1170-), is his 22nd great-grandmother. Your common ancestor, Warin (Vesci) de Vesci (abt.1170-1205), is his 22nd great-grandfather.

THANK YOU Nole Goddard for the pictures and work on your family tree in WikiTree and in Find A Grave. The Draper family is very grateful for your contributions that made this story possible!

Charles Walker Poore (1867 - 1954)

Your 5th cousin three times removed (Dave Draper) Check your connection) Your common ancestor, Barbara (Unknown) Estes (-abt.1720), is his 4th great-grandmother. Your common ancestor, Abraham Eastridge Estes Sr. (abt.1647-1720), is his 4th great-grandfather.

Charles Walker Poore was born in Newton, Jasper County, Iowa in 1867. Two of our Draper family branches were living in that area also. (See Mlinda Draper's story)

Farnham_Viginia_Draper_Descendants_Tour_Guide_-1-701.jpg

Charles married Emma Jane Webster (1861 - 1935) on 16 Feb 1892. They had 4 children together..

Charles Poore died March 4th in McCook, Red Willow, Nebraska

Obituray for Charles Walker Poore McCook, Nebraska newspaper 1954 November 5, 1867 - March 4, 1954

CHARLES W. POORE

Charles Walker Poore, son of Mr. and Mrs. William H. Poore, was born at Newton, Ia., Nov. 5, 1867. He died Mar 4, in McCook.

His boyhood was spent at Newton, Ia. He was 11 when his parents moved to Seward, Neb. He was married to Emma Jane Webster Feb. 16, 1892, at Seward. She died April 24, 1935.

He moved his family to McCook in April 1917, and they lived on a farm noth of the city until March 1932, when they moved to McCook. His business interests were in farming, livestock and a sale barn. He was operating a new and used furniture store at the time of his death. He was a member of the United Brethren Church at Bee, Neb., and belonged to the Masonic Lodge of McCook.

His survivors include four children, Mrs. Hulda Westerhoff of Seward, Mrs. Theda Carter, Jay Poore and Forrest Poore, all of McCook; 14 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and a brother , Frank of Lincoln.

Find a Grave

Jack Merrill Draper (1930 - 2011)

Noel Goddard contributed this letter from Jack Draper to our collection

The letter above mentions Granddad Draper who is Robert Marshall Draper picture below with his musical family!

Farnham_Viginia_Draper_Descendants_Tour_Guide_-1-720.jpg

Jack Draper's musical grandparents: Robert and Dora Draper, baby Rhoda in front car seat, Merrill Draper & Ora Imo Goddard in the back seat, James standing, Roy and Carlos sitting on running board. Rhoda was born in 1913 and is the baby Robert Draper is holding. That makes the picture taken about 1913-1914. Rhoda would marry a musician as well! See: Rhoda Shupe

PEDIGREE starting with Jack

Jack Merrill Draper (1930 - 2011) born: Chicago, died: Georgia, buried: Chattanooga TN National Cemetery
Merrill Urman Draper (1909 - 1956) born in Chicago, died Tuscon, AR, buried: South Lawn Cemetery Tucson, AR
Robert Marshall Draper (1880 - 1960) Born Kentucky, buried Arrowsmith IL Greenwood Cemetery
William H. Draper (1848 - 1918) born in Clay Co. TN, died in Kentucky, buried: Bon Ayr Methodist Church Cemetery Bon Ayr Kentucky
Unknown: Brick Wall

NOTE: While at this time we can not connect Jack Merrill Draper to Thomas Draper (1690-1735, there is a good chance his pedigree goes back to Thomas Draper. Jack Draper's great grand father was born in Clay County Tennessee, just a few miles away from Smith County, Tennessee where our Draper family were living. (Clay County is colored Yellow; Smith County is colored Red)

Obituary March 15, 2011 Chattanooga Times Free Press

RINGGOLD, GA - Jack M. Draper, 81, passed away Sunday, March 13, 2011, at a local healthcare facility.

Jack was a resident of the Chattanooga, TN, North Georgia area for over 60 years and a member of Newnan Springs United Methodist Church.

He joined the U. S. Marine Corps at age 16, served 3 years, then reenlisted with the U. S. Army serving in the 82nd Airborne Pathfinders.

Jack was a member of the VFW 4848, American Legion Post 95, and the Marine Corp League.

Levi Franklin Means 1846 - 1918

The nephew of Ira Dillingham Draper through Elizabeth Draper

Levi Frank Means was the son of Williams H. Means and Elizabeth C. Draper Means. ^[33]He was a former Wichita councilman and city commissioner.

Levi Franklin Means

Levi Franklin “Levi Frank or L F” Means

BIRTH 30 May 1846 Indiana, USA

MARRIAGES

Mary Prunty Means 1855–1912 (m. 1872)
Fannie P. Prunty Means 1866–1961 (m. 1915)

Children with Mary (No children listed with Fannie)

Arthur Clarence Means 1875–1943
Ash Means 1876–1906
Bessie Irene Means 1880–1960
Jay Means 1883–1970

DEATH 18 Jun 1918 (aged 72) Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas, USA

BURIAL Maple Grove Cemetery Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas, USA

Levi Franklin Means served one term as councilman and, when the city government was changed to the commission form nine years ago, he was the only councilman to remain as commissioner. He had been prominent in West Wichita business life for many years.

He served one term as councilman and, when the city government was changed to the commission form nine years ago, he was the only councilman to remain as commissioner. He had been prominent in West Wichita business life for many years.

Several months ago, Mr Means went to Atlanta, GA to visit his daughter, Mrs Bessie Hendryx, where he was first troubled with his heart. After several weeks, he went to Miami, FL from where he returned to Wichita. His health did not improve after his arrival here.

He died at his home, 811 West Douglas Ave, at 11:35 last night. Death was caused by heart trouble, from which he had suffered for some time. Monday, he suffered a paralytic stroke. He lived to be 72!

Franklin Means in the 1860 US Census^[34]

**Franklin Meanes in the United States Census, 1860**
Name	Sex	Age	Birth	Birth Place	Race	Relationship
William Meanes	M	52	1808	North Carolina	white	Head
Elizabeth Meanes	F	47	1813	Kentucky	White	House Keeping
Adam	M	18	1842	Indiana	White	At Home
Elias	M	18	1842	Indiana	White	At Home
Franklin	M	14	1846	Indiana	White	At Home
Rebecca	F	16	1844	Iowa	White	At Home

Ira Dillingham Draper 1814 - 1891

... ... ... was a Nebraskan.

... ... ... was involved in the westward expansion of the USA. See Pony Express.

... ... ... was a homesteader in Richardson County, Nebraska. Join the Homesteaders Project.

Ira Dillingham Draper was a pioneer in every sense of the word, a man who faced danger and adversity with courage and grace. His legacy lives on, inspiring future generations to follow in his footsteps and make their own mark on the world.

Ira became involved in the underground railway, helping escaped slaves make their way to freedom in the north.
Ira headed west to Nebraska where he homesteaded near Dawson.
His work included a government contract to deliver mail on a sub route for the Pony Express.
His children went on to establish modern day Dawson, then Sundance, Wyoming.
His grandsons, by his daughter Ruth (Draper) Barlow, became the some of biggest ranchers in Wyoming as well.

Ira Dillingham Draper

Ira Dillingham Draper

BIRTH 30 Dec 1814 , Burkesville, Cumberland, Kentucky, United States^[7]

MARRIAGE 24 Oct 1837, to Celia Means, in Shelby County, Indiana, United States.^[35]

CHILDREN

William Fountain Draper 1838–1889
Jasper Newton Draper 1841–1866
Lewis Cass Draper 1843–1866
Ruth Clark Draper 1845–1877
Cecilia Elizabeth Draper 1847–1897
Ira Alexander Draper 1849–1943
John C. Draper 1851–1928
Martha Jane Draper 1853–1928
Robert Reese Draper 1854–1941
Charles S. Draper 1857–1929
Thomas Mitchell Draper 1859–1927
Elmer Ellsworth Draper 1861–1862

DEATH 30 Sep 1891, Dawson, Richardson, Nebraska, United States.^[36]

BURIAL Starr Cemetery, Humbolt, Richardson, Nebraska, United States.^[36]

Family Life

Ira Dillingham Draper was born on a cold winter Friday in 1814. The blessed event occured on December 30th in Burkesville, Kentucky. He was the son of John Harrison Draper and Ruth (Clark) Draper. He had 9 known siblings; 3 brothers and 3 sisters. Ira's mother, sadly lost 3 infants in birth or at a very early age.^[7]

Ira Dillingham Draper's father had moved from Virginia to Burkesville, Kentucky with his wife's family in a wagon train. In Kentucky, his parents settled down, and the children started to arrive at a steady rate.

Around the year 1825, His father pulled up roots again moving from that mountainous area on west to land that was fertile and farming was lucrative in central Indiana.^[37] In that time period, Indianapolis, Indiana, was not much more than a fort. Around the year 1830, he lost his mother. Ruth died at about the age of 38.^[38] His father married Catherine Eddlemore on 19 MY 1831 in Morgan, Indiana.^[39] Ira had 7 half siblings through his father's 2nd marriage.

Ira's sadness over losing his mother was softened when he met and married Celia Means in Shelby County, Indiana on the 24th of October 1837.^[35] Ira's older brother and sister had already married into the Means family. William, had married Celia's sister, Nancy Means, in 1833.^[40] Ira's older sister, Elizabeth married William Means in 1830. ^[41] These three marriages between the Draper and Means families established a strong bond that carried down for many years.

By 1850, Ira, his wife Celia were thriving in Honey Creek Township in Clinton County, Indiana. Their 12 year marriage had produced 6 children, and William and Elizabeth (Draper) Means were living next door with their family.^[42] Their son, Ira, would be their last child born in Indiana. By 1851, the family had moved to Iowa.

Underground RailRoad

After Iowa gained state hood in 1846, the area was safer, and homesteaders were eager for the promise of land. Ira Draper moved his family to an area called Vandalia, Iowa. His son John was the first child born in Iowa in the year 1851. The family settled in, and built up a fine farm.

In the years preceding the Civil Way, there was great unrest in the country. Iowa was a Union state, and Ira's political views mirrored those, and tended towards the "extremist or radical" views of the time. Ira was an abolitionist who took action and became a "Station Master" on the Underground Railroad (UGRR). The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 ensured that runaway slaves seeking asylm in Northern states would still be viewed as "property" and would be returned to their owners.

