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Where they fall on our family tree: Joseph E, and Margaret "Sarepta" (Kulow) Halley were the parents of ten girls and one boy--Lorenzo Delos Halley, who was the father of two boys (one died in infancy) and nine girls, including Bessie (Halley) Burr, who was the mother of Sheryl and Steve.
Because census reports and other documents list Margaret as "Sarepta," I will use her preferred middle name. Joseph also called her "Sarepta."
One of Lorenzo and Jessie (Jacobs) Halley's daughters, Velva Halley Follet (1911-2002), wrote several family histories in the 1980s, providing insights into the personalities and livelihoods of her parents and grandparents. I transcribed the stories May 15, 2025 from her original handwriting—copies that my mother-in-law, Bessie Halley Burr, treasured. (Velva's contribution appears below, beneath the marriage records.)
Velva, who preferred to use "Margaret," began the history of her grandparents, Joseph and Margaret “Sarepta” Halley, with a few sentences about their parents. (Please note that I have added photos and facts and adjusted some of Velva’s data to reflect information I found from sources on FamilySearch.org.)
Joseph Edward Halley was born on October 2, 1847, in Delaware County, Ohio, to Wilson and Elizabeth (Cronkelton) Halley.
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Wilson aka "Willis" Halley (1818-1904) Great-grandfather to my mother-in-law, Bessie Halley Burr |
Elizabeth Cronkelton
Halley (1818-1877) Great-grandmother to Bessie Halley Burr |
By the 1870 US Census, the family lived in Polk County, Iowa. Joseph was listed as 22 years old with five siblings. Wilson, also known as "Willis," valued his real estate at $2,000 and his personal belongings at $1,000. (Find sources for census and court documents at the bottom of the page.)
Margaret “Sarepta” Kulow was born on May 2, 1855. Her father was Frederick A. Kulow. According to FamilySearch, he was born in 1826 in Macklen, Germany. Margaret’s mother was Matilda Webster, who was born in Marion, Ohio, in 1833. Matilda died on September 24, 1868, when Sarepta was 13. (I have not found a photo of Matilda.)
Frederick A. Kulow history--great-grandfather of my mother-in-law, Bessie Halley Burr
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Frederick A Kulow (1826-1890) Birth:
Apr. 12, 1826 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany Death:
Jan. 30, 1890 Iowa, USA
Was born in Macklenburg, Germany,
April 12, 1826, and was raised a farmer and educated in private schools of
his father's family. In 1851, he came to the United States and located in New
York State, where he remained about one year, when he moved to Porter County,
Indiana. He made that place his home for about six months and then moved to
Bureau County, Illinois, where he engaged in working on the railroad.
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In the fall of 1855 he came to Iowa
and located in Story county and bought a farm and in 1861 he came to his
county, locating in Four Mile township. Two years later he moved upon his
present farm in Washington township. He owns 240 acres of land, is a large
stock-raiser and feeder and has made his large estate since coming to this
county. Mr. Kulow has been twice married. First, in July, 1853, to Miss
Matilda Webster, a native of Marion county, Ohio. She died September 25,
1869, leaving six children: Serepta (now Mrs. Joseph Hally) [sic], George, Louisa, Charles and
Mary, living, and one deceased. His second wife was Mrs. Adaline Wise, a
native of Henry county, Indiana. He was married to her in October, 1870. They
have five children: Eliza, Victoria, Nellie, Adaline and Laura, all living.
Mrs. K. has two children by her first husband: Willis and Rosa. He has held
various township offices."
Source:
Iowa Historical Library, Des Moines,
Iowa. THE HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY, IOWA, Des Moines, Union Historical Company,
Birdsall, Williams & Co., 1880, page 1014.
MIDDLE NAME: An addendum to the Peoria
Cemetery index above, "extracted from Polk County, Iowa, death records
of individuals buried in Peoria Cemetery" lists the name as KULOW, Adolf
Frederick, age 63, died 1 30 1890. The International Genelogical Index lists
Frederick's name as Fredrick Adolfus Kulow.
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Joseph Edward Halley and Margaret Sarepta Kulow were married on September 30, 1875, in the bride's home in Polk County, Iowa.
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6th from the bottom.
Columns: Groom, Bride, Date License was Purchased, Date License was Returned,
Where the Wedding was Held |
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6th from
bottom. Columns: Date of Marriage, Person
Officiating, Witness |
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Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Halley lived on several farms before moving to Kansas: Maxwell, County, Iowa, where their daughter, Anna, was born on October 11, 1877; in Soldier township, Monona County, Iowa in 1895 (three daughters); and Story County, Iowa in 1895 (five children, including Lorenzo age 13. They belonged to the "Evangelic" church.
