Charles Alfred Gregory 
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Death Notes
Born in Thorpe-Salvin, Yorkshire, England
Christened in the Episcopalian Church, Thorpe-Salvin, England
Married in McPherson, Kansas
Died in the Ellsworth Hospital, Ellsworth, Kansas
Buried in the Ellsworth City Cemetery (old), Ellsworth, Kansas.
General Notes
Charles Gregory was born in Thorpe-Salvin, Yorkshire, England on August 25, 1865. He was the fifth son of Charles Gregory (born 1832 - died March 24, 1902) and Ann Hanson (born 1834 - died February 4, 1904). He had seven brothers and no sisters.
George Born Nov. 16, 1858 - died 1891
John Born Nov. 29, 1859 - died Oct. 9, 1930.
John died at the home of his only child, Elsie Shade, on a farm 25 miles west of Brookville, Kansas.
Henry Born Jan. 1, 1862 - died Nov. 6, 1896
William Born Apr. 15, 1864 - died Apr. 12, 1944.
Will died on his ranch near Brookville, Kansas. His wife was Kate Bealby, sister of our mother, Emma.
Walter Born Oct. 8, 1866 - died Sept. 19, 1893
Joseph Born Nov. 26, 1867 - died ?
Fred Born ? - died Nov. 16, 1868
Dad's father was farm-overseer for a lord's estate near Thorpe Salvin. Dad said that he was a tall, handsome man who worked very hard. Our Dad often spoke to us of the love and patience of his dad and his mother to their eight sons.
He said that his parents had never spanked any of them even though the boys were all great pranksters.
Most of the rearing of the boys was left to their mother, Ann. Our dad could remember his mother would never punish them for wrongdoings but would always say, "Just wait until your father comes home and he'll really punish you!" But he never did!
Dad often remarked of how much time his mother spent washing eight boys' and one man's clothes in a tub and using a wash board.
He did say that the boys never wore underwear except on Sunday - so that helped the wash board some!
Living in a small village, there were many other boys as well as his brothers to play with. One day he and a friend stole some apples from a village neighbor's tree. The owner saw them and gave chase. Dad slipped into a narrow place between two houses. His friend was fat and couldn't squeeze into the alleyway, so he was caught. The owner of the apples gave him a sound thrashing. Our dad remained in the alleyway until dark when the owner "gave up" and went away. Dad then ran home.
It was the village custom then that spankings could be administered by other than the parents, so there was no problem.
One of Dad's duties was to look after his younger brothers, especially Baby Fred. This job he hated as the other kids called him "Mama's Boy"! One day some of his boy friends came by the yard and wanted him, William and Joseph to play ball. They left the baby, Fred, in care of Walter, who was only three. When Dad and his brothers returned Walter was feeding worms to Fred. They told Walter not to tell and so there mother never knew of the "worm feeding". (The baby never got sick from the worms.)
Religion was important to Dad's parents.
Dad was baptized and confirmed in the Episcopalian Church in Thorpe-Salvin. He faithfully attended this church with his mother, father, and brothers on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. The boys were excused from attendance only if they were sick. Dad had a very good singing voice and sang in the choir. He had the opportunity to go up to London and take voice training so he could sing in a choir at the Cathedral. His parents encouraged him to go, but he didn't want to, so he stayed home.
Services at the Episcopalian Church were always very formal, so Dad often went to his uncle's house to Methodist meetings on Sunday evenings. Dad always enjoyed that because the Methodists were happy-faced, jolly, and sang loudly. This was in great contrast to formal services held in Episcopalian Churches.
Dad went to school through long division and then dropped out and went to work on the farm land his father managed.
Dad's brothers, William and John, emigrated to the United States and settled west of Brookville. They had intended to locate in Canada, but a land agent on the train persuaded them to go instead to Brookville, Kansas. On the train ride to Kansas, Will got acquainted with James Bealby, an English emigrant from Newton-on-Trent (a small village just 5 miles from Thorpe-Salvin). James, bothered with lung problems, was looking for a healthier place to live. Will later married Kate Bealby (Emma Bealby's sister).