Famous abolitionists, John Brown, and Josiah Grinnell, were working in Iowa, and could likely have enlisted Ira's help to aid runaway slaves.^[43]

Ira Draper's Farm Near Apple Grove Post Office

Route of the UGRR from Lawrence, Kansas to Iowa City, Iowa

Ira's farm in Iowa was close to the Apple Grove Post Office. The post office does not exist today, but it's location can be seen on the map on the left.^[44]^[45]^[46]

Themap on the right shows the route of the UGRR from Lawrence, Kansas to Iowa City, Iowa. Ira's farm was positioned on the route of the UGRR.^[43]

On Ira's farm, he may have converted an outhouse as a place to hide the slaves. Family oral history tells of Ira's terrified grandchild exclaming, "Grandpa is throwing black babies in the outhouse!"^[43]^[47]

In 1860, Ira and his family are found living in Camp Township, Polk, Iowa. Six of his 11 children had attended school, and this census also records the fact that Cealy, his wife, could not read or write.^[48]

Towards the end of 1864, a bounty was offered for his capture, "Wanted Dead or Alive."^[49]^[47]

Who's Who In Nebraska features Ira Dillingham Draper's son, Ira A. Draper. Notice the part where it says a bounty was offered for his father dead or alive.^[49]^[47]

Who's Who in Nebraska

Family historians believe that disgruntled Missouri slave owners funded slave catchers, bounty hunters and border ruffians to retrieve their property, and bring Ira to justice for harboring runaways.^[47] Even though Iowa was a free state, The Fugitive Slave Act made it a crime to have or harbor stolen property.

Ira and his friend, James Madison Deweese, packed their wagons and moved their families into Nebraska. It is thought that DeWeese may have also been involved in the UGRR as well. The families are connected through the marriage of their children, Robert and Ellen.

Hmmm? Where do we sleep? Not in here!

Leaving their farm in Iowa in November, around the 10th of the month, they could have followed the late afternoon sun. which set every evening in the south-west.^[11] Also, In the early mornings of November, the constellation, Orion, sets on the horizon to the south-west. Although both celestial bodies could have been a guide to them, It is believed that they used the UGRR from Des Moines, IA, to the Missouri River at Brownville, Nebraska. It is believed both families had about 25 to 30 bodies traveling together.

There was fear that the bounty hunters would catch up to them before they could cross the Missouri River near Brownville, Nebraska as it was a slow process to load the wagons on a raft and cross the river. However, there were abolitionists in the area that would provide armed protection if needed. The picture shows a method pioneers crossed rivers in the time period.

The ferry was powered by 5 to 6 oarsmen^[11]

The Dot Above Sebatha Is Where Ira Settled
UGRR Route Dawn of Day Video (citation #10)

The Draper and Deweese families settled near the Underground Railway route in Nebraska, north of Sebetha, Kansas. The Youtube video, Dawn of Day, shows a portion of the Underground Railway with locations of the Station Master's farms.^[50]

Once they arrived at their destination, the main priority was to build two "cabins of logs" quickly to survive the coming harsh Nebraskan winter. It was already November 20th. It was bone chilling cold.

The Nemaha Valley Viewed From Draper Farm

This is where both the Draper and Deweese families arrived in Nebraska. This is what they saw everyday, when looking to the south and west of their camp. Except for the power lines running along the road, this area has remained unchanged for over 150 years. The beautiful Nemaha Valley.

Life After The Civil War

After the Civil War had ended Ira made two trips back to Iowa to pack up their belongings and take them to Nebraska.^[7] A picture is included here to illustrate how difficult the trips must have been.

Photo credit: National Oregon/California
Trail Center Organizarion

In the meantime, two of Ira's sons, Jasper and Lewis Draper, were Union Soldiers that had been captured by Confederate forces. Fortunately, they were rescued as the war ended. Both sons returned to Iowa, seperatly, only to find an empty farm. They had to walk to Nebraska to find their family. Jasper and Lewis were both very sick because of the diseases they caught in the prison camps. They both died shortly after reuniting with their family. Ira sectioned off an acre of land on his farm to build a cemetery to bury his sons. The burial location is now called Starr Cemetery. There are no buildings or foundations that exist today to locate the residence of the Draper family.

Gravestone for Jasper and Lewis
Photo Credit: Dave Draper

Jasper and Lewis Draper become the first occupants of Draper Cemetery, now Starr Cemetery near Humboldt and Dawson, Nebraska. The Inscription reads: "Gone, but not forgotten." ^[51]^[52]

The Draper family loved this area of Nebraska, and went on to build fine houses on very productive farms. Here are some of the recorded events:

In 1866, Ira's father passed away. In his will, he mentioned Ira, and left him a small sum. Will Transcription^[53]

Sometime around 1866, Ira took on a government contract to carry mail between Falls City and Pawnee City, Nebraska on a sub-route for the Pony Express, the cross country mail delivery service. Ira's sons Ira A. Draper and John Draper would assist and eventually take over the route

In the 1870 census Ira (age 56) was listed as the head of household in Richardson, Nebraska, United States.^[54]

In 1875, Ira applied to homestead the 160 acres where they were living.^[55]

In the 1880 census Ira (age 66), Farmer, was the married head of household in Grant Township, Richardson, Nebraska, United States.^[56]

In the 1885 census Ira (age 71) was in Grant, Richardson, Nebraska, United States.^[57]

The years finally caught up with Ira, as old age slowed him down. He lost his wife, Celia, in November of 1886, 22 years after their escape to Nebraska. She was laid to rest in Draper (Starr) Cemetery, next to her sons, Jasper and Lewis.^[58] She lived to be 69 years of age.

After Ira Celia died, Ira went to stay with his son Thomas Mitchell Draper. The last few days of September 1891 were warmer than usual, and there is an account in the Draper Family History where Ira's granddaughter, Mabelle Estella Draper Hummel came to visit him. She says, "I can remember seeing him a few days before his death and fanning him with a newspaper as it was hot."^[7] Ira Dillingham Draper's spirit departed on the 30th. He lived to be 76 years of age.

Ira and Celia Draper are together again, resting side by side in the family plot of Draper Cemetery. Today it is called Starr Cemetery. In a visit to the cemetery in July 2021 one would have seen a tall grass and nature reclaiming the area, hiding the tombstones of the smaller Draper grave stones.

Starr Cemetery, Humbolt, Nebraska, 2021

If you visit this lonely cemetery, take a moment to stop and listen! You will here the wind still sing the love, laughter and tears of the ones who lived and died here on this hill overlooking the very beautiful Nemaha, Valley. ___Story by Dave Draper, a great great grandson of Ira Dillingham Draper and Melissa Jamison a 19th cousin, 6 times removed, to Ira Dillingham Draper and Dave Draper's10th cousin.

Newspaper Clippings

1891, Ira's Obituary^[59]
1891, Public Probate Notice^[60]
1891, Public Creditor Notice^[61]
1918, Pioneering in Richardson County^[11]
1925, Pioneer Sketch, part 1^[62]
1925, Pioneer Sketch, part 2^[63]

Links

Kansas State University video Dawn of Day.^[43]As the route was extended to Iowa City, Iowa many eagerly became involved.
The UGRR route from Lawrence, Kansas to Iowa City, Iowa was documented by Charles Leonhardt (1827-1884) who traveled the entire 300 mile UGGR route in 1860, which took over two months to complete.^[64]

Acknowledgements

Thank you!

To the living Draper family members that helped discover the story and events in this biography.
To Kansas State University for their UGRR video: Dawn of Day, which was amazingly helpful in the writing of this biography.
To the Iowa State Historical Society for their interest in this story!
Special Thanks to Melissa Jamison for her research, source finding, charts and formatting the information in this biography. This biography would not have been possible without her help and oversight!

