William Melvin Liming (son of William Bainbridge Liming and Elma Ettie Smart) was born 30 Mar 1891 in Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas, and died 29 Apr 1973 in Burlington, Kit Carson Mem. Hosp. He married Hazel Myrtle Hagan on 06 Apr 1920  

 

  William, or Bill as he was known, was born in Lawrence, Kansas, on March 30, 1891 and was of English and Irish descent. His mother was Elma Smart. His father, William Bainbridge Liming, was the son of George Washington Liming and Hanna Melvina Murphy, both of Ohio, near Cincinnati.Their children were Jary Jane (Mollie) Hitchcock,William Bainbridge, Matilda Olive (Tint) Harman, Elizabeth Street and George T. Liming. May Liming Wixon researched George Washington Liming's ancestry and traced it to John Liming I who came to Americ from Yorkshire, England, in 1665 on the "Nevis Merchant" shop from Dover, England, and was married in 1680. The older Limings were farmers in Ohio. George Washington Liming and his family migrated to Lawrence, Kansas, and in 1907 came to Colorado and homesteaded 1 mile south and 3 miles west of Kirk. He and his family made adobe bricks and built their house, a home that knew many happy get-togethers with all of our families. Grandmother would spend hours playing games and running with the grandchildren, and Grandfather had a long white beard, sparkling eyes, and was always very kind to all he knew.

 

Dad had two brothers, George James (Dock) and Bert. Bert died in infancy. Dad and Dock were raised by their grandparents, George and Hannah Liming. dock married Bessie Taylor and they had seven children: Melvin, Hazel, Clarence, Frances, Gladys, Juanita and James. They lived near Kirk until the late 30's when they moved to Daring, Kansas. Dad had four half sisters: Emma (Herring) White and Ruth (Herrin) Braizer ( his mother's daughters from her marriage to Mr. Herrin, and Melvina (Liming) Wise and Nellie Bain (Liming) Payne (his father's daughters from his marriage to Nell Doddridge Liming). Dad also had two step brothers: Milton and William Doddridge, and one step sister: Visa (Doddridge) Heberlein.

 

Previous to 1907, several of the men folk came to Colorado and homesteaded (or applied for a homestead) and built dugouts on their respective lands. Then in 1907 they formed a caravan of covered wagons to move their animals and belongs to Colorado. After traveling from Lawrence to Topeka, Kansas, in near impassable trails due to heavy rains and mud, and seeing their animals losing weight that would be vital for them to keep. In order to face a winter on the plains of Colorado, they decided to put the animals on the train. They told about slipping the "boys" (Bill & Dock Liming) Milton and Bill Doddridge, Ora Street, and possibly others, on the train with the animals. There was a wagon box turned upside down that the boys hid under so the brakeman wouldn't see them when he made the rounds. I guess the food didn't keep too good and the boys developed diarrhea, which created quite a problem as you can imagine. Visa Heberlein tells me that she, here mother, and sister Melvina came by train at a later date. Her memory of seeing her first sunset on the plains is still very vivid, in contrast to coming from an area dense with trees.

 

When Dad was 18, his father got typhoid fever while working in the sugar beets in Brush, Colorado, and died. At the time of his death, the family was living in a dugout. His stepmother, Nell, remained on the homestead and with courage and alot of hard work, Nell and the boys built a sod house, and then the house east of Kirk where Melvina Wise now resides.

 

Dad was in World War I and served in Company C-110 Infantry as a Private.

In July of 1918, he was wounded and gassed in the Argonne Forest. He was discharged October 5, 1918. In 1919, after getting his Patent Deed, he built a dugout on his land and helped his grandfather farm.

 

Hazel Hagan was born to Robert McDonald Hagan (Mack) and Elizabeth (Edwards) Hagan on June 10, 1902 in Waverly, Kansas. She was one of 11 children - Pearl Smith, Cecil, Johnny, Hazel Liming, Ralph, Lela, Lester, Ray, Delilah, Merle and Betty Avers. Her father's descendants have been traced to John Graves (1703-1804) on his mother's side and to his father, Elijah Hagan, from Guilford, Missouri, on his father's side.

 

Mom moved to Colorado in 1907 in a covered wagon and buggy with her parents. Their first stop in the Kirk area was at Rufus and Ellen Graves home. Then the families went together to Ike and Emeline (Robert McDonald Hagan's mother) Gleaves for supper. Mack moved his family into a dugout that another family had left, and then homesteaded there. He worked as a sod cutter and layer and also did carpentry work. Later they moved to Kirk where he had a butcher shop and sold sandwiches. In 1929, them moved to Missouri and remained there until his death on Feb. 13, 1946 Elizabeth then stayed with family until she moved into Heinrichs Nursing Home in Burlington until her death in 1965 Mom went to Boone School, working during the summers as domestic help. She married Dad in 1920 and devoted her life to her husband and children. On April 6, 1920 Dad married the girl that he had picked out to be his wife when she was still playing with dolls-- Hazel Hagan. To this union 4 children were born-- Alma VanDe Weghe, Robert, Melba Rehor, and Marvin. Their lives were filled with happiness, mixed in with trials and hard work. Shortly after their marriage, they purchased a one room school house and moved it to their land, partitioned it and made it their home. As time went by Dad turned the farming over to the boys and he and Mom bought a restaurant in Joes in 1948. They kept the restaurant until 1957 when they sold it to Rex Shafer. They then moved to West Plains, Missouri, but their ties were in Colorado, so they came back to the farm. Daddy passed away on April 29, 1973, and Mom stayed on in her home until she had a stroke in May 1982. She has resided at the Grace Manor Nursing Home in Burlington since then.

 

Alma Van De Weghe

Denver, CO