Ancestor Biographies

PATERNAL

Harry Sanford Hicks
Born July 22, 1909 in Kansas City, Missouri to Albert Lee and Jessie Faye James Hicks. The oldest of three children, he would later have a sister, Nadine, and a brother, Robert L. At age 12 he injured an eye in a pellet gun accident and missed a semester of school, but still managed to make up for lost time, graduating at the top of his 8th Grade class. Later, before discharge from the Army (1941-1945), he had the affected eye removed and used a prosthetic eye after that. Before he was injured he had started violin lessons, but could not practice and had to give it up. In high school he played football and basketball, and participated in debate and plays. He attended Pittsburg and Emporia State Teachers Colleges, and worked as a labor machine operator on the railroad between going to college and teaching school. He first taught in the Harvey County and Plevna, Kansas schools, then at Manhattan Junior High School from 1939 to 1948. He then left teaching and started work as a Claims Adjuster for Kansas Farm Bureau Insurance in Manhattan, becoming Personnel Manager in August 1957 until his retirement in 1974. Harry took up painting, first as a hobby, then in art classes where he worked in oils and water color. Harry was one of those selected by the Manhattan City Commission in 1963 to become a member of the Human Relations Board when it was organized that year. He  also served on the Board of the Riley County Chapter of the Red Cross for 14 years, participated in the Manhattan Civic Theater, was a Cub Scout Leader, and an ardent Kansas State University sports fan. The First Congregational Church enjoyed his services on the Board of Trustees and the Board of Deacons. He was a member of Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity and Sertoma Club, Pearce-Keller Post #17 of the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans; Lafayette Lodge #16, AF&AM; and the Shrine Club (32nd degree Mason). He married Marjorie Eleanor Hill at her parent's home on July 21, 1942 and had three children: Janice Kay (b.1945), Barbara Lynne (b.1946), and Robert S. (b. 1951) He had lived in Manhattan, Kansas for 43 years at the time of his death on September 24, 1982. Funeral services were held at the First Congregational Church in Manhattan, the Rev. M.C. Allen officiating, and he was buried beside his wife, Marjorie, in Sunrise Cemetery, also in Manhattan.

Albert Lee Hicks
Father of Harry Sanford Hicks, was born December 21, 1885 at Grace, Missouri in Carroll County, the son of Christopher Columbus Hicks and Martha Richeson Hicks, and died at age 90 on November 5, 1976 in the Bethel Home for the Aged in Newton, Kansas. Funeral services were   officiated by the Rev. Rollin Dillinger and burial was at the Walton, Kansas Cemetery. About 1898 he saw his future wife, Jessie, on a family trip to the town of Norborne, and knew right away that this was "his girl". After his father (Christopher Hicks) died, the family moved about 1900 to Norborne and shortly thereafter, Jessie's parents bought a house a few doors away. They never really met until 1903, and although it was "love at first sight" for Albert, it took a while longer for Jessie. Albert had started a job as a section laborer for the Santa Fe Railroad in May 1904 at 12.5 cents/hour. They were married on June 26, 1907 in Jessie's home by Rev. Claude C. Taylor, Minister of the Christian Church. In 1914 they moved to Newton, Kansas, the 13th move for the family because of the transfers and jobs with the railroad. Several months later, yet a 14th move was made to Walton, Kansas. On the 17th move, in April 1937, he and Jessie bought their first home. It would be 7 more moves before they would find the house in Sedgwick  in March 1947 where they would stay. He retired from the railroad as a section foreman December 1, 1951.

Christopher Columbus Hicks
Father of Albert Hicks was born March 4, 1856 and died March 17, 1898.

Martha Angeline Richeson

Wife of Christopher Columbus Hicks, mother of Albert Hicks, born January 1, 1859; died July 4, 1934

Jessie Fae James
Mother of Harry Hicks, Jessie was born in Rockingham, Missouri June 16, 1886 and died in August 1973. She and her husband, Albert, were parents to three children, Harry Sanford, Nadine, and Robert Lee. Burial was in the Walton, Kansas Cemetery, the Reverend Richard E. Vail officiating

John Thomas James
Father of Jessie Fay James, was born in Arkansas March 4, 1938, lived most of his life in Carroll County, Missouri, and passed away May 1, 1918 at age 80 of paralysis. He is buried in Norborne, Missouri, service conducted by Rev. W.B. Corder of the Methodist Church. He served for the Union and enlisted on March 18, 1862 with the rank of Private with Company K, 3rd Regiment, Missouri State Militia Volunteers - Cavalry during   the Civil War and his military records describe him at age 47 as 5' 6" tall, light complexion, with blue eyes. While serving with Company K he was "disabled by measles, cold, and affliction of the eyes at Warrensburg, Missouri, December 25, 1864". He was discharged April 1865. He and Sarah Silbert were married September 21, 1865 in Carrollton, Missouri.

