Fourth Generation

37. John N ACKLEY was living 1900 and 1930 in Norton, Jefferson , Kansas.^41,52 He was born on 16 Nov 1868 in Kansas.^{12,14,41,42,52} He was living in 1910 in Winchester, Jefferson , Kansas.⁴² On 10 Apr 1930 he was a farmer at Norton, Jefferson , Kansas.⁵² He appeared in the following News Article from the Atchison Daily Globe on 20 Mar 1947 in Atchison, Atchison , Kansas Mr and Mrs John Ackley observed their 31st wedding anniversary last Sunday at their home He was living in Apr 1953 in Nortonville, Jefferson , Kansas.⁸⁷ He appeared in the following News Article from the Atchison Daily Globe on 19 Apr 1953 in Atchison, Atchison , Kansas "STRONGEST MAN"
To The Globe:
Many of the older people of Nortonville and vicinity have asked me to write the following article and send it to the Globe. I have obtained much of the material from my father, T Ferris of this city, who was a boy-hood friend of John Ackley. Also stopped at the Ackley home yesterday to get the exact dates and ask if it would be O.K. to send this article in to you.
John Ackley is a very fine old gentleman of the Nortonville community who had the reputation a half century or more ago of being the strongest and most powerful young man in Jefferson County. He was not a man of large stature, but broad shouldered, and well built., and the muscles of his body were like strands of strong steel. In his younger days when exchanging work with his neighbors to get their winters fuel supply from the wood, he thought nothing of picking up a heavy piece of timber that two average men could not budge, and today his friends quite often remark, "There is a man who was strong as a horse in his day."
In the spring of 1894, placards in large type print showing a man hitched to a three-wheeled plow, turning the soil up to a depth of five inches, were posted in the city of Winchester, and throughout the surrounding countryside, announcing that on the following Saturday at 1:30 p. m. a representative from the J. I. Case Plow company would be there, and a demonstration of their new light draft 16-inch sulky plow would be held on a small tract of land near the city limits.
Up until that time all plowing was done with walking plows, which were better known as "heel burners." However there had been other makes of sulky plows placed on the market at an earlier date, but were a very crude affair which did a poor job of turning the soil, and required an extra horse to pull the heavy contraption.
At the designated hour several hundred farmers gathered to witness the demonstration, and to see the new three-wheeled riding plow which was the first of its kind to appear in that community. And a young, robust man by the name of Orr Carson was asked to come forward and be hitched to the plow. But when the plow was let down into the ground he failed to pull it. As the knee spikes and harness were being removed from Carson someone yelled out from the rear of the large crowd, " Here is John Ackley, he is as stout as a young mule, and he can pull your plow if there, is any man in all this world that can."
Ackley was 26 years of age at the time, and weighed over 200 pounds, and the harness was placed upon his broad shoulders by the factory representative while a helper handed him a pair of hand spikes and strapped on a pair of knee spikes.
As Carson has been known for many years as the strongest and most powerful man in that vicinity, and has failed to pull the plow, many spectators has their doubts as to whether it could be pulled by any man, but when Ackley was hitched and gave the word to go, the plow moved along at a rapid speed turning the moist soil up to a depth of five inches while the large crowd cheered.
During the remainder of the afternoon's demonstration no other man in the crowd was strong enough to pull the plow, and for many years afterwards Ackley was known as the strongest man in Jefferson County.
Ackley and his wife moved from the Winchester community in the spring of 1899 and purchased their present farm consisting of 120 acres located southwest of Nortonville which they have since developed into one of the best producing farms in that area. Mr. Ackley will celebrate his 85th birthday November 16, and anyone driving past the Ackley farm today is quite likely to see him with his tractor hitched to a plow still doing a hard days work.
Frank Ferris
Nortonville

He died on 23 Mar 1954 in Nortonville, Jefferson , Kansas.^64,88 His Obituary appeared in the Atchison Daily Globe on 24 Mar 1954 in Atchison, Atchison , Kansas JOHN ACKLEY OF NORTONVILLE DIES

John Ackley, 85, a farmer in the Nortonville and Winchester communities all his life, died last night at the Atchison hospital, where he had been a patient only eight hours. He was taken to the hospital yesterday afternoon following a stroke.
He was active in farming until his death. Born near Winchester Nov. 16, 1868, he had lived 55 years on a farm a mile west of Nortonville.
He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Emma Nixon Ackley. He was a member of the Nortonville Methodist church and of the IOOF lodge at Nortonville.
Funeral services will be held at the Nortonville Methodist church at 2:30 p.m. Friday, the Rev Kenneth Starbuck officiating. Burial will be in the Nortonville cemetery. The body will be removed from the Warren funeral home to the church at 1 p.m. Friday
He appeared in the census 1870,1880,1900, 1910 & 1930 in Kansas.

John N ACKLEY and Emma NIXON were married on 16 Mar 1916.^52,87,89 Emma NIXON was born in Jul 1867 in Illinois.^41,42,52 She died after Mar 1954. She appeared in the census 1900, 1910 & 1930 in Kansas.⁵²