The Gregory family livedin the Kansas City metro area from 1900-1960. I love maps and thought it would be interesting to map there addresses as found in the census and other documents using the Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Collections. A tutorial on how to use these maps is available in PDF format.
I chose the map above based on the 1930 Federal Census entry for Leonard L Gregory in Kansas City, Jackson County, MO. They are enumerated at 3206 East 23rd Street, between Waldron Ave and College Ave. This house is no longer standing when you look at Google maps. There is a business built where this house once stood.
In 1940 Federal Census the Gregory family is living at 2320 Chestnut Ave. This home is located a few blocks West of their location in 1930. The house is in the middle of the block. The house is still standing today and can be seen using Google maps.
Leonard was living with his parents at 1715 College Ave in the 1900 Federal Census.
Leonard's mother passed away in 1904 and he went to live with his aunt and uncle in Iowa. By the 1910 Federal Census they had taken Leonard to Skowhegan, Somerset County, Maine. This was the home state for his uncle, Orrin Moore.
Leonard returned to Kansas City and joined the Army in 1913 at the age of 17. He sister, Pansy, was appointed guardian since he was under age and the whereabouts of their father was unknown to them. He served for five years as a private in the field artillery unit according to his WWI draft registration paper. He moved back to Kansas City and married Virgie Snoddy in Jackson County, Missouri on 3 Feb. 1917.
Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas is his location when he filled out the draft registration form on 5 June 1917.
When he registered for the second WWI draft, 12 Sept 1918, he was back in Kansas City living at 1006 Harrison.
By the 1960s this family was living on Flora Ave. I don't know how many times the family moved; however they stayed within the city of Kansas City in Jackson County and didn't move more than a few blocks.
All of these locations are found on this one map from the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps Collection.
Maps are a great tool for genealogy research!
Using the maps found on David Rumsey Map Collections
I plotted the possible route that my Louthan ancestors could have taken from Columbiana County, Ohio to Linn County, MO. I used four maps:
Ohio
I marked the locations they lived in with yellow. The railroad routes are followed with a color that stands out. The Louthan family is first found in Beaver County, PA across the state line from Columbiana County. After(?) the death of Hiram Louthan the family left Colubiana County. The father of his wife (Harriett) Edmund Hayes moved to Washington County, Ohio. I do not know if he moved first and Harriett followed or if Hiram in fact moved to Washington County before his death. Hiram was in the 1840 census and earlier tax lists but I haven't been able to find him since 1840 in Columbiana or Washington County. I also do not have clarification on his burial. Harriett, now Ormiston, and three of her four children show up in Washington County, OH in the household of William Ormiston in the 1850 Census. The eldest son, Oliver Louthan is living with the Cope family. I believe Harriett's sister or niece married a Cope. After the Civil War, William Harriett and their children along John and Anna Jane Haddow Louthan and Oliver and Elizabeth Vernon Louthan moved to Linn County Missouri. They crossed Indiana and Illinois to get there.
They could have crossed Indiana as shown on this map.
And then across Illinois as shown on this map
They moved to Northern Missouri so I chose Hannibal as the destination to cross the Mississippi River. The railroad does go to Linn County. I stopped marking their path here because family lore states they took a covered wagon from Linn County to Barber County, Kansas. The map below doesn't have roads on it only shows waterways. I would need to do a lot more research to figure out how long this journey would have taken. I rode a steam engine on vacation and learned they travel 10 -20 mph. Taking into account they followed the rivers and streams so they could take on water, the routes were not straight.
Kansas and Missouri 1869 map:
This map from 1884 shows the railroads and roads across Missouri. John and his second wife, Mary Ann Hale Louthan, left Missouri about this time. Anna Jane died in 1881 and is buried at Purdin, MO. John and Mary's first child died and is buried in Mumford Cemetery, Barber County, Kansas. I am not aware of the route they took across Missouri into Kansas.
They resided in Barber County until the Land Run into Oklahoma Territory. There they homesteaded in Major County where many descendants still reside. John and Anna Jane had three children survive to adulthood while he and Mary had nine children survive to adulthood.
It could also be that the Louthan family traveled by covered wagon from Ohio to Missouri. Or perhaps on the waterways of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. I need to research these other travel options.
There is always more to learn and placing my ancestors into the context of history brings them into perspective.
