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The Kachel History

John Lewis Kachel - submitted by Alice Shook, 1998

The family lived in PA, until 1865 when they moved to Illinois. After a few years spent there they moved on to Iowa in 1869. The Kachels were truly pioneers, moving every onward as new lands were opened. They lived in Iowa until 1878 when they "trekked" westward again, this time to rooks County, Kansas.

By this time John as a grown man so he joined his father in filing on a claim, and "proved up" a homestead near Stockton, Kansas of 80 acres. He married and had a child. It is said that his wife and baby were killed by the Indians. (Another story has them dying in a prairie fire). He then joined the Texas Rangers and fought Indians, and protected homesteaders for several years before he married again.

John and Hannah Alice Marsh were married January 21, 1884 in Stockton, Kansas. The Marsh family had also come west to settle from Pennsylvania. John and Hannah made the home on a farm, and like all the rest of the early homesteaders, had to fight droughts, harsh winters, sickness, and prairie fires. Four of the 6 children were born in Rooks County, Kansas. There were 3 daughters; Susan May, Clara Ellen and Mabel Francis, and the oldest son, Samuel Willaim.

John L. Kachel made the run in the Cherokee Strip opening in Oklahoma in September 6, 1893. he filed on a claim in NE/4 of Section 6-20-15 near Orion, Oklahoma in Major County. He had already used some of his homesteading right in Kansas, so could only claim one-half of the quarter. His son, Samuel William filed a claim on the other half of NE/4 6-20-15. After the harsh winters on the endless prairies of Kansas, the blackjack-timbered lands seemed a secure haven. Now they would have enough fuel to burn and plenty of posts with which to build fences! In Kansas they had to hual rocks, chisel them and use the fence posts.

Two more sons were added to the family in Oklahoma; Albert Vernon and Henry Lewis.

Land was cleared of blackjack brush for fields, orchards and big gardens. Their food supply was mostly all raised on the farm. Only a few staple items were bought in the nearby country stores, such as Orion, Chester, Barnes and Phroso. Broomcorn, Kaffercorn and Corn were the main crops. Most of the early settlers had handdug cisterns for their water supply and the households. Some were fortunate enough to have good wells for water.

There were many families who filed on claims or bought a "relinquishment" so the country was quickly settled. Some of the early neighbors were the John Hurt's and their sons, the Joseph Hurt's, Frank Hurt and John Hurt families; the Dvorak's, Painton's, Holub's, Cossel, Bukowski's and Shaffer's. Others were the Edingfield, Paris and Gould families.

The children all attended school at the old Orion schoolhouse which was located north and east of their home. Walking was the only means of school transportation in those days. During the early years of the 1900's, there would be anywhere from 40 to 50 pupils attending the one-room rural school at Orion. The pupils were all ages and all grades, and one teacher was in charge of all of them.

After a few years, John Kachel left his wife and family in Oklahoma to seek his fortune elsewhere. John Kachel died March 18, 1909 in the state of Montana where he had gone to be with a brother, Will. He is buried in the Ovando Cemetery, Ovando, Montana.

Hannah later married Joseph Hurt and they lived in the Orion and Fairview Communities. Hannah Kachel Hurt died in Enid, Oklahoma, September 1, 1942, and is buried beside her husband, Joseph Hurt, in the Orion cemetery near Orion, Oklahoma.

The (sic) children all grew up and married. Susie May married Soloman Collins and became the mother of 8 children. She passed away in 1955 at Raytown, Missouri and is buried in the cemetery there. Sam W. Kachel married Mary Bukowski and they were the parents of 6 children. They lived on Sam's homestead near Orion until 1917 when they moved to Beaver County, Oklahoma. They both passed away in July 1966 and are buried in the Beaver cemetery, Beaver, Oklahoma. With Mary & Samuel at their wedding, Clara married John Hurt. Three children were born to them. They lived at Phroso and Fairview before moving to Enid. Aunt Clara is the one remaining of the John Kachel family. She is a patient in the Nightingale Nursing home in Enid. Her present husband is Herman Dierk.

Mabel married Omer Paris. She passed away near Hooker, Oklahoma, leaving 3 small children. She and her new baby were buried in the Orion cemetery, Orion, Oklahoma.

Albert Vernon married Merle McMaster and lived at Phroso. He died in 1928 leaving a small daughter and son.

Henry married Leah Brown at Beaver. They lived on their Beaver County farm until he passed away from a heart attack in 1953. He is buried in the Beaver cemetery, Beaver, Oklahoma. They had four children; Jackie and Ollie Mae were two of them.

Henry had puchased the John Kachel homestead in Major County, so it is still in the Kachel family. It is now owned by his widow, Leah Kachel of Beaver, Oklahoma. [1966-Leah has been dead for some years now. Alice Shook says, "The kids sold the Major County property to a relative, but kept the minerals rights."]

Information under "Sam W. Kachel" in the same book:

"Here is the log house - Logs stood upright - 5 of the 6 Kachel children were born."

1. Berta (Berhta May) in the Spring of 1908; died in April 1909
2. Letha in the Summer of 1909
3. Alice in the Winter of 1911 (Feb 12)
4. Howard in the Fall of 1912; was also afflicted with infantile paralysis at the time and suffered the rest of his life from having apraxia (difficulty speaking) and one leg much shorter than the other.
5. Ethel in the Spring of 1914; died of infantile paralysis in fall of 1916
6. Harold was born in 1928

submitted by - Alice Shook