The Brandley family cemetery is located southeast of Matfield Green, Kansas on private property. Seven family members are buried in the modest plot. This tour also includes headstones and biographical information for family members buried in other Kansas cemeteries.
Name: Katherine S. "Kittie" Patterson Brandley
Birth: April 12, 1845
Birthplace: Berea, Ohio
Death: April 11, 1869
Age: 1 day short of turning 24
Relationship: First wife of Henry Brandley
Notes: Henry and Kittie met in Topeka while he was serving in the State Senate and reporting State House news for the Topeka Journal. They were married October 2, 1867. Henry and Kittie had no children. Kittie probably knew Lizzie Romigh, the woman who would become the second Mrs. Brandley.
Click on any headstone to see a larger version.
In the autumn of 1859, Henry Brandley, a young immigrant from Switzerland, walked nearly 200 miles from Iowa with his friend, Charles Rogler, pursuing the American Dream to Chase County, Kansas.
Thanks to courage, ingenuity and initiative, the names of these two pioneers still live on in local history and legend.
Enjoy this journey through Brandley family history, starting with a walk through the cemetery.
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This information is presented in good faith that it is accurate. If you have corrections or additional information that would make this page more accurate or meaningful, please contact me at prairiehawk@wheatstate.com
Listed in order of death date
Click herefor more Chase County historical information
Relationships: Second wife of Henry Brandley.Matriarch of the Brandley family. Daughter of Daniel and Eliza Slaughter Romigh. Sister of William S., Robert, John, Rosa, Daniel, Terencia and Sarah.
Relationships: Grandson of Henry and Lizzie Brandley. Infant son of Robert C. Brandley and Anna Mathilde Meyer Brandley. Brother to Virginia, Bud and Ruby Brandley.
Notes:
Baby John's grave is not marked, but this small stone between the graves of Katherine and Henry Brandley may give an indication of his resting place.
Name: Ruby Brandley Wagoner
Birth: April 17, 1876
Birthplace: near Matfield Green, Kansas
Marriage: April 14, 1903 to Joseph Edward "Ed" Wagoner of Chase County, Kansas
Death: June 24, 1919
Age: 43
Relationships: Daughter of Henry and Lizzie Brandley. Mother of Claude E. Wagoner.
Marriage: November 15, 1902 to Arthur Thompson Crocker of Chase County, Kansas
Death: August 6, 1934; buried in Sunset Cemetery, Manhattan, Kansas
Age: 56
Relationships: Daughter of Henry and Lizzie Brandley. Mother of Earl Edward Crocker, Hila Eileen Crocker Price, Marion Hazel Crocker Whitcomb and Sybil Elizabeth Crocker.
Marriage: October 13, 1872 to Edward Grey Crocker of Chase County, Kansas
Death: December 14, 1936, buried in Prairie Grove Cemetery, Cottonwood Falls, Kansas
Age: 64
Relationships: Daughter of Henry and Lizzie Brandley. Mother of Arthur Weston Crocker, Ruby Louise Crocker Gallagher, Anna Marie Crocker Howard, Henry Mason Crocker.
Marriage: September 17, 1907 to Anna Mathilde "Tillie" Meyer of Matfield Green
Death: August 21, 1951, buried in Prairie Grove Cemetery, Cottonwood Falls, Kansas
Age: 69
Relationships: Youngest son of Henry and Lizzie Brandley. Father of Virginia Brandley Turner, Henry Robert "Bud" Brandley, John David Brandley and Ruby E. Brandley Kirk.
Marriage: April 16, 1873 to Charlotte F. "Lottie" Oliver; divorced 1889; second marriage May 5, 1892 to Clara Brandley; divorced in 1913
Death: June 17, 1931, buried in Prairie Grove Cemetery, Cottonwood Falls, Kansas
Age: 81
Notes: One of the founders of Strong City, Kansas; claimed land in Oklahoma during the 1893 Land Run; co-founder of Northern Oklahoma Telephone Company.
Death: May 16, 1944, buried in Prairie Grove Cemetery, Cottonwood Falls, Kansas
Age: 72
Relationships: Son of Erastus B. Crocker and Anna E. Grey Mason. Brother of Arthur Thompson Crocker.
Notes: He and his brother Arthur established Crocker Brothers, an extensive ranching and farming enterprise; served two terms in the Kansas House of Representatives (1903, 1905).
Death: March 8, 1953, buried in Sunset Cemetery, Manhattan, Kansas
Age: 79
Relationships: Son of Erastus B. Crocker and Anna E. Grey Mason. Brother of Edward Grey Crocker.
Notes: He and his brother Arthur established Crocker Brothers, an extensive ranching and farming enterprise; served three terms in the Kansas State Legislature (1917, 1919, 1920).
Death: August 29, 1965, buried in Cassoday, Kansas (note: Pearl is buried in El Dorado)
Age: 87
Relationships: Brother to Gladys Burke, Marita McIntosh, Llouvina Baker, Sam Harsh, Ray Harsh, Dewey Harsh and Milton Harsh.
Notes: Left Matfield in 1923 and moved to El Dorado. Lived there from 1923-1943. Moved to Wichita area to work at Boeing (1943-1955). Retired to El Dorado.
Marriage: November 1907 to Harry Brandley; second marriage to Theodore Decker in 1921
Death: June 15, 1969; buried in Matfield Green
Age: 80
Relationships: Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Snedegar; granddaughter of George Washington Bocook
Notes: The section of Chase County land inherited by Harry upon his father's death in 1910 still remains in Brandley hands through Audrey's stewardship.
Marriage: September 4, 1907 to Flora Brandley; double wedding with Bob Brandley and Tillie Meyer.
Death: May 1970; buried near Fayetteville, Arkansas
Age: 86
Relationships: Associated with the Lampe Ranch in Greenwood County, Kansas
Notes: Described by his grandson as "an itinerant musician." After his wife's death in 1926, Jack relinquished any claim to the land she had inherited from her father and mother. Eighty acres of that land is still owned by Flora's great granddaughter.
Credits: All text by Marva L. Weigelt unless otherwise noted. All gravestone photographs by Marva L. Weigelt except for Crockers in Sunset Cemetery, Manhattan, by Susan Allen and Kay Garrett; photos of Henry Brandley, Brandley cabin, Brandley house, Brandley children on balcony, Lizzie Brandley, Clara Brandley Hildebrand and Pearl Brandley in South Fork courtesy of Kansas State Historical Society; photos of Ed and Arthur Crocker, 1916 campaign advertisement and Henry Brandley's quill pens courtesy of Chase County Historical Society; photos of Maud Crocker, Pearl Brandley and Ruby Brandley Wagoner (2) courtesy of Carl Wagoner family; photos of William S. and Delilah Romigh courtesy of Alice Starks Miller; photos of A.T. Crocker house, E.G. Crocker house and Barbara and Susan Bowron courtesy of Jane B. Koger; photo of Audrey and Ted Decker courtesy of Joyce Keene; photo restoration of Lizzie Brandley and Clara Brandley by Don Wolfe.