Sources For The Ira Dillingham Story

↑ Find A Gravehttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25570844/william-f-draper
↑ History of the Draper Family by Mabelle Estella Draper Hummel
↑ The Profile of Ira Dillingham Draper https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Draper-4254
↑ History of Richardson County Nebraska https://casde.unl.edu/history/counties/richardson/dawson/ Virtual Nebraska Our Towns The Story of Noraville called Dawson
↑ WyoHistory.org https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/crook-county-wyoming
↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69003563/ira-alexander-draper: accessed 18 May 2023), memorial page for Ira Alexander Draper (21 May 1849–25 Apr 1943), Find A Grave: Memorial #69003563, citing Heim Cemetery, Dawson, Richardson County, Nebraska, USA; Maintained by Ann Atkinson (contributor 47591476).
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 ^7.2 ^7.3 ^7.4 Hummel, Mabelle Draper, History of the Draper Family, Self Published manuscript, 1963. Copy of the 25 page manuscript in the possession of David Draper (copy of manuscript passed out at family reunions)
↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69003531/elsie-amelia-draper: accessed 18 May 2023), memorial page for Elsie Amelia Libbee Draper (27 Feb 1862–28 Sep 1903), Find A Grave: Memorial #69003531, citing Heim Cemetery, Dawson, Richardson County, Nebraska, USA; Maintained by Ann Atkinson (contributor 47591476).
↑ Who's Who in Nebraska Edwards, Lewis C., Who's Who in Nebraska - Richardson, County, NEGenWeb Project, a part of the USGenWeb Project. ( http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/county/richardson/whowhorc/whowhorc.html : accessed May 3, 2023) USGenWeb.org, NEGenWeb.net
↑ The Dawson Herald, Dawson, Nebraska, 20 August 1936, Thursday, Page 12, accessed 5 May 2023) Newspapers.com database with images Accessed May 5,2023 by Melissa Jamison
↑ ^11.0 ^11.1 ^11.2 ^11.3 ^11.4 "Newspapers.com"
The Falls City Journal (Falls City, Nebraska) Tue, Jan 15, 1918, page 3
Newspapers Clip: 124248774 (accessed 8 May 2023)
↑ Kansas Memory.org; Kansas Historical Society; Link: https://www.kansasmemory.org/item/221986; accessed 14 May 2023 by Draper-4171
↑ Dawson News Boy Dawson, Nebraska • Fri, Jul 3, 1903 Page 5; accessed/clipped by Melisa Jamison Apr 26, 2023
↑ "Newspapers.com"
The Falls City Journal (Falls City, Nebraska) Fri, Oct 2, 1891, page 2
Newspapers Clip: 124251933 (accessed 8 May 2023)
↑ "Newspapers.com"
The Falls City Journal (Falls City, Nebraska) Fri, Oct 23, 1891, page 3
Newspapers Clip: 124251318 (accessed 8 May 2023)
↑ "Newspapers.com"
The Falls City Journal (Falls City, Nebraska) Fri, Dec 25, 1891, page 2
Newspapers Clip: 124251731 (accessed 8 May 2023)
↑ "Newspapers.com"
Falls City Daily News (Falls City, Nebraska) Fri, Mar 27, 1925, page 1
Newspapers Clip: 124249132 (accessed 8 May 2023)
↑ "Newspapers.com"
Falls City Daily News (Falls City, Nebraska) Fri, Mar 27, 1925, page 3
Newspapers Clip: 124249197 (accessed 8 May 2023)
↑ The Dawson Herald, Dawson, Nebraska, 20 August 1936, Thursday, Page 12 (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-dawson-herald-1936-dawson-herald-hi/123540916/ : accessed 5 May 2023) Newspapers.com database with images Accessed May 5,2023 by Melissa Jamison
↑ Source: Iowa Gazetteer Maps; Home Town Locator accessed May 5, 2023 by Dave Draper
↑ Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L7KQ-SQW
↑ Find A Grave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/43522787/robert-r-draper
↑ Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LHZD-S5Z
↑ Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LHZD-SBR
↑ Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LHZD-S1G
↑ Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LHZD-3MV
↑ Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LHZD-39H
↑ Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LHZD-3SQ
↑ Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LHZD-333
↑ The Charlie Draper Album
↑ The Falls City Journal, January 15, 1918. Robert Reece Draper's Story
↑ History of Draper Family by Mabelle Estella (Draper) Hummel
↑ The Wichita Beacon (Wichita, KS) Wed 19 June 1918
↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M822-QM4 : 18 February 2021), Franklin Meanes in entry for William Meanes, 1860. accessed by Dave Draper 06/19/2023
↑ ^35.0 ^35.1 "Indiana Marriages, 1811-2019"
citing Shelby, Indiana, United States, Marriage License, Indiana Commission on Public Records, Indianapolis; FHL microfilm 007578343.
FamilySearch Record: QV99-48Q2 (accessed 7 May 2023)
FamilySearch Image: 3QS7-L9XF-9YB Image number 00557
Ira D Draper marriage to Celia Means on 24 Oct 1837 in Shelby, Indiana, United States.
↑ ^36.0 ^36.1 Find a Grave (has image)
Find A Grave: Memorial #43522693 (accessed 7 May 2023)
Memorial page for Ira Dillingham Draper (1812-30 Sep 1891), citing Starr Cemetery, Dawson, Richardson County, Nebraska, USA; Maintained by Jeffrey Draper (contributor 47776567).
↑ This date is estimated based on the birth of their son John in Kentucky in 1821, and their son, Jesse, born in 1826 in Indiana.
↑ Date of death is an estimation based on the birth of her daughter, Eliza in 1829, and her husband's 2nd marriage date of May 1831.
↑ "Indiana Marriages, 1811-2019"
citing Morgan, Indiana, United States, Marriage License, Indiana Commission on Public Records, Indianapolis; FHL microfilm 007578353.
FamilySearch Record: QV99-QFWN (accessed 7 May 2023)
FamilySearch Image: 3QS7-99XF-WZD6 Image number 00104
John Draper marriage to Catharine Eddlemore on 19 May 1831 in Morgan, Indiana, United States.
↑ "Indiana Marriages, 1780-1992"
citing FHL microfilm: 499367; Record number: 581;
FamilySearch Record: XFX7-83V (accessed 7 May 2023)
William H Draper marriage to Nancy Means on 3 Mar 1833 in Marion, Indiana, United States.
↑ "Indiana Marriages, 1780-1992"
citing FHL microfilm: 499367; Record number: 311;
FamilySearch Record: XFX7-C6L (accessed 7 May 2023)
William Means marriage to Elizabeth C. Draper on 12 Jan 1830 in Marion, Indiana, United States.

↑ "United States Census, 1850"
citing Affiliate Publication Number: M432; Line: 40; Microfilm# 7752
FamilySearch Record: MHVV-VFS (accessed 7 May 2023)
FamilySearch Image: S3HY-DZ23-VHP
Ira Draper (35) in Clinton, Indiana, United States. Born in Kentucky.

Name	Sex	Age	Occupation	Birth Place
Ira Draper	M	35 years	Farmer	Kentucky
Cela Draper	F	31 years		North Carolina
William Draper	M	11 years		Indiana
Jasper N Draper	M	9 years		Indiana
James C Draper	M	7 years		Indiana
Ruth C Draper	F	5 years		Indiana
Selah E Draper	F	3 years		Indiana
Ira Draper	M	1 years		Indiana

↑ ^43.0 ^43.1 ^43.2 ^43.3 Dawn of Day: Stories from the Underground Railroad; K-State College of Education; YouTube video; Link: Dawn of Day; accessed 13 May 2013 by Dave Draper
↑ The Dawson Herald, Dawson, Nebraska, 20 August 1936, Thursday, Page 12 (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-dawson-herald-1936-dawson-herald-hi/123540916/ : accessed 5 May 2023) Newspapers.com database with images Accessed May 5,2023 by Melissa Jamison
↑ Iowa Gazetteer Maps; Home Town Locator accessed May 5, 2023 by Dave Draper
↑ mindate.org accessed 14 April 2023 by Dave Draper
↑ ^47.0 ^47.1 ^47.2 ^47.3 Draper, Charlie, Family Scrapbook, compiled by Charlie Draper containing photos, newspaper clippings, and other family memorabilia. In 2023, the collection is in the possession of David Draper

↑ "United States Census, 1860"
citing Page: 107; Affiliate Publication Number: M653; Affiliate Film Number: 338; FHL microfilm: 803338; Record number: 10568;
FamilySearch Record: M82L-CC8 (accessed 8 May 2023)
FamilySearch Image: 33SQ-GB9F-QCP9 Image number 00277
I D Draper (45) in Camp Township, Polk, Iowa, United States. Born in Kentuckey.

Name	Sex	Age	Occupation	Birth Place
I D Draper	M	45	Farmer	Kentuckey
Sely Draper	F	43		N. C.
William F Draper	M	22	Farmer	Indiana
J N Draper	M	19	Farmer	Indiana
L C Draper	M	17	Farmer	Indiana
R C Draper	F	15		Indiana
S E Draper	F	13		Indiana
J A Draper	M	11		Indiana
J C Draper	M	9		Iowa
M J Draper	F	7		Iowa
R R Draper	M	5		Iowa
Charles S Draper	M	3		Iowa
T M Draper	M	1		Iowa

↑ ^49.0 ^49.1 Edwards, Lewis C., Who's Who in Nebraska - Richardson, County, NEGenWeb Project, a part of the USGenWeb Project. ( http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/county/richardson/whowhorc/whowhorc.html : accessed May 3, 2023) USGenWeb.org, NEGenWeb.net
↑ Mercer, Debbie K. "Dawn of Day: Stories From the Underground Railroad" College of Education, Kansas State University, Produced by Rusty Earl, (Dawn of Day : accessed 8 May 2023) Uploaded by K-State College of Education on May 17, 2016 Youtube.com
↑ Find a Grave (has image)
Find A Grave: Memorial #43522714 (accessed 8 May 2023)
Memorial page for Jasper Newton Draper (8 Apr 1841-26 Jan 1867), citing Starr Cemetery, Dawson, Richardson County, Nebraska, USA; Maintained by Jeffrey Draper (contributor 47776567).
↑ Find a Grave (has image)
Find A Grave: Memorial #43522752 (accessed 8 May 2023)
Memorial page for Lewis C Draper (16 Apr 1843-28 Jul 1866), citing Starr Cemetery, Dawson, Richardson County, Nebraska, USA; Maintained by Jeffrey Draper (contributor 47776567).
↑ "Indiana, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1798-1999"
Record of Wills, 1824-1939; Author: Marion County (Indiana). Circuit Court Clerk
Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 9045 #2990913 (accessed 8 May 2023)
Ira D Draper probate in 1865-1876.

↑ "United States Census, 1870"
citing Page: 2; Affiliate Publication Number: M593; Line: 11; FHL microfilm: 000552331; Record number: 10628;
FamilySearch Record: MHD7-V9Y (accessed 8 May 2023)
FamilySearch Image: S3HT-DY4Q-742 Image number 00278
Ira D Draper (56) head of household in Richardson, Nebraska, United States. Born in Kentucky.

Name	Sex	Age	Occupation	Birth Place
Ira D Draper	M	56	Farmer	Kentucky
Celia Draper	F	54	Keeping House	North Carolina
Ira A Draper	M	21	Farm Laborer	Indiana
John C Draper	M	19	Farm Laborer	Iowa
Jane Draper	F	16	At Home	Iowa
Robert R Draper	M	15	At Home	Iowa
Charles S Draper	M	12	At Home	Iowa
Thomas M Draper	M	10	At Home	Iowa

↑ U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Land Office, Beatrice, Document Nr: 2119, Ira D. Draper, Issue date, 1 July 1875, 160 Acres in Richardson, NE, Townshipo 2N, Range 14E, Section 8. (Patent Details and Map and Image : accessed 8 May 2023) https://glorecords.blm.gov/

↑ "United States Census, 1880"
citing enumeration district , sheet , NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm .
FamilySearch Record: M8YK-LY5 (accessed 8 May 2023)
FamilySearch Image: 33S7-9YBN-9X9C Image number 00800
Jrie D Dreaper (66), married, Farmer, head of household in Grant Township, Richardson, Nebraska, United States. Born in Virginia, United States.

Name	Sex	Age	Status	Relation	Occupation	Birth Place
Ira D. Draper	M	66	Married	Head	Farmer	Virginia, United States
Ceilie Draper	F	58	Married	Wife	Keeping House	Virginia, United States

↑ "Nebraska State Census, 1885"
citing Page: 15; Line: 41;
FamilySearch Record: X3FH-XJ4 (accessed 8 May 2023)
FamilySearch Image: 939N-8Z9T-KV
Ira D Draper (71) in Grant, Richardson, Nebraska, United States.

