George Edward Pultz Family in Kansas is a story about a large family who came to Kansas to lay down their roots in the rich soil of the Midwest. It spans decades and as the Oaktree above it has many branches. There have been many relatives to contribute to the stories of this family and I am grateful to them all. I wish I would have had the foresight when I was a child to learn more about the Pultz family, but family genealogy was not on my radar at that time. George and Anna are my great-grandparents.
George Edward Pultz was born in Henry County, Iowa in 1859 to John Wilson Pulse and Jemima Susan Lozier. He was a baby when his father died on November 24, 1860, in Iowa. His mother married for a second time to Samuel Newton Marquis on November 6, 1865, in Henry County, Iowa. He would go on to have many half-brothers and half-sisters.
George married Anna Kate Smith on October 14, 1880, in Woodburn, Clarke, Iowa. Her parents were Issac Gerard Smith (1823-1888) and Sarah Anna Gardner (1823-1888). It was in Iowa that the amazing story of George Edward Pultz and Anna started with their family of thirteen children.
On the Great Plains, very few single men attempted to operate a farm or ranch; farmers clearly understood the need for a hard-working wife, and numerous children, to handle the many chores, including child-rearing, feeding and clothing the family, managing the housework, feeding the hired hands, and, especially after the 1930s, handling the paperwork and financial details. During the early years of settlement in the late 19th century, farm women played an integral role in assuring family survival by working outdoors. After a generation or so, women increasingly left the fields, thus redefining their roles within the family. New conveniences such as sewing and washing machines encouraged women to turn to domestic roles. The scientific housekeeping movement was promoted across the land by the media and government extension agents, as well as county fairs which featured achievements in home cookery and canning, advice columns for women in the farm papers, and home economics courses in the schools. I never meant any Pultz women in my family that could not prepare a scrumptious meal. They learned very well from their other Kate and each other.
Although the eastern image of farm life on the prairies emphasizes the isolation of the lonely farmer and farm life, in reality, rural folk created a rich social life for themselves. They often sponsored activities that combined work, food, and entertainment such as barn raisings, corn husking, quilting bees, Grange meeting, church activities, and school functions. The womenfolk organized shared meals and potluck events, as well as extended visits between families. This was certainly true with the George Edward Pultz family.
George Edward and his firstborn son George Alvah came from Woodburn, Clarke, Iowa to Kansas in a covered wagon in 1897. They came to homestead between Keats and Riley, Kansas. Kate and six younger children followed by train. Their first home was a frame house two rooms above a full basement. The basement was used for the kitchen.
Their children in order:
George Alvah Pultz was born June 27, 1882, in Clarke County, Iowa. He and his father worked together to prepare for the rest of the family to come to Kansas. He developed pneumonia and at the age of only seventeen, he died on February 25, 1900, in Riley County.
Frank Pultz (his middle name unknown) was born April 23, 1884, and died on September 7, 1884, in Clarke County, Iowa. He is buried in Bethel Cemetary in Liberty, Clarke, Iowa. He was just five months old and his cause of death is not known at this time.
Ina Grace Pultz was born on July 18, 1885, in Clarke County, Iowa. She married on January 17, 1909, to Harry William Peter in Riley County, Kansas. This couple did not have any children.
Carrie Rosalie Pultz was born November 28, 1887, in Clarke County, Iowa. She married Carl John Johnson, Sr. on December 17, 1912, in Randolph, Riley, Kansas. To this union there were seven children born; Lois Lucille 1913-1999, Doris Kathryn 1914-2001, Geneva Marie 1918-1991, Helen Iona 1922-1990, Carl Jr. 1925-1991, James Leroy 1928-1992, and Robert Gene Johnson 1930-2021. Carrie died October 6, 1966, in Manhattan, Kansas and she was seventy-eight years old. Carl Johnson, Sr. died on July 26, 1972, in Randolph, Kansas. They are both buried in the Fancy Creek Randolph Cemetery.
Rubie Jemima Pultz my grandmother was born on September 14, 1889, in Woodburn, Clarke, Iowa. She married my grandfather Otto Richard Weik on February 20, 1908, in Clay Center, Kansas. They lived in the Riley, Keats, Manhattan area their whole lives. They had seven children; Leo John 1908-1994, Edward Hugh 1909-1986, Don Charles 1910-1986, Lola Mae 1912-1942, Elsie Elizabeth 1914-1987, Ina Marie 1920-1997, and Merle Otto Weik my father 1922-2004. Otto Weik was kicked by a horse at their home place and never recovered from his injuries. He died at the age of forty-one on June 16, 1926, in Manhattan, Kansas. Rubie never remarried and she died on June 3, 1973, she was eighty-three years old in Manhattan. They are both buried in Sunset Cemetery in Manhattan, Kansas.
