Volume 8 , Issue 42

Kansas McGill Brothers

Last week we learned that the Edwards county McGill family settled in Lewis, Kansas in the early 1800's from New York State. There are no McGill's left in Lewis, Kansas except for those buried in the family plot in the Wayne Township cemetery near Lewis, Kansas, in Edwards county. The graves date back to the early 1800's.

We also found out that the immediate McGill family moved to Cheyenne Wells, Colorado in 1948; then to California in the mid-1950's. Also, there is mention of the McGill's at the Dodge City, Boot Hill museum, a buffalo hunter McGill buried on Boot Hill.

• Frank McGill -- a Gentleman Farmer and Showman, traveled with Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show. He looked a lot like Bill Cody and would stand in for him when Buffalo Bill was too drunk to ride (so the family story goes). Frank's wife was a little French women and ran the farm. Frank died May, 1939.
• Merle J. McGill -- Frank's son, passed away in 1980 at age 80. Merle J. was married twice, his second wife retired in Kinsley, Kansas (9 miles west of Lewis, Kansas) in the early 1970's. Merle J. and his first wife had the following children:
• Merle Eugene "Gene" McGill -- born 1932 (age 74 to date), lives with his oldest daughter and family on a farm near Union, Arkansas. One of his daughters is Melody (McGill) Paddock.
• Robert Lee "Bob" McGill -- born August, 1939 (age 67 to date), living on the Central Coast of California. Bob has three daughters and eight grandchildren living in California and Nevada.

We are researching to see if these McGill's are related somehow to our northwest Oklahoma McGill's. After looking at a map, Lewis, Kansas looks to be straight North of Alva, Oklahoma following highway 281 (about 119 miles) to highway 50, east of Dodge City, Kansas. We will have to check out Lewis, Kansas and the cemetery in Wayne Township when we head towards Alva, Oklahoma during the first week of November 2006.
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