Name	Relation	Sex	Age	Occupation	Birth Place
Ira D Draper		M	71	Farmer	Kentucky
Celia Draper	Wife	F	69	Keeps House	North Carolina
Thos Draper	Son	M	20	Farmer	Iowa
Elmer Matter	Grandchild	M	19	Laborer	Nebraska

↑ Find a Grave (has image)
Find A Grave: Memorial #43522555 (accessed 8 May 2023)
Memorial page for Celia Elizabeth Means Draper (17 Jun 1817-12 Nov 1886), citing Starr Cemetery, Dawson, Richardson County, Nebraska, USA; Maintained by Jeffrey Draper (contributor 47776567).
↑ "Newspapers.com"
The Falls City Journal (Falls City, Nebraska) Fri, Oct 2, 1891, page 2
Newspapers Clip: 124251933 (accessed 8 May 2023)
↑ "Newspapers.com"
The Falls City Journal (Falls City, Nebraska) Fri, Oct 23, 1891, page 3
Newspapers Clip: 124251318 (accessed 8 May 2023)
↑ "Newspapers.com"
The Falls City Journal (Falls City, Nebraska) Fri, Dec 25, 1891, page 2
Newspapers Clip: 124251731 (accessed 8 May 2023)
↑ "Newspapers.com"
Falls City Daily News (Falls City, Nebraska) Fri, Mar 27, 1925, page 1
Newspapers Clip: 124249132 (accessed 8 May 2023)
↑ "Newspapers.com"
Falls City Daily News (Falls City, Nebraska) Fri, Mar 27, 1925, page 3
Newspapers Clip: 124249197 (accessed 8 May 2023)
↑ Kansas Memory.org; Kansas Historical Society; Link: https://www.kansasmemory.org/item/221986; accessed 14 May 2023 by Draper-4171

Newspaper Articles

Melissa Jamison found all these articles for our family to enjoy!

Hi Dave, (From Melissa Jamison)

I searched Newspaper.com for you and found some articles you might be able to use. You might also have these, but in that case, this could give you a more complete citation to use.

http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/county/richardson/whowhorc/whowhorc.html This is the Who's Who in Nebraska paper full page

The first one is a huge article published in the Dawson Herald in 1936. It was a historical edition about the history of Dawson and Noraville. The article started on page 5 of the Newspaper and was 42 pages long. (Page 7 and 46 were omitted since they were only advertisements) The Drapers weren't mentioned on all pages, but they are scattered throughout, so I made sure to make clipping of the entire article for you. I started on page 5 since that was the page of the newspaper, but it was the first page of the article

Page 5 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 5
Newspapers Clip: 123561928 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 6 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 6
Newspapers Clip: 123561991 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 7 - Advertisements - Skipped
Page 8 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, *Aug 20, 1936, page 8
Newspapers Clip: 123541660 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 9 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 9
Newspapers Clip: 123541694 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 10 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 10
Newspapers Clip: 123562152 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 11 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 11
Newspapers Clip: 123562187 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 12 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 12
Newspapers Clip: 123540916 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 13 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 13
Newspapers Clip: 123562246 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 14 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 14
Newspapers Clip: 123562265 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 15 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 15
Newspapers Clip: 123562281 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 16 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 16
Newspapers Clip: 123562313 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 17 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 17
Newspapers Clip: 123562341 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 18 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 18
Newspapers Clip: 123562367 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 19 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 19
Newspapers Clip: 123562412 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 20 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 20
Newspapers Clip: 123562439 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 21 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 21
Newspapers Clip: 123562473 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 22 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 22
Newspapers Clip: 123562511 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 23 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 23
Newspapers Clip: 123562558 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 24 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 24
Newspapers Clip: 123562585 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 25 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 25
Newspapers Clip: 123562625 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 26 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 26
Newspapers Clip: 123562720 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 27 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 27
Newspapers Clip: 123562848 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 28 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 28
Newspapers Clip: 123562865 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 29 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 29
Newspapers Clip: 123562883 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 30 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 30
Newspapers Clip: 123562923 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 31 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 31
Newspapers Clip: 123562946 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 32 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 32
Newspapers Clip: 123562965 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 33 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 33
Newspapers Clip: 123563004 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 34 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 34
Newspapers Clip: 123563052 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 35 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 35
Newspapers Clip: 123563075 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 36 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 36
Newspapers Clip: 123563118 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 37 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 37
Newspapers Clip: 123563138 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 38 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 38
Newspapers Clip: 123563224 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 39 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 39
Newspapers Clip: 123563279 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 40 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 40
Newspapers Clip: 123563305 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 41 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 41
Newspapers Clip: 123563330 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 42 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 42
Newspapers Clip: 123563345 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 43 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 43
Newspapers Clip: 123563436 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 44 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 44
Newspapers Clip: 123563519 (accessed 26 April 2023)
Page 45 Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Aug 20, 1936, page 45
Newspapers Clip: 123563528 (accessed 26 April 2023)

Here is Ira A. Draper's Birthday Announcements: 82nd Birthday: Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, May 21, 1931, page 1
Newspapers Clip: 123565533 (accessed 26 April 2023) 90th Birthday Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, May 25, 1939, page 1
Newspapers Clip: 123565464 (accessed 26 April 2023)

Ira A. Draper mentioned in Newspaper: Watches Motorcade Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Jul 30, 1931, page 1
Newspapers Clip: 123541186 (accessed 26 April 2023)

Ira A. Draper's Obituary: Obituary Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
The Dawson Herald (Dawson, Nebraska) Thu, Apr 29, 1943, page 1
Newspapers Clip: 123540794 (accessed 26 April 2023)

Biography of Robert Draper (brother Ira mentioned) Robert Draper Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
Dawson News Boy (Dawson, Nebraska) Sat, Jan 23, 1897, page 1
Newspapers Clip: 123575111 (accessed 26 April 2023)

2 Articles on 1 page, Ira replacing sidewalk at Church, and Ira volunteering to help restore cemetery Volunteer work Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
Dawson News Boy (Dawson, Nebraska) Fri, Jun 21, 1907, page 4
Newspapers Clip: 123578907 (accessed 26 April 2023)

Advertisement for Maker of Violins Advertisement: Citation: * "Newspapers.com"
Dawson News Boy (Dawson, Nebraska) Fri, Jul 3, 1903, page 5
Newspapers Clip: 123579258 (accessed 26 April 2023)

These are just a few, there are probably hundreds of mentions in the Dawson papers regarding members of the Draper family. Little society tidbits about school and who visited who, sickness, etc. I can clip these for you if you wish. I could help create a free space page to organize them all in one place, the amount of clippings are really overwhelming, lol. The ones I've added here, mention Ira, but if you need others, let me know.

DRAPER FAMILY HISTORIANS & GENEALOGISTS

Frank and Mabelle Estella Draper Hummel 1881-1963

Wedding Photo

50th Anniversary Photo

Frank Everette Hummel^[83]^[84]

BIRTH 13 Sep 1883 Dawson County, Nebraska, USA

DEATH 28 Apr 1974 (aged 90) Milk River, Lethbridge Census Division, Alberta, Canada

BURIAL Milk River Cemetery Milk River, Lethbridge Census Division, Alberta, Canada

Quoted from the book: Under Eight Flags^[85]

"Frank Everette Hummel was raised and educated in Nebraska. Frank was one of nine children born to Wesley and Helen (Burr) Hummel. Wesley was the son of Christian Hummel, who came from Germany in the mid 1800's and became a minister of the first Evangelical Church in Illinois. Wesley went to fight in the Civil War when he was sixteen, then farmed in Nebraska, then retired in Oklahoma.

His mother, Hellen (Burr) Hummel came to Nebraska by covered wagon when she was 3 years old. Mabelle Estella Draper Hummel's father was also a farmer, Robert Reece Draper and her mother Ellen Deweese Draper and Frank's mother both taught school before they were married.

Frank and Mabelle had 7 children, five who were born in Nebraska, and two born in Canada. Around 1915 (or 1916) land agents came to Nebraska selling land much cheaper than it was there (Nebraska). Dad (Frank) had a contract to buy a quarter section of land in Milk River, sight unseen. A neighbor friend, the town banker and Dad (Frank) each bought a quarter section in the same section,...Dad (Frank) entered the country by immigrant train. His part consisted of two cars containing some twenty horses, cattle, some farm machinery and a beautiful surrey they were extremely proud of. The total was roughly appraised at ten thousand dollars at the Coutts entry point.

Mother (Mabelle Hummel), her brother,Frank Draper, and we four children came by train.....(page 940)... "When we arrived on the twenty-third of March there was a Chinook wind blowing. We were not use to this and by the time we arrived home by horse and buggy, we were all very cold, Next door to Dad's (Frank Hummel) quarter of land was the Equitable Farm with Mr. C.C. Stover as manager. It was in one of these houses...where we lived, (a chicken coop).... I don't know where the chickens were put. They did not live with us but we always said we lived in the chicken coop!"

The book goes on to state that Frank and Mabelle moved into town after selling the farm to their son, Bob Hummel, and retired and began to travel to every state, including Hawaii.

Frank's wife, Mabelle, then started writing the "Draper Family History".^[86] Thank you, Frank and Mabelle! (from all the living descendants of the Ira Dillingham Draper families)

Editor's note: (Publishing Under Eight Flags has been a community project... It is the hope of the Historical Society that this history will not gather dust on forsaken shelves...")

The Compilers: Draper Families in America

Farnham_Viginia_Draper_Descendants_Tour_Guide_-1-305.jpg

The Compilers of Draper Families In America, The Parthenon Press, Nashville, Tennessee, Dated 1963

Ethel Nichols Anderson
Mrs. Willie Howard Draper Huddleston
Christine Spivey Jones
Dr. Eleanor Drake Mitchell
Mildred Draper Summers

Christine Spivey Jones was named Tennessee Reference Librarian and Special Collections Librarian. She retired January 5, 2008, after serving 59 years, thereby ending the longest faculty tenure in the history of Tennessee Technological University.

In her work as Special Collections Librarian, she provided reference assistance in history and genealogy. In connection with this, she helped many individuals from various places who were tracing their families or doing historical research in the Upper Cumberland. By providing this help, she became widely known for her expertise.

She and three close friends, Dr. Eleanor D. Mitchell, Mrs. Mildred Draper Summers and Mrs. Willie Howard Huddleston started combining their research on the Draper family with Mrs. Ethel Nichols Anderson of Lexington, Kentucky and eventually wrote an exhaustive genealogy, Draper Families in America, containing 514 pages, which was published in 1964 by Parthenon Press, Nashville, Tennessee. Complete Obituary

NOTE: A Letter from Jim Draper:

Dear Draper Family,

The book Draper Families in America was given to me by my brother, but I think it was in my father's collection. My brother says it was commissioned by my Grandfather Robert Garland Draper, a lawyer from Gainesboro, Tenn, but who mostly practiced in Memphis where I was born. It is 400+ pages tracing the descendants of Thomas Draper b. 1725 (other sources b. 1733) but not his siblings, whom you are descended from. Looks like it was current through about 1955, the year my youngest sister was born. She has been pencilled into the book by someone, so that is my clue about just how far into the 20th century the book documents.