William James
Father of John T. James was an early settler to Carroll   County, Missouri who came from Tennessee before 1830. He is buried in the Ebenezer Cemetery west of Borard, Missouri.

Reliance Booth
Wife of William James, was also an early Carroll County settler from Tennessee.

Sarah Elizabeth Sibert
Born August 23, 1848 at Lexington, Missouri, was the daughter of Frank and Amanda Sibert. The mother of Jessie Fay James, she died March 29, 1920 at age 71 at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Jessie Hicks of Walton, Kansas. Funeral services were held at the Baptist Church in Norborne, Missouri. She married James T. James September 1, 1865 and had 11 children: Martha James (b. August 10, 1866), Frank (b. November 29, 1868), Infant Son (b. dead January?), Samuel (b. November 30, 1872), George (b. October 4, 1874), Ida (b. August 30, 1876), Charles (b. December 25, 1877), Bertie (b. October 4, 1880), Cora (b. October 5, 1883), Jessie (b. June 16, 1886), and Bessie (b. November 29, 1889).

MATERNAL

Marjorie Eleanor Hill
Born February 11, 1917 at the family home SE of Hutchinson, Kansas to Blaine Hill and Jenny Nelson Hill, one of eleven children and the 3rd child born after Elizabeth and Ernest Hill. She had twin brothers, Howard (who died in infancy) and Harold, who died at age 12 from a throat infection. Her sister, Betty June, died at age 14 from pneumonia.

She attended Emporia State College and graduated from Hutchinson Community College with a 2-year degree in 1937. She taught at Langdon Grade School and South Hayes. Her 1938 teaching contract was for $75/month, and in signing, she agreed to provide the necessary fuel and other such supplies for the classroom required by the county superintendent. In addition, she agreed to preserve the schoolhouse, grounds and furniture in good condition. While at South Hayes she coached a ten-member softball team which won the Reno County One-Teacher School Softball Title, and in doing so, beat out 15 other teams including her brother Joe's team at Rising Sun School. While teaching near Plevna she met Harry Hicks, who was teaching nearby. They married July 21, 1941 at her parents' home with sister, Elizabeth, playing piano and sisters, Mary Anne and Irene, singing a duet. They honeymooned in the Ozarks. Harry was drafted into the Army on August 7, 1941. Marjorie moved to Manhattan, Kansas when Harry got out of the Army and she did some substitute teaching at the Junior High School. Church was very important for both of them and they had many friends at the Congregational Church in Manhattan. Marjorie loved to sew and made most of her daughters' clothes until they graduated from high school. She and Harry had three children: Janice Kay, Barbara Lynne, and Robert Stanley. Marjorie died August 3, 1975 in St. Mary Hospital, Manhattan, Kansas of inflammatory breast cancer at age 58. Services were officiated by Reverend Julian Johnson at the First Congregational Church with interment in Sunrise Cemetery in Manhattan, Kansas. 

Blaine Hill
Born at home on the family farm in Clay Township, Reno County, Kansas on January 7, 1890 and died of a heart attack on September 5,  1966 at age 76 at Grace Hospital after a four week illness. He married   Jennie Nelson January 1, 1913 and was a life-long resident of Hutchinson, Kansas, retiring from KSIR after 23 years of service on April 1954. He and Jennie had 11 children: Elizabeth 1914-1995, Ernest 1915-1967, twins Harold 1921-1933 and Howard b. 1921 d. 1921, Marjorie 1917-1975, Mary Anne b. 1924, Irene b. 1926, Betty 1928-1942, Virginia b. 1932, Joseph b. 1919, and Donald b. 1930. He was a member of Emanuel Lutheran Church, where the Reverend H.O. Lindeblad officiated at his memorial services. Blaine is buried in Mitchell Cemetery.

Joseph Hill
Father of Blaine Hill, was born in England on December 29, 1854 and died in Hutchinson, Kansas February 28, 1922. Services were officiated by Rev. W.B. Stevens.

Jennie Nelson
Born at her parent's home east of Hutchinson, Kansas on April 28, 1893. At this time they lived in the Santa Fe Railroad town of Kent. She lived most of her life on the farm but didn't meet Blaine until they were in their teens. She attended Abee School and Swedish Lutheran Church while Blaine went to Maguire School and Clay Valley Methodist Church. She and Blaine were married January 1, 1913. Jennie died of a stroke on August 11, 1972. Services were held at Emanuel Lutheran Church, the Rev. H.O. Lindeblad officiating, and burial at Mitchell Cemetery.

