Introduction
This essay was found on the World Family Tree in the Genealogy of Hugh and Marian (Yancy) Zorger. This was no doubt written by Omar I. Oshel who was in contact with my father, Galen W. Oshel, in the early 1960's while both were doing research on our family. While this essay is very informative, and makes for a good read, it still doesn't answer the question of the Iowa/Kansas Oshel connection. - David E. Oshel

HISTORIES of JAMES OSHEL FAMILIES.

The following histories necessarily will be limited and sketchy, because at the time (1963) I began these genealogies and histories, Genevra Oshel was the only living second generation member of the families of OSHELS, JOYS and HALES that migrated to Kansas in the 1860's, therefore, first hand information is limited.

The heads of these families are: Thomas and Amelia Ann (Rollins) Joy and Michael and Melissa (Wilson) Hale. The genealogies of the OSHELS, JOYS and HALES are related as follows:

James Oshel and Michael Hale married sisters; two of Michael Hale's sons, Thomas T. and Joseph H. married two of Wilson Oshel's daughters Sarah Ann and Harriette; Lillian Oshel, a daughter of Peter M. Oshel, two of Michael's nephews, Alfred Chalmer Hale and Willard Hale who were first cousins; and Frances E. Hale, a daughter of Michael married David Weisinger, a brother of Mary (Weisinger) Joy.

The OSHELS, JOYS and HALES all came from the same general area in Ohio and it is an established fact that Michael Hale and family were here at the time of Quantrill's raid on Lawrence in 1863. (See Hale History).

An interesting and intriguing question to the author of these histories: Why did the OSHELS, JOYS and HALES all farmers, leave the relative security of the comparatively fertile southeast area of Ohio for the insecurity and uncertainty of the untamed prairies of Kansas?

Kansas, part of the Great American Desert - home of the Indian, the buffalo, the tornado and the frontiersman - so designated by the early explorers.

As mentioned above, the early explorers, being familiar with the wooded areas of the eastern United States, seeing only a vast expanse of grass, few if any trees and not much water in comparison with the eastern area, labelled it "The Great American Desert" suitable as a habitat of the Indian. By the early 1800's the area east of the Mississippi River was becoming quite thickly populated and the Indians were in the way (undesirable neighbors), therefore, a movement was begun which culminated in the removal and resettlement from 1820 to 1840 of most of the Indians east of the Mississippi River to the territories of Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.

Many of these Indians were farmers; later, explorers of this region and travellers of the Santa Fe Trail, noticing the luxurant grass all over this area and also the bountiful crops of corn, beans, squash, etc. grown by the Indians, decided that this was very desirable land, therefore, began the movement which deprived the Indians of their vested rights in the land (this land had been deeded to the Indians in Perpetuity by the United States Goverment).

The answer to the above perplexing question probably is a two pronged one. These families were part of that great pioneering movement that discovered and settled this country; secondly, and probably the appropriate answer was the passage of the Homestead Act of 1862 which gave land to discharged Union soldiers, and the organization of "Eastern Emmigration Aid Societies" whose purpose was to urge and assist, where necessary, people to settle in Kansas, probably for several reasons:

(1) to keep Kansas free from slavery, (2) the Federal Government wanted railroads to span the continent connecting the eastern and western coasts, and the early settlers were clamoring for railroads, therefore the builders of the railroads received extensive grants of land from the government to assist them in the building of these railroads, and the management of them wanted the land settled because the products produced on it would be a source of revenue as it was transported to market, therefore they offered very liberal inducements to settlers; and (3) the urgent need for a population sufficiently large enough for Kansas to be incorporated as a State. "In the end, one is tempted to conclude that the westward surge is human instinct, like the need to love, or to taste spring air and believe again that life is not a dead-end after all" - Daniel Lavender in Westward Vision.

a. KANSAS, A History of the Jahawk State. Zornow. b. The Oshels were strongly anti-slavery (there was a rumor floating around when I was a young man, to the effect that the Oshel home in Ohio was a station of the "underground" roots of Negro's fleeing slavery in the south to Freedom in Canada. c. This Place Called Kansas - Howe.

