Carter/Ploughe/Snyder and Mitchell/Kenyon/VanHorn Family Trees

The only information Paula STARKS could give me is that she thinks he was born somewhere in Illinois or Indiana.

Paula Starks Stories from Orlene Mitchell

These are some stories Mom told me off and on when she would come to visit with me. Some times I think the dates maybe off but should be close. I thought you might enjoy reading them.

Mom told me what she know about Leroy Mitchell, which wasn’t much, he was an alcoholic and lived in Council Grove, KS 1932-42, he then moved to Kansas City, MO. Lawrence Mitchell, his brother, also a friend of Tom Accrues a young train engineer for Union Pacific. Mom and I went to Council Grove one summer and I got a cop. of the Marriage License, there were two of them, one for one day and the other the day before.

They were married in Council Grove on August 30, 1910. Inez Catherine Mitchell was born February 14, 1911 in Council Grove, Ks. She contracted Scarlet Fever in January of 1914 and died. January 14, 1914.

Jack Thomas Mitchell was born June 8, 1913 in Kansas City, MO, Jackson county at 9:30 p.m. On Dad's birth certificate is list the birth place of LeRoy Mitchell as unknown. I also can not find out LeRoy’s parents name, but I am still looking for information. Also in my search there is information about Granny Acrea (O'Riley). Dad didn’t remember seeing Granny, but remembers her name mentioned as being an O’Riley.

She loved to travel by train, she had a free ticket because her husband was a railroad employee. Granny was a little woman and smoked a corn cob pipe. Granny’s daughter was Lucretia Acrea Kriess our great grandmother. I can not find a name for Granny Acreaso have no way of tracing her. Granny raised Ernest Acrea, his mother and father both died of tuberculosis.

I remember Mom and Dad talking about Ernest and Mae Acrea from Kansas City and they used to come up and visit when Grandma Sugar was alive. I don’t remember them but if you do please let me know. We do have some information on Dad's grandparents, John and Lucretia Kriess, Lucile, grandma's sister, wrote information about what she know of her father's family. John Kriess came from Switzerland, we do not know what part, he came to the US at the age often and his family settled in Tenn, do not know where, he had one brother Jake who went to Texas and took a large piece of land there. Jake never visited the family and know one knows anything about him. Uncle Harmon Kreiss stayed in Tenn.,was a very influential citizen, a 33 degree Mason, had a marble quarry and a shoe store.

One of his sons Fritz, came to see us when he was about 19 or 20 and stayed quiet a long time, was nice and we children enjoyed him so much. Uncle Harmon came quiet often to visit and always brought us gifts. After John Kriess died Aunt Lucile does not remember seeing him again. Lucretia did tell her that he did drive up in a big limousine with a driver and came in to see Tom Acrea and wanted instructions about getting to John’s grave as they had brought flowers to put on the graves. The Kriess’ were railroad contractors and built some railroads up around Council Grove and Harvey Kriess worked for them about a year. John Kriess was a Mason and gave Masonic instruction there at council Grove. The Kriess family spelled their name with only one s, Kreis in Tenn.

Harmon Kriess fell from a barn loft while feeding turkeys, had gone up to get grain and fell through one of those stairway doors and he hit a concrete floor and died. One of his sons was a race car driver and died while on the track, lost control of his car while in the race. This happened some 40 to 45 years ago.

This is where I run into confusion. Harvey Eston Sr. died Aug. 19, 1909. Harvey Jr. was just 19 months old. Harvey Eston Jr. was born June 2, 1907 and died March 8, 1974. Harvey Sr. is buried in Council Grove, Ks. I always thought that Harvey Jr. was Grandma Sugar’s brother, but it must be Harvey Kriess Sr. I will try and find out for sure but there are very few people left to tell me anything.

John Kriess was born Oct. 7, 1841 and died Aug. 5, 1907. Lucretia Acrea Kriess Born April 3, 1853 in Clay Co. Indiana died May 6, 1926 in Council Grove,KS, they are both buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Council Grove, Ks. Inez is also buried in Council Grove, Ks., but she is buried in the same plot as a neighbor. That is about all the history of Dad's family I have found out so far. Dad had an Aunt Lucile Kriess Follis born May 18, 1890 and died Dec. 28, 1979.

I don’t know how much if ever he saw Lucile because she lived in CA most of her life. I do know that Grandma Sugar was married to Bill Burris sometime in the 1920's or maybe before I don’t know for sure. The earliest I have any record of her name being Burris was 1929 but I know she was married before that time. Bill Burris had only one arm because he was an electrician and lost his arm while working. It is what broke up his first marriage. He did have a daughter by that marriage who came to his funeral.

