| By Author | [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Other Symbols ] |
| By Title | [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Other Symbols ] |
| By Language |
|
Download this book: [ ASCII ] Look for this book on Amazon Tweet |
Title: History of Atchison County Kansas
Author: Ingalls, Sheffield
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.
*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "History of Atchison County Kansas" ***
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive)
[Illustration:
_Sheffield Ingalls_
]
HISTORY
OF
ATCHISON COUNTY
KANSAS
BY
SHEFFIELD INGALLS
ILLUSTRATED
STANDARD PUBLISHING COMPANY
LAWRENCE, KANSAS
1916
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PREFACE.
In the preparation and compilation of this history, no effort has been
made to interpret the logic or spirit of events that surrounded the
birth and progress of Atchison county. The work was undertaken with the
idea of compiling a narrative plainly told, of the people and the
institutions here. I was interested in putting in permanent form
chronologically the events that have transpired in the past sixty years,
that have made for the political, social, moral and commercial
development of the county, but, had I realized in advance the many hours
of labor and patient study it required, the work of completing the task
in six months would not have been attempted. I am very deeply conscious
of the imperfections of the completed work, but had there been more time
for research and study, much might have been included that does not
appear.
It would be ingratitude if no acknowledgment were made at the outset, of
the obligation I am under to George J. Remsburg for the assistance he
has rendered me. Without his unfailing courtesy, kindness and help I
should never have been able to do the work at all. His ability as a
local historian is truly marvelous. He wrote two chapters of the history
and contributed most of the matter touching upon the founding of cities
and towns. It is to be regretted that the condition of his health
prevented him from undertaking the work which I have so imperfectly
done.
Acknowledgment is also due George A. Root of the State Historical
Society, who has rendered me invaluable assistance, and to the _Atchison
Daily Globe_, from whose files I gathered much important data. Nor can I
fail to give proper credit to Andreas’ History of Kansas, from which a
wealth of information has been secured. D. Anna Speer, county
superintendent, collected for me most of the historical matter relative
to the schools of the county and Professor Nathan T. Veatch was more
than kind in preparing for me a sketch of the Atchison city schools.
And my dear mother, a loyal resident of Atchison since July, 1859,
intimately identified with its history and growth for fifty-seven years,
has visualized to me as no other could, the story of the early days.
Remarkable as a mother, loved and adored by all her children, she is no
less remarkable
as a woman, stalwart, rugged and buoyant. She lived her young life with
the pioneers of Atchison, and now in the fullness of her years she looks
over the past, so full of pleasures, tribulations and sorrows, with
gladness and resignation, and faces the future with a determined spirit
and a brave heart.
To the ministers of the various churches of Atchison and to Professor
Erasmus Haworth and Charles H. Taylor, the county farm agent, and to
many other good people of Atchison, I entertain sentiments of the
deepest appreciation, and if any of them ever undertakes the work of
writing a history, I shall gladly render them any service in my power.
SHEFFIELD INGALLS.
Atchison, Kan., March 6, 1916.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Abell, P. T. 295
Adams, John P. 488
Adams, Mary A. 584
Adams, William 584
Adams, S. W. 520
Atchison County Court House 57
Atchison County High School, Effingham 274
Ballinger and Wife, S. E. 648
Ballinger, Julia H. 600
Ballinger, Thomas E. 600
Barber, Moses 672
Barber, Mary 672
Beard and Family, Frank 704
Blodgett, Thomas L. 624
Boyington, Home of Frank W. and Julia 584
Burbank, E. G. 520
Burrows, C. H. 544
Bush, William H. 464
Buttron, Henry and Family 472
Carnegie Library, Atchison 289
Challis, William L. 307
Cheseborough, Ellsworth 193
Christian Church, Atchison 249
Cirtwill, Jennie 712
Cochrane, Dr. W. W. 307
Commercial Street, Atchison 66
Conlon, Charles J. 488
Deutsch, Julius 520
Dorssom, George 464
Du Bois and Wife, Lewis P. 768
Eagles’ Home, Atchison 330
Effingham Street Scene 111
Elks’ Club House, Atchison 329
Falk, Charles H. 464
First Church of Christ, Scientist 255
Forest Park, Atchison 80
Fox, Jared C. 408
Glick, George W. 351
Graner’s Annual Sale 785
Graner, Gottlieb 784
Graner, H. C. 785
Graner Homestead 784
Graner, Martha 784
Graner, W. H. 785
Griffin, L. 680
Gundy, Charles T. 560
Ham and Wife, Martin W. 608
Hansen, H. C. 520
Hart, C. C. 792
Harvey, Albert B. 440
Harwi, Alfred J. 416
Hazel, Ernest C. 744
Highfill, Thomas 704
Hines, Michael J. 464
Hooper, Daniel E. 616
Hospital, Atchison 57
Hughes, Bela M. 193
Ingalls, John J. 392
Ingalls School, Atchison 279
Ingalls, Sheffield Frontispiece
Jackson, William A. 488
Jackson Park, Entrance 172
Jewell, L. M. 536
Johnson, George H. T. 456
Kaaz, Julius 688
Keirns, Gail Maxine 568
Keith, U. S. 544
Keithline, Andrew 432
King, S. S. 560
Kingman, S. C. 295
Kuhn, Julius 592
Laird, Britamore 736
Laird, Marcus J. 736
Lane, Jim 189
Mangelsdorf Building 312
Martin, Col. J. A. 297
Masonic Temple, Atchison 327
Million, George 200
Morrow, James G. 384
Mt. St. Scholastica’s Academy, Atchison 286
Muscotah School Building 108
Muscotah Street Scene 107
Newcomb, Don C. 424
Newcomb, D. C., Residence of 426
Old High School Building, Atchison 268
Orr, James W. 360
Orr, J. W., Residence of 362
Orphans’ Home, General View 23
Orphans’ Home, Main Building 19
Overland Freighting 16
Perdue, Edward 576
Plummer and Wife, T. O. 696
Pomeroy, S. O. 189
Potter Street Scene 124
Potter School House 126
Post Office, Atchison 35
Presbyterian Church, Atchison 250
Presbyterian Church, Effingham 112
Remsburg, George 504
Remsburg, John E. 504
Sanders, B. F. 568
Scarborough, William 200
Seaton, John 376
Sharp, Harry L. 512
Sharpless, U. B. 560
Simmons, O. A. 800
Speer, D. Anna 776
Stringfellow, Gen. B. F. 297
St. Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison 263
St. Benedict’s College, Atchison 291
Storch, George 448
Sutter and Wife, Fred 752
Sutter, Fred, Residence of 753
Sutter Homestead 840
Thompson and Wife, George W. 664
Thompson, Matilda 720
Trimble, Roy C. 488
Voelker, C. M. 560
Waggener, Balie P. 368
Walker, Claudius D. 400
Wards of the State 29
Wilson, Charles 544
Wilson, Mary K. 544
Wolf, Rt. Rev. Innocent 264
Y. M. C. A. Building, Atchison 57
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
GEOLOGY.
Fossils—Evidences of Early Animal and Plant Life—
Geological Ages—Rock Formation—Glacier Period—Minerals Pages 17–20
CHAPTER II.
PRE-HISTORIC PERIOD.
Evidences of Paleolithic Man—An Ancient Fortification—
Aboriginal Village and Camp Sites—The Ingalls and Other
Mounds Pages 21–24
CHAPTER III.
INDIAN HISTORY.
Harahey, an Indian Province of Coronado’s Time—The Kansa
Nation—Bourgmont’s Visit in 1724—Council on Cow Island
in 1819—The Kickapoo Indians Pages 25–30
CHAPTER IV.
EARLY EXPLORATIONS.
Coronado in 1541—The Bourgmont Expedition in 1724—Perin
Du Lac—Lewis and Clark—First Fourth of July
Celebration—Major Stephen H. Long—Cantonment Martin—
Isle au Vache—Other Explorers—Paschal Pensoneau—The Old
Military Road—The Mormons Pages 31–36
CHAPTER V.
TERRITORIAL TIMES.
Territory Acquired From France in 1803—Organization of
the Territory—Kansas-Nebraska Act—Immigration to
Kansas—Territorial Government—Free State and Pro-
Slavery Conflict—First Election—Secret Political
Organizations—Border War Activities and Outrages—
Contests Over Adoption of Constitution—Kansas Admitted
to the Union Pages 37–63
CHAPTER VI.
ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY AND CITY OF ATCHISON.
One of the Thirty-three Original Counties—City of
Atchison Located—Town Company—Sale of Lots—
Incorporation of Town—Early Business Enterprises—
Organization of County—Commercial Growth—Freighting—
First Officers—Free State and Pro-Slavery Clashes—
Horace Greeley Visits Atchison—Abraham Lincoln Makes a
Speech Here—Great Drought of 1860—City Officials Pages 64–83
CHAPTER VII.
TOWNS, PAST AND PRESENT.
Sumner, Its Rise and Fall—Ocena—Lancaster—Fort William—
Arrington—Muscotah—Effingham—Huron—Old Martinsburg—
Bunker Hill—Locust Grove—Helena—Cayuga—Kennekuk—
Kapioma—Mashenah—St. Nicholas—Concord—Parnell—Shannon—
Elmwood—Cummingsville—Eden Postoffice—Potter—Mt.
Pleasant—Lewis’ Point—Farley’s Ferry Pages 84–128
CHAPTER VIII.
THE CIVIL WAR.
The Issue Between Early Settlers—Influx of Free State and
Pro-Slavery Partisans—Early Volunteering—Military
Organizations—Threatened Invasion from Missouri—
Political Societies—Jayhawkers—Cleveland’s Gang—
Lynchings—Atchison County Troops in the War—Price’s
Attempted Invasion Pages 129–150
CHAPTER IX.
NAVIGATION.
Pioneer Transportation—Early Ferries and Rates—Famous
River Boats—Steamboat Lines to Atchison—Steamboat
Registers Pages 151–157
CHAPTER X.
OVERLAND FREIGHTING.
Atchison as an Outfitting Point—Freighting Companies—
Principal Routes—Stage Lines—Overland Mail Routes—Ben
Holladay—“Butterfield’s Overland Dispatch”—Time to
Denver—Tables of Time and Distances on Various Routes—
Statistical Pages 158–173
CHAPTER XI.
RAILROADS.
Early Railroad Agitation—The First Railroad—Celebrating
the Advent of the Railroad—Other Roads Constructed—The
Santa Fe—The Atchison & Nebraska City—The Kansas City,
Leavenworth & Atchison—The Rock Island—The Hannibal &
St. Joseph—The First Telegraph—Modern Transportation Pages 174–185
CHAPTER XII.
REMINISCENCES OF EARLY PIONEERS.
D. R. Atchison—Matt Gerber—J. H. Talbott—William Osborne—
John W. Cain—W. L. Challiss—George Scarborough—Samuel
Hollister—John Taylor—John M. Cromwell—Luther
Dickerson—Luther C. Challiss—George W. Glick—W. K.
Grimes—Joshua Wheeler—William Hetherington—William C.
Smith—John M. Price—Samuel C. King—Clem Rohr—R. H.
Weightman—Case of Major Weightman Pages 186–212
CHAPTER XIII.
AGRICULTURE AND ITS DEVELOPMENT.
An Agricultural Community—Scientific Farming—Farmers, the
Aristocracy of the West—Modern Improvement—Topography—
Soil—Statistics Pages 213–216
CHAPTER XIV.
THE PRESS.
Influence of Newspapers—Part Played by the Early Press—
_Squatter Sovereign_—_Freedom’s Champion_—_Champion_
and _Press_—Pioneer Editors—Later Newspapers and
Newspaper Men Pages 217–233
CHAPTER XV.
BANKS AND BANKING.
Early Day Banking—Pioneer Financiers—The Oldest Bank—
Private, State and National Banks—Atchison County
Bankers and the Development of Banking Institutions Pages 234–244
CHAPTER XVI.
CHURCHES.
Methodist—Christian—Presbyterian—Baptist—Salem Church—
German Evangelical Zion Church—First Church of Christ.
Scientist—St. Patrick’s, Mt. Pleasant—Trinity Church,
Episcopal—St. Mark’s, English Lutheran—St. Benedict’s
Abby—First German Evangelican Lutheran Church Pages 245–265
CHAPTER XVII.
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.
Establishment of the Public School System—Pioneer Schools
and Early Teachers—Districts—Statistics—Atchison County
High School—County Superintendents of Public
Instruction—Atchison City Schools—Private Schools—Mt.
St. Scholastica’s Academy—Parochial Schools—Midland
College and Western Theological Seminary—St. Benedict’s
College Pages 266–292
CHAPTER XVIII.
BENCH AND BAR.
Early Mecca of Legal Talent—Organization of Judicial
District—Early Judges—Prominent Pioneer Lawyers—Members
of the Atchison County Bar Pages 293–301
CHAPTER XIX.
MEDICAL PROFESSION.
First Physicians—Early Practice—Pioneer Remedies—Modern
Medicine and Surgery—Prominent Physicians and Surgeons—
Atchison County Medical Society Pages 302–310
CHAPTER XX.
INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL.
Much Wealth and Enterprise Abound—Manufacturing—Milling—
Extensive Wholesale Hardware and Grocery
Establishments—Planing Mills—Various Jobbing and Retail
Interests Pages 311–317
CHAPTER XXI.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND INSTITUTIONS.
Atchison Postoffice—Court House—County Hospital—Young
Men’s Christian Association—State Orphans’ Home—
Atchison Public Library—Atchison Hospital—Masonic
Temple Pages 318–327
CHAPTER XXII.
SOCIETIES AND LODGES.
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks—Fraternal Order
of Eagles—Atchison County Protective Association—Secret
Societies—Catholic Societies Pages 328–333
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE AFRO-AMERICAN RACE.
Early-day Conditions—Their Advancement—Prior Dickey—Henry
C. Buchanan—Eugene L. Bell—Charles Ingram—Charles J.
Ferguson—Henry Dickey—Dr. Frank Adrian Pearl, M. D.—Dr.
W. W. Caldwell, M. D. Pages 334–344
CHAPTER XXIV.
OFFICIALS.
County, Township and School Officers Pages 345–350
CHAPTER XXV.
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
INDEX.
Abner, John W., 534
Adams, John P., 488
Adams, Stark W., 524
Alkire, Charles L., 726
Allen, Edmond W., 755
Allen, Joseph W., 476
Allison, Ralph A., 751
Anderson, George V., 836
Arensberg, L. C., 611
Armstrong, James L., 733
Arthur, Joseph N., 422
Atkin. Paul, 859
Babcock, O. M., 591
Bailey, Willis J., 882
Baldwin, Royal, 830
Ballinger, Thomas E., 600
Ballinger, Samuel E., 648
Barber, Herbert J., 672
Barker, Charles E., 682
Barker, O. O., 761
Barnes, Asa, 715
Barry, John H., 481
Bean, John H., 708
Beard, Frank, 704
Beckman, Carl L., 382
Behen, James E., 796
Belz, John, 884
Best, Aaron S., 379
Beyer, David, 822
Beyer, John, 731
Bilderback, Allen T., 738
Binkley, Fred, 852
Bishop, Frank W., 876
Bishop, Robert F., 596
Blair, Albert H., 454
Blair, John L., 586
Blodgett, Thomas L., 624
Boos, Nicholas, 699
Boyington, Julia E. A., 584
Bradley, Lewis, 819
Brockett, Benton L., 637
Brown, George L., 837
Brown, Thomas, 452
Brown, Walter E., 519
Bullock, Edmund, 847
Burbank, E. G., 520
Burrows, Charles H., 547
Bush, William H., 464
Bushey, Calvin, 871
Buttron, Henry, 472
Buttron, Jacob, 728
Calvert, Alexander H., 747
Calvert, Presley H., 848
Chalfant, W. D., 727
Chandler, Charles A., 716
Cirtwill, Jennie, 712
Clapp, Alva, 447
Clem, William J., 406
Cleveland, Richard B., 834
Cline, Thomas L., 656
Cloyes, Marshall J., 571
Collett, W. B., 612
Collins, Davis W., 832
Conlon, Charles J., 494
Conlon, John F., 495
Cortelyou, Luther, 757
Coupe, Joseph, 375
Cummins, Barney, 445
Curtis, Benjamin P., 531
Davis, Cyrus E., 470
Dawdy, Drennan L., 808
Deutsch, Julius, 523
Donnellan, William R., 538
Dooley, James, 613
Dorssom, George, 468
Drimmel, John, 854
Du Bois, Lewis P., 768
Duncan, John E., 620
Dunlap, Rienzi M., 767
Dysinger, Holmes, 724
Evans, Aaron B., 749
Falk, Charles H., 467
Fankhanel, John, 635
Ferguson, Charles W., 581
Ferris, John, 734
Fiechter, Samuel E., 711
Finnegan, Thomas, 647
Fleming, John, 604
Flynn, J. F., 743
Forbriger, Robert, 658
Fox, Jared C., 408
Frable, Thomas, 359
Fuhrman, Charles H., 460
Fuhrman, Rinhold, 502
Garside, James H., 880
Gault, Thomas O., 495
Gibson, George W., 823
Gibson, Joseph E., 529
Gigstad, Knud G., 439
Gigstad, Ole G., 480
Gilmore, Earl A., 415
Glattfelder, Henry, 741
Glick, George W., 351
Goodwin, George, 833
Gragg, James R., 542
Graner, Henry C., 787
Graner, William H., 784
Greenawalt, Joseph C., 778
Griffin, John, 821
Griffin, Lawrence, 680
Grimes, Robert L., 642
Gundy, Charles T., 565
Guthrie, Warren W., 483
Hackney, Hiram H., 660
Ham, Bishop K., 608
Ham, W. Perry, 702
Hamon, Alferd J., 820
Hansen, H. C., 521
Harvey, Albert B., 440
Harwi, Alfred J., 416
Harwi, Frank E., 419
Hart, Charles C., 792
Hartman, Fred, 797
Hartman, William, 828
Hastings, Z. S., 436
Hawk, John D., 670
Hawk, Lafayette T., 539
Hawk, Rutherford B., 868
Hazel, Ernest C., 744
Hekelnkaemper Brothers, 804
Hendee, George E., 429
Henderson, William, 535
Hetherington, Wirt, 510
Highfill, Thomas, 706
Higley, Clem P., 806
Hines, Michael J., 465
Hixon, Charles L., 577
Holmes, James I., 841
Hooper, Abraham, 616
Hooper, George R., 867
Horan, Michael J., 501
Horner, Thomas E., 527
Howe, Edgar W., 844
Hubbard, Lewis H., 815
Hubbard, William E., 807
Hubbard, William S., 759
Hulings, Mark H., 605
Hunn, Frank J., 824
Hutson, William T., 730
Ingalls, John J., 392
Ingalls, Sheffield, 632
Intfen, Theo, 645
Jackson, Horace M., 353
Jackson, William A., 490
Jackson, Zaremba E., 356
Jewell, Lumas M., 536
Johnson, Charles H., 458
Johnson, George H. T., 456
Jones, Earl V., 582
Kaaz, Julius, 688
Kammer, Karl A., 570
Kanning, Christ, 644
Kaufman, Fred W., 781
Keith, Uri S., 544
Keithline, Andrew, 432
Keithline, Charles J., 630
Kelly, Edward J., 635
King, Richard E., 788
King, Samuel S., 564
Kistler, William D., 430
Klein, Martin, 442
Kloepper, Louis, 580
Koester, Frederick W., 551
Kramer, John A., 883
Kuehnhoff, Henry, 513
Kuehnhoff, Louis R., 567
Kuhn, Julius, 592
Laird, Marcus J., 736
Lange, Arnold, 783
Lange, Charles, 725
Lilly, C. A., 818
Lincoln, Frederick W., 692
Linley, Charles, 461
Linley, Charles H., 610
Loudenback, Henry H., 653
Low, Hal C., 775
Loyd, Samuel L., 686
Lukens, Charles M., 762
McAdam, William, 399
McCullough, Edward B., 599
McInteer, John, 651
McKelvy, William A., 865
Mangelsdorf, Albert H., 852
Mangelsdorf, August, 856
Mangelsdorf, Frank A., 858
Mangelsdorf, William, 850
Markwalt, Amel, 556
Martin, Sidney, 393
Mayhew, Albert E., 372
Miller, John O. A., 791
Moeck, John, 790
Moore, June E., 701
Morrow, James G., 384
Myers, Charles, 552
Nass, John H., 722
Newcomb, Don C., 424
Niemann, Henry, 780
Nitz, William M., 740
North, Howard E., 698
Nusbaum, Leo, 629
Oliver, John R., 626
Orr, Louis C., 381
Orr, James W., 360
Parsons, Peter, 861
Peery, Rufus B., 557
Pennington, James E., 411
Perdue, Edward, 576
Pfouts, Ralph U., 479
Pike, Napoleon B., 516
Pinder, Robert, 675
Pitts, E. P., 634
Plummer, Thomas O., 696
Potter, Thomas J., 677
Power, Grace C., 718
Price, John M., 811
Raterman, John L., 559
Redmond, George W., 689
Remsburg, George J., 508
Remsburg, John E., 504
Reynolds, John A., 838
Robinson, Charles W., 650
Royer, Boyd, 814
Rudolph, Harrison W., 598
Ryan, William, 879
Sanders, Benjamin F., 568
Schaefer, George H. T., 554
Schapp, William, 622
Schiffbauer, Henry, 862
Scholz, George, 526
Scholz, John A., 517
Schrader, George, 729
Schurman, Arthur S., 816
Scoville, Orlando C., 389
Seaton, John, 376
Sharp, Harry L., 512
Sharpless, Ulysses B., 560
Shaw, Benjamin F., 679
Shelly, Edwin T., 843
Shortridge, Alfred, 589
Simmons, Oscar A., 800
Smith, Albert J., 618
Smith, W. H., 473
Smith, Wilson R., 427
Snyder, Mark D., 574
Speck, A. S., 640
Speer, Andrew, 710
Speer, D. Anna, 776
Speer, William F., 846
Stanley, Wilfull A., 497
Stever, Abram, 434
Stoddard, John, 748
Storch, George, 448
Stutz, Christian W., 499
Stutz, Gustave, 695
Stutz, John, 639
Sullivan, John E., 684
Sullivan, John Edward, 765
Sullivan, Roger P., 602
Sutter, Frank, 607
Sutter, Fred, 752
Sutter, William, 840
Symns, Andrew B., 365
Thomas, Robert M., 397
Thompson, George W., 664
Thompson, William H., 720
Tomlinson, B. F., 668
Treat, Thomas C., 458
Trimble, James M., 764
Trimble, Roy C., 492
Trompeter, Joseph, 421
Trueblood, Alva C., 405
Tucker, Thomas W., 742
Valentine, John C., 693
Vansell, Martin C., 873
Veatch, Nathan T., 733
Voelker, Conrad M., 562
Waggener, Balie P., 368
Wagner, Frank J., 827
Walker, Claudius D., 400
Walter, H. B., 803
Warren, William T., 849
Watowa, Frank J., 818
Watowa, Joseph H., 732
Weber, Peter, 594
Wehking, William, 828
Wertz, Frank P., 655
Wheeler, D. N., 514
White, George E., 663
Wilson, James E., 549
Wolf, August J., 826
Woodworth, Edwin S., 772
Woodford, Frank M., 723
Young, William, 794
[Illustration:
TRANSPORTATION FIFTY YEARS AGO
Overland Emigrant and Freight Train, Operated by Sprague & Digan,
Leaving West Main Street, Atchison, Kan., April 1, 1866, en route to
the Far West.
]
History of Atchison County
CHAPTER I.
GEOLOGY.
FOSSILS—EVIDENCES OF EARLY ANIMAL AND PLANT LIFE—GEOLOGICAL AGES—ROCK
FORMATION—GLACIER PERIOD—MINERALS.
The oldest citizens of Atchison county are the animals and plants whose
fossil remains now lie buried in the solid rocks. These denizens of long
ago, by their lives, made it possible for later and better citizens to
live and flourish in the happy and contented homes of her best citizens
of the present day. Long before man ever saw Atchison county—long before
man lived anywhere upon this earth, the seas swarmed with animal life
and the dry lands supported a fauna and a flora substantially as great
as those of the present time.
In character the animals and plants of those early days were very
different from those of the present time. Almost all of their kind long
ago became extinct. It is only the few who have living representatives
anywhere in the world today, and they are degraded in form and size as
though they had long outlived their usefulness. Some of the animals live
in the waters of distant oceans, such as the brachiopods and other shell
fish; the crinoids or sea lilies, and others of like character. On the
dry land we find a few insects of the cock-roach type and other creeping
things which inhabit dark and damp places, animals of gloom on whose
forms the sunshine of day rarely falls.
The plants, likewise, are degraded in size and form. The modern bull-
rushes of our swamps are descendants of ancient giants of their kind
which grew to ten or twenty times the size of their modern
representatives. The little creeping vines sometimes found in the shaded
forest are lineal descendants of the mighty trees of the forests in the
long ago while materials were gathering for the rock masses constituting
Atchison county.
In order to converse rationally about geological time it has been found
most convenient to divide time into periods in accordance with great
natural events, and to give a name to each period that in some way
expresses something desirable to be known and remembered. Usually
geographic names of areas where rock masses are exposed to the surface
of the ground are chosen, or some favorite geographic term may be used,
and in rare instances some quality name expressive of the character or
composition of the rocks.
Following the best usage of geologists the rocks exposed at the surface
all belong to the age known as the Carboniferous, which lies at the top
of the Palaeozoic, or ancient life rocks. The Carboniferous is divided
and subdivided into a number of divisions, the lowermost of which has
been named the Mississippian on account of their great abundance
throughout the Mississippi valley. Above the Mississippian we find a
mass of alternating beds of shale and limestone and sandstone
aggregating about 2,500 feet in thickness, called the Pennsylvanians, a
term borrowed from the State of Pennsylvania, where rocks of the same
age so abound. Rocks formed during the remainder of geologic time are
not found in Atchison county, except the covering of soil and clay so
abundant throughout the county. An old-time name for the Pennsylvanian
rocks is the coal-measures, a term now on the decline because the newer
names—well, it is newer.
It appears that from the close of the Pennsylvanian time to the present
Atchison county has been dry land. At one time, quite recently, as
geologists reckon time, climatic conditions changed so that the snow
falling during the winter could not be melted during the summer, so that
to the far north great quantities of snow and ice accumulated and
gradually spread over the surface of a large part of North America. One
limb of this ice mass moved slowly southward and covered all of Atchison
county, and much adjacent territory, and brought with it vast quantities
of soil and clay and gravel that the ice sheet, as a great scraper,
picked up from the surface as it came along. When the ice finally melted
this debris was left, like a mantle of snow, covering the entire surface
of Atchison county.
The rocks of Pennsylvanian age have within them much of value
economically. Here and there inter-stratified with the sandstone and
shale are large and valuable beds of coal, as is abundantly shown by the
drilled wells and coal shafts within the county. It is probable that
almost the entire county is underlaid with this same bed of coal, and if
so it is worth substantially as much to the county as is the surface
soil. It lies at so great a depth that it may be mined without any
danger whatever of disturbing the surface.
[Illustration:
Main Building State Orphans’ Home, Atchison, Kan.
]
The large amount of good hard limestone in the county guarantees an
everlasting supply of stone for road making, railroad ballast, crushed
rock for concrete works and all other uses to which such limestone may
be put. With the Missouri river on the eastern boundary carrying
unlimited amounts of sand Atchison county is well supplied with every
material needed for unlimited amounts of mortar construction of all
kinds. Recently, since Portland cement construction has so effectually
replaced stone masonry, this becomes a very important matter.
Should market conditions ever become favorable it is also possible to
manufacture the best grades of Portland cement by properly combining the
limestones and shales of the county. Their chemical and physical
properties are admirably suited for such purposes.
There is a possibility that somewhere within the county oil and gas may
be found by proper prospecting. As no search for these materials has yet
been made it is impossible to say what the results might be. Atchison
county, however, lies within the oil zone that has been proven to be so
much farther south, and until proper search has been made no one can say
that oil and gas cannot be found here also.
CHAPTER II.
PRE-HISTORIC PERIOD.
EVIDENCES OF PALEOLITHIC MAN—AN ANCIENT FORTIFICATION—ABORIGINAL
VILLAGE AND CAMP SITES—THE INGALLS AND OTHER BURIAL MOUNDS.
How long the region embraced in Atchison county has been the home of man
is not known, but the finding of a prehistoric human skeleton, computed
by the highest anthropological and geological authorities to be at least
10,000 years old, in the adjoining county of Leavenworth, favors the
presumption that what is now Atchison county was occupied by man at an
equally remote period. Evidences of a very early human existence here
have been found at various times. Near Potter, in this county, the
writer found deep in the undisturbed gravel and clay, a rude flint
implement that unquestionably had been fashioned by prehistoric man,
evidently, of what is known as the Paleolithic period. In drilling the
well at the power house of the Atchison Street Railway, Light and Power
Company, the late T. J. Ingels, of Atchison, encountered at a great
depth, several fragments of fossilized bone, intermingled with charcoal,
evidently the remains of a very ancient fireplace. About 1880, M. M.
Trimmer, an Atchison contractor, in opening a stone quarry at the
northeast point of the Branchtown hill, near the confluence of White
Clay and Brewery creeks, in Atchison, unexpectedly encountered a pit or
excavation, eighty feet long, sixty feet wide, and eighteen feet deep,
in the solid rock formation of the hill. The surface of the hill is
composed of drift or gravel, and the pit had become filled with this
gravel to the original surface, thus obliterating all external evidences
of its existence. The lower layer of stone, about six inches thick, had
been left for a floor in the pit, and in the northwest corner this lower
strata of stone for about four feet square had been removed. Water
issued from the ground at this point indicating that a spring or well,
or source of water supply, had been located here. A careful examination
of the place at the time showed unmistakably that this excavation had
been made by human hands at a very early period and was probably used as
a fortification or defensive work. Prehistoric excavations of this
character, made in the solid rock, are common in Europe, but almost
unknown in America, except in the cases of ancient flint and steatite
quarries, and the absence of either in the Atchison formation, except an
occasional flint nodule, precludes the possibility that this was just an
aboriginal quarry. The Smithsonian authorities at Washington pronounced
the work worthy of careful study, but unfortunately it was obliterated
by the progress of the quarrying. Many weapons and implements of the
stone age have been found in the vicinity of this pit.
Almost the entire surface of Atchison county, particularly where
bordering streams, presents various traces of aboriginal occupancy, from
the silent sepulchers of the dead and the mouldy rubbish of the wigwam,
to the solitary arrowhead lost on the happy chase or the sanguinary war
path. In many places these remains blend into the prehistoric, semi-
historic and historic periods, showing evidences of a succession of
occupancy. For instance we find the Neolithic stone celts or hatchets,
the Neoeric iron tomahawks; fragments of fragile earthenware, mixed and
moulded by the prehistoric potter, and bits of modern decorated
porcelain made by some pale-faced patterner of Palissy; ornaments of
stone, bone and shell; trinkets of brass and beads of glass,
intermingled in confusion and profusion. These numerous relics of
different peoples and periods, showing, as they do, diverse stages of
culture and advancement, warrant the opinion that Atchison county, with
its many natural advantages, was a favorite resort of successive peoples
from time immemorial. Favorably situated at the great western bend of
the Missouri river and at the outskirts of which was one of the richest
Indian hunting grounds in the great wild West, embracing and surrounded
by every natural advantage that would make it the prospective and wonted
haunt of a wild-race, it was a prehistoric paradise, as it is today, a
modern Arcadia.
[Illustration:
State Orphans’ Home, Atchison, Kan.
]
The writer has personally examined hundreds of ancient Indian village,
camp and workshop sites, and opened a number of mounds in Atchison
county. The first ancient mounds ever opened in the county were on a
very rugged hill known as the “Devil’s Backbone,” bordering Owl creek,
and overlooking the Missouri river, in 1891. There were two of them, and
they contained stone sepulchers in which the Indians had cremated their
dead. Other stone grave mounds have been opened on the farms of John
Myers, on Independence creek, in the northeastern part of the county;
Maurice Fiehley, on Stranger creek, near Potter; George Storch, on
Alcorn or Whiskey creek, just south of Atchison, and in several other
places. The most interesting mound ever excavated in the county,
however, was what is known as the Ingalls Mound, on land belonging to
the estate of the late United States Senator John J. Ingalls, on a bluff
of the Missouri river, at the mouth of Walnut creek, about five miles
below Atchison. This mound was discovered by Senator Ingalls at an early
day, and opened by the writer in 1907. It was fifteen feet in diameter,
and was composed of alternate layers of stone and earth one on top of
the other, the remains of several Indians being imbedded in the earth
between the layers of stone. These remains were in a bad state of decay,
most of the bones crumbling while being removed. The bones of each
person had been placed in the mound in compact bundles, which seems to
indicate that they had been removed from some temporary place of
interment, perhaps from dilapidated scaffold burials, and deposited here
in final sepulture. In some of the layers not only the bones but the
rocks and earth were considerably burned, indicating incendiary funeral
rites, while in others there were not the least marks of fire. The
undermost layer, about three feet from the top, was a veritable cinder
pit, being a burned mass or conglomerate of charcoal and charred and
calcined human remains, showing no regularity or outline of skeletons,
but all in utter confusion. A solitary pearl bead was the only object
that withstood the terrible heat to which the lower tier of remains had
been subjected. In one of the upper tiers were the bones of two infants.
With one of them was a necklace of small shells of a species not native
here. With another bundle of bones were two small, neatly chipped flint
knives, a flint scraper, a bone whistle or “call,” several deer horn
implements, and a large flint implement of doubtful usage, known to
archaeologists as a “turtle-back,” because of its shape. With another
bundle of bones, and which they seemed to be clasping, were several
mussel shells, badly decomposed. One small ornament of an animal or bird
claw, several flint arrowheads, and some fragments of pottery, were also
found. In one of the skulls was embedded the flint blade of a war-club.
Thirty-one yards northwest of this mound was found another of less
prominence. It contained a burned mass of human remains, covered with a
layer of about six inches of clay, baked almost to the consistency of
brick. Lack of space forbids a mention of many other interesting
archaeological discoveries made in this county from time to time.
Suffice to say that there is ample evidence that within the borders of
Atchison county there lived and thrived and passed away a considerable
aboriginal population.
CHAPTER III.
INDIAN HISTORY.
HARAHEY, AN INDIAN PROVINCE OF CORONADO’S TIME—THE KANSA NATION—
BOURGMONT’S VISIT IN 1724—COUNCIL ON COW ISLAND IN 1819—THE
KICKAPOO INDIANS.
There is nothing definite to show that Coronado ever reached the
confines of what is now Atchison county in 1541, as some historical
writers have seen fit to state, but there is a probability that the
Indian province of Harahey, which the natives thereof told him was just
beyond Quivira, embraced our present county and most of the region of
northeastern Kansas. Mark F. Zimmerman, an intelligent and painstaking
student of Kansas archaeology and Indian history, has given this matter
much consideration, and is confident that the Harahey chieftain,
Tatarrax, immortalized in Coronado’s chronicles, ruled over this
territory nearly four centuries ago. Until this fact is established,
however, it remains that the Indian history of what is now Atchison
county begins with the Kansa Indians in the early part of the eighteenth
century. At the time of the Bourgmont expedition in 1724, and for some
time before, this nation owned all of what is now northeastern Kansas,
and maintained several villages along the Missouri river, the principal
one being near the mouth of Independence creek, or at the present site
of Doniphan. Here they had a large town. The writer made a careful
examination and fully identified the site of this old town in 1904. The
results of this exploration are given in a pamphlet entitled “An Old
Kansas Indian Town on the Missouri,” published by the writer in 1914.
Another important village of the Kansa was located at the mouth of what
is now Salt creek, in Leavenworth county. Both of these historic
villages were situated right near and at about the same distance from
the present borders of Atchison county. There were several old Indian
villages within the confines of Atchison county, as already stated in
the preceding pages, but whether they belonged to the Kansa or to the
Harahey (Pawnee) is yet a matter of conjecture.
One of these old Kansa towns, evidently the one at Salt creek, was the
site of an important French post. Bougainville on French Posts in 1757,
says: “_Kanses._ In ascending this stream (the Missouri river) we meet
the village of the Kanses. We have there a garrison with a commandant,
appointed as in the case with Pimiteoui and Fort Chartres, by New
Orleans. This post produces one hundred bundles of furs.” Lewis and
Clark, in 1804, noted the ruins of this old post and Kansa village. They
were just outside of the southern borders of Atchison county, near the
present site of Kickapoo.
The Independence creek town, or what is generally referred to by the
early French as “Grand village des Canzes,” seems to have been a Jesuit
Missionary station as early as 1727, according to Hon. George P.
Morehouse, the historian of the Kansa Indians, who recently found in
some old French-Canadian records of the province of Ontario an
interesting fact not before recognized in Kansas history, that the name
“Kansas” was a well known geographical term to designate a place on the
Missouri river, within the present borders of our State, where the
French government and its official church, nearly 200 years ago, had an
important missionary center. Mr. Morehouse says: “It is significant as
to the standing of this Mission station of the Jesuits at Kanzas, away
out in the heart of the continent, that in this document it was classed
along with their other important Indian Missions, such as the Iroquois,
Abenaquis, and Tadoussac, and that the same amount per missionary was
expended. It was ‘Kansas,’ a mission charge on the rolls of the Jesuit
Fathers, for which annual appropriations of money were made as early as
1727. Here some of the saintly, self-sacrificing missionary pioneers of
the Cross must have come from distant Quebec and Montreal, or from the
faraway cloisters of sunny France. What zeal and sacrifice for others!
Is it any wonder that the Kansa Indians always spoke reverently of the
‘black robes,’ who were the first to labor for their welfare in that
long period in the wilderness.”
Just when the Kansa Indians established themselves at the “Grand
Village” at Doniphan, or at “Fort Village” at Kickapoo, is not known.
The first recorded mention of a Kansa village along this section of the
Missouri river is by Bourgmont in 1724. Onate met the Kansa on a hunting
expedition on the prairies of Kansas in 1601, but does not state where
their villages were located. The “Grand Village” was an old one,
however, at the time of Bourgmont’s visit. Bourgmont does not mention
the “Fort Village” at Salt creek, as he surely would had it been in
existence at that time, and it is believed that it was established
later, as it was in existence in 1757, as stated by Bourgainville.
As is a well known historical fact the Spanish attempted to invade and
colonize the Missouri valley early in the eighteenth century. The French
had come into possession of this region in 1682, and M. de Bourgmont was
commissioned military commander on the Missouri in 1720, the French
government becoming alarmed at the attempted Spanish invasion.
Establishing friendly relations with the Indians of this region in order
to have their assistance in repelling any further Spanish advance was
the object of the Bourgmont expedition to the Kansa and Padouca Indians
in 1724. Bourgmont’s party, consisting of himself, M. Bellerive, Sieur
Renaudiere, two soldiers and five other Frenchmen, besides 177 Missouri
and Osage Indians in charge of their own chiefs, marched overland from
Fort Orleans, on the lower Missouri, and arrived at the “Grand village
des Cansez” on July 7, 1724. Here they held a celebration of two weeks,
consisting of pow-wows, councils, trading horses or merchandise, and
making presents to the Indians, several boat loads of the latter, in
charge of Lieutenant Saint Ange, having arrived by river route. On July
24 they “put themselves in battle array on the village height, the drum
began to beat, and they marched away” on their journey to the Padoucas.
The incidents of their march across what is now Atchison county, and
other facts pertaining to this expedition will be found in the chapter
on early explorations in this volume.
According to a tradition handed down from prehistoric times the Kansa,
Osage, Omaha, Ponca and Kwapa were originally one people and lived along
the Wabash and Ohio rivers. In their migrations they arrived at the
mouth of the Ohio where there was a separation. Those who went down the
Mississippi became known as the Kwapa, or “down stream people,” while
those going up were called Omaha, or “up stream people.” At the mouth of
the Missouri another division took place, the Omaha and Ponka proceeding
far up that stream. The Osage located on the stream which bears their
name, and the Kansa at the mouth of what is now the Kansas river. Later
they moved on up the Missouri and established several villages, the most
northern of which was at Independence Creek. At about the close of the
Revolutionary war they were driven away from the Missouri by the Iowa
and Sauk tribes, and they took up a permanent residence on the Kansas
river, where Major Long’s expedition visited them in 1810. They
continued to make predatory visits to the Missouri, however. They
committed many depredations on traders and explorers passing up the
river and even fired on the United States troops encamped at Cow Island.
It was to prevent the recurrence of such outrages that Major O’Fallon
arranged a council with the Kansa Nation. This council was held on Cow
Island August 24, 1819, under an arbor built for the occasion. Major
O’Fallon made a speech in which he set forth the cause of complaint
which the Kansa had given by their repeated insults and depredations,
giving them notice of the approach of a military force sufficient to
chastise their insolence, and advising them to seize the present
opportunity of averting the vengeance they deserved, by proper
concessions, and by their future good behavior to conciliate those whose
friendship they would have so much occasion to desire. The replies of
the chiefs were simple and short, expressive of their conviction of the
justice of the complaints against them, and of their acquiescence in the
terms of the reconciliation proposed by the agent.
There were present at this council 161 Kansa Indians, including chiefs
and warriors, and thirteen Osages. It was afterwards learned that the
delegation would have been larger but for a quarrel that arose among the
chiefs after they had started, in regard to precedence in rank, in
consequence of which ten or twelve returned to the village on the Kansas
river. Among those at the council were Na-he-da-ba, or Long Neck, one of
the principal chiefs of the Kansas; Ka-he-ga-wa-to-ning-ga, or Little
Chief, second in rank; Shen-ga-ne-ga, an ex-principal chief; Wa-ha-che-
ra, or Big Knife, a war chief, and Wam-pa-wa-ra, or White Plume,
afterwards a noted chief. Major O’Fallon had with him the officers of
the garrison of Cow Island, or Cantonment Martin, and a few of those
connected with Major Long’s exploring party. “The ceremonies,” says one
account, “were enlivened by a military display, such as the firing of
cannon, hoisting of flags, and an exhibition of rockets and shells, the
latter evidently making a deeper impression on the Indians than the
eloquence of Major O’Fallon.” A description of Major Long’s steamboat,
built to impress the Indians on this occasion, will be found in the
following chapter on early explorations.
From the Kansa Indians our State derived its name. For more than 300
years they dwelt upon our soil. At their very advent in this region what
is now Atchison county became a part of their heritage and for
generations it was a part of their imperial home.
By the treaty of Castor Hill, Mo., October 24, 1832, the Kickapoo
Indians were assigned to a reservation in northeastern Kansas, which
included most of what is now Atchison county. They settled on their new
lands shortly after the treaty was made. Their principal settlement at
that time was at the present site of Kickapoo, in Leavenworth county,
where a Methodist mission was established among them by Rev. Jerome C.
Berryman, in 1833. There is said to have been a mission station among
the Kickapoos where Oak Mills, in Atchison county, now stands, at an
early day, but nothing definite is known regarding its history, except
that we have it from early settlers that an Indian known as Jim Corn
seemed to be the head man of the band of Kickapoos that lived there, and
that the white pioneers frequently attended services in the old mission
house which stood in the hollow a short distance southwest of the
present site of Oak Mills.
[Illustration:
Wards of the State of Kansas, State Orphans’ Home, Atchison, Kan.
]
During the time that the Kickapoos owned and occupied what is now
Atchison county, they were ruled over by two very distinguished
chieftains—Keannakuk, the Prophet, and Masheena, or the Elk Horns. Both
of these Indians were noted in Illinois long before they migrated
westward and were prominently mentioned by Washington Irving, George
Catlin, Charles Augustus Murray and other distinguished travelers and
authors. Catlin painted their pictures in 1831, and these are included
in the famous Catlin gallery in Washington. Keannakuk was both a noted
chief and prophet of the tribe. He was a professed preacher of an order
which he claimed to have originated at a very early day and his
influence was very great among his people. He died at Kickapoo in 1852
and was buried there. Masheena was a really noted Indian. He led a band
of Kickapoos at the battle of Tippecanoe. He died and was buried in
Atchison county, near the old town of Kennekuk, in 1857. He was born in
Illinois about 1770.
Important seats of Kickapoo occupancy in Atchison county in the early
days were Kapioma, Muscotah and Kennekuk. Kapioma was named for a chief
of that name who lived there. The present township of Kapioma gets its
name from this source. Father John Baptiste Duerinck, a Jesuit, was a
missionary among the Kickapoos at Kapioma in 1855–57. Muscotah was for a
long time the seat of the Kickapoo agency. It is a Kickapoo name meaning
“Beautiful Prairie,” or “Prairie of Fire.” Kennekuk was named for John
Kennekuk, a Kickapoo chief, and son of Keannakuk, the Prophet.
By treaty of 1854 the Kickapoo reservation was diminished and the tribe
was assigned to lands along the Grasshopper or Delaware river. Still
later it was again diminished and they were given their present
territory within the confines of Brown county.
The Kickapoos are a tribe of the central Algonquian group, forming a
division with the Sauk and Foxes, with whom they have close ethnic and
linguistic connection. The first definite appearance of this tribe in
history was about 1667–70, when they were found by Allouez near the
portage between Fox and Wisconsin rivers, in Wisconsin. About 1765 they
moved down into the Illinois country, and later to Missouri and Kansas.
CHAPTER IV.
EARLY EXPLORATIONS.
CORONADO IN 1541—THE BOURGMONT EXPEDITION IN 1724—PERIN DU LAC—LEWIS
AND CLARK—FIRST FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION—MAJOR STEPHEN H. LONG—
CANTONMENT MARTIN—ISLE AU VACHE—OTHER EXPLORERS—PASCHAL PENSONEAU—
THE OLD MILITARY ROAD—THE MORMONS.
Some historians (notably General Simpson) in their studies of the famous
march of Coronado in search of the land of Quivira, in 1541, have
brought the great Spanish explorer to the Missouri river, in
northeastern Kansas. The more recent researches of Hodge, Bandalier and
Brower, however, have proven beyond question that Coronado’s line of
march through Kansas was north from Clark county to the Great Bend of
the Arkansas river, and thence to the region northeastward from
McPherson to the Kansas river, between the junction of its two main
forks and Deep creek, in Riley county, where the long lost province of
Quivira was located. Hence, it is no longer even probable that the great
Spaniard on this famous march ever saw the Missouri river region in
northeastern Kansas, much less to have ever set foot upon the soil of
what is now Atchison county, as many have heretofore believed.
The first white men, of whom we have definite record, to visit what is
now Atchison county, were those who composed the expedition of Capt.
Etienne Vengard de Bourgmont, military commander of the French colony of
Louisiana, who, in the summer of 1724, arrived at the Kansa Indian
village where Doniphan now stands, crossed what is now Atchison county,
and made several encampments on our soil. Leaving the Kansa village at
Doniphan on the morning of July 24, en route to the province of the
Padoucas, or what is now known as the Comanche tribe of Indians, in
north central Kansas, Bourgmont and party marched a league and a half
along what is now Deer creek, and went into camp, where they spent the
day. The next day they passed Stranger creek, or what they designated “a
small river,” and stopped on account of rain, until the 26th, when they
proceeded a few miles further, and again went into camp. A thunder-
storm, lasting all the afternoon, compelled them to remain encamped
here. On the 27th they reached a river, which was doubtless the
Grasshopper or Delaware, about four or five miles below Muscotah, where
they again camped, and, on the 28th marched out of Atchison county
somewhere along the southwest border, in Kapioma township. This strange
procession, besides Bourgmont’s force of white men, consisted of 300
Indian warriors, with two grand chiefs and fourteen war chiefs, 300
Indian squaws, 500 Indian children, and 500 dogs, carrying and dragging
provisions and equipments. The object of the expedition was to promote a
general peace among, and effect an alliance between, the different
tribes inhabitating this region. Shortly after leaving Atchison county,
Bourgmont was taken very ill, and was obliged to return to Fort Orleans,
on the lower Missouri. He was carried back across Atchison county to the
Kansa village, on a hand-barrow, and then transported down the Missouri
in a canoe. Upon his recovery he resumed his journey to the Padoucas in
the fall of 1724, coming back by way of the Kansa village and Atchison
county. No doubt other French explorers, traders and trappers, visited
this county at an earlier date than did Bourgmont, but information
concerning them is vague and uncertain.
Perin du Lac, a French explorer, set foot upon the soil of Atchison
county while on an exploring trip up the Missouri in 1802–03. In his
journal, published soon after his return to France, Du Lac mentions that
“three miles below the old Kances Indian village they perceived some
iron ore.” As the “old Kances village” was the one already referred to
as having been at Doniphan, the iron ore discovered by Du Lac must have
been in Atchison county, somewhere in the vicinity of Luther Dickerson’s
old home, where the rocks are known to be strongly impregnated with
iron. Du Lac gathered some specimens of the Atchison county ore, which
he must have lost, for he says in his journal: “I intended to have
assayed it on my return, but an accident unfortunately happening
prevented me.”
In the summer of 1804 the famous “Louisiana Purchase exploring
expedition” of Lewis and Clark passed up the Missouri river, arriving at
the southeast corner of Atchison county on July 3. They passed Isle Au
Vache, or Cow Island, opposite Oak Mills, stopped at a deserted trader’s
house at or near the site of Port William, where they picked up a stray
horse (the first recorded mention of a horse in what is now Atchison
county) and camped that night somewhere in the vicinity of Walnut creek.
The next morning they announced the “glorious Fourth” with a shot from
their gun boat, and there began the first celebration of our Nation’s
birthday on Kansas soil. That day they took dinner on the bank of White
Clay creek, or what they called “Fourth of July creek.” Here Joe Fields,
a member of the party, was bitten by a snake, and Sergeant Floyd, in
commemoration of the incident, named the prairie on which Atchison now
stands, “Joe Fields’ Snake Prairie.” Above the creek, they state, “was a
high mound, where three Indian paths centered, and from which was a very
extensive prospect.” This, undoubtedly, was the commanding elevation
where the Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home now stands. On the evening of the
Fourth they discovered and named Independence creek in honor of the day,
and closed the day’s observances with “an evening gun and an additional
gill of whiskey to the men.”
A detachment of Maj. Stephen H. Long’s Yellowstone exploring expedition,
under command of Capt. Wyley Martin, spent the winter of 1818–19 on Cow
Island, which now belongs to Atchison county, and established a post
known as Cantonment Martin. This was the first United States military
post established above Ft. Osage, and west of Missouri Territory. During
that winter Captain Martin’s men killed between 2,000 and 3,000 deer,
besides great numbers of bears, turkeys and other game. The troops that
established this frontier post were a part of the First Rifle regiment,
the “crack” organization of the United States army at that time. In
July, 1819, Major Long arrived at Cow Island. His steamboats were the
first to ascend the Missouri river above Ft. Osage. The next day Colonel
Chambers and a detachment of infantry arrived. Thomas Say and his party
of naturalists, under command of Major Biddle, at about the same time
crossed Atchison county en route from the Kansa Indian village where
Manhattan now stands, and joined Major Long’s party at Cow Island.
Messrs. Say and Jessup, naturalists of the expedition, were taken very
ill and had to remain at the island for some time. Col. Henry Atkinson,
the founder of Ft. Atkinson, and commander of the western department for
more than twenty years, arrived at Cow Island shortly after Major Long.
Maj. John O’Fallon was sutler of the post and Indian agent for the upper
Missouri. On July 4, 1819, the Nation’s birthday was celebrated on Cow
Island. The flags were raised at full mast, guns were fired, and they
had “pig with divers tarts to grace the table.” On August 24 an
important council with the Kansa Indians was held on the island. An
account of this council will be found in the chapter on Indian history
in this volume.
One of the captains who was stationed on Cow Island—Bennett Riley—
afterwards became a distinguished man in the history of this country. He
was the man for whom Ft. Riley was named. He served with gallantry in
the Indian country, the Northwest and Florida. In the Florida war he was
promoted to colonel. In the war with Mexico he became a major-general,
and was subsequently military governor of California. Col. John O’Fallon
entered the army from Kentucky and fought in the Battle of Tippecanoe
under Harrison, where he was severely wounded and carried the scar to
his grave. He had a brilliant military record, and afterwards became one
of the wealthiest and most public-spirited citizens of St. Louis.
Major Willoughby Morgan assumed command of the Cow Island post April 13,
1819. He was also a distinguished officer. When Cantonment Martin was
abandoned in September, 1819, it required a month to transport the
troops from there to Council Bluffs on the steamboats.
One of these boats, the “Western Engineer,” the first that ever touched
the shore of Atchison county, was of unique construction, having been
expressly built for the expedition and calculated to impress the
Indians. On her bow was the exhaust pipe, made in the form of a huge
serpent, with wide open mouth and tongue painted a fiery red. The steam,
escaping through the mouth, made a loud, wheezing noise that could be
heard for miles. The Indians recognized in it the power of the great
Manitou and were overcome with fear.
Cow Island has been a prominent landmark in the West from a very early
period. It was discovered by the early French explorers and called by
them Isle au Vache, meaning Isle of Cow or Cow Island. It was so named
because a stray cow was found wandering about on the island. It is
supposed that this cow was stolen by the Indians from one of the early
French settlements and placed on this island to prevent her escape.
There is a coincidence in the fact that the first horse and the first
cow in what is now Atchison county, of which we have any record, were
found in the same locality. The stray horse picked up by Lewis and
Clark, mention of which is made on a preceding page of this chapter, was
found almost opposite the upper end of Cow Island, on the Kansas shore.
There is a tradition that the French had a trading post on Cow Island at
a very early day.
In 1810, John Bradbury, a renowned English botanist, made a trip up the
Missouri river, and was the first scientist to make a systematic study
of the plants and geological formations of this region. He touched the
shore of what is now Atchison county, and in his book, “Travels in the
Interior of America,” speaks about the great fertility of our soil. He
shipped the specimens collected on this trip to the botanical gardens of
Liverpool, and no doubt many Atchison county specimens were included in
these shipments. The next year H. M. Brackenridge, another explorer,
came up the Missouri and made some observations along our shore.
[Illustration:
Postoffice, Atchison, Kansas
]
The first permanent white settler of what is now Atchison county was a
Frenchman, Paschal Pensoneau, who, about 1839, married a Kickapoo Indian
woman and about 1844 settled on the bank of Stranger creek, near the
present site of Potter, where he established a trading-house and opened
the first farm in Atchison county on land which had been allotted him by
the Government for services in the Black Hawk and Mexican wars.
Pensoneau had long lived among the Kickapoo Indians, following them in
their migrations from Illinois to Missouri and Kansas, generally
pursuing the vocation of trader and interpreter. As early as 1833 or
1834 he was established on the Missouri river at the old Kickapoo town,
later removing to Stranger creek, as aforestated. He became a very
prominent and influential man among the Kickapoos. He long held the
position of Government interpreter that tribe. After the treaty of 1854,
diminishing the Kickapoo reserve, Pensoneau moved to the new lands
assigned the tribe along the Grasshopper river, where he lived for many
years. About 1875 he settled among a band of Kickapoo Indians, near
Shawnee, Indian Territory, where he died some years later. He was born
at Cahokia, Ill., April 17, 1796, his parents having been among the
emigrants from Canada to the early French settlements of Illinois.
In 1850 the military road from Ft. Leavenworth to Ft. Laramie was laid
out by Colonel Ogden. It crossed Atchison county, and over it passed
many important expeditions to the Western plains and mountains, and to
Oregon and California. Before this road was laid out as a Government
highway, the same route had long been traveled as a trail. It was a
great natural highway, being on the “dividing ridge” between the
Missouri and Kansas rivers. Charles Augustus Murray, Francis Parkman,
Captain Stansbury and other noted travelers journeyed over this trail
during the thirties and forties, and in the fascinating volumes they
have left, we find much of interest pertaining to the region of which
Atchison county is now a part. During the gold excitement in California
this old trail swarmed with emigrants seeking a fortune in the West. The
Mormons, the soldiers, the overland freighters, the stage drivers, the
hundred and one other picturesque types of character in the early West
have helped to make the history of this famous old branch of the “Oregon
and California Trail” immortalized by Parkman.
During the days of Mormon emigration a Mormon settlement sprang up a few
miles west of Atchison, and immediately east of the present site of
Shannon, which became known as “Mormon Grove.” The settlement was
enclosed by trenches, which served as fences to prevent the stock from
going astray, and traces of these old ditches may be seen to this day.
Many of the Mormons here died of cholera and were buried near the
settlement, but all traces of the old burial ground have been
obliterated by cultivation of the soil.
CHAPTER V.
TERRITORIAL TIMES.
TERRITORY ACQUIRED FROM FRANCE IN 1803—ORGANIZATION OF TERRITORY—
KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT—IMMIGRATION TO KANSAS—TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT—
FREE STATE AND PRO-SLAVERY CONFLICT—FIRST ELECTION—SECRET
POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS—BORDER WAR ACTIVITIES AND OUTRAGES—
CONTESTS OVER ADOPTION OF CONSTITUTION—KANSAS ADMITTED TO THE
UNION.
Kansas is as rich in historic lore and resources as any other region of
the great West. George J. Remsburg, who has contributed two chapters of
this history, has, with great care and accuracy, put into readable form
an account of prehistoric times, Indian occupancy and the record of
earlier explorers in northeastern Kansas. It is a tale of absorbing
interest to those who would go back to the dawn of civilization here and
study the force and character of men who paved the way for the
developments that came after. To the intrepid Spanish conquerors of
Mexico of the sixteenth century, and the hardy French explorers, two
centuries later, we are indebted for the opening up of the Great
American Desert, into which American pioneers, the century following,
found their way. Thousands of years before these came, Atchison county
had been the abode of hunting tribes and the feasting place of wild
animals. Then came the ceaseless flow of the tide of civilization, which
swept these earlier denizens from the field, to clear it for the
“momentous conflict between the two opposing systems of American
civilization, then struggling for mastery and supremacy over the
Republic.” It was in Kansas that the war of rebellion began, and it was
in the northeastern corner along the shores of the Missouri river—in
Atchison county—“that the spark of conflict which had irritated a Nation
for decades burst into devastating flames.”