The 1905 U.S. Census lists the Joseph Halley family in Lawn Ridge Township, Cheyenne County, Kansas.
The remainder of this post is in Velva's words, with minor editing and the addition of photos.
Joseph and Margaret lived on several small farms in Story
County, Iowa. They rented as they couldn't afford to buy a farm. To
this union were born eleven children. (Names appear later.)
Joseph was a man of even temperament. He did not openly display his affection. To kiss his children or hold them on his knee
was not a practice in the Halley household. He was, though, very kind-hearted,
a hard worker, and a willing helper. His laughter was quick, and his wit sharp.
He loved life and lived every minute of it to its capacity. He loved to read and, for the most part, he
read from the Bible, and he was also very fond of reading history. He was quite musical and encouraged his
children to take part in musical activities, but he never danced as he believed
it was a sin.
Joseph was an honest man and thought everyone else was honest, too. This trust in his fellow man caused him to go broke just before he left Iowa. He co-signed a note for a man he thought was his friend. The man left the country, leaving Mr. Halley to pay the note. (I found a transaction on FamilySearch Story County deed books, dated 1903.)
Margaret's mother (Matilda Webster Kulow) died of childbirth when Margaret was 12 years old. Her father was remarried to a widow with three children of her own when Margaret was 14. She was very close to Margaret as there were only 14 years difference in their ages. Margaret did not care for the jokes and comments about stepmothers.
Joseph fondly called [Margaret] "Sarepta" and the tone of his voice was the only affection ever shown before the children. She was a hard-working woman. She did her own baking, mending, cleaning, and assisted with chores on the farm. As a young woman, she stood 5 feet 4 inches tall, had blonde hair, and hazel eyes. Margaret was very pretty; however, the years left her with snow white hair at the age of 43. Her shoulders were rounded from the years of hard work. Like her husband, she never showed any affection openly for her children, yet was very sympathetic. Margaret's grandchildren remembered how well she could speak German and how she had time to teach them to knit. (Another writer on Family Search wrote a lovely tribute to this matriarch. See: Margaret Sarepta Kulow Halley by unknown writer.)
The family moved from Iowa to Kansas in 1900. (Story County, Iowa documents indicate between 1903 and 1905.) The three oldest girls were married at this time, so they remained in Iowa.
(Compare the following with Vernal Halley's reflections)
The first Kansas home for the Halleys was a sod house by the railroad tracks in Atwood, Kansas. The Halleys moved to Cheyenne County by covered wagon in the fall of 1902 (as mentioned previously, the actual date was between 1903 and 1905). After Joseph and his brother Arthur had gone into the cattle business by buying 500 cattle, the older girls and Rennie (Lorenzo, Bessie Burr's father) rode horses and drove the cattle. The younger ones rode in wagons. Rennie's horse stepped in a hole during the drive, causing the animal to fall on him. He wasn't hurt badly but had a broken toe, which was quite painful. They took him to a doctor in Saint Francis.
The farm they settled on was about 11 miles South of Saint Francis. It was just South of where the Lawn Ridge church was to be located later. This may have been a homestead that someone had given up, but the records show that Margaret Sarepta Halley bought it from Aaron Nester. It was in the northeast corner of 15-5-40.
They hadn't been on the place long when a drought hit that part of Kansas. They had to drive the cattle some distance for grass and water, finally driving them as far as the Beaver Creek. This was a distance of four or five miles when there was no grass for grazing, and many cattle had been lost. They drove the remaining ones to Goodland, about 25 miles, and sold them for $5 a head. This was quite a loss for Joseph and his brother, but the Halley's stayed on the place.
There were trees just north of the house, including some fruit trees. These may have been planted by the Halleys or they might have been a "tree claim" of the previous owner. The soil in this area was good, and there was a possibility of making a living for anyone who wanted to work, so that's what they did. They became regular old dirt farmers.
There was no church, but services were held at the schoolhouse. By 1911, when the church was built, Joseph had acted as janitor for years —that was his way of supporting his church. With his large family, he had little money, but he offered his services. The rest of the family was quite active too. Some of the girls played the organ or piano. Eliza worked at organizing a choir and a male quartet or used Annie, who had a good tenor voice.
They continued to live in the two-roomed house, but when Rennie married Jesse Jacobs in 1907 and brought his bride home to live with his family, it became too crowded, so they tore down part of the house and built a new cement block house on what remained. Two rooms in the new house was for Rennie and his bride, until he bought some land down on the Beaver Creek, where he built a house for his family, which was growing.