Now Dad had dreams of going to the United States, too, so he saved his money to pay passage.
Dad had a girlfriend named Lois and they spent many happy times together. Plans were made that when he had made his fortune in America, he would return and they'd be married. (After several years passed and Dad did not return, Lois married.)
In 1883, when Dad was 18 years old, he had saved $150.00, so he made plans to go to America. His mother got his clothes ready. The day he left his mother walked with him a short distance down the road. She began to cry and then he promised her he'd be home in a few years. He kissed her good-by and she stayed waving until he was out of sight. When he turned the corner, he found his father waiting. He
crossed the field and got ahead of him. He asked' Dad if he, was sure that he had enough money as he had some he could let him have. Dad thanked him and said, "No, I have enough." They shook hands and that was the last time he saw his father.
Charles carried his small trunk down the lane to Thorpe-Salvin and from there took a carriage to Liverpool. It took $50.00 of his hard-earned money to buy the cheapest passage, steerage. He sailed from there to New York's Ellis Island where he was to be processed as an emigrant.
He had many ship experiences. His ticket was steerage class and the food was terrible. After he had finished the food his mother sent with him, he had to eat the steerage class food. He went up to the next deck where the galley was and gave the cook $10.00 (a goodly sum in those days) if he'd provide him with 1st class food. For the remainder of the voyage, he ate well!
During the voyage a terrible storm came up. Everyone in steerage was locked below and what a scene to an 18 year old country boy. In one corner he saw a group of men down on their knees shooting dice and cursing loudly. In another corner was a group of religious people praying and singing psalms. Two weeks of sailing brought them to America.
After docking Charles took the train to Brookville, Kansas. He would have liked to have explored New York, but he had only $25.00 left after buying his ticket. On the train were many other newcomers to America seeking a better life.
Brother Will met Charles at Brookville and helped Charles get a job on the Wellington Ranch, south and west of Brookville in Ellsworth County. Will worked there, too, as did his brother John, herding sheep. I wish I could remember the many lively tales my dad, Charles, told me of the Wellingtons and their ranch house. The house had a large ballroom and many a gay party was held there.
Charles decided to go west to California. He went to Santa Monica (a small town then) and found lodging in a rooming house. He found work driving a horse-drawn trolley car. His landlady wanted to sell 50 acres of land around Santa Monica, so he took an option on it. Before he had time to take up the option, he got sick with malaria. He got better but the malaria kept coming back on him. His doctor told him he would have to go to a drier climate, so he went inland to Sacramento. He got a job tending irrigation ditches for Curran County Land Co. The manager of the company found out that Charles was very good with horses, so he hired him to drive him around the ranch in a buggy and take care of the buggy team. The manager liked Charles very much and took him into his home to live. The manager's daughter took a "fancy" to Charles, but he was not interested. He always said that he left there then and went back to Kansas because he didn't want to hurt the friendship between the manager and himself by refusing the attentions of the manager's daughter.
Charles rode on the Union Pacific Railroad back to Brookville, Kansas. He went to stay with his brother Will who had bought the Frothingham Ranch in Ellsworth County from a rich man in England who had two sons running the ranch who weren't making a "go" of it. Charles renewed acquaintance with Will's sister-in-law, Emma Bealby. She and her widowed mother, her sister, Ada, and her brother, Tom, lived at the ranch.
Charles had thoughts of returning to California, but fell in love with Emma and they were married and started farming on a rented farm west of Brookville. The farm was owned by a Swiss family named Yordy. Charles often spoke of what a fine man Mr. Yordy was. Charles did well here, but Mr. Yordy's son wanted to farm the land so Charles rented a farm farther west, known as Cane Hollow. A fire destroyed the house and I later can remember Emma (my mother) saying that all they saved was the four boys and a rocking chair. Then they moved to a farm south and west of Westfall, Kansas.
Charles prospered and wanted land of his own. Around 1907, he bought the Damon Ranch, South of Ellsworth, and with his wife, Emma, and five sons, Ralph, Courtney, Wilmer, Chester and Lee moved there. The Damon Ranch consisted of about 1900 acres of excellent grazing land, well-watered with springs and divided by the Oxhide Creek (now called Oxide). The ranch was originally used to raise and train trotting horses. At that time there were huge horse barns across the creek east of the house. These later were torn down to make a machine shed. On the west side of the creek was the house and a huge stone barn for horses. Mr. Damon quit raising horses and had cattle before he sold the ranch to Charles.
