William Steffen was born in Newton, Kansas, December 7, 1884. Both his
     parents were born in Germany, also the oldest son of their family, Herman.
     William was the first child born after they came to this country. There
     were two other sons and a daughter.
       William spent his school years unitl he was sixteen in Newton. The family
     moved to Cunningham, Kansas, where William worked on the railroad and met
     his future wife, Lucy Sinnett. Lucy was the daughter of the setion foreman
     for whom William worked; she had been born in a section car in Kiowa, Kansas.
       William and Lucy were married July 8, 1908, in Kingman, Kansas. They moved
     to Newton, Kansas, and were the parents of three children - two girls and a
     son. The sondied in infancy of whooping cough. The oldest girl, Nellie,
     married Percy Grattridge of Kingman and the youngest girl married John
     Woodard of Medicine Lodge.
       In 1927 the Steffen family moved to the farm southeast of Nashville. They
     lived the rest of their married lives there, until the death of Lucy in 1971.
     Mr. Steffen still resides on the farm where he has lived for 52 years. The
     Steffens were married 62 years. When they moved from Cunningh am it took one 
     day each way in a wagon.
       At this writing, Mr. Steffen is 94 years old, probably one of the oldest
     living Barber Countians, and in reasonably good health.
                
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas, pg. 436