The Nathan Wesley Headrick Family is the 2024 Lady Vestey Days Parade Grand Marshal. He is shown here with his wife, Sarah Lucretia Tibbetts Headrick, and two of their eight children, Clyde Edward (standing) and Ralph (seated). Nathan and Sarah's Jewell County Homestead is 150 years old and still in the Headrick Family.
The Grand Marshall for the upcoming Lady Vestey Day Parade is the Nathan Wesley Headrick Family. Nathan, often called "Wes," homesteaded in Jewell County in 1874 – one hundred fifty years ago.
Wes filed official Homestead papers on the SW 1⁄4 of Section 17 of Montana Township, Jewell County on Nov. 5, 1874, in Concordia, Kansas. The filing fee was $14. Homestead records show residence was taken up on the quarter on Nov. 17, 1874. He was 21 years old.
The next part of the homestead process took place on June 11, 1881 at the Jewell County Courthouse in Mankato. Wes was then 28 years old. He had married Sarah Lucretia Tibbetts in Montana Township on May 28, 1878. The marriage ceremony was conducted by Urban Wilde, the Justice of the Peace in Richland Township. In June 1881, the couple had a two-year old daughter, Bertha, and were expecting their second child.
As part of the process, T. C. Jacobs, appeared in Mankato before Probate Judge J. W. McRoberts to testify the requirements for homesteading had been met. Jacobs was a neighbor and fellow homesteader. He swore he was in a position to know if the homestead requirements had been fulfilled.
Jacobs further testified: Wes was a citizen of the United States, the head of a family, the homestead was his only one, he began living on it in November of 1874, had continually resided on it, there was a home (first a dugout, then a frame home plus a stable, crib and orchard) and finally, about 75 acres had been planted for six seasons.
On that same June day, also before Judge McRoberts, Wes testified his "true and correct name" was Nathan W. Headrick. He then filed the Final Affidavit Required of Homestead Claimants with a $4.00 fee. The official patent for the homestead is dated May 20, 1882.
By the time they received the patent, Wes and Sarah had buried their oldest daughter. Bertha had contracted diphtheria and died on July 4, 1881. Her parents buried her in Montana Cemetery which had been part of the farm of John C. Tibbetts, Sarah Tibbetts Headrick's father.
Sarah had also given birth to their second child, Martha Evelyn, who was called "Eva." Years later, in the 1960s, Eva (then Eva Headrick Green) would write down her memories and the stories she was told of her family. These various writings would be compiled and presented to her as the book Memories for her 90th birthday. That book is another source of information for this article.
The preceding is a part of Nathan's story, but his story actually began in Kentucky....
Nathan's parents, John W. Headrick and Martha Ann Gist, were married on Jan. 25, 1851, probably in Monroe County, Kentucky. John W. was the son of Isaac and Elizabeth Copass Headrick while Martha was the daughter of Bayless and Nancy Ray Gist. As both were enumerated in Monroe County in the 1850 U. S. Census, it is probable they were married in the county.
The Monroe Courthouse burned during the Civil War so there are no official records of the marriage. However, the family still possesses a letter written by John W. Headrick to his son, Nathan. The letter was written before John's death in 1897, so it is at least 127 years old. This letter gives the date of John and Martha's marriage, the birthdates of each of their eight children, and Martha's death date.
The first two of John W. and Martha Headrick's children, John Balus Headrick and Nathan Wesley Headrick, were born on Nov. 27, 1851 and May 2, 1853, respectfully. John B.'s obituary (Aug. 25, 1916 Meridian Times) states he was born in Glasgow, Kentucky. Nathan's obituary (July 27, 1916 Superior Express) says he was born "near" Glasgow, Kentucky. (Glasgow, in Barren County, Kentucky, is just north of Monroe County.)