In those days, the compiler's only tools as far as sources were family written records (especially family bibles), mail and telephone. It must have been an incredibly laborious task to track down and document all of that data. For instance, their sources listed after the section on my G Grandfather William Wallace Draper are: "Bible records of W. W. Draper in possession of Miss Mary T. Draper, Records given Oct. 7, 1928 by Miss Mary T. Draper". That type of sourcing is very typical throughout the book. In the book's Forward, it states that the four compilers had been gathering family information for almost ten years even before they got together with Mrs. Anderson (chief compiler). She had for more than forty years been compiling the records of families that form the body of this book-- information that nowadays can mostly be obtained with a few hours of screen time! The Forward also mentioned that "all traces of the families of Sarah, Catherine, and William have been completely lost", but with more modern methods, we have uncovered a considerable number of details of these descendants. Again, our job is so much easier these days.

There are also probably many inaccuracies that have been corrected with more data in later years. For instance, the book states that my G Grandmother Julia Doyle (nee Fitzgibbons, Robert Garland Draper's mother-in-law) was from "the old Shelby County Tennessee families of the Doyles and Fitzgibbons". But mine and my cousin's research indicate they arrived fresh off the boat from Ireland, Julia being born practically on the docks! They were probably refugees from the Irish Potato Famine. But all in all, this book is a great resource and I'm lucky to have it.

Contributed by Jim & Rori Draper 1/22/2023

Robert Kermon Thomasson 1936 - 2021

Meet Robert Kermon Thomasson: Draper - Thomasson Famiily Historian

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Robert Kermon Thomasson's first five years of education took place in a one-room school in Figsboro, Va. Later, in 1954, he graduated from John D. Bassett High School, then received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education from Bridgewater College in 1958. Following graduation, he taught two years of high school in Manassas, Va., then he entered Brethren Volunteer Service and was assigned to teach in the Brethren-sponsored school in Waka, Nigeria. He remained in Nigeria for thirteen years as a missionary and teacher. He taught history, geography and English.

Following his missionary service in Nigeria, Kermon returned to the United States and began a long tenure on the staff of the Church of the Brethren, headquartered in Elgin, Illinois. He served as a writer and illustrator for Brethren publications, exhibits and books, until he became editor of the denominational magazine, MESSENGER. His tenure on the denominational staff spanned from 1974 until 1998 when he retired to live at his parental homeplace in Henry County, a Southern style home affectionately known as "Old Shady Grove."

Kermon had many interests and talents. His artistic ability was particularly renowned and one of his favorite books he illustrated was "Brethren Brush with Greatness," authored by Frank Ramirez.

Kermon was passionate about genealogy and historical vignettes, many of which he penned for a regular series of articles in the Martinsville Bulletin. He also organized the annual reunions of the Draper and Thomasson families for many years. He had a particular interest in US presidential history and data. A little known fact about his loyalty to friends was manifest in his continued patronage for a lifelong college-formed singing group known as the Wardo Quintet. Kermon was their "manager," arranging places for them to perform long after their association in college.

Kermon's smile and sense of humor endeared him to his many friends and family. It was always a pleasure to receive a card or letter from him, for not only would your address be lettered with beautiful calligraphy, but his anecdotes about his activities and news were skillfully laced with artful descriptions, making the prose flow with anticipation and amusement.

But what you didn’t know was that he was fan of Mad Magazine and has a complete collection! Sadly, Kemon passed away in July of 2021 and did not get to see this issue.

This is for you Kermon!

Robert Kermon Thomasson passed away at his home in Martinsville, Va., July 12, 2021, as a result of a major stroke. Born February 6, 1936, he was the son of the late Posie and Ruth (Draper) Thomason, and he was quite proud of his Henry County origins. The majority of his life was spent in serving the Church of the Brethren as a missionary and denominational leader.

Charles Maynard Draper 1934 - 2017

Meet Charley Draper: Draper Family Genealogist and Historian

Wedding picture August 1, 1953

Charles Maynard Draper

BIRTH 19 Aug 1934 Verdon, Richardson County, Nebraska, USA

MARRIAGE Aug. 1, 1953 to He Norma Jean Everett in Urbana. Illinois, United States

DEATH 27 Jan 2017 (aged 82) Urbana, Champaign County, Illinois, USA

BURIAL Woodlawn Cemetery Urbana, Champaign County, Illinois, USA

Charles Maynard Draper came into this world in Verdon, Neb., on Sept. 19, 1934, a son of Fred R. and Virgine M. Robbins Draper. He married Norma Jean Everett on Aug. 1, 1953, in Urbana. She preceded him in death on Nov. 17, 2009. They had no children but counted several as their own, having provided child care in their home for many years.

Mr. Draper attended primary school in Nebraska, one year at Abingdon (Illinois) High School and graduated from Champaign High School.

He was employed by the Sears Roebuck Company, starting in Champaign in 1960 and was transferred to the Sears store in Galesburg.

After leaving Sears, he sold insurance with Country Companies, sold oil products and worked for Larry Skinner in Abingdon.

He returned to the Champaign area in 1985 and worked for Sholem Shoes, and then for the University of Illinois as a custodian, retiring in 1997.

He was a sergeant with the Illinois National Guard from 1954 to 1960.

Following his retirement, he and his wife enjoyed many years together selling their crafts and leather goods as vendors at flea markets, especially at Gordyville, the Spoon River Festival and the farmers' market in Urbana.

Mr. Draper owned and operated his own business called Urban Leather and custom-made many items for friends, family and customers including belts, gun holsters, phone cases and key fobs.

He also loved genealogy and researching his family tree. When looking through all of his files, we found many emails where he was corresponding with Kermon Thomasson featured above.

His aunt was Mabelle Estella Draper Hummel Draper family genealogist who is listed above. Unlike, Mabelle, Charlie concentrated on trying to find his ancestors, collected newspaper articles and family pictures.

He loved a good joke and teasing his many "girlfriends." He and his wife loved playing bingo at several local establishments and wherever they vacationed.

Dave Draper 1952 - Still Kicking

Meet your host! Dave Draper, the proverbial NUT on your family tree!

Dave Draper's ancestors stopped by to visit on October 31, 2021 at The Home Depot in Normal Illinois. You can tell they are related as they are all missing a front right tooth! It's a heredity thing!.

Dave Draper owned and operated Draper The Signmaker, a "maw and paw" sign shop which was in business from the early 1980's to 2010. He also created a another business to build signs for other sign shops, called Monumental Designs. Changing times and a deep recession tanked the family business . After that, Dave went to work for another sign shop, which also bankrupted. It was a bad time for sign shops! When he turned 62, he retired, and got a great "retirement" job at The Home Depot, in Normal, IL.

Dave has played the piano from a little kid, writing and preforming songs in High School and then producing a full album called Song Painter which consisted of 12 original songs about the life and times of sign painters. Dave wrote and performed 3 songs on this album.

In 2023 an original song was released called "Pray Anytime" but there was no sheet music available. Dave wrote an unauthorized arrangement and posted it on YouTube to help others learn the song. You can hear his arrangement here: Pray Anytime (arrangement by Dave Draper)

The following is a childhood story that appears on his WikiTree profile page: Dave's WikiTree Profile Page

Blond Beauty & The Wild Ride (A childhood story I never told, until now!) I grew up in Abingdon, Illinois, a small mid-western town where everybody knew each other. On a warm summer evening, in the early 60's, we could rig up a "Cherry Bomb" or "M-80" firecracker, with a cigarette inserted over the fuse, pull out the flick lighter, and make it across town before we heard the explosion.

My dad worked at the Abingdon Pottery, and every weekend in the summer, we would take our boat to the Mississippi River, water ski, swim and camp on the sandbar beach in the middle of the "Mighty Missasip!"

But the best time was "vacation time", which would come in the first week of July. We would head to Missouri, to the house my mom grew up in. From the base point of my grandfather's farm, we could easily visit her brother's farm we called "Uncle Jim's"

Keep this in mind, I am a small town boy, with absolutely no understanding of the dangers of life on a farm. My cousins, Uncle Jim's kids, were a little older and suggested we all go horse back riding. They saddled up three mares for themselves and my older brother, and one Palomino stallion for me. I could feel there was some tension between me and the horse. He was an elegant horse, but when his eyes met mine, I got the feeling he was upset with me. From the perspective of a 10 year old, he looked as tall as a giraffe!

But, the stallion was not upset with me. One of the mares was in heat. The scent was driving the Palomino stallion crazy. He jumped up on the hind side of the mare, while I was sitting on the saddle. A change of plan was called for. My cousins and my brother put me in a fenced in lot to ride the horse, unsupervised, on a stallion who's penis extended almost to the ground and looked like a tree limb! I never saw anything like that before. My older brother and my cousins would ride in the field next to the lot I was in. But they didn't. They disappeared over the hill.

In this lot, where my cousins decided would be a safe place for me to ride, a 10 year old, who had never been on a horse before, was filled with farm machinery. There was a barbed wire fence that separated my horse and the mare he wanted to "hump"! There was a well worn dirt path running along the fence, made by the horses kept in this lot to graze. Next to the path was a row of evenly spaced hedge trees, with low branches. In between each of these ugly trees were plows, with steel disks that could cut a person in half, a harrow with sharp spikes sticking up that look like a bed of huge nails, a bailer, an elevator and rusty stuff you would find in a mid-evil torture chamber!

The stallion would not let me control it, even if I knew how. He galloped up and down the 40 yard long lot, on the dirt path, next to the barbed wire fence, under the low tangled limbs of the ugly trees with farming implements nestled between. The barbed wire fence would scrape the skin off my right leg, and on the return trip, the other leg.

I still remember the terror every time I see a horseback rider, even 60 years later. Blood was running into my eyes as my scalp was torn open from those tree branches. My back looked like that of an unfortunate slave who's master beat him with a whip! My shirt was bloody and ripped to shreds. Blood was running down my legs into my socks, torn open by the barbed wire.

I tried to work out a plan of escape, but the stallion, would reach the end of the lot, turn around and stampede like a rocket back to the other end. I was trapped. I looked down at the barbed wire fence on the one side and the steel plow disks and torture chamber of horrors on the other side that I would land on if I jumped off. I pushed my face into the stallions neck and held on to his mane. The rhythm of the gallop would force my back up into the tree limbs on evenly spaced intervals.

After what seemed like an eternity, for some reason, he stopped, and stared towards the hill. He must have heard my cousins coming back. I jumped off at the end of the lot, fell on my face in the dirt which stuck to the blood, and barely got my foot out of the stirrup not a moment too soon, as he bolted to the other end of the lot again. I came very close to being drug down that path with my foot caught in rigging. What saved me was my PF Flyers (shoes) were untied, my shoe came off, and went for one last ride up the fence line, and fell off.

I turned over on my back and passed out.

