John R. Twist

JOHN R. TWIST was born March 24, 1878, on the farm on which he now lives, near Bonner Springs, Kansas, in Delaware township, Wyandotte county, where his parents, Captain Russell P. and Mina (Kern) Twist, settled in 1871.

Russell P. Twist was a native of the Empire State, born in 1827, of New England parentage, his father having been born in Massachusetts, his mother at Hartford, Connecticut. The latter was before marriage Miss Kate Beardsley; she lived to the advanced age of ninety-two years. The Captain's father was also a captain, and served under General Harrison in the War of 1812, and both his grandfather Twist and his grandfather Beardsley served as soldiers in the Revolutionary war. Grandfather Beardsley lost his hearing by having a cannon ball burst over his head. A brother of Russell P., George Twist, served in the Mexican war, and Russell P. and three of his brothers were Union soldiers in the Civil war. Thus it is seen that the Twists have figured in all the wars of this country since Colonial days. It was on April 14, 1861, that Russell P. Twist tendered his service to his country. He enlisted as a member of Company E, Sixteenth Ohio Volunteers, and served with that command three months, as sergeant. Then he recruited the Sixteenth Ohio Battery, of which he was elected first lieutenant and afterward captain, and retained the command until the close of the war, participating in all its engagements; was in the battle of Phillipi and marched through Missouri and Arkansas, and joined the Army of the Southwest under command of General Curtis; was also in the battle of Champion Hill, and took position in the rear of Vicksburg May 21. To Captain Russell P. Twist's regiment belonged the distinction of throwing the last shot into Vicksburg from the land batteries. He was mustered out of the service on August 2, 1865.

Captain Twist had gone to Ohio with his parents when he was eight years old, and there learned the trade of cabinet maker. After the war he continued to make Ohio his home until 1871, when he came to Kansas and settled on a farm in Delaware township, Wyandotte county, where he spent the rest of his life and died. He was twice married, Mina (Kern) Twist, his second wife, being the mother of his children, eight in number, of whom five are now living, namely: Mrs. Dora E. Treff; John R.; Pearl L., a resident of Kansas City; Mrs. J. H. Bohart, of Kansas City, Missouri; and Henry, who lives on the home farm with his brother, John R., and brother-in-law and sister, Mr. and Mrs. Treff.

Russell P. Twist, the father, died August 8, 1906, and Mina Twist, the mother, passed away March 4, 1910. She came to Kansas in December, 1872, from Cleveland, Ohio, and they were married January 16, 1876.

The beautiful home on the Twist farm, together with the fine grove and other improvements, make this place one of the best in the county. The farm consists of one hundred and sixty acres and is operated by John R. Twist and Mr. Treff, their chief crops being wheat, corn and apples.

John R. Twist married Miss Maude Marks, whose untimely death in 1909 left him and two small children, Gladys and Russell, to mourn their loss.