|
|
Isaac Richard Rhine, known most of his life as Richard, was born 19 April 1890 in Oxford, Sumner County, Kansas, the sixth child (and only son) of Isaac and Mary (Martin) Rhine. Soon after Richard’s birth, the family began a series of moves: to Conway Springs, Kansas, in September 1890; to Winfield, Kansas, in September 1893; to Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory, in the spring of 1894; and finally to Wellston, Lincoln County, Oklahoma Territory, in February 1896. There, Richard’s father was murdered, on 2 February 1898. See the Mary Martin bio page for a description of Isaac Rhine’s murder. Early in 1899, without much to keep her in Wellston, Richard’s mother decided to move to Paonia, Delta County, Colorado, where two of her sisters and all three of her brothers then lived. Richard, of course, went with her, along with his sister Mabel, his sister Alice Rosecrans, and Alice’s husband and daughter. Later that year, Mabel married her cousin Crary Martin and moved to Iowa. Hence, the 1900 census shows 10-year-old Richard (“Isaac”) in Paonia, in a household with just his mother and the three Rosencranses. In November 1904, Richard’s sister Alice died suddenly, and soon thereafter, Alice’s husband left Paonia and went back to Oklahoma along with his three children. Therefore, Richard’s mother decided to move again, early in 1905, to Cowley County, Kansas, where Richard’s sister Myrtle had settled, with her husband and two sons, and where his sister Mabel had also recently arrived, with her husband, daughter, and son. After staying a few years in the town of Burden, Richard’s mother relocated to a farm in Pleasant Valley Township, about 7 miles southeast of Winfield (still in Cowley County). The 1910 census shows 19-year-old Richard (“Isaac,” although the scrawly handwriting there makes the name look more like “Jim”) in her household, along with Richard’s sister Mabel Martin (by then divorced) and Mabel’s son Richard Martin. On 8 February 1913, Richard married (1) Fern Olive Easterday in Winfield. She had been born 26 March 1893 in Cowley County and had lived there all her life. Her parents, Martin L. and Sarah Ann (Lewis) Easterday, had both come to the county separately about 1880 and had married there in 1885. Fern was their fourth child. After marriage, Richard and Fern apparently established their own residence somewhere close to Richard’s mother, as newspaper reports from 1913–16 include frequent mentions of them visiting back and forth. In the spring of 1917, though, they moved to a farm that Richard had rented in Meade County, Kansas (about 170 miles farther west). His draft registration from June 1917 gives his address as Englewood, Kansas, and describes him as a self-employed farmer supporting a wife and one child, a man of medium height and stout build with black hair and gray eyes. After just a couple of years in Meade County, Richard and Fern moved back to Cowley County and, once again, settled on a farm in Pleasant Valley Township, apparently very close to his mother’s farm, as their residence is listed just one page after hers in the 1920 census. That census shows Richard (30) there with Fern (27) and their two daughters Juanita (6) and Anna (1 month). Richard’s occupation, naturally, is farming. So far as we know, Richard and Fern had just three children, all born there in Cowley County:
Occasional mentions in Winfield newspapers, over the years, identify some of the crops and livestock Richard raised on his farm: cattle, chickens, wheat, alfalfa, hay, tomatoes, grapes, peaches, pears, and even “cane” (sugar cane?). He continued farming in Pleasant Valley Township well into the 1920s and perhaps as late as the start of 1930. The 1920 U.S. census and the 1925 Kansas census both show him there with Fern, Juanita, and Anna Vera, and he is identified as “Richard Rhine of south of Winfield” in his mother’s obituary, from January 1930. The 1930 census, however, collected in April of that year, shows him and his family in the town of Arkansas City (still in Cowley County), and identifies his occupation as “laborer for State.” The details of Richard’s life are a bit sketchy after 1930, because currently (2024) there are no Cowley County newspapers posted on line that cover this period. Richard and Fern may not have remained in Arkansas City for long, as their son Robley was born in Winfield in December 1930. The 1940 census shows them at 1705 Warren St. in Winfield, and confirms that that had also been their place of residence in 1935. Richard’s occupation in 1940 is listed as “painter (government worker). That census listing includes 16-year-old Anna and 9-year-old Robley. Juanita had married and moved out in 1934. Soon after 1940, Richard and Fern were divorced, although I have not found any official record of that action. On Richard’s draft registration from April 1942, he lists “Mrs. W. R. Keasling” (his daughter Juanita), rather than Fern, as his primary contact. According to that record, he was then residing and employed at the State Training School in Winfield, and it described him as having blue eyes, gray hair, and a ruddy complexion. On 18 October 1942, Richard married (2) Maria M. Thomson in Winfield. She had been born in Cowley County on 21 October 1901, the daughter of William and Maggie (Kinney) Thomson. She had previously married Fred L. Foster about 1928, but that marriage had not lasted. (The 1930 census shows her living in two places — with Fred Foster and also back in her parents’ home, as Myra Foster. The 1940 census showed her still in her parents’ home, having resumed using the name Thomson.) Fern, apparently, moved to California, after the divorce. According to her obituary, she “worked as a cafeteria manager in the San Diego, Calif., public schools for 18 years, until her retirement in 1963.” Hence, she would have started that job about 1945. She also apparently took her son Robley with her to California, as he attended Grossmont High School in La Mesa, California, and graduated from there in 1949.
The 1950 census shows Richard and his new wife Maria living at 712 18th Street in Winfield, along with Maria’s father and Richard’s son Robley (who, we know, was then attending Southwestern College in Winfield). Richard’s occupations are listed as farmer and painter. The census also shows Fern living with her daughter Juanita Keasling in Fairview Township of Cowley County. This is surprising, considering the information from her obituary that she worked 18 years for the San Diego Schools, ending in 1963. Perhaps, though, she had just moved back to Cowley County temporarily in 1950, and she returned to her San Diego job soon thereafter? Richard and Maria remained in Winfield until 1957, when Richard acquired a farm southeast of town and went back to farming. On 4 August 1964, he suffered a heart attack and died while mowing hay for a neighbor. Maria lived on another 8 years and died in Winfield on 25 November 1972. She and Richard are buried together at Highland Cemetery in Winfield. The Daily Courier printed an obituary for Richard, but I have not yet found one for Maria. Fern reportedly remained in San Diego until 1968, and then moved to Boulder, Colorado (where her son Robley was then living). She died in Boulder on 25 July 1987, the Boulder Camera published an obituary for her, and her body was returned to Winfield for burial at the Rose Valley Cemetery. If you can suggest any corrections to the information above or provide any further details about the lives of Richard, Fern, and their descendants, please contact me at the address shown in the image below:
Thanks,
Return
to Mary Martin bio page. |