Charles bought 2 to 3 yr. old steers and grass fattened them and shipped them to Kansas City markets each fall. Sometimes a steer would weigh as much as 1400 lbs. when sold on the market.
As Charles prospered, he purchased 1280 acres from Mrs. Jessie O'Donnell (widow of Dr. Harry O'Donnell, a prominent Ellsworth physician). These acres lay north of Damon Ranch and along both sides of the Oxhide Creek.
Another son, Henry Howard, was born on December 31, 1908, and finally a daughter, May Louise, on May 4, 1911.
From time to time the original house was added on to until it had 12 rooms and an enclosed porch. Charles loved to remodel and hired a carpenter from Ellsworth to do this remodeling. Charles had strong ideas on what he wanted done and Mr. Flanders would usually say, "Charlie, that won't work." But Mr. Flanders would do as Dad wished, and it always worked out alright.
Charles managed the ranch with the help of his sons and hired help. Before tractors, it took a lot of helpers to do all the farm work. At one time, Charles kept a herd of 100 horses. These horses were often mortgaged to provide cash money during the winter months when there was no income. Charles raised some wheat, but mostly corn and sorghum, as it was used to provide winter feed for the cattle. The corn would be cut by a binder which bundled the stalks into bundles. The workers followed behind laying the bundles into shocks. In the winter the bundles were loaded on horse-drawn wagons and taken to the feeding grounds to be fed to the cattle. At most times, there were 300 or more steers to be fed, so this was a,big job each day. Sometimes the weather was cold and there was snow on the ground and this made the feeding harder.
Charles was a good horseman and loved to ride. He had many saddle horses, but always one special one he rode. The first was an iron-grey Arabian named Patsy and the second, a black-spotted Arabian named Spot. Charles rode until he was in his late seventies and then quit.
Two sons, Ralph and Wilmer, married and farmed for Charles. Courtney helped at home, but was stricken with arthritis and wasn't able to do very much. He never married. The fourth son, Chester, was accidentally shot and died on August 28, 1918. Lee married and farmed near Holyrood. Howard didn't want to farm, so attended Kansas State College at Manhattan and became a civil engineer. He married and was a Kansas State engineer for 10 years and then became a U.S.A. engineer for 29 years with the Corps of Engineers with headquarters in Kansas City.
During the 1930's and 1940's due to drought and falling cattle prices, Charles had to mortgage most of his land. Unable to recoup his losses, he eventually lost all but 880 acres.
On January 1, 1929 the ranch house burned to the ground. Nearly all possessions were lost and Charles, his wife, Emma, and daughter, May, lived in a converted garage until in the spring when a small 3 room house was built. Two years later three rooms and a bath were added. May married a farmer in 1938 and they lived on a farm south of Tescott.
Charles's wife, Emma, died on January 2, 1945. Charles needed help to continue on the ranch, so Lee and his wife came and lived in a small house near where Charles and Courtney lived. Charles still managed the ranch but did no work outside but did do cooking and cleaning for himself and Courtney.
Charles died on December 15, 1960. Lee and Courtney inherited the ranch and when Courtney died on December 23, 1969, Lee was sole owner. Several years later Lee sold the ranch and moved to Ellsworth.
(Note: Believe that Howard Gregory wrote this biography)
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Ancestor Pedigree Chart
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- b.06 Jun 1832 in Blyth, Nottinghamshire, England d.24 Mar 1902 in Thorpe-Salvin, Lincolnshire, England
- b.1791
- b.25 Aug 1865 in Carlton, Yorkshire, England d.15 Dec 1960 in Hospital, Ellsworth, Kansas
- b.1831 in Worksop, Linolnshire, England d.1892 in Thorpe-Salvin,Yorkshire, England
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Details of Charles 's family with Emma Bealby
Details of Charles 's family with Emma Bealby
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