I was in Lawrence the weekend of January 13-14. It was Mom's (that's Aunt Ruthanne to many of you) 82nd birthday, and Dick and Carol Hoffine, and Sue and Jim Marvine were kind enough to brave an ice storm and drive from Kansas City to Lawrence for Ruthanne's birthday party. Phil and Sharylyn Lacey (my brother and his wife) were there from McPherson, Kansas, as was our sister, Jean, who lives outside of Boston.
Dick and I have been talking about a Finley reunion in Cottonwood Falls for a couple of years now, and Phil (my brother) and I had been thinking about one for a while before that.
So, one of the topics at the birthday party was the reunion, and we decided we'd better get in gear if it was going to happen this summer.
We're just getting started on this page, but I wanted to get the flyer out in the mail and have a place all could go to get information.
I'll add links for lodging in the area. Many of us will plan to be in Cottonwood for more than one day, but July 4th is the day we'd like everyone who can to be there.
We're planning a catered picnic, and are looking for the perfect location for that.
We'll also create a map for self-guided tours, with all the historic points of interest. Of course, we don't want anyone to get lost in Cottonwood.
We'd like to have a golf tournament at the country club. Many of you have never played on sand "greens". And some of you have maybe never played at all. But if you have any Finley blood in you, we'll want to see you out there on the links. Don't worry about clubs--if we have a bag or two to share from, we'll do fine. A set of lefties would just make it that much more fun. And since the golf course is the same land A. D. and Lucinda Findley settled on in 1858, evreyone will want to visit this site anyway.
Feel free to email or call me with any questions: 2laceys@gmail.com or 415.256.9500 (& that's in San Francisco, Pacific time)
Really hoping to see everyone this summer!
Bruce Lacey
Friday, January 26, 2007
Some Finley history
From Phil Lacey:
The A.D. Findley homestead was the Northwest Quarter of Section 33, Township 19 South, Range 8 East, Chase County, which is located at the very southeastern edge of the platted city of Cottonwood Falls. That is the location of the municipal golf course. (I think I verified the legal description years ago in the courthouse records, but didn't write it down. I couldn't find any maps on the internet that would verify other than the section location, and that the creek flows through it.) Anyway, it's close.
Gideon, born in Johnstown, PA in 1857, was brought to Kansas by Alexander D. and Lucinda his wife when they settled in the area (which was in about 1858, prior to passage of the Homestead Act by Congress in 1862). They spent about a year at Prairie City (Baldwin) after coming from PA before going on to Chase County. The claim is that Gideon was the first white child in Chase County. He was NOT the first white child BORN in Chase County, because he wasn't born there.
Gideon changed the spelling of the family name to Finley. I don't know exactly when that was, but I suspect about the time he became of age. His wife was Elvira (Ella) Seaman, and they were married in 1882.
I can supply about anything you want to know about the Finleys from my extensive archives saved from destruction in 2005!
The A.D. Findley homestead was the Northwest Quarter of Section 33, Township 19 South, Range 8 East, Chase County, which is located at the very southeastern edge of the platted city of Cottonwood Falls. That is the location of the municipal golf course. (I think I verified the legal description years ago in the courthouse records, but didn't write it down. I couldn't find any maps on the internet that would verify other than the section location, and that the creek flows through it.) Anyway, it's close.
Gideon, born in Johnstown, PA in 1857, was brought to Kansas by Alexander D. and Lucinda his wife when they settled in the area (which was in about 1858, prior to passage of the Homestead Act by Congress in 1862). They spent about a year at Prairie City (Baldwin) after coming from PA before going on to Chase County. The claim is that Gideon was the first white child in Chase County. He was NOT the first white child BORN in Chase County, because he wasn't born there.
Gideon changed the spelling of the family name to Finley. I don't know exactly when that was, but I suspect about the time he became of age. His wife was Elvira (Ella) Seaman, and they were married in 1882.
I can supply about anything you want to know about the Finleys from my extensive archives saved from destruction in 2005!
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