James Nelson (Jons Nillson)
Born April 25, 1858 in Sjelland Province, Denmark, the son of Nels Anderson and Mettie Jansen Miller, and died in 1934. He came to America in 1888 and worked for the railroad. Along with Christina's savings   from running a boarding house for other railroad workers, they saved enough money to buy the farm east of Hutchinson in 1899.

Christina Johnson (Christina Jonsdotter)
Born at Virestad, Kronoberg, Sweden April 4, 1854 and, as a girl, was known as Pere's Christina. At 16 she went from Sweden to Denmark to work in a large dairy there. Her future husband, James Nelson, whom she married August 1881, worked there as a hostler and this is where they met and were married. After she came to America with James in 1887 she ran a boarding house for other railroad workers. She died May 27, 1934.

PATERNAL

John Windley Wilson, Sr.
The second oldest child of Wallace and Alice Brown Wilson, was born December 13, 1911 in Philadelphia. He received musical training on the violin and played this instrument for most of his life. He graduated from Frankford High School in Philadelphia, and then went into the work force as did his older brother Wally since the Depression of 1929 has then begun to erode the family’s financial resources. He married June Sparks on July 6, 1940 in Manassas, Virginia. During WWII he worked for Martin Aircraft Company in Baltimore, where his oldest son, John Jr. was born in 1944. Shortly after John Jr. was born he and his wife, June Sparks Wilson (born Catherine June Reif), moved with their son to a house on Laurel Avenue in Pitman, New Jersey, and John Sr. began a 33 year career with the Socony Vacuum Oil Company (now Exxon) as a laboratory technician. In 1947 a daughter, Nancy June, was born, and then, in 1956, another son, Richard Edwin. John continued to play the violin and was a member of the Woodbury Symphony Orchestra. He was past master and secretary of Pitman Lodge #197 AF&AM; past treasurer of the Pitman Lodge; past High Priest of Joshua Chapter #51 of Royal Arch Masons; past Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey; member of the Van Hook Council #8 of Royal and Select Masons; and member of Knight Masons Southern New Jersey Council #11. Throughout his life he was an avid and accomplished tennis player who enjoyed the competition and camaraderie. With his son, Richard, he also spent time scouting (Indian Guides) and camping. Two years after his retirement from Mobil John suffered a stroke and died at age 67 in Underwood Memorial Hospital, Woodbury, New Jersey on June 13,1979. Services were held at the Harold E. Haines Funeral Home in Pitman, the Reverend Jack R. Van Ens  officiating. He is buried in Eglington Cemetery, Clarksboro, New Jersey as are his wife, June, mother, Alice, and brother, Charles.

Wallace Wilson
Born February 6,1860 in the Radford Registration District of Nottinghamshire, England, the son of William Wilson, a porter in a hosiery warehouse, and Mary Elizabeth Mitchell. Although the exact date of his first trip to America is unknown, it is believed to have been around 1873. The 1880 U.S. Census shows Wallace, a 21-year old knitter residing with his aunt, Ester Osborn and her children in Philadelphia. Documented voyages of his into Ellis Island are 8/22/1906 from Liverpool on the Carmania, 7/28/1909 from Queenstown on the Oceania, 6/25/1913 from Southampton on the Oceania, 7/27/1914 from Liverpool on the Baltic,  8/17/1922 from Halifax, Nova Scotia on the Silvia, and 10/21/1924 From Southampton on the Munchen. On the 1909 voyage he was accompanied by his wife Alice, age 25, and daughter from his 1st marriage, Harriet Wilson. Wallace was an entrepreneur who prospered through his business, Wallace Wilson Hosiery Company in the Frankford section of Philadelphia. There was a big house in the Frankford area of Philadelphia, as well as a summer home in Rumson, NJ. Although he certainly believed that “kids were to be seen and not heard”, the nine children from his marriage to Alice were privy to many of the perks of an affluent family, including classical music study and training. Wallace and Alice were married on May 1, 1909 by the Rev. T.M.  Eastwood in the 1st Baptist Church in Burlington, NJ. Witnesses to the ceremony were Alice’s parents, James Delano Brown and Mary A. (Redman) Brown. The marriage was not without problems, however, and Wallace’s behavior grew more problematic. The Great Depression was very unkind to Wallace’s business, and most of his wealth and property were lost during  this time. In the early 30’s, his sons Wallace Jr. and John Windley assisted the remaining family, including their mother, Alice, in leaving the house and setting up residence elsewhere. Alice and Wallace did not live together after that time and were never formally divorced. Wallace died July 7, 1939  in either Rhode Island or Connecticut, and is buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery, Frankford & Cheltenham Aves. in Philadelphia, Lot 32 & 46, Section K, Vault, with his first wife, Carrie W. Wilson; his parents, William and Mary Wilson; sister, Harriet G.; and other relatives from his first marriage.

