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My grandmother, Elizabeth Isabel Wishart, was born in Cadmus, Linn, KS. 25 Mar 1868. She died 7
January 1953 in Garnett, KS. I was there for her funeral. Her parents were married in Topeka, KS. August
26, 1862. Her father owned farm property in 1860 in Kansas,so her family lived in Kansas during the Civil
War which was a very dangerous place to live since the southerners wanted to overrun Kansas and
make it a southern state. Her family had come to the United States in the 1840’s and lived in Wisconsin
for many years. Several of her family members died fighting in the Civil War. She basically lived in that
part of Kansas all her life and that is where she met her husband, William Grant Shinkle. You can see by
the name they were in favor of the north and very anti‐ slavery. They never tried to own slaves.
Grandmother and Grandfather were married 26 Aug 1891 in Cadmus, KS. and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in Garnett, Ks. She was the mother of seven children one of whom died several days after birth. There were four living sons and two living daughters who were all raised in that part of Kansas, including my father.
She lived in a very modest home and grew up where they grew all their own produce and had farm animals. She learned to do lots of canning and did that all her life including meat products and vegetables and some fruits.
You could tell by the sweet, kind children she had that she was a very kind and loving mother. They were all hard workers and very careful spenders which she taught them to be. In my early years I visited her several times and she was always very kind to me and interested in my life and stories.
As you know the Wishart name is a very important name historically since it was one of their ancestors that translated the Bible and made it accessible to the public. He was hung in Scotland for doing that.
Grandmother and Grandfather were married 26 Aug 1891 in Cadmus, KS. and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in Garnett, Ks. She was the mother of seven children one of whom died several days after birth. There were four living sons and two living daughters who were all raised in that part of Kansas, including my father.
She lived in a very modest home and grew up where they grew all their own produce and had farm animals. She learned to do lots of canning and did that all her life including meat products and vegetables and some fruits.
You could tell by the sweet, kind children she had that she was a very kind and loving mother. They were all hard workers and very careful spenders which she taught them to be. In my early years I visited her several times and she was always very kind to me and interested in my life and stories.
As you know the Wishart name is a very important name historically since it was one of their ancestors that translated the Bible and made it accessible to the public. He was hung in Scotland for doing that.
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| Charles H. Sherwood wrote letters to his sister, Maria Taylor, during the duration of which he was a Union soldier during the civil war. He died in Andersonville in 1864. |
Charles H. Sherwood was brother to Martha Jane Sherwood ( Jennie). He was born around 1842, to Zelotus and Abigail Sherwood. Charles entered the US Cavalry about 1861, with friends from Carbondale, Luzerne County, PA. ( Pennsylvania Volunteers, 4th Cavalry/64th Regiment, Company M) Sgt. Sherwood was present at many Civil War battles. He fought at Gettysburg and his name is engraved on the Pennsylvania Memorial there. Sgt. Sherwood was captured October 12, 1863, at White Sulphur Springs, VA, along with 300 other Union troops from the Pennsylvania Fourth and Thirteenth Cavalry. Initially, he was probably imprisoned at Belle Island, Richmond, VA, and later transferred to Andersonville, GA, about March 1864. Sgt. Sherwood died that June of dysentary. Five of Charles's Carbondale friends also died at Andersonville. Sgt. Charles H. Sherwood, American hero, my great uncle ( to ME Nicklin Jr.) was not married.
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| Pompa drove to Georgia last spring to visit Andersonville and to see Charles' grave. |
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| Pictured is Gersham Bentley Van Gorder with granddaughter Florence Martha Olver. |
Gersham Bentley Van Gorder was father to Florence Maude Van Gorder Olver. He was the third husband to Martha Jane Sherwood ( Jennie) who was nine years his senior. Jennie previous husbands had all died and Jennie had three children already when she married Gershaw. Together Jennie and Gersham had four children, Fred, Frank, Homer and Florence.