When did the Oshels come to Kansas? It is an established fact that Michael and Melissa Hale were in Kansas in the early 1860's because they were here at the time of Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, August 21, 1963 (See Hale History). The fact that Sarah Wilson Oshel and Melissa Wilson Hale are sisters may have influenced James and Sarah Oshel to come to Kansas. According to the record in the Register of Deeds Office iin Olathe, James Oshel purchased the SE 30-13-22 on July 31, 1866, and he received a "Quit Claim" deed to this land from Thomas and Annie O. Rosington for one dollar and other considerations, dated July 26, 1866; both deeds were entered for record on August 8, 1866.

It is known that James and Sarah Oshel and their children William Wilson, Peter McGowan, James Findley, Sarah Anne, John H., Thomas Wesley, and Mary E. with their families (those that had them) excepting their daughter Elizabeth J. Oshel Horton, came to Kansas following the Civil War and settled in Johnson County. John H. and Becky A. later returned to Ohio or West Virginia. It is recorded in the History of the State of Kansas by A. T. Andreas, 1883, page 842, that Thomas Wesley Oshel came to Kansas in February 1868. It is also recorded in the same volume that Mary E. Oshel married Alex Leamer at Prairie Centre in 1863. Alta (Couch) Jennings a grandaughter of W. W. Oshel said, my mother Adriana Oshel (b. 4-12-1866) was born in Kansas across and about one-eighth mile back north from the road along the north side of the Hesper Friends Church (which was founded in 1862) and grandfather W. W. Oshel's children born prior to my mother were born in Ohio. Elva Hale Miller, a grandaughter of P. M. Oshel said, "Aunt Irene was the baby whe our folks came to Kansas and she was born in 1863, and Aunt Annabelle was born in Kansas in 1866, and is Burialed in the Prairie Centre Cemetery." I can remember my father, Thomas Wesley Jr. saying "I was four years old at the time the trip was made to Kansas. (He was born July 12, 1861 at Summerfield, Ohio, Noble County), therefore, he was in his fourth year at the time Thomas Wesley Oshel Sr. came to Kansas, basis, the record of the "History of the State of Kansas by Andreas 1883, which would confirm the date of 1866) and I can remember the trip from Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, to Johnson County by stage coach and the crossing of the Kansas River at Desoto on the ice, stage coach and all."

