Thomas Jefferson Humphrey was born in Adams County, Illinois on March 15, 1848. His parents were CORNELIUS HUMPHREY (1824-1900), a farmer, who served in the Quincy Rifles during the Mexican War, and Jane Carter (1826-1848). His grandparents were John and Elizabeth Humphrey. In 1867, Thomas married KATHERINE AMEN (1849-1943). She was the daughter of PHILLIP AMEN (1808-1886) and Lana Hagen (1809-1885) who had come to Adams County from Hessen, Germany in 1834. Thomas had a sister, Sarah R. Humphrey (1846-1891), and she married one of the Amen sons, Henry Amen (1840-1874) om 1864. After Thomas and Katherine were married, they settled down in Adams County where Thomas farmed. Their first five children (John - 1868; Clara - 1870; Oddie - 1872; Charles - 1874; and Lana - 1877) were all born in Adams County. By the late 1870s, however, the lure of the West began to tug at Thomas, and he soon sold his farm and with Katherine and four surviving children (Oddie died in 1873), they set out for Texas. Initially, the family resided in Lamar County, Texas, near Paris. Here three more children were born (Rose Bell - 1881; Katherine - 1885; and Ethel Willie - 1888). When new lands in Oklahoma were opened to settlement, the whole family once more packed up, and Thomas made the "Run" in 1893. After the homestead was established in Pawnee County, Oklahoma in 1893, Thomas and Katherine worked hard to carve out a good life for themselves and their large family. Tragedy struck, however, just three years later wehn Thomas died of facial cancer in 1896. His oldest son, John, was already married by this time to Molly Carver, and care of the family fell to 22 year old Charlie. He took this responsibility seriously, and looked after his mother on the farm until she was 85 years old. They both then moved into Pawnee where he continued to look after her until she died on February 2, 1943, her 93rd birthday. By that time Charlie was 69 years old himself, and he never married. In his later years, we was looked after by his younger sisters who would have had a rough time growing up in the wilderness except for their older brothers sacrifice. Thomas Jefferson Humphreys legacy was thirty nine grandchildren.
John Humphrey - Elizabeth (?)
Cornelius Humphrey - Jane Carter
Thomas Jefferson Humphrey - Katherine Amen
John, Clara, Oddie, Charles, Lana, Rose, Katherine, Ethel