Alice Brown Wilson
Born August 12, 1886, one of 13 children, to James Delano Brown of Pennsylvania and Mary A. (Redman) Brown of Talbot County, Maryland. She was raised in Burlington, NJ and married at age 24 to Wallace Wilson, then 50. She and Wallace had nine children: Wallace, Jr., John Windley, Robert, James B., Ruth, Margaret, Alice, Dorothy, and Charles. Alice died March 31, 1955 in Temple, Texas and is buried in Eglington Cemetery in Clarksboro, NJ.

James Delano Brown
Born October 11, 1845 in Frankford, Philadelphia, PA to John Brown and Margaret Delano Brown; married to Mary A. Redman, of Maryland, February 28,1878. James fought for the Union Army with Company K, 121st Pennsylvania Volunteers, and saw battlefield action at Fredericksburg, VA where he sustained a sprained ankle. His military records describe him at age 17 as "5' 9” tall, fair complexion, blue eyes, brown hair, and by profession, a machinist". After experiencing a series of debilitating illnesses (ulcers, migraines, rheumatism, poor eyesight), he received an honorable discharge for general disability. He later served with and retired as an officer with the Philadelphia Police Department. He died on January 31, 1927 and is buried in Magnolia Cemetery in Philadelphia, along with his wife, Mary, and children, Charles Edmund (b. December 18, 1902), Arthur Redman (b. November 4, 1890), and Edith (b. August 26, 1899).  

Margaret Delano
Mother of James Delano Brown, and wife of John Brown, was born in Maine in 1806 and died in Philadelphia in 1897. Her lineage is  linked to that of Sara Delano who was the mother of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but the exact connection is yet to be found. She is buried in Magnolia Cemetery in Philadelphia and her tombstone inscription reads "Margaret Delano, Wife of John Brown".

Mary Redman
Born in Talbot County, Maryland on January 5, 1863 and died November 4, 1938. The daughter of James and Arena Stapleford Redman, she married James Delano Brown February 28, 1878. The ceremony was performed by T.S. Tomkinson, Minister of the Gospel, Official Character. She and James first lived in Philadelphia, later in Burlington, NJ. She and James had 13 children, five of whom (James, Rosa May, Edith, Charles Edmund, and Arthur Redman) died prior to 1915. Two of Mary and James' children, James and Rosa May, are buried in the Redman Family Graveyard in Skipton, Talbot County,   Maryland, as are Mary's parents, Arena and James Redman. Rosa May's obituary in the Easton Ledger newspaper reads: " BROWN, Rosa May at Tunis Mills on August 11th, daughter of James and Mary A. Brown, 2 years, 2 months", published August 27, 1885. The Redman Cemetery in Fike's Orchard (now a development) is very small with room for about eight graves. There used to be a wall completely enclosing the plot, but it was torn down by developers and homeowners have sodded over the graveyard itself. Legal action will be required to remedy this as James Redman had specifically mentioned in an 1860's bill of sale that it was to be reserved for the purpose of

James Redman
The son of the Rev. Stuart Redman and Rebecca Allee, was born at Smyrna, Kent County, Delaware in 1807, and became a farmer in Talbot County, Maryland. He first married Mary Ann Valiant on June 30, 1829 in Baltimore, prior to 1862 at age 50, and is buried in the Redman Cemetery in Fike's Orchard. On January 6, 1862 James married for the second time to Arena Stapleford McQuay, a widow, and had the following children: Mary, Sarah, Virginia, Rosa, Arena, and Rebecca. According to the September 21, 1880 Easton Star newspaper, James died September 5, 1880 at Miles River Neck, Talbot County, Maryland.

Arena Stapleford
Widow of Ephraim McQuay, a blacksmith, was born circa 1831 in Delaware and died at age 61 in 1892. She was the second wife of James Redman and is buried in the Redman Cemetery in Fike's Orchard near Skipton, Talbot County, Maryland.

