To Kansas on Steamboat

Mrs Ellen Darling, Pioneer, is Dead -
Funeral Tuesday.

Mrs Ellen Darling, one of the pioneers of Kansas, died Sunday, April 11th, at the home of her son, C.A. Darling, in Kansas City, where she was visiting. She was 81 years of age.

Ellen O’Brien Darling was born in County Clare, Ireland, in 1839 and came to this country with her parents when she was a child. They first settled in Connecticut.

In the “days of bleeding Kansas” when pioneers of the North and South hurried to Kansas in the fight for and against planting slavery in the big territory, her parents answered the call of the anti-slavery faction. They travelled to St Louis by railroad and went from St Louis to Leavenworth by steamboat, as there were no railways in this country at the time.

Mrs Darling’s marriage to T.J. Darling took place five days after the declaration of the Civil war. Her husband fought thru the war and the wife remained in Kansas. A child was born and died during the war.

Mrs Darling lived in Topeka for twenty-six years and for the last seven years made her home with her daughter, Mrs William Connors, 1122 Western Avenue. Besides her husband, two children have died. The surviving children are:

Mrs William Connors, Topeka; C.A. Darling, Kansas City, Mo; J.W. Darling. LaSalle, Ill; T.J. Darling, Temple, Texas. Seventeen grandchildren have survived. Mrs Darling was a sister of the late Dr M. O’Brien, a pioneer resident of Topeka.

Funeral services will be held at 9 o’clock Monday morning from the Church of the Holy Name. Burial will be in Mount Calvary Cemetery.