Samuel Lifton Hurlbut

SAMUEL LIFTON HURLBUT, one of the leading citizens of Pleasant View township, residing in section 24, township 32, range 25, and the owner of 320 acres of land, was born in Mason County, Illinois, October 13, 1864, and is a son of Lewis G. and Matilda (Till) Hurlbut.

The father of our subject was born in Connecticut, not far from Hartford, and died in Pleasant View township, Cherokee County, Kansas, November 28, 1903, aged 78 years. By trade he was a machinist, which he followed in Pennsylvania and later in Illinois. In March, 1866, he removed his family to Kansas, taking up a claim of 160 acres in Pleasant View township, on which he lived until his death. For some years prior to this event, he lived retired and spent his time visiting with his children, passing his last eight years with a daughter, Mrs. Henrietta Maxey, of Hamilton, Ontario. He was one of the oldest settlers of the township, and in his day, a man of much prominence. He married Matilda Till, and they reared five children, viz: Dexter M., of Waco, Missouri; Harry, of Vesta, Arkansas; Charles M., of Pleasant View township: Henrietta, of Hamilton, Canada; and Samuel Lifton, of Pleasant View township. The parents were consistent members of the Christian Church.

Samuel Lifton Hurlbut was two years old when his parents came to Kansas, and he has a very vivid recollection of pioneer times in Cherokee County. He assisted in improving and cultivating the home farm of 160 acres until his marriage, and then bought a farm of 160 acres for himself. To this he later added 160 acres and continued to operate this large body of land until 1891, when he rented it and since then has been interested in land and emigration work for the Southern Pacific Railroad Company.

In 1879 Mr. Hurlbut married Effie May Flinckinger, who is a daughter of William and Eliza (Buchanan) Flinckinger, and they have three children: Elvin Millar Herbert, Edith Pearl, and Gladys Gwinne. Mrs. Hurlbut is a member of the Christian Church.

The father of Mrs. Hurlbut was born in Perry County, Pennsylvania, in October, 1825. He came to Kansas in young manhood and settled near Emporia, in Lyon County, where he still lives, occupying the claim which he staked out when he had no neighbors except Indians. He always remained friendly with the savages and found that they responded readily to kindness and were entitled to be as fully trusted as many of the white settlers. For some years he was engaged in freighting from Emporia to Colorado, and on many occasions he took part in buffalo hunts. As one of the representative men of the locality, he was elected to office, and served for a considerable period as county commissioner. In 1864 he married Eliza Ann Buchanan, and they had three children, of whom Mrs. Hurlbut is the only survivor.

The Buchanans were early settlers in Missouri, and Mrs. Hurlbut's grandparents were farming people on Spring River. There the maternal grandmother still lives, at the age of 87 years, strong and well, having survived all her children. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hurlbut have flowing in their veins the blood of some of the best pioneer stock of this section.

Mr. Hurlbut has been the means of attracting much capital and many homeseekers to this section. He is one of the well known and much respected citizens. He belongs to Columbus Lodge, A. F. & A. M.; the Modern Woodmen of America camp, of Carl Junction; and the Anti Horse Thief Association.

History of Cherokee County Kansas and its representative citizens, ed. & comp. by Nathaniel Thompson Allison, 1904, transcribed by Carolyn Ward, instructor from USD 508, Baxter Springs Middle School, Baxter Springs, Kansas, 3/11/97.