George Smith was born January 15, 1809 in Burlington, Chittendon County, Vermont, the son of John and Mary Smith. In 1832, he began his law career in Vermont, Moved to Illinois, and eventually settled in the Iowa Territory. Mr. Smith served as a county judge from 1837-1841 in Tipton, Cedar County, Iowa and then resumed his law practice. On March 26, 1845, he married Elizabeth Davy Richards, whose family had recently immigrated from Devonshire, England. They had six children: Mary Eliza, Marcia Emma, Flora Ella, Frank Melville, Rollin George, and Jenny Lind. In 1871, George Smith set out alone to settle a homestead in smith County, Kansas. He died of suffocation on September 4, 1872 when the dug-out he was living in caved-in. His youngest daughter, Jenny Lind Smith, was born December 26, 1856 in Tipton, Iowa. She taught school at Dubuque High School in Dubuque, Iowa from 1875-79 and then moved to Kansas with her mother and brother Frank in 1880. In Kansas, she met and married Volney Bottomly in November 1882. They had two children, Herbert Jefferson and Helen Elizabeth. Mrs. Bottomly died on March 20, 1950. Helen Elizabeth Bottomly was born December 9, 1886 in Cedarville, Smith County, Kansas. She graduated from Kansas State Agricultural College in 1905. She taught school for a year in Cleburne, a country school north of Manhattan, Kansas. She then attended Kansas Wesleyan College in Salina the next year. On May 6, 1908 she married Percy Eugene Lill, son of Michael and Joanna Lill of rural Mt. Hope, Kansas. Percy had two brothers, Harry and Joe, and two sisters, Genevieve and Gertrude. Percy and Elizabeth Lill lived on a farm near Mt. Hope for most of their lives but moved to Oxford in 1947. They had seven children including Marjorie Elizabeth, Eugene Michael, Volney Bottomly, Wayne Percy, Gordon Grigsby, Dean Thomas, and Richard Alan. All but one, Volney, received degrees at Kansas State and he alone of the brothers did not fight in World War II. Dean Lill was killed in action in November 1944, in Germany and was buried in Holland. The rest of the family are all married and living in various locations in the U.S. Their parents, Percy and Helen Lill, have both passed away, he on July 28, 1967, and her on October 22, 1977.

Arthur H. Gilles was born on October 10th, 1892 to Lewis J. and Nellie Gilles in Nebraska. Arthur was the oldest of five children. He had three brothers Clifford L., born in 1895, Louis A., born in 1897, and Ronald D., born in 1908. He also had a sister Ruth H., born in 1908. Both Arthur and Clifford were born in Nebraska before the family moved to Kansas where Louis, Ruth and Ronald were later born. Gilles attended Kansas State Agricultural College between 1910 and 1914.

Arthur became engaged to Florence Paul and they were married on September 25th, 1916. They had two son’s Paul W. born in 1921 and Donald A. born in 1924.

Arthur began his duty in the Army on July 25th, 1918, and was stationed at Camp Funston in the 10th Division. Arthur and the 10th division remained at Camp Funston until September 29th when they moved to Ft. Riley to assist in emergency service at the hospital due to the influenza breakout among soldiers and did not return to Camp Funston until October 21st. On October 31st the 10th division left Camp Funston heading for Detroit, Michigan from which they would travel across the eastern United States transporting trucks for the Army. This continued until his duty in the Army was complete.

World War 1 ended on November 11, 1918, and Arthur returned to Camp Funston on January 11, 1919, and discharged on January 20th. Although there had been many rumors that the 10th Division would be recruited overseas this never happened and neither Arthur nor the 10th Division was ever involved in direct combat.