It is a delicate task to convey anything approaching a truthful account
of the storm and stress of opinions and emotions which accompanied the
organization of Kansas as one of the great American commonwealths, and
the part played by the citizens of Atchison county in that tremendous
work, but sixty years have served to mellow the animosities and
bitternesses of the past, and it is easier now to comprehend the strife
of that distant day and pass unbiased judgment upon it.
When the United States acquired from France, in 1803, the territory of
which Atchison county is a part, slavery was a legalized institution,
and many of the residents held slaves. In the treaty of cession, there
was incorporated an expressed stipulation that the inhabitants of
Louisiana “should be incorporated into the Union of the United States
and admitted as soon as possible, according to the principles of the
Federal Constitution, to the enjoyment of all the rights, advantages and
immunities of citizens of the United States, and in the meantime they
should be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their
liberty, property and the religion which they professed.” Thus it came
to pass for over fifty years after the time that vast empire was
acquired from France the bitter contest between the anti-slavery and the
pro-slavery advocates ebbed and flowed, and amidst a continual clash of
ideas and finally after the shedding of blood, Kansas, and Atchison
county, were born.
It was in the Thirty-second Congress that petitions were presented for
the organization of the Territory of the Platte, viz: all that tract
lying west of Iowa and Missouri and extending west to the Rocky
mountains, but no action on the petitions was taken at that time.
December 13, 1852, Willard P. Hall, a congressman from Missouri,
submitted to the House of Representatives a bill organizing this region.
This bill was referred to the committee on territories, which reported
February 22, 1853, through its chairman, William A. Richardson, of
Illinois. A bill organizing the territory of Nebraska, which covered the
same territory as the bill of Mr. Hall, was met by unexpected and strong
opposition from the southern members of Congress, and was rejected in
the committee of the whole. The House, however, did not adopt the action
of the committee, but passed the bill and sent it to the Senate, where
it was defeated March 3, 1853, by six votes. On the fourteenth day of
December, 1853, Senator Dodge, of Iowa, submitted to that body a new
bill for the organization of the territory of Nebraska, embracing the
same region as the bill which was defeated in the first session of the
Thirty-second Congress. It was referred to the committee on territories,
of which Stephen A. Douglas was chairman, on January 4, 1854.
It was during the discussion of this bill that the abrogation of the
Missouri Compromise was foreshadowed. The story of the action of Senator
Douglas in connection with the slavery question has appeared in every
history since the Civil war. It is neither necessary nor proper to dwell
at length upon his career in connection with the history of Atchison
county. However, it was following a bitter discussion of the slavery
question that the bill was passed, creating Kansas a territory. The
provisions of the bill, as presented, were known to be in accordance
with the wishes and designs of all the Southern members to have been
accepted before being presented by President Pierce by a majority of the
members of his cabinet, and to have the assured support of a sufficient
number of Northern administration Democrats, to insure its passage
beyond a doubt. The contest over the measure ended May 27, 1854, by the
passage of the bill, which was approved May 30, 1854, by President
Pierce.
The act organizing Nebraska and Kansas contained thirty-seven sections.
The provisions relating to Kansas were embodied in the last eighteen
sections, summarized as follow:
Section 19 defines the boundaries of the territory; gives it the name of
Kansas, and prescribes that when admitted as a State, or States, the
said territory, or any portion of the same, shall be received into the
Union with or without slavery, as their constitution may prescribe at
the time of their admission. Also provides for holding the rights of all
Indian tribes inviolable, until such time as they shall be extinguished
by treaty.
Section 20. The executive power and authority is vested in a governor,
appointed by the President, to hold his office for the term of four
years, or until his successor is appointed and qualified, unless sooner
removed by the President of the United States.
Section 21. The secretary of State is appointed and subject to removal
by the President of the United States, and to be acting governor with
full powers and functions of the governor in case of the absence of the
governor from the territory, or a vacancy occurring.
Section 22. Legislative power and authority of territory is vested in
the governor and a legislative body, consisting of two branches, a
council and a house of representatives.
Section 23 prescribes qualifications of voters; giving the right to
every free white male inhabitant, above the age of 21 years, who shall
be an actual resident of the territory, to vote at the first election.
Section 24 limits the scope of territorial legislation, and defines the
veto power of the governor.
Section 25 prescribes the manner of appointing and electing officers,
not otherwise provided for.
Section 26 precludes members from holding any office created or the
emoluments of which are increased during any session of the legislature
of which they are a member, and prescribes qualifications for members of
the legislative assembly.
Section 27 vests the judicial power in the supreme court, district
courts, probate courts and in justices of the peace.
Section 28 declares the fugitive slave law of 1850 to be in full force
in the territory.
Section 29 provides for the appointment of an attorney and marshal for
the territory.
Section 30 treats with the nomination of the President, chief justice,
associate justices, attorney and marshal, and their confirmation by the
Senate, and prescribes the duties of these officers and fixes their
salaries.
Section 31 locates the temporary seat of government of the territory at
Ft. Leavenworth, and authorizes the use of the Government buildings
there for public purposes.
Section 32 provides for the election of a delegate to Congress, and
abrogates the Missouri Compromise.
Section 33 prescribes the manner and the amount of appropriations for
the erection of public buildings, and other territorial purposes.
Section 34 reserves for the benefit of schools in the territory and
states and territories hereafter to be erected out of the same, sections
number 16 and 30 in each township, as they are surveyed.
Section 35 prescribes the mode of defining the judicial districts of the
territory, and appointing the times and places of holding the various
courts.
Section 36 requires officers to give official bonds, in such manner as
the secretary of treasury may prescribe.
Section 37 declares all treaties, laws and other engagements made by the
United States Government with the Indian tribes inhabiting the territory
to remain inviolate, notwithstanding anything contained in the
provisions of the act.
It was under the provisions of the above act that those coming to Kansas
to civilize it and to erect their homes were to be guided.
Edward Everett Hale, in his history of Kansas and Nebraska, published in
1854, says, “Up to the summer of 1834, Kansas and Nebraska have had no
civilized residents, except the soldiers sent to keep the Indian tribes
in order; the missionaries sent to convert them; the traders who bought
furs of them, and those of the natives who may be considered to have
attained some measure of civilization from their connection with the
whites.” So it will be seen that at the time of the passage of the
Kansas-Nebraska act, Atchison county was very sparsely settled.
All movements in the territory, or elsewhere, made for its organization,
were provisional, as they were subject to the rights of the various
Indian tribes, whose reservations covered, by well defined boundaries,
every acre of northeastern Kansas, except such tracts as were reserved
by the Government about Ft. Leavenworth, and other military stations,
but with the move for the organization of the territory came an effort
to extinguish the Indian’s title to the lands and thus open them to
white settlers. One of the most interesting books bearing upon the
history of Kansas of that time was “Greeley’s Conflict.” He makes the
following statement with reference to this subject:
“When the bill organizing Kansas and Nebraska was first submitted to
Congress in 1853, all that portion of Kansas which adjoins the State of
Missouri, and, in fact, nearly all the accessible portion of both
territories, was covered by Indian reservations, on which settlement by
whites was strictly forbidden. The only exception was in favor of
Government agents and religious missionaries; and these, especially the
former, were nearly all Democrats and violent partisans of slavery.
* * * * Within three months immediately preceding the passage of the
Kansas bill aforesaid, treaties were quietly made at Washington with the
Delawares, Otoes, Kickapoos, Kaskaskias, Shawnees, Sacs, Foxes and other
tribes, whereby the greater part of the soil of Kansas, lying within one
or two hundred miles of the Missouri border, was suddenly opened to
white appropriation and settlement. These simultaneous purchases of the
Indian land by the Government, though little was known of them
elsewhere, were thoroughly understood and appreciated by the Missourians
of the western border, who had for some time been organizing ‘Blue
Lodges,’ ‘Social Bands,’ ‘Sons of the South,’ and other societies, with
intent to take possession of Kansas in behalf of slavery. They were well
assured and they fully believed that the object contemplated and
desired, in lifting, by the terms of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, the
interdict of slavery from Kansas, was to authorize and facilitate the
legal extension of slavery into that region. Within a few days after the
passage of the Kansas-Nebraska act, hundreds of leading Missourians
crossed into the adjacent territory, selected each his quarter section,
or a larger area of land, put some sort of mark on it, and then united
with his fellow-adventurers in a meeting, or meetings, intended to
establish a sort of Missouri preëmption upon all this region.”
Immediately following the passage of the territorial act the immigration
of Missourians to Kansas began, and, indeed, before its final passage
the best of the lands had been located and marked for preëmption by the
Missourians. This was true, apparently, in the case of George M.
Million, whom the records disclose was the first settler in Atchison
county, after Kansas was made a territory. Mr. Million was of German
descent and came to the vicinity of Rushville in the hills east of
Atchison from Coal county, Missouri, prior to 1841, where he was married
to Sarah E. Dixon before she was fifteen years old. In 1841 Million
occupied the present site of East Atchison as a farm. At that time the
bottom land just east of Atchison was covered with tall rushes and was
known as Rush bottom. The town of Rushville was originally known as
Columbus, but the name was subsequently changed to Rushville because of
the character of the country in which it was located. During the winter
Million eked out his livelihood by cutting wood and hauling it to the
river bank, selling it in the spring and summer to the steamboats that
plied up and down the Missouri river. Sometime subsequent to 1841,
Million built a flat-boat ferry and operated it for seven or eight years
and did a thriving business during the great gold rush to California. He
accumulated considerable money and later operated a store, trading with
the Indians for furs and buying hemp, which he shipped down the river.
In June, 1854, he “squatted” on the present townsite of Atchison, and
built a log house at the foot of Atchison street, near his ferry
landing, and just opposite his cabin on the Missouri side of the river.
Following Million, in June, 1854 came a colony of emigrants from Iatan,
Mo., and took up claims in the neighborhood of Oak Mills. They were F.
P. Goddard, G. B. Goddard, James Douglass, Allen Hanson and George A.
Wright, but the actual settlers and founders of Atchison county did not
enter the territory of Kansas until July, 1854. On the twentieth day of
that month Dr. J. H. Stringfellow with Ira Norris, Leonidas Oldham,
James B. Martin and Neil Owens left Platte City, Mo., to decide
definitely upon a good location for a town. With the exception of Dr.
Stringfellow they all took claims about four miles southwest of the
present city of Atchison. Traveling in a southwesterly direction from
Platte City the party reached the river opposite Ft. Leavenworth and
crossed to the Kansas side. They went north until they reached the mouth
of Walnut creek, “and John Alcorn’s lonely cabin upon its banks.” They
continued their course up the river until they came to the “south edge
of the rim of the basin which circles around from the south line of the
city, extending west by gradual incline to the divide between White Clay
and Stranger creek, then north and east around to the northern limits of
the city.” It was at this point that the Missouri river made the bend
from the northeast, throwing the point where Atchison is now located,
twelve miles west of any locality, north, and twenty miles west of
Leavenworth, and thirty-five miles west of Kansas City. When they
descended into the valley, of which Commercial street is now the lowest
point, Dr. Stringfellow and his companions found George M. Million and
Samuel Dickson. Mr. Dickson followed Million to Kansas from Rushville,
and while there is some dispute as to who was the second resident in
Atchison county after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, the best
authorities lead to the conclusion that to Samuel Dickson belongs that
honor. Mr. Dickson erected a small shanty near the spring, which bore
his name for so many years, on the east side of South Sixth street,
between Park and Spring streets. His house is described as a structure
twelve feet square, having one door and one window and a large stone
chimney running up the outside. As soon as Dr. Stringfellow arrived he
at once commenced negotiations with Mr. Million for the purchase of his
claim. Mr. Million, apparently, was a shrewd real estate speculator and
only surrendered his claim upon the payment of $1,000. Dr. Stringfellow
considered this a very fancy figure for the land, but he and his
associates were firm in their decision of founding a city at this point
on the Missouri river and they gave Mr. Million his price. The
organization of a town company which followed will be discussed in a
subsequent chapter of this territory.
The first territorial appointment for the purpose of inaugurating a
local government in Kansas was made in June, 1854. Governor Andrew. H.
Reeder, of Easton, Pa., was appointed on that date. He took the oath of
office in Washington, D. C., July 7, and arrived in Kansas at Ft.
Leavenworth October 7, becoming at once the executive head of the Kansas
government. Governor Reeder was a stranger to Kansas. With the exception
of Senator Atchison he scarcely knew anybody in Kansas. He was a lawyer
by profession, one of the ablest in the State of Pennsylvania. From
early manhood he had been an ardent and loyal Democrat and had defended
with vigor and great power the principle of squatter sovereignty and the
Kansas-Nebraska bill. He was not a politician and was an able, honest,
clear-thinking Democrat. Upon his arrival in Kansas he set himself at
once to the task of inaugurating the government in the territory.
According to his own testimony before the special congressional
committee appointed by Congress to investigate the troubles in Kansas in
1856, he made it his first business to obtain information of the
geography, settlements, population and general condition of the
territory, with a view to its division into districts; the defining of
their boundary; the location of suitable and central places for
elections, and the full names of men in each district for election
officers, persons to take the census, justices of the peace, and
constables. He accordingly made a tour of the territory, and although he
did not come to Atchison county his tour included many important and
remote settlements in the territory. Upon his return he concluded that
if the election for a delegate to Congress should be postponed until an
election could be had for the legislature, which, in the one case
required no previous census, and in the other a census was required, the
greater part of the session of Congress, which would terminate on the
fourth of March, would expire before a congressional delegate from the
territory could reach Washington. He, therefore, ordered an election for
a delegate to Congress, and postponed the taking of the census until
after that election. He prepared, without unnecessary delay, a division
of the territory into election districts, fixed a place of election in
each, appointed election officers and ordered that the election should
take place November 29, 1854. Atchison county was in the fifteenth
election district, which comprised the following territory: Commencing
at the mouth of Salt creek on the Missouri river; thence up said creek
to the military road and along the middle of said road to the lower
crossing of Stranger creek: thence up said creek to the line of the
Kickapoo reservation, and thence along the southern and western line
thereof to the line of the fourteenth district: thence between same, and
down Independence creek to the mouth thereof, and thence down the
Missouri river to the place of beginning. The place of the election was
at the house of Pascal Pensoneau, on the Ft. Leavenworth and Oregon
road, near what is now the town site of Potter. The election which
followed was an exciting one. Public meetings were held in all of the
towns and villages, at which resolutions were passed against the eastern
abolitionists, the _Platte County Argus_ sounding the following alarm:
“We know we speak the sentiments of some of the most distinguished
statesmen of Missouri when we advise that counter-organizations be made,
both in Kansas and Missouri, to thwart the reckless course of the
abolitionists. We must meet them at their very threshold and scourge
them back to their covers of darkness. They have made the issue, and it
is for us to meet and repel them.”
The secret organizations, of which Greeley spoke, known as the “Blue
Lodges,” “Social Bands,” and “Sons of the South,” became very active,
and knowing the condition of affairs along the Missouri border, and
having learned the needs and wishes of the actual settlers in the
territory, Governor Reeder decided that their rights should not be
jeopardized. Therefore, in ordering an election of a congressional
delegate only, with the idea of a later proclamation ordering a
territorial election of a legislature, he knew that much trouble would
be spared. In his proclamation for the congressional election, provision
was made for defining the qualifications of legal voters, and providing
against fraud, both of which provisions were received with alarm by the
leaders of the slavery Democracy, who, up to that time had hoped that
the administration at Washington had sent them an ally. It was not long
until they discovered that they were mistaken.
The actual settlers of the territory did not evince much interest in the
election. They were all engaged in what appeared to them to be the more
important business of building their homes and otherwise providing
necessities before the approach of winter. There were no party
organizations in the territory. The slavery question was not generally
understood to be an issue. The first candidates to announce themselves
were James N. Burnes, whose name has for sixty years been prominently
identified with the social, political and business history of Atchison
county, and J. B. Chapman. These two candidates subsequently withdrew
from the campaign, and the names finally submitted to the voters were:
Gen. John W. Whitfield, Robert P. Flenneken, Judge John A. Wakefield.
Whitfield ignored the slavery issue during his canvass, but his cause
was openly espoused by the Missourians. Flenneken was a friend of
Governor Reeder, with Free Soil proclivities. Wakefield was an outspoken
Free-Soiler. Hon. David R. Atchison, then a United States senator, and
for whom Atchison county was named, was the head and front of the pro-
slavery movement. He had a national reputation and was a power in the
United States Senate, and won for himself the highest position in the
gift of the Senate, having been chosen president protempore of that body
after the death of Vice-President King. He was loyal to the southern
views regarding slavery and this made him the unquestioned leader of the
party which believed, as Senator Atchison himself believed, that the
passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill would inevitably result in a slave
State west of Missouri. It was to Senator Atchison that Dr. J. H.
Stringfellow, himself one of the strong leaders of the pro-slavery
forces, looked for inspiration and direction. In a speech Senator
Atchison made in Weston, Mo., November 6, 1854, which was just prior to
the congressional election in Kansas, he said:
“My mission here today is, if possible, to awaken the people of this
country to the danger ahead and to suggest the means to avoid it. The
people of Kansas in their first elections will decide the question
whether or not the slave-holder was to be excluded, and it depends upon
a majority of the votes cast at the polls. Now, if a set of fanatics and
demagogues a thousand miles off could afford to advance their money and
exert every nerve to abolitionize the territory and exclude the slave-
holder, when they have not the least personal interest in the matter,
what is your duty? When you reside within one day’s journey of the
territory, and when your peace, your quiet, and your property depend
upon this action you can without any exertion send five hundred of your
young men who will vote in favor of your institutions.”
On November 28, the day preceding the election, the secret society
voters in Missouri began to cross over into Kansas. They came organized
to carry the election and in such overwhelming numbers as to completely
over-awe and out-number the legal voters of the territory at many of the
precincts. They took possession of the polls, elected many of the
judges, intimidated others to resign and refusing to take the oath
qualifying themselves as voters and prescribe to the regulations of the
election, cast their ballots for General John W. Whitfield and hastily
beat their retreat to Missouri. The whole number of votes cast in that
election was 2,233, of which number Whitfield received 2,258; Wakefield,
248; Flenneken, 305, with twenty-two scattering votes. The frauds which
were at first denied by both the pro-slavery newspapers and General
Whitfield himself, were not long in being discovered.
In the Fifteenth district, of which Atchison county was a part, the
total number of votes cast was 306, of which Wakefield got none;
Flenneken, 39, and Whitfield, 267. The total number of votes given by
the census was 308, and in the majority report of the congressional
committee of the following year 206 illegal votes were shown to have
been cast in that district. However, there was little immediate
disturbance following the election. The settlers continued to busy
themselves in completing their homes and were more interested in
securing titles to their lands than in the future destiny of the
territory.
In the following January and February Governor Reeder caused an
enumeration of the inhabitants to be taken preparatory to calling an
election for a legislature. H. B. Jolly was named as enumerator for the
Fifteenth district and Mr. Jolly found a total of 873 persons in the
district, divided as follows: Males, 492; females, 381; voters, 308;
minors, 448; natives of the United States, 846; foreign born, sixteen;
negroes, fifteen; slaves, fifteen. The date appointed for the
legislative election was March 30, 1855. The proclamation of the
governor defined the election districts; appointed the voting precincts;
named the judges of the election, defined the duties of the judges, and
the qualifications of voters. Thirteen members of the council and
twenty-six members of the house of representatives were to constitute
the legislative assembly of the territory. Atchison was in the Ninth
council district and in the Thirteenth representative district.
Following the precedent established in the election for congressional
delegate the November before the blue lodges of Missouri became active
and large numbers of members of the secret societies of Missouri were
sent into every council and representative district in the territory for
the purpose of controlling the election. They were armed and came with
provisions and tents. They overpowered and intimidated the resident
voters to such an extent that only 1,410 legal votes were cast in the
territory out of 2,905 enumerated in the census.
D. A. N. Grover was the pro-slavery candidate for councilman in the
Ninth Council district with no opposition and he received 411 votes
which was the total number of votes enumerated for that district. H. B.
C. Harris and J. Weddell were the pro-slavery candidates for
representative in the Thirteenth district with no opposition. They each
received 412 votes, being the total number of votes enumerated in the
district.
It was another victory for the pro-slavery sympathizers and the Free
State men were indignant, while on the other hand the pro-slavery
residents, with their Missouri allies, did not conceal their joy, at the
same time admitting frankly the outrages which were practiced at the
polls. The _Leavenworth Herald_ of April 6 headed its election returns
with the following:
“All Hail.
Pro-Slavery Party Victorious.
We have met the enemy, and they are ours.
Veni Vidi Vici!
Free White State Party used up.
“The triumph of the pro-slavery party is complete and overwhelming. Come
on, Southern men; bring your slaves and fill up the territory. Kansas is
Saved! Abolitionism is rebuked. Her fortress stormed. Her flag is
dragging in the dust. The tri-colored platform has fallen with a crash.
The rotten timbers of its structure were not sufficient to sustain the
small fragments of the party.”
The _Parkville Luminary_ which was published in Platte county, Missouri,
very mildly protested against the manner of carrying the election and
spoke in friendly terms of the Free Soil settlers. The following week
its office and place was destroyed by a mob and forced its editors to
flee the country for their lives.
The election of November 29, 1854, so incensed the Anti-Slavery element
that the Free State movement was given a great impetus. A convention of
Free State men at Lawrence June 8, 1855, and the Big Springs convention
September 5, 1855, were the result, and from that date many other public
meetings of Free State men followed. The Free State sentiment fully
crystalized itself in the momentous election of October 9, 1855,
following eight days after the date set by the pro-slavery legislature
for an election of delegate to Congress to succeed J. W. Whitfield, who
had been elected the year before. The first election in 1855 was held
October 1 but was participated in only by pro-slavery men. The abstract
of the poll books showed that 2,738 votes were cast in the territory and
Whitfield received 2,721, of which it is only fair to say that 857 were
declared illegal. In the Free State election Ex-Governor Andrew H.
Reeder received 2,849 votes, of which 101 were cast in Atchison county.
On the same day an election for delegates to a constitutional convention
to be held at Topeka took place and R. H. Crosby, a merchant of Oceana,
Atchison county, and Caleb May, a farmer, near the same place, were
elected delegates.
The returns of the pro-slavery election having been made according to
law, the governor granted the certificate of election to Whitfield, who
returned to Washington as the duly elected delegate from Kansas. The
territorial executive committee, elected at the Big Springs convention,
gave a certificate of election to Reeder. The Topeka constitutional
convention subsequently convened October 23, 1855, and was in session
until November 11. This body of Free State men framed a constitution,
and among other things memorialized Congress to admit Kansas as a State.
It was understood by all that the validity of the work of the convention
was contingent upon the admission of Kansas as a State. Meanwhile the
executive committee of Kansas Territory appointed at the Topeka primary,
September 19, 1855, under the leadership of James H. Lane, continued to
direct and inspire the work for a State government.
As a counter-irritant to the activities of the Free State men, and for
the purpose of allaying the insane excitement of the territorial
legislature, the pro-slavery followers organized a Law and Order party,
which was pledged to the establishment of slavery in Kansas. From
thenceforth it was open warfare between the two great forces contending
for supremacy in the territory. Atchison was the stronghold of the Law
and Order party, as Lawrence was the stronghold of the Free State party.
The Free State party was looked upon by the Law and Order advocates as
made up of revolutionists and the Law and Order party was determined to
bring them to time as soon as possible, but as the members of the Free
State party held themselves apart from the legal machinery devised for
the government of the territory, bringing no suits in its courts;
attending no elections; paying no attention to its county organizations;
offering no estates to its probate judges, and paying no tax levies made
by authority of the legislature, they were careful to commit no act
which would lay themselves liable to the laws which they abhorred. They
settled all their disputes by arbitration in order to avoid litigation,
but as they could build, manufacture, buy and sell and establish schools
and churches without coming under the domination of the pro-slavery
forces, they managed to do tolerably well. Where the inhabitants were
mostly Free State, as in Lawrence and Topeka, conditions were reasonably
satisfactory, but in localities like Atchison and Leavenworth, where the
Law and Order party dominated affairs, the Free State inhabitants were
forced to suffer many indignities and insults.
During the month of August, 1855, a negro woman belonging to Grafton
Thomassen, who ran a sawmill in Atchison, was found drowned in the
Missouri river. J. W. B. Kelley, a rabid anti-slavery lawyer, from
Cincinnati, who became a resident of Atchison, expressed the opinion
that if Thomassen’s negro woman had been treated better by her master
she would not have committed suicide by jumping into the river.
Thomassen was greatly angered at this personal illusion and deluded
himself into believing that if he satisfied his own vengeance he would
at the same time be rendering the pro-slavery party a service. He
therefore picked a quarrel with Kelley and they came to blows, after
which Thomassen’s conduct was sustained by a largo meeting of Atchison
people. While it is said that Thomassen was a larger and more powerful
man than Kelley, the people did not consider this fact, but rather
considered the principle involved, and as a result they commended the
act in the following resolution:
“1. Resolved. That one J. W. B. Kelley, hailing from Cincinnati, having
upon sundry occasions denounced our institutions and declared all pro-
slavery men ruffians, we deem it an act of kindness and hereby command
him to leave the town of Atchison one hour after being informed of the
passage of this resolution never more to show himself in this vicinity.
2. Resolved. That in case he fails to obey this reasonable command, we
inflict upon him such punishment as the nature of the case may require.
3. Resolved. That other emissaries of this ‘Aid Society’ now in our
midst, tampering with our slaves, are warned to leave, else they too
will meet the reward which their nefarious designs so justly merit.—
Hemp.
4. Resolved. That we approve and applaud our fellow-townsman, Grafton
Thomassen, for the castigation administered to said J. W. B. Kelley,
whose presence among us is a libel upon our good standing and a disgrace
to our community.
5. Resolved. That we commend the good work of purging our town of all
resident abolitionists, and after cleaning our town of such nuisances
shall do the same for the settlers on Walnut and Independence creeks
whose propensities for cattle stealing are well known to many.
6. Resolved. That the chairman appoint a committee of three to wait upon
said Kelley and acquaint him with the actions of this meeting.
7. Resolved. That the proceedings of this meeting be published, that the
world may know our determination.”
After the passage of these resolutions they were circulated throughout
Atchison and all citizens were asked to sign the same and if any person
refused he was deemed and treated as an abolitionist. A few days after
this incident Rev. Pardee Butler, a minister of the Christian church,
who was living at that time near the now abandoned townsite of Pardee,
west of Atchison, about twelve miles, came to town to do some trading.
Butler was an uncompromising anti-slavery advocate and never overlooked
an opportunity to make his sentiments known. He had strong convictions
backed by courage, and while he did not seek controversies, he never
showed a desire to avoid them. He was well known in the community as a
Free State man, and so when he came into Atchison after these
resolutions were passed and the town was all excited about them it did
not take him long to get into the controversy and he condemned in strong
terms the outrage upon Kelley and also the resolutions which were
passed. In the course of a conversation which he had at the postoffice
with Robert S. Kelley, the postmaster and assistant editor of the
_Squatter Sovereign_, he informed Mr. Kelley that he long since would
have become a subscriber to his paper had he not disliked the violent
sentiments which appeared in its columns. Mr. Kelley replied: “I look
upon all Free Soilers as rogues and they ought to be treated as such.”
Mr. Butler responded: “I am a Free Soiler and expect to vote for Kansas
as a Free State.” “I do not expect you will be allowed to vote,” was Mr.
Kelley’s reply. On the following morning Mr. Kelley called at the
National hotel, corner of Second and Atchison streets, where Mr. Butler
had spent the night, accompanied by a number of friends and demanded
Butler to sign the resolutions, which of course Mr. Butler refused to
do, and walked down stairs into the street. A crowd gathered and seized
Mr. Butler, dragging him towards the river, shouting that they intended
to drown him. The mob increased in size as they proceeded with the
victim. A vote was taken as to the kind of punishment which ought to be
given him and a verdict of death by hanging was rendered. It was not
discovered until forty years afterwards that Mr. Kelley, the teller,
saved Mr. Butler’s life by making false returns to the excited mob. Mr.
Kelley subsequently was a resident of Montana and gave this information
while stopping in St. Joseph with Dr. J. H. Stringfellow, the former
editor of the _Squatter Sovereign_. Instead of returning a verdict of
death by hanging Mr. Kelley announced that it was the decision of the
mob to send Mr. Butler down the Missouri river on a raft, and an account
of what followed is best given by Rev. Pardee Butler himself:
“When we arrived at the bank Mr. Kelley painted my face with black
paint, marked upon it the letter “R.” The company had increased to some
thirty or forty persons. Without any trial, witness, judge, counsel or
jury, for about two hours I was a sort of target at which were hurled
imprecations, curses, arguments, entreaties, accusations and
interrogations. They constructed a raft of three cottonwood sawlogs,
fastened together with inch plank nailed to the logs, upon which they
put me and sent me down the Missouri river. The raft was towed out to
the middle of the stream with a canoe. Robert S. Kelley held the rope
that towed the raft. They gave me neither rudder, oar nor anything else
to manage my raft with. They put up a flag on the raft with the
following inscription on it:
‘Eastern Emigrant Aid Express.
The Rev. Pardee Butler again for the underground road;
The way they are served in Kansas: Shipped for Boston; Cargo insured.
Unavoidable danger of the Missourians and Missouri river excepted.
Let future emissaries from the north Beware.
Our Hemp crop is sufficient to reward all such scoundrels.’
“They threatened to shoot me if I pulled the flag down. I pulled it
down, cut the flag off the flag staff, made a paddle out of the flag
staff and ultimately got ashore about six miles below.”
The mob was considerate enough to provide Mr. Butler a loaf of bread and
permitted him to take his baggage on board, afterwards escorting him
down the river for some distance.
When Mr. Butler landed he returned overland to his home near Pardee. On
April 30, 1856, he again ventured to make his appearance in Atchison,
where he says: “I spoke to no one in town save two merchants of the
place with whom I had business transactions since my first arrival in
the territory. Having remained only a few minutes I went to my buggy to
resume my journey when I was assaulted by Robert S. Kelley, junior
editor of the _Squatter Sovereign_; was dragged into a grocery and there
surrounded by a company of South Carolinians who are reported to have
been sent out by a Southern Emigrant Aid Society. After exposing me to
every sort of indignity they stripped me to the waist, covered my body
with tar and then for the want of feathers applied cotton wool, having
appointed a committee of three to certainly hang me the next time I
should come to Atchison. They tossed my clothes into the buggy, put me
therein, accompanying me to the suburbs of the town and sent me naked
upon the prairie. I adjusted my attire about me as best I could and
hastened to rejoin my wife and two little sons on the banks of Stranger
creek. It was rather a sorrowful meeting after so long a parting.”
The above incident gives some idea of the prevailing sentiment in
Atchison county during the period beginning in 1854 and ending in 1857.
There was little chance of Free State settlers to avoid trouble except
by discreet silence. It would not be just, however, to fail to disclose
the fact that the Free State men also had their secret organizations.
The Kansas Legion was a military organization for defensive purposes
only. Its members were organized into companies, battalions and
regiments and were officered and armed with rifles and pistols sent from
the East. These organizations were the natural result of the secret pro-
slavery organizations of Missouri and were known to exist to protect the
Free State settlers against the attacks of the Blue Lodges, Sons of the
South, and the Social Bands.
A man by the name of Pat Laughlin became a member of the Kansas Legion
and was very active in organizing companies of that organization at
different points in the territory. He subsequently became a traitor to
his associates and gave out information to the enemy, thereby creating
great indignation among his former friends whom he had betrayed. Later
Laughlin and Samuel Collins, of Doniphan county, became engaged in a
fierce altercation and friends of both parties to the dispute were
present and armed. Laughlin shot Collins and killed him on the spot and
was slightly wounded himself. This affair occurred October 25, 1855. No
attempt was made by the appointed peace officers of the territory to
bring the guilty parties participating in the Pardee Butler outrage or
the murder of Collins to justice. Shortly after Laughlin recovered from
his wound he secured a position in a store in Atchison and lived there
for many years.
This condition of affairs could not long exist without an open rupture
between the two opposing forces and from this time on there was a
succession of personal encounters of wide significance, and in addition
there was the war along the border in which Atchison county played a
conspicuous but not a glorious part. The activities here at that crucial
period were largely in the interest of the pro-slavery forces. It was at
this juncture that the immortal John Brown appeared on the scene to
begin his work of driving the slavery advocates from Kansas and making
it and the Nation free. His first appearance among the Free State men
was December 7, 1855, but he had been in the territory several months
before that with his four sons. John Brown did not reach Atchison county
during his stormy career in Kansas. The nearest he ever came was in 1857
when he passed through Jackson county with a party of slaves which he
was taking from Missouri to Nebraska for the purpose of setting them
free. In the historical edition of the Atchison _Daily Globe_ of July
16, 1894, there appears the following short reference to this excursion:
“In 1857 John Brown made a trip from Missouri into Nebraska with a party
of slave negroes which he intended to set free. His route was through
Jackson county, Kansas, and up by where the town of Centralia now
stands. A lot of the pro-slavery enthusiasts in Atchison heard of the
affair and went out to intercept Brown. They came up with him near
Centralia, but Brown had heard of their coming and captured the entire
party. One of the men in the pro-slavery party was named George Ringo;
afterwards he soldiered with Dwight Merlin in the Thirteenth Kansas and
often talked of the trip to Merwin around their camp fires. Ringo says
that James T. Herford was another member of the pro-slavery party, and a
man named Cook was another. John Brown looked at Cook critically after
the capture and asked his name. Cook said his name was Thomas Porter. “I
believe you are lying. I believe your name is Cook and if I was certain
of it I would kill you,” Brown said. Cook was one of the men accused of
killing Brown’s son at Osawatomie, but Brown was not certain of his
identity and let him go with the others. George Ringo says that Brown
held a prayer meeting in his camp every evening and asked a blessing at
every meal.
“One night when the Atchison party was in the custody of Brown, Brown
asked Jim Herford to pray. ‘I can’t pray,’ Herford replied. ‘Didn’t your
mother teach you to pray?’ Brown inquired. ‘She taught me to say, “Now I
lay me down to sleep,” that was all,’ Herford answered. ‘All right,’
Brown said, ‘get down on your knees and say, “Now I lay me down to
sleep.”’ Herford did as he was requested, being afraid to refuse and
Brown soon rolled himself in a blanket and went to sleep.”
As the activities of Brown increased so likewise the activities of the
pro-slavery forces increased under the leadership of Senator Atchison,
of Missouri, and Dr. Stringfellow, editor of the _Squatter Sovereign_.
The _Squatter Sovereign_, about which more will appear in a subsequent
chapter, was published in Atchison and was largely supported by
government advertising patronage. It was the leading pro-slavery
newspaper organ of the territory. Senator Atchison’s activities were of
the most pronounced sort. He not only urged his Missouri constituents to
invade the territory in all their might and capture the Yankees, but he
went himself. At Platte City, Mo., February 4, 1856, Senator Atchison
made a speech which gives some idea of the language he employed in
urging the people of western Missouri to join in the invading of Kansas.
He said:
“I was a prominent agent in repealing the Missouri Compromise and
opening the territory for settlement. The abolition traitors drummed up
their forces and whistled them onto the cars, and whistled them off
again at Kansas City: some of them had ‘Kansas and Liberty’ on their
hats. I saw this with my own eyes. These men came with the avowed
purpose of driving or expelling you from the territory. What did I
advise you to do? Why, to beat them at their own game. When the first
election came off I told you to go over and vote. You did so and beat
them. Well, what next? Why, an election of members of the legislature to
organize the territory must be held. What did I advise you to do then?
Why, meet them on their own ground and at their own game again: and,
cold and inclement as the weather was, I went over with a company of
men. The abolitionists of the North said, and published it abroad, that
Atchison was there with bowie-knives, and by God, it was true. I never
did go into that territory—I never intend to go into that territory—
without being prepared for all such kinds of cattle.
“They held an election on the fifteenth of last month and they intend to
put the machinery of the State in motion on the fourth of March. Now you
are entitled to my advice, and you shall have it. I say, _prepare
yourselves. Go over there._ Send your young men, and if they attempt to
drive you out, then, damn them, drive _them_ out. Fifty of you with your
shotguns are worth 250 of them with their Sharpe’s rifles. Get ready—arm
yourselves; for, if they abolitionize Kansas you lose one million
dollars of your property. I am satisfied that I can justify every act of
you before God and a jury.”
All of the pro-slavery papers were open in their advocacy of an
immediate war of extermination. The _Squatter Sovereign_ in its issue
just after the election of January 15, commenting on certain
disturbances at Easton and a murder at Leavenworth, did not condemn what
took place at Easton and had no word of apology or pity to offer for the
murdered man. On the contrary it upheld those who committed the murder
and gave them encouragement in their campaign of killing abolitionists.
Dr. Stringfellow employed his violent rhetoric to give vent to his
feelings and the opening paragraph of his leading editorial in the issue
of the _Squatter Sovereign_ he used the following language:
“It seems now to be certain that we will have to give the abolitionists
at least one good thrashing before political matters are settled in this
territory. To do so we must have arms; we have the men. I propose to
raise funds to furnish Colt’s revolvers for those who are without them.
We say if the abolitionists are able to whip us and overturn the
government that has been set up here, the sooner it is known the better,
and we want to see it settled.”
During the whole of the following winter preparations for attack and
defense went quietly on. There was drilling along the border and
disquieting rumors came from time to time of companies that had been
organized and equipped to move into Kansas as soon as spring opened to
uphold the rights of the Southerners.
Atchison county took a prominent part in the border warfare. The bold
attitude assumed by the Free State forces in and around Lawrence; the
Wakarusa war; the Free State elections, and the determination of the
Free State party to convene their legislature in March, 1856, kept the
partisan pro-slavery sentiment in Atchison in a constant tumult. In
March large numbers of South Carolina emigrants, armed and equipped with
the avowed purpose of enforcing southern rights in Kansas, arrived on
all the incoming steamboats. Capt. F. G. Palmer, of Atchison, commanded
one of the earliest if not the earliest company of these emigrants.
Robert De Treville was first lieutenant. The home company had been
formed prior to the arrival of the South Carolinians. Dr. John H.
Stringfellow was captain; Robert S. Kelley, first lieutenant; A. J. G.
Westbrook, second lieutenant, and John H. Blassingame, third lieutenant.
Their arms were supplied from Ft. Leavenworth and by the last of April
they were ready and waiting for the assault and the subsequent “sacking”
of Lawrence. The whole countryside was aflame with the passion of war.
By May 1 quite a large army of pro-slavery sympathizers was organized.
The South Carolinian Company, from Atchison, was among the first to
start the assault upon Lawrence and it was not long before “its flag was
planted upon the rifle pit of the enemy.” Dr. Stringfellow was there and
Robert S. Kelley, his able assistant on the _Squatter Sovereign_, was
also there. In an account of the assault the following appeared in the
_Squatter Sovereign_.
“The flag was carried by its brave bearer and stationed upon the Herald
of Freedom Printing office, and from thence to the large hotel and
fortress of the Yankees, where it proudly waived until the artillery
commenced battering down the building. Our company was composed mostly
of South Carolinians, under command of Capt. Robert De Treville, late of
Charleston, S. C. and we venture the prediction that a braver set of men
than are found in its ranks never bore arms.”
The _Squatter Sovereign_ continued to be without fear the most bitter
and uncompromising pro-slavery organ in the territory. Its watch-word
was “Death to all Yankees and traitors in Kansas.” At a large mass
meeting at Atchison, held in June, 1856, Robert S. Kelley, its assistant
editor, was nominated as the “Commander-in-Chief of the forces in town,”
but for some reason now lost to view Kelley declined the honor and it
was passed on to Capt. F. G. Palmer who accepted it without remorse and
without apologies. Senator Atchison was present at this mass meeting and
made a speech, and so was Col. Peter T. Abell, afterwards president of
the Atchison Town Company, and Captain De Treville, and others not so
famous, and they all made speeches.
During that summer, because of the continued activities of old John
Brown and the agitation which those activities created in the breasts of
the pro-slavery sympathizers in Atchison, another military company was
formed, called the Atchison Guards, of which John Robertson was the
commander, who was so prominent in the Battle of Hickory Point, and
Atchison county continued to take a prominent part in the border warfare
which continued for sometime thereafter. During all of this time the
Free State settlers of Atchison were very quiet and undemonstrative.
They were not strong in number and aside from a few virile souls like
Pardee Butler, they held their tongues and kept their own counsel. They
were treated with scant courtesy and consideration by their pro-slavery
neighbors, and it can be said to their credit that no set of men ever
displayed greater self-restraint or suffered more for the cause of peace
than the Free State settlers of this county. It doubtless unsettled
their minds and disturbed their slumbers to read from time to time
sentiments such as these taken from the _Squatter Sovereign_ of June 10,
1856:
[Illustration:
(Upper) Atchison Hospital. (Center) Atchison County Court House.
(Lower) Y. M. C. A.
]
“Hundreds of Free State men who have committed no overt act, but have
only given countenance to those reckless murderers, assassins and
thieves, will, of necessity, share the same fate of their brethren. If
Civil war is to be the result of such a conflict, there cannot be, and
will not be any neutrals recognized. ‘He that is not for us is against
us,’ will of necessity be the motto, and those who are not willing to
take either one side or the other are the most unfortunate men in Kansas
and had better flee to other regions as expeditiously as possible. They
are not the men for Kansas.”
In another issue Dr. Stringfellow said:
“The abolitionists shoot down our men without provocation wherever they
meet them. Let us retaliate in the same manner. A free fight is all we
desire. If murder and assassination is the program of the day we are in
favor of filling the bill. Let not the knives of the pro-slavery men be
sheathed while there is one abolitionist in the territory. As they have
shown no quarters to our men they deserve none from us. Let our motto be
written in blood upon our flags. ‘_Death to all Yankees and Traitors in
Kansas._’ We have 150 men in Atchison ready to start in an hour’s
notice. All we lack is horses and provisions.”
And then follows an exhortation from Dr. Stringfellow to his friends in
Missouri to contribute something that will enable his constituents to
protect their lives and their families from the outrages of the
assassins of the North, and ends by stating that the war will not cease
until Kansas has been purged of abolitionists.
Pro-slavery committees from Doniphan, Atchison and Leavenworth counties
were organized to call on their friends in the South for arms,
ammunition and provisions, and a circular letter appeared in the
_Leavenworth Herald_, and an urgent invitation was issued to all the
pro-slavery papers to give the circular wide publicity. It read, in
part, as follows:
“To our friends throughout the United States:
“The undersigned, having been appointed a committee by our fellow
citizens of the counties of Leavenworth, Doniphan and Atchison, in
Kansas Territory, to consult together and to adopt measures for mutual
protection and the advancement of the interests of the pro-slavery party
in Kansas Territory, this day assembled at the town of Atchison, to
undertake the responsible duty assigned us; and in our present emergency
deem it expedient to address this circular to our friends throughout the
union, but more particularly in the slave-holding states. * * * * The
time has arrived when prompt action is required and the interior of
Kansas can easily be supplied from various points in the above named
counties. The pro-slavery party is the only one in Kansas which pretends
to uphold the Government or abide by the laws. Our party from the
beginning has sought to make Kansas a slave state, only by legal means.
We have been slandered and vilified almost beyond endurance, yet we have
not resorted to violence, but steadily pursued the law for the
accomplishment of our objects. * * * * We have proclaimed to the world
that we recognize the principle of the Kansas Bill as just and right,
and although we preferred Kansas being made a negro slave state, yet we
never dreamed of making it so by the aid of bowie-knives, revolvers and
Sharpe rifles, until we were threatened to be driven out of the
territory by a band of hired abolitionists, brought up and sent here to
control our elections and steal our slaves. We are still ready and
intend to continue so, if our friends abroad stand by and assist us. Our
people are poor and their labor is their capital. Deprive them of that,
which we are now compelled to do, and they must be supported from
abroad, or give up the cause of the South. The Northern Abolitionists
can raise millions of dollars, and station armed bands of fanatics
throughout the territory and support them, in order to deprive Southern
men of their constitutional rights. We address this to our friends only,
for the purpose of letting them know our true condition and our wants.
We know that our call will meet a ready, willing and liberal response.
* * * * Heaven and earth is being moved in all the free states to induce
overwhelming armies to march here to drive us from the land. We are able
to take care of those already here, but let our brethren in the states
take care of the outsiders. Watch them, and if our enemies march for
Kansas let our friends come along to take care of them, and if nothing
but a fight can bring about peace, let us have a fight that will amount
to something. Send us the money and other articles mentioned as soon as
practicable, and if the abolitionists find it convenient to _bring_
their supplies, let our friends _come_ with ours. Arrangements have been
made with Messrs. Majors, Russell & Company, Leavenworth, K. T.; J. W.
Foreman & Company, Doniphan, K. T., and C. E. Woolfolk & Company,
Atchison, K. T., to receive any money or other articles sent for our
relief, and will report to the undersigned, and we pledge ourselves that
all will be distributed for the benefit of the cause. Horses, we greatly
need—footmen being useless in running down midnight assassins and
robbers.”
The following residents of Atchison county signed the circular: P. T.
Abell, chairman; J. A. Headley, A. J. Frederick, J. F. Green, Jr., C. E.
Mason.
This circular was signed June 6, 1856, and was published in the
_Lawrence Herald of Freedom_, June 14, 1856.
From this time forward the conflagration spread with ever increasing
fury, and not only did the appeals for aid from the pro-slavery forces
find immediate response, but likewise the anti-slavery forces throughout
the whole North came to the rescue of the Free Soilers in Kansas, and
during all of this great excitement Atchison county was the focal point
of pro-slavery activities. The news of the “sacking” of Lawrence served
to awaken the Nation in the North. It was at this time that Henry Ward
Beecher, with all of the great eloquence at his command, advocated from
his Brooklyn pulpit the sending of Sharpe rifles instead of Bibles to
Kansas, and pledged his own parish to supply a definite number. And on
and on they came to Kansas out of the North with determination in their
hearts and Sharpe rifles in their hands, to help the Free Soilers in
their battles against the forces of Atchison and Stringfellow and Abell.
Then came Lane’s “Army of the North,” which sounded more terrible than
it really was, following in quick succession the second battle of
Franklin; the siege and capitulation of Ft. Titus, and the famous battle
of Osawatomie. At last the mobilization of the forces of Atchison and
Stringfellow not far from the outskirts at Lawrence in September, 1856,
for the purpose of a final assault on that Free State stronghold, marked
the collapse of the Atchison-Stringfellow military campaign. It was a
critical hour for Lane. Old John Brown was there, and the citizens were
ready for whatever might befall them, but further hostilities were
averted by the action of Governor Geary on the morning of September 15,
1856, when he appeared in person in the midst of the Missouri camp
several hours after issuing a proclamation for the Missourians to
disband. He found both Senator Atchison and Gen. B. F. Stringfellow
(brother of Dr. Stringfellow) there, and in the course of his speech
severely reprimanded Atchison, who “from his high estate as Vice-
President of the United States, had fallen so low as to be the leader of
an army of men with uncontrollable passions, determined upon wholesale
slaughter and destruction.”
When Governor Geary had concluded his remarks his proclamation and order
to disband the army were read and the more judicious obeyed.
The troops thus disbanded, marched homeward. Those enlisting at Atchison
returned to Missouri by way of Lecompton. This was the last organized
military invasion from Missouri and ended the attempts of the pro-
slavery forces to rule Kansas by martial law.
It must not be concluded, however, that the Stringfellows and other pro-
slavery leaders in Atchison county were not law-abiding citizens. They
believed in the institution of slavery, as many good men of that day
did, and they had the same rights to peacefully enter the territory of
Kansas and endeavor to make it a slave State under the principle of
Squatter sovereignty, as Dr. Charles Robinson, and Lane, and John Brown
did to make the territory a free State. It would not only be unjust to
the memory of the Stringfellows and their compatriots, but unjust to
posterity also to leave the impression that they had no semblance of
justification, for many of their acts, which the impartial historian
will admit, were very frequently in retaliation of wrongs and outrages
suffered. The terrible stress and strain under which good men on both
sides labored in those critical days led them to extremes, and in the
midst of the discordant passions of good men, the bad men—those who are
the lawless of every age and clime—flourished and their lawlessness only
served to complicate the dangerous and ever threatening situation. Calm
judgment may not have been lacking in the territory in and around
Atchison and Lawrence in the days between 1854 and 1857, but if it
existed at all it was lost in the riot of partisan feeling and did not
evince itself until later.
Following the disbanding of the “Territorial” militia before Lawrence,
General Atchison seemed to have somewhat recovered his composure and in
an address to the troops after Governor Geary had retired, he said:
“As was well known to all present the gentlemen composing this meeting
had just been in conference with Governor Geary, who in the strongest
language had deprecated the inhuman outrages perpetrated by those whom
he characterized as bandits, now roving through the territory, and
pledged himself in the most solemn manner to employ actively all of the
force at his command in executing the laws of the territory and giving
protection to his beloved citizens, and who had also appealed to us to
dissolve our present organization and stand by and co-operate with him
in holding up the hands of his power against all evil doers, and who had
also retired from the meeting, with a request that he would consult and
determine what course would be taken. Now the object of the meeting was
thus to consult and determine what should be done.”
General Atchison also impressed the meeting with the solemnity and
importance of the occasion and said that it was time for men to exercise
their reason and not yield to their passions and also to keep on the
side of the law which alone constitutes our strength and protection.
These words of General Atchison breathed a far different message than
his strong language of a few years before and indicated more plainly
than anything else the general trend of pro-slavery sentiment.
After the cessation of military movements in the territory, more or less
peaceful elections, sessions of the legislature and conventions, at
which constitutions were framed and voted upon, took place, and the work
of preparing the territory to become a State went forward.
Four constitutions were framed before Kansas was admitted to the Union.
The Topeka constitution, which was the first in order, was adopted by
the convention which framed it November 11, 1855, and by the people of
the territory at an election December 15, 1855.
The Lecompton constitution was adopted by the convention which framed it
November 7, 1857, and was submitted to a vote of the people December 21,
1857, and the form of the vote prescribed was: “For the constitution,
with slavery,” and “For the constitution, without slavery.” As no
opportunity was afforded at this election to vote against the
constitution the Free State people did not participate in it. The
Territorial legislature was summoned in extra session and passed it
without submitting this constitution to a vote of the people, January 4,
1858, and at that election 138 votes were cast for it and 10,226 against
it. In spite of this overwhelming vote against the constitution it was
sent to Washington and was transmitted by President Buchanan to the
Senate who urged the admission of Kansas under it, thus starting the
great contest which divided the Democratic party, the election of
Abraham Lincoln as President, and the final overthrow of the slave
party. The bill to admit Kansas under this constitution failed, but a
bill finally passed Congress, under the provisions of which the
constitution was again submitted to the people August 4, 1858, with the
result that there were 1,788 votes cast for it and 11,300 votes cast
against it.
The convention which framed the Leavenworth constitution was provided
for by an act of the Territorial legislature, passed in February, 1858,
at which time the Lecompton constitution was pending in Congress. The
Leavenworth constitution was adopted by the convention April 3, 1858,
and by the people May 18, 1858.
The Wyandotte constitution was adopted by the convention which framed it
July 29, 1859, and adopted by the people October 4, 1859. It was under
the Wyandotte constitution that the State was admitted into the Union
January 29, 1861.
In this last convention Atchison county played a very important part.
Three members were sent from this county: Caleb May, to whom reference
has been made before, a farmer, born in Kentucky, and residing near the
now abandoned townsite of Pardee; John J. Ingalls, a lawyer at Sumner,
who arrived in Kansas from Massachusetts, October 4, 1858, exactly one
year previous to the adoption of the constitution by the people of the
Territory, and Robert Graham, a merchant at Atchison, who was born in
Ireland. John A. Martin, the editor of _Freedom’s Champion_, the
successor to the _Squatter Sovereign_, at Atchison, was secretary of the
convention.
Caleb May remained a successful farmer and leading citizen of the county
for many years after this convention, subsequently drifting to the
Indian Territory, where he died.
John J. Ingalls became United States senator from Kansas, where he
remained for eighteen years, part of the time as president protempore of
that body.
John A. Martin became one of the leading military heroes of Kansas, and
served as governor of the State from 1886 to 1888. He played an
important part as an officer of the convention, as also did Mr. Ingalls,
who, Samuel A. Stinson says, was the “recognized scholar of the
convention, and authority on all questions connected with the
arrangement and phraseology of the instrument.” For this reason he was
made chairman of the committee on phraseology and arrangements. Robert
Graham was chairman of the committee on corporations and banking, and on
the ballot to locate a temporary capital of the State Atchison received
six votes. Topeka received twenty-nine and was chosen as the temporary
capital and afterwards became the permanent capital of Kansas.
CHAPTER VI.
ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY AND CITY OF ATCHISON.
ONE OF THE THIRTY-THREE ORIGINAL COUNTIES—THE CITY OF ATCHISON
LOCATED—TOWN COMPANY—SALE OF LOTS—INCORPORATION OF TOWN—EARLY
BUSINESS ENTERPRISES—ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY—COMMERCIAL GROWTH—
FREIGHTING—FIRST OFFICERS—FREE STATE AND PRO-SLAVERY CLASHES—
HORACE GREELEY VISITS ATCHISON—ABRAHAM LINCOLN MAKES A SPEECH
HERE—GREAT DROUGHT OF 1860—CITY OFFICIALS.
Atchison was one of the thirty-three original counties created by the
first territorial legislature, which convened at Pawnee, July 2, 1855,
and subsequently adjourned to Shawnee Mission, July 6, 1855, and was
named for Senator David R. Atchison, United States senator from
Missouri, concerning whom much has been said in previous chapters. The
county was surveyed in 1855 and divided into three townships,
Grasshopper township comprising all that section lying west of the old
Pottawatomie road; Mount Pleasant township, all east of the old
Pottawatomie road, and south of Walnut creek, from its confluence with
the Missouri river to the source of the creek and a parallel line west
to the old Pottawatomie road, and Shannon township, all that section of
the county north of Mount Pleasant township. Subsequently, this sub-
division was further divided into eight townships, now comprising the
county, to-wit: Grasshopper, Mount Pleasant, Shannon, Lancaster,
Kapioma, Center, Walnut and Benton. The county is located in the extreme
northeastern part of Kansas, save one, Doniphan county, by which it is
bounded on the north, together with Brown county, and on the west by
Jackson county, and on the south by Jefferson and Leavenworth counties.
It has an area of 409 square miles, or 271,360 acres.
The site of the city of Atchison, the first town in the county, was
selected because of its conspicuous geographical location on the river.
Senator Atchison and his associates attached great importance to the
fact that the river bent boldly inland at this point. They felt that it
would be of great commercial advantage to a town to be thus located, so
July 4, 1854, after a careful consideration of the matter, in all of its
phases, Senator Atchison and his Platte county, Missouri, friends
dedicated the new town. They felt that they had located the natural
gateway through which all the overland traffic to Utah, Oregon and
California would pass. After they had settled with George Million, the
first known white settler of the territory, and attended to other
unimportant preliminaries Dr. J. H. Stringfellow made a claim just north
of the Million claim, and with Ira Norris, James T. Darnell, Leonidas
Oldham, James B. Martin, George Million and Samuel Dickson, agreed to
form a town company, and they received into their organization David R.
Atchison, Elijah Green, E. H. Norton, Peter T. Abell, B. F.
Stringfellow, Lewis Burnes, Daniel D. Burnes, James N. Burnes, Calvin F.
Burnes and Stephen Johnson. A week later these men gathered under a
large cottonwood tree, near Atchison street, on the river, and organized
by electing Peter T. Abell, president; Dr. J. H. Stringfellow,
secretary, and Col. James N. Burnes, treasurer. Peter T. Abell,
president of the town company, was an able lawyer, and a Southern man,
with pronounced views on the question of slavery. But he was a man of
judgment, and a natural boomer. He was a very large man, being over six
feet tall and weighed almost 300 pounds. When he became president of the
town company he was a resident of Weston, Mo., and lived there until a
year after Atchison had been surveyed. Subsequently, Senator Atchison
assigned his interests in the town company to his nephew, James Headley,
who afterwards became one of the leading lawyers of the town. Jesse
Morris also became a member.
The town company, having been regularly organized, the townsite was
divided into 100 shares. Each of its members retained five shares; the
balance of thirty being held for general distribution. Abell, B. F.
Stringfellow and all of the Burnes brothers were received as two
parties. Henry Kuhn, a surveyor, surveyed 480 acres, which comprised the
original townsite. Mr. Kuhn and his son returned to Atchison forty-five
years later, and for a short time ran the _Atchison Champion_. On
September 21, the first sale of town lots was held, amidst great
excitement and general interest. It was a gathering which had both
political and business significance. Senator Atchison, from Missouri,
with a large number of his constituents, was there, and Atchison made a
speech, in which one reporter quotes him as having said:
“People of every quarter should be welcome to the Territory, and treated
with civility as long as they showed themselves peaceable men.”