Then next thing I remember was being nudged in the side several times. I opened my eyes and the stallion's nose was right in my face. Then this huge tongue protruded and in one pass over my face, it was clean, but slimy. I remember saying to the horse, "This wasn't good for me!" He nudged me in the side again, as if to say, "Get up!" His eyes met mine and we bonded. I believe he was genuinely concerned about me. But it only lasted for a second. His head jerked up and his ears twitched forward, he gazed to the hill in the distance, and bolted up the fence line.

I remember it was a long walk up to the house. I could barely walk at all. I was missing a shoe and I had to poop! So I did! One of the farm dogs ran up as I was taking a dump, sniffed it, and then ate the turd! I never seen that before either. I never let that dog lick me again!

The look I got from Uncle Jim, my aunt and my parents face as I limbered up to the house was as if they had seen a bloody monster coming at them. They cleaned me up, and when they were finished, I looked like the "Mummy" in another horror movie, totally wrapped up in gauze. Then the look on my brother and cousin's faces was the second best thing ever. I looked like a little angry monster mummy running at them that was going to kill them, and I probably would have tried, but my parents dragged me back in the house. I could hear uncle Jim screaming at them out by the barn. I loved it! They also found my shoe.

We stayed the night at uncle Jim's. They put me in the featherbed upstairs. The following morning, I was awakened by the rooster crowing and I thought to my self, "Who gets up this early? It's 5am for God's sake!" I could see a faint light, hear family chatter downstairs and the smell of bacon sizzling on the stove. However, I had sunk to the bottom of the featherbed and it had encapsulated me like the BLOB in another horror film of the same name.

We packed the car to leave that morning, and I saw the stallion at the fence looking at me. He was truly a creation of God given beauty. He had a name that I can't recall, but I called him "Blond Beauty", a take off on "Black Beauty", another movie I loved. As I walked over to the fence where he was standing, my mom screamed out in terror! "Davy! Get Back!" I turned and said to her, "It's all good, mom. We're friends!"

I barely got to say goodbye to that horse, as my dad picked me up and threw me in the car! As we drove away, I looked out the rear view window. "Blond Beauty's" eyes and mine stayed focused on each other, until we reached the end of the lane, and disappeared in the Missouri hills.

But, now as I write this and remember back, I don't recall seeing that horse ever again. What I do remember: It was the best vacation EVER!

___Story by Dave Draper

DRAPER FAMOUS PEOPLE CONNECTIONS

UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS

Leslie Lynch (King) Ford Jr. (1913-2006) 5th cousin 1 time removed (McGinness)
John Calvin Coolidge Jr. (1872-1933) 8th cousin 3 times removed (McGinness)
Bill (Blythe) Clinton III 9th cousin 2 times removed (Draper)
Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908-1973) 17th cousin 1 time removed (Draper)
George Washington (1732-1799) 16th cousin 7 times removed (Draper)
William Henry Harrison(1773-1841) 16th cousin 7 times removed (Draper)
Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901) 18th cousin 5 times removed (Draper)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) 19th cousin 4 times removed (Draper)
John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) 19th cousin 4 times removed (Draper)
Barack Obama Jr. 18th cousin 7 times removed (McGinness & Draper)
James Madison Jr. (1751-1836) 19th cousin 6 times removed (Draper)
William Howard Taft (1857-1930) 21st cousin 2 times removed (Draper)
Stephen Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) 21 cousin 2 times removed (Draper)
George Herbert Walker Bush (1924-2018) 22nd cousin 1 time removed (Draper)
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) 20th cousin 5 times removed (Draper)
Zachary Taylor (1784-1850) 20th cousin 5 times removed (Draper)
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (1858-1919) 22nd cousin 1 time removed (Draper)
George Bush 23rd cousin
Franklin Pierce (1804-1869) 20th cousin 6 times removed (Draper)
James Buchanan Jr. (1791-1868) 21st cousin 4 times removed (Draper)
John Tyler (1790-1862) 22nd cousins 3 times removed (Draper)
Richard Milhous Nixon (1913-1994) 23rd cousin 1 time removed (Draper)
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) 23rd cousins 2 times removed (Draper)
Warren Gamaliel Harding (1865-1923) 23rd cousin 2 times removed (Draper)
Hiram Ulysses Grant (1822-1885) 21st cousin 7 times removed (McGinness)
Herbert Clark Hoover (1874-1964) 24th cousin once removed (Draper)
Jimmy Carter Jr. 24th cousin once removed (Draper)
51 generations Find Relationship Harry S Truman (1884-1972)
Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822-1893) Your 24th cousin once removed (Draper

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

The MAYFLOWER Connections

Picture and condensed story from Wikipedia

MAYFLOWER PASSENGERS related to Draper or McGuiness

James Chilton (1556-1620) Dave Draper is 10th great grandson (McGinness)
Elinora More (bef.1612-abt.1621) 11th cousin 12 times removed (McGinness)
Jasper More (bef.1613-1620) 11th cousin 12 times removed (McGinness)
Mary More (bef.1616-abt.1621) 11th cousin 12 times removed (McGinness)
Richard More Sr. (bef.1614-bef.1696) 11th cousin 12 times removed (McGinness)
Agnes (Cooper) Tilley (bef.1585-1621) 13th cousin 12 times removed (Draper)
Henry Samson (bef.1604-1684) 14th cousin 11 times removed (Draper)
Humility Cooper (abt.1619-bef.1651) 14th cousin 11 times removed (Draper)
Katherine (White) Carver (abt.1574-1621) 16th cousin 9 times removed (Draper)

"Mayflower" passengers John Howland and his wife Elizabeth Tilley Howland were married in 1623, two years after the Mayflower arrived in America. Their great grandson marries into the Draper family.

Thomas Draper (late 1680-1735) daughter Judith married Perez Chipman (pronounced Paris);
- John Howland is Perez Chipman's Great Grandfather

Richard Warren (1583 - 1628) was Perez Chipman's great great grandfather.

Samuel Fuller's bef. 1580 - 1633) son, Samuel Fuller Jr. (abt. 1629 - 1695) marries Elizabeth (Nichols) Fuller (abt. 1637 - 1713) in 1665. This family is the ancestors of Wyatt Earp's family, who is Veda Eby Draper's cousin and family. Veda Eby marries Joe Draper, a direct descendant of Thomas and Sarah Toone? Draper

History: The Speedwell and the Mayflower journey started in July 1620 as the two ships were to meet before crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Leaks in the Speedwell caused delays. They finally set sail August 5,1620, but after traveling 200 miles had to return to Plymouth, England to repair more leaks in the Speedwell which would be abandoned. The Mayflower took on 20 of the Speedwell's passengers, while others gave up and returned to their homes in Holland. By now the passengers had been stuck on the boat for almost two months.

The Mayflower set sail again in September of 1620, low on provisions, as the passengers had consumed much of the supplies between July and September while they had to live on the ship. The first part of the trip was smooth sailing. Violent weather set in and the sails were lowered and the boat drifted. One passenger was killed, and John Howland was washed overboard. He was rescued when a rope was thrown to him, and he caught it!

The Mayflower was forced to set anchor in late November at Provincetown Harbor. The passengers had been on the boat for 5 months! They were not happy! A Mayflower Compact was drawn up and all crew and passengers, Pilgrims and non Pilgrims, called "Strangers", had to sign and forced to obey the rules for their survival. To maintain control the passengers were constantly threatened to remember "This is God's will and He will protect us!" Excommunication would be the fate of dissenters! By spring of 1621, only 53 of the Mayflower's crew and passengers were still alive as the rest had suffered an outbreak of disease. The harsh winter winter forced everyone to live on the Mayflower until March of 1621.

WYATT EARP Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp

THE DRAPER FAMILY CONNECTS TO WYATT EARP THREE DIFFERENT WAYS:

1st: through Thomas Draper Sr. 1690-1735 through his daughter Mary Ann Draper Palmer
- Run WikiTree Connection Finder : Earp-113 to Draper-722

2nd: through Joe Draper's wife Veda Eby Draper connection: Joseph Draper is the 5th great grandson of Thomas Draper 1690-1735
- Run WikiTree Connection Finder: Earp-113 to Eby-1144

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3rd: The Earp family lived at the same time and in the same area as the Draper family, in Jasper and Marion County, Iowa, from 1850 to 1864. There are Draper and Earp burials in both Jasper and Marion County, Iowa, which are side by side. Two branches of the Draper family lived in that area. (see Malinda Draper's story above)

ORIGINAL SONGS & Poems

We have become aware that there were several members in our different Draper branches that were given the gift of music. Some of their music was even published! Our hope is that one day our families will see this section and bring these songs to our attention, so we can share them here.

Noel Goddard shared this photo with me (Dave Draper) February 9, 2023 of Robert Marshall Draper and his family posing with their guitar and banjo. Robert and Dora Mae Draper were visiting their family in Indiana in 1914 when this picture was taken. They traveled all over to enter "Old Fiddlers" contests or events!

Please see the story that Jack M. Draper (1930- 2011) left us! Jack Draper's Story

I love My Pedigree

See below for entire song verses

(The song starts with the chorus:)

I love my pedigree. Those in my family
Just stop and take a look! We're in the history books!
I love my pedigree! My family history
Our genealogy. It's all on WikiTree!

(First verse)

Ole Halller was an engineer. Royal Rosco went to jail
He's buried in the prison yard Some say that it was hell!
Clarintha rode her horse As cannon fire reigned down!
William went out West! Helped build that Sundance town

(Chorus)

I love my pedigree. Those in my family
Just stop and take a look! We're in the history books!
I love my pedigree! My family history
Our genealogy. It's all on WikiTree!

(Second verse)

Tom and Lucy Draper Rest underneath a road
Foy and Jessie Owens Brought home Olympic Gold!
Foy then flew his Havoc He was never seen again!
Still "Missing In Action" Resting with the Africans!

(Chorus) with "Ancestry" added

I love my pedigree. Those in my family
Just stop and take a look! We're in the history books!
I love my pedigree! My family history
Our genealogy. It's all on ANCESTRY!

(Third verse)

Arta built a Library! Now it is a mess!
Ira Alexander Rode for Pony Express!
Eileen was a "Beauty Queen! Won pageants of the day!
Almost won "Miss Idaho" She was well upon her way!

(Chorus) with Legacy added

I love my pedigree. Those in my family
Just stop and take a look! We're in the history books!
I love my pedigree! My family history
Our genealogy. Just check out Legacy

(Fourth verse)

Now Fern helped her husband Repair cars late at night!
Lucy and her kids burned up In a fire they could not fight!
Now you might stop and think: These stories have to end!
But I got more to tell you Time and time again!

(Chorus) with WikiTree added

I love my pedigree. Those in my family
Just stop and take a look! We're in the history books!
I love my pedigree! My family history
Our genealogy. It's all on WikiTree!