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| His baby cup and baby spoon with the initials GBV. |
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| William Grant Shinkle with Elizabeth Isabel Wishart with their children, Isabel, John, Harold, Wanda, Frank, Clarence and Willard Elwin, their youngest, our grandfather. |
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| Joanna Frances Smith was wife to Benjamin Frank Crissman, mother of Helen Jo, Willard and Maymie Rebecca Katherine ( our Grandma Sally) Grandmother Crissman is pictured here on the back right side ( in glasses) and daughters Helen and Sally are front and center. Back left is Mary Rebecca Riley Smith ( mother of Joanna Frances) |
On June 28, 1893 she married B. Frank Crissman and from this union three children were born: Helen, Willard, and Maymie all of whom survive her.
Mrs. Crissman began her Christian life in childhood, and a few day before she went to her eternal reward she said, “I am not afraid to die; I have loved God ever since I was a little girl”.
She was educated at the State Teachers’ College at Warrensburg, and at Park College in Parkville.
She was absolutely and wholly devoted to her family, her church, and Christ. During the 41 Years which she graced the Methodist parsonage like the queen that she was her whole life was given to the church so completely that she too could have said, “The zeal of thine house has eaten me up”. She was most active in every department of church work. In her Sunday School classes several young men were led to Christ and into the ministry of this Conference. She was aflame with the missionary spirit. Mrs. Crissman held many of the important offices of the W.F.M.S. in the local, conference and national organization.
She was a great lover. She almost worshipped her family. She loved the people of all the churches she served. She sought out the strangers and those least socially inclined, and loved them in such a way that they loved her Lord. She loved the preachers. To her “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! No one ever heard her utter a disparaging word about any of Christ’s ministers. How she loved the preachers’ wives! It was no accident that she was chosen president of the Conference Preachers’ Wives organization, and it is no disparagement to others that she was often spoken of as the best loved woman in Conference.
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| Willard Crissman with his mother Joanna Frances Smith Crissman. |
Claude Earl Olver (Pompa's grandfather) Claude Earl Olver set a very high bar for honesty, integrity, and service. He was treasurer of the Carbondale (PA) Methodist Church for 37 years...Past Master of Lodge 249 Masons, and the Recording Secretary for 16 years...Past Commander of Carbondale Knights Templar...Head Cashier of Miners and Mechanics Bank...honorary Director of Carbondale YMCA. He was Manager of Berry's Furniture Store before retiring. While bank Head Cashier, Claude notified the bank examiners that the bank president was embezzling funds. This was during the U.S. Great Depression, in 1931. Claude was aware this action would cost him his job. The bank was forced to close. Claude had encouraged friends to invest in the bank's stock, but they never lost any money, because he and his wife, Florence, sold their home and made good their losses. They never owned another home. Claude was forty-eight at the time. (The rest of the story: The bank president came to Claude's home to kill him, but was intercepted by his assigned policeman guard. Claude was an excellent athlete, playing team baseball and recognized as an outstanding tennis player in the area.) A great man in our family, Claude Earl Olver.
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| Florence Maude with daughter Florence Martha in the first photo. Next photo is Claude with family dog, Buddy. Last photo is Claude with daughter Florence Martha, who was their only child. Claude and Beautiful referred to each other as Dad and Mommy. |
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| This is the home Claude and Beautiful sold to repay the investers. They never again owned a home. |
In addition to her church responsibilities, she was president of the Century Club of Carbondale, President of the Ladies Auxiliary to the Palestine Commandery Knights Templar. Beautiful and Claude were a team. Remember, she supported Claude in selling their home to repay those who had invested and lost money in Claude's failed bank.
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| Claude Earl Olver |
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| Grandfather Crissman sang " Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" every morning. |
Benjamin Frank Crissman’s father and mother came to Missouri in the 1850s. Before coming from
Sinking Valley, Pennsylvania two of his sisters had been born. They rode in a wagon to Pittsburgh and
there they got on the Ohio River and rode on the river to the Mississippi River and took that to St. Louis,
Mo. There his father bought horses and a wagon and they rode from St. Louis to Tipton, Mo. There he
contracted to help build the roadbed for the Missouri Pacific Railroad from Tipton to Sedalia and earned
enough money to buy a farm. He then drove to Henry Co., Mo. and bought a farm there in the mid
1850s. Two of his brothers were born in Tipton while his father worked there. The rest of the children
were born in Henry, Co. MO. They had a total of eleven children, one of whom died in Pennsylvania.
