Vail Family

Arthur Vail was the first of the Vail Family to move to Meade County in 1911, and he was soon followed by his brother, Homer and Clara Vail, and sister, Anna (Vail) and Amos Holmes, in 1913. They moved here from Hume, Missouri, and all settled on farms a few miles south of Plains. Another Vail sister, Lizzie Kaufman and husband Koren, moved to Plains from Vernon County, Missouri in the early 1920’s. The oldest Vail brother, Willie Vail and wife Essie, moved to Plains after retiring from farming at Satanta. Five of the six Vail siblings are buried in the Plains Cemetery.

Over the last one hundred years this family has certainly made themselves a part of Meade County. The family ties to the Vail family through marriage and birth create a list of very familiar names in the county... names like Reiss, Holmes, Bender, Geisinger, Packard, Cox, Hamm, Fruechting, and Novinger, just to name a few.

To quote from the Plains History book: "The families are diversified with many interests, qualifications and talents. There are farmers, ... teachers, businesses, social service, carpenters, an attorney, secretaries, nurses and … a representative from the Kansas 125th district."

They are all community minded folk... contributing greatly to the society around them and participating wholeheartedly in local endeavors.