[Illustration:
A View in Commercial Street. Looking East, Atchison, Kansas
]
Someone in the crowd called out, “What shall we do with those who run
off with our negroes?” “Hang ’em,” cried a voice in the crowd. To this
Mr. Atchison replied, “No, I would not hang them, but I would get them
out of the Territory, get rid of them.” One version of the speech was to
the effect that Senator Atchison answered his questioners by saying, “By
G—d, sir, hang every abolitionist you find in the Territory.” But the
best account of the meeting was printed in a Parkville, Mo., newspaper,
and was reported by an eye witness, who said:
“We arrived at Atchison in the forenoon. Among the company was our
distinguished senator, in honor of whom the new city was named. There
was a large assemblage on the ground, with plenty of tables set for
dinner, where the crowd could be accommodated with bacon and bread, and
a drink at the branch, at fifty cents a head. The survey of the town had
just been completed the evening before. Stockholders held a meeting, to
arrange particulars of sale, and afterwards, as had been previously
announced, General Atchison mounted an old wagon and made a speech. He
commenced by mentioning the bountiful country that was beginning to be
settled; to some of the circumstances under which a territorial
government was organized, and in the course of his remarks, mentioned
how Douglass came to introduce the Nebraska bill, with a repeal clause
in it. He told of how Judge Douglass requested twenty-four hours in
which to consider the question of introducing a bill for Nebraska, like
the one he had promised to vote for, and said that if, at the expiration
of that time, he could not introduce such a bill, which would not at the
same time accord with his own sense of right and justice to the South,
he would resign as chairman of the territorial committee, and Democratic
caucus, and exert his influence to get Atchison appointed. At the
expiration of the given time, Judge Douglass signified his intention to
report such a bill.
“General Atchison next spoke of those who had supported and those who
had opposed the bill in the Senate, and ended by saying that the
American people loved honesty and could appreciate the acts of a man who
openly and above-board voted according to the will of his constituents,
without political regard or favor. He expressed his profound contempt
for abolitionists, and said if he had his way he would hang everyone of
them that dared to show his face, but he knew that Northern men settling
in the Territory were sensible and honest, and that the right feeling
men among them would be as far from stealing a negro as a Southern man
would.
“When Senator Atchison concluded his remarks, the sale of town lots
began, and thirty-four were sold that afternoon, at an average of $63.00
each. Most of those that were sold were some distance back from the
river, and speculators were not present, so far as it could be
determined, and lots that were sold were bought mostly by owners of the
town. Prices ranged from $35.00 to $200.00.”
At this meeting the projects of building a hotel and establishing a
newspaper were discussed, and as a result, each of the original 100
shares was assessed $25.00, and in the following spring the National
Hotel, corner of Second and Atchison streets, was built. Dr. J. H.
Stringfellow and Robert S. Kelley received a donation of $400.00 from
the town company, to buy a printing office and in February, 1855, the
_Squatter Sovereign_, which subsequently did so much for the pro-slavery
cause, was born.
The town company required each settler to build a house at least sixteen
feet square upon his lot, so that when the survey was made in 1855 many
found themselves upon school lands. Among those who put up homes in 1854
and 1855 were James T. Darnell, Archibald Elliott, Thomas J. C. Duncan,
Andrew W. Pebler, R. S. Kelley, F. B. Wilson, Henry Kline and William
Hassett. The titles to the lands owned by these residents remained
unsettled until 1857, when titles to all lands within the townsite and
open to settlement were acquired from the federal government, and
subsequently the title to school lands was secured by patents from the
Territory, and in this way the town company secured a clear title to all
lands which they had heretofore conveyed, and re-conveyed the same to
the settlers and purchasers. Dr. J. H. Stringfellow, proprietor of North
Atchison, an addition to the city of Atchison, employed J. J. Pratt to
survey that addition in October, 1857. It consisted of the northeast
quarter of the northeast quarter of section 36, township 5, range 20.
Samuel Dickson, who was the proprietor of South Atchison, had that
addition platted in May, 1858, and John Roberts, who was the proprietor
of West Atchison, had his addition surveyed in February, 1858, a few
months before Samuel Dickson surveyed South Atchison. C. L. Challiss’
addition was surveyed about the same time. Other additions to the
corporate limits of Atchison have been made, and are as follows:
Branchton, Bird’s addition, Brandner’s addition, Bakewell Heights,
Batiste addition, Florence Park, Forest Park, Goodhue Place, Garfield
Park, Highland Park, Home Place, Howard Heights, LaGrande addition,
Lincoln Park, Llewellyn Heights, Lutheran Church addition, Mapleton
Place, Merkles addition, Parker’s addition, Park Place, Price Villa
addition, River View addition, Spring Garden, Style’s addition, Bellvue
Heights, and Talbott & Company’s addition.
Atchison was incorporated as a town by act of the Territorial
legislature, August 30, 1855, but it was not incorporated as a city
until February 12, 1858, after which the charter was approved by the
people by special election, March 2, 1858. In the fall of 1856, Atchison
had obtained a great many advantages over other towns along the river,
by a judicious system of advertising. The _Squatter Sovereign_ printed a
circular November 22, 1856, which was scattered broadcast. The circular
was as follows:
“To the public, generally, but particularly to those persons living
north of the Kansas river, in Kansas Territory:
“It is well known to many, and should be to all interested, that the
town of Atchison is nearer to most persons living north of the Kansas
river, than any other point on the Missouri river. The country, too,
south of the Kansas river above Lecompton, is also as near Atchison as
any other Missouri river town. The roads to Atchison in every direction
are very fine, and always in good repair for wagon and other modes of
travel. The country opposite Atchison is not excelled by any section of
Missouri, it being portions of Buchanan and Platte counties, in a high
state of cultivation, and at a considerable distance from any important
town in Missouri, making grain, fruit, provisions and all kinds of
marketing easily procured at fair prices; a matter of no small
consideration to settlers in a new country.
“The great fresh water lake, from which the fish markets of St. Joseph
and Weston are supplied, is also within three miles of Atchison.
“Atchison is now well supplied with all kinds of goods: groceries,
flour, corn, meal, provisions and marketing of all kinds are abundant,
and at fair prices. To show the compatibility of Atchison to supply the
demands of the country, we here enumerate some of the business houses,
viz: Six large dry goods and grocery stores, wholesale and retail; six
family grocery and provision stores, wholesale and retail; one large
clothing store; one extensive furniture store, with mattresses and
bedding of all sorts; one stove, sheet iron and tinware establishment,
where articles in that line are sold at St. Louis prices; several large
warehouses sufficient to store all the goods of emigrants and traders
across the plains, and to Kansas Territory; one weekly newspaper—_The
Squatter Sovereign_—having the largest circulation of any newspaper in
Kansas, with press, type and materials to execute all kinds of job work;
two commodious hotels, and several boarding houses; one bakery and
confectionery; three blacksmith shops; two wagon makers, and several
carpenter shops; one cabinet maker; two boot and shoe maker shops, and
saddle and harness maker shops; one extensive butcher and meat market; a
first rate ferry, on which is kept a magnificent new steam ferry boat
and excellent horse boat, propelled by horses; a good flat boat, and
several skiffs; saw mills, two propelled by steam and one by horse-
power; two brick yards, and two lime kilns.
“A fine supply of professional gentlemen of all branches constantly on
hand equal to the demand.
“A good grist mill is much needed, and would make money for the owner.”
The first business house in Atchison was established by George T.
Challiss, at the corner of the Levee and Commercial streets, in August,
1854. The National Hotel was not built at that time, so Mr. Challiss
established a temporary camp, and his workmen were accommodated under an
elm tree near the river. The Challiss store building was torn down in
1872. George T. Challiss and his brother, Luther C. Challiss, were
clerking in a dry goods store at Booneville, Mo., in the spring of 1854.
George T. Challiss returned to his old home in New Jersey on a visit,
and upon his return, in August, he came direct to Atchison. He came by
boat to Weston, Mo., where he met P. T. Abell, president of the town
company, and Abell prevailed upon him to come to Atchison in a buggy,
crossing the river here on George Million’s ferry. Mr. Abell donated Mr.
Challiss the lot upon which he built his store, and he went to Rushville
and bought enough cottonwood lumber to build it. When he arrived in
Atchison, he had $4.50 in money, but later on borrowed $150.00 from his
brother, Luther C. Challiss, at Boonville. He enjoyed a good business
from the beginning, and carried a large stock of both dry goods and
groceries.
The town of Atchison was the one big outstanding factor in Atchison
county when the territory was organized, but at the same time that Abell
and Stringfellow and others “were shaping up the town,” others were busy
organizing the county. As the city was named for General Atchison, so
likewise was the county at the time of its creation by the first
Territorial legislature that assembled at Pawnee. The first board of
county commissioners was selected and appointed by the Territorial
legislature, August 31, 1855, and was composed of William J. Young,
James M. Givens and James A. Headley. The first meeting of the board was
held September 17, 1855, at the home of O. B. Dickerson, in the city of
Atchison. At this meeting Ira Norris was appointed clerk and recorder;
Samuel Dickson, treasurer; Samuel Walters, assessor. William McVay had
received an appointment as sheriff of the county prior to the meeting of
the board, direct from the governor, to fill the office temporarily
until his successor was subsequently appointed and qualified. On the
18th of September, 1855, being the second day of the session of the
first board of county commissioners, Eli C. Mason was appointed as
sheriff to succeed McVay, and Dudley McVay was appointed coroner. Voting
precincts were established in three townships preparatory to an election
of a delegate to Congress, which was to take place the first Monday in
October, 1855. At the October meeting of the board of county
commissioners, block 10, in what is now known as Old Atchison, was
accepted by the board as a location upon which to erect a court house.
This property was offered to the county by the Atchison town company for
the purpose of influencing the board to make Atchison the county seat.
The conditions of the gift were that the court house was to be built of
brick and to be at least forty feet square. In the following spring the
town company donated fifty town lots, and the proceeds of these lots
were to be used in the construction of the court house. In June, 1857,
the court house was ordered built and it was to be two stories high, the
first story to be of rock and the second story of wood. It was 24×18
feet square: however, the plans were subsequently changed, and, because
of the gift of an additional fourteen lots by the town company, of a
value of $6,000.00, a more pretentious building was erected in 1859,
with a county jail adjoining it. Prior to the erection of the court
house, there was a spirited contest between Mt. Pleasant, Monrovia,
Lancaster and Sumner over the question of the county seat. In an
election to determine the location, Atchison received a majority of 252
votes over all competitors for the county seat. The estimated total
population of the county at the time was 2,745.
In the next few years Atchison grew rapidly and the dreams of Senator
Atchison and his associates bade fair to be realized on a large scale.
The population of the town was about 500, and yet there were eight
hardware stores, twelve dry goods stores, eight wholesale grocery
stores, nineteen retail grocery stores, and twenty-six law firms. The
banking business was controlled by the contracting firms of A. Majors &
Company and Smoot, Russell & Company. The Atchison branch of the Kansas
Valley Bank was the first in the State to be formed under the
legislative act, authorized February 19, 1857, with a capital stock of
$300,000.00. In the act, John H. Stringfellow, Joseph Plean and Samuel
Dickson were named to open subscription books. An organization was
effected in the spring of 1858, and the capital stock of the local
organization was $52,000.00. The board of directors was composed of
Samuel C. Pomeroy, president; W. H. Russell, L. R. Smoot, W. B. Waddell,
F. G. Adams, Samuel Dickson and W. E. Gaylord. There was considerable
rivalry between Sumner and Doniphan at the time, and shortly after the
organization of the bank, a rumor, which was supposed to have started in
Sumner, to the effect that the bank was about to suspend, caused the
directors to publish a statement of its condition, showing that its
assets were $36,638.00 and its liabilities $20,118.00. S. C. Pomeroy
resigned as president before the year was out and was succeeded by
William H. Russell. The bank subsequently had its name changed by the
legislature to the Bank of the State of Kansas. Mr. Russell, the second
president of the bank, made his home in Leavenworth and was an active
pro-slavery man, being treasurer of the executive committee in 1856 to
raise funds to make Kansas a slave State. This bank continued until
1866, when it went into voluntary liquidation and its stockholders wound
up its affairs.
One of the most important institutions in Atchison in the early days was
the Massasoit House, opened for business September 1, 1858, in charge of
Tom Murphy, a genial proprietor, who conducted it for many years. At the
same time there were three other hotels in operation in the city.
Reference has heretofore been made to the National Hotel, which was
elected in 1855 by popular subscription. It was a plain log structure on
the north side of Atchison street, just east of Second, overlooking the
river. The Tremont House was a two-story frame structure at the
southeast corner of Second and Main, and the Planters’ House was at the
southwest corner of Commercial and Sixth streets on the site now
occupied by the Exchange National Bank, but the Massasoit House was the
leading hotel of this section and it was a substantial, somewhat
imposing frame building erected at the northwest corner of Second and
Main streets on the site now occupied by the Wherrett-Mize Wholesale
Drug House. It was three stories high with a basement and was handsomely
furnished. It did a large business and was the headquarters for the
overland staging crowds. All the lines, which ran in every direction,
out of Atchison at that time departed from the Massasoit House. It was a
favorite place for political gatherings, and from its balconies many
speeches were made by leaders of the political parties of that day. It
at one time was the hiding place for a number of slaves who had been
secreted in the hotel by their master. Horace Greeley, the famous editor
of the _New York Tribune_, ate his first dinner in Kansas at this hotel,
and Abraham Lincoln was a guest on the day that John Brown was executed
at Harper’s Ferry.
Some idea of the magnitude of the merchandising that was carried on in
Atchison in 1858 may be gathered from the fact that during the summer of
that year twenty-four trains comprising 775 wagons, 1,114 men, 7,963
oxen, 142 horses, 1,286 mules conveyed 3,730,905 pounds of merchandise
across the Rocky mountains and California. One single train that was
sent out that year consisted of 105 wagons, 225 men, 1,000 oxen, 200
mules, fifty horses and 465,500 pounds of merchandise. During the latter
part of 1859 and the early months of 1860, forty-one regular traders and
freighters did business out of Atchison. During nine months of one of
those years, the trains outfitted from Atchison were drawn by mules and
cattle and comprised 1,328 wagons, 1,549 men, 401 mules and 15,263 oxen.
The Pike’s Peak gold mines, which were discovered in 1858, and the
prospecting in that region were the causes of the larger part of this
enormous business. Denver at that time had a population of about 2,500,
and was the center of the mining region around Pike’s Peak. In the
period just mentioned, thirty-three of the trains that left Atchison
were destined for Denver. One of these trains was composed of 125
wagons, carrying 750,000 pounds of merchandise. It extended from the
levee on the river far beyond the western outskirts of the city. The
outfit was managed by fifty-two men, twenty-two mules and 1,542 oxen.
Several of the trains for Denver had from twenty to fifty wagons. One,
sent out by Jones & Cartwright, had fifty-eight wagons and carried over
3,000 pounds of merchandise. Among the trains that left Atchison during
the latter part of 1859 were, one for Santa Fe, N. M., another for
Colorado City, Colo., two for Green River, Wyo., and four for Salt Lake
City. The biggest overland outfit was owned by Irwin, Jackson & Company,
who were Government freighters. During one season this firm sent out 520
wagons, 650 men, 75 mules and 6,240 oxen. This firm had a good contract
for supplying the military posts on the plains, including Forts Kearney,
Laramie, Bridger, Douglas, and Camp Floyd, a short distance from Salt
Lake City. In addition to these larger overland staging concerns there
were a number of lesser outfits sent out by private parties in Atchison,
with one, two or three wagons each. Most of the freight conveyed across
the plains in wagons was brought to Atchison in steamboats, which
unloaded at the levee extending along two or three blocks, beginning at
about Atchison street and running south. Very frequently loaded ox
trains nearly a mile in length were seen on Commercial street, and some
of the prairie schooners would be loaded with hardware or some other
dead weight, drawn by six to eight yoke of cattle; and more wagon trains
were loaded and departed from Atchison than from any other point on the
Missouri river.
The act of the Territorial legislature of Kansas incorporating the city
of Atchison was approved February 12, 1858, and it provided for the
election of a mayor and councilmen. The charter was voted upon and
accepted by the people at a special election held March 2, 1858, and the
first mayor and council were elected at a special election March 13,
1858. The charter provided for an annual city election at that time to
be held on the first Monday in September, and consequently the first
mayor and councilmen of the city, elected in March, held their offices
only until the following September. Samuel C. Pomeroy was the first
mayor of the city, holding his office from March, 1858, until May, 1859.
Pomeroy was one of the prominent Free State settlers and was one of its
most popular citizens. His election as mayor was the result of the toss
of a coin. A temporary truce having been effected between the
Southerners and the Free State men, it was agreed that a compromise in
local affairs would be beneficial to the community. By the toss of a
coin the Free State men won the mayor and three councilmen, and the pro-
slavery men had four councilmen. Pomeroy was named by the Free State men
mayor. Pomeroy subsequently became actively identified with the
Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Association, in the distribution of aid to
the stricken people of Kansas following the great drought of 1860, and
it was largely because of his identification with this organization that
he was enabled to place aid where it would do the most good, and he
subsequently became one of the first United States senators from Kansas.
When he was a resident of Atchison he lived at the corner of North
Terrace and Santa Fe streets, but later he moved to a tract of land near
Muscotah, and during the twelve years he was senator he claimed the
latter place as his home. It was when he asked for a third term as
United States senator that he was exposed on the floor of the State
senate by Senator York, who arose in his place and, advancing to the
secretary’s desk, placed $7,000.00 in cash thereon, which he alleged
Pomeroy had given him to influence his vote. Many have always believed
that Senator Pomeroy was greatly wronged by this act of York. Ex-
Governor George W. Glick, himself a Democrat and a leading citizen of
Atchison in the early days, was a very warm friend of Pomeroy and always
expressed indignation when he heard Pomeroy abused, not only about his
conduct in connection with the Emigrant Aid Association, but also in
connection with his downfall politically. It was the contention of
Governor Glick that Pomeroy’s fall was the result of a conspiracy and
not because of general bribery. However, Pomeroy never rose to political
prominence after this incident and ended his days in Washington, D. C.,
where he lived for a number of years prior to his death.
Associated with Pomeroy as the first mayor of Atchison, were the
following citizens: John F. Stein, Jr. register; E. B. Grimes,
treasurer; Milton R. Benton, marshal; A. E. Mayhew, city attorney; W. O.
Gould, city engineer; M. R. Benton, by virtue of his office as marshal,
was also street commissioner; H. L. Davis, assessor; Dr. J. W. Hereford,
city physician. The board of appraisers was composed of Messrs. Petfish,
Roswell and Gaylord. The first councilmen were William P. Childs, O. F.
Short, Luther C. Challiss, Cornelius E. Logan, S. F. Walters, James A.
Headley, Charles Holbert. John F. Stein, who was register, resigned his
office in August, and R. L. Pease was appointed to succeed him. In the
following August the city was divided into three wards, the first ward
being entitled to four councilmen, the second ward to two, and the third
ward to three. At the first meeting of the council, which was held March
15, 1858, an ordinance was adopted providing for a special election for
the purpose of submitting a proposition to take $100,000.00 of stock in
a proposed railroad from St. Joseph, Mo., to some point opposite
Atchison on the Missouri river. The election was held and the stock was
subscribed for. Mayor Pomeroy was appointed agent of the proposed road,
which was to be known as the Atchison & St. Joseph Railroad Company. A
further account of the development of railroad building from Atchison
will occur in a subsequent chapter. The council at this session also
fixed the salary of the mayor, and in spite of the freedom of those
days, saloons were ordered to be closed on Sunday, and other stringent
regulations were passed in connection with the liquor traffic. The first
financial statement of the city, of date September 5, 1859, is as
follows:
General city tax, 1858 $ 5,927.70
Fines imposed by mayor’s court 186.50
Dray and wagon licenses 192.00
Dram shop licenses 1,787.76
Beer house licenses 101.33
Shows 130.00
Billiard tables 225.00
Registry of dogs 50.00
Assessment on C street from River to Fourth 3,381.00
—————————
Total $12,008.29
Amount of scrip and orders issued on general fund to
December 15, 1858 $ 6,317.17
Amount of scrip and orders issued on general fund to
September 5, 1859 3,140.53
Scrip issued toward building jail 1,675.00
Scrip issued for grading streets, curbing, etc. 10,105.39
—————————
Total $21,238.09
—————————
General deficit $ 9,229.79
The fact that Mayor Pomeroy had strongly urged in his inaugural address
the importance of grading and improving the streets of the city
“especially Atchison, Second and Fourth streets, and the levee,”
possibly accounts for the indebtedness of the city at so early a date.
There was a general inclination among the citizens of Atchison to build
a modern city in accordance with the standards of the times, and
therefore they were anxious to follow the mayor’s advice to put their
streets and alleys in order.
One of the most interesting and at the same time one of the most
difficult tasks in tracing the settlement of a community, is to
correctly catalogue the establishment of the first settler, the first
house, the first business institution, and the first of everything, and
it could with safety be said that this is not only an interesting and
difficult task but it is well nigh an impossible one. This is not to be
wondered at when we take into account the rush and confusion which
always attend the settlement of a new community. However, it has now
become an established fact that George M. Million was the first white
settler in the Territory, with Samuel Dickson a close second. There was
some dispute about who built the first house in the town of Atchison,
but we have resolved all doubt in favor of Dickson, just as we have
decided that George T. Challiss established the first business house.
The Challiss brothers, George, Luther and William all played an
important part in the very early history of the county. They were in
business and in the professions, and they were all land owners,
selecting the choicest tracts “close in” and holding onto them, none too
wisely or too well, for their tenacity in this respect later resulted in
their undoing. The leading lawyers in the county during those days were
M. J. Ireland, A. G. Otis, Isaac Hascall, James A. Headley, A. E.
Mayhew, J. T. Hereford, P. H. Larey, Joseph P. Carr and B. F.
Stringfellow. Horton, Foster, Ingalls, and General Bela M. Hughes came
later. Hascall carried a card in the _Squatter Sovereign_, advertising
his legal headquarters as the Border Ruffian Law Office.
In addition to the names of merchants and professional men heretofore
given, “Andreas’ History of Kansas” gives the following list: Grafton
Thomassen, the slave owner, ran a sawmill. Thomassen’s name appears in
the records of Atchison county in connection with land transfers as
Grafton Thomason; Luther C. Challiss, who occupied a store on the levee,
45 by 100 feet which he filled with dry goods and groceries, and
advertised “such an assortment as was never before offered for sale in
the upper country”; Samuel Dickson, a merchant and politician and also
an auctioneer, on the north side of C street; Lewis Burnes, M. P. Rively
and Stephen Johnson carried stocks of assorted merchandise; A. J. G.
Westbrook, a grocer, and Patrick Laughlin, who fled from Doniphan on
account of the murder of Collins, the Free State man, was a tinner;
William C. Null and Albert G. Schmitt operated a warehouse and carried a
general stock of merchandise at the corner of Second and C streets;
Charles E. Woolfolk and Robert H. Cavell had a large store and warehouse
at the steamboat landing; George M. Million operated the Pioneer Saloon;
John Robertson conducted a saddlery and harness business; Messrs.
Jackson & Ireland were a contracting firm with a shop over Samuel
Dickson’s store; Uncle Sam Clothing Store, at the corner of C and Third
streets, was conducted by Jacob Saqui & Company; Giles B. Buck sold
stoves on C street; O. B. Dickson was proprietor of the Atchison House;
Drs. J. H. Stringfellow and D. M. McVay were the leading physicians; and
it is interesting to note that Washburn’s Great American Colossal
Circus, which was the first in Kansas, gave two exhibitions in Atchison,
July 31, 1856. This aggregation carried three clowns, a full brass and
string band and an immense pavilion, and many other novel and attractive
features.
Fully fifty new buildings were erected during the spring and summer of
1856.
During this period in the history of the county, Free State people began
to come into their own. They grew bolder, following the compromise with
the pro-slavery citizens, over the question of the distribution of city
officers and because of other concessions that were made by the pro-
slavery citizens for the general good of the community. It was not
strange, therefore, that some of the less tactful and politic Free State
leaders should over-reach themselves at such a time. While the “Reign of
Terrorism” under the Stringfellow regime was on, the Free State men in
Atchison county considered discretion the better part of valor. They
were very quiet, with few exceptions, of whom Pardee Butler was a
conspicuous example, but they were nevertheless quite numerous in the
county, and particularly was this the case in and around Monrovia, Eden
and Ocena; in fact, there was an organization of Free State men in the
county as early as 1857, and several quiet meetings were held that year;
and at Monrovia a society was formed, of which Franklin G. Adams was the
chief officer and spokesman.
Early in May, 1857, Senator Pomeroy and the Free State men bought the
_Squatter Sovereign_ from Dr. Stringfellow, and Mr. Adams and Robert
McBratney became its editors. Mr. Adams was just as ardent a Free State
man as Dr. Stringfellow was the other way, so the policy of the paper
was completely reversed. Judge Adams was a lawyer and partner of John J.
Ingalls for a while. He represented Atchison county in the
constitutional convention that met in Mineola March 23, 1858 and which
subsequently adjourned to Leavenworth. Caleb May, G. M. Fuller, C. A.
Woodworth and H. E. Baker were the other delegates from Atchison county.
Judge Adams was later one of the useful men of Kansas, and at the time
of his death he was secretary of the State Historical Society, which
position he filled with credit and honor for many years. On August 22,
1858, following the local compromise with the pro-slavery leaders, Judge
Adams concluded the time was ripe to invite James H. Lane, the great
Free State leader, to Atchison, to make a speech. He consequently served
notice in his paper that Lane would be in Atchison October 19. As soon
as it was generally known that Lane had been invited to speak in
Atchison a number of the more rabid pro-slavery men concluded that the
speaking would not take place. On the other hand, Judge Adams was just
as determined that Lane would have a public meeting in Atchison. For the
purpose of insuring order on that occasion Adams invited a number of
strong and reliable Free State friends from Leavenworth to come up to
Atchison and see that fair play was done. The invitation to the
Leavenworth Free Soilers was accepted with alacrity and they arrived on
the morning of the day Lane was billed to make his speech and brought
with them their side arms as a matter of precaution. They made the
office of Adams, Swift & Company their headquarters while here. Shortly
after the arrival of the Leavenworth contingent and while sitting in his
office Judge Adams noticed a crowd gathering on Commercial street, near
Fifth. Suspecting that the crowd had gathered for no good purpose, Judge
Adams and six of his friends started for the scene of what appeared to
him to be a disturbance. On their way they met Caleb A. Woodworth, Sr.,
hatless and apparently in trouble. As Judge Adams stopped to make
inquiries of Mr. Woodworth regarding his trouble somebody from the rear
assaulted him with a heavy blow on the cheek. Instead of following the
Biblical injunction he did not turn his other cheek, but swung quickly
in his tracks and levelled a pistol at his assailant, who was
accompanied by a crowd of his friends, all armed and with blood in their
eyes. As Judge Adams was about to pull the trigger of his gun a friend
of Judge Adams shouted, “Don’t shoot yet!” following which admonition
all of the crowd displayed cocked revolvers and aimed them in the
direction of Judge Adams and his crowd. Observing that the Free Soilers
meant business, the pro-slavery men discreetly withdrew without further
trouble, and the Free Soil men returned to the office of Judge Adams. It
was then determined that the meeting should be an out-of-door one, and
as they passed out into the street, again the pro-slavery advocates
mixed freely with the Free Soilers. A. J. W. Westbrook, of the “Home
Guards,” mounted on a prancing horse, rode among the crowd, flourishing
a cocked gun, apparently seeking to kill Judge Adams at the first
favorable opportunity. It has been doubted that Westbrook meant
business, but his conduct had the effect of stirring up his followers
who avowed that Jim Lane should not speak in Atchison that night. His
threatening attitude apparently had the desired effect, for the Free
Soil men decided that it was not necessary for the existence of their
cause that Jim Lane should speak and therefore postponed the speaking.
Judge Adams was not altogether pleased but he was finally prevailed upon
to return home without attempting further trouble. Later in the day a
party of Free Soil men met General Lane on the outskirts of the city,
returning from Doniphan where he had been speaking, and prevailed upon
him not to come to Atchison. This was not the first attempt of Lane to
visit Atchison county. He was entertained at dinner in 1855 at the home
of Dr. J. H. Stringfellow, whose house occupied the site where the home
of Ex-Governor W. J. Bailey now stands. The fact that Lane was a guest
of Dr. Stringfellow will appear strange to those who knew nothing of the
Stringfellow family. While they were belligerent pro-slavery advocates,
they were always high class men with decent instincts and therefore it
would not be unusual for them to open their home to so violent an
opponent of theirs as Lane was. The eastern papers, in giving an account
of Lane’s entertainment at the Stringfellow home, stated that the dinner
was a very elaborate one, including oysters, plum pudding, terrapin and
champagne. Mrs. Stringfellow told E. W. Howe in 1894 that Lane came to
the house about 11 o’clock in the morning attended by a body-guard of
four men and inquired for Dr. Stringfellow. The Doctor was away at the
time, but was expected about noon. The men said that they would wait,
whereupon Mrs. Stringfellow knew that she would probably have them for
dinner. Her girl was just getting ready to go somewhere on an errand and
was asked to remain at the house. Dr. Stringfellow came in about noon
and when the two men met in the yard Stringfellow asked Lane if he was
not afraid to call at his house. “I am not afraid,” Lane replied, “to
call on a gentleman anywhere.” This gallantry captured Mrs.
Stringfellow’s admiration and she invited Lane and his body-guard to
dinner, which, contrary to the report in the eastern papers, was a very
simple one. Mrs. Stringfellow, in her interview with Mr. Howe, said that
it was as follows: Coffee, hot biscuits and butter, cold pie, preserves
and milk; no terrapin, no oysters, no champagne, no plum pudding. Lane
called at the house on a matter of business and Mrs. Stringfellow said
that Lane and his body-guard were very kindly genteel men. Two or three
weeks later, when Mrs. Stringfellow was alone in the house, she saw a
wagon pass in the road with three or four men lying down in it.
Presently another wagon, similarly loaded, attracted her attention. Then
came four men and a woman on horseback and several men on foot. The
people came from down town, or from southwest of town. The circumstances
were peculiar, and Mrs. Stringfellow climbed on top of a table and
watched the men through the upper sash of a window. They stopped in a
little glade northeast of the house, when the woman dismounted from the
horse, took off the skirt and turned out to be Jim Lane. He stood beside
the horse and talked possibly half an hour. Mrs. Stringfellow is certain
the speaker was Lane, because she had seen him only a few weeks before,
and he rode the white horse he had ridden when he stopped at her house,
and the same four men composed the body-guard. Lane had threatened to
make a speech in the town but had been warned not to, as he had been
warned two years earlier. He made his speech in spite of the warning,
but his audience was composed of his friends only. A half hour after
Lane disappeared over the hill toward the farm then owned by John
Taylor, some distance south of the Orphans’ Home, forty mounted
southerners appeared looking for him. Mrs. Stringfellow knew John Scott,
the leader, and told him of the incident. The men laughed and then gave
three rousing cheers for Jim Lane, who had outwitted them.
[Illustration:
Forest Park, Atchison, Kansas
]
While there was a tremendous traffic across the plains from Atchison in
1857, 1858 and 1859, and for a number of years later the “town was alive
with business,” it is only fair to record that the town itself was not a
thing of beauty and a joy forever, in spite of the efforts of Mayor
Pomeroy and the city fathers who put the city in debt to the extent of
$9,000, September 5, 1859, for public improvements.
Frank A. Root in his admirable book, “The Overland Stage to California,”
published in 1901, has this to say in part upon his arrival here in
November, 1858:
“It was in November, 1858, that I first set foot on the levee in
Atchison. I stepped from the steamer, ‘Omaha,’ which boat was
discharging its cargo of freight at the foot of Commercial street. At
that time the place was a very small town. I took up my residence in
Atchison the following spring, having this time come up the river on a
steamboat from Weston where I had been employed as a compositor in the
office of the _Platte Argus_. On landing at Atchison I had a solitary
dime in my pocket, and, after using that to pay for my lunch, I started
out in search of a job. A sign over the office which read: ‘Freedom’s
Champion, John A. Martin, Editor and Publisher,’ attracted my attention.
It hung above the door of the only newspaper office in the city at that
time, but preparations were then being made by Gideon O. Chase, of
Waverly, N. Y., to start the _Atchison Union_, which was to be a
Democratic paper. I secured a place in the _Champion_ office, beginning
work the following morning. As I walked about the town I remember of
having seen but four brick buildings on Commercial street. A part of the
second story of one of them, about half a square west of the river, was
occupied by the _Champion_. The Massasoit House was the leading hotel.
The Planters, a two-story frame house, was a good hotel in those early
days, but it was too far out to be convenient, located as it was, on the
corner of Commercial and Sixth streets. West of Sixth there were but few
scattering dwellings and perhaps a dozen business houses and shops. The
road along Commercial street, west of Sixth, was crooked, for it had not
been graded and the streets were full of stumps and remnants of a thick
growth of underbrush that had previously been cut. A narrow, rickety
bridge was spanning White Clay creek where that stream crosses
Commercial street at Seventh street. Between Sixth and Seventh streets,
north of Commercial street there was a frog pond occupying most of the
block, where the boys pulled dog-grass in highwater, and where both boys
and girls skated in winter. The Exchange hotel on Atchison street,
between Second and the Levee, built of logs—subsequently changed to the
National—was the principal hotel of Atchison, and for more than a
quarter of a century stood as an old familiar landmark, built in early
territorial days.
“Atchison was the first Kansas town visited by Horace Greeley. It was
Sunday morning, May 15, 1859, a few days before beginning his overland
journey across the continent by stage. He came through Missouri by the
Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad, thence down the Missouri river from St.
Joseph on the ‘Platte Valley,’ a steamer then running to Kansas City in
connection with trains on the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad. It was in
the old Massasoit House that Greeley wrote on Kansas soil, his first
letter to the _Tribune_. During the latter part of the afternoon he was
driven over the city in a carriage, John A. Martin being one of the
party. The city was a favorite place of Albert D. Richardson, the noted
correspondent of five eastern newspapers.
“It was at Atchison that Abraham Lincoln, on his first visit to Kansas,
spoke to a crowded house on ‘The Issues of the Day,’ December 2, 1859,
the date that old John Brown was executed in Virginia. Lincoln spoke in
the Methodist church, which then stood on the hill at the corner of
Fifth and Parallel streets. The little church was a frame building,
dedicated in May, 1859, and overlooked a considerable portion of the
city. The house afterwards became quite historic, for during the early
part of the Civil war, the patriotic Rev. Milton Mahin, a stanch Union
man, from Indiana, in a patriotic speech, soon after the Civil war broke
out, had the nerve, and was the first minister of the Gospel in
Atchison, to raise the Stars and Stripes over his house of worship.” D.
W. Wilder, in his “Annals of Kansas,” one of the most wonderful books of
its kind ever published, says that Abraham Lincoln arrived in Elwood,
which is just across from St. Joseph, December 1, 1859, and made his
speech there that evening. He was met at St. Joseph by M. W. Delahay and
D. W. Wilder. The speech that Lincoln delivered at Elwood and at
Atchison was the same speech that he subsequently delivered at the
Cooper Institute, New York City, and was considered as one of the ablest
and clearest ever delivered by an American statesman.
Atchison county was making forward strides at a rapid pace and the
future held out every promise of prosperity, but in 1859 “a great famine
fell upon the land.” It did more to depopulate Kansas than all the
troubles of preceding years. The settlers in the Territory were able to
fight border ruffians with more courage than they could endure
starvation, and during all of their earlier troubles they confidently
looked forward to the time when all of their political difficulties
would be settled and prosperity, peace and contentment would be their
share in life. During the years of 1855, 1856 and 1857 the citizens of
the Territory were unable to take advantage of the then favorable
seasons to do more than raise just sufficient for their immediate needs.
During the next year immigration to Kansas was large and the new
settlers had but little time, in addition to building their homes, to
raise barely enough for home consumption, so in 1859 Kansas had only
enough grain on hand to last until the following harvest. The drought
commenced in June, and from the nineteenth of that month until November,
1860, not a shower of rain fell of any consequence. By fall the ground
was parched and the hot winds that blew from the south destroyed
vegetation and the wells and springs went dry. There were a few
localities on bottom lands along the Missouri river where sufficient
crops were raised to supply the immediate population, but over 60,000
people in Kansas faced starvation in the fall of 1860. Thirty thousand
settlers left the Territory for their old homes, from which they came,
abandoning their claims and all hope of success in Kansas. An endless
procession crossed the border from day to day. About 70,000 inhabitants
remained, of whom it was estimated 40,000 were able to go through the
winter. As soon as the news of this situation reached the East,
movements were inaugurated for the relief of the sufferers in Kansas. S.
C. Pomeroy was appointed general agent of northern Kansas. He did much
to raise liberal contributions in New York, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois
and Ohio, and the contributions were all sent to Atchison, from which
place they were distributed to the different counties of the State. The
total receipts of provisions for distribution up to March 15, 1861, were
8,090,951 pounds, and the total distribution at Atchison, exclusive of
branch depots, was 6,736,424 pounds. In spite of all of this assistance
over 30,000 settlers in Kansas that year suffered privation and almost
starvation.
It was during this frightful travail that Kansas as a State was born. On
January 21, 1861, Jefferson Davis and a number of other southern
senators left the United States Senate and on that day the bill for the
admission of Kansas under the Wyandotte constitution, which had been
laid before the House of Representatives in February, 1860, was called
up by W. H. Seward, and passed the Senate by a vote of thirty-six yeas
to sixteen nays. One week later the bill came up in the House on motion
of Galusha A. Grow, of Pennsylvania, who introduced the first bill for
the admission of Kansas into the Union, and while the motion was out of
the regular order, it was passed by a vote of 119 yeas to forty-two
nays. On January 29 the bill was signed by President Buchanan, and free
Kansas joined the Union.
The following are the names of the city officials of Atchison March 1,
1916: Dr. C. C. Finney, mayor; Victor L. King, city clerk; Walter E.
Brown, city attorney; C. A. Wright, city treasurer; Frank S. Altman,
city engineer; D. S. Beatty, police judge; William H. Coleman, chief of
police; John Compton, fire marshal; Jerome Van Dyke, street
commissioner; Owen P. Grady, meat inspector and license collector; Fred
Stutz, sanitary sergeant; Frank J. Roth, building commissioner; John
Compton, purchasing agent; Dr. T. E. Horner, city physician. Councilmen:
Louis Weinman, president; first ward, Louis Weinman, F. F. Bracke;
second ward, Joseph Schott, C. A. Brown; third ward, H. M. Ernst, John
R. Schmitt; fourth ward, W. C. Linville, Fred Snyder; fifth ward, Fay
Kested, Walter North.
CHAPTER VII.
TOWNS, PAST AND PRESENT.
SUMNER, ITS RISE AND FALL—OCENA—LANCASTER—FORT WILLIAM—ARRINGTON—
MUSCOTAH—EFFINGHAM—HURON—OLD MARTINSBURG—BUNKER HILL—LOCUST GROVE—
HELENA—CAYUGA—KENNEKUK—KAPIOMA—MASHENAH—ST. NICHOLAS—CONCORD—
PARNELL—SHANNON—ELMWOOD—CUMMINGSVILLE—EDEN POSTOFFICE—POTTER—MOUNT
PLEASANT—LEWIS’ POINT—FARLEY’S FERRY.
One of the most interesting subjects for the local historian is the rise
and fall of town companies and towns, within the confines of Atchison
county. Perhaps no county in the State, or for that matter, no county in
the United States, has been immune from the visitations of town boomers.
It is difficult in this enterprising age, with all the knowledge that we
now have at hand, to understand how it was possible for anybody, though
he was ever so enthusiastic, to conceive the idea that there was any
future for many of the “towns” that were born in Atchison county in the
early days. Yet, it is found that there was in the breasts of many
promoters a feeling that Atchison county offered unlimited possibilities
for the establishment and growth of towns and cities. One need only
search the records on file in the office of the register of deeds in
this county to discover numerous certified plats of towns which were
born to blush unseen and waste their fragrance on the desert air. In
some instances the records are quite complete and authentic, and contain
much information with reference to the origin, growth and final decay of
these nascent municipalities. In other cases nothing has come down to
posterity, save the merest fragmentary data, of which the plat,
containing the name of the town and of its organizer, its location and
the number of blocks, streets and alleys, constitute the major part.
Reference has heretofore been made to the founding and the organization
of the city of Atchison, which became and now remains the county seat of
Atchison county. The city played such an important part in the early
history of the county that its story has been woven into the general
fabric of this history, and therefore further reference to the city of
Atchison will not be made in this chapter.
SUMNER.
Perhaps the most important, although not the oldest, town established in
Atchison county outside of the city of Atchison was Sumner. A peculiar
aroma of legendary glory still clings to this old town, which was
located three miles below Atchison, on the Missouri river.
Its founder was John P. Wheeler, a young man who came to the Territory
when about twenty-one years of age, and who has been described as “a
red-headed, blue-eyed, consumptive, slim, freckled enthusiast from
Massachusetts.”
Atchison at this time was a strong pro-slavery town, and no abolitionist
was a welcome settler in her midst. For this reason Sumner sprang into
existence. It was a dream of its founder to make Sumner an important
forwarding point, one of its claims being the fact that it was the most
westerly of any of the Missouri river towns in Kansas.
In 1856 the site was surveyed and platted, and the name “Sumner” given
the new town, in honor of George Sumner, one of the original
stockholders, and not for his brother, the Hon. Charles Sumner, United
States senator, of Massachusetts, as many people suppose.
To bring Sumner before the public Mr. Wheeler engaged an artist named
Albert Conant to come out and make a drawing of it, and this was later
taken to Cincinnati, and a colored lithograph made from it, which was
widely circulated. From copies of this lithograph still extant it must
be admitted that the artist did not slight the town in any particular.
In the fall of 1857 the Sumner Town Company began the erection of a
large brick hotel. Samuel Hollister had the contract, his bid being
$16,000. The brick used in the construction were made on the ground, and
the lumber used in the construction work came by steamboat from
Pittsburgh, Pa. The hotel was completed in the summer of 1858, and at
last accounts the town company still owed Mr. Hollister $3,000. Some
years later the brick used in the hotel were gathered and cleaned and
hauled to Atchison and used for the construction of a building owned by
the late John J. Ingalls, located at 108–110 South Fourth street.
In the fall of 1857 Cone Brothers (John P. and D. D.) brought a printing
outfit to Kansas, and were induced to locate in Sumner, where they
shortly begun the publication of _The Sumner Gazette_, the first issue
of which appeared on September 12. During the political canvass that
fall they also issued a daily. _The Gazette_ was issued until 1861 when
it suspended, its publishers believing that it was the only paper in
Kansas that outlived the town in which it started.
Among those engaged in business in Sumner on October 1, 1857, the _Daily
Gazette_ shows the following:
John P. Wheeler, attorney and counsellor at law, commissioner of deeds,
dealer in real estate, etc.
Kahn & Fassler, general store, on Front street, between Washington
avenue and Chestnut street.
Mayer & Rohrmann, carpenters and builders.
Barnard & Wheeler, proprietors of the Sumner Brick Yard.
Wm. M. Reed, contractor, Atchison and Sumner.
John Armor, steam saw mill, in the city.
Butcher & Brothers, general store on Front street, between Washington
avenue and Olive street.
Allen Green, painter and glazier.
S. J. Bennett, boot and shoe store, corner of Washington avenue and
Fourth street.
Arthur M. Claflin, general land agent, forwarding and commission agent.
J. P. Wheeler and A. M. Claflin, lumber, office with the Sumner Company.
H. S. Baker, proprietor of Baker’s Hotel, corner of Front and Olive
streets, near steamboat landing.
A. Barber, general merchandise, Front street, between Washington avenue
and Olive street.
Lietzenburger & Co., blacksmiths, wagon makers, etc., Cedar street,
between Third and Fourth streets.
D. Newcomb. M. D., office in postoffice building, corner of Third street
and Washington avenue. Mr. Newcomb also dealt in lime, and on September
24, received a large and select stock of hardware, stoves, etc.
When the Territorial legislature of 1858 met, a bill was introduced,
incorporating the Sumner Company, Cyrus F. Currier, Samuel F. Harsh, J.
W. Morris, Isaac G. Losse and John P. Wheeler, their associates and
successors, constituting the company. The act also provided that the
corporation should have the power to purchase and hold, and enter by
preëmption and otherwise, any quantity of land where the town of Sumner
is now located, not to exceed one thousand acres, etc.
A ferry at Sumner was also incorporated by the legislature of 1858, J.
W. Morris, Cyrus F. Currier and Samuel Harsh being the incorporators.
This boat plied between Atchison and Sumner and the Missouri side.
In 1858 Samuel Hollister built a steam sawmill, adding a gristmill
later.
By the end of 1858 Sumner had outstripped its rival, Atchison, in
population, and steps were taken looking towards the incorporation of
the town. Early in the beginning of the legislature of 1859, articles of
incorporation were passed and received the approval of Governor Samuel
Medary on February 9. These articles of incorporation were later amended
by an act passed by the first State legislature, which was approved June
3, 1861.
The decline of Sumner began with the drought which started in the fall
of 1859 and prevailed through the year 1860. In June, 1860, a cyclone
struck the town and either blew down or damaged nearly every building,
this calamity being followed in September by a visitation of
grasshoppers, all of which were potent factors in wiping Sumner off the
map. Some of the houses which could be moved were taken to Atchison, and
some to farms in the immediate vicinity.
One of the most interesting accounts that appeared about Sumner was
written by H. Clay Park, an old citizen of Atchison, who for many years
was editor and part owner of the _Atchison Patriot_. It would not be
just either to Mr. Park or to Sumner, were this account not perpetuated
in this volume, and it, therefore, appears in full as follows:
“THE RISE AND FALL OF SUMNER.
“Three miles south of Atchison, Kansas, is the site of a dead city,
whose streets once were filled with the clamor of busy traffic and
echoed to the tread of thousands of oxen and mules that in the pioneer
days of the Great West transported the products of the East across the
Great American Desert to the Rocky mountains. It was a city in which for
a few years twenty-five hundred men and women and children lived and
labored and loved, in which many lofty aspirations were born, and in
which several young men began careers that became historical.
“This city was located on what the early French voyagers called the
‘Grand Detour’ of the Missouri river. No more rugged and picturesque
site for a city or one more inaccessible and with more unpropitious
environments could have been selected. It was literally built in and on
the everlasting hills, covered with a primeval forest so dense that the
shadows chased the sunbeams away. It sprang into existence so suddenly
and imperceptibly it might almost have been considered a creation of the
magician’s wand. It was named Sumner in honor of the great Massachusetts
senator. Its official motto was ‘Pro lege et grege’ (For the law and the
people). This would, in the light of subsequent events, have been more
suggestive: ‘I shall fall, like a bright exhalation in the evening.’
“Sumner’s first citizens came mostly from Massachusetts, and were imbued
with the spirit of creed and cant, self-reliance and fanaticism that
could have been born only on Plymouth Rock. They had come to the
frontier to make Kansas a free State and to build a city, within whose
walls all previous conditions of slavery should be disregarded and where
all men born should be regarded equal. The time—1856—was auspicious.
Kansas was both a great political and military battlefield, upon which
the question of the institution of slavery was to be settled for all
time.
“The growth of Sumner was phenomenal. A lithograph printed in 1857 shows
streets of stately buildings, imposing seats of learning, church spires
that pierced the clouds, elegant hotels and theaters, the river full of
floating palaces, its levee lined with bales and barrels of merchandise,
and the white smoke from numerous factories hanging over the city like a
banner of peace and prosperity. To one who in that day approached Sumner
from the east and saw it across the river, which like a burnished
mirror, reflected its glories, it did indeed present an imposing aspect.
“One day the steamboat Duncan S. Carter landed at Sumner. On its
hurricane deck was John J. Ingalls, then only twenty-four years old. As
his eye swept the horizon his prophetic soul uttered these words:
‘Behold the home of the future senator from Kansas.’ Here the young
college graduate, who since that day became the senator from Kansas,
lived and dreamed until Sumner’s star had set and Atchison’s sun had
risen, and then he moved to Atchison, bringing with him Sumner’s
official seal and the key to his hotel.
“Here lived that afterwards brilliant author and journalist, Albert D.
Richardson, whose tragic death some years ago in the counting room of
the _New York Tribune_ is well remembered. His ‘Beyond the Mississippi’
is to this day the most fascinating account ever written of the
boundless West.
“Here lived the nine-year-old Minnie Hauk, who was one day to become a
renowned prima donna and charm two continents with her voice, and who
was to wed the Count Wartegg. Minnie was born in poverty and cradled in
adversity. Her mother was a poor washerwoman in Sumner.
“Here lived John E. Remsburg, the now noted author, lecturer and free-
thinker. Mr. Remsburg has probably delivered more lectures in the last
thirty years than any man in America. He is now the leader of the Free-
Thought Federation of America.
“Here Walter A. Wood, the big manufacturer of agricultural implements,
lived and made and mended wagons. Here Lovejoy, ‘the Yankee preacher,’
preached and prayed. Here lived ‘Brother’ and ‘Sister’ Newcomb, from
whom has descended a long line of zealous and eminent Methodists. Here
was born Paul Hull, the well known Chicago journalist.
“And Sumner was the city that the Rev. Pardee Butler lifted up his hands
and blessed and prophesied would grow and wax fat when the ‘upper
landing’ would sleep in a dishonored and forgotten grave, as he floated
by it on his raft, clad in tar and feathers. The ‘upper landing’ was the
opprobrious title conferred by Sumner upon Atchison. The two towns were
bitter enemies. Sumner was ‘abolitionist;’ Atchison was ‘border
ruffian.’ In Atchison the ‘nigger’ was a slave; in Sumner he was a
fetich. It was in Atchison that the ‘abolition preacher,’ Pardee Butler,
was tarred and feathered and set adrift on a raft in the river. He
survived the tortures of his coat of degradation and the ‘chuck-holes’
of the Missouri river and lived to become a prohibition fanatic and a
Democratic Presidential elector.
“Jonathan Lang, alias ‘Shang,’ the hero of Senator Ingalls’ ‘Catfish
Aristocracy,’ and the ‘last mayor of Sumner,’ lived and died in Sumner.
When all his lovely companions had faded and gone ‘Shang’ still pined on
the stem. The senator’s description of this type of a vanished race is
unique:
“‘To the most minute observer his age was a question of the gravest
doubt. He might have been thirty; he might have been a century, with no
violation of the probabilities. His hair was a sandy sorrel, something
like a Rembrandt interior, and strayed around his freckled scalp like
the top layer of a hayrick in a tornado. His eyes were two ulcers, half
filled with pale blue starch. A thin, sharp nose projected above a
lipless mouth that seemed always upon the point of breaking into the
most grievous lamentations, and never opened save to take whiskey and
tobacco in and let oaths and saliva out. A long, slender neck, yellow
and wrinkled after the manner of a lizard’s belly, bore this dome of
thought upon its summit, itself projecting from a miscellaneous
assortment of gent’s furnishing goods, which covered a frame of
unearthly longitude and unspeakable emaciation. Thorns and thongs
supplied the place of buttons upon the costume of this Brummel of the
bottom, coarsely patched beyond recognition of the original fabric. The
coat had been constructed for a giant, the pants for a pigmy. They were
too long in the waist and too short in the leg, and flapped loosely
around his shrunk shanks high above the point where his fearful feet
were partially concealed by mismated shoes that permitted his great toes
to peer from their gaping integuments, like the heads of two snakes of a
novel species and uncommon fetor. This princely phenomenon was topped
with a hat which had neither band nor brim nor crown:
“‘If that could shape be called which shape has none.
“‘His voice was high, shrill and querulous, and his manner an odd
mixture of fawning servility and apprehensive effrontery at the sight of
a “damned Yankee abolitionist,” whom he hated and feared next to a negro
who was not a slave.’
“The only error in the senator’s description of ‘Shang’ is that ‘Shang’
was ‘abolitionist’ himself, and ‘fit to free the nigger.’
‘Shang’ continued to live in Sumner until every house, save his
miserable hut, had vanished like the baseless fabric of a vision. He
claimed and was proud of the title, ‘the last mayor of Sumner.’ He died
a few years ago, and a little later lightning struck his cabin and it
was devoured by flames. And thus passed away the last relic of Sumner.
“In the flood tide of Sumner’s prosperity, 1856 to 1859—for before that
it was nothing, after that nothing—it had ambition to become the county
seat of the newly organized county of Atchison. J. P. Wheeler, president
of the Sumner Town Company, was a member of the lower house of the
Territorial legislature, and he ‘logrolled’ a bill through that body
conferring upon Sumner the title of county seat, but the Atchison ‘gang’
finally succeeded in getting the bill killed in the senate.
Subsequently, October, 1858, there was an election to settle the vexed
question of a county seat. Atchison won; Sumner lost.
“About this time Atchison secured its first railroad. The smoke from the
locomotive engines drifted to Sumner and enveloped it like a pall. The
decadence was at hand, and Sumner’s race to extinction and oblivion was
rapid. One day there was an exodus of citizens; the houses were torn
down and the timbers thereof carted away, and foundation stones were dug
up and carried hence. Successive summers’ rains and winters’ snows
furrowed streets and alleys beyond recognition and filled foundation
excavations to the level, and ere long a tangled mass of briers and
brambles hid away the last vestige of the once busy, ambitious city. The
forest, again unvexed by ax or saw, asserted his dominion once more, and
today, beneath the shadow cast by mighty oaks and sighing cottonwoods,
Sumner lies dead and forgotten.”
In the above article, reference is made by Mr. Park to Jonathan Lang,
and it is important in this connection to print herewith an excerpt from
the _Atchison Daily Globe_, December, 1915, relating to this interesting
character, which follows:
“The reunion of the Thirteenth Kansas infantry at Hiawatha Tuesday
recalls that the late Jonathan G. Lang, self-styled ‘Mayor of Old
Sumner,’ and hero of John J. Ingalls’ ‘Catfish Aristocracy,’ was a
soldier in this regiment, and was the butt of many jokes on the part of
his comrades in camp as he was in the days of civil life at old Sumner.
Thomas J. Payne, a sergeant in the Thirteenth, now living in California,
relates an amusing story of ‘Old Shang,’ as Lang was generally called by
his comrades: When the regiment was mustered into service on September
28, 1862, and the newly assigned officers were reviewing their troops at
Camp Stanton, in Atchison, the tall, gaunt form of Lang (for he was
nearly seven feet tall and very angular) towered above the rest of the
men like the stately cottonwood above the hazel-brush. Riding up and
down the lines, and scanning the troops with critical eye to see that
there was no breech of ranks or decorum, the gaze of Colonel Bowen could
not help but fall upon the lofty and lanky form of Lang, rising several
heads above any of his comrades. The colonel paused, and pointing his
finger at the grenadier form in the ranks, shouted in thunderous tones,
‘Get down off that stump.’ A ripple of suppressed laughter immediately
passed along the lines, and when Colonel Bowen saw his mistake he
promptly revoked his order with a hearty chuckle and rode on towards the
end of the column. And not until twenty years later, when all that was
mortal of old Lang—his nearly seven feet of skin and bones—was laid way
to moulder with the ruins of old Sumner, did he finally ‘get down off of
that stump.’ He rests at the entrance of the Sumner cemetery and his
grave is marked with one of those small, regulation slabs such as are
furnished by the Government for the graves of dead soldiers and bears
this simple inscription: ‘J. G. Lang, Co. K. 13th Kansas Infantry.’
There are two other members of the Thirteenth Kansas buried at Sumner.
They are, John Scott, of Company D, and Albred Brown, of Company F.”
Another article relating to Old Sumner, which is entertaining and
instructive, was written by E. W. Howe, and is taken from the Historical
Edition of the _Atchison Daily Globe_, issued July 16, 1894:
“The founder of Sumner was John P. Wheeler, a red-headed, blue-eyed,
consumptive, slim, freckled enthusiast from Massachusetts. He was a
surveyor by profession, and also founded the town of Hiawatha. He was
one of the adventurers who came to Kansas as a result of the excitement
of 1855–’56, and was only twenty-one years old when he came West. Most
of the men who had much to do with early Kansas history were young.
“The town was not named for Charles Sumner, as is generally supposed,
but for his brother, George Sumner, one of the original stockholders. At
that time Atchison was controlled by Southern sympathizers—P. T. Abell,
the Stringfellows, the McVeys, A. J. Westbrook and others—and
abolitionists were not welcome in the town. It was believed that a city
would be built within a few miles of this point, as it was favorable for
overland freighting, being farther West than any other point on the
Missouri river. On the old French maps Atchison was known as the ‘Grand
Detour,’ meaning the great bend in the river to the westward.
“Being a violent abolitionist, John P. Wheeler determined to establish a
town where abolitionists would be welcome, and Sumner was the result.
The town was laid out in 1856, and the next year Wheeler had a
lithograph made, which he took East for use in booming his town.
“Among others captured by means of this lithograph was John J. Ingalls.
Wheeler and Ingalls were both acquainted with a Boston man of means
named Samuel A. Walker. Wheeler wanted Walker to invest in Sumner, and
as Walker knew that Ingalls was anxious to go West, he asked him to stop
at Sumner and report upon it as a point for the investment of Boston
money.
“Mr. Ingalls arrived in Sumner on the 4th of October, 1858, on the
steamer Duncan S. Carter, which left St. Louis four days before. The
town then contained about two thousand people, five hundred more than
Atchison; but Sumner was already declining, and Mr. Ingalls did not
advise his friend, Walker, to invest.
“A hotel building costing $16,000.00, had been built by Samuel
Hollister. A famous steamboat cook had charge of the kitchen in the old
days, and the stages running between Jefferson City and St. Joe stopped
there every day for dinner. Jefferson City was then the end of the
railroad—the Pacific Railroad of Missouri, now the Missouri Pacific—
which runs through the deserted site of Sumner, and directly over the
foundation of the wagon factory built by Levi A. Woods. This wagon
factory was one of the results of Wheeler’s audacious lithograph, and
few wagons were actually manufactured. The factory was heavily insured,
and burned.
