In the spring of 1907 my grandparents, Clinton Hannibal Skaggs and
     Grace Mae Gillespie, came to Barber County. They located on a farm
     near Shaton. Clint and Grace had farmed for fourteen years near
     Melrose and Chetopa in eastern Kansas. Four children, Herschell, Nora,
     Julia, and my father, Lonnie, were born there. The youngest child, Alta,
     was born near Plains in western Kansas.
       Herschel enlisted in World War I and served in the 89th Division as
     an orderly to General Wenn. Horses were important during World War I, 
     and Uncle Herschel's gift for handling horses made him invaluable. It
     also caused his death. During a shelling, the general's horse was
     freightened by explosions. Herschel left his shelter to quiet the animal.
     A shell exploded nearby and a fragment struck him in the stomach. Uncle
     Herschel walked back to his shelter and died a few minutes later. He was
     killed in the Argonne Forest, November 2, 1918, nine days before the war
     ended. Herschel's body was returned to Attica and he was given a military
     funeral with full honors on October 16, 1920.
       Grandma and Grandpa Skaggs moved to Sharon in 1926. Grandpa was always
     interested in community affairs. He served as councilman and mayor of
     Sharon. As a child, I often saw Grandpa in animated discussions on the
     streets of Sharon. The more he discussed, the more he punctuated the air
     with his cane.
       Nora, a gifted homemaker, married her soldier sweethear, Roy McDaniel,
     after his return from France.
       Julia taught school a few years and then she and Alta entered St. Francis
     School of Nursing in Wichita. Illness preventa Julia from becoming a
     registered nurse but Alta graduated and worked many years in Wichita. 
     During that time she married Harley Ferguson, a certified public accountan.
     They had no children. Julia was a nurse for Dr. Flowers in Harper and
     Anthony.
       My grandparents moved to Anthony in 1937. They were privileged to 
     celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in 1943 with all their family
     present. Grandpa died in 1944 and later Grandma and Aunt Julia moved to
     Wichita. Grandma was deceased in 1957 and Aunt Julia in 1977.
       My parents, Lonnie and Claudine Werner Skaggs, were farmers in the
     Sharon area. Lonnie, deceased 1965, was a lover of animals and often
     called to assist in doctoring sick horses or cows.
       Grandma's quiet loving ways, nearly combed hair, held in a bun by
     combs, and her clean starched apron made her look like grandmas are
     supposed to look.
       I, a grandons of a family who tilled the soil and worshipped God,
     am happy to submit this story of my ancestors.   
                
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas, pg. 421 
     Submitted by: Herschel Skaggs