My Present Past
Click on images to view full size
1920
Josephine Alice Lange       Kansas City, Kansas 1908
Edward, George and Sarah "Sadie" Engel
Argentine, Kansas 1896
Robert E Jacobs
Jerico Springs, Missouri 1935
The Hawthorne Club  1905
Argentine Kansas Public Schools
Samuel Crossett,  Agent for the Chicago Rock Island & Pacific Junction
Wyanet, Illinois January 17th, 1879
Railway Express Agency
The Moffat Road
The Scott Special of 1905
A genealogical experience
1931 Liberty High School Graduating Class
Ruth M Engel
This website was created to honor the memories of my present family
and past ancestors. Behind each newspaper clipping, letter, note,
poem, guest book, telegram, diary entry and picture is a story to tell.
Similar to putting pieces of a giant puzzle together, without knowing
where you are going or when it will end. That is the excitement that
awaits me and the enjoyment of telling the story.
Above:
David Thomas Nichols at the gate, Hulda Nichols seated,
Clarissa Crawford standing and Bob Crawford standing on the right.
Picture taken summer of 1890 in Wyanet, Bureau County, Illinois.
D T Nichols was the first agent at Wyanet, Illinois for the
Chicago Burlington & Quincy railroad in 1854.
Above: Dorothy Lee (Lange) Engel, my grandmother and
Ruth Mildred Engel (Jacobs) my mother, Colorado Summer 1920
In this website you will find a large selection
of railroad memorabilia from 1854 to 1956.
The image on the right is from E J Engel's
guest book. The entry is from Samuel Crossett,
one of his friends that worked with him at
the C B & Q - C R I & P Junction at
Wyanet, Illinois from 1875 to 1881.

Wyanet, Illinois, Birmingham, Missouri and
Argentine, Kansas are three of the locations
that contain a large amount of information and
images about railroads and other items.

Argentine, Kansas and Jerico Springs, Missouri
are also extensively covered in the Towns and
Cities section. As I post more information, the
remainder of the towns and cities will receive
updated information.
For a complete page listing of this site
go to the site map section.
Left:
Edward John Engel, Sarah Ellyn "Sadie" Engel (Nichols) and
George David Engel. Picture was taken at Argentine, Kansas
in 1896.
Sadie Engel was very involved in the Women's Suffrage movement,
The Hawthorne Club and The Order of Eastern Star #85.
Guests at her residence in Wyanet, Illinois included
Susan B Anthony in 1879.

E J Engel was the agent for the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe
railroad at the Argentine Depot in 1883 and retiring in 1928.

George Engel graduated from Argentine High School in 1908
and began working for Kansas City Structural Steel that same
year. In 1920, George went to work for the Swift & Company,
retiring in 1956. He resumed work in 1959 for the Clay County
Assessor's office until March of 1972.

My ancestors originated from France, Scotland, Ireland and
Germany. Some of the surnames include: Nichols, Engel, Jacobs,
Lange, Ervin, Krauss, Yearnshaw, Blaine, Penman, Crawford,
Dunwell, Millard, Hailey, Barry, Lawrence, Lovelace, Pierce,
Frans, Hauter and Cook to name a few. In the coming months
I will begin to post the Genealogical record of those families.
Above:
Charles Ervin on left, Engineer, Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe at
Argentine, Kansas. Charles would marry Josephine Lange
(pictured below) on September 8th, 1922. Jo Lange was the younger
sister of Dorothy Lee Lange (Engel).