Metz family settled near Oxford during Homestead Act
Dennis Metz speaks about his family’s homestead in Oxford in the late 1800s and the time since.Â
by Amber Schmitz, Sumner Newscow — For over 100 years, the same land has remained within the Metz family near Oxford, beginning with the Homestead Act of 1872.
Dennis Metz presented “Homesteading Near Oxford” at the Sumner County Historical and Genealogical Society meeting held at the Wellington Public Library on Monday night.
The Homestead Act was signed on May 20, 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln, allowing settlers to claim 160 acres by filing a small fee, building a home, growing crops, and living on the land for five years. Another option was to live on the land for six months, build a home, begin growing crops, and pay $1.25 per acre for the land.
In 1864, the law was amended, giving soldiers who had served two years a chance to claim land after living there for one year.
By 1900, there had been 80 million acres of land given away.
“My father, grandfather, great grandfather, great great grandfather were all farmers, and some of the land has been in the family for over 100 years,” Metz said.
Metz’ sons are sixth generation farmers on the original homesteaded land.
His great great grandfather, Clint Metz, came to Sumner County to homestead in 1872. Metz was a farmer, gambler, and Civil War veteran. When he arrived in Sumner County, there were no railroads, very few people, and the grass reached the stirrups on his saddle.
“Clint was a gambler, and he played cards in Wichita,” Metz said. “When he built his homestead, he would go to Wichita and get lumber, gamble that evening, then get up the next morning and go home. One time, he bought a sandwich and ate a card.”
One night, Metz said, Clint and some guys were playing cards on a farm south of Oxford, and a group rode in on horses.
“He told them to just sit still, and not move, that it was the Dalton gang coming for fresh horses, and they would shoot you through the window if they saw you,” Metz said.
Before coming to Kansas and after fighting in the Civil War, Clint Metz moved from Kentucky to Illinois.
“While in Illinois, he picked up a lady,” Metz said. “He filled out paperwork saying that he was never married. The grandkids weren’t too happy that he was never married, so they came up with stories such as they got together, and she died before the preacher could get there to marry them.”
Clint, a pregnant Lydia, and two-year-old Charlie started back to Kansas in 1870, and she and the unborn child died along the way. Metz said that Clint took Charlie to his father, Dennis Metz, in Missouri, and his parents took care of him.
On July 15, 1870, Metz filed for a homestead. When a person found land they were interested in, they would write their name on a pile of rocks. Metz broke out sod, took care of the tall prairie grass, and got the land started by building a claim shack. The shack consisted of a floor and reinforced walls, basically something to come back to later.
Once he got started, he decided to travel back to Missouri to pick up his son, who was seven or eight years old at the time. His parents told him that he wasn’t taking him, because they had raised him, so his parents and son came back to Kansas with him. They all moved into the claim shack, and a few years later, Metz built a big house on the land, which was torn down in 1928. Jason Metz, Dennis’ son, now owns this land.
At age 48, Clint Metz wasn’t married, and his son Charlie was 21 years old. A woman named Ann showed up on the farm and they hired her to take care of the house.
“Clint and Charlie both sought her hand in marriage, which became problematic,” Metz said. “There was always little discussion about what happened.”
Charlie and Ann married in 1888 in Sedan. They later went back to Caney, Kan., pretty close to where Charlie’s mother died.
“Where they originally settled in 1870, has been in our family for over 140 years, and the others are 110 years old,” Metz said. “The farm I live on has been in my family for 80 years.”
Metz said that Charlie was an entrepreneur and was nicknamed “Hog” Metz.
“When cutting wheat once, he spent the first half hour getting hogs out of the wheat,” Metz said. “They filled a rail car full of hogs and still had hogs.”
In 1931, the family thrashed the biggest wheat harvest they ever had, before heading into a drought.
“There was an old tractor out there, and I played on it and farmed thousands of acres as a kid,” Metz said.
Loyd Metz, Dennis’ father, was a dairyman, and Dennis inherited the dairy when he got out of college.
“I should have sued him for child abuse,” Metz laughed. “But, (that farm) sent two kids to college, and now one of my sons runs the dairy.”
At one time, Metz said, the family milked 150 cows per day.
“When the hired man didn’t show up, you knew it,” Metz said.
In 1986, Dan Glickman was traveling through the area, and visited the Metz farm.
“That was my few minutes of fame,” Metz said.
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The Sumner County Genealogical and Historical Society meets monthly on a Monday. Upcoming programs of the society include Leo Oliva “Women Writers of the Santa Fe Trail” on Sat., Mar. 18, and Jim Bales speaking about the Chisholm Trail Museum in May.