MATERNAL

June Sparks Wilson (nee' Catherine June Reif)
Born to Anna Catherine Lloyd Reif (7/4/1896 - 5/23/1923) and Frederick Reif in Philadelphia January 8,1917 and later adopted by Ralph D. and Ella Sparks of Philadelphia. June’s biological parents died when she was very young - Frederick first, of influenza (buried October 19,1918), and Anna Catherine of what is believed to be either stomach, cervical or uterine cancer in Philadelphia Hospital May 24,1923.   After Frederick died, June was placed at about age 3 in the Baptist Orphanage in Philadelphia. Anna was pregnant with June’s sister, Bernice, when Frederick died. Shortly after Bernice was born, she was also placed in  the Baptist Orphanage. Anna did not have the support or resources to provide for her children. Anna then met a man named Ed about which we only know that he was a fireman in Philadelphia. The week before he and Ann were to marry he was killed in a fire accident. Anna died in 1923. Both June and Bernice were adopted by Ralph and Ella Sparks, June first, then Bernice. Ella was secretary to the President of Temple University was on the Board of Directors for the Baptist Orphanage. Ralph managed the bookstore at Temple - both had been teachers before this. Ralph and Ella provided a good life for June and Bernice, but June, when asked, would say that she remembered her   mother leaving her at the orphanage and watching her walk out through big oak doors. After high school June worked at Peter Paul Candy which is where John, her husband, met her. They married July 6, 1940 in Manassas, Virginia. June was a very artistic person and worked with oil, tempera and water color in her paintings; she liked to make collages out of discarded items and broken glass pieces from old South Jersey glass manufacturing plants. She also worked with “greenware” - pottery and ceramics - and offered ceramics and painting classes from the basement of her home. She loved animals, especially her dogs, but saw beauty in all living things. June enjoyed swimming with her friends at the Woodbury, NJ YMCA and had a great sense of humor. June died January 27, 2000 in Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia. Services were held at the Harold Haines Funeral Home in Pitman. June is buried in Eglington Cemetery, Clarksboro, NJ beside her husband, John.

Frederick Reif
Husband to Anna and father of Catherine June and Bernice was born in Chicago c. 1893, died from influenza May 5, 1918, and is buried in Greenmount Cemetery in Philadelphia. He and Anna were married in Camden, NJ on February 27, 1916. Their marriage certificate lists his occupation as "Marine". Frederick was of German descent, his father being Gustof Reif and mother, Eunice Shulz. No birth certificate has been located yet and it is not known how he and Anna met.

Anna Catherine Lloyd
Anna Catherine Lloyd Reif, mother of Catherine June Reif (June Sparks Wilson) and wife of Frederick Reif of Chicago, was born July 4, 1896 in the St. Giles Registration District, County of London, England to William Lloyd and Mary Anne Williams Lloyd, of Wales, and arrived in America prior to 1900. Not much is known of Anna other than she had a very short life, dying in Philadelphia Hospital of what is believed to be stomach, uterine, or cervical cancer May 5, 1923 just prior to her 27th   birthday. She was preceded in death by her husband, Frederick Reif, who had succumbed to influenza and died October 19, 1918. She was pregnant with a daughter, Bernice, at the time of Frederick’s death, and because of financial hardship put her oldest daughter, Catherine June, in the Baptist Orphanage in Philadelphia shortly after this. About a year later, Bernice was placed there as well. Anna met a Philadelphia fireman, only known to us as Ed, and they planned to marry when Ed was killed in a fire-related accident only days before the wedding. Shortly afterward Anna became ill and passed away in 1923. She and Frederick are buried together in Greenmount Cemetery in Philadelphia. Anna sang in the choir and played the organ in the Fourth Baptist Church and worked in a medicine packaging and labeling facility.

William Lloyd
Father of Anna Catherine Lloyd, was born June 23, 1867 in Dbolboeth Llanrhystyd Myfenydd in the Registration District of  Aberystwyth, Sub-District of Llanrhystyd, County of Cardigan, Wales, one of eight children born to Thomas Lloyd (1827-1906), an agricultural laborer,  and Catherine Morgans Lloyd (1829-1912) William was baptized July 28, 1867 in the Llanrystyd Church as were seven of his siblings - Daniel, the first in 1852, and Mary, the last, in 1874. He married Mary Anna Williams (b. 1870) in 1891 and resided at 21 New Road, Clapham, later living in 1901 at 20A Clapton Buildings. At this time William was father to three children: Anna Catherine, age 4; Winifred, age 2, and Letitia (Letty), aged 1 month. Later, a son, Thomas (Tommy) and daughter, Elsie, would be born. Thomas died a young child, having fallen out of a wagon and hit his head.