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Nemaha County Heritage Capt. John E Smith and the seeding of the trail. Taken from The Courier Tribune, Seneca, Saturday April 4, 2007 Written by Matt Diehl. Matt did a good job on this article.Following is it the article that was in the paper. There is one correction which was a error on my part, which is noted in the text. From the Courier "Old trail, early history interests Stallbaumer." Around one hundred and fifty years ago Captain John E. Smith is alleged to have sown oats across the trail that led to the early settlement of Richmond, diverting west-bound traffic to Smith’s toll-bridge and lodgings in the just-established town of Seneca. While Smith’s actions have long been attributed to improving his business prospects, one amateur historian now suspects he was actually a Union agent, on a mission to claim Nemaha County from the Southern sympathizers who populated Richmond. That’s just one of the bits of local history offered by Kenny Stallbaumer, a fourth generation Nemaha County native who isn’t afraid to speculate about the unknown while searching for the truth in old newspapers, letters and tales passed down through families. The time frame was before the Civil War, when national debate was raging whether the Kansas Territory should come into the Union as a “free or slave” state. Richmond, which was located about two miles north of Seneca on the west bank of the Nemaha River, was appointed as the county seat by the “bogus” pro-slavery Kansas Legislature. It offered services to travelers on the Overland trail and the Fort Leavenworth-Fort Kearney military road. Smith’s clever stratagem brought that traffic into Seneca, while Richmond perished. Only its name is left, attached to the township where it was located. Smith is said to have confirmed the story a year before his death in 1912, according to a story in a 1957 issue of The Courier-Tribune. “The stage-drivers, seeing that the grain-green road to Richmond seemed little used, took the new road which then become the established crossing of the Nemaha for the Overland trail, the Ft. Leavenworth military road to Ft. Kearney and later, the route of the Pony Express”. Smith said he first came to Nemaha county on a “tour of inspection”, Stallbaumer noted. “I think there was more to it than that,” he says. “I don’t think anyone would use that term unless they were involved in the military.” Too many things seem to point to an undercover military operation, Stallbaumer speculates. Whatever the truth, Seneca did grow and become the county seat over Richmond – leading to resentments which may have been the cause for two early courthouses burning down. Stallbaumer also sees a possibility that abolitionist John Brown paid a visit to Smith in Seneca before Brown‘s death in the infamous raid at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. Smith’s Hotel, which later became a home station on the Pony Express, is known to have hosted other traveling notables of that time, including Mark Twain. A personal connection for Stallbaumer is his great-great-great grandmother, Theresa VanBrook, who went to work at an inn in Richmond to support her family after the death of her husband. The family tried to make a living on a 40-acre homestead at Wildcat (now St. Benedict). Then her two oldest children died in the first winter. “They came to Kansas for a great opportunity. Some great opportunity,” Stallbaumer wryly notes. Theresa Van Brook eventually came to Seneca to work after the decline of Richmond. A 1911 census lists her occupation as “domestic”. Probably at Smith’s Hotel, Stallbaumer thinks. Each time a new piece of information comes up, it leads to a new understanding of how and why things happened, he said. “I guess that’s why I’m so interested. It’s like finding a part of a jigsaw puzzle sometimes.” His appreciation for local history began while listening to old-timers in the feed store or coffee shop, says Stallbaumer. He wishes he had started recording their tales earlier. “Its absolutely fascinating the stories people tell.” Nearly eighty years old, Stallbaumer operates a website devoted to local history and is an active member of the Nemaha County Historical Society. The site earned him a hug last week from a lady who drove up from Arizona after discovering information about her ancestor – the first female child born in Seneca. “I need something to do. I learn things and I meet people,” he said. End of article by writen by Matt Diehl
The next time I will have notes as I could not think of the ancestors o f the Lady who was Arizona, She was Linda Scott no relation to Scotts here however she found relatives in the cemetery here. Should ay one have a family story of interest we would like to have it at the Nemaha County Historical Society.
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