Therefore I think it is safe to assume that 1866 is the correct date for the arrival of James and Sarah Oshel in Kansas with their following chhildren: William Wilson, Peter McGowen, Thomas Wesley, and Mary E. It is also recorded in the "History of the State of Kansas, by Andreas, 1883, page 831 that Welcome Curtis and his father F. Hiram Curtis came to Kansas in 1869; John H. Oshel and his wife Becky A. may have come with them. According to the record of "Geneology of the Oshels, dating from 1761 - 1940, Secured and Compiled by Karl E. Victor (a son-in-law of J. Findley Oshel) the Findley Oshel branch migrated from Marietta, Ohio to Kansas in the 1870's. How was the trip made from Ohio to Kansas? Genevra Oshel Anderson said, "I understand that they came as far as St. Louis by covered wagon and then possibly by train to Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, since Dad (Thomas Wesley) was a discharged soldier." It has not been possible to learn much concerning my ancestors prior to my great-grandparents, James and Sarah Oshel. Where did the Oshels migrate from to America? When and where did they first settle in America? According to the information in a letter from Mrs. C. E. Oshel, Topeka, Kansas, dated October 27, 1937, and quoting from a letter from Mrs. Davis of Washington, D. C. "Basis the census records, James Oshel (Oshal in the 1880 census) was living in Franklin Twp., Monroe Co., Ohio in both 1850 and 1860; he was born in Pennsylvannia and his wife, Sarah, is listed in both censuses as having been born in Virginia." It is an established fact that William Wilson Oshel was born in Stafford, Monroe Co., Ohio and Elizabeth E. Hutchins was born in Hacksburg, Noble Co., Ohio and was living at Vincent, Washington Co., Ohio at the time she and W. W. Oshel were married; they lived at Summerfield, Noble Co., Ohio at the rime my father, Thomas Wesley Oshel Jr. was born. In my research, I have found information concerning the following Oshels: (1) John Wallace Oshel, (1827 - 1812): Harry Wesley Oshel wrote, "My grandfather, John W. Oshel came from Ohio. He was married twice as his first wife died and was Burialed on the plains. My father, Officer James Oshel was born in Ringold Co., Iowa and all are farmers." John Wesley Oshel married Mary Virginia Beam whose parents freed their slaves and moved to Iowa before the Civil War. Galen W. Oshel, a grandson of Officer James Oshel (1880 - 1944) who is a son of John Wesley Oshel wrote, "When I was a youth my grandfather told us quite a lot about the Oshel family which I am happy to relate to you. According to my grandfather there was but one Oshel family who migrated to America, they were of Dutch-Holland descent and eventually settled in the area of southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky. At the time they were still wearing wooden shoes. They migrated westward in a large wagon train led by the famous plainsman Kit Carson, his family staying in Iowa and some of the others travelling on westward. (2) The other Oshel, Jesse Oshel, (1832 - 1915) an honorably discharged veteran of the Civil War, moved from Lafayette, Indiana to Neosho Falls, Kansas and resided in southeast Kansas until his death and is Burialed at Walda, Kansas, (reported by Carl Oshel, a grandson of the above Jesse Oshel). Hallie Oshel Williams, a grandaughter of John Wesley Oshel (1726 - 1912) Creston, Iowa, said, "My father Elmer Jesse was named for an uncle who lived in Kansas". If this Jesse is the uncle, this would make these two Oshel brothers who could very well be cousins of James Oshel's children. It seems to be common knowledge that the Oshels migrated from Germany to America. Euphema Oshel Barnes once said, "In my travels in southeast Kansas, I met some Oshels who were so "Dutch" I could hardly understand them." Joseph Herbert Oshel a grandson of J. Findlay Oshel said, "So far as we know, all of the Oshels came from Ohio; my father mentioned that his great or great-great-grandfather came from Germany while a young man (possibly a brother came with him), he never would tell why he came over, he married an Irish woman and lived to be nearly 100 years old. We had a neighbor here (Alva, Okla.) who was a Russion-German and said, "He often saw the name Oshel in his paper." The name Oshel, Oshal, Oschel, Oschell, as it is often spelled gives credence to the story that the Oshels were of German extraction. The first contingent of Oshels who arrived in Kansas settled near Prairie Centre, ten miles west of Olathe in 1866. The year before the Oshel migration, James Oshel purchsed the SE 30-13-22, which came right into the northeast corner of Prairie Centre from Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Halin (Indians) for $400.00 in 1865, James and Sarah Oshel sold the SE 30-13-22 to John H. and Becky A. Oshel and in 1870 John and Becky Oshel gave a life estate in this forty acres to James and Sarah Oshel which was their home until their deaths. In 1868 John H. Oshel purchased the SE 29-13-22 from S. N. Thorp for $160.00 and sold it in 1872. William Wilson Oshel (1826 - 1929) when he moved to Johnson Co., settled one mile north and one-half mile east of Prairie Centre, probably on the NW 29-13-22, which he purchased from