11. Anthony (Antonius, Anton) Eugene[4] Vohs (Caspar[3] Vohs, Georg Joseph[2] Voos, Caspar[1] Voos) He was born on 16 August 1829 at Oberselters in the Dukedom of Nassau.[27] He died at his home in Wea township 18 January 1907. Funeral services were held at the Wea Catholic church 21 January 1907, conducted by Rev. Father Hohe, and burial was in the Wea Cemetery, row 10, lot 44.[28]
On 24 November 1856, the passenger list for the ship Henry Reed listed Anton Vohs, a farmer from Germany, as a passenger on its voyage from Antwerp to New York. Anthony Vohs was reported to be in Waterloo, New York in 1856. In April 1857, he moved to Illinois, and located on a farm about sixty miles south of Chicago. [Probably located with his brother Joseph in Kendall County, which was about 60 east of Chicago.] He remained in Illinois about a year and a half. He came to Kansas in the winter of 1858 and the spring of 1859 found him in Miami County, where he bought 215 acres of land in Wea township.[29]
Anthony Vohs was one of the earliest pioneers of Wea township, being the second settler there in the spring of 1859. He originally settled on 40 acres at $2.50 per acre in payment for wages earned in a Kansas City (Westport Landing, Missouri) sawmill. Then only four families lived in the area, one being close friends - William Schwartz. His occupation was generally listed as farming, although the 1895 Kansas census lists his occupation as merchant and postmaster. The week before the burning of Lawrence, Kansas he was robbed of all his personal property by a detachment of Quantrill's guerrillas.[30]
Anthony Vohs was the only member of the Vohs family known to have served in active military duty during the Civil War. He was a member of the Kansas One Hundred Day Men during the civil war and also did militia duty. He enlisted in the 17th Regiment Kansas Volunteers, Company D, on 18 July 1864. He mustered into the unit on 27 July 1864 and was mustered out with the regiment on 16 November 1864.[31] No pension records were located and none are believed to exist. According to the staff at the Kansas State Archives, no descriptive personnel records exist for the 17th Regiment.
He prepared a hand written will on 24 August 1905. He left his property and $2000 to his wife Barbara. He designated $125 of his estate to be used to purchase a church bell for the Catholic church at Wea, Kansas. The bell was to be inscribed with the name Anthony. He left $500 to his daughter Lena and with the remainder to be divided equally among his children.[32]
He was married in Illinois in 1858 to Elizabeth Becker (daughter of Peter Becker). She was born about the year 1837-1838 in Nassau, Germany. She died about September 1876 and was buried in Wea, Kansas, in the Wea Cemetery beside her husband. Her headstone is broken and unreadable but contains some mention of Beck and Vohs. Anthony and Elizabeth had eight known children.[33]
He was married the second time between 1876 and 1880 to Barbara Hughes. She was born in Ireland in July 1844. In the 1910 census she is reported as living alone in Kansas City, Kansas. They had no children.[34]
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[27] Mikrofilme aufgenommen von manuskripten im diozesanarchiv Limburg, Katholische Kirche Oberselters, Transcript of parish records of births, marriages and deaths, Church of the Latter Day Saints microfilm # 1,271,941.
[28] Western Spirit, (Miami Co., Kansas), 25 January 1907; Cemeteries of Miami County, Kansas, Vol. 2, p. 187.
[29] History of the State of Kansas (Chicago: A. T. Andreas, 1883), p. 894; Western Spirit, (Miami Co., Kansas), 25 January 1907; Glazier, Ira A. and P. William Filby, eds. Germans to America: Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports (Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, Inc., 1988) Entry for Vohs, Anton; Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, NY, 1820-1897, National Archives Microfilm M237, Roll 169, Passenger List of 24 Nov. 1856 for ship Henry Reed, entry 113 for Vohs, Anton; the History of Kansas provides the general background information on Anthony Vohs. The book was seen at the Louisburg, Kansas, public library. The copy of the Western Spirit article was provided by the Miami Co. Gen. Soc. The information from Germans to America was provided by Susan Schwinn.
[30] History of the State of Kansas (Chicago: A. T. Andreas, 1883), p. 894; Family Histories and Stories of Miami County, Kansas (n.p.; Miami County Historical Society, 1987), p. 20; Western Spirit, (Miami Co., Kansas), 25 January 1907; 1895 Kansas Census, Miami Co., Wea Township, p. 12; Family Histories lists the amount paid per acre as $2.50, while The History of Our Cradle Land cites a cost of $3.00 per acre.