“Albert R. Richardson was a citizen of Sumner, when Mr. Ingalls arrived
there; also James Hauk, the father of Minnie Hauk, who has since become
famous as a singer in grand opera. James Hauk was a carpenter, whose
wife operated a boarding house. Minnie Hauk waited on the table, and was
noted among the boarders as a smart little girl with a long yellow braid
down her back, who could play the piano pretty well. The next year Hauk
made a house boat and floated down the river to New Orleans.
“When John J. Ingalls went to Sumner, a young man of twenty-four, he
took great interest in such characters as Archie Boler and Jonathan
Grander Lang. Lang was a jug fisherman in the river, melon raiser, truck
patch farmer and town drunkard. Ingalls says that Lang was really a
bright fellow. He had been a dragoon in the Mexican War, and his stories
of experiences in the West were intensely interesting. Ingalls used to
go out in Lang’s boat when he was jugging for catfish and spend hours
listening to his talk. Finally Ingalls wrote his ‘Catfish Aristocracy,’
and Lang recognized himself as the hero. He was very indignant and
threatened to sue Ingalls, having been advised by some jackleg lawyer
that the article was libelous. Lang lived on a piece of land belonging
to Ingalls at the time, and Ingalls told the writer of this the other
day that it was actually true that he settled with Lang for a sack of
flour and a side of bacon. Lang served in the Civil war, and long after
its close, when his old friend was president of the United States
Senate, he secured him a pension and a lot of back pay. But this he
squandered in marrying. His pension money was a curse to him, for it
only served to put a lot of wolves on his trail.
“When the war broke out the Atchison men who objected to abolitionists
settling in their town were driven out of the country, and this
attracted a good many of the citizens of Sumner. But its death blow came
in June, 1860, when nearly every house in the place was either blown
down or badly damaged by a tornado. This was the first and only tornado
in the history of this immediate section.”
Reference is made in both of these articles to John J. Ingalls, who
arrived in Sumner from Boston, Mass., October 4, 1858. Mr. Ingalls was a
graduate of Williams College a short time before, and at the time he
decided to go West he was a student in a law office in Boston, where his
attention was first called to Sumner by an elaborate lithograph of the
town displayed by Mr. Wheeler, the promoter. The impressions of Mr.
Ingalls upon his arrival in Sumner are, therefore, pertinent and convey
some idea of the shock he received when he landed at the Sumner levee.
In a letter which he subsequently wrote describing the event, he said:
“That chromatic triumph of lithographed mendacity, supplemented by the
loquacious embellishments of a lively adventurer who has been laying out
town sites and staking off corner lots for some years past in Tophet,
exhibited a scene in which the attractions of art, nature, science,
commerce and religion were artistically blended. Innumerable drays were
transporting from a fleet of gorgeous steamboats vast cargoes of foreign
and domestic merchandise over Russ pavements to colossal warehouses of
brick and stone. Dense, wide streets of elegant residences rose with
gentle ascent from the stores of the tranquil stream. Numerous parks,
decorated with rare trees, shrubbery and fountains were surrounded with
the mansions of the great and the temples of their devotion. The
adjacent eminences were crowned with costly piles which wealth, directed
by intelligence and controlled by taste, had erected for the education
of the rising generation of Sumnerites. The only shadow upon the
enchanting landscape fell from the clouds of smoke that poured from the
towering shafts of her acres of manufactories, while the whole
circumference of the undulating prairie was white with endless, sinuous
trains of wagons, slowly moving toward the mysterious region of the
Farther West.”
OCENA.
Ocena was laid out in Atchison county in 1855, and for a time it gave
promise of becoming an important place. Ocena was located on the
northeast bank of Stranger creek, on what is known as the McBride farm,
in the south half of the northeast quarter of section 22, township 6,
range 19, about a mile north of the present site of Pardee. The first
postoffice in Center township, and one of the first in Atchison county,
was established at Ocena with William Crosby as postmaster in August,
1855. In 1856, T. C. McBride was appointed postmaster, and served until
the office was removed to Pardee in 1858, when S. G. Moore was appointed
postmaster.
T. C. McBride was one of the early settlers of Center township, having
arrived there in March, 1856, and settled on the land on which the town
of Ocena was built. He was one of the early merchants of the place,
having a small store, in which he kept the postoffice. The mail was
carried from Atchison to Ocena by stage. McBride was a Tennesseean, born
in 1826. In the fall of 1857, in a grove on the McBride farm, the first
church service in that section was held. It was of the Methodist
Episcopal denomination.
Ocena was the first important stopping place west of Atchison. The old
_Squatter Sovereign_, of Atchison, in its issue of December 5, 1857,
contained the following advertisement of the town: “The truth plainly
told will show that Ocena is already a city. The surface of the earth
was so moulded by the plastic hand of the Creator that a few points in
the wide expanse of Nature were destined to eclipse all others. Ocena is
one of those points. Located as it is, on the northeast bank of Stranger
creek, in the county of Atchison, where roads leading from Doniphan and
St. Joe to Lecompton are intersected by roads leading from Atchison to
Grasshopper Falls and Osawkee; and also being upon the great
thoroughfare running up and down the valley of the Stranger, it offers
more inducements for a large and prosperous inland town than any other
place in Kansas Territory. All persons anxious to thrive and desirous of
obtaining a home on reasonable terms will do well to settle in Ocena.
For further particulars in reference to the town apply to Isaac S.
Hascall, president, or M. C. Finney, secretary.”
_Freedom’s Champion_, in its issue of July 3, 1858, says of the town:
“Ocena, besides having the most musical name, is one of the most
beautiful places in Kansas. A postoffice has been established there and
several new buildings are being erected. It is destined to be a thriving
little place.”
Ocena was killed by Pardee, a town which was started a short distance to
the south of it, but neither amounted to much from a municipal and
business standpoint. Pardee is now only a country village. It was first
platted as a town by James Brewer, in the string of 1857, and was named
in honor of Pardee Butler, of border warfare fame. In the winter of 1856
Mr. Butler preached his first sermon in Pardee, the services being held
in the school house, which had been completed during the previous fall,
and opened by James Brewer in December. Caleb May, the first settler in
Center township, was the first president of the Pardee Town Company.
Pardee Butler was afterwards president; Milo Carleton, secretary; Wm. J.
May, treasurer; S. G. Moore, A. Elliott and W. Wakefield, trustees. Mr.
Moore opened the first store in Pardee in 1858, and became the first
postmaster as aforestated. Mr. Carleton put a wind gristmill in
operation at Pardee at an early day, but it was destroyed by a storm.
LANCASTER.
Lancaster is one of the oldest towns in the county. In the issue of
October 16, 1858, of _Freedom’s Champion_, the following advertisement
with reference to Lancaster appears:
“LANCASTER.
“Lancaster City is the name of a new town just springing into existence.
It is located 10 miles direct west of our city (Atchison) Atchison
county, K. T., on the east half of Section 32, Township 5, Range 19, the
great military road to Fts. Kearney, Laramie, Bridge, and to Santa Fe,
Utah, Washington Territory, Gadson Purchase, California, New Mexico,
etc., passes through the town site. Also roads leading from Nebraska
City, St. Joseph, Doniphan, and to Grasshopper Falls, Topeka, Lecompton
and Lawrence.
“A more beautiful situation for a large and prosperous city could not be
found in the Territory, or the Great West. Its site is rolling and dry,
climate healthy and salubrious as heart could wish for. The surrounding
country cannot be surpassed for its magnificent undulating prairies,
being one of the most fertile agricultural regions in the whole country.
“Excellent coal, building stone and timber, within two, and two and a
half miles. This town has been under way but little over two months, and
notwithstanding the hard times, quite a number of buildings are already
erected, among which will be found a large and commodious hotel, a good
store, blacksmith and carpenter shops, post office, etc., etc.
Arrangements are made for the erection of several more dwelling houses,
also for the erection during this month, of a Union church, (the first
in the county) and with liberty heretofore unequalled in Kansas, Mr. J.
W. Smith, the President of the Company, authorizes us to say that he
will give good lots gratis to mechanics, laborers, and others, who will
apply for them soon, or who will erect improvements on them in six
months, worth $200 or more. This, we think, a good chance for men who
want a comfortable home in the best section of our country. The company
now offer to sell lots or shares at reasonable rates, and are prepared
to make warrantee deeds for the same, having purchased the site and
obtained the title for the same of the Government of the United States
on the 26th day of June, 1858. Persons wishing to live in an interior
town, will do well to visit Lancaster before investing elsewhere.”
While this little town did not prove to be all that its promoters
expected of it, it continued as a good trading point for many years, and
in 1916 remains one of the prosperous communities of the county. In
addition to the one bank which it supports, reference to which has
already been made, Lancaster, in 1915, has seven stores, a two-room
public school, three churches, one elevator, one lumber yard, a good
hotel and a garage. In 1915 its enterprising citizens built an electric
high tensioned line connecting with the Effingham line out of Atchison,
to supply the town with electric lights, and its citizens are now
enjoying all the benefits of electricity.
About 80,000 bushels of grain, and an average of seventy-five cars of
live stock are shipped out of Lancaster annually. Its merchants are
enterprising and prosperous, and many comfortable and commodious homes
have been built in this little town. It is located in one of the finest
agricultural sections of the county, and the surrounding country is in a
state of high cultivation, and peopled by prosperous and thrifty
farmers.
PORT WILLIAM.
In the _Squatter Sovereign_ of March 11, 1856, published at Atchison,
appeared the following advertisement of Port William:
“This new and beautiful town site is situated on the Missouri river, in
Kansas Territory, three or four miles above the town of Iatan, in the
heart of the most densely populated part of Kansas; surrounded by the
finest soil and timber in that Territory, with a permanent landing,
commanding a view of the river for several miles above and below. The
principal part of said town is located on a bed of stone coal of the
best quality. Arrangements are being made to have said stone coal bed
opened and wrought by a joint stock company early in the spring, at
which time there will be a sale of lots. There is now in course of
erection a good steam saw mill, which will be in successful operation in
a few weeks; also, a large and commodious tavern is in process of
erection, which will be opened for the accommodation of the public in a
short time. Persons wishing to procure lots immediately will have
opportunity of so doing by calling on Henry Bradley or Jonathan Hartman,
both of whom are authorized agents to sell and dispose of lots, and one
or both may at all times be found on the premises ready to accommodate
purchasers upon the most liberal terms. H. B. Wallace, Amos Rees, Henry
Debard, H. C. Bradley, H. B. Herndon, James G. Spratt, W. C. Remington,
James W. Bradley, P. J. Collins, trustees.”
Of the above named trustees Judge James G. Spratt, W. C. Remington and
Henry Debard were prominent citizens of Platte county, Missouri, and
members of the town company that incorporated Port William in 1855.
James M. and Henry Bradley and H. B. Herndon were also members of this
company. Henry Debard was a Kentuckian, born in Clark county, November
24, 1801, and came to Platte county at an early day, later removing to
Kansas. He was a prominent Mason, and took an active part in Masonic
work in Missouri for many years. He was a cabinet maker, but did not
work much at his trade. He died in Platte City, October 5, 1875.
Amos Rees was born at Winchester, Va., December 2, 1800, and came to
Missouri at an early age, locating in Platte county, March 1, 1845. For
many years he was a prominent attorney of that county. He moved to
Kansas in 1855, and died, December 29, 1885. Dr. H. B. Wallace, who was
interested in Port William, was a physician at Platte City, and a member
of the town board in 1858. He invested largely in St. Jose, and the war
reduced him almost to poverty. He died, February 24, 1863. Judge Paxton,
in his “Annals of Platte County,” simply mentions him as having married
the “beautiful and accomplished Ann E. Owen.”
J. Butler Chapman arrived in Kansas in the spring of 1854, made a trip
over the territory, and then published a small volume, entitled “History
of Kansas and Emigrant’s Guide.” He refers to Port William as
“Williamsport, a prospective town a short distance above Kickapoo.” “The
bluffs,” he continues, “are high and precipitous, and the land broken
until you reach the high rolling prairie back some three miles. The
whole country is settled on with a view of preëmption.”
A company known as the Port William Sharp’s Rifles, numbering eighty-
one, rank and file, was formed at Port William, in October, 1856. The
commissioned officers elected were James Adkins, captain; Henry C.
Bradley, first lieutenant; James M. Bradley, second lieutenant; S.
Bowman, third lieutenant. The company was enrolled, or was intended to
be enrolled, in the first regiment, first brigade, northern division of
the Kansas militia, and applied for arms and commissions. The Port
William Town Company was incorporated by an act of the Territorial
legislature in 1855 and the town company was composed of William C.
Remington, James G. Spratt, Henry Debard, James M. Bradley, Henry
Bradley, Horace B. Herndon and William B. Almond.
General William B. Almond, one of the incorporators of Pt. William, was
a noted man in the West in the early days. He was a Virginian, who came
to Platte county, Missouri, when the Platte Purchase was opened, and
settled near the Buchanan county line. At a very early period he had
been connected with the American Fur Company, and as a mountaineer had
many adventures. During the thirties he was a brigadier general of the
State militia in Missouri. He was one of the foremost “Forty-niners” to
California, leading a company to the land of gold, among whom was Ben
Holladay, afterwards famous as the originator of the “pony express” and
other Western enterprises. While in California General Almond
distinguished himself as a Territorial judge in San Francisco. Returning
to Platte county in 1851 he was elected circuit judge, was a candidate
for lieutenant governor, and filled other offices and places of
distinction and prominence. He was also connected with mercantile,
milling and other enterprises. He lived for some time in Topeka and
Leavenworth, and died at the latter place in 1860.
Judge James G. Spratt, another of the promoters of old Port William, was
also a man of some prominence. He came to the West from Smith county,
Virginia, where he was born, 1826, and, like General Almond, settled in
Platte county at a very early day. In 1843 he was appointed a justice of
the peace in Platte county, and was afterwards deputy county clerk,
probate judge and held other positions. For some time he was engaged in
the practice of law, and was in partnership with Hon. Joseph E.
Merryman, in Platte City. In 1864 he went to Montana where he became a
mine speculator. He died November 13, 1881, and his remains were brought
back to Platte for burial. W. H. Spratt, a brother of Judge Spratt, was
at one time sheriff of Platte county.
William C. Remington was another pioneer of Platte, like General Almond
and Judge Spratt, a Virginian by birth, who came west at a very early
day. He was one of the early assessors of Platte county, and
subsequently was elected circuit clerk. He was one of the trustees of
the Platte City Town Company when it was incorporated in 1843. He was
also a member of the company that laid off the town of St. Mary’s at the
mouth of Bee creek in 1857, but no lots were ever sold. Mr. Remington
was one of the early merchants of Platte City, one of the proprietors of
the _Platte City Weekly Atlas_, and was interested in various other
enterprises. His handsome brick residence in Platte City was among those
burned by federal orders in July, 1864. He died December 20, 1864, in
Omaha, where he was operating a hotel.
Of Henry Debard, another member of the Port William Town Company, the
writer has not yet found any record. The Bradleys lived in Platte
county, opposite Port William for many years, moved over to the Kansas
side early in 1854, and with Squire Horace B. Herndon started the old
town. The Bradleys opened a general store and James M. Bradley was
appointed postmaster when the postoffice was established in April, 1855.
Squire Herndon was one of the earliest justices of the peace in Kansas,
and had much business in his court in the early days, as Port William
was one of the roughest of the border towns.
Port William was located eight miles below Atchison. It is one of the
most interesting localities from a historical standpoint in Atchison
county and northeastern Kansas. It is one of the oldest settlements in
Kansas, and for a time in the early days was one of the promising
villages of the territory. In fact, it was of enough importance, not in
size, but as a prospective populace, to be mentioned by travelers of
that time, as one of the principal towns of Kansas. Father Pierre Jean
de Smet, the Jesuit missionary, in a letter written February 26, 1859,
says: “A great number of towns and villages have sprung up as if by
enchantment in the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska. The principal
towns of Kansas are Wyandotte, Delaware, Douglas, Marysville, Iola,
Atchison, Ft. Scott, Pawnee, Lecompton, Neosho, Richmond, Tecumseh,
Lawrence, Port William, Doniphan, Paola, Alexandria, Indianola, Easton,
Leavenworth and others.” The history of old Doniphan, Sumner and
Kickapoo has long been well established, but that of Port William has
been neglected and has remained obscure. Port William never was much of
a town, as were its rivals, Doniphan, Sumner and Kickapoo, but it was
proposedly in the race for municipal supremacy in the pioneer days, and
though its star may never have attained the ascendency, its story is at
least worthy of preservation in the archives of Atchison county history.
Port William was started in 1856 by Henry and James M. Bradley, John T.
and Albred Bailey, and Jonathan Hartman. The two Bradleys and John T.
Bailey composed the town company. The Bradleys conducted a general
store, and a postoffice was established in April, 1855, with Henry
Bradley as first postmaster. This was the first postoffice in Walnut
township. Jonathan Hartman owned and operated a sawmill, the first in
Atchison county, in 1854, and made the first lumber ever sawed in the
county. There were several saloons, and later a blacksmith shop, a
carpenter shop and other small industries were started. It has been
surmised by someone that Port Williams, as it is sometimes called, was
named for a Missouri river steamboat captain named Williams, as
steamboats often tied up at the place in the early days. There are
others who believe it was so-called for the late “Uncle Frank” Williams,
one of the fathers of the colored settlement which was started in that
vicinity at a later day. The correct name of the place, however, is Port
William, instead of Port Williams, and it is known that it was so named
more than fifty years ago, or nearly twenty years before “Uncle Frank”
Williams settled there. The correct origin of the name is probably given
by the late W. J. Bailey, of Atchison, who was one of the very first
settlers of that vicinity. He said that in 1854 a man named William
Johnson came across from the settlement about Iatan, Mo., and took up
the claim on which Port William was afterwards built. It was a likely
claim and Johnson soon had trouble on his hands in holding the property.
Several men tried to chase him off with guns, but Johnson managed to
make such a good defense as to repel them. He stayed in his cabin a
week, not daring to come out for fear of being shot. He won out and held
the claim. The other fellows then referred to his cabin as Fort William
(that was his first name). Soon after Jake Yunt, from Missouri,
established a hand ferryboat, and by and by steamboats began to land
there. Then the name was changed to Port William, and this is the proper
name of the place, although on the Missouri Pacific station board now
standing there it is marked “Port Williams.”
There are but few men who came to Atchison county earlier than W. J.
Bailey, of Atchison. He crossed the river from Platte county on June 12,
1854, and settled at Port William, and, with the exception of a few
years’ residence in Colorado, has lived in this county ever since.
Luther Dickerson, who was generally known as the “oldest inhabitant,”
came here the same month that Mr. Bailey did. When Mr. Bailey first
arrived at Port William he built a one room cabin on his claim near that
place, and to do so was obliged to drag logs with one horse a distance
of a mile and a half. In 1855 he brought his cattle over. He said the
grass all over this county was ankle deep and afforded fine pasturage.
There was no town at Atchison then, but Challiss Bros. conducted a store
on the river bank, and George Million operated a hand ferryboat. Mr.
Bailey worked for Million three years.
“Those were happy times,” said Mr. Bailey, “we met around among
neighboring cabins and had parties. When we had a fiddle we danced.” For
several years Mr. Bailey was with a freighting crew between Ft.
Leavenworth and Ft. Kearney, most of the time as a wagon-master. They
generally drove twenty-six wagons with six yoke of oxen to each wagon
and hauled Government supplies. Once they were surrounded by Indians and
were in imminent danger of being annihilated, when General Harney with a
company of troops came to their rescue and chased the red-skins to Ash
Hollow, near Ft. Kearney, where a bloody skirmish took place and the
Indians were routed. Speaking of old Port William, Mr. Bailey said:
“Although laid out as an investment, the town was a failure. The little
creek flowed through the center of the town, dividing the stores and
saloons from the sawmill, blacksmith shop and carpenter shop. No city
government encased the stream with cement tiling, and the best bridge
the town ever afforded was built by felling a cottonwood tree across the
stream.” Port William had its “town bullies” and fights were of frequent
occurrence. Mr. Bailey said that the “town bullies” were Dan McLoud,
Bill Pates and Bob Gibson. “It was common,” he said, “for farmers to go
to Port William every Saturday afternoon to witness the fights and
drunks.” On one occasion a man was badly shot up and another jumped into
the river and swam across. Mr. Bailey said the first election there
contained 250 ballots, although only sixty people voted. There were two
ballot boxes, one controlled by the pro-slavery and the other by the
Free State people. Eight or ten men stood around the balloting places
with guns, and people voted five or six times, though under different
names.
The “village blacksmith” of old Port William, and one of the early
justices of the peace of Walnut township, was Thomas J. Payne, later
living at Canyon City, Colo. Mr. Payne settled at Port William, March
18, 1855, and was one of the pioneer blacksmiths of Kansas. He operated
blacksmith shops at three of the old towns of Atchison county, Port
William, Sumner and Mt. Pleasant. He was appointed a justice of the
peace by Governor Shannon, in 1856. The office of “county squire” was of
more importance in those stirring times than it is now. Mr. Payne’s son,
Charles Sumner Payne, was the first child born at old Sumner. His birth
occurred September 25, 1857. He was named by the town company, who made
out and presented to him a deed for a lot in the once thriving city.
Another son was born at Sumner on the day that John Brown was hanged,
and was named for the great abolitionist. A third son was named for Jim
Lane. Thomas J. Payne enlisted as a private in Company F, Thirteenth
Kansas infantry, at Atchison, August 20, 1862, and was later promoted to
orderly sergeant. He was discharged at Ft. Smith, Ark., October 29,
1864. Then he was immediately appointed by the secretary of war first
lieutenant of Company B, First Regiment of Kansas infantry, colored. He
took part in many engagements, and was mustered out in August, 1865. He
was born in Georgetown, Ohio, the town in which General Grant was born.
There are few men in Kansas who have served as a justice of the peace
longer than Mr. Payne. He held the office in Atchison county for a
number of years, at Robinson, Kan., for eighteen years, and later at
Horton, Kan., for several years.
The old Horace B. Herndon farm at Port William, now owned and occupied
by Frank Bluma, Sr., was known as the “Old Indian farm,” in the early
days. According to W. J. Bailey it was so-called because an Indian known
as “Kickapoo John” located on it previous to the settlement of Kansas by
the whites and was still living there with numerous other Indians when
Mr. Bailey first came to that locality. Mr. Bailey said that the butts
of tepee poles could be seen sticking in the ground on the site of Port
William for some time afterwards. In 1854 Horace B. Herndon preëmpted
the “Old Indian farm,” built a cabin thereon at the southwest corner of
the field near the creek, and put an old negro slave in it to hold the
claim for him. The old darkey died and was buried in the family burying
ground on the farm about 1855. He was probably the first colored man who
ever lived and died in what afterwards became famous as the “Port
William colored settlement.” This was about twenty years before this
community became generally settled by colored people. The old Herndon
family residence, one of the landmarks of this region, is still standing
and is occupied by Frank Bluma and family. There is evidence that the
“old Indian farm” was occupied by Indians long before “Kickapoo John’s”
time for the old field is strewn with various fragments representing the
stone age and prehistoric times. Mr. Herndon died a number of years ago.
He was another of the early justices of the peace of Walnut township and
was generally known as “Squire” Herndon. He was also a public
administrator for Atchison county, and was one of the most prominent
citizens of the southern part of the county for many years. He was the
father of Mrs. Henry King and James Herndon, residents of Round Prairie.
Mrs. King, then Miss Virginia Herndon, was the “belle” of the old town
of Port William, and was a social favorite throughout this section of
the county.
Another early settler of Port William was Henry Luth, the veteran
carpenter, who moved from Atchison to Leavenworth. Mr. Luth lived in
Port William for several years in the early fifties, removing to
Atchison in 1857. He built many of the first houses in this section of
the country. A large walnut cupboard and other furniture in Mr. Luth’s
home he made from walnut timber cut at Port William and sawed into
lumber at the old Hartman sawmill at that place. Mr. Luth had a little
shop at Port William in which he made furniture. Henry Hausner,
Atchison’s well known commission merchant, took a claim at Port William
in 1855, but was cheated out of it. Andy Brown, for many years an
Atchison flagman, was an early settler of Port William. With Thomas
Taylor, now living at Perry, Kan., he crossed the river to Kansas on
Jake Yunt’s ferry just above Port William in 1854. Mr. Brown’s father
had taken a claim at Port William and Taylor one adjoining it. The
latter helped Samuel Dickson build his cabin shanty on the site of
Atchison in the fall of 1854.
Ex-Sheriff Fred Hartman, of this county, now deceased, lived at Port
William in the early days. His father, Jonathan Hartman, in 1854, put
into operation at that place one of the very first sawmills in the
Territory. It furnished lumber for many of the first houses in this
section. The lumber was sawed from the fine timber which grew along
Little Walnut creek. Fred Hartman said that in 1856 Bob Gibson brought
his famous “Kickapoo Rangers” to Port William for the purpose of
lynching his father, Jonathan Hartman, on account of his most avowed
Free Soil principles. They stayed around a while, and as Mr. Hartman did
not seem to be the least bit intimidated, they finally left and never
molested him again. It was during this time that Pardee Butler was
placed on a raft at Atchison and set adrift in the river. He landed just
above Port William, and went at once to Mr. Hartman’s for assistance.
Not deeming it safe for Mr. Butler to remain in Port William, Mr.
Hartman took him out to the home of Jasper Oliphant, about two miles
west of the village, where he stayed at night and finally reached his
home in safety. Jasper Oliphant was another of the earliest settlers of
this locality. He was assassinated some years ago by Bob Scruggs, a
desperate character, who at the same time shot and killed John Groff,
another prominent Walnut township citizen, and Scruggs was captured and
hanged to a tree near Oak Mills. The tragic deaths of two such
substantial citizens as Mr. Oliphant and Mr. Groff produced a profound
sensation throughout Walnut township. In the spring of 1857 Jonathan
Hartman sold his sawmill and moved to a farm near the present site of
Parnell, where he died. Fred Hartman served during the war in the
Thirteenth Kansas with Thomas J. Payne, mentioned elsewhere.
The wagon road leading from Port William westward to the “old military
road,” bears the unique distinction of crossing the same creek fourteen
times in a distance of less than three miles. It is not believed that
there is another creek in Atchison county that is crossed an equal
number of times by one road. Little Walnut creek, which empties into the
Missouri river at Port William, has its source near the Leavenworth
county line. It flows northward through a heavily timbered country, and
is one of the prettiest little streams in Atchison county. It was
formerly called Bragg’s creek, after “Jimmy” Braggs, an early-day
Missouri Pacific section foreman, who lived on its banks. Braggs
afterward moved to Holton, where he died and the name of the creek was
changed to Little Walnut, after its neighbor, Walnut creek, which
empties into the river at Dalby, about two miles above.
ARRINGTON.
Arrington is located on the Union Pacific railroad in the southwest part
of the county. This town was platted August 20, 1884, and its original
promoters were R. A. Van Winkle, D. S. Henecke. John Ballinger, D. D.
High, D. A. Benjamin, J. M. Roberson, Michael Baker, J. S. Hopkins, Ira
Tabor and George W. Drake. Its streets are numbered one to four, and its
cross streets are called Fountain avenue, Delaware street and Forest
avenue. Arrington has three general stores, one elevator and a bank.
During good crop years, as high as 125 cars of grain and live stock are
shipped from its station, and its stores do a good business, rendering
fine service to the surrounding territory.
At one time prior to 1890 medicinal springs were located at Arrington
and it was quite a resort during the summer months for people living in
northeastern Kansas. The town has a good hotel, and in addition to its
merchandise establishments it supports a physician and several churches.
For many years a mill was conducted on the Delaware river upon which
Arrington is located, operated by water power. This mill was built by
John Reider in 1867, who also operated it both as a sawmill and as a
grain mill. In 1874 W. H. Stockton joined Mr. Reider, and these two men
built a two-story frame mill, but they operated it only one day, as it
was mysteriously burned the following night. Shortly thereafter Mr.
Reider, undismayed and undiscouraged, associated with himself Albert
Ingler, and remembering his previous disastrous experience with fire,
Mr. Reider built a stone mill. This firm conducted a successful business
for a number of years, drawing patronage for a distance of sixty miles,
but in 1879, Mr. Ingler met an untimely death, by drowning as he was
crossing the river, a few feet below where the Arrington bridge stands.
Mr. Reider sold his interest to D. S. Heneks, who ran the mill until
1906, when John W. Young became its owner. He subsequently turned it
over to George W. Stone, since which time it has been in possession of
various owners, and in 1916 is owned by Burt McCulley. It has not been
operated since 1908, and stands in ruins.
A history of Arrington would be incomplete without the mention of the
name of Ransom A. Van Winkle, who was the first settler in Kapioma
township, and the founder of the town. Captain Van Winkle was born
November 25, 1818, in Wayne county, Kentucky. He was a Hollander by
descent, and at one time his great-grandfather, Michael Van Winkle,
owned an interest in 13,000 acres of land within twelve miles of New
York City, which was sold just prior to the Revolutionary war, for
twenty-five cents an acre. Van Winkle received the rudiments of his
education in a Kentucky log school house, but was for two years a cadet
at West Point and received a good education. He was married twice and
had a varied experience in business, at one time owning a large interest
in coal lands in Kentucky. He removed to St. Joseph, Mo., in 1849, and
in September, 1855, came to Kansas and built the first claim cabin on
the Grasshopper, or what is now the Delaware river, above Valley Falls,
in Kapioma township. He also built the first steam sawmill, sawed the
first lumber, and built the first frame house, and taught the first
school in Kapioma township, and was the first postmaster at Arrington.
He always took an active part in politics in the county and was a stanch
Republican. He was a prominent Free State man in the early struggle in
Kansas and contributed liberally to the cause and worked hard in its
behalf. He was a justice of the peace in Papioma township for fourteen
years; postmaster five years; trustee of Kapioma township eight years; a
member of the legislature in 1861 and 1862 and county commissioner of
Atchison county for six years. He was patriarchal in appearance and was
a conspicuous figure for many years in Republican conventions in
Atchison county.
MUSCOTAH.
The name of “Muscotah” is of Indian origin, but when, why and by whom it
was applied to a town, seems to be a question. “Andreas’ History of
Kansas,” in a brief historical mention of the town of Muscotah, says:
“The name Muscotah, written in Indian style, Musco-tah, signifies
“Beautiful Prairie,” or “Prairie on Fire.” Andreas does not give any
authority for this statement, but on page 1343 in a biographical sketch
of William D. Barnett, one of the earliest settlers of Muscotah, he says
that Mr. Barnett did not name the town, but that it was named by Paschal
Pensoneau, the old Kickapoo trader and interpreter. Mr. Kessler was a
blacksmith among the Kickapoos at early day.
Maj. C. B. Keith was one of the founders of Muscotah, and an early agent
for the Kickapoo Indians. In a letter under date of December 8, 1908,
Mrs. Keith, the widow of Major Keith, wrote that Muscotah was named by
her husband and her two brothers, William P. and John C. Badger. She
corroborates Andreas in his statement that the name signifies “Beautiful
Prairie,” or “Prairie on Fire,” and says that Muscotah should be
accented on the last syllable. She further says that Paschal Pensoneau
may have suggested the name, and incidentally adds: “He was interpreter
for my brother, William P. Badger, who was Indian agent under President
Buchanan, and later for my husband under Lincoln. He was a good friend
for both of my brothers and Major Keith, and accompanied my husband to
Washington with the head chiefs when they made their treaty. The
original Muscotah was on a fine site and justified the name.”
There is a town in the old Kickapoo country, in Illinois, named
Mascoutah, and believing it to be synonymous with the Atchison county
name, though slightly different in orthography and pronunciation, Milo
Custer, of Heyworth, Ill., the well known authority on the Kickapoos,
wrote: “As to the meaning of the names Muscotah and Mascoutah, they are
synonymous with the old Algonquin word, Masko-teh, meaning ‘prairies.’
The Kickapoo word for prairies was one among others that I failed to get
when I visited the tribe in Kansas in October, 1906. However, I am of
the opinion that the word was originally derived from Ma-shi O-shkoo-
teh, meaning ‘Big Fire,’ and that it referred to the great prairie fires
which swept over the country. In fact I have seen the opinion advanced
by some other authority, but cannot now recall the name.” When the
Kickapoos lived in Illinois there was a band called the Mas-cou-tins,
which Maj. H. W. Beckwith, the highest authority on the Illinois tribes,
says was the Indian name for “Indians of the Prairie.” Hence it is
evident that the name Muscotah is at least a derivation of the word
“prairie,” whether a “beautiful prairie” or “prairie of fire.”
[Illustration:
Scene on Main Street, Muscotah, Kansas
]
[Illustration:
New Muscotah School Building. Erected 1916, at a cost of $20,000.
]
The plat of the Muscotah Town Company was filed by W. P. Badger, one of
its proprietors, June 5, 1857, and the town is located in section 34,
township 5, range 17, on the Central Branch railroad, near the western
edge of the county. Its streets run from one to thirteen, and its cross
streets are named Pawpaw, Elm, Vine, Walnut, Mulberry, Hickory and Oak.
Following the construction of the Central Branch railroad William Osborn
filed another plat of the town, and several amendments have since been
made to it. Muscotah has always been an important trading point, and one
of the prosperous towns of the county. In 1916 there were three general
stores, one hardware store, two banks, two elevators, one lumber yard,
two cream stations, two barber shops, one harness shop, two drug stores,
two restaurants, a hotel, private boarding house, two garages and
blacksmith shops. The town also has four practicing physicians,
including an osteopath, and one dentist. The first general store was
established by Nels Brown in 1868, and a year later Watson & Guy put in
a general hardware store. Hagerman & Roach conducted a grain business in
1865, and the first elevator was built in 1874. Several serious fires
have destroyed much property in Muscotah, the largest being known as the
Watson fire, which occurred in 1883, destroying much property. The first
mayor of the town was Dr. William P. Badger, who was elected in 1882.
Albert Harrington was the first postmaster, in 1866. The first physician
to locate in the present limits of Muscotah was Dr. L. N. Plummer, who
came there in 1869. In 1868 a Dr. Heath located a few miles out from
Muscotah, but never lived in the town. Dr. S. M. Riggs came in 1872 and
he and Dr. Plummer are both active physicians in the practice in 1916,
together with Dr. O. O. Barter and Dr. F. A. Bermen. Years before
Muscotah was established there was a small settlement nearby where there
were a few houses and a postoffice located about where the Robert
Russell farm is. John Keeley, an enterprising early settler, built a
flouring mill on the Grasshopper river, now known as the Delaware, in
1869. Mr. Keeley did considerable business with the farmers in the
surrounding territory, but business finally fell off and the mill was
washed away by high water in 1895.
Muscotah is an important shipping point, and the annual shipment of
grain amounts to $150,000 to $200,000. Much live stock is also shipped
from Muscotah, and during the year 1915 fifty-two cars of cattle, hogs
and horses were shipped to the Kansas City and St. Joseph markets.
Muscotah is also a city of churches and schools. The Congregational
church was established in 1866. The pastor of this church in 1916 is
Rev. Fred Gray, who preaches to a congregation of about 150. When this
church was organized its members worshiped in the home of Robert
Russell, which was at that time in the depot, and the church edifice
which is now occupied was built in 1914.
The Methodist Episcopal church was established about 1876; it now has a
membership of 120, and its pastor is Rev. Rollo J. Fisher.
The Advent Christian church was organized in 1889, and its first pastor
was Rev. Marshall McCollough.
Mission Hall is maintained by unattached and unorganized Christians. It
holds meeting several times a week, including two services on Sunday.
The public school system of Muscotah includes an accredited high school,
in which two four-year courses are offered, together with a general and
college preparatory course. R. E. Devor is superintendent of schools,
and the officers of the school board are: J. F. Thompson, president; W.
D. Roach, treasurer; R. A. Allison, secretary. The first school house
within the present limits of the town was built in 1870, but was
subsequently destroyed by fire when another school was built in 1885. A
six room school was erected, and it was also destroyed by fire in
January, 1916. A movement is now under way to build a new, handsome,
modern school building, to accommodate twelve grades, together with
manual training, domestic science and a gymnasium.
Muscotah is supplied with electricity by high tension line from
Atchison, and in 1916 it has forty-two street lamps and fifty-five
private consumers.
In addition to being a town of churches and schools, Muscotah also has
several active lodges. The Masonic lodge was organized December 20,
1871, by E. D. Hillyer, of Grasshopper Falls, on a dispensation issued
by the grand lodge; the charter was issued October 17, 1872, and the
officers installed November 16, 1872. The first officers were: Ben F.
Freeland, William N. Kline, Thomas H. Phillips, B. G. Merrill, D. M.
Stillman, W. Bullock and I. C. Archer.
Purity Council No. 293, Knights and Ladies of Security, was chartered
July 6, 1895, with John Edward Lewis, president. It had ten charter
members and in 1916 there was a membership of seventy, with George W.
Rork, president, and Mrs. Carl Rork, secretary.
Modern Woodmen was chartered in August, 1898. The present officers are
W. F. Murray, V. H. Little and G. W. Harris. There are also active
lodges of the Mystic Workers, Eastern Star and Royal Neighbors.
Muscotah’s new combination grade and high school, which will take the
place of the one destroyed by fire, will cost approximately $20,000, and
will be a fire-proof structure of brick and concrete. When completed it
will be one of the best school buildings of its kind in any town the
size of Muscotah in the State. The present city officials of Muscotah
are: William Buckles, mayor; R. A. Hillyer, J. G. Burbank, W. D. Roach,
R. H. Trial and R. A. Allison, councilmen; H. M. Turner, city clerk; E.
M. Hicks, police judge, and S. B. Liggatt, marshal.
EFFINGHAM.
Effingham, the seat of Atchison county high school, is an incorporated
town, located sixteen miles west of Atchison, on the Central Branch
railroad, and was first platted by William Osborne April 4, 1868, who
built the first hundred miles of the Central Branch railroad, and is
located on a part of the southwest quarter of section 15 and the
northwest quarter of section 22, township 6, range 18. The original plat
contained only eight blocks and was subsequently cancelled. February 6,
1871, Major W. F. Downs, land commissioner of the Central Branch
railroad, filed another plat in which one block was dedicated as a
public park and the streets numbered from one to ten, with cross streets
as follows: Elizabeth, Seabury, Howard, George, William, and John. At
the opening of the Central Branch railroad Effingham enjoyed quite a
boom and it has remained one of the finest towns in northeastern Kansas
ever since.
There was a settlement around Effingham for a number of years prior to
the location of the townsite, and it was quite a trading point.
Effingham is located on a broad sweep of prairie land, but there is very
little of romance or legend connected with the town. There is one thing,
however, for which it has always been noted, and to this extent
Effingham occupies an unique place in the towns, not only of Atchison
county, but of Kansas, namely: It has never been without a good hotel.
The original hotel was known far and wide throughout the country and was
conducted by Aunt Betty Benton, a famous cook, who not only gave her
guests good things to eat, but made of her hotel a favorite stopping
place for the traveling public on account of the hospitable way in which
she ran it. Uncle Jack Martin succeeded Aunt Betty and for many years
thereafter kept up the high standard set by her. Then came Thomas F.
Cook, whose kindly welcome made friends for him among the hundreds of
visitors that came to Effingham from year to year, and who never left
his hotel without a full meal. Mr. Cook was succeeded by Mrs. Frank
Pitman, and she in turn was succeeded by Mrs. Davis, who, in 1915, is
conducting the hotel at Effingham and maintains the high standard of
excellence of food and hospitality set by her predecessors.
[Illustration:
Main Street, Looking West, Effingham, Kansas
]
Among the early merchants of Effingham was Hon. Milton R. Benton, who
was born in Madison county, Kentucky May 3, 1815. He immigrated to
Kansas in 1857; located in Atchison, where he resided until 1867, during
which year he moved to his farm in Atchison county, near Effingham. He
was the first marshal of the city of Atchison, having been elected in
1858. In 1863 he was elected mayor of the city, and in 1864 was elected
a member of the council. He served as a member of the senate in the
Territorial council of 1859; in the State legislature in 1864, and for
three years as trustee of Center township. Benton township, in which
Effingham is located, was named for him. He was educated as a Democrat,
but before he cast his first vote identified himself with the anti-
slavery movement and became a Free State man in Kansas, but in after
years he supported Horace Greeley and became identified with the
Democratic party. In addition to farming he was in the real estate
business in Effingham.
[Illustration:
Presbyterian Church, Effingham, Kansas
]
A. F. Achenbach was one of the early liverymen of Effingham, and also
was George P. Allen, who was a dealer in hardware and grain; Ball &
Herron, dealers in harness; Joel M. Ketch, hardware merchant; J. E.
McCormick, butcher; Alonzo Spencer, grocer; James Nesbitt, lumber
dealer, and Simeon Walters, contractor and carpenter.
P. J. O’Meara was a pioneer merchant of Effingham, and was a native of
Ireland, having been born in the county of Tipperary March 27, 1829. He
first settled in Miami county, where he received his education, and in
1865 he moved to Atchison and went into the grocery business on
Commercial street, between Third and Fourth, later moving to Effingham
when the townsite was located, and built one of the first store
buildings. He did a large and paying business, and his popularity was
shown by the people of Effingham in electing him their first mayor.
Effingham in 1915 had two hardware stores, one drug store, four general
stores, two banks, two garages, two barber shops, one cream station, one
clothing store, three restaurants, one hotel, one livery, and two
elevators. Effingham is also a city of churches having one Catholic
church, one Presbyterian church, Methodist church, Christian church and
Lutheran church. Its citizens are enterprising and progressive, and in
1914 the city council secured a twenty-four hour electric light service
over high tension line from Atchison. The elevators are owned by the
Farmers’ Mercantile Association, and Snyder, Smith & Company. Tom Tucker
and Beckman & Thomas are big live stock shippers, and they ship from
ninety-five to one hundred cars of live stock out of Effingham every
year, and the elevators ship over one hundred cars of grain every year.
The present city officials who have been so diligent and faithful in
their services to Effingham are as follows:
J. W. Wallach, mayor; A. J. Sells, city clerk; G. M. Snyder, councilman;
I. Ebert, councilman; D. Richter, councilman; James Farrell, councilman;
E. J. Kelley, councilman; J. W. Atcheson, marshal; J. A. Harman, city
treasurer.
HURON.
Huron is located on the Omaha branch of the Missouri Pacific railway, in
Lancaster township, seventeen miles northwest of Atchison. The townsite
was originally the property of Col. D. R. Anthony, of Leavenworth. Mr.
Anthony donated the railroad company twenty acres of land and the right
of way for one mile. The surveys were made and the town named and
platted on May 18, 1882. Within six weeks after completion of the
surveys five dwellings were erected and the business interests of the
town were well represented. W. D. Starr was the first postmaster, and by
the end of the first year there were over fifty dwellings in the town,
and among the first buildings to be erected were the Presbyterian and
Baptist churches. Colonel Anthony donated lots upon which to build the
churches. J. D. Carpenter opened the first hotel in Huron. Mr. Carpenter
came to Kansas in 1874 and located on a farm near Huron, and when the
town was organized he moved there and opened his hotel. W. G. Rucker was
one of the early lumber dealers of Huron. He came from Corning, where he
was engaged in the general merchandise business, and moved to Huron when
the town was platted. Capt. George W. Stabler, for many years a resident
of Huron, was one of the prominent politicians and characters of the
county. He was born at Stablersville, Baltimore county, Maryland, in
1839, where his ancestors had lived for over 200 years. He moved to
Kansas in 1858, settling in Lancaster township. He enlisted as a private
in Company D, Second Kansas infantry, in 1861, for 100 days, and at the
expiration of that time he re-enlisted in the Second Kansas cavalry; was
made sergeant and was mustered out in 1865 and returned to his farm,
subsequently moving to Huron. In 1866 he was elected to the legislature,
and in 1871 and 1872 served as deputy United States marshal. He had been
justice of the peace, at the time of his death, a few years ago, for
over twenty years.
Old Huron was the original settlement near the present townsite of
Huron, and was an important trading point for many years prior to the
establishment of the new townsite following the laying of the railroad
to Omaha. There were many early settlers of importance in and around
Huron, among whom was Capt. Robert White. Captain White came to Kansas
in 1857 and bought the squatter rights of Charles Morgan and preëmpted a
quarter section of land in Lancaster township, near Huron.
The birth of the first white child in Atchison county, of which there is
any record, occurred in Lancaster township. The child was Miss Frances
Miller, who was born May 9, 1855. Her father was the late Daniel Miller,
an Ohioan by birth, and lived near DeKalb, Mo., in 1841. In 1854 he
looked over northeastern Kansas and settled on Independence creek,
twelve miles north of Atchison, early in 1855, near the northeastern
corner of Lancaster township. Mr. Miller sold his quarter section in
1858, after he had proven up on it, to Thomas Butcher, a new arrival in
Kansas from Brownville, Pa., for $3,000. Mr. Butcher built a flouring
mill on this land, which was run by water from Independence creek.
Butcher subsequently sold the plant to A. J. Evans, who ran it as a
“custom mill” until August, 1865, when it was destroyed by high water,
caused by heavy rains.
Samuel Wymore, for whom Wymore, Nebraska was named, was a resident of
Lancaster township, near Huron, in the fifties and early sixties, and
ran a sawmill by horse power, about three miles north of Lancaster, in
1858. Mr. Wymore sold his first bill of lumber to Captain Robert White
for $100 in gold, and at that time it was more money than Wymore had
ever seen at one time, and he was so nervous during the following night
that he could not sleep and continually stirred the fire in the stove so
that he could count the money from the light that it made. Wymore was
uneducated. He could neither read nor write, and he was said to have
been worth over $150,000 before 1875.
Isaac E. Kelly, a young man from Pennsylvania, taught one of the first
schools in Lancaster township, in one of the settlers’ preëmption cabin,
near Eden postoffice in 1860. He went to war in 1861 and marched with
Sherman to the Sea.
The first mowing machine in Atchison county was brought to Lancaster
township, two miles west of where Huron now is, by Joel Hiatt, in 1859,
who sold it to Capt. Robert White, who cut hay with it several seasons.
The machine was a Ball, and a crude affair. The first reaper to harvest
grain in the county was owned by the late M. J. Cloyes, who also lived
in Lancaster township, not many miles from Huron. Mr. Cloyes bought the
reaper in the early sixties. The grain was raked off by a man lashed to
a post on a platform four or five feet to the rear of the cycle. This
reaper was a Buckeye machine, and was sold by J. E. Wagner, the hardware
merchant of Atchison.
The forty acre tract of land upon which the home of Edward Perdue
stands, a few miles east of Huron, was traded for a mowing machine by
the owner in 1865.
Bethel church, located southwest of Huron, is supposed to be the oldest
church in the county, outside of Atchison. It was built by the Methodist
Episcopal church (South), about 1870, and is still in use in 1915.
Thus it will be seen that Huron is located in the midst of a very
interesting part of Atchison county, and while the town did not reach
the proportions that its original promoters had hoped for it, it is one
of the good towns of the county. The following are the business houses
in Huron in 1915:
J. M. Delany—General merchandise.
E. P. Perry—General merchandise.
W. E. English—Hardware, implements and furniture.
H. T. Harrison—Grocer.
Dr. Wiley Jones—Drug store.
John L. Snavly—Restaurant and postmaster.
Mrs. Alta Wilson—Hotel.
C. E. Mathew—Lumber.
Loren Horton—Meat market.
A. F. Allen—Grain, coal, live stock and automobile supplies.
Baker-Corwell—Grain company.
A. Morehead—Barber.
W. Hildman—Blacksmith.
Riley & Son—Livery barn.
Over 200,000 bushels of grain are shipped from Huron annually and the
average shipment of live stock amounts to about forty cars.
OLD MARTINSBURG.
Martinsburg was laid out near the present site of Potter in the early
days. It is not generally known, even among the old settlers, that there
was such a place. George Remsburg said that this was due probably to the
fact that Martinsburg was born dead. It was conceived in the town craze
of early territorial times, but it came a still-born infant and its
promoters succeeded in viewing it only long enough for it to give a
feeble gasp and fall back dead again. Though this proposed municipal
enterprise of pioneer days did not materialize, it was, nevertheless, an
interesting and important fact of local history, hitherto unrecorded,
that such a town was actually staked off and laid out in Atchison county
at a very early period. The only old-timers who remembered it were James
B. Low, of Colorado Springs, formerly of Mount Pleasant, “Uncle Joe”
Potter, and W. J. (Jack) Bailey. All three settled in the southern part
of Atchison county in 1854. Mr. Low settled with his parents in Walnut
township in the fall of that year, and says that Martinsburg was laid
out that fall. It was situated in what is known as the Mercer bottom, on
land belonging to Felix Corpstein and Fred Poss, in the west half of
section 24, a little northeast of the present site of Potter, or
immediately adjoining it. What is known as the Mercer spring, one of the
finest in this section, was included in the town site. Mr. Low and his
brother went out to look at the place in the fall of 1854 and decided to
spend the winter there. It consisted at that time of a few huts and a
small store, and never amounted to any more than a village, if it could
be called that, although Mr. Low says the town site originally comprised
about 100 acres, and a few lots were actually sold. The store was a
small frame building, erected by one Alex Hayes, who had previously
taken a claim on Plum creek, near Kickapoo. Mr. Low thinks this was the
first frame building in Atchison county. Hayes carried a small stock of
goods. This was long before the town of Mt. Pleasant, in the same
vicinity, was ever dreamed of, and even before Tom Fortune opened a
store there. It seems that the chief promoters of Martinsburg were two
brothers named Martin; hence the name. Not much is known concerning
them, or what became of them. “Uncle Joe” Potter says that one of them
came to his house on one occasion when he and his brother, Marion
Potter, were making rails. Martin stood around a while and finally
insinuated that they were foolish for working so hard, and in a
confidential way, “just the same as told them,” as Mr. Potter expressed
it, that they could make lots of money and make it easy stealing horses,
whereupon Marion Potter promptly ordered him off of the place, and told
him never to return. James Low’s father bought the town site of
Martinsburg in the fall of 1855 and moved onto it in the spring of 1856,
converting it into a farm. Thus perished Martinsburg. Even the name did
not survive in the memory of the settlers, and it was only by accident
that it was recently recalled after a lapse of fifty-four years. At an
early day the locality became known as Mercer’s Bottom, after Joe
Mercer, one of the earliest settlers, and it is known by that name
today. It is not known what became of Mercer. James Low says the last
time he saw him was in Denver, in 1859. Mercer was a queer character. It
is told of him that he lived in a little cabin and subsisted principally
on mussels, which he found in Stranger creek. Alex Hayes, the
Martinsburg storekeeper, has also been lost trace of, but Dick King says
there was an oldtimer named Alexander Hayes, who died many years ago and
was buried in the Sapp graveyard at Oak Mills. The town site of
Martinsburg was a favorite camping place for soldiers and emigrants
passing over the old Military road in the early days on account of the
fine spring, the large meadows and the protection of the hills around
it. To catch this tide of emigration was, in all probability, the object
of those pioneer town projectors in selecting this site.
BUNKER HILL.
There appears to be no data available which enables the historian to
determine exactly where this town was located, but a prospectus
publication March 18, 1858, in _Freedom’s Champion_, states that it was
on Independence creek, within ten miles of Atchison and twenty-five
miles of St. Joseph. Its chief promoter was Dr. Charles F. Kob, of
Atchison. Dr. Kob was a German physician and surgeon, who located in
Atchison at an early date. He had been a surgeon in the army, and a
member of the Massachusetts and Connecticut medical societies. He lived
and practiced medicine in Boston for some time. About the only advantage
for Bunker Hill, set forth in the prospectus, was that coal was found
around the place, but Bunker Hill never seemed to have any coal in her
bunkers. She failed to flourish and no Bunker Hill monument perpetuates
her memory.
LOCUST GROVE.
Locust Grove was never laid out as a town site. It was a stopping place
on the old stage route to Topeka, and the postoffice from Mount Pleasant
was moved there in 1862.
HELENA.
Helena was located and named in this county, and the plat thereof was
filed March 18, 1857, by James L. Byers, one of the proprietors of the
town company, and was located on the north half of section 28, township
5, range 18, on the Little Grasshopper river, in Grasshopper township,
at the crossing of the old Military road, five miles north of the
present site of Effingham. The town appears on an old township map of
eastern Kansas, published by Whitman & Searl, of Lawrence, in 1856. It
shows it to have been on the east branch of Grasshopper river, about
fifteen miles west of Atchison, and north of the Ft. Laramie and
California roads.
CAYUGA.
Cayuga was laid out by a New York colony in 1856, and was named for
Cayuga, N. Y. It was also in Grasshopper township, on the old Military
road, one and one-half miles from Lancaster township line on part of the
east half of section 18, township 5, range 18. It was surveyed by Dr. A.
C. Tabor, and the plat was filed October 9, 1857, by George L. Willson.
Provision was made in the town site for a public park and a young
ladies’ seminary. It was claimed that it had at one time 400
inhabitants. Among the members of the town company were Messrs. Smooks,
Fuller, Higby, Atherton, Ontis, Meeker, William Adams, Chase and Dr.
Taylor. The land on which the town was located was “junked” as a claim
by a Mrs. Place, and thereafter the town gradually went out of
existence. It is said to have had a good two-story hotel and a number of
business houses.
KENNEKUK.
In the plat which Royal Baldwin, president of the town company, filed
April 6, 1859, the name of this town is given as Kennekuck. It was
located on the southeast quarter and the southwest fractional quarter of
section 3, township 5, range 17. Its streets were sixty feet wide,
except Broadway, which was 100 feet wide, and Market street, which was
eighty feet wide. One block was donated for a market house, and another
block for a park, for religious and educational purposes. The streets
were numbered from 1 to 10 and the cross streets were named as follows:
Elm, Linn, Cedar, Poplar, Broadway, Market, Walnut, Weld, Perry and
Baldwin. The town site was vacated by the board of county commissioners
December 15, 1871. Kennekuk was a station on the Overland stage route,
twenty-four miles west and north of Atchison. During the overland stage
days Thomas Perry ran an eating station there, and Mrs. Perry, who was a
grand cook, always had a smoking hot dinner ready with the best of
coffee, for the occupants of the stage coaches. In the early days dances
were held in the Perry home, and Hon. D. W. Wilder, the author of the
celebrated “_Annals of Kansas_,” used to trip the light fantastic toe
there, and it is said that he courted the girl who afterwards became his
wife, in the Perry home.
Frank A. Root, who was an express messenger on the overland stage, says,
in his book, that Kennekuk was the first “home” station out from
Atchison, and the drivers were changed there. In 1863 it was a little
town of perhaps a dozen houses with one store and a blacksmith shop. The
Kickapoo Indian Agency was one of the most prominent buildings there,
and was located near the old road in the northwestern part of the town.
The town was laid out by William H. Wheeler, a surveyor and speculator,
and was named for the Kickapoo chieftain, John Kennekuk. George Remsburg
says that the town was platted in June, 1854, but the dedication on the
original plat in the court house would indicate that it was platted on
the date first mentioned in this sketch.
Hon. A. J. White, the son of Capt. Robert White, and at one time a
member of the legislature from this county, and one of the leading
farmers of the county, claims that Royal Baldwin was the first white
settler in Kennekuk, and that he was appointed Indian agent for the
Kickapoos there by President Pierce before Kansas was opened for
settlement. Mr. Remsburg also says that many noted travelers stopped at
Kennekuk, including Mark Twain.
KAPIOMA.
According to Captain Elberhant, of Golden, Colo., the Kickapoo Indians
once had a village on the Grasshopper river in Atchison county, called
Kapioma, after the chief of the band, and it is from this source that
Kapioma township took its name. Captain Berthoud says that Father
Duerinck, a native of Belgium, who was probably the first Jesuit priest
in Atchison county, gave the pronunciation of the name of his Atchison
county station as Kah-pi-oma, accent on the syllable “Kah.”
In an affidavit of H. H. Skiles, volume 69, page 63, in the records of
the office of the register of deeds of Atchison county, Kansas, the
following appears:
“This affiant further states that there was in 1857 and 1858 a company
formed, called and known as the Kapioma City Company, and the
individuals composing that company were B. Gray, S. C. Russell, W. W.
Weston, H. H. Skiles and W. Y. Roberts, who united themselves together
for the purpose of laying out, locating and establishing a town called
Kapioma, on what was then known as Grasshopper creek, just north of its
confluence with Straight creek, in the western borders of Atchison
county, Kansas. The entire purpose and scheme in laying out and
establishing a town fell through and was wholly and totally abandoned by
all and every person connected with it without prejudice to any one, and
the title to the land intended by the company to become town property
reverted to the original owner. The law required to establish a town was
never complied with.”
MASHENAH.
Mashenah, apparently, was to be a rival town of Kennekuk. The cold and
quiet records now on file in the court house would convey the idea that
Royal Baldwin must have fallen out with the original promoters of
Kennekuk and decided to establish a town of his own, so, accordingly, he
filed a plat of this town September 21, 1857, showing it to be located
in the northeast quarter and the northwest quarter of section 2,
township 5, range 17. One block was set aside for a college and another
for a park. Its streets were numbered 1 to 21, and the cross streets
were named as follows: Oak, Pine, Plum, Vine, Elm, Linn and Cedar.
ST. NICHOLAS.
The only record that can be found of this town is that Thomas Poteet
filed a plat thereof April 20. 1858, showing it to be located in the
southwest corner of section 6, township 7, range 20.
CONCORD.
This is another town about which there is little information available.
The plat was filed June 20, 1857, by James R. Whitehead and shows it to
have been located in the west half of section 1, township 5, range 17.
The streets were numbered from 1 to 18, and the cross streets were named
Buchanan, Emily, Mary, Carolina, Jefferson, St. Joseph, Ellwood, Able,
Alexander, and there were two public squares, called North and South.
PARNELL.