(Chorus) with lyric changes

I love my pedigree We'll find them all someday
We search in Family Search And then In Find A Grave!

(Repeat Chorus again! (and again, and again, then fade out)

Lost In Your Smile

This song was written to memorialize Draper children killed in Texas. (see Draper Children Killed

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The Lonely Genealogist

I'm the family historian and genealogist!
I know all my ancestors; I have quite a list!
I have famous cousins, aristocrats as well,
Then those infamous ones, in a prison cell!

I try to tell my family, but they just turn away.
They don't want to hear the tells I tell of yesterday!
They're caught up in Tic Tok, or the video games they play.
My eyes start to mist up when they all walk away.

So I head out to the Cemetery, and sit beside a grave.
I say hello, chat to them, and then I start to pray.
I talk about their family, and how they were so brave.
And they have to listen, 'cause they can't get away!

I head back to my lonely room, and turn my lap top on!
It's hooked up to three monitors, so I know what's going on!
Find A Grave, Family Search and Legacy on one.
Ancestry and Wikitree fill the other screen that’s on.

On the third I watch the news, or play a game of Solitaire.
My dogs bark at the mailman; out the window we all stare.
And I think to myself, "Am I the only one who cares?
And when I pass away, will I be listed there?

Probably not, but my lap top they’ll take, reboot and erase.
All those precious pictures and my pretty face!
The stories I have recorded, they'll be gone; They'll end!
And with my dusty ashes, they'll be blowing in the wind!

But If I have a tombstone, placed under those skies of blue;
There will be message carved in it, I think is pretty cool:
You didn't listen to my stories, and called me an old fool!
So now let me sleep, I won't be listening to you!

"AN Ode To Thomas & Lucy Draper

Thomas Draper Jr., from Farnham, Virginia way,
Was in need of a wife, and was married one day
To Lucy Coleman, who became his wife,
And moved to South Carolina, to start a new life!
They had a lot of kids, and farmed in "Twelve Mile"
They lived and loved, and had hard times for a while.
But, they never lost a smile, as they grew old and weak,
They were buried in a plot out by "Mill Creek"
Well, one day the State needed a road to carry
Trucks and cars through that Draper Cemetery.
It was built over their graves, because they didn't care
They removed the old tombstones located there!
But they left what was left, just dust in those graves,
With rock and asphalt , the highway was paved
So, be warned, when traveling down there at night,
Strange things some have seen really gave them a fright!
Ghost like specters have been said to appear,
When you take a look back in the rear view mirror
If you are family, there is nothing to fret
Road Workers, beware! It's YOU they will get!

Click here If you want to see Lucy Draper's ghost spooking travelers !

Digging Up Bones

I’m digging up bones
I’m writing down names,
Strolling through the cemeteries,
Looking at the graves
I’m finding some were heroes,
And others got the blame,
I’m digging up bones
I’m writing down names!
I’ll head out West
To see those Hollywood Stars
I wanna see the one
Who is buried in her car!
Then down to Mississippi,
Down to New Orleans!
I’m digging up bones
I’m writing down names!
Spent time in Virginia
I was on a quest
But I couldn’t find the records
And I really tried my best,
So, I headed up North
To New York Way
I’m digging up bones
I’m writing down names!
I went back to Springfield
To see ‘ole Lincoln’s tomb.
It’s really, really pretty,
They clean it with a broom!
I headed down the road,
To Saint Louis way,
Digging up more bones,
And looking at the graves.
You probably are a wondering:
Time and money you say?
It must cost a lot to travel and play!
Well, I’m on the Internet,
Searching Find A Grave!
Digging up bones
And writing down names!
Yes, I’m digging up bones
And writing down names,
I’ve never left my house
That’s sitting down the lane!
Now ain't it kind of funny:
How I sit all day,
Digging up bones,
And writing down names!

My WikiTree Life

Well, I was at my job one day, you see,
Looking at my family genealogy.
"Clean out your locker and hit the street"!
"You better find a new job on Your Wikitree.
When I got home and told my wife!
"Divorce papers are here! Sign 'em tonight!"
"I'm through with you neglecting me!"
You better find a new wife on your WikiTree
So I got on the forum at the G2G
Posted all my troubles for the world to see
I Got 90 answers of sympathy
So many helpful people on the WikiTree!
Well, I got that new job in Tennessee
I have to move there and they'll hire me!
Found a gal in Reno whose in love with me!
Only took one night on my WikiTree!
I love my new job in Tennessee
I got a new wife who is just like me!
She still lives in Reno. and happy as can be
We message each other via WikiTree
Looking back, my life was full of strife
Now I have a new job and I have a new wife
And someday, my wife will come to visit me
But we're just too busy on the WikiTree!

I Created A WikiTree Monster!

When I joined the WikiTree
My life was happy, happy as could be
Profiling family left and right
Profiling movie stars late at night!

Then something happened
That changed my life!
I went on Wikitree and
Signed up my wife!

Well, she found every cousin
Then she found me!
Her face became troubled,
“You’re related to me!”

She’s related to every Mayflower man
Movie stars and Hard Rock bands!
She’s related to more presidents than me,
And found she’s cousins with Royalty!

A monster I created, I have to admit
And she’ll never let me get over it!
Now she’s happy, happy as can be
She’s addicted like me on the WikiTree!

Welcome To WikiTree

We Welcome you to WikiTree
We think it’s better than Ancestry
We’ll help you find your family
And all your genealogy

But be Warned: It’s been predicted
That soon you too will be addicted.
It happened to others, and to me!
Adding your family to the WikiTree!

The next thing here to be remembered
Is to upgrade to a FAMILY MEMBER
And then you will be kindly told
To click on and sign the Honor Code!

But, don't you fret, 'cause it's all FREE
This is really one great community
We can help you with your ancestry!
Thanks and welcome to WikiTree!

Wonderful WikiTreer

You're an AWESOME WikiTreer
We appreciate you being here!
Such a person is hard to find!
We thank you now for being kind!

Yes you are "Wonderful" That being said:
Please stay humble! Don't get a big head
Help more people and you will see:
The rewards are great on WikiTree!

VIRGINIA DRAPER MERGER INTO QUAKER DRAPER ( DNA NOTES)

DRAPER were Irish, British and even French people who made, bought or sold fabric. Many DRAPER came to America and settled along the East Coast USA and Canada. They were not related! The above picture is where Dave Draper ancestors lived. But there is always the possibility that DRAPER married into DRAPER, and we just now might have proof.

The Quaker Draper was from Perquimans County, North Carolina. Our Draper family was from Richmond County, Virginia. They migrated westward along the same travel routes and many ended up in Indiana in the in the 1840's, before and after.

Recent edits and additions to WikiTree by Quaker Draper descendants were compared to Virginia Draper descendants and a WikiTree connection finder was run. It did indeed show ther was a connection. Quaker Draper descendant Steve Heininger compared his DNA to Virginia Draper descendant Dave Draper: Steve emailed Dave Draper and here is what he found:

Hi David. Thanks for the note. Actually I believe our relationship may be closer than what you show. I do detailed chromosome mapping DNA work. Saw your DNA info and ran it through some tools. If you want to see something interesting try this.... 1. Go in to your GEDmatch account and select the one-to-one autosomal option under tools. 2. For Kit No. 1 enter your kit number. 3. For Kit no. 2, enter my kit number "QG3041851". 4. Scroll down to the "Minimum segment cM size to be included in total" line and change the 7 to 3. This will allow the shorter segments to be considered in the analysis. 5. Scroll to the bottom and press the "Compare"

The results should show matches on 6 segments. The total centiMorgan length of 22.8 suggests a much closer match. Something in the 4th or 5th cousins range. I would expect that one day as more data gets into wikitree we will discover a closer relationship.

Mary Draper (abt. 1858 - bef. 1870) Your (Dave Draper) 20th cousin three times removed Your 22nd great-grandmother, Margery Basset (abt.1240-1280), is her 19th great-grandmother. Your 22nd great-grandfather, Nicholas (Stapleton) de Stapleton (1236-abt.1290), is her 19th great-grandfather.

Mary Draper was married to Thomas Draper Your ( Dave Draper) 19th cousin four times removed Your 22nd great-grandmother, Margery Basset (abt.1240-1280), is his 18th great-grandmother. Your 22nd great-grandfather, Nicholas (Stapleton) de Stapleton (1236-abt.1290), is his 18th great-grandfather

Laban Ely Draper (1811 - 1873) is Thomas Draper father. Laban Ely Draper is NOT related to our Virginia Draper family.

Pedigree (A "connection" means a marriage relationship; A "cousin: is a blood relationship)

Unknown
- Ephraim Draper (abt. 1740 - abt. 1805) (15 degree connection) wife: Elizabeth (Turner) Draper (abt. 1768 - abt. 1821) 15 degree connection
  - Thomas Draper (1786 - 1873) (Not Related) wife: Mary Turner Draper (14 degree connection)
    - Laban Ely Draper (Not Related) and His wife: MarthaMarsh Draper Your (Dave Draper)18th cousin five times removed
      - Thomas E. Draper (abt. 1836 - 1911) Your (Dave Draper) 19th cousin four times removed; wife: Margaret (O'Donnell) Draper (abt. 1838 - bef. 1900) 16 degree connection
        Martin Francis Draper (abt. 1859 - abt. 1952) Your (Dave Draper) 20th cousin three times removed

The marriage of Martha Marsh to Laban Ely Draper is where the Virginia Draper family enters the Quaker Draper Family. This is the 1st discovered connection with the two families. There may be more. Research needed!

101 GENEALOGY JOKES & SAYINGS

Mary Harrell-Sesniak presents 101 of the funniest, quirkiest, or most touching sayings about genealogy that she’s encountered in her career as a family historian. Mary is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background.

Mary states, "One thing I’ve noticed is that family historians have great senses of humor—and often come up with funny genealogy sayings. So I searched high and low, and came up with my top list of 101 funny genealogy sayings. Most are similar to others that are displayed without attribution, so I’ve taken a few liberties in compiling what I consider the most humorous versions!" Is Mary related? I have no clue, but we can all relate to her collection of jokes!

Funny Family Tree Sayings

If you shake your family tree, watch for the nuts to fall.
Some family trees have more sap than others (and mine certainly has more than its fair share).
Genealogists never fade away; they just lose their roots.
If you don’t tend your roots, the tree may wither away.
Family tree research is one giant step backwards and one giant step forward—usually at the same time.

