This photo is of Waneta M. Murphy of the 1908 Seneca High School freshman class. Waneta was born in Kansas about 1893, according to the census records. Her parents were William “Bert” Murphy and Mary Ridenour. Although her father appears … Continue reading
Ruth Smith, 1908 Seneca High School
Kansas was a good place to be a farmer, at least for the Smith family. Ruth (pictured here in the 1908 freshman class photo of Seneca High School) was the daughter of William Smith and Mary Amos. My assessment of a “good place” comes from the fact that I’ve never seen a farmer with such a consistent supply of servants – usually that’s what the kids were for! Here’s a little background.
William, originally from New Hampshire, married Mary Amos (from Ohio) in 1885 in Nemaha, Kansas – same county as Seneca. They had 4 children – not nearly enough to run a farm on. Frank the oldest was born in 1887, Amos in 1888, Ruth in 1893, and Agnes in 1895. Every census year, with the exception of 1910, a servant lived with the Smith family. Here’s the breakdown:
Quite a list for a simple farmer! But back to Ruth. Ruth Amos Smith lived at home through 1915. Before 1920 she married Clinton W. Kanaga and they had one child at the time of that census in Kansas city, Issouri. By 1930 they had 2 more children and lived in Witchita, Kansas. Clinton was in advertising for the music retail industry apparently. 1940 saw the Kanaga family back in Kansas City. It also mentions on this census that Ruth had 4 years of college – another sign that her father was a successful farmer.
According to the SSDI, Ruth died in May of 1988 and Clinton in 1977. While I didn’t find an obituary for either of them, there is a lengthy obituary for their son, Clinton Jr. who passed away in 2006. What an active and colorful life he led, I wonder if he got that from his mom?
Carrie Waggoner, identified here as #4 in the freshman class of Seneca High School. I had to research a few of the people in this picture to uncover which Seneca High School this was. Kansas was the connection. This is an interesting group. The ages of the students look to vary widely. Some probably were older than the norm for a high school freshman, due to the need to work or starting school later for whatever reason.
Carrie was born Julia Carrie Waggoner in Nebraska in 1891; she was 17 in this photo. She was the 2nd oldest child of Rosa and Ben Waggoner who moved from Nebraska to Kansas after Carrie was born. Her other 5 siblings were all born in Kansas. Seneca is part of Nemaha county, Kansas where the family lived from at least 1895 to 1910.
Ben Waggoner, originally from Pennsylvania, was a farmer not surprisingly – it was Kansas after all. By 1920, Ben, Rosa and the 2 youngest children (Orville and Silas) had moved to Harris county, Texas to continue farming. In my brief research I didn’t find a census record with Carrie for 1920. It’s likely that she married. According to Find A Grave, Ben died in 1928 and Rosa in 1933, both are buried in Katy Magnolia Cemetery in Katy, Texas just outside Houston.
I could find a lot on Mr. Waggoner, but daughter Carrie is more elusive. I’m hoping family can fill in the blanks.
Unclaimed Ancestors 