Frank was the 10th of the 11 children. His father bought a farm of two hundred acres. His father built a
house there in Tipton like the one his grandfather had in Pennsylvania. It was a large house with 7
rooms. They had very little heat in the house; a fireplace in the living room and stoves in the kitchen and
one bedroom where wood was burned.
There was no heat in the upstairs area where most of the children slept. In the winter it was very cold there. Grandfather and other siblings slept in front of the fireplace until their father forced them to go upstairs which was very hard in the winter months. They joined the Methodist church there since there was no Lutheran church in that area and went to church each Sunday. They rode in the wagon on straw with their father to church. Grandfather hurried in to hear the opening hymn and prayer. Later a Sunday School was started in a close by public school so the children could go there in the afternoon. His mother taught them all to pray and all said their prayers before they went to bed.
In their home they had very little time for fun. They sang on Sundays of a religious type but that was about all the music. At about the age of six he would go up in the barn and read from the Bible and sing hymns. He always knew he wanted to become a preacher. On the farm they had many cows and other animals. They had an orchard with all kinds of fruits and vegetables. They took a prize in Clinton for the apples, pears etc. that they had grown. They had more fruit at the fair than anyone else. They made 55 barrels of apple cider vinegar one summer. The children had no times to play games. They did have a large pond close by the farm so they would go to swim there. They all worked out in the fields. He first worked uncovering the corn. The only thing the family bought at a store was sugar and flour. They did also buy some shoes at a store. They did go to Clinton, Mo. to buy some suits of clothes.
He attended a small college in Henry Co. Mo. for a year. He attended Park College in northwestern MO. and studied religion there. He worked as a preacher even before he graduated. He graduated on June 8th, preached a sermon and then married June 28th. He then went to his first church to preach as a minister. He first met Joanna Frances Smith in Holden, Mo. when he was teaching school there. They continued their dating when they both attended Park College and married shortly after graduation. They had dated five years before they married.
He was sent to Osceola as a preacher and then was sent to Pleasant Hill, MO. for $750, and then went to the theological seminary in Evanston, Ill. He was then sent to Warrensburg, Mo. for a $1,000 and house. He then was sent to Kansas City for $1,600 and house. He worked in St. Joseph for $1,800 and worked to close down houses of ill repute there and had many people very angry with him. The governor of the state called him down to Jefferson City and he told him the corruption of the police in
There was no heat in the upstairs area where most of the children slept. In the winter it was very cold there. Grandfather and other siblings slept in front of the fireplace until their father forced them to go upstairs which was very hard in the winter months. They joined the Methodist church there since there was no Lutheran church in that area and went to church each Sunday. They rode in the wagon on straw with their father to church. Grandfather hurried in to hear the opening hymn and prayer. Later a Sunday School was started in a close by public school so the children could go there in the afternoon. His mother taught them all to pray and all said their prayers before they went to bed.
In their home they had very little time for fun. They sang on Sundays of a religious type but that was about all the music. At about the age of six he would go up in the barn and read from the Bible and sing hymns. He always knew he wanted to become a preacher. On the farm they had many cows and other animals. They had an orchard with all kinds of fruits and vegetables. They took a prize in Clinton for the apples, pears etc. that they had grown. They had more fruit at the fair than anyone else. They made 55 barrels of apple cider vinegar one summer. The children had no times to play games. They did have a large pond close by the farm so they would go to swim there. They all worked out in the fields. He first worked uncovering the corn. The only thing the family bought at a store was sugar and flour. They did also buy some shoes at a store. They did go to Clinton, Mo. to buy some suits of clothes.
