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men, who made their headquarters in Moneka until Brown’s departure from the
state, when he took a dozen slaves from Vernon County, Missouri and landed
them safely in Canada (History of the State of Kansas, 1883, Page 1104).
The Moneka Women’s Rights Association was founded on 2 February 1858 after
a lecture by John Otis Wattles (a.k.a. Otis John Wattles). Esther Wattles
was its first President, Sarah G. Wattles was Secretary. Susan E. Wattles
(wife of Augustus Wattles) ane Emma Wattles were also among the 12 founding
members who signed its Constitution on 13 February 1858. The handwritten
original is posted HERE and a full transcription HERE
Stephen H. Wattles, whose relationship to this family is unclear, was a
Colonel in the First Indian Regiment (a.k.a. Kansas Home Guard) in the Civil
War. James A. Phillips, my great-great-grandfather’s brother, was a Major in
the same regiment. His nephew, Will Phillips, married May Dewey. It is
possible that the Phillips and Dewey families were introduced by the Wattles.
In the 1870 census for Paris Township, Linn County, Kansas, Henry Dewey,
Carpenter (aged 37) and Sarah J. Dewey (aged 35) are listed with four
children: Alice (aged 11) and Nellie (aged 8), both born in Arkansas; “Mary”
(May), (aged 5), born in Kansas; and a child, (aged five months), not named
(Ralph W.), born in Kansas. In the 1880 census for Paris Township, Linn
County, Kansas, Henry E. Dewey, Miller (aged 47) and Sarah E. Dewey (aged 43)
are listed with six children: Alice (aged 21) and Nellie (aged 18), both
born in Arkansas; and May (aged 15), Ralph W. (aged 10), Pearl (aged 6) and
Ernest (aged 2), all born in Kansas. In the 1900 census for Paris Township,
Linn, Kansas, Henry Enoch Dewey (aged 67) was living with his son Ralph W.
Dewey (aged 30) and two boarders. In the 1910 census for Lyons, Rice,
Kansas, Henry E. Dewey (aged 76) was living with Pearl Long (May Dewey’s
sister), her husband Alvin Long, and their daughter Maude Long.
According to the family tree prepared in 1925 by Mrs. Ellas Shields, Sarah
Jane Tenney died 5 January 1883 in Farlinville, Kansas. According to a
letter from Maude Long, “Mam” (Pearl) was born in Moneka, and Ernest was born
in Farlinville. This would indicate that May and Ralph were born in Moneka,
as they were older than Pearl. The letter states that Henry and the children
were living in Mound City in 1885, after the death of Sarah.
According to May Dewey Phillips’ handwritten account, Henry Enoch Dewey was
a judge in eastern Kansas for 25 years. This is corroborated by marriage
records in Linn County, which list Henry E. Dewey as a Justice of the Peace
between 1880 and 1890. On the Linn County land ownership map of 1906, Henry
E. Dewey is shown as the owner of the mill on Sugar Creek at Farlinville, and
much surrounding acreage. Henry Enoch Dewey died on 2 October 1914 in Lyons,
Kansas “at the ripe old age of 81 years 4 mo and 20 days.” Both Henry and
Sarah are buried at Woodland Cemetery in Mound City, alongside their sons
Ralph W. Dewey and Ernest K. Dewey, and their daughter-in-law Osee H. Dewey.
Children of Henry Enoch Dewey and Sarah Jane Tenney:
Alice Dewey: Born c. 1859, Harmony Springs, Benton, Arkansas. Married
William B. Lewis, 33 years her senior, 11 October 1885, Linn County, Kansas.
Note that she was born before Henry and Sarah were married. She is never
mentioned in family accounts. In the final settlement of Henry E. Dewey’s
estate (30 March 1922) her interest in the mill and acreage in Farlinville
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