William A. Kingsley, a Civil War veteran, born 1833 in Lebanon, New York, was an 8th generation American. His Puritan ancestor, John Kingsley, emigrated to Boston, Mass., in 1634. William married Harriet Sherman of Sherbourne, New York, in 1853. In 1865, he moved with his family to Grass Lake, Michigan, where he farmed until 1879, at which time he migrated to Dakota Territory in search of homestead land. Arriving at Sanborn, North Dakota, he remained there while searching for land on which to file a homestead. Determined to find the best land possible, he found what he wanted in Griggs County in the Township that bears his name, moving there with his family in 1883.
William Kingsley's children all homesteaded in Griggs County. They were Mrs. Frank (Helen) Sanford, a schoolteacher and wife of a prominent Barnes County farmer
Mrs. John E. (Tyla) Sutton, for whom the town of Sutton was named
Mrs. J. W. (Alice) Wilsie, who homesteaded in Mabel Township
and Frank J. Kingsley. The oldest son, Fred, was killed while working as a brakeman on a railroad in Michigan in the 1870's.
Insight, diligence, and energy made William A. Kingsley a successful and prosperous farmer. On July 25, 1887, he was mustered into the G. A. R. Death, due to injuries suffered in the Civil War, came in 1899. He and his wife, who died in 1912, are buried in the Cooperstown Cemetery.
Avery Z. Kingsley, the father of William, who was a prosperous lumber and hardware dealer in Hamilton, New York, must have been intrigued by the letters from his son in North Dakota, for at the age of 73, he came to North Dakota to look the country over and to homestead. Avery's father was Amos D. Kingsley, a Baptist minister and one of the 13 founders of what is now Colgate University, Hamilton, New York.
William Kingsley's son, Frank J. Kingsley, farmed the old homestead, his own land, and other land for forty years. Born in 1877, in Michigan, he married Marie Falla Stoneburg, a widow with three children who assumed the Kingsley name. They were Milo, who married Edna Wild
Vanetta Mae (Etta), who married Hans Goodnow
Avelow (Pete), single. None survive. Mrs. Frank Kingsley's father was Anders A. Falla, who came from Norway in the 1890's and homesteaded near Red Willow Lake, in Griggs County. Mrs. Kingsley also homesteaded, in Bryan Township.
Frank and Marie Kingsley's children were Fred H. Kingsley, a mechanic, now at Kensal, North Dakota
Frank W. , deceased
Harriet H. , married to George Lisowski, Rogers, North Dakota
Burton E. , deceased
Evelyn M. , who married Keith Baker, now living in Hammond, Indiana
Ira D. Kingsley, who married Helen Honey, lives in Sutton, North Dakota and farms
Alger L. , who married Leah Kolpin, and lives near Valley City, North Dakota.
Frank Jesse Kingsley was a farmer who believed in acquiring huge acreages and the latest farm machinery. In 1906, he built a modern grain elevator on his farm similar to those still seen in small towns of North Dakota. It had a weigh scale, a dump pit, cleaning mills and a storage capacity of 25,000 bushels. He owned a huge, gasoline Twin City tractor that pulled a sixteen-bottom plow. Also, he operated steam engines and threshed his own crops as well as those of many of his neighbors. At one time, he farmed in excess of six Sections of land. He will, perhaps, be remembered by the old-timers by the fancy car he drove, a white Paige touring car, about a 1920 vintage, with collapsible top and side curtains. The car was large enough to take the whole family of ten on a drive. The great depression of the 1980's left him disillusioned and unwilling to reacquire the land that he lost. He died in 1938. His widow died in 1967, at the age of 90. Both are buried in the Hartman Cemetery at Sutton, North Dakota
Ira D. Kingsley, a grandson of William A. Kingsley, now owns and farms the old Kingsley homestead and the land homesteaded by Mrs. Helen Sanford. The Kingsley homestead is located one mile north and one and a half miles west of the town of Sutton.
Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 Page 326