He attended a small college in Henry Co. Mo. for a year. He attended Park College in northwestern MO. and studied religion there. He worked as a preacher even before he graduated. He graduated on June 8th, preached a sermon and then married June 28th. He then went to his first church to preach as a minister. He first met Joanna Frances Smith in Holden, Mo. when he was teaching school there. They continued their dating when they both attended Park College and married shortly after graduation. They had dated five years before they married.
He was sent to Osceola as a preacher and then was sent to Pleasant Hill, MO. for $750, and then went to the theological seminary in Evanston, Ill. He was then sent to Warrensburg, Mo. for a $1,000 and house. He then was sent to Kansas City for $1,600 and house. He worked in St. Joseph for $1,800 and worked to close down houses of ill repute there and had many people very angry with him. The governor of the state called him down to Jefferson City and he told him the corruption of the police in
St. Joseph and the governor fired all of them. He then worked in Shenandoah, Iowa, for the same money
and then Sedalia, Mo for $2,100 a year plus a parsonage. He was eventually sent to St. Louis as a district
supervisor and paid $6,000 a year for six years. He then went to Carthage and then Sedalia and then
Joplin. His health failed there and he retired and moved to Kansas City. His wife died there in June of
1934, before I was born. They had three children; Helen Jo, Willard Frank, and Maymie Rebecca
Katherine (Sally) Crissman born in different cities because of all their moves.
He performed my mother’s marriage (his daughter to my father). He also married Nick and me at age eighty‐nine, at my mother’s home. He was always a very loving, kind grandfather. When the family told him that we had joined the LDS church he responded, “They are fine people”. Prior to telling him that, they had been very concerned about telling him and we were very pleased with his response.
I have sealed him and his wife and all their children in the Temple. I know they are so happy to be together forever in heaven.
He performed my mother’s marriage (his daughter to my father). He also married Nick and me at age eighty‐nine, at my mother’s home. He was always a very loving, kind grandfather. When the family told him that we had joined the LDS church he responded, “They are fine people”. Prior to telling him that, they had been very concerned about telling him and we were very pleased with his response.
I have sealed him and his wife and all their children in the Temple. I know they are so happy to be together forever in heaven.
My father, Willard Elwin Shinkle, was born September 5, 1905 in Cadmus. Linn, Kansas. There were
no hospitals in the area. He was the youngest of the children. He worked hard on their farm and in their
local small grocery store. He was the only one of the children who went to college. He attended Baker
University in Baldwin, Kansas where he met my mother Maymie R.K. (Sally) Crissman.
They were married during the great depression and bought a car with borrowed money. They didn’t like owing money so they ate beans, rice and no meat or extra foods so they could pay off the debt quickly. They started teaching school in a small town in Kansas and saved their money.
With the saved money he opened a grocery store in Wellsville, KS., and because it was still the depression many customers couldn’t always pay for what they bought but he allowed them to take what they needed. He also opened a small truck line and during the 2nd World War gas was rationed so he would take groceries out to the country for people who couldn’t drive into town. He hired a local man to be the driver and they bought a home across the street from us in Wellsville. Also with this truck line he hauled local cattle and pigs to Kansas City where they could be butchered and sold.
When the 2nd World War started he soon volunteered to serve in the army, but he was discharged early because my mother couldn’t handle all the responsibilities and was about to have a breakdown. I have his Honorable Discharge paper showing he was 37 years old, had blue eyes, gray hair, and light complexion and was 5 ft. 11 and 1⁄2 inches. He returned to Wellsville to run the grocery store and the truck line until he bought a John Deere dealership in Liberty, MO.
We bought a home in Kansas City very close to where my Grandfather Crissman lived. He ran the John Deere dealership for many years and was very successful. He hired a black man as his head mechanic and locals were angry when my Dad wouldn’t fire him, so they broke the window of his large facility. He made many friends there as he had in Wellsvile because he was generous and kind. He was asked to run for mayor but he declined to be that involved in things outside his own business.
He had a very good singing voice and would sing when my mother played the piano. He was always a
very loving and kind father. We didn’t get to see a lot of him with the business about 40 miles from our
home. He would go to church on Sundays with the family when we were in town, but we often went
down into Kansas to visit his family on that day since that was the only day his business was closed.
