William Henry Price Bristow

William H. P. Bristow and his family resided in that part of Marion Co., which became Boone Co., Indiana in 1830. In 1855, he moved his family from Boone Co., Indiana to a farm near the town of Easton, in Leavenworth Co., Kansas Territory. He and his family were among the earliest settlers in the Easton community.

He owned and operated the first grocery store in Easton. On Sept. 8, 1856, Col. J. A. Harvey and his company of free-staters came into Easton and robbed his store of all the provisions they could carry; they, then, set fire to the building and headed west on the trail. William, later, started another store in Easton. He was also one of the first school board members elected, when Easton Grade School was organized, in 1855, and a log school house was built. He, also, donated a strip of ground to the Easton Cemetery, on the west side.

Many items of interest appeared in an old store book kept by Bristow. Among his first customers was an Indian, who paid a balance on account of $1.00 for pantaloons. Several Indian names were found in the records, such as- Wansuck Indian, Esquier Indian, Witousa Indian John, Pacnocca Indian, and Kawhuk Indian, showing a great deal of trade among them. Following is a copy of some of the original items as they appeared in the old account book:

“Saturday, Oct. 13, 1855: George W. Messersmith, to gallon of molasses, 75 cents; to 8 pounds of sugar, $1; to one gallon whiskey, 75 cents. Another bill: Tuesday, October 30, 1855: John Large, to 25 pounds flour, $1.37; to 50 cents coffee, 50 cents; to ½ gallon whiskey, 40 cents. Another bill: William Sparks, Dec. 3, 1855: to five pounds of nails, 60 cents; to set of knives and forks, 50 cents; to 8 yds. Calico, @12 ½ cents, $1.00; to matches, 5 cents.”

The last entry made in the store book was under the date of December 1, 1856. Some of the customers’ names recorded were the following: E, K, Adamson, Jacob Adamson, F. G. Braden, James Bradley, J. Brady, Thomas W. Brooks, J. C. Brown, Thomas Carson, R.W. Chinnley, M. Coomstock, Joel Crook, Chester Ferry, John Foular, William Gabbard, Thomas Gwartney, Charles Hedrick, Benjamin Hicks, John Higgins, James Hugens, A. D. Jones, Amber Jones, William Jones, James Kain, S. J. Kockagee, Joseph Langley, M. H. Langley, David Large, John Large, William Linck, Christopher Linvil, Louisiana Lockmiller, M. Mackey, Mr. Mayfield, William McLain, John Menech, George W. Messersmith, L. Minard, Thomas Minard, David Murphy, Daniel Nickson, James Novel, Patrick Orr, Henry Price, Mathias Ralston, Anthony Reader, Henry Ready, James Ready, James T. Roberts, Daniel Rose, Taswell Rose, William Rose, Daniel Shipley, Moses Sparks, Steven Sparks, William Sparks, Zachariah Sparks, J. C. Sumpter, N. Taylor, Jim Thomas, John Thomas, Greenville Thompson, John Thompson, Robert Thompson, John Tritt, W. R. Tubbs, Thomas Turner, Augusta White, Levi White, Robert Whitehead, John Wilfly, and Lance Woodward.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Apr 26 2018, 18:17:36 UTC