May Day Township, Riley County, Kansas

RILEY COUNTY, KANSAS

May Day Township

Submitted by Verlin Wichman

May Day Township.--In January, 1872, this township was organized, the territory having been taken from Jackson Township. It embraced a tract 8x12 miles in the northwest part of the county. Its name was suggested by Hon. A. S. Edgerton, who was postmaster of an office established there in 1869, and first called Stanton. This name was objected to, because of there being other offices of that name in the State.

In the year 1857, Frank Droll and Rudolph Niehenke settled in the township. Peter Dick, A. S. Edgerton, O. E. Osborne, George Pickett and Fred Schartz came soon after. In 1871, Solomon Weichselbaum established a store at May Day.

The first marriage was that of A. Brockhart and Sarah Morris in 1862. The first birth that of John H. Schartz, August 1, 1859.

Parallel Post-Office, M. Jerome, postmaster, is on the first standard parallel.

Farmer's Lodge, No. 166, was organized at May Day under a dispensation, January 15, 1876. G. T. Polson was chosen Worshipful Master; J. W. Smith, Senior Warden; Frank Coffie, Junior Warden; H. A. Freeman, Treasurer; Sol Weichselbaum, Secretary. It was organized under a charter October 18, 1876. Its membership is upwards of thirty.

W. W. Jones is the physician at Parallel; H. A. Meier, physician and surgeon at May Day.