Marshall County KS Archives Biographies.....Thiele, George H. 1855 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ks/ksfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com May 3, 2007, 2:00 am Author: Emma E. Forter GEORGE H. THIELE. Though not for long a resident of Marshall county, having left here with his parents when but an infant for St. Louis, where he was reared, George H. Thiele, well-known abstractor and examiner of land titles in the city of Washington, county seat of the neighboring county of Washington, bears a peculiar and distinctive relation to the history of this county, for he has the distinction of having been the first white child born within the present confines of the county of Marshall. He has been a resident of the neighboring county of Washington since 1877 and is thus perfectly familiar with the progress made in this section of Kansas since pioneer days and has done well his part in the development of this region, having been helpful in many ways in promoting movements designed to advance the common welfare, and in the development of the real-estate interests of this section has for many years been particularly active, few men in the state possessing more thoroughly grounded information regarding land values and conditions hereabouts than he. George H. Thiele was born on a pioneer farm on the Black Vermillion, near the present site of Bigelow, this county, September 14, 1855, and in the absence of any more authoritative claim is thus declared to be the first white person born in Marshall county, his parents, Ernest William and Charlotte (Brockmeyer) Thiele, Hanoverians, having been among the very earliest settlers in the region now comprised within the borders of this county, they having settled here in the spring of 1855. Ernest William Thiele was born in the city of Hanover, in the kingdom of that name, son of George and Sophia Thiele, natives of that same city, and there married Charlotte Brockmeyer, also a native of Hanover, daughter of Henry and Sophia Brockmeyer, natives of that same kingdom. They were married at Meridan, Connecticut. Shortly after their marriage Ernest William Thiele and wife came to Marshall county and settled on a pre-empted tract of land on the Black Vermillion, near the site of the present town of Bigelow, in the southern part of the present county of Marshall. Conditions, however, did not prove satisfactory to them there and* in the winter of 1856-57 they disposed of such holdings as they had accumulated there and went to St. Louis, Missouri, where they established their home and where they resided until 1880, when they removed to Hanover, Washington county, Kansas. Ernest W. Thiele died on May 17, 1883, and his widow survived him less than three years, her death occurring on April 24, 1886. Their descendants now include, besides the subject of this sketch and his family, Ernest William Thiele, of Hanover, this state; Mrs. Sophia Rhode, of Herkimer, Kansas; the widow and children of August Thiele, of Hanover, Kansas, and the husband and children of Eliza Haverhorst, of Jackson county, this state. As noted above, George H. Thiele was but an infant when his parents left this part of Kansas and went to St. Louis and in that city he grew to manhood, receiving his schooling in the city public schools. He remained there until after he was twenty-one years of age and then, in May, 1877, returned to Kansas and settled in Washington county, adjoining the county of his birth. On January 1, 1880, Mr. Thiele opened an abstract of title office at Washington, county seat of that county, and has ever since been engaged in business there as an abstracter and examiner of land titles and conveyancer, one of the best-known and most influential business men in that city. Mr. Thiele is vice-president and a member of the board of directors of the Washington National Bank, served for one term as mayor of his home city, for three terms as a member of the city council from his ward, as clerk of the city school board for six years and as a director of the same for one year. He is a Republican and has ever given a good citizen's attention to local political affairs. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the local lodges of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen and in the affairs of these organizations takes a warm interest. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church at Washington and have ever taken a proper part in church work and in the general good works and social activities of their home town. Mr. Thiele is an active member of the Abstracters Association of Kansas and a corresponding member of the National Geographic Society. On June 11, 1883, at Washington, Kansas, George H. Thiele was united in marriage to Elizabeth B. Baumberger, of that city, who was born at Fryestown, Pennsylvania, June 14, 1861, daughter of John B. and Persida Baumberger, whose last days were spent at Washington. John B. Baumberger, who was born on May 3, 1834, died on February 13, 1892. His widow, who was born on September 28, 1832, survived him more than thirteen years, her death occurring on December 16, 1905. . They were the parents of five children, those besides Mrs. Thiele being as follow: Ida R., who died on May 27, 1897; Mrs. Mary A. Bales, who died on December 3, 1887; Harvey Baumberger, who died on February 9, 1899, and David B. Baumberger, now a resident of Salt Lake City, Utah. To George H. and Elizabeth B. (Baumberger) Thiele have been born nine children, namely: Ernest J., born on February 15, 1884, now living, unmarried, at Schenectady, New York; Walter G., September 10, 1885, who is married and now lives at Lawrence, this state; Edna B., October 7, 1886, at home; Mary E., February 5, 1888, at home; Alfred L., March 17, 1889, now a resident of Spokane, Washington, who is married and has two children: Amy C, December 5, 1890, at home; Paul W., March .9, 1892, unmarried and now living at Lincoln, Nebraska; Mabel I., January 20, 1894, at home, and George H., Jr., July 21, 1896, also at home. Additional Comments: Extracted from: History of Marshall County, Kansas: its people, industries, and institutions by Emma E. Forter Indianapolis, Ind.: B.F. Bowen & Co. (1917) File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ks/marshall/bios/thiele389gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ksfiles/ File size: 6.6 Kb