Lester White
(1848-1934)
Lester White was born on Aug. 10, 1848 near Cardington, Morrow County, OH, the eldest son of Luther and Mahala (Minor) White. He has been described as "thin -- rugged -- gaunt -- a real pioneer!"
In 1869, at age 21, Lester and his parents ventured westward to Missouri, becoming pioneer settlers of Haseville, Linn County. The farm was about seven miles east of Laredo, Grundy County, MO, and "near the general store, the Methodist Church and adjoining cemetery."
At age 24, on New Year's Day 1872, Lester married Susan D. McCarty (1849-1902) at Haseville. She was born Sept. 28, 1849, the daughter of John and Abigail (Howard) McCarty.
The Whites had five children -- Jennie Gertrude Blackwelder, Nona Sellers, Otis White, Frank 'Burton' White and Charles Minor White. They also raised a niece -- Ethel Blanche Bailey.
In February 1884, Lester pulled up stakes at Haseville and moved with his wife and children to Kansas, settling in Isabel, Barber County. His parents came two months later, in April. A family history says that Lester and Susan arrived when:
… there was only one claim shanty to be seen. He selected a section of land near the present town of Isabel, and, with the other members of the family, took up the vigorous battle of making a home for the family on the Kansas prairie…. He gave an acre of land from his farm for a cemetery, and [his mother Mahala] was the first person to be buried in it. His first house was a "dugout" half below the ground and half sod. From that humble beginning, he became one of the most prosperous citizens of Barber county. He had "Kansas fever" from the beginning, and praised the weather, the crops, the open roads and the friendliness of the people.
While in Isabel, Lester joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) and helped found the first Methodist Sunday School class. The class was held in a schoolhouse on the farm of Chan Kilmer. He served as clerk of the first school board when the school was founded in 1886.
Bird's-eye view of flat Isabel, Kansas, early 1900s
Susan died on June 23, 1902, at the age of 53.
Lester later married widow May Allen (1850-1925) of Wichita, KS. She had a daughter Pearl Dusing and a son Bird Allen to a previous marriage. May died on June 7, 1925 and is buried with her first husband in Wichita.
In October 1912, Lester attended the 50th wedding anniversary of his uncle and aunt, James R. and Lydia (Miner) Brown, traveling to Kingfisher, Oklahoma, for the special event.
In his later years, Lester retired from farming, and went into the insurance business, with an office on Main Street in Isabel.
On Jan. 10, 1934, at the age of 86, Lester died in Isabel, and according to a family manuscript, he is "buried there in the portion of the cemetery he had set aside for the White family."
Copyright © 2000, 2006, 2007 Mark A. Miner