The two obituaries both agree the family left Kentucky and moved to Missouri before moving on to Richardson County, Nebraska. Wes's obituary states he was "four months old" and John B.'s notes he was "a boy" when the first move was made. According to Wes's obituary, they were in Missouri for a year. Indeed, the third child in the family, Samuel Ray Headrick, was born "near St. Louis, Missouri" on Sept. 4, 1855. (June 9, 1927 Superior Express)
The History of Richardson County (Lewis C. Edwards, 1917) notes the first permanent settlement in the county was made north of Falls City in 1855. The book documents John Headrick as one of the settlers who arrived in 1855. The trip from St. Louis to Richardson County would have been about 360 miles with a baby and two small boys.
Be that as it may, the remaining five children, Sarah Elizabeth "Lizzie" (1857), Bascomb Carvasso "Carve" (1860), Nancy B. "Nannie" (1862), Mary W. (1864), Martha Ann (1867), Alice Claire (1871) and Bessie B. (1874) were all born in Richardson County.
The family, with their five oldest children, is found in Speiser, Richardson County, Nebraska, in the 1860 U. S. Census. The 1870 U.S. Census finds all eight children listed with their parents in Township 1, Richardson County, Nebraska.
Family stories recall the John W. Headrick farm being near the Nemaha River. In the 1970s, the late Steve Headrick and Kerma Headrick Crouse researched in Richardson County. They located the farm and it was indeed on river-bottom land. As the story continues, the farm was damp and Nathan suffered from "chills and fever." When he homesteaded, his land was "high and dry."
Multilpe family members also relate stories of Wes working on cattle drives trailing cattle from Texas. In Memories, Green relates a story of Wes going with neighbors to Texas for cattle, following the Chisholm Trail. A couple of newspaper items in the Falls City Journal tell of local men getting cattle from Texas. Green also recalls Wes leaving home when he was "19 or 20."
Wes is found in the 1880 U. S. Census, as a 17-year-old, with his family in Richardson County. Between that time and beginning the homestead process, there is really no information. Even after he arrived in Jewell County, there is little known about him, save his marriage record.
That is until 1881, when a spat of newspaper items expand on one of the stories in Memories.
Green tells the story of her father and his brothers having horses stolen. Newspaper articles add details to the story. It would seem the "Headrick Bros" (Wes, Carve and John) had horses, a wagon, harness and a saddle stolen one Friday night in October of 1881. (Oct. 20, 1881 Jewell County Monitor) As Green knew the story, her father went after the thieves and was gone some time as he didn't quit trailing them until they were caught.
Though the newspaper items don't tell who chased after the thieves, a thief was caught in Howard County, Nebraska. (Oct. 27, 1881 Jewell County Monitor) The wagon and a saddle were never recovered. The captured thief, one Con Cooper, was sentenced to 10 years in the penitentiary. (Nov. 10, 1881 Jewell County Monitor)
By 1881, Wes had been joined in Jewell County by his older brother, John, and a younger brother, Carve. John and Annie Amos Headrick had homestead catty-corner from Wes in Section 19. Carve and Ella Bacon Headrick purchased a quarter in Harrison Township just two miles west of his brothers.
They were not the only siblings to move to Jewell County. Samuel, "Doc" as he was called, married Carrie Ritchert in Richardson County in 1884 and "moved at once to the farm which he had purchased in Jewell County." (June 9, 1927 Superior Express) Doc also purchased his farm in Harrison Township near his brother Carve. A sister and brother-in-law, William and Lizzie Headrick Walker, purchased a farm beside Wes.
The sixth and last sibling to arrive in Jewell County was Alice. She came in 1888 when she was 17. After attending Normal School in Mankato, she received her teaching certification and taught in District No. 86 Olive Hill. She stayed just a year before going back to Brown County, Kansas where her father, John W. had moved. However, she returned to Jewell County for one more year of teaching in 1894 when she taught in District No. 102 Fidelity in Harrison Township. (Prairie Jewels, Shute and Dillon)
Almost as soon as they gathered in Jewell County, the siblings began to move on. The Walkers went to Oklahoma, homesteading there in the Cherokee Strip. Carve, a farmer-teacher, also homesteaded in the Cherokee Strip. He ended up in Wheatland, Oklahoma where he started and managed Wheatland Grain and Lumber. This in addition to his teaching career.
