I have no info on the LARKAN and ELLIS families, but here is a story about St. Mary's from the Clay County Heritage Book According to this, the cemetery was three miles NORTH of Clifton--wouldn't that put in it Washington Co.? Sheryl ______________________________ St. Mary's Church The history of St. Mary's Church, one of the oldest in the Salina Diocese, goes back to the time of the first settlers of this area. The very first residents of Clifton Township were Catholics, arriving here in 1859. They came from Luxemburg crossing the ocean by sailing ship, taking them six months to cross the ocean; then, they came by rail to Freeport, Illinois and on to Kansas by wagons drawn by oxen. They settled along "Parson's Creek" where water, wood and good prairie grass was abundant. The first settlers of the area were Nicolas Esslinger, Nicolas Schumaker, both unmarried at the time, and Mr. and Mrs. Peter Esslinger and two children. These good families induced others to come to Kansas from their native country, soon the nucleus of a Catholic settlement was formed. After about three years the two unmarried men traveled to Leavenworth seeking Bishop Meige's assistance in getting a missionary to attend the little settlement. At first the missionaries came from the Jesuit Mission at St. Mary's, Kansas--later they came from Atchinson and Hanover. These priests traveled by horseback; there were months at a time between visits to the settlement. At first mass was offered in the homes; then in 1865 a log school house was built. Mass was offered there. On Sunday when there was no visiting priest the people gathered to recite the rosary and litany together. In 1871 the community built a church three and 1/2 miles north of Clifton and welcomed the railroad in 1877. This made it easier for priests to reach the community. The members of the parish built this church out of native timber doing all the work themselves. There was no laying of a cornerstone and no dedication. In 1898 the little frame building was sold and a fine church was built. At this time the St. Mary's Church was served by a priest from Clara, where a church and parish house had been built a few years earlier. Clifton was by now a thriving town with three railroads. In 1904 a parish house was erected north of the church and there was hope of a resident pastor. From that time on there has been a resident priest serving St. Mary's congregation. The third church was built in 1922; it is serving the parish today. The second building burned to the ground during a terrible electric storm August 19, 1918. During the four years between, mass was offered in the parish house. It was with keen foresight that the church was biult in town instead of in the country. The parish house was torn down and rebuilt beside the church in town in 1924. The cemetery has been enlarged and takes in the ground that once held the church and parish house. The congregation of St. Mary's Church has grown to approximately 300 members including former members of St. Bernard's Church in Clara which closed in 1974. Father John Walsh, born and raised in Ireland, is the priest at this time.