Funny Genealogy Quotes & Definitions

Family history is all about recording “his story & her story.”
Definition of mythology: genealogy without documentation.
Genealogy is all about chasing your own tale.
Famous quote: “Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.” —Mark Twain
“Just the facts, Ma’am.” —(commonly, but incorrectly) attributed to Joe Friday of the TV show Dragnet.
“Genealogy: An account of one’s descent from an ancestor who did not particularly care to trace his own.” —Ambrose Bierce
Genealogists are time travelers.
A great genealogist is a time unraveler.
Genealogy: In the end, it’s all relative.
A genealogist is someone who knows that all grandparents are great grandparents!
Genealogy is sometimes about proving that bad family traits came from the other side of the tree!
Genealogy saying: "Genealogy is all about chasing your own tale."

Funny Sayings about Cousins & Other Relatives

Can a first cousin once removed be returned?
A cousin a day keeps the boredom away.
A great party is when everyone joins in the gene pool.
An in-law is someone who has married into your family; an outlaw is an in-law who resists letting you do their genealogy!
If your family members won’t talk about a particular relative, a seasoned genealogist knows they are keeping mum about something very interesting.
Moment of Truth for a genealogist: discovering you are your own cousin.
If you don’t know who the family black sheep is, it’s probably you.

Humorous Genealogy Quotes for Signs, Bumper Stickers and T-Shirts

Do you know where your great grandparents are?
After 30 days, unclaimed ancestors will be discarded or claimed by another family.
So many ancestors; so little time.
I brake for ancestors.
I chase dead relatives.
I’m ancestrally challenged.
Where there is a will, you’ll find a genealogist!
Genealogists do it in libraries or in trees.
Sign for a genealogist’s home office: Family research zone. Disturb at your peril.
I am addicted to genealogy.
Who’s your great great granddaddy?
I only research genealogy on days that end in “y.”

Good Advice for Genealogists

Remember that when a family member passes away, they take a library of memories with them. It’s a genealogist’s duty to record them before that happens.
Genealogy is like a magic mirror. Look into it, and pretty soon, interesting faces appear.
The kind of ancestors you have is not as important as the kindness of their descendants.
If you are the last living link between your grandparents and your grandchildren—don’t break the chain.
If you don’t want your descendants to put a twisted spin on your life story, write it yourself!
If you’re the family photographer (and not showing up in photos), your family historian descendants will become upset with you.
To get your family tree done the fastest, run for political office. Your opponents will have it completed way before the election, and then you can resign if you really didn’t wish to run in the first place.
Many genealogists neglect telling their own stories, while in the midst of telling the stories about others. Don’t let that happen to your family.
Your children may not thank you, but if you preserve the family genealogy your great great great great descendants will remember you as super-great!
If someone’s picture looks like they don’t belong in the family tree, well, maybe they don’t.
Some think it’s best to grow a family tree one leaf at a time—but as with the spring, you may find that many buds can be produced at the same time.
Don’t take life seriously. Every genealogist knows nobody gets out alive.
If at first you don’t succeed, search, search again. That is why we call it re-search.

Hilarious Observations about Genealogists

Genealogists don’t get Alzheimer’s, they just lose their census.
Eventually, all genealogists come to their census.
Housework avoidance strategy: Genealogy!
There’s a fine line between a packrat and a serious family historian.
A home with everything in its place, and a place for everything, means you’re not well suited for genealogy!
Can’t find enough ancestors? No problem. Let me adopt you. I’ve got more than enough to share.
Does your family coat of arms have too many or too few sleeves?
Taking your children to meet family at a reunion is often an effective form of birth control.
Genealogical paydirt is discovering the ancestor who was the family packrat!
Heredity might be better spelled as heir-edity.
I can’t find my ancestors, so they must have been in a witness protection program!
Motivated genealogists scan once—and then share across the Internet!
A genealogist’s bad heir day is when you can’t find what you are looking for.
A genealogist’s filing system usually incorporates the floor.
Genealogy saying: "There's a fine line between a packrat and a serious family historian."

Oxymorons, Enigmas & Theories about Genealogy

Oxymoron: “I love history, but I dislike genealogy.” Don’t you want to tell these people that genealogy is family history?
Genealogical enigma: How so many published trees record people who died before they were born.
Genealogy theorem: There is a 100% chance that those elusive ancestors weren’t interested in genealogy.
Genealogy theorem: The odds that you are related to yourself are probably not less than 100%.
Theory of relativity: If you go back far enough, we’re all related.
Murphy’s Law of Genealogy: Your ancestor’s maiden name will be recorded on the one record page that is missing.

Funny Cemetery Quotes

A genealogist is a person who leaves no stone unearthed.
A cemetery is a marble garden not to be taken for granite.
Selecting a tombstone is usually a monumental task.
Go ahead and honk your horn in the cemetery. It’s not possible to wake the dead.
A cemetery is where “down under” takes on an entirely new meaning.

You Know You’re a Genealogist if…

You know you’re a genealogist if the top item on your Christmas list is a genealogy subscription!
You know you’re a genealogist if your email contact list contains more distant cousins than immediate family.
You know you’re a genealogist if you’ve ever tried to inspire the next generation by whispering in a newborn’s ear, “Genealogy is fun.”
You know you’re a genealogist if you evaluate the surnames of acquaintances (along with complete strangers) to see how they might be related.
You know you’re a genealogist if you know all the maiden names of all your female friends—and if you don’t, you surreptitiously try to discover them.
You know you’re a genealogist if you secretly celebrate a forebear’s birthday.
You know you’re a genealogist if the highlight of your last trip was a cemetery visit.
You know you’re a genealogist if no family member is ever treated as a black sheep (everyone is welcome).
You know you’re a genealogist when you realize your collection of DNA results is more important than your nick knacks.
You know you’re a genealogist if you immediately understand these abbreviations: BC, DC, MC and VR.
Answer the first associated words that come to mind: Ellis, family and vital. If you answered Island, history and record, you know you’ve become a genealogist.
You might be a genealogist if you think family history is an ancestral game of hide and seek.
You might be a genealogist if dead people are more interesting to you than the living.
You might be a genealogist if you love living in the past lane.
You might be a genealogist if the phrase “relatively speaking” holds a truly unique meaning.
You know you’re a genealogist if a scanner and archival storage containers are more exciting gifts than jewelry (female) or football tickets (male).
You know you’re a genealogist if you know what inst. and ult. stand for.
You know you’re a genealogist if you’ve ever repurposed your dining room table, and panic at anyone going near it.
You know you’re a genealogist if your vacation bucket list includes Fort Wayne, Salt Lake City, and Washington, D.C. (hopefully all in the same year).
You know your friend is not a genealogist if he/she doesn’t understand why these are top vacation destinations.
You know you’re a genealogist if there is a courthouse programmed into your GPS.
You know you’re a genealogist if you’ve ever had your photo taken in front of a tombstone and you were actually smiling!
You know you’re a genealogist if you know more about the past than the present.
You know you’re a genealogist if you know what a GEDCOM and an ahnentafel are.
You know you’re a genealogist if you have no problem substituting your great great grandmother’s maiden name for your mother’s (in answer to a security question).
You know you’re a genealogist if you can name the county for most major cities in the United States! Admit it—many of you can assign these cities to their correct county: Atlanta, Cleveland, Newark, Houston, San Francisco…
If you think your family is normal, you probably aren’t a genealogist!
You know you’re hopelessly hooked on genealogy if you say “Honey, I’ll just be a few minutes on the computer,” and then find yourself awestruck by the sunrise.

HOLLYWOOD GRAVEYARD - SEE WHERE THE STARS ARE LAID TO REST

18 Famous Cemeteries With Those Who Entertained US

LINKS

Farnham_Viginia_Draper_Descendants_Tour_Guide_-1-452.jpg

Draper Tour Guide: Tour de Farnham Almost 4,600 burial locations of Draper and those related.

MY GENERATIONS History of the Farnham Virgina Draper Family and Stories by Bill Draper

Dave Draper's WikiTree Profile Page Organizer of The Draper Tour Guide: Tour de Farnham and this site.

Song Parodies

NATIONAL GENEALOGY DAY

National Genealogy Day is an annual celebration observed on the Saturday of the First Full Week of Every March.

We live in a society that celebrates familial connection above any other kind of relationship. We are shown photos of our great-grandparents and encouraged to marvel over facial similarities. We are told to take pride in our bloodlines, celebrate our ancestry --Lynn Coady

March 11 2023 WAS NATIONAL GENEALOGY DAY It has passed! You missed the party!

March 9th, 2024 IS THE NEXT NATIONAL GENEALOGY DAY

March 8th, 2025 WILL BE NATIONAL GENEALOGY DAY

History of National Genealogy Day The National Genealogy Day has been in celebration since the year 1997. Jerry Hill was the creator of this Day. It is a part of Celebrate Your Name Week (CYNW). Genealogy Day is also one among the seven components of CYNW and others include Name Tag Day, Namesake Day, Name Fun Facts Day, Learn What Your Name Means Day, Unique Names Day, and Middle Name Pride Day. Genealogy is the study of families and thereby tracing their lineages and history. In general, Genealogy means family history and thus Genealogy Day inspires you to learn who your ancestors were, where they have lived, and what they did for a living. By celebrating this Day, you are looking back into your heritage and thereby recognizing your family history. The observance of this Day provides a chance for anyone to discover the untold roots of their past which will surely be fun and informative. More than all studying about your genealogy is something good to feel and you can stay in touch with your ancestors and family.

How to Celebrate National Genealogy Day The best way to celebrate National Genealogy Day is to start finding details about your family history. Find and research your root of origin and share it with others in your family. You will surely be getting so much interesting, funny, or shocking information and details. As it is the best chance to know about your ancestors, you can, on the other hand, make a note of your genealogy to share them with future generations. There are lots of genealogy apps available and you could even use any of them to save the data in the form of a family tree. Encourage people around you to research their family history and know them. Share your family history or family tree photos on social media using the hashtag #GenealogyDay.

Some Brief Comments

Draper Family History and stories may be copied and used however you wish.
Song lyrics, sheet music, and poetry are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED. Ask permission if you do use these and please give them credit for their work
- Some stories are from Find A Grave, WikiPedia, web stites and newspapers and are given credit for their contributions.
  - Any Concerns, corrections, or wishes to contribute to this project: Contact: davedraperbloomington@gmail.com
    - The Clip Art used in the title is in Public Domain no copyrights were discovered. That being said, we would rather have original artwork to replace it.

Images: 55

It's Story Time! Gather Around The Campfire!

The WikiTree Family Tree Connects EVERYONE!

FEATURED STORY: Clarintha: see1.2

Our Family Tree Speaks Wonderful Stories!

William Fountain Draper Featured Story 1.6

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Draper Family Stories by The Draper Family

Contents