Seven children were born to Israel and Mary Link Markley, they were: Catherine, Benjamin F., Elizabeth, who married Harry J. Sellers, James Y., Mary and John H., married Matilda Rehberg and they were the parents of Israel, Louise, Harvey John and George W. Israel and Mary Link Markley came to Kansas when the greater part of the state was a barren prairie. They, along with the other settlers, experienced many hardships. They had terrible experiences with prairie fires and can recall that they often barely excaped with their lives and property. During one of these destructive fires a herd of about six hundred buffaloes were driven into the Smoky River and in their efforts to escape the flames, nearly all drowned. The bodies were so piled up that they formed a dam across the stream It was a time of high water and in their excitement, they plumged headlong into the river and pulled each other under. For a time a person could have stepped from one animal to another and thus crossed the swollen stream. The pioneer days have long since passed with the pleasures and hardships, but the residents of Ottawa County owe a debt of gratitude to the early settlers who laid the foundation for the present prosperity and progress we know today. Below submitted by Grace Markley Essig BEN MARKLEY Ben.Markley, also a son of Thomas and Elizabeth Watson Markley, was born in England, December30, 1838. In 1857,.when the family came to the United States young Ben was 19 years of age. During the Civil War he loyally espoused the cause of the north and made two attempts to become a defender of the stars and stripes, but his physical condition would not admit him. He was afterward drafted for service, but again he was rejected. Ben Markley and Ellen Attridge were married December 29,1864, in the prairie state and came to Kansas in 1866, locating a homestead near the Solomon River northwest of Minneapolis. In 1868,.a band of nine hostile Indians made a raid upon his home and he sought safety in flight, seeking cover under a creek bank where the Indians dare not follow. They, however, shot arrows at his work cattle and stole his two horses, but the latter he recovered later. They continued their raid through the neighborhood, killing two men on that same day. Mr. Markley came to this. county when everything was new and wild, game of all kinds being plentiful and wild beasts roaming at will over the prairies...Ben Markley and his brother, Israel, erected a grist mill on the Solomon River south of Bennington and operated this in connection with their farming interests. The mill burned in the late 90's and was rebuilt later. Ben Markley operated the mill and resided across the road where the Chester Watts live today Mr and Mrs. Ben Markley were the parents of three children: Gertrude, who married William J. Stickley. They had six children:  Bennie, Ned, John, Isaac, Nelson and Elwyn; William, who married Elizabeth Harder. They were the parents of three children: Nellie, Earl, (who lives on the William Markley farm) and Frank; Isaac, who married Bertha Slaght. They were the parents of seven children: Grace Markley Essig, Bess Markley Farrell, Alta Faye Markley Dalrymple, Ben, Claude (deceased) and Dorothy Ellen Markley Richards. This information submitted by Mrs. Eliiza Markley Smith THOMAS MARKLEY Thomas Markley, also a son of Thomas and Elizabeth Watson Markley, was born in Cambridge-shire; England, on August 20,1831. After coming to Kansas, he lived west of Minneapolis until the death of his wife, when he went to live with his son, Absolon Markley   Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Markley were the parents of the following children: Elizabeth Markley, Emma Markley Watts (mother of Ruth Watts Woodruff, Earnest, Albert, George, Harry, Bertha Watts Akins, Chester and Harley Watts), Absolon, who married Augusta Harder and had one daughter, Eliza Markley Smith, who has two sons, Harold and Floyd of Bennington; Eliza Markley Zucker and Israel Markley JOHN H. MARKLEY By Zenobia Kissinger John H. Markley, son of Mr. and Mrs. Israel Markley, and Matilda Rehberg, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Rehberg, were married at Salina Kansas, June 12, 1894, and went to housekeeping on the Markley farm one mile west of Bennington. The farm had been formerly owned by Dan Eicholtz. Much of the land along the river was in timber and work began clearing this fertile land. RETURN NEXT :