J. Carr

One of the first lists of settlers near Arkansas City show that J. Carr was in the party. I had no luck in locating this person for a long time.
The book entitled “Between the Rivers” volume 1, was compiled by Ruth Norris Berger and Bess Riley Oldroyd.  In this book Patrick Endicott told his granddaughter, Dencie Endicott Corliss the following: “There were eighteen men and one woman in the party that left Fall River one September morning in 1869.....” Later a meeting was to be held between Mr. Norton and Chief Hard Rope. “The woman in our party was one of the settlers and felt she should have a part in the meeting. The Indians would not even let her in the Pow-wow as they called the meeting. They said women were only good to work, care for their men and had no place in a Pow-wow. Was she angry!”  Sadly Patrick never mentioned her name.
Terry Eaton has a note from Bess Oldroyd stating that J. Carr was a woman and that her name was Julia Carr.
I then looked at the very earliest census and found that Daniel Carr, age 26, and M. J. Carr, age 22, were living in Omnia township in 1872 and 1875. W. D. Carr, age 28, and M. J. Carr, age 26, were living near Baltimore, Silver Creek township in 1879.
Winfield Courier, January 6, 1876.
About the last day of December, 1869, Judge W. R. Brown, H. B. Norton, T. A. Wilkinson, H. D. Kellogg, John Brown, Moore, and G. H. Norton drove into camp near Wood's residence as members and representatives of the Walnut City town company.
A few leading citizens of Emporia, among the number, C. V. Eskridge, P. B. Plumb, J. Stotler, L. B. Kellogg, H. B. Norton, and Judge Brown and H. L. Hunt, of Cottonwood Falls, had orga­nized a town company and sent the party mentioned down into the Walnut Valley to locate a town at the junction of the Walnut river with the Arkansas river.  The map of Kansas at that time showed that the junction was about the center of Cowley county.  After some conference with the settlers, the newcomers took five claims adjoining Manning's claim, east, southeast, and south, with the intention of making this the location of the proposed town.  In a day or two upon an examination of the country below, the party decided to locate their town at the present town site of Arkansas City.
On January 1st, 1870, T. A. Wilkinson, John Brown, G. H. Norton, and John Strain staked out and claimed the four claims upon which Arkansas City now stands, as the location of the new town.  H. B. Norton took a claim adjoining the town site on the north, H. D. Kellogg took a claim south of the town site.  When this party arrived at the mouth of the Walnut, they found the bottom and timber claims taken by H. Endicott and his son, Pad, and G. Harmon, Ed. Chapin, Pat Summers, Mr. Carr, Mr. Hughes, and one or two others.
The Walnut City town company consisted of fifteen members, and the four claim holders mentioned were of the number, and were to hold the claims and enter them for the company.  On their way down the valley the party discovered a Walnut City in Butler county, and concluded to change the name of their company to Delphi.  On their return to Emporia the name was again changed to Creswell, and by this name the town was known for some months.  On applying for a post office, the Post Office department in­formed Senator Ross, who made the application, that there was a Creswell in Labette county, Kansas, and that no two offices of the same name would be located in the State, and at Ross' sugges­tion, it was called Arkansas City.  When the commission came to G. H. Norton, who was the postmaster named, the town was named Arkansas City.  This was in April 1870.

On the 9th day of January, 1870, a party of fifteen men under the lead of Thomas Coats took claims along the Grouse valley.  Their names were John Coats, Wm. Coats, Joseph Reynolds, Gilbert Branson, Henry Branson, Newton Phenis, I. H. Phenis, H. Hayworth, L. B. Bullington, J. T. Raybell, D. T. Walters, S. S. Severson, John Nicholls, and C. J. Phenis.
The Winfield enterprise took form in January of 1870, as did that of Arkansas City.  From the start the parties interested in the two prospective towns were shaping events to secure the county seat of Cowley county whenever it should be organized.  In February of 1870 a bill was introduced in the Senate of Kansas entitled, "An act to organize the county of Cowley," and making Creswell the county seat.  As soon as the news arrived at Winfield, James H. Land, A. A. Jackson, and C. M. Wood traversed the county in three days and took the census of over six hundred population, and reported at Douglass, in Butler county (the nearest place where an officer could be found to administer an oath), on the 28d [? 23d HARD TO READ DATE ?] of February.  At that time the necessary papers were made out and E. C. Manning took them to Topeka and presented them to the Governor, who, thereupon issued the order organizing Cowley county and designat­ing Winfield as the temporary county seat.  The bill organizing the county got through the Senate but failed in the House.
As specimens of "literature" of that day we produce the following circulars which were issued a short time previous to the first election held in the county, to-wit:  May 2nd, 1870.
                                                              CRESWELL.
To the voters of Cowley county:
The Creswell Town Company ask leave to present to you the claims of Creswell as a location for the county seat.