Frank McReynolds was born February 2, 1863, at Peru, Nebraska, the third
     child in a family of eight children of David and Caroline Snyder McReynolds.
     He lived with his family in Nebraska and at Craig, Missouri. The family
     came to Kansas and lived about eight miles north of Sharon for a short time.
     They did not claim the land but looked around for a spot to come back to
     claim at a later date. They travelled on into Oklahoma and settled in the
     Indian Nation for a time.
       Frank rode a horse and brought back a few possessions with him as he
     came back along the Kansas-Oklahoma border to stake out a claim. One of
     these items was a spade that he used for testing the soil. He selected
     the SW/4 of 9-33-10. He did not have the materials, nor was he financially
     able to build a house that first year. He built a two-room granary, where
     he lived and kept supplies and grain for his horse.
       He returned to Oklahoma several times because of the illness of his
     mother. Finally, he brought his parents to his claim, and they lived with
     him until his mother's death in 1886.
       Though he staked his claim earlier, he did not receive a U.S. Land Grant
     until November 17, 1884, for which he paid $1.25 per acre.
       He married Anna Bertha Lindtner, who had staked a claim in an adjoining
     section in the Cedar Hills. Two sons were born to his couple, William 
     Albert and Chauncey Depew.
       He built a two room house. Today, those two rooms have been remodeled
     and are part of the home owned by Harvey and Wilda McReynolds Mathews,
     a granddaughter.
       Buffalo and other animals roamed freely on the open range. Smoke from
     Indian camps in the Cedar Hills, less than a mile away, was visable.
       Frank worked to improve his claim, planting trees and using other
     conservation practices. By mortgaging the claim to borrow the money,
     additional acres were added as they became available. He brought some
     of the first Angus cattle to Kansas. The herd has been improved and the
     number increased until now it is the major source of income for the ranch.
     W.A. McReynolds exhibited the Grand Champion of pen steers at the American
     Royal in the late 1930's. A great granddaughter, Harva Leigh Mathews,
     reigned as Kansas Show Queen in 1968 and showed the National Champion
     Steer at the National Jr. Livestock Show. These homegrown Angus cattle
     have been shown to top honors.
       Frank and Anna were active in community affairs. He was an organizer
     of the Sharon Valley State Bank and a stockholder until his death in
     1945. He served on the school and township boards. Anna, like all pioneer
     women, was busy making a home for her family. She was a charter member of
     the Progressive Club in the Cedar Hill community.
       Today the fourth generation lives and works on this homestead.
                 
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas,  pg. 308 
     Submitted by: Wilda McReynolds Mathews