Thanks for suggesting we get to know each other a little better, John. I'm JoLynne Walz Martinez, located in the Village of Oaks, Clay County, Missouri. On my mom's side, the family didn't arrive in the KC metro area until WWII, when my grandfather was stationed here and they stayed. That would be the Travis family. Mom is Martha Ellen (Travis) Walz. Her sister is Victoria Travis. Grandma was Charlotte Virginia (Duty) Travis and Granddad was Albert Mateer Travis. The grandparents on this side of the family were originally from the Pittsburgh, PA area. On my dad's side of the family, our history in the region is more extensive. His grandfather emigrated from Baiersdorf, Bavaria, in the late 19th century. Mattheus Walz came first to St. Louis, then to Kansas City, Missouri, where he married Elizabeth (Bertha) Brownsberger, who had recently moved up to KC from Germantown, Henry County, Missouri, to work as a maid. Mattheus worked in a variety of jobs, as a cook, a wine salesman, running a candy story. For a brief glorious moment in time he was a business owner with a saloon at the very end of the frontier era in Kansas City. After several children were born to them, the family moved to Kansas City, Kansas. They were living in the low area down by the river at the time of the big flood of 1903 that displaced so many poor people in KCK, and shortly afterward the family popped up in Winchester, Kansas, where they had no friends or relations that I know of. My working theory is that the Catholic Church may have relocated them, as they belonged to German-language Catholic churches in both KCK and Winchester (actually Mooney Creek, just outside Winchester). I haven't yet found proof of this, but the priest in charge of records for the parish says is is likely. My dad's mother's family arrived in the Platte Purchase from Kentucky (probably via Indiana and Ohio, although I'm still working out the details) shortly after -- or maybe a bit before -- it was opened for European-American settlement. They moved around a lot in rural areas of Clay and Platte Counties. Dearborn. Outside Weston. A lot of them are buried in the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery outside Weston. Later (after the Civil War -- I think they were Confederate sympathizers) the Van Meters and Lindseys moved across the state line to Winchester, Kansas. My great-grandmother on that side was Cora Belle (Lindsey) Van Meter. She married Bailey Mack Van Meter. Twice. Apparently it was a rocky relationship. The family story is that Bailey Mack and his brother, David, led troubled lives after they killed their father hen he was beating up their mother. Bailey Mack worked in law enforcement, for a time as a police officer in the "Keystone Cops" era, in St. Joseph, and later as a prison warden in Lansing. He is also said to have been a horse racer. This is likely, as his family was known for raising race horses in Kentucky. I would love to find info on his racing career here, although I've so far had no luck finding horse racing records from the region in the late 19th century. I'd also love to find court or newspaper records regarding the alleged trial of Bailey Mack and David Van Meter. They are said to have been acquitted. Bailey Mack and Cora Belle had one son who died young and three surviving children, including my grandmother, Jeanette Virginia (Van Meter) Walz. Jeanette did not like being a country girl, and the Walz family didn't exactly take to country living, either. They moved back from Winchester as soon as they could. I was born in St. Mary's hospital in KCK ... And -- except for brief residences in Atlanta and Louisville -- have lived in the KC metro area pretty much ever since. My husband came here to attend law school and has no family history in the area. On 1/4/09 9:32 AM, "John O'Brien" <JohnOBrien@kc.rr.com> wrote: > Good morning, > > You are one of 135 members on the Kansas City Mailing List. > > As we begin a new year, I thought it would be interesting to > know a little something about us members, and maybe even > help each other, so I'm requesting that you respond to this > note with the following: > > Your location - city and state .......... or just state > > How you are connected to Kansas City, MO or Kansas City, KS > > What you hope to gain by being a member of the KC Mailing List > > Your family name - first, first & last, or none. > > =================================================== > > Perhaps someone on the List will be able to provide you with > information. This will be more probably if you include dates and > names in your response. For example, saying "my grandfather > lived in KC" will not get much of a response but saying "my > grandfather, John O'Brien, lived in Kansas City in the 1920s" might > produce a result. It's up to you how specific you want to be. > > There is, of course, no requirement that you participate. However, > simply responding: "I live in California and lived in Kansas City, KS > in the 1950s" would be acceptable. > > Thank you for your consideration. > > John > Kansas City List Administrator > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > KANSASCITY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message