The plat of Parnell was filed December 24, 1883, by J. C. Hotham, and
shows the town site to be located in the southwest corner of the
southeast quarter of section 20, township 6, range 20. It is located on
both the Santa Fe and the Missouri Pacific railroads. The station was
named for a hero of the Civil war, James L. Parnell, a private soldier
in Company F, Thirteenth Kansas volunteer infantry, who was killed
during the skirmish at Haare Head, Ark., August 4, 1864. Parnell was the
original settler on the site of Parnell and was one of the first
citizens of Atchison county to respond under President Lincoln’s call of
July, 1862. He enlisted in the Thirteenth Kansas. Ex-Sheriff Frank
Hartin was a comrade of Parnell in Company F and married into the
Parnell family.
SHANNON.
Shannon was platted by G. W. Sutliff February 22, 1883. and is located
in the northwest corner of the northeast quarter of section 1. township
6, range 19, about eight miles west of Atchison, on the Parallel road.
The town consists of one store building, in which the postoffice is
located, and a few residences, together with railroad station and a
small elevator.
ELMWOOD.
Elmwood was platted by Anna Hoke and J. S. Hoke April 12, 1873, and was
located on the south half of the northeast quarter of section 2,
township 6, range 20. This was a “paper” town, and the only record now
available of it is the plat on file in the court house at Atchison.
CUMMINGSVILLE.
Cummingsville was platted by William Cummings December 16, 1872, and was
located on the north half of the southwest quarter of section 1,
township 7, range 19, on the line of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
railway, southwest of Atchison, in Center township, and took its name
from the founder of the town. The original plat provided for two
streets, Market and Main, but on September 21, 1883, Samuel C. King
filed a plat, creating an addition to Cummingsville, composed of four
blocks. The first settler on the townsite was Robert Kennish, who
located there in November, 1872, and was appointed postmaster when the
postoffice was established the following fall. Mr. Kennish opened the
first store in Cummingsville in December, 1872, and he for many years
was station agent there, one of the oldest in the service of the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railway. He was a much beloved character. He
died a few years ago at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Nelson W. Cox,
who lives in Cummingsville with her invalid husband, Nels Cox, who for
eight years served Atchison county in the capacity of clerk of the
court. In April, 1873, C. D. Harrison and family located in
Cummingsville, and their child, Lorenzo, was the first child born on the
townsite, and his was also the first death, Lorenzo having died March
25, 1875. In the winter of 1880–81, R. C. Ripple taught the first
school, and the Methodist church (South) was built in 1880.
Cummingsville now is a town of over 100 residences, and in addition to
its bank, it has several good stores, a cream station and an elevator.
Much grain and live stock is shipped out of Cummingsville annually.
EDEN P. O.
Eden was located about eight miles northwest of Atchison, and Charles
Servoss was appointed the first postmaster there in 1858. The postoffice
was located on a farm adjoining the Johnson Wymore farm on the south.
Servoss resigned as postmaster in 1863 and removed to Detroit, Mich. He
was succeeded by H. C. Lee, who kept the office on a farm adjoining the
Wymore farm on the west. Mr. Lee was a grandfather of Miss Kate Platt
and Mrs. S. F. Harburger, formerly of Atchison, and the father of Mrs.
Flora B. Hiatt. Mr. Lee held the office until 1872, when Francis
Schletzbaum, Sr., was named as postmaster, and removed the office to his
farm, which adjoined the old Wymore farm on the north. The postoffice
remained there until it was discontinued upon the establishment of free
rural delivery service in 1900.
POTTER.
Potter is pleasantly situated on a slight rise or knoll in the beautiful
valley of Stranger creek, and near the southeast corner of Mt. Pleasant
township. From the first it has been the principal station on the Santa
Fe railroad, between Atchison and Leavenworth, being situated about
midway between the two cities. It is an attractive little town, with
well graded streets and good cement sidewalks, and a number of
attractive residences. While it is one of the younger towns of the
county, it has made strides that make it compare favorably with some of
its older sisters, in volume of business at least, if not in population.
Potter, as the home of the white man, dates back further than any
community in the county. Elsewhere in this history will be found an
account of Paschal Pensoneau, the old French trader, who established
himself on Stranger creek, near the present townsite, during the early
forties.
The building of Potter is the third and the most successful attempt to
establish a town in that vicinity. The first attempt was at Mount
Pleasant. This was one of the first towns started in Kansas, and here
was located the first postoffice in Atchison county. It prospered for a
time and was a candidate for the county seat. It gradually declined, and
since the establishment of Potter, has been little more than a memory.
In the early days, some say before Mt. Pleasant was started, a town was
laid out near the big Mercer spring, just northeast of the present site
of Potter, and called Martinsburg. It was extensively boomed, but
outside of a small store and a few huts, it never advanced beyond the
paper stage.
Early in 1886 the Leavenworth, Northern & Southern railway, now a branch
of the Santa Fe, and known as the “Pollywog,” was built and a station
located where Potter now stands. A town was platted and called Bennett
Springs, after James Gordon Bennett, the well known eastern journalist.
The mineral springs on the Masterson farm near the townsite were
attracting considerable attention at the time, and it was thought that a
popular resort could be built up there. The medicinal properties of the
water were discovered by Dr. Rice, a local physician, and subsequently
analyzed by experts, who confirmed Dr. Rice’s conclusions, and a number
of people claimed to have used the waters in liver, kidney and other
complaints with good results. Henry C. Squires, afterwards a Potter
banker, conceived the idea of establishing a health resort here, and
named it in honor of James Gordon Bennett, who, it was thought, would
use his influence towards getting eastern capital interested in the
project. The expected financial backing was not forthcoming, however,
and the proposed development of the springs was never made.
In the meantime the railroad people had christened the town Potter, in
honor of Hon. Joseph Potter, owner of the quarter section on which the
town was laid out, and, while the name of the town still appears on the
tax rolls as Bennett Springs, the original name having never been
legally changed, the town is now generally known as Potter. Joseph
Potter was the original settler, having preëmpted the land on which the
town stands, in 1854, and the first sales of lots in Potter were deeded
to their purchaser thirty-two years later direct from the Government
preëmption owner. The taking up of the land, filing, etc., cost Mr.
Potter about $220 for 160 acres, and when it was divided up into town
lots it brought him $200 an acre. Mr. Potter entered part of this land
with a land warrant given him for services in the Mexican war.
[Illustration:
Street Scene, Potter, Kansas
]
The first lots in the town were sold to the late James Stalons, for many
years a justice of the peace, preacher of the Gospel and prominent
citizen of the county. The first house on the townsite was built by
Thomas J. Potter in 1882, four years before the town was laid out. The
house is still standing. The first business house in the town was
erected by Charles Klein, who operated a store there until his death. A
year or two after Potter was started the postoffice was removed from Mt.
Pleasant to the place, and James B. Weir was the first postmaster. The
first hotel was operated by Mrs. Elvira Pierce. Dr. Barnes had the first
drug store, and was also the first physician; Frank Blodgett, the first
hardware store, and B. F. Shaw & Company, the first furniture store. The
first barber was Thomas Seever; the first blacksmith, Lou Chilson; the
first butcher, John Yost; the first carpenter, P. H. Fleer; the first
painters, George Brown and Grant Cass; the first stone masons, S. B.
Morrow and Frank Maxwell; the first shoemaker, Patrick Murphy; the first
stock buyer, Henry Show; the first school teacher, Albert Limbaugh; the
first railroad agent, C. L. Cherrie; the first lumber dealer, David
Hudson; the first harness maker, Harry Rickets; the first rural mail
carrier, Frank White. Frank Mayfield operated the first livery stable;
the first elevator was built by James Hawley; the first church building
was that of the Methodists. The first Methodist preacher was Rev. John
W. Faubian, and the first Christian preacher, Rev. T. W. Cottingham. The
first telephone exchange was operated by Charles and George Sprong. The
first lodge was Echo Lodge, No. 103, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
The first bank was the Potter State Bank. Potter has had three
newspapers, the first, the _Potter Press_, was established by E. E.
Campbell, in 1898. In 1900 Mr. and Mrs. Eppie Barber started the _Potter
Leaf_. Three years later Charles B. Remsburg bought the _Leaf’s_
circulation and launched the _Potter Kansan_, which is now owned and
published by his father, J. E. Remsburg.
Potter is one of the most flourishing towns of its size in Kansas.
Though its population is less than 200, it boasts of two banks, the
aggregate resources of which amount to nearly a quarter million dollars.
There probably is not another town of its size in the State that has two
banks. The town has two good elevators which during the years 1912, 1913
and 1914 handled on an average of 140,000 bushels of grain a year. These
elevators are operated by Fred Ode & Sons and James Robinson. The
railroad station at Potter does a business that amounts to something
like $40,000 annually. The shipping of live stock is an important
industry here. The principal buyers are Tinsley, Potter, and Timple
Bros. Much fruit is grown around Potter, and as high as $20,000 has been
paid out for apples during one shipping season.
Potter has a rural high school, the first of its kind established in the
State, and an $8,000 school building.
The town has two general stores, those of W. A. Hodge and P. P. Knoch; a
hardware store, operated by B. F. Shaw; a grocery store, by Thomas J.
Potter; a furniture store, by Frank Beard; a drug store, by G. E.
Coulter; a hotel, by Mrs. G. F. Pope; two blacksmith shops, by R. E.
Brown and G. F. Pope; a livery stable, by H. G. Hawley; two barber
shops, by George Brown and Frank Blankenship; a cement tile factory, by
Grisham & Maxwell; a millinery store, by Mrs. T. J. Maxwell; a telephone
exchange, by E. C. Yoakum; a newspaper, _The Potter Weekly Kansan_, by
J. E. Remsburg; two physicians, Dr. G. W. Redmon and Dr. S. M. Myers.
Dr. A. E. Ricks, of Atchison, has a branch dental office here; the
Lambert Lumber Company, of Leavenworth, has a commodious and well
stocked yard here, with Samuel Parker as manager. There are two
churches, Methodist and Christian, two public halls, and one lodge hall.
L. M. Jewell conducts an insurance, real estate and loan business. There
is also a garage, and other business enterprises in the town.
[Illustration:
School House, Potter, Kansas
]
MOUNT PLEASANT.
In 1854 Thomas L. Fortune, Jr., a Virginian, settled on the “old
Military road” and opened one of the very earliest stores in Atchison
county, around this store springing up the village of Mount Pleasant. A
postoffice was established here in 1855, and Mr. Fortune was appointed
postmaster. Being an inventive genius, he finally gave up his store
business and devoted his energies towards perfecting and building a
road-wagon, to which reference has heretofore been made, and which he
thought would revolutionize the freighting business across the plains.
The townsite of Mount Pleasant was surveyed in 1857 by John P. Wheeler,
agent for the Town Company.
Michael Wilkins and James Laird were the very first settlers in the
township, being followed shortly afterwards by Levi Bowles, Jacob
Grindstaff, Andrew J. Peebler, Martin Jones, Chris Horn, P. R. King, W.
C. Findley, A. S. Speck and Amos Hamon.
The first hotel in the town was opened by Henry Payne, who operated it
many years.
T. J. Payne and Philo W. Hull were the next parties to engage in
business, Mr. Payne leaving when the new town of Sumner was started, and
locating there.
The next to engage in business was P. R. King, who established a general
store about 1858. He remained at Mount Pleasant until after the county
seat question had been settled, when he removed to Atchison.
In the fall of 1858 a district school was opened. In 1860 the Cumberland
Presbyterians erected a church building, having held religious services
at the homes of the members prior to this time. Rev. A. A. Moore was
their first pastor.
On May 1, 1862, the Church of Christ was organized by Elder W. S.
Jackson, with seventeen members, services being held in the school
house.
Mount Pleasant Lodge, No. 158, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of
Mount Pleasant, was organized in the fall of 1868 by the following
charter members: William J. Young, X. Klein, M. R. Benton, John Hawley.
S. K. McCreary, Joseph Howell and Albert Hawley. Their first meeting was
held October 20, 1868, with the following as first officers: William
Young, worshipful master; X. Klein, senior warden; A. Hawley, junior
warden; S. K. McCreary, secretary; M. R. Benton, treasurer.
In August, 1862, the name of the postoffice was changed to Locust Grove.
LEWIS’ POINT.
In pre-territorial times and in the steamboat days, Kansas had many
geographical names that are not now to be found on the map. Some of
them, where permanent settlements have sprung up, have been perpetuated,
but the majority of them do not live even in the memory of the oldest
inhabitants. One of the latter is “Lewis’ Point,” near the present site
of Oak Mills. Old “Cap.” Lewis is long since dead, his name almost
forgotten, and the rapacious Missouri river and “Mansell’s Slide” are
now about to devour the “Point.” with which his name was coupled in our
early geography. While “Lewis’ Point” was never a place of any
prominence, and not even the site of a village or settlement, yet it was
a geographical name that was known to every steamboat man running on
this section of the river, and is worthy of preservation in our local
history. “Lewis’ Point” was at the projection of land lying immediately
above Oak Mills, on the Missouri river. It took its name from the fact
that Calvin Lewis, an old riverman, settled at this point at an early
day, and it became a frequent stopping place for steamboats to take on
wood. In those days there was a splendid wood supply in that vicinity.
Lewis’ house stood near the site of the old Champton, or William Moody,
house, which was destroyed by fire about a year ago.
It is not generally known that a steamboat was ever built on Atchison
county soil, much less that Oak Mills was ever the scene of the ship
builder’s craft, outside of the construction of Indian canoes and the
modern skiffs built by Dick King or some other later-day river man. Yet,
it is a fact that Calvin Lewis once built and launched at “Lewis’ Point”
a small stern-wheel steamboat, and operated it on the river for several
years. In 1855 the first territorial legislature of Kansas passed an act
authorizing Lewis to operate a ferry at “Lewis’ Point.”
FARLEY’S FERRY.
The same legislature that gave permission to Lewis to operate a ferry at
“Lewis’ Point,” granted the same privilege to Nimrod Farley, to maintain
a ferry across the Missouri river, opposite Iatan, Mo. Farley was a well
known character in the Missouri bottoms in the vicinity of Iatan, Cow
Island, and Oak Mills, in the early days. He lived near Iatan, but it
seems that he owned land on the Kansas side, near Oak Mills, which
offered a landing for his ferry. He was a brother of Josiah Farley, who
laid out the town of Farley, in Platte county, in 1850. George McAdow
later became proprietor of Farley’s Ferry and operated it until it was
destroyed by Jayhawkers, shortly before the war.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE CIVIL WAR.
THE ISSUE BETWEEN EARLY SETTLERS—INFLUX OF FREE STATE AND PRO-SLAVERY
PARTISANS—EARLY VOLUNTEERING—MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS—THREATENED
INVASION FROM MISSOURI—POLITICAL SOCIETIES—JAYHAWKERS—CLEVELAND’S
GANG—LYNCHINGS—ATCHISON COUNTY TROOPS IN THE WAR—PRICE’S ATTEMPTED
INVASION.
The six years intervening between 1854 and 1860 constitute a momentous
period in the history of Atchison county. No new community was ever
organized under more unpromising circumstances. It was not merely land
hunger and lust for personal gain that were the impelling motives which
brought men to Kansas in that day. Neither gold, nor gas, nor oil, nor
precious gems lured men here. Kansas was then, as it is now, an
agricultural paradise, and such an environment has ordinarily but little
charm for the daring adventurer and the seeker after sudden riches, who
toil not and spin less. It is true that a large number of peaceful,
plodding home-seekers—the tillers of the soil—the hewers of wood and the
haulers of water, immigrated to Kansas to take up land and build
permanent homes, but they were in the minority prior to 1860. The
tremendous issue of human slavery was the all absorbing fact, and the
long struggle here wrought a complete revolution in the political
thought of the whole country. Men came to Kansas for the most part for
political rather than for business or agricultural reasons. The
settlement of Kansas was an inspired political movement of partisans.
There was little room for neutrals, and those who were “too proud to
fight” went elsewhere. There was little consideration on the part of the
early settlers of Kansas, of any questions except slavery and anti-
slavery. They came in large numbers from the South and from the North,
and met here upon the frontier in a final test of strength. The Free
Soilers won, but only after bitter contests in which passion, prejudice
and bloody partisanship ran riot, and Atchison county played a most
conspicuous part in this great battle. The Nation and the world looked
on as the battle lines surged forward and backward. And while they
fought here in a last desperate struggle for supremacy, these courageous
men and women on both sides founded their towns, built their court
houses, their primary schools and their churches with an abiding faith
in the hearts of each of them that victory would finally crown their
efforts. Atchison county made progress in spite of the fact that her
leaders were wrong. We gave promise here of being the metropolis of
Kansas, for we had many geographical and commercial advantages over
other struggling communities of the Territory. But before the well laid
plans of our citizens matured, before projects for the development of
steam transportation to bring us nearer the outside world could be
concluded the mighty conflict which ended in four bloody years of civil
war, broke upon the Nation, and Kansas within three months after being
admitted as a State enrolled itself on the side of the Union. Atchison
county sprang to arms almost a thousand strong, and may it ever be said
to its everlasting glory that few, if any, counties in the State had a
more patriotic record. One hundred and thirty-one Atchison county men
enlisted in the First Kansas regiment; twenty-five in the Seventh;
eighty-five in the Eighth; eighty-six in the Tenth; 260 in the
Thirteenth; 100 in the First Kansas (colored); twenty-five in the First
Nebraska; 105 in the Thirteenth Missouri; thirty in the Fifteenth
Kansas; forty in the Ninth, and fifty in the Sixteenth, or a total of
937 men, which, together with the scattering of men in other regiments
in adjoining States, brought the total number of soldiers engaged during
the Civil war to 1,000. The population of Atchison county at that time
was 7,747, and the voting population 1,133, which shows that the total
number of voters was but slightly larger than the total number of
volunteers. At that time Atchison, by reason of its location, was
subject to incursions from Confederate troops and Jayhawkers from
Missouri, which called for the organization at different periods of the
war, of home guard companies, which are not included in the foregoing
statement. At the outset of the war Atchison had three militia
companies, A, B and C, and a fourth, known as the All Hazard company,
the origin of whose name is thus explained. At the city election in the
spring of 1861 the issue was union or dis-union. The Republicans and
Union Democrats united in supporting G. H. Fairchild for mayor. He was a
Union Democrat who on various occasions announced his unwavering
friendship of the Union and for the maintenance of the constitution and
laws “at all hazards,” and when this company enlisted for the war Mayor
Fairchild was its captain and it became Company K of the First Kansas.
It participated in the battle of Wilson’s Creek, August 10, 1861, which
was the first action in which a Kansas regiment was under fire.
In 1861 there were constant threats of invasion from Missouri rebel
organizations in Buchanan and Platte counties, and in that year another
home guard company was organized with the following officers: Charles
Holbert, captain; J. G. Bechtold, first lieutenant; Clem Rhor, second
lieutenant; W. Becker, third lieutenant; John Schupp, ensign. During the
following year the danger of invasion became still more threatening and
650 men in sixteen companies came to Atchison to protect the town from
destruction. The Atchison county companies were commanded by Captains
Holbert, Hays, Batsett, Evans and Vanwinkle. It was due to the
thoroughness with which the people of Atchison organized themselves
against invasion that they were spared from being completely
annihilated. On the fifteenth day of September, 1861, another company
for home guard service was mustered in at Ft. Leavenworth. J. M. Graham
was captain; J. G. Bechtold, first lieutenant; R. N. Bryant, second
lieutenant. This company subsequently became Company E of the First
Kansas Regiment Home Guards, numbering fifty men, and were ordered back
to Atchison for duty, where they were stationed until all danger of
invasion had passed, after which the company became a part of the Eighth
Kansas. The victories of the Union forces in 1862 were frequent, and as
a result many rebel sympathizers came to Atchison for safety, where they
became very troublesome. In order to counteract the growing evil over
the activities of these men, Mayor Fairchild issued a proclamation in
which he warned them that they must not expect to be protected in any
manner by the city laws as long as they held to the views which they
expounded at even favorable opportunity. “It would be absurd to
suppose,” the proclamation said, “that a patriotic community could treat
otherwise than its enemies, persons who are in sympathy with base men
who have brought upon our country untold misery, almost unlimited
taxation and almost inconceivable pecuniary suffering. As a
representative of a loyal people I will not encourage men to return
among us who have circulated reports that they were refugees from the
loyal States on account of their secession doctrines, nor will I give
protection to men who unmistakably at heart belong to the Confederacy.”
This proclamation met with such favor that a mass meeting of Union men
in Atchison county was held at Price’s Hall March 15, 1862. The whole
county was well represented and stirring addresses were delivered by
Colonel Edge, of Doniphan county, Tom Murphy, the genial proprietor of
the Massasoit House, Rev. W. S. Wenz, Lieutenant Price, E. Chesebrough,
Mayor Fairchild, Caleb May, and others, after which resolutions
denouncing the southern sympathizers and notifying them not to return
were unanimously adopted. During the latter part of the same year a call
for aid to assist the Atchison county troops met with immediate response
and within a few days, commencing August 20, 1862, almost $4,000 was
subscribed by the citizens of Atchison. Seven hundred and forty-five
dollars came from Mt. Pleasant township. Among the leading contributors
were Theodore Bartholow, E. Chesebrough, G. W. Fairchild, J. W. Russell,
W. L. Challiss, Dr. William Irwin, G. W. Howe, Bela M. Hughes, William
Hetherington, Otis & Glick, Henry Deisbach, J. E. Wagner, Rice McCubbin,
McCausland & Brown, Tom Murphy, W. A. Cochrane, Samuel C. Pomeroy,
Stebbins & Company, E. Butcher, and William C. Smith, each of whom
subscribed the sum of $50 or over. Atchison also made a notable
contribution when Quantrell invaded Lawrence, sending $4,000 to assist
the people of that city. In 1863 depredations of the Jayhawkers became
very annoying, and a vigilance committee was organized and all good,
peaceful and loyal citizens were called upon to band themselves together
for the protection of their lives, homes and property. Those who joined
the vigilance committee took an oath to support the Government of the
United States and Kansas, and to do all in their power to put down the
rebellion, and also to keep secret all proceedings of the organization.
This committee did very effective work in bringing to punishment
violators of law and also in keeping the lawless bands of Jayhawkers and
other thieves out of Atchison county.
The following “circular” has been unearthed by the author, and while it
bears no date it apparently contained the constitution, by-laws, ritual
and oath of these societies.
“CIRCULAR TO OFFICERS.
“Be extremely careful in the selection of your members. Admit no one who
is not of good standing in the community, and whom you have not good
reason to believe to be firm and uncompromising in his devotion to the
Union, and to be relied upon to assist in any emergency in maintaining
the laws and good order in the community. This is of the first and
highest importance to the order, and if any member shows symptoms of
defection, watch him closely.
“In all cases, deal kindly with your opponents, and strive by gentle
means to win them over to a change of sentiment. Many good men may thus
be brought within our circle who would otherwise be lost to us.
“The first club established in your county seat will be called the
County Club, to which all clubs in the county will report, and by those
officers all such clubs will be established. It is important that we be
frequently advised as to our strength in the State; and for this purpose
each subordinate club will report weekly to the county club the number
of members enrolled therein; and the County Club will report monthly to
the Ex. Com. at —— the number of clubs and number of members in the
county. These reports should be carefully sealed and addressed ——.
“The officers of County Clubs will be supplied with a printed
constitution and ritual, and they will furnish officers of subordinate
clubs copies of the same, with a strict injunction to secrecy.
“All correspondence must be secret as possible; and in order that this
may be accomplished the monthly reports may consist only of the place,
date, number of clubs in the county and number of members. No signature
must be attached. These reports will be summed up and published by the
Ex. Com.
“Strict secrecy as to the _working_ of the organization is enjoined and
promptness and vigor in its extension is very important. We must work
now and work _rapidly_. _No time is to be lost_; our opponents are
working vigorously and secretly, but it is not too late to counteract
their machinations and utterly overthrow them. _Work! Work! Work!_
“CONSTITUTION.
“OBJECT.
“The object shall be to preserve and maintain the Union and the
constitution of the United States and of the State of Kansas, and to
defend Kansas against invasion, insurrection, civil commotion and to
protect Union men against assassination, arson, robbery, prescription
and all other wrongs inflicted by the enemies of the Government of the
United States and of this State upon loyal persons.
“OFFICERS.
“The officers shall consist of Pr., V. P., R. S., T., M., and S., who
shall hold their office for three months.
“DUTIES OF OFFICERS.
“The duties of officers shall be the same as in similar organizations
and all business shall be conducted in the usual parliamentary form.
“ADMISSION OF MEMBERS.
“Persons may become members who are eighteen years of age and upwards,
and are citizens of the United States.
“INITIATION.
“All initiations shall take place in and with the authority of the
officers of the club who may delegate suitable persons to initiate
members from time to time as occasion requires outside of any regular
meeting of the club. Branch clubs may be formed by proper application to
this club when the president may appoint suitable persons to establish
the same.
“WITHDRAWALS.
“Any member may withdraw from this club by giving written notice of the
same to the R. S. at any regular meeting; but the obligations of such
member shall remain the same as before.
“AMENDMENTS.
“This constitution may be altered or amended by giving one week’s notice
thereof, by a vote of two-thirds of the executive committee of the
State. Each county club may make by-laws for its own organization, not
conflicting with this constitution.
“RITUAL.
“Eternal God! Supreme Ruler, Governor and Architect of the Universe! We
humbly beseech Thee to protect the people of the United States in
general and especially the members of this organization. Wilt thou be
pleased to direct and prosper all our consultations to the advancement
of Thy glory, the good of Thy country, the safety, honor and welfare of
Thy people, and may all things be ordered and settled by the Legislature
and Executive branches of our Government upon the best and surest
foundation, so that peace and happiness, truth and justice may be
established among us for all generations. Wilt Thou be pleased to guide
and direct us as Thou didst our Fathers in the Revolution. With the
strength of Thine almighty arm Thou didst uphold and sustain them
through all their trials, and at last didst crown them with victory. May
charity, and brotherly love cement us; may we be united with our
principles founded upon the teachings of Thy Holy Word and may Thy Good
Spirit guide, strengthen and comfort us, now and forever, Amen.
“All candidates for membership to this club will be required to answer
the following questions to be propounded by the marshal before
initiation:
“1. Are you opposed to secession or dis-union?
“2. Do you acknowledge that your first and highest allegiance is due to
the Government of the United States of America?
“3. Are you willing to take such an oath of allegiance to the United
States of America?
“4. Are you willing to pledge yourself to resist to the extent of your
power, all attempts to subvert or overthrow the constitution of the
United States, or the constitution of the State of Kansas?
“Should the candidates answer affirmatively, the marshal, after
repeating to the president, will conduct them into the club room and
present them to the president, who shall then address the candidates as
follows:
“Gentlemen:—We rejoice that you have thus voluntarily come forward to
unite yourselves with us. The cause we advocate is that of our country;
banded together for the purpose of perpetuating the liberties for which
our fathers fought, we have sworn to uphold and protect them.
“It is a strange and sad necessity which impels American citizens to
band themselves together to sustain the constitution and the Union; but
the Government under which we live is threatened with destruction.
Washington enjoined upon us that ‘the unity of the Government which
constitutes us one people is a main pillar in the edifice of our real
independence; the support of our tranquility at home, our peace abroad—
of our safety, of our prosperity, of that very liberty which we so
highly prize.’ He charges that we should ‘properly estimate the immense
value of our national Union to our collective and individual happiness;
that we should cherish a cordial, habitual and immovable attachment to
it; accustoming ourselves to think and speak of it as the palladium of
our political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with
jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion
that it can in any event be abandoned.’
“He tells us again that ‘to the efficiency and permanency of the Union,
a Government for the whole is indispensable. No alliances, however
strict between the parts, is an adequate substitute.’
“It is to sustain this Government we are banded together, and for this
purpose you are now required to take a solemn obligation.
“Place your left hand on the National Flag and raise your right hand
toward Heaven; repeating after me:
“We and each of us do solemnly swear in the presence of God and these
witnesses to support, protect and defend the constitution and Government
of the United States and of the State of Kansas against all enemies,
foreign and domestic, and to maintain and defend the Government of the
United States and the flag thereof, and aid in maintaining the laws of
the United States in this State and to defend the State of Kansas
against invasion from any State or States and from any other rebellion,
invasion, insurrection to the best of our ability without any mental
reservation or evasion—So help us God.
“The members will respond.
“To this we pledge ourselves.
“We do severally solemnly swear and affirm that we will protect, aid and
defend each member of all Union clubs, and will never make known in any
way or manner, to any person or persons, not members of Union clubs, any
of the signs, passwords, proceedings, purposes, debates or plans of this
or any other club under this organization, except when engaged in
admitting new members into this organization.
“The president will then deliver the following address to the
candidates:
“‘The oath which you have now taken of your own free will and accord
cannot rest lightly upon your conscience, neither can it be violated
without leaving the stain of perjury upon your soul. Our country is now
in “disorder” and “confusion;” the fires of commotion and contest are
now raging in our midst, war has come to us but we cannot, we must not,
we dare not omit to do that which in our judgment the safety of the
Union requires, not regardless of consequences, we must yet meet
consequences; seeing the hazard that surrounds the discharge of public
duty, it must yet be discharged. Let us then, cheerfully shun no
responsibility justly devolving upon us here or elsewhere in attempting
to maintain the Union. Let us cheerfully partake its fortune and its
fate. Let us be ready to perform our appropriate part, whenever and
wherever the occasion may call us, and to take our chances among those
upon whom the blows may fall first and fall thickest.
“‘Above all remember the words of our own immortal Clay: “If Kentucky
tomorrow unfurls the banner of resistance, I never will fight under that
banner. I owe a paramount allegiance to the whole Union. A _subordinate_
one to my own State.”
“‘Be faithful, then, to your country, for your interests are
indissolubly connected with hers; be faithful to these, your brethren,
for your life and theirs may be involved in this contest; be faithful to
posterity for the blessings you have enjoyed in this Government are but
held in trust for thee.’
“Response by all the members—We Will!
“The president will then present the constitution and oath to the
candidates for their signature.”
Charles Metz, a notorious Jayhawker, whose personal appearance and
characteristics are best described in an essay entitled, “The Last of
the Jayhawkers,” contributed to the old _Kansas Magazine_, by John J.
Ingalls. “Conspicuous among the irregular heroes who thus sprang to arms
in 1861,” says Ingalls, “and ostensibly their leader, was an Ohio stage
driver by the name of Charles Metz, who having graduated with honor from
the penitentiary of Missouri, assumed for prudential reasons the more
euphonious and distinguished appellation of ‘Cleveland.’ He was a
picturesque brigand. Had he worn a slashed doublet and trunk hose of
black velvet he would have been the ideal of an Italian bandit. Young,
erect and tall, he was sparely built and arrayed himself like a
gentleman in the costume of the day. His appearance was that of a
student. His visage was thin, his complexion olive tinted and colorless,
as if ‘sicklied over with a pale cast of thought.’ Black piercing eyes,
finely cut features, dark hair and beard correctly trimmed, completed a
_tout ensemble_ that was strangely at variance with the aspect of the
score of dissolute and dirty desperadoes that formed his command. These
were generally degraded ruffians of the worst type, whose highest idea
of elegance in personal appearance was to have their mustaches a
villainous, metallic black, irrespective of the consideration whether
its native hue was red or brown. * * * *
“The vicinity of the fort with its troops rendered Leavenworth
undesirable as a base of operations. St. Joseph was also heavily
garrisoned, and they accordingly selected Atchison as the point from
which to move on the enemy’s works. Atchison at that time contained
about 2,500 inhabitants. Its business was transacted upon one street and
extended west about four blocks from the river. Its position upon the
extreme curve of the ‘Grand Detour of the Missouri, affording unrivaled
facilities to the interior in the event of pursuit. Having been
principally settled by Southerners it still afforded much legitimate
gain for our bird of prey, and its loyal population having already
largely enlisted, the city was incapable of organized resistance to the
depredations of the marauders.
“They established their headquarters at the saloon of a German named
Ernest Renner, where they held their councils of war and whence they
started upon their forays. The winter was favorable to their designs, as
the river closed early, enabling them to cross upon the ice. Cleveland
proclaimed himself marshal of Kansas, and announced his determination to
run the country. He invited the cordial co-operation of all good
citizens to assist him in sustaining the government and punishing its
foes. Ignorant of his resources and of his purposes, the people were at
first inclined to welcome their strange guests as a protection from the
dangers to which they were exposed, but it soon became apparent that the
doctors were worse than the disease. They took possession of the town,
defied the municipal authorities, and committed such intolerable
excesses that their expulsion was a matter of public safety. Their
incursions into Missouri were so frequent and audacious that a company
of infantry was sent from Weston and stationed at Winthrop to effect
their capture, but to no purpose. * * * * If a man had an enemy in any
part of the country whom he wished to injure, he reported him to
Cleveland as a rebel, and the next night he was robbed of all he
possessed and considered fortunate if he escaped without personal
violence. * * * * A small detachment of cavalry was sent from the fort
to take them, but just as they had dismounted in front of the saloon and
were hitching their horses, Cleveland appeared at the door with a cocked
navy in each hand and told them that he would shoot the first man who
moved a finger. Calling two or three of his followers he disarmed the
dragoons, took their horses and equipments and sent them back on foot to
reflect upon the vicissitudes of military affairs. Early in 1862 the
condition became desperate and the city authorities, in connection with
the commander at Winthrop, concerted a scheme which brought matters to a
crisis. Cleveland and about a dozen of his gang were absent in Missouri
on a scout. The time of their return was known, and Marshal Charles
Holbert had his force stationed in the shadow of an old warehouse near
the bank of the river. It was a brilliant moonlight night in mid-winter.
The freebooters emerged from the forest and crossed upon the ice. They
were freshly mounted and each one had a spare horse. Accompanying them
were two sleighs loaded with negroes, harness and miscellaneous plunder.
As they ascended the steep shore of the levee, unconscious of danger,
they were all taken prisoners except Cleveland, who turned suddenly,
spurred his horse down the embankment and escaped. The captives were
taken to Weston, where they soon afterward enlisted in the Federal army.
The next day Cleveland rode into town, captured the city marshal on the
street and declared his intention to hold him as a hostage for the
safety of his men. He compelled the marshal to walk by the side of his
horse a short distance, when finding a crowd gathering for his capture,
he struck him a blow on the head with his pistol and fled.”
Cleveland continued his exploits for a number of months after this, but
was finally captured in one of the southern counties where he was
attempting to let himself down the side of a ravine. He was shot by a
soldier from above, and the ball entered his arm and passed through his
body. He was buried in St. Joseph. Mo., and a marble head stone over his
grave bears the following inscription, placed there by his widow: “One
hero less on earth, one angel more in heaven.”
As the direct result of the operations of Cleveland and his gang, the
spirit of lawlessness grew and the people finally “took the law into
their own hands.” Perhaps the best account of the lynchings that
followed was given by Hon. Mont. Cochran March 17, 1902, at the time a
Congressman from Missouri, but formerly a leading citizen and county
attorney of Atchison. Mr. Cochran said:
“The thieves who fell victims to Judge Lynch, while not known as
Cleveland’s gang, operated extensively throughout the period of
lawlessness in which no effort whatever was made to bring the outlaws to
justice. After the Cleveland gang had been effectively broken up, these
depredatory scoundrels continued their operations. Their last crime, and
the one for which they were gibbeted, was the attempted robbery of an
old man named Kelsey. He had received at Ft. Leavenworth $1,500 on a
Government contract, and, upon returning home by the way of Atchison, he
deposited it in Hetherington’s bank. The thieves went to his house at
night and demanded the money. Of course, he could not produce it. They
tortured the old man and his wife alternately for hours, and when after
the departure of the thieves, the neighbors were called in, Kelsey and
his wife were nearer dead than alive. The next morning hundreds of their
neighbors, armed to the teeth, swarmed into Atchison. In Third street,
north of Commercial, was a little log building, which had been the home
of an early settler, in which was a gunsmith’s shop. Three or four of
the farmers went there to have their fire arms put in order. When they
came out one of them had a revolver in his hand. Two fellows standing
by, seeing the farmers approaching, dived into an alley and started
westward at lightning speed. The farmers pursued and at the house of a
notorious character, known as Aunt Betsey, the fugitives were run to
cover. The house was surrounded and they were captured. One of them was
Sterling, the fiddler and pianist of the bagnio. Other arrests followed
until five were in durance. Then ensued probably the most extraordinary
proceeding known to the annals of Judge Lynch. The mob took possession
of the jail and the court house and for a week held them. The prisoners
were tried one by one. Sterling was convicted and executed. An elm tree,
standing on the banks of White Clay creek, in the southwest quarter of
the town, was admirably suited to the purpose. When the wagon, bearing
Sterling to his doom reached the ground the whole town was in
attendance. A range of hills to the south swarmed with women. Asa
Barnes, a prominent farmer, a man of iron resolution and unswerving
honesty, was the leader of the mob. With clinched teeth and blanched
face he ordered Sterling to take his place on the seat of the wagon,
and, while the desperado was as game as a peacock, he promptly obeyed.
Standing on the wagon seat Sterling took off his hat, banged it down and
placing his foot on it, shook his clenched hand at the sea of upturned
faces, and with a volley of imprecations, said: ‘I am the best d—d man
that ever walked the earth and if you will drop me down and give me a
gun, I will fight any ten of you.’ Sandy Corbin, a great bluffer, who
bore but little better reputation than the man with the noose on his
neck, pretended that he wanted to fight Sterling single-handed. Nobody
else paid any attention to Sterling’s ravings, and in a twinkling he was
swung into eternity. The next day two others, a man named Brewer, a
soldier at home on a furlough, and a young fellow known as Pony, met the
same fate. There was much sympathy for Pony. He was a drunkard and all
his delinquencies were attributed to this weakness. Just as they were
ready to swing him up, two or three members of the mob told him that if
he would give information as to others implicated, but who had not been
arrested, they would save him. His reply was: ‘I went into this thing as
a man and I will die as a man.’ There was a stir among those nearest the
wagon and it was discovered that an effort was being made to save the
boy from death. The traces were cut and the horses led away. The effort
failed. Fifty men seized the wagon and dragged it away. The fourth to
suffer the vengeance of the mob was an old gray-haired man named Moody.
At the trial he strongly protested his innocence, and promised, if given
a respite of twenty-four hours, he would prove an alibi. This was
granted, but the witnesses were not forthcoming and the next day the old
man was put to death. A priest visited him in jail, which was constantly
surrounded day and night, and when he came out after administering the
rights of the church to the doomed man, it was remarked by those who saw
him that the priest was as pale as a ghost. The report gained currency
that when asked if Moody was innocent, he refused to answer yea or nay,
and, although it had not then developed that Moody could not produce the
witnesses he promised, the conduct of the priest was taken as proof that
Moody was guilty. During the week in which these extraordinary
proceedings took place, the mob was in undisputed control of the court
house and jail. Judge Lynch was perched upon the wool sack and a jury of
twelve men, who had qualified under oath, in the usual form, occupied
the jury box. Not the slightest effort at concealment was made by those
who led or those who followed. In my judgment no other course was left
open to the community.
“Not less than 500 men were driven out of Kansas on the charge of
disloyalty in 1861 and 1862, with the approval of men of excellent
character, by thugs and scoundrels, who made no concealment of the fact
that they lived by horse stealing and house breaking. From the beginning
of the Civil war until peace was declared, the Kansas border from the
Nebraska State line to the Indian Territory, was a scene of lawlessness
and disorder. In the earlier years of the war, thieves regularly
organized into companies, with captains whose authority was recognized
by the rank and file, with headquarters in the towns and cities of
eastern Kansas, masqueraded as saviors of the Union, and upon the
pretense that they were serving the cause, thrived amazingly by
pillaging the farm houses and barns of neighboring counties in Missouri.
Atchison was the headquarters of the Cleveland gang—the most active and
the boldest of the banditti. The gang did not hesitate to cross over to
Missouri and steal horses, and returning to Atchison sell them in broad
daylight. Usually these raids were made at night, but there was no
concealment of the business they were engaged in, nor of the fact that
hundreds of the horses sold by them were stolen from farmers of
Buchanan, Platte and Clinton counties. In the capacity of saviors of the
Union, they took upon themselves the task of driving all persons
suspected of sympathy for ‘the lost cause’ out of Kansas. P. T. Abell,
J. T. Hereford, Headley & Carr, prominent lawyers, were notified to
leave or they would be killed. They departed. Headley, Carr and Hereford
served in the Confederate army. Abell lived in exile until after the war
was over, and then returned to Atchison. He was one of the founders of
the town, and before the war was the partner of Gen. B. F. Stringfellow.
Tom Ray, proprietor of an extensive blacksmithing and wagon shop, was
banished. In a month or two he returned, but not until after he had
halted at Winthrop, a village opposite Atchison and opened up
negotiations which resulted in a grant of permission to remain in
Atchison long enough to settle up his business and collect considerable
sums due from his customers. He registered at the old Massasoit House,
but did not tarry long. Maj. R. H. Weightman, an early settler, who left
Atchison in 1861, and accepted a colonel’s commission in the Confederate
army, had been killed at Wilson’s Creek. While sitting in the Massasoit
House barroom, Ray was approached by Sandy Corbin, a somewhat notorious
character, who handled most of the horses stolen by Cleveland’s thieves.
Corbin mentioned Weightman’s death, expressing satisfaction at his
untimely end, and applying all the epithets known to the abandoned, to
the dead man. Ray expostulated, and finally warned Corbin to desist or
expect a thrashing. Corbin rushed to his room and returned with two
revolvers, so adjusted upon his belt that Ray could not help seeing
them. Ray, who was a giant in size, seized Corbin, threw him face
downward upon a billiard table, and with a blacksmith’s hand as large as
a ham, spanked him until he was almost insensible. Then he hurriedly
boarded the ferry boat, crossed the river and made his way to Montana,
where he lived until his death, twenty years ago.
“Cleveland’s lieutenant, a fellow named Hartman, was the worst of the
gang, and was guilty of so many and such flagrant outrages upon the
prominent citizens that in sheer desperation, four men, all of whom are
now dead, met and drew straws to see who would kill Hartman—(1) Jesse C.
Crall, during his life prominent in politics and business; (2) George T.
Challiss, for thirty years a deacon in the Baptist church and a
prominent wholesale merchant and identified prominently with Atchison
affairs; (3) James McEwen, a cattle buyer and butcher; (4) The fourth
man was a prominent physician. Each of these had suffered intolerable
outrages at the hands of Hartman. He had visited their houses and
terrified their wives by notifying them that unless their husbands left
Atchison within a specified period they would be mobbed. Even the
children of two of the victims of persecution had been abused. They met
at the physician’s office, and after a prolonged conference, at which it
was agreed that neither would leave until Hartman had been killed,
proceeded to draw straws to see which would undertake the work. Crall
held the straws, McEwen drew the short straw and the job fell to his
lot. Atchison is bisected by two or three brooks, one of which traverses
the northwest section of the town and runs into White Clay creek. This
ravine has very precipitous banks, and was crossed by several foot
bridges. At the east approach of the bridge was a tall elm tree. McEwen
took his position under this tree, and awaited the appearance of
Hartman, who necessarily passed that way in going home at night. When
Hartman was half-way across the bridge, McEwen stepped out, dropped to
his knee, leveled a double-barreled shotgun and turned loose. He filled
Hartman with buckshot from his head to his heels, but strange to say,
the fellow did not die for months afterward. Had either of the others
drawn the fatal straw, no doubt Hartman would have been killed in broad
daylight, on the streets, but McEwen concluded to give the fellow no
chance for his life.”
The First Kansas volunteer cavalry was the first regiment to be raised
under the call of President Lincoln May 8, 1861. It was mustered into
the service at Ft. Leavenworth June 3, 1861. George W. Deitzler, of
Lawrence, was colonel, and the following men from Atchison were
officers: George H. Faicheled, captain, Company C; Camille Aguiel, first
lieutenant: Rinaldo A. Barker, second lieutenant; James W. Martin,
second lieutenant of Company B. Within ten days of the date this
regiment was mustered in, they received orders for active service. The
regiment joined the army of General Lyon at Grand River, Mo., and on
July 10 arrived at Springfield, where the force of General Sigel was
gathered. The united forces of the rebels, under Price and McCullouch,
was concentrated at Wilson’s Creek, twelve miles from Springfield, and
was strongly entrenched there, where the initial engagement of the First
Kansas regiment took place. This regiment went into the engagement with
644 men and officers, and lost seventy-seven killed and 333 wounded. The
rebel forces were estimated to be 5,300 infantry, fifteen pieces of
artillery, and 6,000 horsemen, with a loss of 265 killed, 721 wounded,
and 292 missing. The Union forces numbered about 5,000, with a loss of
about 1,000. It was one of the fiercest and most determined battles of
the Civil war, and both officers and privates in the companies from
Atchison displayed great bravery. First Lieut. Camille Aguiel was among
the killed, and privates Henry W. Totten and Casper Broggs, together
with Corporal William F. Parker, of Atchison, also lost their lives in
this engagement.
The Seventh regiment Kansas cavalry was ordered into active service
immediately following its organization. Colonel Daniel R. Anthony, of
Leavenworth, was a lieutenant-colonel of this regiment, and among the
line officers was William S. Morehouse, of Atchison, who was second
lieutenant. This regiment saw a great deal of active service in the
Civil war, and was first attacked by the rebels November 11, 1861, while
encamped in western Missouri, on the Little Blue river. Following a
furious battle the regiment lost nine of its force by death and thirty-
two wounded. This regiment subsequently participated in an engagement at
Little Santa Fe and at Independence. In January, 1862, the Seventh
regiment went into camp at Humboldt, Kan., and remained there until it
was ordered to Lawrence in the following March, and subsequently was
ordered to Corinth, Miss., and from thence to Rienzi, Miss., where it
was assigned to the First Cavalry brigade, of which Phillip H. Sheridan
was commander, and subsequently saw much service in Tennessee and other
points in the South, and participated in the various actions that
occurred during General Smith’s expedition to the Tallahatchee, after
which the balance of their active service took place in Missouri. It was
mustered out at Ft. Leavenworth September 4, 1865.
The Eighth regiment Kansas infantry was perhaps closer to the hearts of
the people of Atchison county than any other regiment that participated
in the Civil war, for the reason that its lieutenant-colonel was the
beloved John A. Martin, editor of the _Atchison Champion_, and
subsequently governor of Kansas. It was originally recruited and
intended for home and frontier service. The fear of invasion, both by
hostile Indians on the west, and the rebels on the south and east, kept
fear alive in the hearts of many residents of Kansas, and for this
purpose it was deemed desirable to have a regiment of volunteer soldiers
close at hand. As originally organized, this regiment consisted of six
infantry and two cavalry companies, but various changes were made during
the three months following its organization. It saw active service
throughout the South, and participated in many of the important battles
of the Civil war, but in none did it play a more conspicuous part than
in the great battle of Mission Ridge. The following is from Colonel
Martin’s official report of the part taken by the Eighth Kansas in this
engagement:
“Shortly after noon, on the twenty-fifth (November), we were ordered to
advance on the enemy’s position at the foot of Mission Ridge, and moved
out of our works, forming in the second line of the battle. We at once
advanced steadily in line through the woods and across the open field in
front of the enemy’s entrenchments to the foot of the hill, subjected
during the whole time to a heavy artillery fire from the enemy’s
batteries, and as soon as we reached the open field, to a destructive
musketry fire. Reaching the first line of works we halted to rest our
men for a few moments, and then advanced through a terrible storm of
artillery and musketry, to the foot of the hill and up it as rapidly as
possible. The crest of the ridge at the point where we moved up was
formed like a horseshoe. We advanced in the interior, while the enemy’s
batteries and infantry on the right and left, as well as in the center,
poured upon us a most terrific fire. But the men never faltered or
wavered, although from the nature of the ground, regiments were mingled
one with another, and company organization could not possibly be
preserved. Each man struggled to be first on top, and the officers and
men of the regiment, without a single exception, exhibited the highest
courage and the most devoted gallantry in this fearful charge.
“The enemy held their ground until we were less than a dozen yards from
their breastworks, when they broke in wild confusion and fled in panic
down the hill on the opposite side. A portion of our men pursued them
for nearly a mile, capturing and hauling back several pieces of
artillery and caissons, which the enemy were trying to run off.
“We occupied the summit of Mission Ridge until the night of the twenty-
sixth, when we were ordered to return to camp at Chattanooga.
“Our loss was one commissioned officer wounded and three enlisted men
killed and thirty-one wounded. The regiment went into the battle with an
aggregate force of 217 men and officers.
“Where all behaved with such conspicuous courage, it is difficult to
make distinction, but I cannot forebear mentioning my adjutant-
lieutenant, Sol. R. Washer. Wounded at Chicakamauga, and not yet
recovered from the effects of his wound, and suffering from a severe
sprain of the ankle, which prevented his walking, he mounted his horse
and rode through the whole battle, always foremost in danger.”
The Eighth infantry remained in camp at Chattanooga until it removed to
the relief of Burnside at Knoxville, which city was reached on December
7. About the same time Sherman’s corps arrived. The winter of 1863 was
spent in east Tennessee, and in the following February arrived home in
Atchison and Ft. Leavenworth. There was great rejoicing and celebration
and both officers and soldiers were greeted with waving banners, ringing
bells, booming cannon, and there was much feasting and speech making.
The regiment was home on a furlough, and early in April the men re-
assembled at Leavenworth and on the twelfth of that month was ordered to
report back to Chattanooga, where it subsequently saw service in the
Cumberland mountains, and throughout the State of Tennessee.
Colonel Martin was mustered out at Pulaski November 17, his term of
enlistment having expired, and the following day he left for the North,
but the regiment was not mustered out of service until the following
January.
The Tenth regiment, Kansas infantry, was made up of the Third and Fourth
and a small portion of the Fifth Kansas regiments, and among its
officers were Mathew Quigg, captain of Company D; Seth M. Tucker, first
lieutenant, and David Whittaker, second lieutenant, all of Atchison. The
activities of this regiment were largely confined to operations in
Missouri and Arkansas, and afterwards in Tennessee. In December, 1864,
it arrived at Clinton, Miss., without tents or blankets, and many of the
men without shoes or overcoats. During January it made an expedition
into Mississippi, and the latter part of that month marched to
Waterloss, Ala., remaining there until February 8, when it embarked for
Vicksburg, where it remained until February 19, and subsequently
operated around Mobile, and the men of this regiment were employed as
skirmishers in the joint advance upon the fortifications around Mobile.
It was mustered out at Montgomery, Ala., September 20, 1865, and finally
discharged at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan. The regiment was mostly composed of
veterans, who understood the life of a soldier, and realized the
hardships of military campaigns. They did their duty, whether it was in
guarding their own State from invasion, or assaulting the rebels at the
siege of Ft. Blakely.
The Thirteenth regiment, Kansas infantry, had more officers in it from
Atchison than any of the regiments that participated in the Civil war.
It was raised under President Lincoln’s call of July, 1862, and was
recruited by Cyrus Leland, Sr., of Troy, Kan., by virtue of authority
from James H. Lane, in the counties of Brown, Atchison, Doniphan,
Marshall and Nemaha. The regiment was organized September 10, 1862, at
Camp Staunton, Atchison, and mustered into the service ten days later.
Colonel of this regiment was Thomas M. Bowen, of Marysville, and the
major was Caleb A. Woodworth, of Atchison. Among the line officers from
Atchison were: Henry Havenkorst, captain of Company B; August
Langehemeken, second lieutenant; Henry R. Neal, captain; Robert
Manville, second lieutenant; John E. Hayes, captain, Company F;
Archimedes S. Speck, first lieutenant; William J. May, second
lieutenant; Patrick McNamara, captain, Company K; Daniel C. O’Keefe,
first lieutenant; Hugh Dougherty, second lieutenant.
The regiment joined a division of General Blunt soon after the battle of
Old Ft. Wayne, and participated in various engagements in Arkansas. At
the battle of Prairie Grove, it was one of the first regiments to be
engaged, and in every attempt to capture the battery of which this
regiment formed the support at this battle, was successfully repulsed,
with heavy losses to the rebels. This battle virtually finished the
campaign for the winter. It subsequently did garrison and out-post duty
in Arkansas, and in the Cherokee Nation. The regiment remained on duty
at Ft. Smith, Ark., until March 3, 1865, when it was ordered to Little
Rock, Ark., and on June 26 of that year was mustered out of service.
Among the privates of this regiment from Atchison, who were killed,
were: James L. Parnell, of Mount Pleasant, and John Collins and Lorenzo
Richardson, of Atchison.
Thomas Roe, a fine, stout young man, son of a widowed mother, of
Brownsville, Pa., was the only member of Company D, of the Second Kansas
cavalry, that lost his life in battle during its nearly four years of
service in the Civil war. This company participated in the battles of
Cane Hill and Prairie Grove, in Arkansas, and other engagements. Roe
came to Kansas with the late Thomas Butcher, for whom he worked until
going into the war of the rebellion.
In May, 1861, a company of home guards was organized by Free State men,
of Lancaster and Shannon townships, Atchison county, with a few from
Brown and Doniphan counties, which gathered every Saturday afternoon for
drill, alternating at the homes of Johnson Wymore and Robert White.
Robert White, who had received military training during the Mexican war,
having served there in 1846–48, did most of the drilling. A. J. Evans
was captain; Robert White, first lieutenant; John Bertwell, of Brown
county, was second lieutenant.
The pro-slavery people were also organized and drilling at the same
time, consisting of South Carolinians, Virginians and Missourians, who
were for the Confederacy and slavery.
At a Sunday school meeting on the prairie, held in a vacant settler’s
shanty near Eden postoffice, where both sides in the neighborhood
worshiped on Sundays, Robert White found out on a Sunday in August,
1861, that a southern organization was to disarm all Free State men the
following Tuesday. His nearest neighbor and a good friend, also a
southerner, thought White had found this out and came and visited him a
good part of Sunday afternoon and staying in the evening until after 10
o’clock before going home, White showing no excitement. Willis went
home, seemingly much at ease, but he was watched by his friend White
until safely resting at his home, when White went and called another
Free State man from his bed who notified half the Free State company and
White the other half, causing them to meet early the following Monday,
when by the middle of the afternoon of that day every pro-slavery man in
that part of the country had his fire arms taken from him, and before
Tuesday evening all of them had departed for Missouri.
Most of the members of the Free State company enlisted in the following
October as volunteers for three years’ service in the Union army and
became known as Company D of Second Kansas cavalry. Robert White, who
was commissioned as first lieutenant in Company D, was discharged and
sent home to die with a serious case of inflammatory rheumatism, but he
recovered so far that in 1863 he raised and drilled a company that
became a part of the State militia. He was commissioned captain of this
company and led it in the Price raid at the battle of Westport in 1864
as a part of the regiment commanded by Col. L. S. Treat in helping keep
Capt. White’s old brigade, commanded by Gen. Sterling Price, of the
Mexican war, from getting into Kansas. The late M. J. Cloyes and T. B.
Platt, of Atchison, were members of Captain White’s company in the Price
raid. Platt was clerk of the company; John English was first lieutenant;
W. F. Streeter, second lieutenant, and Francis Schletzbaum was first
sergeant.
The Seventeenth regiment, Kansas infantry, was a negro regiment, but
with white officers. James M. Williams was colonel, and George J.
Martin, of Atchison, was captain of Company B, and William G. White and
Luther Dickinson, of Atchison, were first and second lieutenants. This
regiment played an honorable part during all the Civil war, and its
service was largely confined to operations in Arkansas and Texas. It was
mustered out of service at Pine Bluff, Ark., October 1, 1865.
The Second regiment, Kansas colored infantry, was organized in June,
1863, at Ft. Smith, Ark., and among its line officers was First Lieut.
John M. Cain, of Atchison. It conducted itself with conspicuous bravery
with the army of the frontier, and during the brief occupation of
Camden, Ark., by General Steele’s forces, this regiment was employed on
picket and forage duty. It showed conspicuous bravery around Poison
Springs and Mark’s Mills, and under the able command of Col. Samuel J.
Crawford, who subsequently became governor of Kansas, it won for itself
an enviable name among the regiments from Kansas, who participated in
the Civil war. This regiment was finally discharged from the services at
Leavenworth November 27, 1865, after having proved to the Nation the
fidelity of the colored soldier.
It was in September, 1864, that General Sterling Price created great
consternation by an attempted invasion of Kansas, which ended in his
defeat on the border by the Union forces, aided by the Kansas State
militia. At the time Price started north in his march through Arkansas
and Missouri. Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis commanded the Department of
Kansas, which included Nebraska, Colorado and Indian Territory, in
addition to Kansas. General Curtis had about 4,500 men, all of whom had
been employed in protecting the frontiers of Kansas and Colorado, and
the overland mail route. At this time General Curtis was near Ft.
Kearney, operating against the Indians. On receipt of word announcing
the movements of General Price, General Curtis was recalled and reached
Kansas in September. A few days later he received word that 3,000 rebels
were marching on Ft. Scott, and advised Governor Carney to call the
militia into service. At this time George W. Deitzler was major-general
of the State militia; John T. Norton was assistant adjutant-general; R.
A. Randlett, assistant quartermaster; Samuel S. Atwood, assistant
quartermaster; Charles Chadwick, George T. Robinson, Lewis T. Welmorth,
John J. Ingalls, Thomas White, Elijah G. Moore, H. Stein, and John A.
Leffkler were all majors. Constant reports of a conflicting nature were
spread from day to day, regarding the movements of General Price, but
the first point to be attacked was Pilot Knob, the engagement commencing
September 27 and lasting all day. General Ewing put up a vigorous
defense, with a force of about 1,000 men, while the militia commanders
in Kansas made preparations for further resistance to the invasion of
Price. Meanwhile General Price continued to make headway, and on the
fourth of October an order was issued forbidding the transit of boats
below Kansas City. When it was discovered that the rebels under Price
had not been seriously checked in their movement westward, further
efforts were made by General Curtis to prevail upon Governor Kearney to
call out the militia, which the Governor seemed disinclined to do.
