All Wichmans Please read!!!
I come to you again for help. I have found some new information on my John Billie Wichman.
John Billie Wichman was in Colorado. His wife Leota Mae Bell moved From Kansas with her family to Colorado. She married there to Wesley Kopsa they divorced and she Married John Wichman they then moved to possiblyWyoming then to Nebraska (Kimball) where my father-in-law was born. In Kimball my father-in-laws half brother was killed in a drowning accident and was buried as Derald Dean Wickman (his real name was Derald Dean Kopsa) And I think During transcription Wichman was misspelled with a "K".I feel that John Billie's Parents were Either a John Wichman who's wife's name was either Emma or Edna (she was a teacher in colorado) John's brother George Wichman. Do any of these names or places sound familiar?
Here is a section from the Kopsa records and I have Capitalized the Wichman sections below.
I hope you can help. I am also going to put this on Genforum to see if anyone else knows anything.
Thank you again,
Lori Wichman
KOPSA
Elmer Eman Kopsa and his brother, Joseph Kopsa, brought their families from Kansas to the east Grover flat land in 1918, the men coming on the usual immigrant car and the families following after the close of school. Joseph bought the Dick Dyer place and Elmer bought a section of unimproved land.
The two families located about 12 miles east of Hereford, Colorado, near each other. They were just in time for Elmer's oldest son, Wesley, to be called for Army service. It was a wonderful day when news came that the armistice had been signed. At that time the thrashing crew was at the Kopsa's, when Bert George brought the news of peace, as he delivered the mail. The men of the crew threw their hats in the air and cheered wildly.
When Elmer, Joseph and Bill came in the immigrant car, they brought a carpenter from Kansas with them. Lumber was hauled from Grover with horses and wagons and the carpenter proceeded to build a four room square house, while well drillers started drilling a well. Elmer had moved a one room shack from the Sneed's north of them. After being told how close it was to good pure water, there was much disappointment when they had to go very deep. The main reason for coming to Colorado in the first place was the fact that water on the Kansas farm was scant and drinking water had to be hauled from town and a cistern kept. So the story of the abundance of good water was very tempting.
The family of Elmer and Bessie were Wesley, William, Blanche, Anna, Elsie and Edward. When fall came, Anna and Elsie started school at the Golden Prairie School, with EMMA WICHMAN as their teacher. She taught all grades and the pupils were a happy group as they had friends to play with. There was no playground equipment, but there was baseball, snow men to build, races to run and games to play. Blanche had finished the eighth grade before moving so how to get her to Grover to the new accredited high school was a problem. Several families in Grover took in students who could live in town 5 days a week. Later Elmer moved a building to Grover so Blanche and Anna could live in it. Then later came cosolidation and crude buses that Elsie and Edward could ride. All were proud graduates of Grover High School.
Some very fine friends were made in those days. Neighbors helping neighbors, sharing, butchering, harvesting and playing together. The country dances and baseball were some of the favorites.
Helping each other with chores during the flu epedemic (the world wide influenza epidemic which began in 1918 killed 21.64 million people). Elmer was one of the few who did not come down with the flu, so helped his neighbors. When it was necessary to go to Grover for supplies, E.B. Franklin served them at an outside door. Some of the never forgotten neighbors were; Bruce Benskin; Anthony Coady; John and Mark Claypool; James Barker; Frank Worthington and their families. The Frank Worthington family was a great asset, as they had come from the orient where he was a mining engineer. Their culture was a real asset to all. Then there were the JOHN and GEORGE WICHMAN families. John's wife Edna was the teacher at the Golden Prairie School. The A.D. Dyer's, the P.J. Duncan's and the A.R. Smalls were some of the other neighbors. The Tommy Doctor family also came from the same locality as the Kopsa's. Since Tommy was a welter-weight champion wrestler, he trained Bill Kopsa to wrestle and box.
Bill liked hunting coyotes, wrestling, dancing, music and baseball.
The Grover High School re-union is a very special time, but now it is no longer "oldtimers" but the younger generation, which still makes "Pawnee High School" a school of which to be proud.
(This manuscript was apparently written by Blanche Martha ( Kopsa) Duncan.)
Descendant Register, Generation No. 1
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1. Leota Mae BELL (R.H. BELL1) was born 15 JUN 1904 in Kansas, and died 14 APR 1993 in Sacramento, Sacramento Co., California. She was buried in Roseville District Cemetery, Roseville, Placer Co., California. She married Wesley KOPSA ABT. 1922, son of Elmer Eman KOPSA and Bessie KASL. He was born 13 JAN 1896 in Cainsville, Mercer Co., Missouri, and died 28 OCT 1954. She married JOHN WICHMAN BEF. 1932 He was born abt.1890 in poss. in Colorado, and died abt.1965 in Possibly Wyoming. She married Leslie W. FOX AFT. 1936. He was born 13 DEC 1902, and died 9 JUL 1989. He was buried in Roseville District Cemetery, Roseville California.
Children of Leota Mae BELL and Wesley KOPSA are:2i. Betty Bell KOPSA.b. Colorado d. buried in Burns, Wyoming
+ 3ii. Cathryn Jane KOPSA.b. Colorado
4iii. Derald Dean KOPSA.b. Colorardo buried in Kimball, Nebraska as Derald Dean Wickman
5iv. Robert Elmer KOPSA was born 4 SEP 1926 in Colorado, and died 17 JUN 1999 in Sacramento, SacramentoCo., California.
Children of Leota Mae BELL and John WICHMAN are: + 6i. Margaret WICHMAN.b. Kimball Nebraska
+ 7ii. Billie Jack WICHMAN. b.Kimball Nebraska
(Billie Jack is my father-in-law he has Alzheimers)
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Re: All Wichmans Please read!!!
Lou Pistorius 10/09/03