[31] Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Kansas, 1861-1865 (n.p.; n. pub., 1896), Vol. 1, p. 571; publication see at the Kansas State Archives. It should be noted that while his Civil War service records indicate that he was a resident of Auburn, Kansas, that record is probably an erroneous reference to Aubrey, which was the Post Office that served the community of Wea Kansas.
[32] Last Will and Testament of Anthony Vohs, dated 24 August 1905. Copied from the files of the Miami County Genealogy Society, copy in possession of the writer.
[33] History of the State of Kansas (Chicago: A. T. Andreas, 1883), 894; 1865 Kansas State Census, Kansas, Miami Co., Wea Township, Vol 8, p. 51; Western Spirit, (Miami Co., Kansas), 25 January 1907; Kinsella,The History of Our Cradle Land, p. 170; Cemeteries of Miami County, Kansas, Vol. 2, p. 187; History of Kansas records her place of birth as Nassau, Germany. The 1865 census lists her age as 28 giving her an estimated year of birth of 1837. The 1870 US census and 1875 Kansas census indicate that her year of birth would have been about 1837-1838. The Western Spirit (25 Jan. 1907) report that his first wife Elizabeth Becker survives him is in error, his second wife Barbara Hughes did survive him.
[34] 1880 U.S. Census, Kansas, Miami Co., Wea Township, p. 10; 1895 Kansas Census, Miami Co., Wea Township, p. 12; 1900 U.S. Census, Kansas, Miami Co., Wea Township, Vol. 34, ED 138, Sheet 15, Line 86; 1910 U.S. Census, Kansas, Wyandotte Co., Vol. 81, ED 195, Family 99; year and month of birth listed in the 1900 census record. Based on the 1880 U.S. census, the 1895 Kansas census, the 1905 Kansas census and the 1910 U.S. census Barbara Hughes estimated year of birth varies between 1842 and 1845. Estimated year of marriage based upon the death of his first wife in Sept. 1876 and his second wife appearing in the 1880 US census.
[35] Family Histories and Stories of Miami County, Kansas, p. 101; 1865 Kansas Census, p. 51; 1870 U.S. Census, Kansas, p. 4; 1875 Kansas Census, p. 4; Family Histories cites marriage and death dates. The census records for Wea Township indicate Missouri as the place where she was born.
[36] 1900 U.S. Census, Kansas, Miami Co., Wea Township, Vol. 34, ED 138, Sheet 15; Family Histories and Stories of Miami County, Kansas, p. 352; .1900 U.S. Census, Kansas, Miami Co., Wea Township, Vol. 34, ED 138, Sheet 15; Although the family history reference states that Elizabeth Stahl married George's son Anthony, this is in error. First, none of the George Vohs' recorded had a son named Anthony and, second, the 1910 census lists only a George Vohs married to a woman named Elizabeth for Plainsville, Rooks Co., Kansas, where Elizabeth Stahl was reported to have died.
[37] 1900 U.S. Census, Kansas, Valley Township, Vol. 34, ED 137, Sheet 7; Marriage License for Anthony Vohs and Effie Seuferling, copied from the files of the Miami County Genealogy Society, copy in possession of the writer; census record provides information on month and year of birth.
[38] 1865 Kansas Census, Wea Township, p. 51; listed in this census record but does not appear in the 1870 U.S. census.
[39] 1900 U.S. Census, Kansas, Valley Township, Vol. 34, ED 137, Sheet 7; census record lists month and year of birth, assumed to be the Jasper listed as the son of Anthony and Elizabeth Vohs in the 1870 U.S. Census because of similarity in age. Year of marriage estimated based upon the Apr. 1883 birth of their son Herman.
[40] 1895 Kansas State Census, Kansas, Miami Co., Wea Township, p. 18; 1900 U.S. Census, Kansas, Miami Co., Wea Township, Vol. 34, ED 138, Sheet 15; Cemeteries of Miami County, Kansas, Vol. 2, p. 184; Maxine Kircher to Sean Furniss, letter of Jan. & Feb. 1992, in possession of writer; month and year of birth listed in 1900 census record. Letter provides name of wife.
[41] Certificate of Marriage for Frank Vohs and Myrtle Merriman; Family History Record of Elizabeth Gloria Glass; original certificate of marriage in library of Miami County Genealogy Society, copy in possession of writer. Family History Record in possession of writer.
[42] 1875 Kansas Census, Wea Township, Vol. 38, p. 4; census record taken 1 Mar. 1875 lists Adam Vohs as being 6 months old, since he does not show up in the 1880 census records, it is assumed that he died.
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