Finally, on October 9, 1864, Major General Deitzler issued an order for
the State militia from Doniphan, Brown, Nemaha and Marshall counties to
rendezvous at Atchison, and the militia from other counties were ordered
to other points in the State. A few days later Leavenworth was
fortified, because of a telegram which was received from General
Rosecrans, stating that it was Price’s intention to strike that point
first. The militia responded promptly, and the following regiments
reported for service at Atchison: The Twelfth regiment, composed of 460
men, under the command of Col. L. S. Treat, and the Eighteenth regiment,
composed of 400 men, under the command of Colonel Mathew Quigg. The
total number of militia enrolled under the call of the governor was
12,622, of which about 10,000 were south of the Kansas river at the
point most exposed to danger. From the eleventh until the sixteenth of
the month there was great excitement, as the forces rapidly gathered, to
be organized and equipped. On the staff of General Deitzler there were
two men from Atchison: A. S. Hughes, an aide, and John J. Ingalls,
judge-advocate, with the rank of major.
As a result of this determined move on the part of Gen. Sterling Price
to invade Kansas, there followed in quick succession the battle of
Lexington, the battle of Big Blue, and finally the battle of Westport,
at which, on October 23, 1864, the forces of Price were finally routed
and his campaign and invasion were stopped, but not until it had caused
the citizens of Kansas, in addition to the labor and loss of life, not
less than half a million dollars.
CHAPTER IX.
NAVIGATION.
PIONEER TRANSPORTATION—EARLY FERRIES AND RATES—FAMOUS RIVER BOATS—
STEAMBOAT LINES TO ATCHISON—STEAMBOAT REGISTERS.
Slight reference has been made in the early narrative of this history to
pioneer transportation facilities, but the subject is one of so much
importance and of such immense interest, that a chapter devoted to it is
the only way in which it can be adequately treated.
At the time Atchison county was settled, railroad transportation by
steam was not a new thing, although it was in its primitive stages.
Navigation of the inland waterways had reached rather a high state of
development, and the matter of transportation then was just as essential
to the purposes of civilization as in this day of the railroad and the
automobile, but it was many years before the steam railroads made the
steamboat traffic of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers obsolete. The
tremendous subsidies granted by the Government in later years for
railroad building, however, and the splendid opportunity for piling up
wealth in the projection of new railroads and the operation of them,
without Governmental restrictions, together with the advantage of
speedier transportation facilities, completely overshadowed the
steamboat business, and as a result, our great inland waterway system
has grown into practical disuse. Shortly after Atchison county was
organized, and the city of Atchison laid out, agitation was started for
railroad connections with the East. One of the first ordinances passed
by the city council in 1858 provided for an election to submit a
proposition to take $100,000.00 of stock in railroad. At that time the
only means of communication to the outside world Atchison had was by
steamboats to St. Louis. It was in October, 1855, that George M.
Million, Lewis Burnes, D. D. Burnes, James N. Burnes and Calvin F.
Burnes commenced the operation of a ferry across the Missouri river.
Their dock on the Kansas side was at the foot of Atchison street. Their
charter was secured from the legislature under the terms of which a bond
of $1,000.00 was required to insure the faithful performance of their
operations. Although there was no public utilities commission in Kansas
in 1855, the legislature took upon itself the task of fixing the rates
to be charged by the ferry owners, in order that the public would not be
robbed. They were as follows:
Two-horse wagon, or wagon and one yoke of oxen (loaded) $1.00
Two-horse wagon, or wagon and one yoke of oxen (unloaded) .75
One additional pair of horses or oxen .25
Loose cattle or oxen, per head .10
Sheep and hogs, per head .05
Man and horse .25
Foot passengers .10
One horse and buggy or other vehicle .50
Two horse buggy or carriage .75
The original promoters operated the ferry but a short time, and early in
the following year, they disposed of their interests to Dr. William L.
Challiss, and his brother, Luther C. Challiss, and Willis E. Gaylord,
and the ferry, under Dr. Challiss, and subsequent owners, continued in
operation until 1875, when the present bridge was built.
About the time the first ferry was established in Atchison, a number of
Salt Lake freighters selected the town as a starting and outfitting
point and from that time until 1866, Atchison was the eastern terminus
of many of the leading overland mail and freighting routes. It was the
natural location for communication with the West, as it was twelve miles
further west in Kansas than any other point on the Missouri river.
Freight and passengers were brought to the Atchison levee, at the foot
of Commercial street, by a regular line of Packets plying between St.
Louis and St. Joseph. It required eight days to make the round trip, and
in the very early days, as many or four to six boats landed here in the
busy season.
During the winter months traffic on the river was practically suspended,
on account of the ice. These boats carried as many as 400 passengers,
the fare from St. Louis to St. Joseph ranging from $10.00 to $15.00,
which included meals and state rooms. The cooking was said to have been
very fine, and the passengers always enjoyed the best that money could
buy.
In addition to passengers, these boats carried from 500 to 600 tons of
freight, and the rates were as high as $2.50 per cwt. on merchandise
that would not cost to exceed fifteen cents per cwt. in these days. The
crew consisted of 80 to 100 men, and the value of these boats was
estimated to be about $45,000.00 each. The river then, as now, was
filled with sandbars and it required the greatest experience to pilot a
boat safely to its destination, and as a result, experienced pilots
would command monthly salaries ranging from $250.00 to $500.00. Each
boat carried two pilots. A. B. Symns, for many years a successful
wholesale grocery merchant in Atchison, E. K. Blair, the miller, and
George W. Bowman, who also subsequently engaged in the grocery business,
were employees on several of the steamboats that landed at Atchison.
Stories of gambling and revelries, by day and by night, are not
uncommon, and it is said it was not an unusual sight to see as many as
ten games of poker going on in the main cabins on every trip, in which
real money and not mere chips were used. Among the famous boats on the
river in the early days were the “Hesperian,” which burned near Atchison
in 1859; the “Converse,” “Kate Kinney,” “Fort Aubrey,” “Morning Star,”
“John D. Perry,” “Sioux City,” “Omaha,” “Carrier,” and the “James H.
Lucas,” which made the record run from St. Louis to St. Joseph,
encompassing the trip in fifty-nine hours and twenty-two minutes, were
among the well known boats that docked at the Atchison levee from time
to time. The leading wharfmaster of the steamboat days was Mike Finney,
who was the father of Atchison’s present mayor (1915). James H. Garside
succeeded him and remained in the position until steamboat days had
passed. Had the Missouri river been the beneficiary of the bounty of the
Government, as the railroads were in that day, it would still be a
splendid auxiliary of our transportation system. The Missouri river, so
far as Atchison is concerned, is in the same condition it was in when
Mark Twain made an early trip on it from St. Louis to St. Joseph. In
“Roughing It,” he said:
“We were six days going from St. Louis to St. Joseph, a trip that was so
dull and sleepy and eventless, that it has left no more impression on my
memory than if its duration had been six minutes instead of that many
days. No record is left in my mind now concerning it, but a confused
jumble of savage looking snags, which we deliberately walked over with
one wheel or the other; and of reefs which we butted and butted and then
retired from, and climbed over in some softer place; and of sand bars
which we roosted on occasionally and rested, and then got our crutches
and sparred over. In fact the boat might as well have gone to St. Joseph
by land, for she was walking most of the time anyhow—climbing over reefs
and clambering over snags, patiently and laboriously all day long. The
captain said she was a bully boat, and all she wanted was more “shear”
and a bigger wheel. I thought she wanted a pair of stilts, but I had the
sagacity not to say so.”
STEAMBOAT LINES TO ATCHISON—1856.
From _Squatter Sovereign_.
March 11, 1856.
“A. B. Chambers,” James Gormley, Master; D. Jamison, Clerk.
“F. X. Aubrey,” Ambrose Reeder, Captain; Ben V. Glime, Clerk.
“Polar Star,” E. F. Dix, Master; H. M. Glossom, Clerk.
“New Lucy,” Wm. Conley, Master.
“James H. Lucas,” Andrew Wineland, Commander.
March 18, 1856.
“Star of the West,” E. F. Dix, Master.
March 25, 1856.
“J. M. Convers,” Geo. W. Bowman, Captain; G. A. Reicheneker,
Clerk.
April 29, 1856.
“Martha Jewett,” D. H. Silver, Captain; W. McCreight, Clerk.
“Sultan,” John H. McCloy, Master; D. C. Sheble, Clerk.
“Edinburg,” Dan Able, Master.
May 27, 1856.
“Morning Star,” Wm. Brierly, Master.
June 24, 1856.
“Emigrant,” Hugh L. White, Master; H. R. McDonald, Clerk.
STEAMBOAT REGISTER.
Reported for the _Champion_ by M. C.
Finney, Steamboat Agent.
BOUND UP.
E. M. Ryland, Blunt Monday, 8th.
Peerless, Bissell Wednesday, 10th.
John H. Dickey, Abel Saturday, 13th.
H. H. Russell, Kenny Sunday, 14th.
Hesperian, Kerchival Sunday, 14th.
F. X. Aubry, Glime Wednesday, 17th.
Platte Valley, Postill Wednesday, 17th.
Wm. Campbell, Dale Thursday, 18th.
White Cloud, O’Neil Friday, 19th.
Spread Eagle, Lagrage Friday, 19th.
Emma, Friday, 19th.
BOUND DOWN.
E. M. Ryland, Blunt Tuesday, 9th.
Peerless, Bissell Friday, 12th.
John H. Dickey, Abel Sunday, 14th.
W. H. Russell, Kenney Monday, 15th.
Hesperian, Kerchival Tuesday, 16th.
F. X. Aubry, Glime Wednesday, 17th.
Wm. Campbell, Dale Friday, 19th.
White Cloud, O’Neil Saturday, 20th.
(From _Freedom’s Champion_, Atchison, March
20, 1858.)
BOUND UP.
Spread Eagle, Lagrage Friday, 19th.
Emma, Yore Friday, 19th.
Silver Heels, Nanson Saturday, 20th.
Morning Star, Burk Sunday, 21st.
Polar Star, McMullin Monday, 22d.
Twilight, Shaw Monday, 22d.
St. Mary, Devenny Tuesday, 23d.
Carrier, Postal Wednesday, 24th.
Sovereign, Hutchinson Wednesday, 24th.
Omaha, Wineland Thursday, 25th.
F. X. Aubry, Glime Thursday, 25th.
Minnehaha, Baker Thursday, 25th.
John H. Dickey, Abel Friday, 26th.
White Cloud, O’Neil Saturday, 27th.
Florence, Throckmorton Saturday, 27th.
Polar Star, McMullin Sunday, 28th.
Hesperian, Lee Sunday, 28th.
Star of the West, Ollman Monday, 29th.
South Western, Dehaven Monday, 29th.
John Warner, Paterson Monday, 29th.
Sioux City, Baker Monday, 29th.
War Eagle, White Tuesday, 30th.
Ben Lewis, Brierly Tuesday, 30th.
Thomas E. Tutt, Dozier Tuesday, 30th.
J. D. Perry, Davis Wednesday, 31st.
Watossa, Richoneker Wednesday, 31st.
Alonzo Child, Holland Wednesday, 31st.
Wm. Campbell, Dale Wednesday, 31st.
Kate Howard, Nonson Wednesday, 31st.
Sky Lark, Johnson Thursday, April 1.
E. M. Ryland, Blunt Thursday, 1st.
Silver Heels, Nanson Friday, 2d.
John H. Dickey, Abel Friday, 2d.
F. A. Ogden Friday, 2d.
Every boat on the above list except eight have passed down again, making
in all, sixty landings at our wharf, in the short space of thirteen
days.
(From _Freedom’s Champion_, Atchison, April 3, 1858.)
ST. LOUIS & ATCHISON UNION LINE.
One of the following Splendid Steamers Will leave
ATCHISON FOR ST. LOUIS DAILY.
Sunday Boats, Peerless and Silver Heels, Alternately.
Monday Boats, Hesperian and Morning Star, Alternately.
Tuesday Boats, South Webster and A. B. Chambers, Alternately.
Wednesday Boats, Ben Lewis and Twilight, Alternately.
Thursday Boats, Sovereign.
Friday Boats, Kate Howard and Minnehaha, Alternately.
For Freight or passage apply to
G. W. BOWMAN, Agent, Atchison.
N. B. Tickets sold through to all the Eastern and
Southern Cities.
OFFICE on the Levee.
(From _Freedom’s Champion_, Atchison, March 27, 1858.)
* * * * *
_Squatter Sovereign_, Atchison, Dec. 5, 1857:
Omaha, Andrew Wineland, Master; J. J. Wilcox, clerk.
_Freedom’s Champion_, Atchison, April 3, 1858:
Ben Lewis, T. H. Brierly, Master; W. G. Barkley, clerk.
_Freedom’s Champion_, March 12, 1859:
Alonzo Child, D. DeHaven, Master; Stanley Ryland, clerk; H. P.
Short, clerk.
CHAPTER X.
OVERLAND FREIGHTING.
ATCHISON AS AN OUTFITTING POINT—FREIGHTING COMPANIES—PRINCIPAL ROUTES—
STAGE LINES—OVERLAND MAIL ROUTES—BEN HOLLADAY—BUTTERFIELD’S
OVERLAND DISPATCH—TIME TO DENVER—TABLES OF TIME AND DISTANCES ON
VARIOUS ROUTES—STATISTICAL.
Atchison was chosen as an outfitting point for the Salt Lake freighters,
in addition to many other reasons, because we had one of the best
steamboat landings on the river, and had the best wagon road in the
country leading west. Twenty-four miles west of Atchison this road was
intersected by the old overland mail trail from St. Joseph. Leavenworth
had laid out a new road west, over which it was planned to run the
Pike’s Peak Express stages in the spring of 1859, as well as the mule
and ox teams, for Denver and the mountain mining camps. A branch road
was also opened to intersect this route from Atchison in the spring of
1859, under the direction of Judge F. G. Adams. The expedition started
west from Atchison in the spring of that year, over what is now known
and was then known as the Parallel road, then through Muscotah and
America City, across into the Big Blue river, near Blue Rapids, and
westward through Jewell county. The object of this expedition was to
open a shorter route to the mountains than the one opened by the
Leavenworth company, and the route proposed did save sixty-five miles
distance, and almost twelve hours time. E. D. Boyd, an engineer,
measured the entire distance from Atchison to Denver. He also made an
accurate report, showing distances and the crossing of streams, and a
brief description of the entire route, which was published in the
_Atchison Champion_, in June, 1859. According to that report, the
distance from Atchison to Denver was 620 miles. But notwithstanding the
advantage of this new road, it was abandoned immediately and never
traveled by ox or mule trains out of Atchison, for the reason that the
old military road by Fort Kearney and along the Platte river enjoyed
Government protection from the Indians, and was settled at intervals
almost the entire distance.
During the period of overland freighting on the plains, more trains left
Atchison than any other point on the river. The leading firms engaged in
the freighting business were, Stevens & Porter; Dennison & Brown;
Hockaday-Burr & Company; J. S. Galbraith: George W. Howe; Brown
Brothers; E. K. Blair; I. N. Bringman; Roper & Nesbitt; Harrison
Brothers; Henry Reisner; J. C. Peters; P. K. Purcell; R. E. Wilson; Will
Addoms; George I. Stebbins; John C. Bird; William Home; Amos Howell;
Owen Degan, and a number of others.
The cost of shipping merchandise to Denver was very high, as everything
was carried by the pound, rather than by the hundred pounds rate. Flour,
bacon, molasses, whiskey, furniture and trunks were carried at pound
rates. The rates per pound on merchandise shipped by ox or mule wagons
from Atchison to Denver prior to 1860, were as follows:
Flour 9 cents
Tobacco 12½ cents
Sugar 13½ cents
Bacon 15 cents
Dry goods 15 cents
Crackers 17 cents
Whiskey 18 cents
Groceries 19½ cents
Trunks 25 cents
Furniture 31 cents
It has been said by those who witnessed the tremendous overland traffic
of the late fifties and the early sixties, that those of this generation
can form no conception of the enormous amount of traffic overland there
was in those days. Trains were being constantly outfitted not only at
Atchison, but at other points along the river. Twenty-one days was about
the time required for a span of horses or mules to make the trip to
Denver and keep the stock in good condition. It required five weeks for
ox trains to make the same distance, and to Salt Lake, horses and mules
were about six weeks making the trip, and ox trains were on the road
from sixty-five to seventy days. It was the ox upon which mankind
depended in those days to carry on the commerce of the plains. They were
the surest and safest for hauling a large part of the freight destined
for the towns and camps west of the Missouri river. Next in importance
to the ox, was the mule, because they were tough and reliable, and could
endure fatigue.
The year of 1859 was a big year in the history of Atchison, for in that
year the percentage of the growth of the town was greater than any other
year in its history. The fact that it was the best point on the Missouri
river for the overland staging and freighting outfits, brought it in
greater commercial prominence. At that time, Irwin & McGraw were
prominent contractors, who were supplying the various military posts on
the frontier. The mere fact that these Government trains were started
from Atchison, gave the town wonderful prestige.
It was nothing unusual to see two or three steamboats lying at the
levee, discharging freight, and as many more in sight either going up
the river from St. Louis, or down the river from St. Joe. It was not
uncommon for a boat to be loaded at Pittsburgh, Pa., or Cincinnati,
Ohio, going down the Ohio river and up the Mississippi and Missouri to
Atchison; it was not an unusual sight to see a whole boat load of wagons
and ox yokes, mining machinery, boilers and other material necessary for
the immense trade of the West.
The greater part of the traffic out of Atchison to the West was over the
Military road, along the south bank of the Platte, and along this road
teams of six to eight yoke of cattle, hauling heavily loaded wagons, and
strings of four or six horse or mule teams, formed almost an endless
procession.
The liveliest period of overland trade extended from 1859 to 1866,
during which time there was on the plains and in the mountains an
estimated floating population of 250,000. The greater majority of the
people on the plains produced but few of the necessities of life, and
consequently they had to be supplied from the Missouri river. During the
closing year of the Civil war, the travel was immense, most of the
emigration going into the gold mining camps of the Northwest.
While there was considerable freighting out of Atchison to the West
following the opening of the Territory, overland staging did not reach
its height until 1861. The era of overland staging from the Missouri
river to the Pacific coast lasted altogether about eight years. The
first great overland staging enterprise started in 1858, on what is
known as the Southern or Butterfield route. This route ran from St.
Louis and Memphis, Tenn., intersecting at Ft. Smith, Ark. After being in
operation for nearly three years, the route was succeeded by a daily
line on the Central route, which ran from the Missouri river five years,
first starting at St. Joseph, Mo., July 1, 1861, and then from Atchison
in September of that year. On the Central route, the through staging
came to a close after the completion of the Union Pacific railroad from
Omaha across the continent. Originally the stage enterprise was known as
the Overland Mail Company—the Southern or Butterfield line. After it was
transferred north and ran in connection with the stages to Denver, it
was known as the Central Overland California and Pike’s Peak Express
Company. After passing into the hands of Ben Holladay, it became the
Overland Stage Line, and finally the name was changed to the Holladay
Overland Mail Express Company. In 1866, the line had been consolidated
with the Butterfield Overland Dispatch, a stage company which was
organized in 1865, with headquarters in Atchison.
Atchison’s importance as an overland staging terminus was fixed by
reason of an order of the United States Postoffice Department. Before
the final change, making Atchison headquarters and starting point for
the mail, the road from Atchison westward intersected the road from St.
Joseph at Kennekuk. The distance from Atchison to Kennekuk was twenty-
four miles, while it was about thirty-five miles from St. Joseph, and
consequently there was a saving of about nine miles in favor of
Atchison. This was an important item, in carrying the mails, and
resulted in the order of the Postoffice Department making Atchison the
starting point. The distance by the overland stage line from Atchison to
Placerville was 1,913 miles, and following the abandonment of the
Butterfield or Southern route, it became the longest and the most
important stage line in America. There were 153 stations between
Atchison and Placerville, located about twelve and one-half miles apart.
The local fare was $225.00, or about twelve cents per mile, and as high
as $2,000.00 a day was frequently taken in at the Atchison office for
passenger fare alone. The fare between Atchison and Denver was $75.00,
or a little over eight cents per mile, and to Salt Lake City, $150.00.
Local fares ran as high as fifteen cents per mile. Each passenger was
allowed twenty-five pounds of baggage. All in excess of that was charged
at the rate of $1.00 per pound. During the war, the fare to Denver was
increased from seventy-five dollars to $100.00, and before the close of
the war, it had reached $175.00 or nearly twenty-seven cents per mile.
It required about 2,750 horses and mules to run the stage line between
Atchison and Placerville. It required, in addition to the regular supply
of horses to operate the stages, some additional animals for
emergencies, and it was estimated that the total cost of the horses on
this stage line was about one-half million dollars. The harness was the
finest that could be made, and cost about $150.00 for a complete set of
four, or about $55,000.00 for the whole line. The feeding of the stock
was one of the big items of expense, and there were annually consumed at
each station from forty to eighty tons of hay, at a cost of $15 to $40
per ton. Each animal was apportioned an average of twelve quarts of corn
every day, which cost from two to ten cents a pound. In the Salt Lake
and California divisions, oats and barley, grown in Utah, were
substituted for corn, but which cost about the same.
There were about 100 Concord coaches which, in the early sixties cost
about $1,000.00 each. The company owned about one-half of the stations,
in addition to thousands of dollars’ worth of miscellaneous property, at
different places along the route. There were superintendents, general
and local attorneys, paymasters and division agents, all of whom drew
big salaries. Among the stage company’s agents in the late fifties and
early sixties were Hugo Richards and Paul Coburn, at Atchison; Robert L.
Pease, of Atchison, was also for a time agent at Denver.
The mail was carried from Atchison west by Forts Kearney, Laramie and
Bridges, once a week. The schedule time from the river to Salt Lake City
was about eighteen days, and the distance was about 1,200 to 1,300
miles.
In 1861 a daily overland mail was established out of Atchison, and with
the exception of a few weeks in 1862, 1864 and 1865, on account of
Indian troubles, the overland was in operation and ran stages daily out
of Atchison for about five years. It was the greatest stage line in the
world, carrying mail, passengers and express. It was also regarded as
the safest and the fastest way to cross the plains, and the mountain
ranges. It was equipped with the latest modern four and six horse and
mule Concord coaches, and the meals at the eating stations along the
route were first-class, and cost from fifty cents to $2.00 each.
When Atchison was selected as the starting place for the overland mail,
it was not certain how long it would remain the eastern terminus of the
mail route. The Civil war was at its height, and the rebels were doing
much damage to the Hannibal & St. Joseph railroad, which had been
constructed in 1859. They tore up the track, burned the bridges,
destroyed the culverts, fired into the trains, and placed obstructions
along the roadbed, frequently delaying the mail from two to six days. As
a result of this condition of affairs, it was feared that Atchison would
lose the overland mail, and the Government would change the starting
point to some town further north, but because of the advantageous
geographical position of Atchison, it was decided that it would be
disastrous to make a change, so the Government placed a large number of
troops along the entire line of the Hannibal & St. Joe, to insure the
safety of the mails, and Atchison continued to be the point of departure
for the overland mail, until 1866.
The stage coaches used by the overland line were built in Concord, N. H.
They carried nine passengers inside, and one or two could ride on the
box by the driver. Some of the stages were built with an extra seat
above and in the rear of the driver, so that three additional persons
could ride there, making fourteen, with the driver. Sometimes an extra
man would be crowded on the box, making as many as fifteen persons, who
could ride on the Concord coach without very much inconvenience.
This chapter on overland staging would be unfinished, unless some
reference was made to Ben Holladay, who played such an important part in
the overland staging days of this country. Ben Holladay had a remarkable
career. In his early days, when he resided in Weston, Mo., he drove a
stage himself. He was a genuine westerner, having run a saloon and
tavern in Weston as early as 1838 and 1839. He went overland to
California in 1849, and took a train to Salt Lake City with $70,000
worth of goods. He spent some time in Utah, where he made considerable
money.
Besides operating the Overland Stage for over five years, Holladay had
other important interests in the West. Among his enterprises was a fleet
of passenger steamers, plying between San Francisco and Portland, Ore.
At the height of his career he was a millionaire, and few men in the
country accumulated wealth more rapidly. He spent his money freely, and
squandered vast sums when he was making it. After he had accumulated a
fortune, he went to New York to live, and built a most pretentious
residence a few miles out of New York, on the Hudson river, which he
called Ophir Farm. After he was awarded some good mail contracts by the
Government, he built a mansion in Washington, which he furnished
superbly, and collected a large classical library, with handsomely bound
volumes, and also was a patron of art, collecting fine oil paintings of
celebrated masters in Europe and America. He also made a collection of
fine bronzes and statuary, and paid $6,000.00 each for two bronze lions.
It was in 1860 that he came into possession of the Central Overland
California Mail Line, but subsequent trouble with the Indians damaged
his property to the extent of a half million dollars. His stage stations
were burned, and his stock stolen, and stage coaches destroyed. Finally,
in 1888, being broken in health and in debt, his Washington home, with
its contents, was sold under the hammer.
He came into possession of practically all the big overland routes by
purchase and foreclosure of mortgages, and he made his vast fortune in
mail contracts from the Government. He remained at the head of the
overland line for about five years, taking possession of it in December,
1861, and disposing of it, including the stations, rolling stock and
animals, in the latter part of 1866, to Wells Fargo & Company.
Mr. Holladay died in August, 1877, in Portland, Ore., a poor man.
BUTTERFIELD’S OVERLAND DISPATCH.
One of the interesting promoters in overland staging days was D. A.
Butterfield. He came to Atchison from Denver in 1864, and engaged in the
commission business in a large stone warehouse near the Massasoit House,
and, in addition to his commission business, he was agent for a line of
packets plying between St. Louis and Atchison. Shortly after his arrival
in Atchison he began the development of an overland stage line, which
subsequently reached very large proportions. His ambition was to be at
the head of an overland stage line, and, having selected what was known
as the Smoky Hill route along the Kansas and Smoky Hill rivers, which
was fifty miles shorter than any other route to Denver, he proceeded
with the further development of his plans. He was a smart, capable,
ambitious and aggressive fellow, with vim, and was in touch with a
number of men of large means in New York, whom he soon interested in his
enterprise. Early in 1865 the following advertisement appeared in the
_Atchison Daily Free Press_, announcing Mr. Butterfield’s project:
“BUTTERFIELD’S OVERLAND DISPATCH.
“To all points in Colorado, Utah, Idaho and Montana Territory.
Principal office, Atchison, Kansas. New York Office No. 1 Vesey St.
Astor House.
“Through bills of lading given from New York, Boston, Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh, Chicago, St. Louis, and Burlington, Iowa.
“D. A. Butterfield, Proprietor, Atchison, Kansas.
“A. W. Spalding, General Agent, New York.”
Butterfield’s consuming desire was to control the big end of the
transportation business across the plains. He maintained an expensive
office in New York City and called his line “The Butterfield Overland
Dispatch.” Conspicuous signs were displayed over the doors of his office
in the Astor House, showing caravans of great covered wagons drawn by
mules and oxen, which signs attracted the attention of all. During his
promotion of this new stage line Butterfield lived in great style and
elegance in Atchison, in a house, the remains of which still stand
(1915) at the southwest corner of Fifth and S streets. He entertained
lavishly, and “champagne flowed like water” at his home when he gave a
party.
The direct route out of Atchison to Denver, chosen by Butterfield, was
in a southwesterly direction to Valley Falls, thence across the plains
to a point on the old Fort Riley military road a few miles northeast of
Topeka. The Butterfield line was first operated with mules and oxen, but
as the road grew more prosperous, four horse stages were substituted.
“Dave” Butterfield, as he was known, was determined to make Ben Holladay
a pigmy in the overland stage business. Although it was known to many
that there was more wind behind his enterprise than real money, yet in
spite of the fact that his efforts in the staging world were more or
less looked upon as a promotion scheme, he interested considerable
capital, including the United States, American and the Adams Express
companies. He was a great believer in publicity and spent large sums in
newspaper advertising, but it required much money to properly equip and
operate a stage line, and Butterfield did not have enough. In
consequence of his lack of capital, his original company failed, but was
subsequently reorganized in June, 1865. Butterfield, undaunted, went
east again and raised more money, and before his return, he capitalized
a new company with $3,000,000.00, with one-half paid in. Branch offices
were opened in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Cincinnati,
Chicago, Atchison, Leavenworth, Denver and Salt Lake City. John A.
Kinney, a pioneer business man of Atchison, who had been connected with
Butterfield from the beginning, continued in charge of the Atchison
office under the reorganization, with a salary of $2,500 per year.
Shortly after the new company was organized, Butterfield inserted
another advertisement in the _Free Press_, as follows:
“BUTTERFIELD’S OVERLAND DISPATCH.
“To all points in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho,
Montana and the state of Nevada.
“Contracts can be made with this Company through their Agents to
transport freight from all the eastern cities to all localities in
the Territories, the rate to include railroad and overland carriage
and all commissions upon the Missouri River. The Company owns its
own transportation and gives a through bill of lading which protects
shipper from extreme East to the Far West.
“EXPRESS DEPARTMENT.
“About August, 1865 the Company will have a line of express coaches
running daily between Atchison, Kansas and Denver, Colorado; and
about September 1st, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and as soon in the
Spring as possible, a tri-weekly between Denver and Salt Lake City
over which merchandise will be carried at fair express rates.
“TIME TO DENVER—EIGHT (8) DAYS.
“INSTRUCTIONS: Mark goods for cattle and mule trains: ‘But’d Ov’d
Desp’h.’ Mark goods for express: B. O. D. Express, Atchison.”
Some changes were afterwards made in the location of the route, but it
left as before, in a southwesterly direction to Valley Falls. The
business of the new company was very large from the start and grew
rapidly. Steamboats discharged great quantities of freight at the
Atchison levee for shipment by Butterfield’s line. A large amount also
came from St. Joseph by railroad. In one day during July, 1865, nineteen
car loads of freight consigned to the Butterfield line at Atchison were
received for transportation across the plains. In the following month a
train was loaded with 600,000 pounds of merchandise for Salt Lake City.
One of the early stages that left Atchison on this line made the run to
Junction City, which was 119 miles, in less than twenty-four hours, or
at the rate of five and one-half miles an hour, including all stops, but
the reorganized Butterfield line was not long in operation before it met
with many obstacles. The fact that the Smoky Hill route selected by
Butterfield was not guarded by Government troops of soldiers, as the
Fort Kearney route was, caused the Indians to make many raids upon the
overland trains. A number of severe encounters with Indians were had
from time to time, until it became necessary to operate the stages with
a mounted guard in advance. It finally became so dangerous that it was
difficult to secure messengers and drivers to operate the line. This
condition became so serious that the “Overland Dispatch,” which in the
meanwhile was becoming more financially embarrassed from day to day, was
finally obliged to retire from the field. During the short time that it
lasted, it was widely known throughout the western country, and in the
East it was known in most of the leading cities. While this company, to
some extent, cut down the receipts of the Holladay line, traffic across
the plains had become so dull in the sixties that there was not much
profit in it for anybody. In March, 1866, Holladay took over the
Butterfield line and the following announcement appeared in the
newspapers:
“NOTICE.
“To the Employees of the Overland Dispatch Company.
“The Overland Stage Line and the Overland Dispatch Company have
become one property under the name of the Holladay Overland Mail &
Express Company.
“The new Company guarantees payment to the employees of the late
Overland Dispatch Company. An agent is now en route from New York to
pay them.
“David Street, Gen’l Agt.,
“Holladay Mail & Express Co.
“Atchison, Kansas, March 17, 1866.”
The business that Butterfield had worked up was continued by the new
company, but Butterfield was hopelessly down and out. While in the midst
of what appeared to be a prosperous freight business with many tons of
ponderous mining machinery in transit across the plains to the mining
camps of Colorado, the mining bubble broke, and great difficulty was
experienced in collecting freight bills that were accumulating on
machinery that was being transported across the plains, so it was
unloaded upon the plains and there it was left to rust out. In less than
eighteen months from the first organization of the Overland Dispatch,
Butterfield was a financial wreck, and the consolidation of his company
with the Holladay line was the only action that could be taken to
conserve the property which the Butterfield line had acquired.
Butterfield subsequently left Atchison and located in Mississippi, where
he organized a railroad, which also proved a failure. He left
Mississippi for Arkansas and built and operated a horse car line in Hot
Springs. He finally got into a quarrel with one of his employees, who
struck him with a neck yoke, from the effects of which he died.
OTHER ROUTES.
Atchison was an important point for stage routes as early as 1859. There
was a line of hacks which ran daily from Atchison to Leavenworth, and
another to Lawrence, and still another by Oskaloosa and Valley Falls
across the Kansas river to Lecompton, Big Springs, Tecumseh and Topeka.
To reach Lawrence from Atchison in those days, passengers were compelled
to go by Leavenworth, until a line was opened by Mount Pleasant and
Oskaloosa, reducing the distance to forty-five miles, and the fare to
$4.50. There was a line north to Doniphan, Troy, Highland and Iowa
Point. A line was also operated by Doniphan to Geary City, Troy and St.
Joseph, and still another ran by Hiawatha to Falls City, Neb. The most
important route, which had its headquarters at that time in Atchison,
was a four mule line. The Central Overland California and Pike’s Peak
Express, which with its speedy Concord stages, crossed the plains twice
a week. This was the Holladay line. The Kansas Stage Company operated a
line to Leavenworth, which made stops at Sumner and Kickapoo. A daily
line, operated by the Kansas Stage Company, ran to Junction City by way
of Mount Pleasant, Winchester, Osawkie, Mt. Florence, Indianola, Topeka,
Silver Lake, St. Marys, Louisville, Ogden and Ft. Riley. The distance
over this route was 120 miles and the fare was $10.00. There was also a
two-horse stage line carrying the mail from Atchison to Louisville, Kan.
Louisville was one of the most important towns in Pottawatomie county,
and in 1859 was an important station on the route of the Leavenworth &
Pike’s Peak Express. The mail line as then operated ran through
Monrovia, Arrington, Holton and other points to its destination in the
West. J. H. Thompson, who was an old man then, was the contractor for
carrying the mail and was well known along the whole route, being
familiarly known as “Uncle Johnny” Thompson. His stage left Atchison
every Saturday morning at 8 o’clock and arrived from Louisville on
Friday evening at 6. The fare from Atchison to Louisville was $8.00.
“ST. JOSEPH, ATCHISON AND LECOMPTON STAGE LINE.
“Passing through Geary City, Doniphan, Atchison, Manchester, Hickory
Point, and Oscaloosa, connecting at Lecompton with lines to Topeka,
Grasshopper Falls, Fort Riley, Lawrence, Kansas City, and the
Railroad at St. Joseph for the East.
“Offices—Massasoit House, Atchison. K. T., and Planter’s House, St.
Joseph, Mo.”
(From _Freedom’s Champion_, Atchison, February 12, 1859.)
LAST DAYS OF THE STAGING BUSINESS.
The people of Atchison in the sixties little realized the advantages the
town gained by being the starting point for the California mail. They
became used to it, the same as we have this day been accustomed to the
daily arrival and departure of trains, but it was a gloomy day for
Atchison when “the overland” finally pulled out of the town for good,
after having run its stages out of the city almost daily for five years.
The advance of the Union Pacific railroad from Omaha west along the
Platte to Ft. Kearney, and the completion of the Kansas Pacific railway
was the cause of the abandonment of Atchison by the “overland” as a
point of departure for the mail. The company for many weeks before its
final departure had been taking both stock and coaches off of the
eastern division from the Missouri river to Rock creek, and other steps
in preparation for moving the point of departure further west were
taken. It was a little after 11 o’clock in the morning of December 19,
1866, that the long train of Concord stages, express coaches, hacks and
other rolling stock started from their stables and yards on Second
street to leave Atchison forever. The procession went west out of
Atchison along Commercial street. Alex Benham and David Street, both
faithful employees of “The Overland,” were in charge of the procession
and they rode out of town in a Concord buggy. Other employees followed
in buggies and coaches, and then the canvas covered stages, followed by
over forty teams and loose horses, slowly moved out of town, headed for
Fort Riley and Junction City.
ROUTE FROM ATCHISON
via the
SMOKY HILL FORK ROUTE.
From Atchison to Miles Total Remarks
Mormon Grove 3½ Junction of the Great Military Road.
Monrovia 8½ 12 Provisions, entertainment and grass.
Mouth of Bill’s 13 25 On the Grasshopper, wood and grass.
Creek
Ter. Road from 15 40 Wood, water and grass.
Nebraska
Soldier Creek 10 50 Wood and grass.
Lost Creek 15 65 Wood and grass.
Louisville 10 75 Wood and grass.
Manhattan City 12 87 Water, wood and grass.
Fort Riley 15 102 Water, wood and grass.
Salina 52 154 Wood, water and grass.
Pawnee Trail- 130 284 Grass and buffalo chips.
Smoky Hill
Pawnee Fork 35 319 Grass and buffalo chips.
Arkansas Crossing 35 354 Wood, water and grass.
Bent’s Fort 150 504 Wood, water and grass.
Bent’s Old Fort 40 544 Water and grass.
Huerfano 40 584 Water and grass.
Fontaine qui 15 599 Wood, water and grass.
Bouille
Crossing of same 18 617 Wood, water and grass.
Jim’s Camp 15 632 Water and grass.
Brush Corral 12 644 Wood, water and grass.
Head of Cherry 26 670 Wood, water and grass.
Creek
Crossing of Same 35 705 From this point to the mines there is
heavy timber, and grass and water in
abundance.
Mines 6 711
From _Freedom’s Champion_, February 12, 1859.
ROUTE FROM ATCHISON
via
The Great Military Road to Salt Lake, and Col. Fremont’s Route in 1841.
From Atchison to Miles Total Remarks
Marmon Grove 3½ Junction of the Great Military Road.
Lancaster 5½ 9 Provisions and grass.
Huron (Cross. 4 13 Provisions and grass. First Salt Lake
Grasshopper) Mail Station.
Kennekuk, do main 10 23 Provisions, timber, and grass.
do
Capioma (Walnut 17 40 Provisions, timber, and grass.
Creek)
Richmond (head of 15 55 Salt Lake Mail Station and provisions.
Nemaha)
Marysville 40 95 Water and Grass.
Small Creek on 10 105 Luxuriant grass.
Prairie
Small Creek 10 115 Water and grass.
Small Creek 7 122 Wood and grass.
Wyth Creek 7 129 Wood and grass.
Big Sandy Creek 13 142 Wood and luxuriant grass.
Dry Sandy Creek 17 159 Heavy timber.
Little Blue River 12 171 Wood and grass.
Road leaves 44 215 Wood and grass.
Little Blue
Small Creek 7 222 Wood, grass and buffalo.
Platte River 17 239 Salt Lake Mail Station and provisions.
Ft. Kearney 10 249
17 Mile point 17 26 Wood, water and grass.
Plum Creek 18 284 Wood and grass.
Cottonwood Spring 40 324 Wood and grass.
Fremont’s Springs 40 364 Luxuriant grass.
O’Fallon’s Bluffs 5 369 Wood, water and grass.
Crossing South 40 409 Wood, water, and grass.
Platte
Ft. St. Vrain 200 609 Provisions, and from this to the mines
the route is well timbered and watered.
Cherry Creek 40 649
From _Freedom’s Champion_, February 12, 1859.
* * * * *
TABLE OF DISTANCES
—From—
ATCHISON TO THE GOLD MINES,
via the
First Standard Parallel Route to the Republican Fork of the Kansas
River, thence following the Trail of Colonel Fremont on his Explorations
in 1843, to Cherry Creek and the Mines.
* * * * *
Compiled from Colonel Fremont’s Surveys, and the most reliable
information derived from the traders across the Great Plains.
From Atchison to Miles Total Remarks
Lancaster 9 Settlement, provisions and grass.
Muscotah, on 11 20 Settlement, provisions and grass.
Grasshopper
Eureka 11 31 Settlement, provisions and grass.
Ontario, on Elk 10 41 Settlement, provisions and grass.
Creek
America, on 9 50 Settlement, provisions and grass.
Soldiers Creek
Vermillion City 25 75 Settlement, entertainment and provisions.
Crossing of Big 3 78
Blue
Little Blue creek 17 95 Heavy timber and grass.
Head of Blue 23 118 Timber and grass.
creek
Republican Fork 12 130 Wood, water and grass.
Republican Fork 2 132 Colonel Fremont describes this section as
crossing “affording an excellent road, it being
generally over high and level prairies,
with numerous streams which are well
timbered with ash, elm, and very heavy
oak, and abounding in herds of buffalo,
elk and antelope.”
Branch of 38 170
Solomon’s Fork
Leaves Solomon’s 75 245
Fork
Branch of 15 260
Republican Fork
Following up Rep. 190 450 Heavy timber and grass on course.
to its head
Beaver Creek 23 473 Wood, grass and buffalo.
Bijou Creek 22 495 Wood, grass and buffalo.
Kioway Creek 15 510 The route from this point to the mines
runs thro’ a country well timbered and
watered, with luxuriant grass and
plenty of wild game.
Cherry Creek and 25 535
Mines
From _Freedom’s Champion_, February 12, 1859.
[Illustration:
Main Entrance to Jackson Park, Atchison, Kansas
]
_Freedom’s Champion_: October 30, 1858.
A TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF TRAINS
Which have left Atchison this season, for Salt Lake City and other
Points on the Plains, Together with the Number of Men, Cattle, Mules,
Horses and wagons engaged in transporting, and the Amount of the Freight
Shipped:
Owners. Residence. Freighters.
Radford, Cabot & Co. St. Louis P. M. Chateau & Co.
John M. Hockady & Co. Mail Contractors First Supply Train
Dyer, Mason & Co. Independence W. H. Dyer & Co.
S. G. Mason & Co. Independence E. C. Chiles
Radford, Cabot & Co. St. Louis J. B. Doyle
John M. Hockady & Co. Mail Contractors Second Supply Train
C. C. Branham Weston C. C. Branham
C. A. Perry & Co. Weston C. A. Perry & Co.
R. H. Dyer & Co. Fort Kearney R. H. Dyer & Co.
F. J. Marshall Marysville F. J. Marshall
Irvin & Young Independence Irvin & Young
Livingston, Kinkead & Co. New York Irvin & Young
J. M. Guthrie & Co. Weston, Mo. S. M. Guthrie & Co.
Curtas Clayton Leavenworth C. C. Branham
Reynald & McDonald Fort Laramie Reynald & McDonald
C. Martin Green River C. Martin
Livingston, Kinkead & Co. New York Hord & Smith
Hord & Smith Independence Hord & Smith
Bisonette & Lazinette Deer Creek Bisonette & Lazinette
Ballord & Moralle Marysville J. S. Watson
R. H. Dyer & Co. Fort Kearney R. H. Dyer & Co.
John M. Hockady & Co. Independence Third Supply Train
Geo. Chorpoening California A. J. Schell
Hockady, Burr & Co. Salt Lake City Hockady, Burr & Co.
Owners. Residence. Destination.
Radford, Cabot & Co. Kansas City Salt Lake City
John M. Hockady & Co. Independence S. L. M. Stations
Dyer, Mason & Co. Independence Salt Lake City
S. G. Mason & Co. Independence Salt Lake City
Radford, Cabot & Co. New Mexico Salt Lake City
John M. Hockady & Co. Independence S. L. M. Stations
C. C. Branham Weston Salt Lake City
C. A. Perry & Co. Weston Salt Lake City
R. H. Dyer & Co. Fort Kearney Fort Kearney
F. J. Marshall Marysville Palmetto
Irvin & Young Independence Salt Lake City
Livingston, Kinkead & Co. Independence Salt Lake City
J. M. Guthrie & Co. Weston Salt Lake City
Curtas Clayton Weston Salt Lake City
Reynald & McDonald Fort Laramie Fort Laramie
C. Martin Green River Green River
Livingston, Kinkead & Co. Independence Salt Lake City
Hord & Smith Independence Do and Way Points
Bisonette & Lazinette Deer Creek Labonto
Ballord & Moralle Marysville Marysville
R. H. Dyer & Co. Fort Kearney
John M. Hockady & Co. S. L. M. Stations
Geo. Chorpoening Pennsylvania Cal. & S. L. Stat’s
Hockady, Burr & Co. Utah Salt Lake City
Owners. Wagons. Men. Oxen. Horses. Mules. Lbs. Mdse.
Radford, Cabot & Co. 32 40 480 8 12 181,587
John M. Hockady & Co. 10 20 80 23,000
Dyer, Mason & Co. 60 70 720 5 21 315,000
S. G. Mason & Co. 27 35 350 3 6 149,000
Radford, Cabot & Co. 38 43 460 13 198,500
John M. Hockady & Co. 10 18 85 21,000
C. C. Branham 28 36 380 12 6 145,500
C. A. Perry & Co. 91 123 1,080 7 18 500,501
R. H. Dyer & Co. 38 70 456 4 7 212,800
F. J. Marshall 20 25 280 1 3 120,000
Irvin & Young 32 40 384 1 7 160,000
Livingston, Kinkead & Co. 52 59 624 2 12 234,017
J. M. Guthrie & Co. 50 60 700 3 8 252,000
Curtas Clayton 12 25 380 1 12 66,000
Reynald & McDonald 9 15 163 2 6 49,000
C. Martin 7 12 84 6 1 35,000
Livingston, Kinkead & Co. 40 50 5 325 159,400
Hord & Smith 10 15 2 85 37,400
Bisonette & Lazinette 13 20 156 6 67,600
Ballord & Moralle 9 13 108 3 45,000
R. H. Dyer & Co. 13 20 158 2 68,100
John M. Hockady & Co. 57 60 6 312 204,000
Geo. Chorpoening 12 20 80 21,000
Hockady, Burr & Co. 105 225 1,000 50 200 465,500
——— ————— ————— ——— ————— —————————
776 1,114 7,963 142 1,286 3,730,905
CHAPTER XI.
RAILROADS.
EARLY RAILROAD AGITATION—THE FIRST RAILROAD—CELEBRATING THE ADVENT OF
THE RAILROAD—OTHER ROADS CONSTRUCTED—THE SANTA FE—THE ATCHISON &
NEBRASKA CITY—THE KANSAS CITY, LEAVENWORTH & ATCHISON—THE ROCK
ISLAND—THE HANNIBAL & ST. JOSEPH—THE FIRST TELEGRAPH—MODERN
TRANSPORTATION.
Eight years before the last stage pulled out of Atchison the agitation
for a railroad began. The first charter provided for the construction of
a railroad from Atchison to St. Joseph. As appeared in an earlier
chapter, the city council of Atchison at its first meeting called an
election March 15, 1858, to vote on a proposition to subscribe for
$100,000 in stock. The election was held in the store of the Burnes
Brothers, and S. H. Petefish, Charles E. Woolfolk and Dr. C. A. Logan
were judges of election. The proposition carried almost unanimously,
and, in addition to the stock subscribed for by the city, the citizens
of the town subscribed for $100,000 in stock individually. The following
May the contract for the construction of the road was awarded to
Butcher, Auld & Dean at $3,700 per mile. There were fourteen other
bidders. The members of the firm which made the successful bid were:
Ephraim Butcher, David Auld, James Auld and William Dean. Work of
construction was started May 12, 1858, but was not finished until
February 22, 1860. The completion of this road to Atchison was of very
far reaching importance. The town was wild with excitement, for the new
railroad gave the town its first direct rail connection with the east.
Its terminus at Winthrop (East Atchison) was the first western point
east of the Rocky mountains reached by a railroad at that time in the
United States, save one. The first railroad built between the
Mississippi and the Missouri rivers was the Hannibal & St. Joseph, which
was completed to St. Joseph February 23, 1859, and the new railroad from
Atchison connected with the Hannibal & St. Joseph at the latter point.
Richard B. Morris was the first conductor of the Atchison road, and he
subsequently became internal revenue collector of Kansas under
Cleveland. Following the completion of the road, a great celebration was
held at Atchison June 13, 1860, and the people not only celebrated the
completion of the St. Joseph line, but also the breaking of ground on
the Atchison & Pike’s Peak railroad, now the Central Branch. Great
preparations were made for the celebration weeks in advance and promptly
following the hour of 12 o’clock on the morning of June 13, 1860, the
firing of 100 guns at intervals began, which was kept up with monotonous
regularity until daybreak. Flags and bunting fluttered from poles and
windows throughout the city, and a special train of invited guests from
the East arrived at Winthrop before noon with flags flying and bands
playing. The passenger steamer, “Black Hawk,” loaded to the guards with
citizens from Kansas City, reached Atchison early in the morning, and
leading citizens also came from Wyandotte, Leavenworth, Lawrence, Topeka
and other towns. The city had been cleaned up and put in holiday attire
by the city authorities. The town had never before presented such a gay
appearance. Frank A. Root in his interesting book, “The Overland Stage
to California,” who was present at the celebration, has perhaps written
the most interesting account of this event that has ever been printed.
He says:
“In the procession that formed along Second street, one of the unique
and attractive features was a mammoth government wagon trimmed with
evergreens and loaded with thirty-four girls dressed in white,
representing every State in the Union and the Territory of Kansas. There
were three other wagons filled with little girls similarly dressed,
representing all the forty-one counties of Kansas in its last year of
territorial existence.
“One of the contractors for government freighting had a huge prairie
schooner, drawn by twenty-nine yoke of oxen, the head of each animal
ornamented with a small flag, while he himself was mounted upon a mule.
The contractor was quite an attraction, dressed in the peculiar western
prairie and plains frontier cow-boy costume with buckskin pants, red
flannel shirt, boots nearly knee high, with revolver and bowie knife
buckled around his waist, dangling by his side. The procession in line,
marched west along Commercial street to near Tenth. It was a long one
and it was estimated that there were 7,000 people in it and at least
10,000 in the city witnessing the festivities. The ceremony of breaking
ground for these two roads took place about noon, but there was nothing
particularly imposing about it. The most important part of the
ceremonies was the turning over of a few spadefuls of dirt by Col. Peter
T. Abell, president of the road, and Capt. Eph. Butcher, the contractor,
who built the Atchison & St. Joseph road. The event was witnessed by
fully 5,000 people, after which the monster procession formed, and,
headed by a brass band, and other bands at different places in the line,
marched across White Clay creek to the grove in the southwest part of
the city, where the oration was delivered by Benj. F. Stringfellow.
Following the oration several speeches were made by the most prominent
of the invited guests, one of them by Col. C. K. Holliday, of Topeka,
one of the founders of the great Santa Fe system. The barbeque was an
important feature of the affair. Six beeves, twenty hogs, and over fifty
sheep, pigs and lambs were roasted. There was also prepared more than
one hundred boiled hams, several thousand loaves of bread, cakes by the
hundred, besides sundry other delicacies to tickle the palate and help
make the occasion one long to be remembered by all present. The
exercises were quite elaborate and wound up with a ball in the evening
at A. S. Parker’s hall on the west side of Sixth street, between
Commercial and Main and a wine supper in Charley Holbert’s building on
Second street, just north of the Massasoit House. Many visitors came
from a long distance east, some as far as New England. Most of the
Northern States were represented, and a few came from the South. Free
transportation was furnished the invited guests. Hundreds came by rail
and steamboat and many poured in from the surrounding country for miles,
in wagons and on horseback, from eastern Kansas and western Missouri.”
While a strong movement for the construction of railroads was started in
1860, it was soon discovered that much progress could not be made in the
face of the unsettled conditions brought on by the Civil war, and, as a
result a further effort in that direction, was, for the time being,
abandoned. However, Luther C. Challiss did not give up his idea of
projecting a road to the West, and to him more than to anybody else
belongs the credit of starting the first road west out of Atchison. He
obtained a charter for the building of the Atchison & Pike’s Peak
railroad and this company was organized February 11, 1859, but on
account of the war was not opened to Waterville until January 20, 1868.
Challiss obtained possession of 150,000 acres of land from the Kickapoo
Indians by a treaty, and, upon the organization of the company he was
elected president. The land he secured from the Indians was, for the
most part, located in Atchison county, around Muscotah, and adjoining
counties. With Mr. Challiss were associated Charles B. Keith, who was
the agent of the Kickapoo Indians, George W. Glick and Senators Pomeroy
and Lane. In the charter for this road provision was made for its
construction 100 miles west of Atchison. Col. William Osborn, who had
constructed the west half of the Hannibal & St. Joseph railroad, built
the first section of the Central Branch to Waterville. He named the town
after his old home in New York, where he was born. It was proposed at
this point to make a connection with a branch running from Kansas City
to Ft. Kearney, Neb., but the Kansas City road was subsequently changed
to Denver, and for this reason it has been said the Central Branch was
not completed to Denver, as originally planned.
The Atchison & Pike’s Peak Railroad Company was incorporated by special
act of the Territorial legislature of the Territory of Kansas, chapter
48, “Private Laws of Kansas, 1859,” and authorized to construct a
railroad from Atchison to the western boundary of the Territory in the
direction of Pike’s Peak. Subsequently, the Atchison & Pike’s Peak
Railroad Company became the assignee of all the rights, privileges and
franchises of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad Company, given and
granted under an Act of Congress, of July 8, 1862, Twelfth Statute, page
489, entitled: “An Act to aid in the construction of a railroad and
telegraph line from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean, and to
secure to the government the use of same for postal, military and other
purposes,” which provided that the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad
Company might extend its road from St. Joseph via Atchison, to connect
and unite with a railroad in Kansas, provided for in said Act, for one
hundred miles in length next to the Missouri river, and might, for that
purpose, use any railroad charter, which had, or might have been
granted, by the legislature of Kansas. Accordingly, the work of
construction from Atchison west was inaugurated under the name of the
Atchison & Pike’s Peak Railroad Company. On January 1, 1867, by virtue
of the laws of the State of Kansas, the name of Atchison & Pike’s Peak
Railroad Company was changed to the Central Branch Union Pacific
Railroad Company, and the latter company completed the railroad from
Atchison to Waterville.
THE ATCHISON, TOPEKA & SANTA FE RAILWAY COMPANY.
The first real move for the construction of a railroad from the Missouri
river, west, resulted in a charter granted by the Territorial
legislature to the St. Joseph & Topeka Railroad Company February 20,
1857. Under the terms of the charter the road was to start from St.
Joseph, Mo.; thence crossing the river through Doniphan, Atchison and
Jefferson counties to Topeka. The charter was subsequently amended and
the road was extended in the direction of Santa Fe, N. M., to the
southwestern line of Kansas, which is practically the same route now
traversed by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad. The desire on the
part of the people for direct railroad connection with the Missouri
river and the East gave to this movement great impetus, and there was
considerable rivalry between the towns to offer aid and assistance. The
people of Atchison were particularly anxious to make this town the
terminal point and the future railway center of the great trans-
continental system, and strongly opposed any project which would make
Atchison simply a way station on the great road to the West. With a view
to avert such action on the part of those behind the movement to
construct this road, it was determined to make Atchison the eastern
terminus of the same. Accordingly, Atchison loaned its credit to the
amount of $150,000. by aid of which subsidy a direct road was built on
the Missouri side of the river from St. Joseph and thence north under
another charter with Atchison, Kan., instead of St. Joseph as the
eastern terminus, the enterprise was carried on and as a result the
citizens of Kansas Territory were much elated with the added prestige of
the railroad being a Kansas corporation. The Atchison & Topeka Railroad
Company was incorporated by an Act of the legislature February 11, 1859.
Those named as the original incorporators were: S. C. Pomeroy, Atchison;
C. K. Halliday, Topeka; Luther C. Challiss, Atchison; Peter T. Abell,
Atchison; Aspah Allen, Topeka: Milton C. Dickey, Topeka; Samuel Dickson,
Atchison; Wilson L. Gordon, Topeka; George S. Hillyer, Grasshopper
Falls; Lorenzo D. Bird, Atchison; Jeremiah Marshall, Topeka; George H.
Fairchild, Atchison; F. L. Crane, Topeka. The company was “authorized to
survey, locate, construct, complete, alter, maintain and operate a
railroad with one or more tracks from or near Atchison in Kansas
Territory, to the town of Topeka, in Kansas Territory, and to such point
on the southern or western boundary of said Territory in the direction
of Santa Fe as may be convenient and suitable for the construction of
said road and also to construct a branch to any point on the southern
line of said Territory in the direction of the Gulf of Mexico.” The
authorized capital stock was $1,500,000, and the first meeting for
organization under the charter was held at the office of Luther C.
Challis in Atchison September 15, 1859, at which meeting $52,000 of the
first subscription of stock was paid, and the following directors were
chosen: L. C. Challiss, George H. Fairchild, P. T. Abell, S. C. Pomeroy,
L. D. Bird, C. K. Halliday, F. L. Crane, E. G. Ross, Joel H. Huntoon, M.
C. Dickey, Jacob Safford, R. H. Weightman, and J. H. Stringfellow. The
officers were: C. K. Holliday, president; P. T. Abell, secretary; M. C.
Dickey, treasurer. It will be seen that the majority of the
incorporators and of the officers were citizens of Atchison, and it is
an important fact in the history of Kansas that Atchison county played
such an important part in the organization and construction of the first
railroad lines in the State. Had it not been for the terrible drought of
1860, which totally paralyzed all classes of business, the work of
constructing this road immediately following its organization would have
gone forward, but the famine which followed the drought was so complete
and so widely distributed throughout the State and the western country
as to almost destroy the farming interests. During this period the
directors of the road decided to press the claims of Kansas for a
national subsidy for the construction of railroads, and President C. K.
