So, You Live in Kansas Now!

Maybe your ancestors migrated to Kansas in the 1880s from Louisiana, Texas or some other state. The 1875 Kansas Homestead Act offered free land and a hope for many African American farmers and their families. Read more

Approximately 40,000 Blacks from across the U.S. made their way to Kansas in 1879. Many freedmen settled near the towns of Topeka, Fort Scott, Coffeyville, and Dunlap. In 1880, there were about 2080 Texas born Blacks in Kansas, over 800 in Labette County. Members of my Richardson family branch were in Labette County, Kansas in 1920.

So many families were drawn to Kansas that there soon was not enough land to accommodate them all. Many families on their trek to Kansas, found themselves diverted instead to St. Louis, Missouri and to Nebraska. Hey, maybe the title of this post should have been, “So, You Live in St. Louis, Missouri Now!”

Author: Faye Hayes

I started my genealogy journey looking for anyone who had Robert Jenkins and Bridget Guy on their family tree. Almost immediately, 2 unknown cousins connected via e-mail and began sharing stories. It became clear that we knew a few things about the Jenkins branch of our family tree and knew almost nothing about our Smith branch. This blog will share information of my search for Jenkins, Guy, Smith and now Phillips, Torney and Watts people on the branches of my family tree--Maryland to Louisiana! Join me on the journey! View all posts by Faye Hayes