At this time, the girls were getting married too. Eliza was married in 1905; Sarah and Mary both married in 1907; and Hazel in 1909. As Vernal wrote in her life story, "room, room, room! Oh, it seems so good to have a little room to stretch out." Only four girls at home after 1907 and that didn't last long.
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| Joseph and Margaret "Sarepta" before her death in 1919 |
In the fall of 1918, the Halleys moved to Saint Francis, where they purchased a home to spend their declining years, but this was not to be. Margaret Haley caught the influenza in her run-down condition and, being anemic, she did not last long. She died March 24th, 1919.
[Grandpa] Haley was left with one daughter, Elva, at home. He remained in the house he had purchased. We grandchildren remember visiting him there. He was noted for the watermelons he raised on his lots in what was known then as the Park Hill area. When melons began to ripen, he would sleep in a little shack by his watermelon patch to keep vandals from destroying his crop. Most of the young folks knew he meant business, so he wasn't bothered too much.
After his daughter married in 1923, Joseph spent a lot of time with his children, who lived close by. His daughter, Sarah Roberts, had him with her for some time. He went out to his son Rennie's place, but so many children made him nervous, so that didn't last long. He was with his daughter Rosa when he passed away September 1, 1928.
Children of Joseph Edward and Margaret "Sarepta" (Kulow) Halley
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| Joseph and Margaret Sarepta Halley Family in Iowa The photo also appears in Vernal's story, "Arriving in Lawn Ridge, Kansas..." |
All eleven children of the Joseph and Sarepta Halley family
survived their parents.
2. Sarepta Anna (1877-1968) married Orrin Griffith on July 4th 1898. They spent all their years in Iowa, and they had five children
3. Amy Matilda (1879-1968) married Elmer G. Chaffin on April 18th, 1899. They moved from Iowa to Webster County, Nebraska, in 1900, then to Kansas about 1904. They later lived in Colorado and were in California for their last years. They had eleven children: six boys and five girls.
4. Lorenzo Delos “Rennie” (1881-1960) married Jesse Jacobs on April 5th, 1907. They had eleven children.
5. Sarah Jane (1892-1961) married Roland M. Roberts on June 5th 1907. He was a Barber in Saint Francis, where they spent their entire married life. They had three children: Winona Cain, Glenn Roberts, and Margaret Maddox.
6. Mary Kate (1884-1968) married Walter L. Motter on October 9th, 1907. They lived in Lyons, KS, where he ran a grocery store. They had eight children and spent their last years in Pasco, Washington.
7. Hazel Emily (1890-1963) married Edward F Harrington on April 8th 1909. They lived on a farm near Ruleton, Kansas. Then, he went to barber school. They spent the rest of their married life in Colorado. They had two girls.
8. Edith May (1893-1975) married Fred Harrington, a brother of Edward, who married Hazel, on August 4th, 1912. He was also a barber, and they lived in different Colorado towns. Finally settled in Denver. They had three children. Edward died in 1950, and she remarried in 1955 to Alvin Ingersoll.
9. Elva Josephine (1896-1974) married George H Williamson on November 28th, 1923. They lived on different farms in Colorado. They adopted a son. In 1925, they moved to Escondido, California. Elva was quite talented musically and wrote some songs that were published.
10. Eliza Josephine (d. 1959) married Earl Demit Kyle on May 31st, 1905. He was a school teacher and taught some of the Halley children. Elva said he was her first teacher. He was also a butcher and a store clerk. In 1910, he and Eliza moved to a farm 6 miles South of Saint Francis. They had eleven children.
11. Vernal (1898-1971) married Aiden H. Andrews on May 11, 1916. She was divorced in 1926, then married Burton C. Blinn on January 23, 1927. They had six daughters. Vernal was divorced again in 1955. She passed away on January 21, 1971, in Cottonwood, Arizona
Submitted by CD Burr
- "Clark, Missouri, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https:// www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6Q9Q-V8N?view=index : Apr 27, 2025), image 10 of 125; United States. National Archives and Records Administration. Image Group Number: 004200556
- Polk, Iowa, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https:// www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-D517-FG8?view=index : Apr 27, 2025), image 482 of 732; United States. National Archives and Records Administration. Image Group Number: 004263717
- "Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XJFP-X2X : Mon Mar 18 16:08:02 UTC 2024), Entry for Joseph E. Halley and Margaret S. Kulow, 1875.
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