Holliday, with a number of his associates, spent much time in Washington
during 1859 and 1860. Their work was not in vain, for on March 3, 1863,
Congress made a grant of land to the State of Kansas, giving alternate
sections one mile square and ten in width, amounting to 6,400 acres per
mile, on condition that the Atchison-Topeka road should be finished on
or before 1873. The State accepted the grant and transferred it to this
road February 9, 1864. It was in October, 1868, almost ten years after
the date that the first charter was granted to this road that work of
construction was begun in Topeka. The road was first built in a
southerly direction so as to reach the coal region in Osage county. It
was opened to Carbondale, eighteen miles from Topeka, in July, 1869, and
reached Wichita, 163 miles from Topeka, in May, 1872, and at about the
same time in 1872 the road was completed from Topeka to Atchison, a
distance of fifty-one miles.
ATCHISON & NEBRASKA CITY RAILROAD.
On May 5, 1867, the charter for the Atchison & Nebraska City Railroad
Company was filed in the office of the secretary of State of the State
of Kansas. The original incorporators of this road were Peter T. Abell,
George W. Glick, Alfred G. Otis, John M. Price, W. W. Cochrane, Albert
H. Horton, Samuel A. Kingman, J. T. Hereford and Augustus Byram, all of
whom were citizens of Atchison. The charter provided for the
construction of a railroad from “some point in the city of Atchison to
some point on the north line of the State of Kansas, not farther west
than twenty-five miles from the Missouri river, and the length of the
proposed railroad will not exceed forty-five miles.” Shortly after the
road was incorporated the name was changed to the Atchison & Nebraska
Railroad Company, and under this name subscriptions in bonds and capital
stock were made in Atchison and Doniphan counties. Atchison county
subscribed for $150,000, and in addition to the subscription of the
county there were individual subscriptions amounting to $80,000 in the
county. Work was commenced on the road in 1869, and it was completed in
1871 to the northern boundary of Doniphan county, three miles north of
Whitecloud. The stockholders of Atchison graded the road bed to the
State line, constructed bridges and furnished the ties, after which the
entire property was given to a Boston syndicate in consideration of the
completion and operation of the road. This railroad was afterwards
consolidated with the Atchison, Lincoln & Columbus Railroad Company of
Nebraska, which road had been authorized to construct a railroad from
the northern terminal point of the Atchison & Nebraska railroad to
Columbus, on the Union Pacific railroad, by way of Lincoln, and the road
was completed to Lincoln in the fall of 1872. This consolidated road was
purchased by the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad Company in 1880.
KANSAS CITY, LEAVENWORTH & ATCHISON RAILWAY COMPANY.
This road was organized by articles of association filed in the office
of the Secretary of the State of Kansas September 21, 1867, and March
25, 1868, and the Missouri River Railroad Company by articles of
association filed February 20, 1865, and the construction of the
Leavenworth, Atchison & Northwestern railroad was commenced at
Leavenworth in March, 1869, and completed to Atchison in September,
1869. The stock held in the company by Leavenworth county, aggregating
$500,000, was donated to this road to aid in its extension to Atchison,
and the first train into Atchison arrived in the latter part of 1869. It
was not until July, 1882, however, that the first train was run through
from Atchison to Omaha over the line of the Missouri Pacific railroad,
which subsequently absorbed the Leavenworth, Atchison & Northwestern
Railroad Company.
THE CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND & PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY.
The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company was one of the last
of the railroads to make connection with Atchison. This line was
originally projected to Leavenworth, but reached Atchison shortly after.
The construction of the Atchison branch was begun in 1872, and in July
of that year the first train was run into the city.
All of these roads having been organized and constructed and in
operation, the next movement that took place in transportation circles
was the erection of the bridge across the Missouri river, work upon
which was commenced in August, 1874, and completed in July, 1875. This
bridge is 1,182 feet long and the stone for the piers and abutments upon
which it rests was taken from the quarries at Cottonwood Falls, Chase
county. It was originally built by the American Bridge Company of
Chicago, and was rebuilt entirely new, except for the piers, in 1898.
Shortly after the erection of the bridge, connecting Missouri with
Kansas at Atchison, the first railroad depot was built upon the site of
the present union station, which was completed and dedicated September
7, 1880. There was a great deal of discussion as to the proper location
of a depot before the building was finally erected, and it was through
the efforts of the Burneses that its location on Main street, between
Second and Fourth street, was selected. The capital stock of the
original Depot Company was $100,000,000, of which the railroad companies
then entering the city subscribed for $70,000. The balance of the stock
was taken by individuals. The cost of the original depot was $120,000,
and the architect was William E. Taylor, who planned the old union
station in Kansas City. James A. McGonigle, who was the contractor for
the old Kansas City station, also built the Atchison union depot. It was
built of the finest pressed brick from St. Louis, and trimmed with cut
stone from the Cottonwood Falls quarries. Its length was 235 feet, with
an “L” ninety-six feet long. It was two stories high with a mansard
roof. It was an ornamental, and, in those days, an imposing structure.
The ceremonies accompanying its dedication were witnessed by a great
crowd, and many great men in the railroad and political life of Kansas
participated in them. Gen. Benjamin F. Stringfellow delivered the
address, and a banquet was served in the evening, followed by a
procession and fire-works. Two years later, in June, 1882, this depot
was partially destroyed by fire, suffering a loss of $10,000, but it was
immediately rebuilt. On January 6, 1888, another fire completely
destroyed the building, and the present union station was erected a
short time later.
HANNIBAL & ST. JOSEPH RAILROAD.
On and after Monday, February 28, this road will be open for business
throughout its entire length. Passenger trains will leave St. Joseph for
Hannibal every morning, making close connection with steam packets to
St. Louis and Quincy, and affording direct connection with all the
railroads east of the Mississippi river. Time from St. Joseph to
Hannibal, eleven hours, and to St. Louis, eighteen hours, saving more
than three days over any other route. Trains from the east will arrive
in St. Joseph every evening, connecting with a daily line of packets
running between St. Joseph and Kansas City; also a line up the Missouri
to the Bluffs. Passengers from all parts of Kansas will find this the
quickest and most agreeable route to St. Louis and all points on the
Mississippi, giving those going east a choice between the routes from
St. Louis, Alton and Quincy. Fare will be as low as by any other route.
Favorable arrangements will be made for taking freight, saving most of
the heavy insurance on the Missouri river. Express freight will be taken
through much quicker than by any other line.
Tickets can be had at the office in St. Joseph for nearly all parts of
the country.
JOSIAH HUNT, Sup’t.
P. B. GROAT, Gen’l. Ticket Ag’t.
Feb. 1st, 1859.
no. 48–lm.
(From _Freedom’s Champion_, Atchison, February 12, 1859.)
HANNIBAL & ST. JOSEPH RAILROAD.
NEW ROUTE OPEN FOR THE EAST AND SOUTH.
Passengers for St. Louis, northern Missouri, Iowa, Chicago, Cincinnati,
Detroit, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans,
Louisville and Southern States, will find this the shortest, quickest
and most desirable route to the above points. On the 1st day of February
only fifteen miles of staging intervenes between St. Joseph and
Hannibal, and on the 1st day of March, 1859, the road will be completed,
and open for through travel the entire length. A daily line of stages
from Atchison, passing through Doniphan and Geary City, connects at St.
Joseph with the H. & St. Jo. railroad. From Hannibal a daily line of
packets leave upon arrival of cars for St. Louis, upon the opening of
navigation, and boats connect at Quincy with the C. B. & Q. railroad for
Chicago, and with the G. W. railroad for Toledo via Naples. This is in
every respect the best route for eastern and southern passengers. Trains
leave St. Joseph for the east daily.
JOSIAH HUNT, Sup’t.
P. B. GROAT, General Ticket Agent.
(no. 47)
(From _Freedom’s Champion_, Atchison, February 12, 1859.)
THE FIRST TELEGRAPH.
It was a little over six months after the completion of the Atchison &
St. Joseph railroad that the first telegraph connection was established
between Atchison and the world. The construction of the Missouri &
Western telegraph line was begun in Syracuse, Mo., in 1859. Charles M.
Stebbins built this telegraph line, which extended from Syracuse to Ft.
Smith, Ark. A branch of this line was extended westward to Kansas City,
and reached Leavenworth along in the spring of 1859. August 15, 1859,
this branch was extended to Atchison, and it was a proud day in the
history of this city. The first office was in a brick building on
Commercial street adjoining the office of _Freedom’s Champion_. John T.
Tracy was the first operator. Gen. Samuel C. Pomeroy was mayor, and on
this account the honor was given him of sending the first message, which
was as follows: “Atchison, August 15, 1859. His Honor, H. B. Denman,
Mayor of Leavenworth. Our medium of communication is perfect. May our
fraternal relations continue—may our prosperity and success equal our
highest efforts. S. C. Pomeroy, Mayor of Atchison.” Mayor Denman replied
as follows: “Hon. S. C. Pomeroy, Mayor of Atchison. May each push
forward its works of enterprise and the efforts of each be crowned with
success. H. B. Denman, Mayor of Leavenworth.” Congratulations were next
exchanged between Atchison and St. Louis, as follows: “Atchison, August
15, 1859. Hon. O. D. Filley, Mayor of St. Louis. For the first time
since the world began, a telegraph message is sent to St. Louis from
this place, the farthest telegraph station in the West. Accept our
congratulations and aid us in our progress westward. S. C. Pomeroy,
Mayor of Atchison.” It was in October of that same year that the first
news was flashed over the wire telling of the capture of Harper’s Ferry
by old John Brown.
In connection with the question of early day transportation in Atchison
county, it would be an oversight to fail to mention the efforts of one
Thomas L. Fortune to improve the means of locomotion. Mr. Fortune was a
citizen of Mt. Pleasant, and in the fall of 1859 he conceived the scheme
which he believed would revolutionize the whole transportation problem.
He planned a steam wagon with which he expected to haul freight across
the plains. The following year he built at St. Louis, a large vehicle,
twenty feet long by eight feet wide. The wheels were twenty inches wide
and eight feet in diameter. This wagon was transported up the Missouri
river to Atchison from St. Louis on the steamer, “Meteor,” and was
landed from the steamer in front of the White Mice saloon, which was a
noted resort on the Atchison levee at that time, in the latter part of
June, 1860. The following account is taken from Frank A. Root’s
“Overland Stage to California”:
A day or two after its arrival (referring to Fortune’s wagon) Mr. Root
says that it was arranged that the steam wagon should make a trial trip
on the Fourth of July. The monster was accordingly fired up on the
eighty-fourth National anniversary and started by an engineer named
Callahan. The wagon was ornamented with a number of flags and loaded
with a crowd of anxious men and boys. When everything was in readiness
the valve was opened and the wagon moved off in a southerly direction
from the levee. It went all right until it reached the foot of
Commercial street, about a square away. The pilot failing to turn the
machine, it kept on straight up to the sidewalk and ran into A. S.
Parker’s warehouse, which stood so many years by the old historic
cottonwood tree at the southeast corner of Commercial street and the
levee. The result of this awkward blunder was an accident, in which a
son of the owner of the wagon had an arm broken, as the machine crashed
into the side of the building, which was a long, one-story frame
cottonwood structure that for a number of years was a noted landmark in
Atchison. The excited engineer was at once let out and Lewis Higby,
another engineer, and a natural genius, was sent for. Higby mounted the
wagon and took his place at the engine, backed the machine out into the
middle of the road and in a few minutes went sailing gracefully along
west on Commercial street at about six miles per hour. When in front of
Jesse Crall’s stable at the corner of Sixth street, before that part of
Commercial street had been graded, it went down a little hill at a
lively speed, but Higby kept it going and did not stop until it reached
L. C. Challiss’ addition, just south and west from Commercial and Eighth
streets, near Morgan Willard’s old foundry, built in 1859, away from the
business and residence portion of the city.
After the wagon crossed Eighth street and was beyond the business
houses, Higby turned on more steam, and the monster vehicle made about
eight miles an hour, cavorting around on the bottom, there being only a
few scattering buildings then west of Eighth street. To test the
practicability of the machine, it was run into hollows and gullies, and,
where the ground was soft it was found that the ponderous wheels would
sink into the mud when standing still in soft ground. The result of the
trial, witnessed by hundreds, was disappointing to most of those
present. The inventor, who had spent a large amount of money and much
time in trying to perfect his steam wagon and solve the overland
transportation problem, was the worst disappointed. He was thoroughly
disgusted. He saw at once that the use of the vehicle was impracticable
and that it would never answer the purpose. That trial trip was the
first and only one the “overland steam wagon” ever made. It was
accordingly abandoned on the bottom where the tracks of the Central
Branch and Santa Fe roads are now laid, and was never afterwards fired
up. Those who had crossed the plains with mules and oxen, knew it could
never be used in overland freighting. There was no use for any such
vehicle and the anticipated reduction in prices of ox and mule teams did
not take place. The timbers used in the framework of the machine that
were not stolen finally went to decay, and the machinery was afterwards
taken out and disposed of for other purposes.
MODERN TRANSPORTATION.
The propitious beginning that Atchison had as a commercial and
transportation center should have made the town one of the largest and
most important railroad terminals in the West. That was the hope and
aspiration of its original founders, and for many years afterwards it
was a cherished idea. But Kansas City was subsequently selected as the
point of vantage, and the builders of this great western empire have
since centralized their activities at the mouth of the “Kaw,” and it is
there that the metropolis of the West will be built. However, a
marvelous development has taken place here since the day of the Holladay
and Butterfield stage lines and slow-moving ox and mule trains across
the plains. We no longer marvel at the volume of trade and freight
tonnage and the multitude of travelers that pass through Atchison every
year. We take these things as a matter of course, and make no note of
the daily arrival and departure of the fifty-six passenger trains at our
union depot every day; we marvel not at the speed and the ease and
comfort with which we can make the trip to St. Louis or Chicago, over
night, or to Denver in less than twenty-four hours, or to New York in
two and one-half days, and to San Francisco in less than five,
surrounded by every luxury money can buy. We have accustomed ourselves
to these marvels, just as we have learned to make use of the telephone
and the telegraph, and a little later on will begin to use the air ship
and the wireless. Nature has a way of easily adjusting mankind to these
changed conditions.
CHAPTER XII.
REMINISCENCES OF EARLY PIONEERS.
D. R. ATCHISON—MATT GERBER—J. H. TALBOTT—WILLIAM OSBORNE—JOHN W. CAIN—
W. L. CHALLISS—GEORGE SCARBOROUGH—SAMUEL HOLLISTER—JOHN TAYLOR—
JOHN M. CROWELL—LUTHER DICKERSON—LUTHER C. CHALLISS—GEORGE W.
GLICK—W. K. GRIMES—JOSHUA WHEELER—WILLIAM HETHERINGTON—WILLIAM C.
SMITH—JOHN M. PRICE—SAMUEL C. KING—CLEM ROHR—R. H. WEIGHTMAN—CASE
OF MAJOR WEIGHTMAN.
One of the really creditable and most pretentious newspaper enterprises
ever undertaken and accomplished in Kansas was E. W. Howe’s Historical
Edition of the _Atchison Daily Globe_. It contains much interesting and
valuable information written in the unique style which has made Mr. Howe
famous. With the consent of Mr. Howe, which he has very kindly granted
the author of this history, there will appear in this chapter, almost
verbatim, a number of biographical sketches and other interesting
matter, which should be printed in book form so that it could be assured
of a permanent place in the archives of the State. There are but few
copies left, and these are in a bad state of disintegration. The sketch
of Gen. D. R. Atchison will first be reproduced herein, and then will
follow others, touching upon the lives and characters of early settlers,
who contributed their part to the upbuilding of this community. Much has
already appeared in this history touching upon the activities of General
Atchison, but a sketch of his life is important, inasmuch as he is
perhaps the most conspicuous early-day character in the history of
Atchison county.
GENERAL D. R. ATCHISON.
David Rice Atchison, for whom Atchison was named, was born near
Lexington, Fayette county, Kentucky, August 11, 1807. The son of William
Atchison, a wealthy farmer of that county, he received all the
advantages of a liberal education. His mother’s maiden name was
Catherine Allen, a native of the State of Georgia. William Atchison, the
father, was a Pennsylvanian by birth.
David R. Atchison was blessed with six children, four sons and two
daughters. In 1825 he graduated with high honor from Transylvania
University, then the leading institution of learning in the State, and
since incorporated in the new University of Kentucky.
Upon receiving his degrees in the arts, Mr. Atchison immediately applied
himself to the study of law. In 1829 Mr. Atchison was admitted to
practice in his native State, and a few months after, in 1830, removed
to the comparatively wild district of Clay county, Missouri. In April of
that year he received in St. Louis his license to practice in the
supreme court of the State and immediately settled in the village of
Liberty, now the county seat of Clay county. About this period, Mr.
Atchison was appointed major general of the northern division of the
Missouri State militia.
General Atchison soon commanded a lucrative practice in his new home,
where he continued to reside in the discharge of the duties of his
profession until February, 1841, when his superior legal attainments,
which were known and recognized throughout the State, won for him the
appointment as judge of the district court of Platte county on its
organization in February of that year, when he moved his residence to
Platte City. It appears that in that day judges were appointed to this
position by the Government, with the advice and consent of the Senate.
The office was not made elective until several years after. In 1834 and
1838 he was elected to the Missouri legislature from Clay county.
Upon the death of Dr. Lyon, United States senator, in 1838, Judge
Atchison was appointed by Governor Reynolds to the vacancy in the
Senate. It was by many considered that this appointment was merited and
he had been recommended by Colonel Benton and other authorities of the
Democratic party; by others it was said that the governor himself was
ambitious of the senatorship and had selected Judge Atchison as a person
who could be easily beaten at the next election. The death of Governor
Reynolds, however, occurred before the meeting of the next legislature
and Judge Atchison was elected with but slight opposition. He was
reëlected for two more terms, the last of which expired March 4, 1855,
during the administration of Franklin Pierce. Two years after this he
moved his residence from Platte to Clinton county. He was elected
president of the Senate to succeed Judge Mangun, a Whig senator from
North Carolina.
The 4th of March, 1849, occurring on Sunday, Zachary Taylor was not
inaugurated until the following Monday. Judge Atchison thus, as
presiding officer of the Senate, became virtually President of the
United States during the term of twenty-four hours. In referring to this
accidental dignity, on being interrogated as to how he enjoyed his
exalted position, the venerable senator good humoredly replied that he
could tell but little about it as, overcome with fatigue consequent to
several days and nights of official labor, he slept through nearly his
whole term of service.
Judge Atchison became especially prominent in the legislature for the
organization of the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, and claims to
have originated the repeal of the Missouri Compromise bill. On his
retirement from the Senate, of which he was an honored member for the
space of twelve years, during the larger part of the time as presiding
officer, he continued to take a lively interest in the politics of the
country, and was regarded as a leader and chief adviser of the pro-
slavery party in Kansas during the troubles which preceded the admission
as a State. In 1856 we find him in command of 1,150 men at a point
called Santa Fe. On the 29th of August, the same year, a detachment from
General Atchison’s army attacked Osawatomie, which was defended by about
fifty men, who made a vigorous resistance but were defeated with a loss
of five wounded and seven prisoners. Five of the assailants were killed
and thirty buildings were burned. The next day a body of Free State men
marched from Lawrence to take Atchison’s army. Upon their approach the
latter retired and withdrew its forces into Missouri. The admission of
Kansas as a free State soon after this occurred put an end to this much
vexed question and restored tranquility to the country.
General Atchison lived in retirement on his magnificent estate in
Clinton county until the breaking out of the Rebellion, when he left for
the South and was present at the battle of Lexington. Governor Jackson
secured him a commission as brigadier general at the commencement of the
war. This General Atchison declined, as his residence was in Clinton
county, outside the limits of the division. He, however, remained with
the army and assisted in its organization. He joined temporarily for the
purpose of making up the company under Ephraim Kelley’s command from St.
Joseph and remained with the army until after the battle of Elkhorn.
At the close of the war, General Atchison returned to his home in
Clinton county, where he continued to reside in almost unbroken
retirement on his 1,700–acre farm in a neat cottage erected on the site
of his spacious brick mansion, which was accidentally destroyed by fire
February 2, 1870. He never married, and died at his home in Clinton
county, January 26, 1886.
MATT. GERBER.
Matt. Gerber came to this county originally in 1855, as pastry cook on a
Government steamer. There was almost no town at Atchison then, and he
went to Sioux City with the boat and afterwards returned to St. Louis.
In 1856 he was pastry cook on the “A. B. Chambers,” which ran between
St. Louis and Weston and was commanded by Captain Bowman, the father of
Mrs. D. C. Newcomb and Mrs. G. H. T. Johnson. Mr. Gerber was born in
Baden in 1833 and came to America in 1853, landing at New Orleans, and
for a time ran on boats on the lower Mississippi. For many years he was
the hero of Atchison children, as he operated a bakery, confectionery
and toy store on the south side of Commercial street, near Fourth. Mr.
Gerber first located in Sumner in 1858, where he ran a bakery, coming to
Atchison in 1860, and was in business at the same location for over
thirty-four years. Mr. Gerber died in Atchison, December 14, 1907.
[Illustration:
S. O. POMEROY
]
[Illustration:
JIM LANE
]
J. H. TALBOTT.
J. H. Talbott came west in 1855 and was a passenger on the “A. B.
Chambers,” of which George W. Bowman was captain and E. K. Blair, second
clerk. The cholera was so bad that year that Mr. Talbott left the boat
at Jefferson City and came overland to Monrovia, although his passage
was paid to Leavenworth. Several passengers on the “A. B. Chambers” died
of cholera and were buried on sand bars. Mr. Talbott preëmpted a claim
at Monrovia, and when his family came two years later he kept a boarding
house at Monrovia for four years. Albert D. Richardson was often a guest
at his house. He was a clean, neat city man of about thirty, and was
engaged in writing up the Kansas war for the _New York Tribune_. Jim
Lane also stopped at J. H. Talbott’s occasionally. Mr. Talbott first
heard him make a speech in a grove at Pardee, and A. J. Westbrook was in
the audience. Lane made some abusive reference to Westbrook, who made a
movement as if to pull a pistol, but Lane shook his celebrated boney
finger at Westbrook and defied him to shoot. At that time Atchison was
controlled by the pro-slavery element, but the Free State men
predominated around Monrovia and Pardee. The noted Colonel Caleb lived
at Farmington. James Ridpath was often at J. H. Talbott’s, and D. R.
Anthony and Webb Wilder appeared there as young men and took up claims.
Another famous place in those days was the Seven Mile House, seven miles
west of Atchison on the road traveled by the freighters, kept by John
Bradford. Talbott’s boarding house was built of logs and the beds were
nailed against the wall, one above another. Sometimes the house was so
crowded that the floor was also occupied with beds.
Mr. Talbott was born in Canal Dover, Ohio, where he knew W. C. Quantrill
real well. Quantrill afterwards became the noted guerilla and sacked
Lawrence. Mrs. Talbott went to school with Quantrill, and the teacher
was Quantrill’s father, a very worthy man. After Mr. Talbott married he
removed to Zanesville, Ind., and kept a store with S. J. H. Snyder, who
was one of the early settlers of Atchison county and a fierce Free State
man. In a little while Will Quantrill appeared at Zanesville and taught
school in the country. He usually spent his Saturdays and Sundays at J.
H. Talbott’s house, on the strength of their acquaintance at Canal
Dover. Mr. Talbott says he was well behaved and attracted great
attention around the store, particularly from the young men.
In 1854 Quantrill left Zanesville and settled at Lawrence, Kan., as a
Free State man and taught school, where he became acquainted with Robert
Bitter Morrow, whose life he afterwards saved during the massacre.
Robert Morrow kept the Byram in Atchison several years. When Talbott
went to Monrovia in 1855, the country was full of Kickapoo Indians. He
remembers seeing an Indian grave there: a rail pen covered with brush.
In the middle of the pen could be seen the dead Indian in a sitting
posture, with his gun beside him.
COL. WILLIAM OSBORNE.
Colonel Osborne built the first railroad to the Missouri river—the
Hannibal & St. Joseph. He built and owned the transfer ferry “Wm.
Osborne,” which was famous in Atchison in the early days. He also built
the first 100 miles of the Central Branch to Waterville, as has been
previously stated. He lived and died in Waterville, N. Y., but visited
Atchison frequently to see his daughter, Mrs. R. A. Park, who was the
wife of the president of the Atchison Savings Bank.
AMOS A. HOWELL.
Amos A. Howell was one of the plains freighters who distinguished
Atchison in the early days. He ran twenty-seven wagons with six yoke of
oxen to each wagon. An extra head of oxen was taken along, known as the
“cavvy” to spell the others and take the places of those that gave out.
Altogether he owned 400 head of work oxen. The oxen were expected to
pick up their living on the way, but when mules were used in the winter
it was necessary to carry grain for them. Thirty men were necessary in
the train of twenty-seven wagons pulled by oxen. Mr. Howell was assisted
in his wagon business by his son, Nat.
In those days there was a Government regulation that all trains should
be held at Ft. Kearney until 100 armed men had collected. Then a captain
was elected, who was commissioned by the Government and had absolute
charge of the train while it was passing through the Indian country. Mr.
Howell frequently occupied the position of captain, being well known on
the plains. On one occasion while he was captain he halted at Cottonwood
Falls on the Platte, as the Indians were very bad, and soldiers were
expected to go through with the train, but none came and finally Mr.
Howell unloaded five wagons, filled them with armed men and started out.
Almost in sight of Cottonwood a gang of gaily painted Indians attacked
the train, supposing it was a little outfit. But when the Indians came
within range, the “Whiskey Bills” and “Poker Petes” in the covered
wagons began dropping the Indians off their ponies, and there was a
pretty fight, in which the Indians were badly worsted.
Mr. Howell says that the Indians never attack wagon trains except very
early in the morning, or late in the evening.
The favorite sport of the Indians, however, was to run off the stock
after the train had gone into camp at night, and they always had one way
of doing it, which Mr. Howell finally learned. The Indians are no wiser
than white men, for they say that white men always fail in business the
same way and act the same way when they have a fire. An Indian would
ride up onto a high point and look around a while. This would always be
in the evening when the train was near a camping place. Then the Indian
would disappear and come back presently with another Indian wrapped in
his blanket and riding the same pony. One Indian would then drop into
the grass, and the rider would go back after another one. The Indians
were collecting in ambush; thinking the freighters would never think of
it. Mr. Howell had in his employ a driver, an Atchison man, named
“Whiskey Bill,” who was particularly clever at hating Indians, and
whenever an ambush was preparing “Whiskey Bill” would select four or
five other men equally clever and go after the Indians. He often killed
and scalped as many as four in one ambush, and sold their scalps in
Denver to the Jews for a suit of clothes each. The Jews bought them as
relics and disposed of them in the East. The killing of Indians in this
manner was according to Government order and strictly legitimate.
Another driver in Howell’s train was an Atchison man named Rube Duggan.
He was a great roper and used to take a horse, when in sight of a
buffalo herd and go out after calves, which made tender meat. Riding
into the herd he would lasso a calf, fasten the rope to the ground with
a stake and then go on after another one before the herd got away. He
caught several calves in this way for Ben Holladay, who took them east.
Mr. Howell remembers that once, this side of Fort Kearney, it was
necessary to stop the train to let a herd of buffalo pass. The men
always had fresh buffalo meat in addition to their bacon, beans, dried
apples, rice and fried bread.
There was a cook with the train who drove the mess wagon, but he did not
do any other work. Every driver had to take his turn getting wood and
water for the cook and herding the cattle at noon, but the night herder
did nothing else and slept in the wagon during the day. Occasionally he
was awakened about noon and hunted along the road. The cattle fed at
night until 10 or 11 o’clock when they would lie down until 2 in the
morning. The night herder would lie down by the side of a reliable old
ox and sleep too, being awakened when the ox got up to feed. The oxen
were driven into the wagon corral about daylight and yoked. Every wagon
had its specified place in the train and kept it during the entire trip.
Wagons were always left in a circle at night, forming a corral. Into
this corral the cattle were driven while being yoked. In case of an
attack, the cattle were inside the corral and the men fought under the
wagons. The teams started at daylight and stopped at 10 or 11 until 2 or
3, and then they would start up and travel until dark. Mr. Howell always
rested on Sunday, making an average of 100 miles a week with his ox
teams. When the train started out each man was given ten pounds of sugar
which was to last him to Denver. On the first Sunday the men would make
lemonade of sugar and vinegar and do without sugar the rest of the trip.
Mr. Howell saw the attack on George W. Howe’s train on the Little Blue
when George Con—— was killed and the entire train burned. Con—— was an
Atchison man. Howell’s train was corraled and he could not go to Howe’s
assistance.
Howell came to Atchison county in 1856 by wagon from Fayette county,
Pennsylvania, where he was born, December 26, 1824. At seventy he was
stout and vigorous, getting up every morning at 4 o’clock to go to work.
His plains experience did him good. He died on the 1st day of August,
1907, owning a large tract of land in Grasshopper township.
[Illustration:
BELA M. HUGHES
]
[Illustration:
ELLSWORTH CHESEBOROUGH
]
JOHN W. CAIN.
John W. Cain and his two sons, John S. Cain and William S. Cain, came to
Atchison in 1856 from the Isle of Man, and preëmpted a quarter section,
five miles west of Atchison. A. D. Cain, another son, came to this
county in 1856, accompanying his brother, John M. Cain, who had gone to
his old home in the Isle of Man on a visit. A. D. Cain attended school
longer than either of his three brothers and was a graduate of King
William’s College, a celebrated institution of learning. After leaving
school he learned the business of a druggist. He was born in 1846. John
M. Cain was seven years older.
John M. Cain enlisted in the Thirteenth Kansas infantry in 1862. His
brother, William, enlisted in Col. John A. Martin’s regiment the year
before. In less than a year John M. Cain was given the position as
captain in the Eighty-third U. S. infantry and raised Company C in
Atchison. Phillip Porter, the celebrated negro politician and orator, of
Atchison, was orderly sergeant of Company C, which had ten men killed in
the battle of Prairie Grove. After serving in the army nearly four
years, John M. Cain returned to his farm in Atchison county in 1866
where he remained until 1872, when he removed to Atchison and engaged in
the grain business. The Cains started the exporting of flour from Kansas
and their business was very largely export business during their
operation of the mill.
John W. Cain, father of the Cain brothers, was a fierce Free State man
in the days when it was dangerous to be a Free State man in Atchison
county, but as he was a powerful man and of undoubted courage, the pro-
slavery fans thought it wise to forgive him. His memory as well as the
memory of his sons, John M. Cain and A. D. Cain, are still highly
esteemed by the older settlers of Atchison county.
DR. W. L. CHALLISS.
Dr. W. L. Challiss came to Atchison June 3, 1866, on the steamboat
“Meteor” from Moorestown, N. J., where he had been a practicing
physician. At that time John Alcorn was operating a horse ferry on the
river and Dr. Challiss, in company with his brother, L. C. Challiss,
purchased a three-fourths interest in the ferry franchise after
operating a little rival ferry for a time, which was known as the “Red
Rover.” The price paid for the franchise was $1,800.00.
In the fall of 1856 Dr. Challiss went to Evansville, Ind., and
contracted for the building of a steam ferry. This was completed in
November and started for Atchison. In December it was frozen up in the
Missouri river at Carrollton, Mo., and left in charge of a watchman. The
crew was made up of old acquaintances of Dr. Challiss in New Jersey, and
these he brought to Atchison in two stage coaches hired for the purpose.
On February 7 of the following year Dr. Challiss started down the river
on horse back after his ferry boat, accompanied by George M. Million,
Granville Morrow and John Cafferty. There had been a thaw and a rise in
the river, and when the men reached the vicinity of Carrollton they
learned that the boat had gone adrift. They followed it down the river,
hearing of it occasionally and finally came up with it in sight of Arrow
Rock. The boat had grounded on a bar and a man was in possession,
claiming salvage. Dr. Challiss caught the man off the boat, took
possession and settled with him for $25.00. A story was circulated that
there had been small-pox on the boat and it narrowly escaped burning at
the hands of the people living in the vicinity. Dr. Challiss went on
down the river and met his family at St. Louis. When the steamer on
which they were passengers reached Arrow Rock, the captain was induced
to pull the ferry off the sand bar, and within four days it arrived in
Atchison.
This boat was named the “Ida” for Dr. Challiss’ oldest daughter, who
became the wife of John A. Martin, editor of the _Atchison Champion_,
colonel of the Eighth Kansas regiment and governor of the State two
terms. The “Ida” was brought up the river by George Million and
Granville Morrow, pilots, and John Cafferty, engineer. George Million
was the captain when it began making regular trips as a ferry, receiving
originally $50.00 per month. During the last years of his service he
received $125.00 a month. The ferry boat business was very profitable
and $100.00 per day was no unusual income. In 1860 Dr. Challiss built a
larger ferry at Brownsville, Penn., and called it the “J. G. Morrow.”
When it arrived at Atchison the Government pressed it into service and
sent it to Yankton with Indian supplies. Bill Reed was pilot and Dr.
Challiss, captain. A quick trip was made to within seventy miles of
Yankton where the pilot ran the boat into a snag and sank it. The boat
cost $25,000.00 and nothing was saved but the machinery. This was
afterwards placed in the ferry “S. C. Pomeroy,” which was operated here
until the bridge was completed in 1877. After this the “S. C. Pomeroy
was taken to Kansas City, where it sank during a storm. S. C. Pomeroy
owned a one-fourth interest in the “J. G. Morrow” and “S. C. Pomeroy”
and the wreck of the “Morrow” cost him $5,000.00.
The “Ida” was taken to Leavenworth on the completion of the bridge and
was in service there many years.
In the early days Dr. Challiss was a Free State man and for years he had
in his possession a letter warning him to leave the country, which was
written during the exciting period before the war. Dr. Challiss remained
active in the affairs of the town for many years but practiced his
profession only spasmodically. He died in Dayton, Ohio, at the home of
his daughter, on April 23, 1909.
GEORGE SCARBOROUGH.
George Scarborough was one of the most romantic characters that ever
lived in Atchison county. Influenced by his niece’s description of
Kansas, he came to Sumner in 1859 and purchased a tract of land now
owned by E. W. Howe and known as Potato Hill. The location is probably
the finest on the Missouri river. The farm lies on top of the bluff, and
Scarborough’s house was built near the river. He was well fitted to
enjoy the life of elegant leisure and seclusion, which he did. Early in
life he went to Kentucky from Connecticut and taught school. While there
he married the daughter of a congressman named Triplett. The wife died a
year later, and Scarborough came into possession of considerable money.
After that he adopted a literary and scientific life and spent much of
his time abroad, where he collected many pictures and other art
treasures. These were displayed in his home below Sumner. Scarborough
was a botanist, and made a complete collection of the flora of this
section, which he sent to the Smithsonian Institution, at Washington.
One of his discoveries was that Atchison county had eleven varieties of
the oak. Scarborough was one of the original founders of the First
National Bank of this city, furnishing most of the original capital.
In 1869 he went to Vineland, N. J., where he married a girl of twenty-
three, although he was nearly seventy. His wife died within a year, in
child birth, under precisely the same circumstances as his first wife.
Scarborough died in 1883, in his old home in Connecticut, in absolute
poverty, at the age of eighty-four. He is spoken of as one of the most
elegant gentlemen who distinguished the early days.
SAMUEL HOLLISTER.
Samuel Hollister was one of the original settlers of Sumner. He landed
at Leavenworth May 1, 1857, coming by boat from Jefferson City. Two
weeks later he met a number of the members of the Sumner Town Company
who were looking for somebody to go to Sumner to build a hotel. Having
been a contractor and builder in his old home in New Jersey, Mr.
Hollister accompanied the men to Sumner, which then consisted of a claim
cabin, used as a hotel, and four frame houses in course of construction.
The material for the frame houses had been brought from Cincinnati,
ready framed, and when completed were 16×24, containing two rooms each.
Mr. Hollister took the contract to build the Baker House, which
contained three rooms on the ground floor. The half story above was all
in one room, where the guests slept. The frames for the Baker House were
hewn out in the timber adjoining the town; the weather boarding and
shingles were shipped up the river. The hotel was completed in the
summer of 1857, and was operated by Hood Baker, a cousin of Capt. David
Baker, for many years a prominent citizen of Atchison.
In the fall of the same year Mr. Hollister began work on the Sumner
House, the contract price being $16,000.00. The brick used were made on
the ground. The lumber came by boat from Pittsburgh, Penn. This hotel
was completed in the summer of the following year. It was built by the
town company, which owed Mr. Hollister $3,000.00 at the time of his
death, a few years ago.
Mr. Hollister lived in Sumner twelve years, vigorously fighting
Atchison. In the fall of 1858 he built a mill, in company with Al
Barber, later adding a gristmill, which was the second built in the
county, the first having been built in Atchison, by William Bowman. Mr.
Hollister went down the river in a boat in January, 1859, and when he
reached his old home in the Catskill mountains, he crossed the Hudson
river on the ice. During this trip east he was married to Miss Harriet
Carroll, a lineal descendant of Charles Carroll, one of the signers of
the Declaration of Independence. His wife returned with him to Sumner,
and they afterwards moved to Atchison, where they lived for many years.
Mr. Hollister died March 28, 1910.
JOHN TAYLOR.
John Taylor, who for many years lived on a farm immediately south of the
State Orphans’ Home, was a resident of Missouri, a mile and a quarter
above East Atchison in 1844, ten years before Kansas was opened for
settlement. His father, Joseph Taylor, came to the Platte Purchase in
1838, from Pennsylvania, settling near Weston. At that time most of the
best claims were taken. John Taylor’s recollection was that the very
earliest settler in that vicinity was in 1837. Joseph Taylor did not
secure a very good claim, and afterward removed to Andrew county,
finally locating a mile above East Atchison, in 1844. John Taylor said
that George Million was living on the present site of East Atchison when
his father’s family settled in the bottom. It was Mr. Taylor’s opinion
that George Million settled in East Atchison in 1842, and that he did
not start his ferry until 1850. In the spring of that year John Taylor
crossed the river on George Million’s flat-boat ferry, and went to
California, in company with his brother, Joe. There was no wagon road
running west from Atchison at that time. John and Joe Taylor mined in
California for eighteen months, never making over $20.00 per day, and
usually only $5.00. They returned home by the way of the Isthmus of
Panama, and John Taylor got the small-pox at Glascow, Mo., which did not
break out on him until he reached East Atchison. This was supposed to be
the first case of small-pox in this section of the country. All the
other members of the family got it, and the wife of Jim Stultz, who came
in to help his mother, also got it. Their physician was a Doctor Ankrom,
who lived in the Narrows, near Rushville, and he got it, too. This was
in the winter of 1851 and 1852. In September, 1854, ten years after
settling in East Atchison, Mr. Taylor came to this side of the river.
When he arrived Ladd Yocum was running a hotel in a tent; there was
nothing else on the town site. Late in the fall George T. Challiss
completed his store, which was the first building of any kind in
Atchison, according to Mr. Taylor. He says that George Million did not
erect his claim shanty until the following year.
Mr. Taylor first settled in the bluffs, northeast of Atchison, but
afterwards moved to a tract of land owned by a man named O. B.
Dickerson, who afterwards built the first livery stable in Atchison.
Dickerson sold his claim to a man named Adams, B. T. Stringfellow’s
father-in-law, for $600.00, but Adams did not comply with the law and
Taylor jumped it. For a while Taylor and Adams lived on the same
quarter, and became acquainted; then Taylor discovered that Adams paid
$600.00 for the claim, and gave him his money back. Taylor said he never
had any short words with Adams about the claim, but once. They met on
the hill, overlooking the river, one day, and were looking at the wreck
of the old “Pontiac,” which is now said to have contained several
hundred barrels of whiskey. “Well,” said Adams, “when are you going?”
“Going where?” asked Taylor. “To Nova Scotia,” replied Adams. “I am not
going at all,” was Taylor’s response, which Adams understood to mean
that he was not going to leave the claim, but intended to fight. A
compromise soon followed.
Taylor says the “Pontiac” was carried off by Atchison people, and put
into their houses, and that years afterwards, the writing on the wheel
house could be seen around town. There was no whiskey left in the hold;
indeed, the hold was carried away.
The Taylor place was considered a great deal more valuable in 1855 than
it is now; people felt sure that within four or five years John Taylor
would cut it up in town lots and sell them at fabulous prices, and go
abroad.
John Taylor’s sympathies were always with the South Carolinians, who
made this section so warm in 1856, but said that only one in ten were
good citizens; the others were toughs. One of them, a man named Newhall,
was killed in the fight at Hickory Point. John Robinson, captain of a
southern party at Hickory Point, was an Atchison man, and was shot in
the hip.
Mr. Taylor said that in 1844 and several years later the country was
full of bee trees, and that cattle turned into the rush in the river
bottom in winter, came out fat in the spring. In 1844 there was a
settlement of fifty Kickapoo families on the flat just above the island
on the Kansas side. They made a great deal of maple sugar. In summer
these Indians went out to the buffalo grounds, sixty to eighty miles
west of the river, returning in the fall, to be near the Missouri
settlers. There never was an Indian village on the site of Atchison,
although Mrs. Joe Wade, who was George Million’s daughter, claims to
have remembered coming to this side of the river when she was a little
girl, and seeing a dead Indian strapped to a board and leaning against a
tree on the present site of Commercial street. The body was surrounded
with totem poles. There was no game at that time on this side of the
river. Indians themselves hunted deer on the Missouri side in winter,
and were very friendly with the whites.
John Taylor died on March 7, 1897.
JOHN M. CROWELL.
John M. Crowell was mayor of Atchison three terms, coming to the city in
1858 from Londonderry, N. H., where he was born October 22, 1823. For
ten years he was a merchant here, afterwards being appointed Government
storekeeper, and having charge of a distillery below town. From 1870 to
1885, he was United States postoffice inspector for nineteen States and
Territories, and in that capacity visited every section of the country.
He resigned to become a mail contractor, although solicited by a
Democratic postmaster general to remain. His record in Washington was as
good as that of any man who ever worked for the Government. Mr. Crowell
was a forty-niner, crossing the plains during the great rush of that
year, and engaging in sluice mining. He made four trips to California,
but never by railroad. From San Francisco he visited China, South
America, the Sandwich Islands, and was a great traveler in his time. He
was the father of Frank G. Crowell, who was born in Atchison, and for
many years a prominent citizen here, but later resigning his position as
county attorney of Atchison county and moving to Kansas City to engage
in the grain business, where he now lives.
John M. Crowell’s daughter became Mrs. F. M. Baker, who accumulated a
fortune in the grain business in Atchison. Mr. Crowell died on the
eleventh day of October, 1902.
[Illustration:
GEORGE MILLION
]
[Illustration:
WILLIAM SCARBROUGH
]
LUTHER DICKERSON.
Luther Dickerson came to Atchison county in June, 1854, immediately
after Kansas was opened to settlement, from Saline county, Missouri,
where he had lived ten years. He went to Missouri from Washington
county, Ohio, where he was born in 1825. After looking over the country
Mr. Dickerson returned to Missouri, but came back to Kansas the
following October, and “squatted” on a tract of land a mile north of the
State Orphans’ Home. From 1854 to 1857 were the squatter sovereignty
days, during which period a settler could have no title to land, further
than the fact of his settlement on the land he selected as his home.
Land offices were not established until in 1857, when the squatter filed
his claims, and began fighting over them. The first land office in this
section was at Doniphan. John W. Whitfield, who was afterwards in
Congress, was the register. About a year later the land office was
removed to Kickapoo, just below Atchison.
When Mr. Dickerson squatted on his claim in 1854, three-fourths of the
land around him was taken. Welcome Nance, Peter Cummings, John Taylor
and Widow Boyle had farms at that time. Andy Colgan did not come until
1857. The settlers of 1854 were mostly from Missouri. In 1855 came an
organized band of South Carolinians, whose object was to make Kansas a
slave State. Then followed the fierce and relentless fight with the Free
State men, which ended in 1857, as far as this section was concerned.
That is, in 1857 the Free State men won control, and have practically
kept it ever since. In the fall of that year the Free State men elected
their county ticket, and Luther Dickerson was chosen as one of the four
commissioners and was made chairman.
Luther Dickerson was a Free State man and was fought by all the Missouri
and South Carolinians. His land was contested, and he was beaten in the
land office, but he finally won before the secretary of the interior, by
proving that the woman who was contesting him was a foreigner. Hiram
Latham, a Free State man, who lived across the road from Dickerson, was
murdered in Doniphan, and because of this murder Frank McVey left the
country and never came back. The men who killed Latham were ferried over
Independence creek by Dickerson, and, noticing that they were armed, he
asked where they were going. They said they were going wolf hunting. In
1858 Luther Dickerson was elected a member of the house of
representatives, which met at Lecompton, and then adjourned to Lawrence.
In the same year, while still a county commissioner, he built the old
court house, which occupied the site of the present court house.
Luther Dickerson raised the first company of soldiers ever organized in
the State of Kansas, in May, 1861. The first military order issued in
the State was directed to him, signed by John A. Martin, assistant
adjutant general.
But while his company was the first organized, it happened that
Dickerson’s commission as captain was the second issued, and was signed
by Governor Charles Robinson, before the State had an official seal.
Afterwards, Mr. Dickerson served in the regular volunteer service, as
first lieutenant.
He lived on his land, north of town, for many years, and died in
Atchison on the thirteenth day of December, 1910.
LUTHER C. CHALLISS.
Luther C. Challiss came to Atchison in 1855 from Boonville, Mo., where
he was engaged as a merchant. He remained here continuously until 1861
as merchant, banker, ferry operator and real estate owner. Luther C.
Challiss’ addition, the east line of which is at the alley between
Seventh and Eighth streets, was preëmpted by Mr. Challiss in 1857, and
was originally composed of 198 acres.
As a member of the Territorial council, Mr. Challiss secured the first
charter for a railroad west from Atchison, known as the Atchison Pike’s
Peak railroad, now the Central Branch. He was the first president of the
road, and originally owned every dollar of the stock. He also managed
the Kickapoo treaty, which gave the road 150,000 acres of land, and made
it prominent in Washington as a specific possibility. The original
Government subsidy for this road was every other quarter section of land
for ten miles on either side, in addition to $16,000 to $48,000 per
mile, in Government bonds.
At the same time Mr. Challiss secured a charter for the Atchison-Pike’s
Peak railroad, he secured a charter for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
railroad, his original idea being a southern route to the Pacific, and
that road has fulfilled all of his early expectations.
Mr. Challiss made a great deal of money in Atchison, and in 1864 drifted
to New York and Washington, where he became an operator on the stock
exchange. Mr. Challiss’ sympathies were with the South, and was
generally a bull. As long as the South showed its ability to hold out
Mr. Challiss made a great deal of money, and at one time he had on
deposit in New York $960,000, but the tide turned against him when the
South began to fail, and this fortune was reduced to nothing.
As an operator on Wall street at that time, Mr. Challiss outranked Jim
Fisk and Jay Gould, and was the peer of Anthony Morse and the Jeromes.
Jay Gould was a very common man at that time, compared to Mr. Challiss,
and a very little thing might have made Mr. Challiss one of the great
financial leaders in America. An incident in his career in New York was
the attempt of Woodhull & Claflin to break him. He made a fight that is
still remembered, and sent Woodhull and Claflin, Colonel Blood Stephen,
Pearl Andrews and George Francis Train to jail, where they remained six
months. Finally they left the country as a result of a compromise. Mr.
Challiss’ lawyers were Roger A. Pryor and Judge Fullerton. Judge
Fullerton received a quarter section of land in Atchison county as his
fee. Mr. Challiss also brought the famous Pacific Mail suit, which was
equally famous.
He returned to Atchison in 1878, looking after the wreck of his former
possessions. For three years he edited the _Atchison Champion_, and
bitterly opposed John J. Ingalls for United States senator in 1890.
Mr. Challiss, in his latter years, became a very much abused man, and
was looked upon as one of the unpopular citizens of the town, but it may
be said to his credit that he did much for Atchison, and was largely
responsible for making the town the terminus of the Hannibal & St. Joe
railroad. He brought Jay Gould, Henry N. Smith and Ben Carver to
Atchison, and they agreed to extend the road from St. Joseph to
Atchison, in consideration of $75,000.00 in Atchison bonds, which was
agreed to. Mr. Challiss had some sort of a deal with Henry N. Smith
while they were operating on Wall street, and Challiss claimed that
Smith owned him $107,000.00. They finally settled the matter, by Smith
agreeing to bring the Hannibal & St. Joseph road here without the
$75,000.00 in bonds the people had agreed to give him. The _Atchison
Champion_ of May 11, 1872, contained a half column scare head, to the
effect that Luther C. Challiss telegraphed from New York that the bridge
had been finally secured, and gave the credit of securing the bridge to
Challiss and James N. Burnes.
Mr. Challiss died a poor man on the sixth day of July, 1895.
GEORGE W. GLICK.
George W. Glick, the ninth governor of Kansas, for a number of years
United States pension agent for the district comprising Kansas,
Missouri, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Indian Territory, came to
Atchison in June, 1859, from Fremont, Ohio, where he studied law in the
office of Rutherford B. Hayes, who afterwards became President of the
United States. Mr. Glick came to Atchison on the steamer “Wm. H.
Russell,” named for and largely owned by William H. Russell, senior
member of the celebrated freighting firm of Russell, Majors & Waddell.
Mr. Glick was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, July 4, 1829, on a farm,
and when four years old removed with his father’s family to within a
mile and a half of Fremont, where he remained until he came to Atchison.
He first went to school in the country, near Fremont, where he
afterwards taught when he was nineteen. Later he attended a Dioclesion
school at Fremont, founded by Dr. Dio Lewis, who afterwards became
famous and whose name then was Dioclesia Lewis. Later he attended
Central College, Ohio, but did not graduate. In 1849 he began the study
of law in the office of Bucklin & Hayes, in Fremont, as a result of
getting his feet in a threshing machine. It was supposed that he would
never be fit for farm work again, but he afterwards recovered. Two years
later he was admitted to the bar in Cincinnati, standing an examination
with the graduating class of the Cincinnati law school. He practiced
eight years in Fremont before coming to Atchison, building up a good
business, in spite of the fact that he always went out to the farm in
haying time and harvested and helped his father. In January, following
his arrival in Atchison, he formed a partnership with A. G. Otis, which
continued as long as he practiced law. The firm of Otis & Glick was the
strongest in Atchison, as long as it lasted, and B. P. Waggener was a
student in their office. In 1872 Mr. Glick became a town farmer,
operating a farm of 640 acres four miles west of Atchison, making a
specialty of Short Horn cattle, paying as high as $1,000 for several
single animals. He served nine terms in the Kansas legislature, and was
once county commissioner, and once county auditor of Atchison county.
While auditor of Atchison county, in 1882, he was elected governor, by
9,000 plurality, over Jim P. St. John, who had been elected two years
before by about 55,000. In 1884 he was re-nominated as governor by the
Democrats, but was defeated by John A. Martin. He first received the
nomination for governor nine years after coming to Kansas, but was
defeated by the Republicans. He was appointed pension agent in 1885, and
again in 1893. He was a Mason, and was one of the original organizers of
the Knight Templars and Royal Arch Masons, in Atchison. He was the first
president of the Atchison-Nebraska road, having built it to the county
line, in connection with Brown and Bier. Governor Glick sold his farm
near Shannon a number of years ago, and during the latter part of his
life was inactive in business and professional affairs. He died on the
thirteenth day of April, 1911.
DR. W. K. GRIMES.
One of the oldest citizens of Atchison was Dr. W. H. Grimes, who came
here from Yellow Spring, Ohio, in 1858. His son, E. B. Grimes, came a
year before, and opened a drug store in the building for many years
occupied as an office by the Atchison Water Company, across from the
Byram Hotel. Dr. W. H. Grimes practiced medicine until the war broke
out, when he became a surgeon in the Thirteenth Kansas. Returning to
Atchison at the close of the war, he continued the practice of medicine
until his death, in 1879.
E. B. Grimes was a quartermaster during the war with a rank of major. At
the close of the war he entered the regular army, and built many of the
posts in the Department of the Platte, notably Ft. Laramie, Ft.
Fetterman and Ft. Douglass. He died at Ft. Leavenworth, in 1882.
Another son, Dr. R. V. Grimes, was a lieutenant in his father’s
regiment. After the war he became an army surgeon, and was in many of
the Indian campaigns in the Northwest. He was in Merritt’s command when
it went to the rescue of General Custer, and was the surgeon in Major
Thornburg’s command when it was surrounded at the famous fight on Milk
river. The command was surrounded five days by the Utes, and was finally
rescued by General Merritt. While he lived in Atchison he was employed
as a printer on the _Champion_.
Two other sons of Dr. Grimes, John and Howard Grimes, were members of
Colonel Jennison’s Seventh Kansas Jayhawkers.
JOSHUA WHEELER.
Joshua Wheeler was one of the best known, as well as one of the most
successful, farmers Atchison county ever had. His papers on questions
pertaining to agriculture and the farm, read before the various
societies, attracted wide-spread attention. In State affairs, he served
the public long and honorably, and for over twenty years was a member of
the State board of agriculture, serving three years as its president.
His long connection with the State Agriculture College gave him an
extended acquaintance over the State, and he was appointed regent for
that institution by Governor Harvey in 1871, and re-appointed by
Governor Martin in 1888, serving until April, 1894. During several years
of that time he was treasurer of the board, and gained an extensive
knowledge of the college and its history. He served in the State senate
during 1863 and 1864 and in the fall of 1885 was elected for another
term.
Joshua Wheeler was born in Buckingham, England, February 12, 1827, and
came to America in 1844, locating in New Jersey, where he resided four
years before removing to Illinois. In 1857 a colony of seven or eight
families of Fulton county, Illinois, farmers, Seventh-Day Baptists, came
to Kansas, and located in the southwest portion of Atchison county,
covering the entire distance overland. S. P. Griffin and Dennis Sounders
preceded the colony in the spring of the same year to look up a
location. They went as far to the southwest as Emporia, but found no
land equal to that of Atchison county. After locating the land for the
colony they went back to Illinois, but did not accompany the colony to
Kansas, but came a year or two later. Griffin farmed for nearly twenty
years, but afterwards became a Nortonville merchant. He was the father
of Charles T. Griffin, at one time an attorney in Atchison.
When the colony of Seventh-Day people arrived at the end of their
destination they found the land in possession of colonists, but they
bought them out, preëmpted claims and laid out the now famous Seventh-
Day Lane. The land was then an open prairie, occupied only by an
occasional hut. It is at this time the admiration of every visitor
abounding in well cultivated fields, pastures, groves, orchards,
comfortable homes, to which paint is no stranger, large barns, uniformly
trimmed hedges, and peopled by as thrifty a class as can be found in the
western country. Later on Seventh-Day people came from Iowa, Wisconsin
and New York, and joined the Illinois colony on Seventh-Day Lane, which
is two miles in length. The Seventh-Day Baptists observe their Sabbath
from sundown Friday evening to sundown Saturday evening. Their church
has a seating capacity of 400, which is always comfortably filled, and
was built in 1884, prior to which time the Seventh-Day Baptists
worshiped in their school house.
A. A. Randolph was the first pastor of the church on Seventh-Day Lane.
He came here from Pennsylvania in 1863, and died in 1868. S. R. Wheeler,
a brother of Joshua Wheeler, was pastor of the church for twelve years.
When the Seventh-Day Baptists built their homes on the Lane smooth wire
cost eleven and one-half cents per pound in Atchison, and ordinary
flooring, $100.00 per thousand feet. Money was loaned at four per cent.
per month. They did all of their trading in Atchison until Nortonville
was built.
Joshua Wheeler was not only a successful farmer, but a good business
man. He kept a regular set of books, and could always tell exactly what
it cost him to produce a bushel of wheat in any of the different years
of his farm experience. He could tell also what a bushel of corn, fed to
cattle, would produce. In 1877 he sold his wheat for $1.75 per bushel.
He owned a farm of over 300 acres, just at the west end of the Lane,
where he died on the fourteenth day of May, 1896.
WILLIAM HETHERINGTON.
William Hetherington, founder of the Exchange National Bank, came to
Atchison in 1859, from Pottsville, Penn., where he operated a flouring
mill. His three oldest children, Mrs. B. P. Waggener, W. W. Hetherington
and C. S. Hetherington, were born in Pottsville. Mrs. W. A. Otis, the
youngest daughter, was born in Atchison. William Hetherington himself
was born in Milton, Penn., May 10, 1821. He was also married there. When
he first came west he stopped in St. Louis, then went to Kansas City,
and later to Leavenworth, where he bought a bankrupt stock of goods and
hauled them to Atchison in wagons. This was in 1859. The same year he
established the Exchange Bank of William Hetherington, absorbing the
Kansas Valley Bank, owned by Robert L. Pease, which had been established
several years before.
Mr. Hetherington’s influence in Atchison was very marked. He was a
cultured gentleman of the old school, and was so generally respected,
although always a Democrat, he stood very high in the sixties when the
sectional bitterness was at its height, and did much to maintain peace
between the contending factions. He was a very able public speaker. He
was never a bitter partisan, and enjoyed the respect of the people to an
unusual degree. He was one of the early mayors of Atchison, and had a
successful career. He died on the twenty-first day of January, 1890.
WILLIAM C. SMITH.
William C. Smith, one of the early mayors of Atchison, came to Kansas in
1858 from Illinois, settling near Valley Falls. Two years later he
traded his farm to Sam Dickson for a stock of goods in Atchison and
removed to this city. The firm of William C. Smith & Son continued
sixteen years. The son was Henry T. Smith, who still resides in Atchison
(1915). Another son is William R. Smith, who is at present the attorney
for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company, at Topeka, for a
number of years was a justice of the supreme court of Kansas. His oldest
daughter married P. L. Hubbard, who afterwards became district judge of
Atchison county, and another daughter married H. C. Solomon, for many
years a leading attorney of Atchison. Mr. Smith died in 1884. He was
mayor two terms; member of the legislature, council and the board of
education. Although Mr. Smith came to Kansas from Illinois, he was born
at Columbus, Ohio, in 1817.
