Wisdom for the electronic age: If your ‘atomic’ clock thinks it is in the Pacific Time zone, and you set the correct time in the Central Time Zone, then overnight it will reset itself to Pacific Time! So, with a couple extra hours sleep, I set out for a day of boring research. I expect hours pouring over old books, finding little of interest.

I start at the County Clerk. Immediately one of the clerks gets “into it” She wants to know where Israel Misrack lived. In the file room, there are walls of OLD dusty books neatly stored in floor to ceiling shelves. Each book is about 25 pounds, and about twenty four inches by 16 inches (I am guessing) and about 4 inches thick. There is a rolling ladder on a rail attached to the ceiling.

We check the big index book and almost immediately find the entry for Misrach. Up I go, and hand down the volume. The Garfield County Register of Final Patent Receipts. There on page …whatever… is a receipt for the final Patent Application for West 1/2 of the SE 1/4 of Section 4 and the West 1/2 of the NE 1/4 of Section 9 in Township 22 South in Range 27 West of the Sixth Principal Meridian. This means 160 acres in NE Finney County Kansas.

Found the deed registration and mortgages - $500 days after the 5 years were up for homestead “Proving” and $75 payable in 10 semiannual payments of $7.50.

In the Historical Museum, Olga who retires tomorrow, spent hours, literally, getting all sorts of information out on Beersheba and Ravanna and the Misrach’s (A court file on the forclosure on the land - after they sold it to the next owners). I go back there today to get copies of more stuff…. Was supposed to get a tour guide for a trip to Beersheba, but he can’t. Maybe they will find another today.

Did I mention that the woman who did all the research on Beersheba for the county and has all the records she could compile, wants to get together to share. I think I’ll see her tomorrow (Sunday) and then plan on going there Monday. Now I go to the library to see what they have. Since it takes me two days to find a wi-fi spot I can upload at...here's a brief of the day after what's above.

Spent the morning at the library and the afternoon at the Historical Society library. Reading over and over again the same stories, repackaged, with almost no new stuff. Much about Beersheba. Nothing definite about the Misrachs.

I did review the microfilm of the Garden City Weekly Herald (not the Garden City Herald) and found the original story of Israel Misrach's run-in with cowboys that led to 2 months in the hospital. This is reported on July 26, 1888. We know they were here at least 6 years.

Many of the books and research studies say the settlement was completely gone by 1887! We also know he was in Hutchinson in 1900. That's 185 miles away...too far to commute, I think.

Today I will try to look at the trailer brake problem, and then spend time with Pat Smith, the local Beersheba historian.