Edward Glenn Pultz was born on September 28, 1892, in Woodburn, Clarke, Iowa. He married Georgia Chamberlain (1889-1955) on September 9, 1912, in Kansas. To this union, there were five children born Margaret Elizabeth 1915-2013, Blain Edward 1917-1991, Anna Jean 1918-2007, Frank Merle 1920-1988, and Argel Glenn Pultz 1922-1998. Glenn died at the age of ninety-five on June 10, 1987, and Georgia died at the age of sixty-six on November 24, 1955, in Topeka, Shawnee, Kansas. They are both buried in the Riley Cemetery.
James Harold Pultz was born on May 16, 1894, in Osceola, Clarke, Iowa. At this writing, I don’t believe he was married or had any children. He lived with his sister and her husband in Riley County, Kansas. He was sixty-three when he died on January 22, 1958, in Manhattan, Kansas. He is buried in Sunset Cemetery in Manhattan.
Waunita Susan Pultz was born on April 1, 1896, in Woodburn, Clarke, Iowa. She married Wayne Aquilla Walter on January 21, 1914, in Riley County, Kansas. They only had one daughter Evelyn Jean Walter 1914-2005. Waunita was ninety-one years old when she died on October 29, 1987, and Wayne was eighty-one when he died on February 2, 1972, both in Manhattan, Kansas. They are buried in Sunset Cemetery in Manhattan.
Edna Blanche Pultz was born on January 29, 1899, in Riley, Kansas. She married Daniel Oren Clark on February 7, 1917, in Manhattan, Kansas. This couple only had one child Betty Lou Clark. Edna died on January 27, 1974, at the age of seventy-five and Daniel died October 3, 1959, both in Manhattan, Kansas, and buried at Sunset Cemetery.
Lloyd Wilson Pultz was born on January 15, 1901, in Riley County, Kansas. He was a painter and a veteran of WWII. He married Grace Helen McDonald in July of 1920 in Kansas. To this union, there were three children born Donald Lloyd 1922-2003, Lyle Edward 1923-1990, and Dale Dean Pultz 1926-1976. Lloyd married for the second time to Alda Mae Burke. Lloyd died at the age of fifty-three on January 12, 1953, in Manhattan, Kansas. He is buried in the Sunset Cemetery in Manhattan.
Wilard Zee Pultz was born on January 21, 1903, in Riley County, Kansas. He married Opal Esther Springer on May 26, 1928, in Kansas. Wilard and Opal had four sons Billie Zee 1934-1952, Duane Lee 1937-2003, Jerry K 1939, and John Wilard Pultz 1945. Wilard died on January 18, 1962, at the age of fifty-eight in Riley County, Kansas. Opal died October 7, 1984, at the age of seventy-seven. They are both buried in the Sunset Cemetery in Manhattan.
Kenneth Leo Pultz was born on June 9, 1906, in Riley County, Kansas. He married Helen Mildred Hoerner on May 16, 1931, in Manhattan, Kansas, and to this union, there were three children; Kenneth Dean 1933, Mildred LaVerne 1938, and George Steven Pultz 1944. Kenneth died on February 26, 1986, in Kansas. He is buried in Sunset Cemetery in Manhattan.
Wilma Jean Pultz the last child of this Pultz family was born on November 23, 1909, in Riley, Kansas. She married John Francis O’Neill on November 28, 1929, in Kansas. They had one daughter Mary Ann O’Neill 1930-1995. Wilma died at the age of eighty-seven on May 27, 1997, and her husband John died in November 1984. They lived in Boulder, Colorado for many years. They are both buried in Boulder.
I wish to thank all relatives over the years who took the time to tell their stories of such a large family. I knew most of these people but not all of them. I remember at many of the Pultz Reunions I attended as a child or an adult there were always stories of the good old days in Iowa or Kansas.
I also thank my mother Nancy Gertrude Brumley Weik for keeping so many pictures over the years. I am the keeper of all the relatives now in my family. My father Merle Otto Weik was not a collector of pictures just fishing gear and fish stories! Enjoy the post.
Brumley Family Branches 