In the mid 1950’s he became very depressed and in that era there were no anti‐depressent meds and so he eventually committed suicide. I was in Europe at the time and when I learned about his tragic death I couldn’t eat for several days. The funeral service was beautiful. There were many people there from Wellsville, Fontana and all his siblings with their families. He was buried in a cemetery in Garnett, Kansas close to his parents and other family members. The graveside service was perfect.
I am so grateful he was/is my father and look forward to seeing him again in the next life.
Joanna Shinkle Nicklin
They were married during the great depression and bought a car with borrowed money. They didn’t like owing money so they ate beans, rice and no meat or extra foods so they could pay off the debt quickly. They started teaching school in a small town in Kansas and saved their money.
With the saved money he opened a grocery store in Wellsville, KS., and because it was still the depression many customers couldn’t always pay for what they bought but he allowed them to take what they needed. He also opened a small truck line and during the 2nd World War gas was rationed so he would take groceries out to the country for people who couldn’t drive into town. He hired a local man to be the driver and they bought a home across the street from us in Wellsville. Also with this truck line he hauled local cattle and pigs to Kansas City where they could be butchered and sold.
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| Elwin Shinkle is second from the left. He is pictured here with his brothers, brothers-in-law and grandfather John J. Shinkle. |
When the 2nd World War started he soon volunteered to serve in the army, but he was discharged early because my mother couldn’t handle all the responsibilities and was about to have a breakdown. I have his Honorable Discharge paper showing he was 37 years old, had blue eyes, gray hair, and light complexion and was 5 ft. 11 and 1⁄2 inches. He returned to Wellsville to run the grocery store and the truck line until he bought a John Deere dealership in Liberty, MO.
We bought a home in Kansas City very close to where my Grandfather Crissman lived. He ran the John Deere dealership for many years and was very successful. He hired a black man as his head mechanic and locals were angry when my Dad wouldn’t fire him, so they broke the window of his large facility. He made many friends there as he had in Wellsvile because he was generous and kind. He was asked to run for mayor but he declined to be that involved in things outside his own business.
In the mid 1950’s he became very depressed and in that era there were no anti‐depressent meds and so he eventually committed suicide. I was in Europe at the time and when I learned about his tragic death I couldn’t eat for several days. The funeral service was beautiful. There were many people there from Wellsville, Fontana and all his siblings with their families. He was buried in a cemetery in Garnett, Kansas close to his parents and other family members. The graveside service was perfect.
I am so grateful he was/is my father and look forward to seeing him again in the next life.
Joanna Shinkle Nicklin
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| Willard Elwin Shinkle with daughter, Joanna Claire Shinkle ( bride) Mary Rebecca Shinkle ( Becky) and Helen Virginia Shinkle and other bride's maid is sister in law to Joanna. This was Joanna's wedding to the infamous Mr. Brown. |
WILLIAM MONTROSE NICKLIN ( ME Nicklin's father)
I saw my paternal grandfather about four times over the years. He was not a "family man" according to his son. William was an Official of the South Penn Oil Company. He was a former field production superintendent in the Bradford, PA District. He died alone int his hotel apartment, at the El Tovar Hotel in St. Petersburg. He is buried in the Grove Hill Cemetery in Oil City, PA. He once wrote his son, Maurice, apologizing for the fact that he was not a good father to him. Sad
Alice was mother to Maurice Edward Nicklin ( Pompa 1) and two other sons. A daughter, Ethel Idelia, died in infancy. She never became a part of my life, as I only met her twice. Growing up, Pompa 1 revered his grandmother, Ma Shiner, whom he gave credit for raising him and instilling excellent excellent values for life.
Ralph Eusebius Nicklin with wife Sarah Furman Kelly were married October 2, 1867 and had eleven children ( six girls and five boys) The third oldest was William Montrose Nicklin ( father to Maurice Edward Nicklin) . Everyone called him Red because of the red hair that grew in his beard.
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