Robert McCowish (an Indian) for $200.00 in 1871. He purchased SW 30-13-22 which came right into the northwest corner of Prairie Centre, from Ezekiel K. Cox for $800.00; this eighty acres was sold in 1873 and in 1880 he purchased from G. W. Voss for $1200.00, and moved to the NE 12-13-22, one and one-half miles north of Prairie Centre, which he owned until his death. November 19, 1866 P. M. Oshel purchased the SE 30-13-22 from James Oshel for $400.00. Lillian O. Hale, a daughter of P. M. Oshel retained this forty until she sold it to Charles H. and Margaret Grady, October 22, 1930. In 1883 P. M. Oshel purchased the SE 34-13-22 and NW 3-14-22 from E. L. Fields, for $3600.00, this was 5 miles southeast of Prairie Centre. In 1886 he purchased the NE 3-14-22 from John M. Egelhoff and wife for $3500.00, part of the first purchase belongs to J. McKinley Keegan, December 24, 1891. John Keegan purchased the SE 34-13-22 from Frank and ida Efinger for $2100.00 and December 29, 1903 he purchased the NW 3- 14-22 from Callie S. Newell for $2500.00; these two tracts are owned by J. M. Keegan, a son of John Keegan (1969). J. Findlay Oshel settled four miles east of Prairie Centre in the Willow Springs community and in 1882, he and his son Herman purchased the SE 3-13-22 from J. W. Sponable and wife for $1200.00 which he owned until his death in 1921. Welcome and Sarah Ann Oshel Curtis who came to Kansas in the spring of 1869 according to the record in the History of the State of Kansas; Andreas 1883, page 831, settled just northwest of Olathe on SE 13-33-22 which they and Welcome's father F. Hiram Curtis purchased from William and Jane Anthony in 1870 for $6000.00. In 1879 F. Hiram Curtis and wife Naomi sole an undivided one-half interest in this farm to Welcome Curtis for $3500.00; in 1889 Welcome and Sarah Ann Curtis sold the SE 15-13-22 to Linus and Emily Curtis, Noble County Ohio) for $8000.00 and in 1893 at a Sheriff's sale Linus Curtis purchased this quarter section for $4000.00 to settle a claim against it. (International Loan and Trust Company Plaintiff, Welcome Curtis, Sarah Ann Curtis and Hiram Curtis, Defendants). In 1893, Linus and Emily Curtis, Summerfield, Ohio, sold the SE 15-13-22 to Ransom Having for $3800.00. In 1882 Welcome Curtis purchased from Hannah A. Morrison, Guardian of the four minor heirs of Robert C. Morrison, their one-eighth interest in the above quarter section for $210.00 and in 1883 Welcome Curtis purchased from Jane C. Morrison, Alleghany Co., Penn., her interests in this quarter section for $900.00 and in 1883, Welcome and Sarah Ann Curtis sold an undivided one-half interest in this quarter section to Hiram Curtis for $730.00 and in 1885, F. Hiram Curtis and wife Naomi sold an undivided one-half interest in this quarter section to Welcome Curtis for $1.00, love and affection and other valuable considerations. In 1892, this quarter section sold at a Sheriff's sale to Frank N. Lifin for $1200.00. According to the record in the History of the State of Kansas, Andreas, 1883, page 842, Thomas Wesley Oshel (1841 - 1929) was born in Monroe Co., Ohio, February 17, 1841 and was reared on a farm; he enlisted September 1, 1864 in Company 1,178 Ohio Infantry, serving until June 22, 1865. He came to Kansas in February 1866; December 5, 1867 he married Nancy Jane Leamer and according to Genevra Oshel Anderson, they settled one-half mile east of Prairie Centre on the south side of the road, where all their children were born. This farm was NE 31-13-22 and NW 32-13-22, which T.. W. Oshel purchased from Michael Hale on May 2, 1868 for $320.00, then September 30, 1868 he purchased the same land from widow Fiblow (a Shawnee Indian) for $350.00. (It appears that Michael Hale had squatted on the land, claimed it from the Indians, a lot of this was done, then later the Indian Agency claimed this was illegal, therefore, for the purchaser to project his investment he had to purchase it again from the Indian owner.) In 1883, T. W. Oshel purchased the SE 29-13-22, one mile east of Prairie Centre from H. A. Simmons for $2100.00; this was home until he moved to the home of his parents, James and Sarah Oshel, to care for them in their declining years; their home was on the north edge of Prairie Centre, on SE 30-13-22. Alex Leamer, according to the record in the History of the State of Kansas, Andreas, 1883, page 842, was born in Haldersburg, Blair Co., Penn., and come to Kansas in 1956 locating with his Uncle William Leamer at Lacompton, Douglas Co., and was engaged in the mercantile business; in the fall of 1862 he enlisted in the 9th Kansas Cavalry, serving three years, in 1885, he came to Lexington, Johnson County and purchased the SE 18-13-22 from his brother-in-law, Charles B. Pellett and wife, Kate (Alex Leamer and Kate Pellett were brother and sister) for $200.00; in 1868 Alex Leamer married Mary E. Oshel at Prairie Centre and in 1870 , Alex and Mary E. O. Leamer purchased the NE 18-13-22 from C. B. and Kate Pellett for $240.00; their home was on this quarter section three miles north of Prairie Centre. James Gil and Sarah Ophelia (Horton) Freeman lived south of Desoto on the SW 13-13-22 (she is a daughter of Elizabeth (Oshel) Horton, who is a daughter of James and Sarah Oshel.