Alice left Jewell County for the Cherokee Strip where she was a successful homesteader. Eventually she and her husband, Gene Bacon, lived in Kingman, Kansas. John B. joined his siblings in Oklahoma but didn't stay there either. His final move was to the Boise area in Idaho.
Doc and Wes remained in Jewell County. Doc had the misfortune to get his foot caught and cut in a stock chopper. The wound didn't heal and his leg had to be amputated. As he couldn't farm, he sold out and moved his family to Superior where he was a long-time mail carrier on Route 1. (Sept. 23, 1896 Jewell County Monitor/Aug. 12, 1915 Superior Express)
After their first two daughters, Wes and Sarah had six more children; Benjamin Wesley (1883), Ina Mable (1885), Harlan Gilbert (1887), Clyde Edward (1890), Ralph Clifford (1893) and Louis Dewey (1896).
Active in the Olive Hill community and the Olive Hill Church, Wes also served as a Trustee of Kansas Christian College. He and Sarah encouraged and promoted education. This writer found it impressive to know, in the early 1900s each of Wes and Sarah's children pursued some form of education after 8th grade.
Eva went to Normal Training, including Christian Normal Institute in Lincoln, Kansas (June 12, 1902 Jewell County Monitor). Ben went to Northbranch Academy (Dec. 5, 1901 Burr Oak Herald) and to Kansas Christian College in Lincoln, Kansas. (April 23, 1903 Superior Weekly Journal)
Ina attended Normal Training in Mankato and Smith Center and while at Kansas Christian College she studied music. (April 23, 1908 Superior Weekly Journal) Harlan, like Eva and Ina, was a teacher so he attended Normal Training but also attended Kansas Christian College. (Aug. 30, 1906 Lincoln Sentinel)
Clyde graduated from Kansas Christian College (May 18, 1911 Lincoln Sentinel) then attended Kansas University. (Jan. 11, 1912 Superior Express) Ralph and Dewey both graduated from Superior High School. Ralph in 1913 (April 17, 1913 Superior Express) and Dewey in 1914 (June 11, 1914 Superior Weekly Journal).
Another thing one notices in newspaper items about Wes, he bought, fed and shipped railroad cars of cattle to Kansas City. (Feb. 22, 1906 Superior Weekly Journal) This penchant for feeding and raising cattle would be noted in his first, second, third, fourth and fifth generation descendants.
By the 1910s, Wes's family began to disperse. Clyde was the one that stayed and took over the farm. Eva Headrick Green would live in Canada and then Missouri. Ina, married to Clarence Warren, ultimately lived in Missouri. Ben Headrick (married to Anna Rosin then Elsie Glasgow) would make his home in California as did Ralph, Dewey and Harlan.
In California, Ralph married Blanche McDonald then Rae Raikin. Dewey, called Louis in California, was married in Jewell County to Helen Taylor. They later divorced. Harlan met and married Grace Renfro at Kansas Christian College.
Today Wes Headrick has some 142 direct descendants and their families. His homestead, now titled Headrick Homestead LLC is still in the Headrick family and in the Headrick name. Ron Headrick, the principal owner, is joined by Darrell Headrick, Susie Headrick, Sarah Headrick Kirchhoff and Chris Headrick Flaata.
Several descendants in the fourth, fifth and sixth generation still live and work in Jewell County and in the Superior area. Others reside in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina and Washington.
Living in Superior are Nancy Spohn Dorr Headrick, Nancy Headrick Brandt (Darrell), Eric Brandt, Sarah Headrick Kirchhoff (Mike) with Ava, Krosby and Korbin, Chris Headrick Flaata with Kaylee, Sophia and Cohen.
Kerma Headrick Crouse (Frosty), Rachel Crouse, Sherry Headrick Koster (Brian), Sierra Koster Bonjour (Neil) with Roland and Charles, Liz Headrick Ginther (Taylor) with Nyla, Addy and James, and Jane Headrick all live in Jewell County.
The Ginther family actually lives on the same Jewell County road, now Birch Road, as Wes did. The Bonjour family farms and runs cattle in Jewell County just like Nathan Wesley Headrick did 150 years ago.
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