She never divorced Bill but he died in March of 1939. She lived in Kansas City and worked for a doctor and went to hotel school for a time to learn how to work a switchboard. She meet and married Chal Neher in Oct. 7, 1945 Mom talked about Dad and her in the service and what is was like.

Dad joined the Navy in 1932, his mother signed him because his home life was not happy. Bill Burris was emotional and physically abusive to Dad. Bill did not like children around, Dad joined the service before he graduated from high school in Nortonville, Ks. He was not in the service in 1938 from what I can tell. Mother remembers him planting and growing potatoes in the Gunnison area with a service buddy. She remembers him being snowed in for a month in the winter.

He hated potato farming. He would come over the Denver and date Mom. He didn’t like growing potatoes so he joined the Army, in the fall of 1938 that is why he was at FitzSimmons Hospital in Denver. Mom graduated from nursing (1936-39) school in June 1939. She tells the story of Reba, Grandpa & Grandma Kenyon and Grandma Sugar who drove her big Buick going out to Mom's graduation. It must of been quite a car load. Somewhere around Hayes Grandma Sugar hit mud spot spun and rolled the car. The car landed in a field right side up.

The big Buick was not hurt. Grandma Sugar hurt her stomach. Mom said that Grandpa Kenyon looked up and saw Grandma Kenyon coming over the top of the seat. Reba had a few cuts. Everyone really okay and they drove on toward Denver. People that came to the capping besides family were the Taylors, a Jewish family that mom worked for from the fall of 1932-fall of 1939 to raise money for nursing school. She cooked and cleaned, she lived in their house for $13 a month took her 3 years to get enough money for 2 years of school.

She picked St. Lukes because they had best surgeons, she wanted to work in surgery. It would cost $300 for 3 years for room and board and school. The hospital supplied uniforms and laundered them. Had to clean own stocks and underwear. Ran out of money. Dad would bring mom hose to help her out. He also made friends with the house mother so he could see mom.

Dad got married with out permission from the Army and the Army wanted him out, he went to a friend in the Army who rolled him over into the Navy again. He was first stationed in San Diego. Mom stayed in Denver and worked at St. Lukes. In 1940 he was transferred to North Chicago Hospital, he lived in Waukegon, Illinois. Dad worked in Navy Hospital and went to Lab. Tech school, he then went to Washington D.C. and took National Boards So he could work anywhere. Got an A-. Mom worked part-time nursing.

When Dad was in Service he did research with some very famous doctors working with TB, Syphilis and Gonaherra. Early January or February 1941 mom missed bus and didn’t make it to Chicago to meet Dad so he was late getting into Norfolk,VA and was listed AWOL. Got mom a hotel room and went to work and didn’t’s come back for 2 weeks because he was AWOL he had to stay on base for that time.

Some how Dad got Mom money for food, one meal a day. A sailor would come and pay for her room. She remembers that the cockroaches were as big a horse. In Portsmouth, VA they lived in a house with other people, so to get away mom would take walks everyday around the park, she was pregnant with Georgia at this time. When ready to deliver they gave mom, morphine/scapolimy for pain. She then tore down Venetian blinds through bed pan at nurse so they finally called Dad in. She bit him and vomited all over him. She was wild. After delivery she moaned and groaned all night and kept other women up all night, everyone was ready to kill her. Our Sweet kind nurturing mother was driving everyone crazy. Mom remembers nothing after the medicine she didn’t even remember delivering Georgia.

She also had to have a blood tranfussion after Georgia was born, it worried Dad, he did all the blood work. You wonder why Georgia is the way she is today, look no further for answers. Our dear sweet mother started potty training her at 6 months. She would put her on the pot, Mom says she never had dirty diapers what a wonder child. She also kept Orley from being left handed. He wanted to be but mother wouldn’t give him anything unless he used his right hand. The one story I remember about me is when Dad had his heart attack and had to stay home and watch me as a baby.

He took TV repairing and had to go on roofs. Mom came home one day from work and found Dad and I on the roof putting up an antenna, I think I was only about 2 or 3 years old. I don’t think I was much help. This is a start if you remember things let me know so I can include them, so our family will be able to know something about our life. Orley do you remember basketball games with Dad helping you by yelling all the time. Mom says that his mother did the same thing and no one would sit beside her either.