Johnson-Leavenworth County KS Archives Biographies.....Delahunt, Charles (Sr.) 1831 - 
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 22, 2008, 12:20 am

Author: Ed Blair (1915)

  Charles Delahunt, Sr., of Olathe, is one of the real pioneers of Johnson
county. Mr. Delahunt was born in Ireland, February 9, 1831, and is a son of
Matthew and Margaret (Byrne) Delahunt. The Delahunt family immigrated to America
in 1849, located in Jo Daviess county, Illinois. and the parents spent their
lives in that section of Illinois and both died in Galena. When they came to
this country they made the voyage across the Atlantic in an old-time sailing
vessel, which required six weeks to make the trip. They landed in New York and
came to Chicago by the Hudson river, Erie canal and Great Lakes. Chicago at that
time was a mere village, and Mr. Delahunt says he distinctly remembers that
there was not a yard of pavement in the town, that the main street was covered
with planks and as they drove over them the mud frequently squirted up through
the cracks between the planks. Mr. Delahunt was eighteen years old when he came
to this country with his parents. He remained in Jo Daviess county, Illinois,
until 1856, when he came to Leavenworth, Kan., and that year settled on a claim
in Lexington township, Johnson county, and later engaged in farming there, and
his efforts proved very successful. He added to his original place until he
accumulated 470 acres in Lexington and Olathe townships, which he still owns and
which is operated by his son. Charles, Jr. Mr. Delahunt removed to Olathe in
1896 where he has since resided, with the exception of four years which he spent
on his farm. He was one of the first settlers of Lexington township. The
settlement at Olathe was only a few weeks old when he came. He was here during
all the stirring days of the border war and succeeded in remaining as nearly
neutral as possible. However, he served in the Kansas militia during the Civil
war. Mr. Delahunt was married September 27, 1859, to Miss Martha Rector, in
Lexington township. She was a daughter of John and Eliza (Oliver) Rector,
natives of Virginia. Mrs. Delahunt was born near Warrington, Fauquier county,
Virginia, in 1841, and when she was eleven years old her family removed to
Platte City, Platte county, Missouri, and in 1858 came to Lexington township,
Johnson county, where they remained a year or two, when they went to Texas,
locating near Dennison, where they both spent their lives. To Mr. and Mrs.
Delahunt have been born eight children, three of whom are living, as follows:
Anna, married C. D. Campbell, Garden City, Kan.; Charles, Jr., a personal sketch
of whom appears in this volume, and A. L. resides in Lexington township. Mr.
Delahunt is a member of the Masonic lodge and is a Democrat. His wife is a
member of the Order of the Eastern Star and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal
church.

Additional Comments:

Extracted from:

HISTORY OF Johnson County Kansas
BY
ED BLAIR

AUTHOR OF
Kansas Zephyrs, Sunflower Sittings and Other Poems and Sketches

IN ONE VOLUME

ILLUSTRATED
STANDARD PUBLISHING COMPANY
LAWRENCE, KANSAS
1915


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