JOHN M. PRICE.
John M. Price arrived in Atchison with his wife on the first of
September, 1858, the day the Massasoit House was formally opened for the
public. They came here from Platte City, Mo., to visit some old friends
from Kentucky, who had moved to Kansas, and after they arrived concluded
to remain. The Prices originally came from Irvine, Ky. Mr. Price studied
law in Irvine; was admitted and elected county attorney before coming to
Atchison. He was a Union man, in spite of the fact that he came from
Kentucky, and was very active in a business and professional way during
the early days of his residence in this county, and for many years
thereafter. He constructed more large and substantial buildings in
Atchison than any other individual who ever lived here. He built the
house for a residence, now occupied by Mt. St. Scholastica Academy, an
opera house and many blocks of business buildings and residences. He was
a member of the legislature several times; was prominently mentioned as
a candidate for United States senator. Mr. Price died on the twentieth
day of October, 1898.
SAMUEL C. KING.
Samuel C. King came to Atchison March 27, 1857. His brothers, Ed. and
John, together with a sister and his widowed mother, arrived here the
year before, coming here with Dr. W. L. Challiss, in the steam ferry,
“Ida,” from Brownsville, Penn., where that boat was built. The King
family came originally from England, within thirty-five miles of
Liverpool, where the children were born, and where the father died. Ed.
King was the first pilot of the ferry boat, “Ida,” when it began making
trips to Atchison. The three sons and the mother took up claims in Mt.
Pleasant township. While living there three old neighbors came out and
Samuel C. King went out with them to look for claims. They were told
that there was plenty of vacant land near Monrovia, but Mr. King advised
them that it was too far out in the wilderness, and they went elsewhere.
(Monrovia is fourteen miles from Atchison). While the other members of
the family were getting their start Samuel C. King clerked in George T.
Challiss’ store, receiving $25.00 per month, and boarded himself. He
afterwards went to work for Mike Finney, steamboat wharf master, and was
practically the first express agent in Atchison. Later he went out to
his farm and split rails to fence it, and afterwards clerked for Bowman
& Blair for $25.00 per month and board. He enlisted in the navy in June,
1861, enlisting as a landsman on the man of war, “Augusta.” He served on
this ship through all the exciting scenes of the navy during the war,
and was at the battle of Point Royal. He assisted in capturing eight
British ships, which tried to run the blockade, and his part of the
prize money amounted to over $7,000.00. He was at the bombardment of Ft.
Sumpter, and at the taking of Tyble Island, off Savannah, Ga. He spent
eleven months at sea, working for the “Alabama,” and rounded Cape
Hatteras. He saw the burning of Charleston, and finally learning that
his mother was fatally ill, he came home. He was elected county
treasurer of Atchison county. Mr. King remained a prosperous capitalist
and real estate operator, until his death on the twenty-third day of
January, 1910.
CLEM ROHR.
Clem Rohr came originally from Buffalo, N. Y., where he was born in
1835. He learned the trade of harness maker there, and afterwards worked
at his trade at Chicago, Detroit and Moline, Ill. In Davenport, Iowa, he
heard Jim Lane make a speech about Kansas. This speech caused Rohr to go
to Leavenworth in 1856, and while living in that town and employed as
mail carrier he ran into the famous battle of Hickory Point. He slept in
Hickory Point the night after the fight and helped fix up the wounded.
He walked to Atchison in 1857 from Leavenworth, with Nick Greiner, for
many years a prosperous German farmer, south of Atchison, and started a
harness shop, which he conducted in the same place on the south side of
Commercial street, between Fourth and Fifth streets, for over forty
years.
The first telegram that came to Atchison announcing that Kansas had been
admitted was sent to Clem Rohr, and was signed by S. C. Pomeroy. He
served as mayor of Atchison. Early in the sixties when the home guard
was organized in Atchison Clem Rohr was made captain. His father was one
of Napoleon Bonaparte’s body-guard, and was with that great soldier at
Austerlitz in the Russian campaign, and at the battle of Waterloo. Mr.
Rohr always claimed that Julius Newman, who had a farm near the
Soldiers’ Home, made the first filing in the Lecompton land office.
Mr. Rohr died in Atchison on the twenty-third day of May, 1910.
R. H. WEIGHTMAN.
One of the most interesting and romantic early-day characters in
Atchison county was Maj. R. H. Weightman, an ex-major of the United
States army, who was associated with a famous frontier tragedy. Major
Weightman was a violent pro-slavery man and had been reared in the
South. Before coming to Kickapoo, where he was connected with the land
office, and subsequently to Atchison, he was the editor of the _Herald_
at Santa Fe, N. M., and also a delegate to Congress from that Territory.
F. X. Aubrey, the other party to the quarrel, was a French Canadian, of
great pluck and energy, and had made a reputation on a wager in 1852,
riding from Santa Fe to Independence, Mo., in a few hours over eight
days. The next year he wagered $1,000 he could go the same distance in
less than eight days. His bet was accepted and Aubrey covered the
distance in less than five days. Following these rides he engaged in the
freighting business over the plains and he and Major Weightman became
warm personal friends. Aubrey later made a trip to California, taking a
herd of sheep, which he sold at a fine profit. It was upon his return
from this trip that he and Weightman had their famous quarrel. The
fairest account of this incident appeared in the _Missouri Republican_,
September 28, 1854, which was in the form of a communication from a
correspondent of that paper, and was as follows:
“THE CASE OF MAJOR WEIGHTMAN.
“Mr. Editor: The deplorable event by which F. X. Aubrey lost his
life and which deprived the West of one of its most energetic and
able pioneers, will not be passed lightly over. The name of Mr.
Aubrey had become too closely identified with all that is gallant,
preserving, and—in a western sense, at least—brave and chivalrous,
that his memory and his sudden death should not awaken painful
emotions among all those to whom his name had become a household
word; emotions too painful to expect that, under his influence, full
justice would be done to both parties concerned. When, therefore, an
opportunity is afforded by which the facts, as nearly as we can
approach them, may be investigated, it would seem injustice to
withhold these facts from the public.
“Though, perhaps, less historically known (if the expression be
permitted) than Mr. Aubrey, Major Weightman has peculiar claims upon
the citizens of Missouri, and especially of St. Louis, for demanding
full and impartial justice in this behalf. Without wishing to
anticipate the judgment of your readers, or at all commenting upon
the evidence which will be found below, your correspondent, in view
of the grave charge in which Major Weightman is involved, and the
melancholy importance of the event, deems it his duty,
notwithstanding, here to state what may be known to most of your
readers, that Major Weightman, for years, formerly, was a resident
of St. Louis, beloved and respected, almost without any exception,
by all with whom he came in contact.
“Amongst the many of Missouri’s citizens who participated in the
late Mexican war, Major, then Captain Weightman, at the head of his
Light Artillery Company, won laurels which placed his name foremost
among the bravest and most gallant in that war. His fellow soldiers
still in our midst will cheerfully bear your correspondent
testimony, that Captain Weightman’s gallantry as a soldier and
officer was only surpassed by his urbanity and true kindliness of
feeling as a gentleman; and if the evidence adduced upon his
preliminary examination before the examining magistrate should
sustain Weightman’s plan of self-defense in the premises, his former
friends here and abroad, and his fellow soldiers, will be glad to
learn that the qualities of heart, for which they used most to prize
Captain Weightman, in former years, remain untainted even now, when
his name has become unfortunately coupled with a most grave and
serious charge. May the public judge, and may not the unquestioned
enviable renown of Captain Aubrey’s name tend to warp calm judgment
in pronouncing upon the guilt or innocence of the accused.
“The following evidence, being a synopsis of the process verbatim at
the preliminary examination before Judge Davenport, at Santa Fe,
have been transmitted to your correspondent from New Mexico by a
third person, and, as your correspondent has every reason to
believe, may be fully relied on. It is in the main supported by your
former notices published in the _Republican_ concerning this same
transaction.
“The circumstances are these: Major Weightman, hearing of the
arrival of Aubrey, and that he was at the store of the Messrs.
Mercure, merchants at Santa Fe, crossed the plaza to see him, and
was one of the first to take him by the hand and greet him as a
friend. When Major Weightman arrived at the store of the Messrs.
Mercure, several persons had already arrived to pay their respects
to Mr. Aubrey.
“Aubrey and Weightman met kindly, shook hands, and conversed
pleasantly for a short time, when something having been said by a
third person about the route by which Aubrey had arrived from
California, Aubrey asked the major if he had yet published his paper
in Albuquerque. The major said, no; that it was dead—had died a
natural death from want of subscribers. Aubrey then said it should
have died, because of the lies with which it was filled. This was
said without excitement. When Weightman asked ‘What lies?’ Aubrey
remarked: ‘When I returned from California last year you asked me
for information in respect to my route, and afterwards you abused
me.’ This Weightman denied, saying, ‘No, Aubrey, I did not abuse
you.’ Aubrey then said, more or less excited, ‘I say you did, and I
now repeat, it is a lie,’ at the same time bringing his hand down
with force upon the counter.
“At this Weightman, who was sitting on the counter, five or six feet
from Aubrey, sprang down and approached Aubrey, who had been
standing near the counter, and taking a glass from which Aubrey had
been drinking (a toddy), threw the contents in his face. Weightman
immediately stepped back, when Aubrey drew a pistol (Colt’s belt
pistol), the first shot from which took effect in the ceiling
(supposed to have gone off while cocking). Weightman then drew a
knife, and before another shot could be fired, closed with Aubrey
and stabbed him in the abdomen, and soon after seized Aubrey’s
pistol.
“The Messrs. Mercure rushed on and seized the parties. Aubrey
rapidly sank, and as soon as he relinquished his pistol Weightman
said: ‘I did it in my own defense, and I will go and surrender
myself to the authorities,’ which he did, accompanied by his friend,
Major Cunningham. Aubrey died in a few minutes. He received but the
one blow. Major Weightman has carried a bowie knife for his own
protection for a year past, believing it to be necessary for him to
do so. This was stated as the cause of his being armed. Aubrey was
of the number of those who were inimical to him. The relations
between Aubrey and Weightman had been heretofore of the most
agreeable character.”
Major Weightman was a resident of Atchison only a few years. At the
outbreak of the war he joined the southern army, and lost his life in
the battle of Wilson’s Creek.
CHAPTER XIII.
AGRICULTURE AND ITS DEVELOPMENT.
AN AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY—SCIENTIFIC FARMING—FARMERS, THE ARISTOCRACY
OF THE WEST—MODERN IMPROVEMENT—TOPOGRAPHY—SOIL—STATISTICS.
Atchison county is distinctively an agricultural community. There have
been some earnest efforts made in the past to develop its mineral
resources, and it is not beyond the realm of possibility that future
efforts in that direction will unlock hidden resources of fabulous
value. But in the future, as in the past, agriculture will be the big
important dividend producer in this county. Up to this time it is not
unfair to say that only the surface of the soil has been scratched.
Farming has been the occupation of a very large portion of our people
from the days when the first settlers took up their claims and with
crude implements, broke the sod, down to this enlightened age, of the
riding plow and the traction engine, but scientific husbandry has not
been followed on a large scale in this county. Crops have been so easy
to produce, on account of rich soil and a favorable climate, that the
methods employed in countries not so blessed and of a greater
population, have not been followed in the past. This is not an
arraignment of the former, for Atchison county has been peculiarly
blessed in its possession of an intelligent lot of thrifty farmers. They
have toiled and labored early and late; they have built comfortable
homes, accumulated fortunes, and are the sturdy, dependable citizens of
the county, but for over sixty years they have lacked organization and
the prosperous farmers have succeeded because of their own personal
initiative, judgment and hard work. As a class they have not made the
progress to which they are justly entitled. Those that came early and
remained, have in most instances met with rare success, but they worked
out their own salvation, unaided by scientific organization.
One hundred and sixty of them have banded together for mutual help and
have secured a county agricultural agent to assist them in this
direction, as the rich country in the States east of us have been forced
to do. The soil also has an abundance of potash and a creditable amount
of phosphorus, so with the proper use of legumes and manure, with the
addition of some phosphorus, the fertility of the soil may be increased
and maintained indefinitely. If soil washing is stopped and the organic
matter in the soil maintained, this county has a soil, that
agriculturally speaking, is second to none.
The real aristocracy in the West, will, in future generations, trace its
ancestry back to the pioneers, who settled on the land and tilled it.
Those who went into trade and the professions when they came to Atchison
county prior to 1860, and in subsequent years, have prospered, in part,
by their wits, but in the main, on the farmer. The farmers were then, as
now, the real wealth producers and so it has come to pass, after these
many years, that the farmer “has arrived,” and with the increase in
population and the general trend of advancement and improvement in all
human activities, farming now stands near the top of the big human
enterprises. The desire for organization and coöperation among the
farmers is growing everywhere, and it has taken hold of Atchison county
in recent years.
The farmer’s life in this county, in the late fifties and early sixties,
was a hard and lonely one. During those years many homesteads were
preëmpted, fifteen to twenty-one miles southwest, west and northwest of
Atchison, and onto these the young pioneers took their wives and
families. There they built their log houses, “broke out” their land, and
put it to corn and wheat. There were few neighbors, fewer creature
comforts, and no conveniences. It was a solitary life.
This history contains biographical sketches of many of these pioneers,
and in them will be found the intimate stories of hardships, privations
and discomforts. They came to conquer the resources of nature, and they
accomplished what they came after. There were no highways over which to
convey their crops when harvested, and the ways to the nearest market
were long and dreary ones. It was a two days’ trip over the prairies to
Atchison with a load of grain, and there were few ways to economize
time, although, fortunately, time was not an object then, as it is in
these restless days.
And yet within the short span of the lives of farmers who are still
here, there has been a marvelous development. Log houses have given way
to fine commodious homes, steam heated and electric lighted; great barns
shelter the stock, and house the grain; the telephone, the rural
delivery and the automobile have revolutionized the farmer’s life and
the farmer’s wife. Better roads are the order of the day, and it will be
along this line that great progress will be made in the immediate
future. Meanwhile, land values are on the increase, and the quarter
sections that sold from $500 to $800 each, fifty years ago, are now
bringing $16,000 to $24,000 each. Within the year 1915 there has been a
general trend of sentiment among the more enterprising farmers to put
farming upon a more scientific basis. The services of a farm adviser
have been secured, whose duty it is to assist in this direction. They
are learning more of food values, crop rotation and diversification,
soil culture and plant life. As the value of these things become more
apparent, the farming industry will thrive more, and in another
generation the problem of keeping the young men and young women on the
farm will have been solved.
The richest and most valuable farming land in Atchison county is very
generally distributed. There are parts of each township that are rough
and broken, but as the population increases land not now regarded as
choice will be made to produce abundant crops. The river bluffs, which
have stood so long in timber, are gradually being cleared and the bare
hills which are left, are admirably adapted to fruit, wheat and alfalfa.
Much of this land is as well adapted to fruit raising as is the already
famous Wathena district, some of it being exactly the same type of soil.
All that is needed is that the fruit growers give their plantations
care. The orchard that is properly cared for produces fruit of a quality
far superior to that of the famous Northwest. Incidentally, this land
returns the grower a greater net profit.
Atchison county lies within the glaciated portion of the plains region.
The underlying rocks are buried by the glacial till, but in turn is
covered by a deposit of fine silty material, known as loess. Practically
all the soil throughout this country is derived from the loess covering.
The principal soil is a brown, almost black, silty loam, well adapted to
the production of general farm crops. The rainfall is sufficient for the
maturing of all crops, the normal annual precipitation ranging from
fifteen to twenty-five inches. Atchison county has a population ranging
from 28,000 to 30,000 people. There was a slight decrease in the
population between the years of 1900 and 1910, yet, in spite of this
apparent unfavorable showing, the value of farm land and farm products
have increased. About ninety-five per cent. of the land in this county
is in farms, of an average value of $69.26 per acre. The proportionate
land area is 263,680 acres, of which 249,339 acres are in farms, with an
aggregate land value of $17,270,130, which is more than double what it
was in 1900, and over two million dollars more than the whole of the
Louisiana Purchase cost us in 1803. Figures and statistics are
proverbially dry and uninteresting, but there is no place in which they
can be more appropriately used than in history, and no language that can
be employed could tell a better story of the agricultural progress of
Atchison county, than the statistics taken from the thirteenth census of
the United States. From this source we find that the total value of
improvements on the farms in this county in 1910 was $2,692,755, and
that the value of the implements and machinery used by the farmers, not
including automobiles, was $499,129. While the value of domestic animals
and live stock was $2,149,863, and in these figures poultry is not
included. The chicken, duck, goose and turkey census reached 150,127,
and these were valued at $77,926. The total value of all crops shown by
the census of 1910 was as follows:
Cereals $1,928,065.00
Other grain and seeds 3,577.00
Hay and forage 281,793.00
Vegetables 94,232.00
Fruits and nuts 32,297.00
All other crops 30,883.00
—————————————
Grand Total $2,370,847.00
Making a grand total of $2,370,847.00.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE PRESS.
INFLUENCE OF NEWSPAPERS—PART PLAYED BY THE EARLY PRESS—“SQUATTER
SOVEREIGN”—“FREEDOM’S CHAMPION”—“CHAMPION AND PRESS”—PIONEER
EDITORS—LATER NEWSPAPERS AND NEWSPAPER MEN.
Of all the mighty powers for good and evil, none can excel the
newspaper. Take all the newspapers out of the world today and there
would be chaos. Mankind would lie groping in the dark, and life itself
would be a vain and empty thing. Newspapers are the arteries through
which the lifeblood of the world runs. They carry to our firesides the
continued story of civilization.
Early in the history of Atchison county, before the schools and the
churches, the newspaper appeared. It received a bounty of the original
town company when that association, September 21, 1854, by a resolution,
donated $400 to Robert Kelley and Dr. J. H. Stringfellow, to start a
printing office, and it was then that the _Squatter Sovereign_ was
conceived, and after a brief period of gestation, was born February 3,
1855. By a strange stroke of misfortune this first newspaper in the
county stood for a wrong principle and preached bad doctrine, for it
advocated human slavery. Yet it was a creature of environment, and
reflected the prevailing sentiment of its constituency. It was fearless
in its attitude and rabid in its utterances. It was a violent organ of
hate and bitterness toward all Free State men, and in it appeared a
constant flood of inflammatory comment directed against those who
opposed slavery, and were determined that Kansas should be the land of
the brave and the home of the free. But as the pro-slavery cause waned,
the _Squatter Sovereign_ waned with it, and in the fall of 1857, when
saner counsel and the feeling of brotherhood grew, the town company
disposed of its interest in the _Squatter Sovereign_ to the New England
Aid Society, of which S. C. Pomeroy was agent, and the paper then passed
into the hands of Robert McBratney and Franklin G. Adams. Mr. Adams and
Mr. McBratney were both Free Soilers, but they did not run the paper
long. It was shortly sold to O. F. Short, who ran it until the following
February, and on the twentieth day of that month, 1858. John A. Martin
purchased the plant and changed the name of the paper to _Freedom’s
Champion_. Under that name Colonel Martin made of his paper one of the
leading Free State organs of the Territory. Always a brilliant editor,
of courage and deep convictions, Colonel Martin during his whole career
never performed a greater service than during the time he shouted the
battle-cry of freedom through the columns of _Freedom’s Champion_, from
1858 to 1861. In September of the latter year, he laid aside his pen and
took up his sword in defense of the principles he so stoutly advocated,
and thus translated his words into deeds. When he went to the front he
left the _Champion_ in charge of George J. Stebbins, who continued in
charge until the fall of 1863, when it was leased to John J. Ingalls and
Robert H. Horton. These two men afterwards became political rivals. Both
were lawyers and both residents of Atchison for many years. Horton was a
typical lawyer, smooth and tactful, who enjoyed a successful career in
the practice of his profession and on the bench. Ingalls was of a
different temperament, being more intellectual, caring little for the
law, less tactful, but ambitious. They both met in the arena of
politics, and Horton was the vanquished. Following the senatorial
election of 1879, at which they were both candidates, they became bitter
enemies, and did not speak until they met, by chance, in London, in
1891. While these two men were editors of the _Champion_. Ingalls did
most of the writing and kept things warm until the return of Colonel
Martin from the war in January, 1865, one of the Nation’s heroes. Three
months after his return, on the twenty-second day of March, 1865.
Colonel Martin became the publisher of a daily paper, and on August 11,
1868, the _Freedom’s Champion_ was consolidated with the _Atchison Free
Press_, under the name of _Champion and Press_. The _Free Press_ was a
Republican daily paper, and first appeared May 5, 1864, with Franklin G.
Adams as its editor and proprietor. In April, 1865, Frank A. Root became
a partner, and subsequently, L. R. Elliott, who had been an assistant
editor, became a proprietor, with Mr. Root retiring later, when the
paper was consolidated with the _Champion_.
The office of the _Champion and Press_ was destroyed by fire May 20,
1869, but three weeks later the paper was in running order, with John A.
Martin as sole editor and proprietor, and from that date until the death
of Mr. Martin October 2, 1889, it remained one of the most influential
and prosperous papers in the State of Kansas.
Upon the death of Mr. Martin, the newspaper property was turned over to
his father-in-law, W. L. Challiss, as executor of Mr. Martin’s estate,
and on the day of Mr. Martin’s death the name of Phillip Krohn appears
as managing editor. Krohn occupied that important place until March 29,
1890, when his name appeared for the last time as editor. Dr. Phillip
Krohn was a man of brilliant attainments, a fluent writer, and a
pleasing public speaker. He was a Methodist minister by profession, but,
although he occupied the pulpit upon occasions, his name was seldom
taken seriously in connection with religious work. From the date of
Governor Martin’s death the paper gradually waned in influence. The
paper remained the property of the estate of Governor Martin, and Luther
C. Challiss was editor and manager, until October 11, 1804, when A. J.
Felt, an ex-lieutenant governor of Kansas, became its editor and
proprietor. The paper did not prosper under the management of Mr. Felt,
and four years later a company was organized by Charles M. Sheldon, a
promoter, and Mr. Sheldon became its editor May 2, 1898. Mr. Sheldon was
an enthusiastic and aggressive individual, who had very little respect
for the value of money, which he spent so lavishly that two months
later, July 1, 1898, his name appeared for the last time as editor of
the _Champion_. On the twentieth of that month the paper was sold to
satisfy a mortgage and the property was re-purchased by A. J. Felt, who
immediately transferred it to the Champion Linotype Printing Company, a
partnership, composed of Edward Skinner, George T. Housen, Charles O.
Hovatter, James McNamara and A. J. Felt. Mr. Felt again resumed the
editorial management of the paper, and remained in charge until January
1, 1899.
February 3, 1899, Henry Kuhn, who surveyed the townsite of Atchison,
returned to the city with his son, James G. Kuhn. They made a heroic
effort to restore the lost prestige of the _Champion_, but soon became
discouraged, and in the latter part of May or early in the June
following, they gave up the ghost and silently disappeared. The
mortgagees continued the publication of the paper, and July 31, 1899,
the name of John A. Reynolds appears as business manager. It had no
editor until August 23, 1899, when James G. Day, Jr., a young lawyer,
occupying a desk in the office of Waggener, Horton & Orr, became editor
and manager. Mr. Day ran a daily until January 9, 1900, when it was
discontinued. The following March he published a daily for one week, “as
the devil would run it,” a piece of cynicism in reply to an effort the
_Topeka Capital_ made a short time before, when that paper was turned
over to Rev. Charles M. Sheldon, the eminent Congregational preacher,
who ran that paper one week, “As Jesus would run it.”
Meanwhile, the _Champion_ had its ups and downs, but did not die. A
daily again appeared April 22, 1901, with Ewing Herbert, one of the
celebrated newspaper men of Kansas, as its editor and owner. Mr. Herbert
was at that time the owner of the _Brown County World_, at Hiawatha. He
conceived the idea that Atchison offered an attractive field for a
newspaper venture, and he succeeded in interesting some local capital in
his enterprise. Capt. John Seaton was a stockholder, among others, and
Jay House, the present mayor of Topeka (1915) and a brilliant newspaper
paragrapher, was city editor. Mr. Herbert spent only part of his time in
Atchison, and turned over the management of the _Champion_ to Mr. House.
It looked for a time as if Mr. Herbert was going to make a success of
his venture, but just at the height of his prosperity he was guilty of
an editorial indiscretion, which turned some powerful influences against
the paper, and on August 17, 1901, Mr. Herbert gave up his effort as a
bad job and turned the plant over to one W. A. Robinson, formerly of St.
Louis, Mo. Mr. Robinson was a follower of Henry George, the great single
taxer, and conceived it to be his duty to spread the single tax
propaganda through the editorial columns of the _Champion_. His efforts
in this direction did not prove profitable, and becoming disheartened
and discouraged he fled from the city shortly thereafter, a much poorer
but wiser man.
The _Champion_ next fell into the hands of Corman H. Young, for many
years a successful music merchant, of Atchison, who incidentally
acquired a small job printing plant, which he operated on North Fifth
street, and which he subsequently merged with the _Champion_ plant,
having acquired that by paying off the mortgage which Mr. Robinson gave
Ewing Herbert at the lime he undertook to acquire the property. Mr.
Young ran a weekly paper for a number of years, until May, 1907, when he
employed Walt Mason, the famous prose poet of the United States, to
assume the editorial management of a daily. Mr. Mason many years before
had been a resident of Atchison, and ran the Globe during the absence of
Mr. Howe in Europe. He was not so famous in 1907 as he is in 1915, but
he was just as brilliant. He published the daily _Champion_ on pink
paper and filled it with columns of editorial matter and humorous
running comment on current affairs. Mr. Mason had a wonderful capacity
for work and could prepare more “copy” in one day than all the other
writers on the paper could prepare in a week. During the summer of 1907,
Sheffield Ingalls, having returned from the legislature, where he was a
member of the house of representatives, became an editorial writer on
the _Champion_. November 20, 1907, Mr. Young prevailed upon Mr. Ingalls
to give up his other work and become editor of the paper. As Mr. Ingalls
walked into the office, Mr. Mason walked out, never to return. Mr.
Ingalls remained editor and manager of the _Champion_ until October 6,
1909, having been frustrated in plans he had made to acquire the
property as his own. Mr. Young continued to run the paper until July 1,
1911, when Mr. Ingalls, with the assistance of J. C. Killarney,
succeeded in organizing a company, which purchased the paper and turned
it over to Eugene C. Pulliam, as editor. Mr. Pulliam was a young man,
who had served his apprenticeship on the _Kansas City Star_ as a
reporter. He was a good writer, but lacked experience and business
judgment, and while he made a vigorous effort to run the paper, and had
the benefit of strong financial connections, he did not succeed, and
September 1, 1914, he turned the paper over to Sheffield Ingalls as
trustee, and it was subsequently sold to A. S. Andereck and his brother,
A. P. Andereck, of Kankakee, Ill. A few months later a company was
organized, composed of the Andereck brothers, O. A. Simmons, vice-
president of the First National Bank, Wilbur C. Hawk and Sheffield
Ingalls, who in 1915 are conducting the paper, and it is enjoying its
most prosperous days since the death of its brilliant editor, John A.
Martin.
In 1877 there came to Atchison a young man who subsequently became one
of the famous editors of the United States, Edgar Watson Howe. Mr. Howe
was born in Wabash county, Indiana, May 3, 1854, a son of Henry and
Elizabeth Howe. When he was about three years of age his family removed
to Bethany, Harrison county, Missouri, where the father, a Methodist
preacher, published a newspaper of strong abolition sentiments. The
younger Mr. Howe served an apprenticeship at the printer’s trade in his
father’s office, and in 1868 started out for himself. He visited various
cities, working at the case to earn money to pay his way from one place
to another, and at the age of eighteen became the publisher of the
weekly _Globe_, at Golden, Colo. From there he went to Falls City, Neb.,
where he published a newspaper, subsequently coming to Atchison, and
established the _Daily Globe_. When Mr. Howe reached Atchison, the
_Champion_, under the management of John A. Martin, was the most
powerful newspaper organ in the northern half of Kansas, and the field
here was none too promising on this account. However, Mr. Howe proceeded
to publish a paper of an entirely different type than that published by
Mr. Martin. It was a small sheet, and was devoted to “_gab, gossip and
paid locals_,” and for over thirty years this policy was successfully
maintained by Mr. Howe. It was unique in the journalistic world, and
under the management of Mr. Howe it acquired a National reputation,
chiefly because of the quaint, homely philosophy it contained and the
unusual treatment he gave the ordinary incidents of human life. As a
reporter of this class of news, Mr. Howe was perhaps without a peer in
the country. For over thirty years he tramped the streets of Atchison
with note-book and pencil, and to practically every item he turned in he
gave a peculiar twist, which reflected a remarkable insight of human
nature. With Mr. Howe were associated Miss Frances L. Garside, Ralph
(“Doc”) Tennal, Miss Nellie Webb and J. E. Rank. To each of them Mr.
Howe was indebted for much of the success the _Globe_ attained. The
death of Col. John A. Martin and the collapse of the _Champion_, that
followed, gave Mr. Howe his opportunity, and for the greater part of his
active newspaper career in Atchison he had the field to himself. The
_Globe_ was a great financial success and in one year it has been said
that Mr. Howe cleared close to $24,000 on his property. “Doc” Tennal was
the first one of Mr. Howe’s faithful associates to break up the _Globe_
family. Mr. Tennal was a remarkable reporter of local news, but being
ambitious and realizing the limitations by which he was surrounded, he
concluded to acquire a newspaper property of his own, and in pursuance
of that plan, he bought the _Sabetha Herald_ in 1905, subsequently
relinquishing it to become editor of the _Kansas City Weekly Star_. He
returned some years later to Sabetha, and re-purchased the _Herald_
plant, and is now the editor of that prosperous and progressive paper
(1915).
J. E. Rank left the _Globe_ a few years later, and went to Bartlesville,
Okla., where he ran a paper a short time, and then returned to Atchison,
and his first newspaper love.
Miss Garside, who was one of the most brilliant newspaper women in the
country, went from the _Globe_ to the _New York Journal_, and in 1909
Mr. Howe turned the _Globe_ over to his son, Eugene Howe, who is now
(1915) its editor and principal owner. Associated with him are Mr. Rank
and Miss Nellie Webb, together with other old _Globe_ employes.
Miss Webb is the society reporter, and in this capacity she has acquired
a brilliant reputation among the newspaper women of Kansas. The “policy”
of the _Globe_ remains unchanged, and, while it may not enjoy the same
prestige it had during the days of the elder Howe, it is still one of
the moneymaking newspaper plants of Kansas. Eugene Howe is a young man
of much promise. He is still young and has spent his life in newspaper
work. He has carried the new responsibilities thrust upon him by his
father both gracefully and tactfully, and there is every reason to
predict a successful future for him.
Among the early newspaper enterprises of Atchison was _The Patriot_,
established by Nelson Abbott October 25, 1867. In September, 1868,
Messrs. H. Clay Park, B. P. Waggener and Mr. Abbott formed a
partnership, under the name of H. Clay Park & Company, and purchased the
establishment, and in October of the same year, the paper passed into
the hands of C. F. and C. P. Cochrane, but shortly thereafter reverted
to Nelson Abbott, who remained in control until December, 1875. Dr. H.
B. Horn, for many years a respected and honored citizen of Atchison, was
connected with the paper as bookkeeper and business manager, and
performed much of the editorial work, and when Mr. Abbott finally
relinquished control of the paper, it fell again into the hands of H.
Clay Park, who together with F. L. Vandergrift and P. H. Peters, assumed
control. Mr. Peters did not remain long in the partnership, and in 1877
he sold his interest to E. W. Beall. The paper was Democratic, and Mr.
Park, who was very actively identified with the affairs of Atchison in
the early days, was an able editor. He left Atchison twenty-five years
later, to become an editorial writer on the _St. Joseph News_ and
_Press_. F. L. Vandergrift is one of the famous newspaper men of Kansas,
and for many years was the representative in Kansas of the _Kansas City
Star_. He is one of the best loved and best known newspaper writers of
the West, and is now (1915) editor of the _Earth_, a publication devoted
to the interests of the Santa Fe railroad.
One of the well known newspaper men of the West connected with _The
Patriot_ was Tom Stivers, who was connected with the _Champion_ for
eight years, and in January, 1879, became a partner with Mr. Park and
Mr. Vandergrift.
_The Patriot_ was an afternoon daily paper, and always stanchly
Democratic in politics, and for many years was a successful journalistic
enterprise. This paper continued to be published either as a weekly or a
daily until about October 12, 1895. It was in a precarious condition
many years before that date, and had a number of different editors,
among them F. M. Stambaugh and W. J. Montgomery. _The Atchison Morning
Star_ and _Daily Patriot_ was built upon the wreck of the original
_Patriot_, its first issue being dated October 13, 1895, and running
until February 23, 1896.
_The Atchison Union_ was a Democratic paper, established by Gideon O.
Chase, about 1858. It had an office in a frame building at the southwest
corner of Fifth and Commercial streets, subsequently occupied by the
_Champion_. Mr. Chase came from Waverly. N. V., and his paper, while
Democratic, was for the Union and against slavery. Mr. Chase did not
remain in charge of the paper very long, and turned it over to W. H.
Addoms and G. I. Stebbins. Shortly thereafter Stebbins retired, and
Addoms went to Leavenworth, where he started a paper, turning his
interest over to A. P. Cochrane, who was an employe in the office.
Cochrane did not run the paper but a short time, when a Mr. Leland,
Francis J. Marion and Franklin G. Adams assumed control and ran it a
short time, when Marion took the plant of Plattsburg, Mo., and junked
it, and for many years what was left of the paper was piled up in the
court house at that place.
_The Atchison Church Visitor_ was established in 1906, and was published
by the pastors of the following churches: English Lutheran, Methodist,
Christian, Congregational, Presbyterian, Baptist.
On January 14, 1911, Paul Tonsing became its editor and publisher. The
paper is printed by Mr. Tonsing in the office over 500 Commercial
street, so long occupied as the editorial room of John A. Martin, of
whom Mr. Tonsing is a son-in-law. Mr. Tonsing is a Lutheran minister by
profession, and for a number of years after his graduation from Midland
College, he did pastoral work in a number of Lutheran churches in
Nebraska and Kansas. Mr. Tonsing is a reformer, and a man not without
courage and ability. His views are looked upon as too extreme by the
conservative liberal element of Atchison, but all give him credit for
being conscientious and honest. He is a hard-working, industrious
citizen, and, while he has made inane active enemies in his reform work,
he enjoys the personal satisfaction of seeing many of the reforms he has
advocated come to pass. He is an avowed foe of the liquor traffic, and
has perhaps done more than any other individual in the community to make
his views on that question effective. In connection with the publication
of the _Church Visitor_, Mr. Tonsing also prints and edits the _Western
Chief_, a monthly publication devoted to the Improved Order of Redmen.
_E. W. Howe’s Monthly_ was started by Mr. Howe in March, 1911. It is
published monthly and contains practically all of the present literary
efforts of its editor. Mr. Howe has adopted the use of pink paper for
this publication, which is composed of four pages. It contains no
advertising matter, but has a large circulation among friends and
admirers of Mr. Howe’s peculiar literary type. Mr. Howe has popularized
this monthly by making the price so low that no subscriber can afford
not to take it, and when he has reached a circulation large enough, he
plans to put it on a profitable basis as an advertising medium.
_The Effingham New Leaf_ was started about April 12, 1894, with M. C.
Klingman, editor, and his wife, Mrs. Ima L. Klingman, as associate
editor. The _New Leaf_ was the successor of the _Effingham Times_,
founded in 1887, and the _Effingham Graphic_, founded in 1891, and the
_Effingham World_, founded in 1893. After the death of M. C. Klingman,
at the Missouri Baptist sanitarium, at St. Louis, Mo., May 5, 1899, Mrs.
Klingman took charge as editor and publisher, and employed W. W. Cahoon,
associate editor. January 4, 1901, J. W. Coleman became the editor and
publisher, and W. W. Cahoon, associate editor. In December, 1903, W. W.
Cahoon purchased a one-half interest and the firm became Coleman &
Cahoon. Mr. Coleman re-purchased the paper October 16, 1903, and
continued its publication until September 8, 1903, when Mr. Cahoon and
C. E. Sells became the editors and publishers. May 4 of the following
year Mr. Cahoon sold his interest to W. H. Sells, and August 31, 1906,
C. E. and A. J. Sells took charge of the paper, and in 1915 were still
its publishers.
_The Effingham New Leaf_ is a successful country newspaper, serving its
readers faithfully and satisfactorily.
_The Muscotah Record_ was founded about October 1, 1884, by F. M.
Bonham, who ran the paper until about 1886, when on August 18 of that
year the Miller brothers became its editors and publishers. They sold it
to Claud Martin and Coleman Martin December 4, 1889, who subsequently
sold the plan to M. C. Klingman, editor of the _Effingham New Leaf_,
May, 1890. Mr. Klingman turned the property over to Fred W. Badger July
18, 1890, who continued the paper until December 8, 1893, when he
disposed of it to John Ford. Ford published the paper until November 1,
1894, when he sold it to James S. Martin and Guy L. Stotter, the latter
assuming entire control March 6, 1896. Mr. Stotter sold the _Record_ to
J. W. Campbell August 17, 1905, but assumed control of it again November
23, 1905, and remained in control until June 6, 1907, when J. A.
Shoemaker, who afterwards became county superintendent of Atchison
county, appeared as its editor and publisher. When Mr. Shoemaker was
elected county superintendent, he turned the property over to A. W.
Huntis, who on February 3, 1910, sold it to P. J. Cortelyon, and March
7, 1912, the property was purchased by R. M. Dunlap, who is now (1915)
its editor and publisher.
_The Huron Herald_ started January 7, 1892, with Frank I. White as
editor and publisher. On May 16, 1895, Messrs. Priest & Priest took
charge and were in control October 18, 1896, when the office was
destroyed by fire. The paper was suspended for a few weeks and the next
issue was dated November 6, 1896, with W. E. Johnson, editor and
publisher. _The Herald_ suspended publication in February, 1897, and was
again resurrected by W. A. Huff by the issue of April 9, 1897. Mr. Huff
discontinued the paper in 1900, and went to Brown county, where he was
active in newspaper work in that county. _The Huron Herald_ was revived
again April 12, 1907, by J. E. Smith, who published it until March 12,
1914, and March 19 of that year. J. M. Delaney announced that through no
fault of his, he was forced to take control of the paper, and had
employed Herman Van. On August 19, 1915, T. A. Cur became editor, and on
November 11, 1915, Orvil L. Pancake was in charge.
_The Potter Kansan_ was originally known as the _Potter Leaf_, which
started November 22, 1900, by Eppie L. Barber and Norene Barber, his
wife. Mr. Barber surrendered control of the paper September 17, 1903,
turning it over to his wife, who became its publisher. Shortly
thereafter, Charles B. Remsburg, who for many years was a well known
newspaper reporter in northeastern Kansas, appeared as its editor and
publisher, and remained in charge until May 11, 1905, when he turned it
over to J. W. Thompson and his wife, Mrs. J. W. Thompson. On August 17,
1905, the Thompsons leased the paper to R. J. Wilson, but in the
following December Mr. Thompson resumed control again and placed Howard
C. King in charge as local editor and business manager. On March 22,
1906, W. A. Remsburg became proprietor and in the following September,
J. E. Remsburg purchased the plant, and is now its editor.
_The Potter Kansan_ is one of the best known country weekly papers in
Kansas and the contributions from the pen of George J. Remsburg, the
noted archaeologist and newspaper paragrapher and poet, are frequently
quoted by the newspapers of the State.
Atchison county, perhaps, has been the graveyard for as many newspapers
as any other county in the State. The State Historical Society has
reserved the record, and in many instances, the files, of newspapers,
which have been born, and after a brief existence, have died in this
county.
The first rival newspaper of the _Champion_, then the _Squatter
Sovereign_, was the _Sumner Gazette_, published at Sumner in 1857. It
survived only a short time, as also did the _Western Spy_, which lived a
few months in 1860.
In 1857 _The Kansas Zeitung_ was started by Kab & Sussman, but was moved
to Leavenworth in 1859.
Half a dozen papers sprung up in 1862 and 1863, among which were: _The
Pleifer_, _The Bulletin_, _The Union-Banner_, _The Anti-Jayhawker_, _The
Standard_, and _Die Tackle_.
In 1873 the anti John A. Martin crowd, headed by John M. Price, started
a Republican daily and weekly, called the _Globe_, with A. W. Wagnhals,
J. B. Dutton, Rev. E. Cooper, T. F. Smith and Franklin G. Adams as the
principal writers. It lasted but a few months. Wagnhals subsequently
changed his name to Wagnalls, and moved to New York City, where he
became a great publisher as a member of the firm of Funk & Wagnalls,
which published the Standard Dictionary and a number of other well known
publications.
The following list shows the different publications received by the
Historical Society from Atchison county at the end of the year 1915:
_Atchison Champion_, daily and weekly.
_Atchison Globe_, daily and weekly.
_The Midland_, Atchison.
_The Abbey Student_, Atchison.
_Midland College Bulletin_, Atchison.
_St. Benedict’s Calendar_, Atchison.
_The Western Chief_, Atchison.
_Atchison Church Visitor._
_E. W. Howe’s Monthly_, Atchison.
_Kansas Synod Lutheran_, Atchison.
_The Optimist_, Atchison.
_Effingham New Leaf._
_Atchison County High School News_, Effingham.
_Muscotah Record._
_Potter Kansan._
_Huron Herald._
Among the numerous publications that have enjoyed a brief existence in
this county, are the following:
_Kansas Churchman_, published at Atchison from November, 1891, to
December, 1892. Rev. E. K. Brooke was editor. This publication had been
published at Salina, Kan., previously, and from Atchison was removed to
Lawrence.
_Arrington Argus_, started by T. W. Gardner, and was suspended after the
tenth number.
_The American Journal of Education_ was published at Atchison and St.
Louis, Mo., by Messrs. J. B. Merwin and I. C. Scott, in 1870.
_The Atchisonian_, established March 24, 1877, by the Atchison
Publishing Company. This paper was a six column, eight page affair, with
a patent inside. The last issue appeared May 26, 1877.
_Atchison Daily Times_ was started February 3, 1887, by John N.
Reynolds, but after the seventh issue the paper was changed to a weekly,
and called the _Atchison Weekly Times_, from March 19 to July 2, 1887.
The next issue was dated July 11, 1887, and was again called _The
Atchison Daily Times_, and ran as such until August 6, 1887, when it
suspended. John N. Reynolds was in many ways, a unique character. He
came to Atchison as the organizer and manager of a live stock insurance
company. He was at one time a preacher, and his career in Atchison was
remarkable for its violence and his disregard for both the proprieties
and the ethics of the newspaper profession, he was looked upon by many
as an irresponsible demagogue, and it was supposed that he ran his paper
for blackmailing purposes. The story goes that during his management of
the live stock insurance company, he incurred an advertising bill with
one of the local papers, and failing to pay the bill, the editor of the
local paper, instead of having recourse to the courts, began to heap
abuse upon Reynolds, and using this as a pretext, Reynolds established
the _Times_, for the purpose of retaliation. As the result of this
episode, Reynolds became very violent in his denunciation of many men of
established reputations in the community, and during the time that he
published his paper there was much excitement of an undesirable
character in the city. Reynolds finally landed in the Kansas State
penitentiary, having served a term previously in the Missouri State
penitentiary. He wrote a book subsequently, relating largely to his
treatment in these two institutions, which he entitled “The Twin Hells.”
For a short period he edited his paper from the county jail in Atchison,
but in 1888 J. A. Sunderland took hold of the _Times_, and it was
published up to January 31, 1891.
_The Sunday Morning Call_ was started by the Call Printing Company, with
Frank Pearce as editor and publisher, and was first issued in magazine
form February 8, 1880. March 28, 1880, Barton Lowe & Company became
editors and publishers, enlarging the paper to a five column folio.
January 3, 1881, Luther L. Higby appears as a member of the firm, but
with the issue of October 9, 1881, Luther L. Higby became sole owner.
November 6, 1881, C. F. Cochrane became one of the editors, and January
18, 1882, Chris Rutt became a partner of Mr. Higby, and this firm sold
the plant to Herman J. Rodman October 22, 1882, who continued it until
November 18, 1883, when the name was changed to _The Western Mercury_,
with E. J. Van Deventer and H. J. Rodman as publishers, and it was
continued until about 1886.
_The Missouri Valley Farmer_ was published by A. J. Felt during the time
that Mr. Felt was editor of the _Champion_. The first issue of the
_Farmer_ was dated January 5, 1893, and it continued until August 18,
1898, at which time it was sold to C. M. Sheldon, who also became owner
of the _Champion_, and the _Missouri Valley Farmer_ was moved to Kansas
City.
_The New West_ was a monthly journal of immigration, published by the
Immigrant Union, that was established in Atchison in August, 1878. It
was issued in magazine form and contained about sixteen pages of reading
matter. The earlier numbers of the publication were printed at Hannibal,
Mo., and in 1878 H. H. Allen, who was for many years a real estate
operator in Atchison, became the editor of this paper. Mr. Allen
subsequently sold the property to J. G. P. Hilderbrand, who later turned
the property over to two men by the names of Berry and Henry. The last
issue appeared about July, 1880.
_Atchison Baptist_ was a monthly magazine, printed by the City Mission
Publication Company, of Pittsburgh, Pa., in the interests of the First
Baptist church, of Atchison. It lasted about three years, and W. H. Park
was the local editor.
_Kansas Agriculturist_ was a weekly publication, which was established
July 18, 1898, and probably died about March 20, 1899.
The _Atchison Blade_ was established July 16, 1892, and published by the
Blade Publishing Company, composed of Dr. Grant Brown, Natt G. Langston,
and Will Harris, three prominent negroes of Atchison. It was a four
page, six column paper, and was operated, after several changes in the
management, until about January 20, 1894. It again resumed publication
November 5, 1897, and was run until September 19, 1898, by H. Lewis
Dorsey.
_The Kansas Statesman_, Atchison, was established February 15, 1901, by
G. W. Myers & Sons, office, 315 Commercial street. This paper was
absorbed by the _Atchison Champion_, after the issue of October 11,
1901.
_The Trades Union_, Atchison, was founded September 5, 1885, by Frank
Hall, R. Tompkins, and James W. Reilly. This paper was the official
paper of the Kansas State Assembly of the Knights of Labor, office, 521
Commercial street. The last issue on file is dated November 6, 1886, and
the paper moved to Topeka after this date.
_The Atchison Banner_ was a German paper, and C. F. Ruth was editor and
publisher. This was a seven column, four page paper, and was founded
March 1, 1878. It was enlarged to an eight column paper the same year.
It supported the Republican State ticket in 1878. The paper was
suspended after the issue of July 12, 1879.
_The Bible Investigator_ was a monthly publication, started about July,
1881, by William Kirby and A. D. Stevens. It was printed by W. H.
Haskell & Son, who for many years conducted a prosperous printing
business in Atchison. The editor was William Kirby, and a Mr. Stevens
was the manager, both of whom were residents of Doniphan, and a notice
in the paper asked that communications for either one should be
addressed to that place. It was in operation about five months.
_Atchison’s Monthly_ was published by W. H. Haskell & Son, and the
managing editor was Herman J. Rodman. It did not last long.
_Sentinel of the Northwest_ was a monthly publication, of which Dr. A.
H. Lamphear was editor. The only issue of which there is any record was
Volume 1, No. 1, date January 1, 1883.
_Sunday Morning Facts_ was published by E. W. Beal from September 2,
1883, until about February 3, 1884.
_Der Humorist_, was as the title indicates, a German publication, with
L. Willstaedt as its publisher. This paper, or magazine, was also short
lived, lasting less than a year.
_Atchison Sunday Morning Sermon_, published by J. W. and J. M. Tanner.
First issue was June 1, 1884, and the last issue about July 27, 1884.
_Atchison Advance_, published by Frank Hall and Dr. H. B. Horn. The
first issue of the paper was November 5, 1884, and the last issue was
January 3, 1885.
_The Messachorean_ was started in 1887, and issued about every two
months. It was devoted to the interest of Midland College, and edited by
the faculty. It died about June, 1888.
_The Atchison Daily Bee_ was one of John N. Reynolds’ enterprises, which
started March 25, 1889, and suspended April 4, 1889.
_The Tradesman_ was a monthly publication, devoted to the trade
unionism, and was edited by Robert Tompkins, the veteran editor and
publisher.
_Stebbins & Talbot’s Real Estate Record_, established in 1869, by C. I.
Stebbins, W. R. Stebbins and J. H. Talbot. This was, as its name
implies, a publication devoted to booming real estate in Atchison county
and vicinity.
_Kansas Monthly Souvenir_ was published by Fitch Rice & Company from
February, 1873, to sometime in June of the same year.
_Gardner’s Real Estate Bulletin_ was another real estate journal,
published monthly, by C. V. Gardner in 1873.
_The Short Line Advocate_ was issued by the Atchison & Denver Railroad
Company in 1879.
_Der Courier_ was another German publication, published at Atchison and
Topeka, by Edward F. Fleischer in 1879.
_The Public Ledger_ was started August 19, 1880, by W. J. Granger. It
supported the National Greenback ticket of that year, and October 30,
1888, Granger turned the paper over to E. A. Davis & Son, who ran it a
short time. Mr. Granger returned to Atchison eighteen years later, and
became a reporter on the _Atchison Champion_, and during the interval
published papers in Effingham and other places. In 1915 he was the
publisher and owner of the _Nettawaka Talk_.
_The Western Farm Home_ was a continuation of the _New West Monthly_.
Its first issue was in January, 1881, with James P. Henry and George H.
Pardee as editors and publishers. It suspended publication in October,
1881.
_High School Quarterly_ was published at Effingham for the first time
January, 1895, with S. J. Hunter, editor, and John W. Wilson, business
manager. This magazine was published in the interests of the Atchison
high school. It was subsequently changed to _The High School Bulletin_,
after which it was issued regularly once a month during the school year.
It suspended publication about September, 1902.
_The Oracle_ was another Effingham publication, started December, 1901,
which was conducted by Guy Hendrickson and the students of the Atchison
high school, in the interests of that institution. It suspended
publication about May, 1902.
_The A. C. H. S. Newsletter_ was a monthly publication, started in
February, 1901, by John W. Wilson, principal of the Atchison county high
school. There were only three numbers of this paper, which was a
monthly.
_The Atchison County Visitor_ was still another Effingham publication,
started by W. J. Granger March 10, 1905. Guy C. Hendrickson became
business manager June 8, 1906, and the paper suspended during the year
1907.
_The Potter Press_, started April 8, 1898, with E. Campbell as editor,
and Jewell & Campbell as publishers. It lasted until September 30, 1898,
when it was consolidated with the _Easton_ (Leavenworth county) _Light_.
January 27, 1899, it resumed publication, with M. L. and K. Lockwood as
editors, and E. E. Campbell as local editor, but again consolidated with
the _Easton Light_ September 1, 1899.
_The Atchison County Recorder_ was started June 1, 1900, and published
by the Lockwood Printing Company, of Atchison. Its last issue was dated
October 26, 1900.
_The Muscotah News_ was filed April 5, 1880, by Nash & Walkup, and
lasted about three months.
_The Weekly Journal_ was started by G. W. Messigh in Effingham September
2, 1892, who ran it until February 23, 1893, when it died.
_The Arrington Times_ was started May 28, 1896, by W. A. Huff. In
September of the same year its name was changed to _The Atchison County
Times_, and it suspended sometime in 1897.
_The Prairie Press_ was started in Lancaster May 12, 1888, with W. C.
Adkins as editor and publisher, and it was run until March 7, 1890, when
it was succeeded by the _Huron Graphic_.
_The Huron Headlight_, started March 13, 1884, and died on the same
date.
_The Huron Messenger_ was started July 2, 1884, by J. M. Warton, and
also died on the same day it was born.
_The Weekly Graphic_, which succeeded to all the rights and privileges
of the _Prairie Press_, of Lancaster, was started by W. C. Adkins April
5, 1890. Mr. Adkins ran this paper until March 28, 1891, at which time
he sold it to J. A. Sunderland, of Atchison, who ran it until May 2,
1891, when Mr. Adkins again took control of the paper and ran it until
the following fall.
_The Huron Times_ was a kind of continuation of the _Atchison Times_,
and Volume 4, No. 1, of this paper, was dated April 4, 1891. There were
but four issues of the _Times_, after the plant was moved from Atchison
to Huron, the last issue being dated April 25, 1891. J. A. Sunderland
was also editor and publisher of this paper, after he moved it from
Atchison to Huron. _The Huron Times_ was a weekly publication, by G. E.
Nichols, and was started February 22, 1901, and published seventeen
times, when it died.
_The Effingham Enterprise_ was founded about July 1, 1895, by W. H.
Bright. It was short lived, and little is known of its history after the
date just mentioned.
_The Peoples’ Press_ was a party organ, started in August, 1883, by the
Peoples’ Press Association, and suspended September 15 of the same year.
_The New Kansas Magazine_ was started by Dr. W. H. Wynn, for many years
a much beloved and greatly respected professor of English literature at
Midland College. Dr. Wynn conceived the idea that there was a place for
a monthly magazine in Atchison, to be conducted along the lines of the
original _Kansas Magazine_, published in 1873, which contained some of
the best literature that had ever been produced in Kansas. Associated
with Dr. Wynn were Dr. W. W. Campbell, R. M. Manley, B. P. Waggener, H.
M. Jackson, H. H. Allen, and A. J. Harwi. The first issue appeared
February 18, 1892, and the last issue appeared September 30, 1893.
_Midwest Moose Review_ was the official organ of the local lodge of the
Loyal Order of Moose, published monthly by Frank L. Danforth, editor. It
was founded in 1912, and ran only a few months.
_The Atchison Tribune_ was started in 1896, but the name of the editor
and publisher are unknown.
_The Western Chief_ is a monthly publication, devoted to the Order of
Redmen, and was founded about April, 1909. Paul Tonsing is editor and
publisher.
_Benedictine Parish Monthly_, started in Atchison, in March, 1907, and
published by St. Benedict’s College, until January, 1910.
_The College Review_ was published monthly in Lawrence and Atchison, by
A. G. Coonrod and G. T. Smith, from 1891 to 1900. Coonrod & Smith were
the owners of business colleges at Atchison and Lawrence.
_Kansas Telegraph_ was a German paper, started by H. Von Langen December
23, 1880, and was published in Atchison until 1881, when it was removed
to Topeka, where it was published for many years.
_Atchison Journal_ was another German publication, started by John
Hoenscheidt in 1880, but was short lived.
_The Kansas Staats-Anzeiger_ was started in Topeka in 1879, and
published until 1881, when it was moved to Atchison. It was also short
lived.
_Plain Facts_ was a weekly publication, started in Atchison October 4,
1897, and published by authority of twenty-five Atchison Populists, who
were opposed to the election of George W. Glick, the so-called Populist
candidates for State senator. It lasted three issues.
_The Atchison Journal_ was the official publication of the Trades and
Labor Council of Atchison. It started early in the year 1903, by W. J.
Granger, and discontinued the last of November of the same year.
_The Atchison Morning Star_ was a daily paper, published by J. A.
Roulston, and started June 14, 1905, lasting until August 30, 1905.
_The Atchison Tribune_ was a weekly publication, started March 27, 1896,
by W. H. Higgins, and suspended publication July 16, 1896.
CHAPTER XV.
BANKS AND BANKING.
EARLY DAY BANKING—PIONEER FINANCIERS—THE OLDEST BANK—PRIVATE, STATE,
AND NATIONAL BANKS—ATCHISON COUNTY BANKERS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF
BANKING INSTITUTIONS.
Banking was a precarious business during the Territorial days in Kansas.
There were no banks, as we know them, until January 29, 1857, when the
Territorial legislature passed an act providing that every company or
association of persons formed for banking purposes within the Territory,
and without an act of legislature authorizing the same, should be deemed
unlawful. Upon the passage of this act, the first bank authorized to do
business under it was The Kansas Valley Bank, of Leavenworth, with an
authorized capital stock of $800,000.00, with five branches, at
Atchison, LeCompton, Doniphan, Ft. Scott and Shawnee. The authorized
capital stock of each one of the branches was $300,000.00, and under the
terms of the act, each branch was independent of the Leavenworth
institution. The great Government Overland Transportation Company of
Majors Smoot-Russell & Company was the big financial power behind this
organization. The Leavenworth bank was never formed, and the Atchison
branch was the first to start out under this act of the legislature,
being authorized to begin business February 19, 1857, with securities
amounting to $100,000. Dr. John H. Stringfellow, Joseph Plean and Samuel
Dickson were authorized to open subscription books. The board of
directors included Samuel C. Pomeroy, who was president: W. H. Russell,
L. R. Smoot, W. B. Waddell, Franklin G. Adams, Samuel Dickson and W. E.
Gaylord. Shortly after the bank began business there were rumors
emanating from the rival towns of Sumner and Doniphan that the Atchison
institution was about to suspend, and for the purpose of allaying any
suspicion on the part of the public, created by these rumors, the
directors published a statement of its condition, showing that the
assets were $36,638.00, with liabilities of $20,118.00. In July or
August, 1857, L. S. Boling, of LeCompton, was appointed to examine and
report on the financial condition of the Atchison branch of the Kansas
Valley Bank, and this is the first record in Kansas of a proceeding of
this kind.
Samuel C. Pomeroy resigned as president of the bank in 1858, and was
succeeded by William H. Russell, of the contracting firm of Majors-
Smoot-Russell & Company. G. H. Fairchild was made vice-president, and R.
L. Pease, cashier.
In 1861, this bank, then called the Kansas Valley Bank, had its name
changed by act of the legislature, to the Bank of the State of Kansas,
and it was conducted under that name until 1866, when the stockholders
wound up its affairs.
The legitimate successor of the Bank of the State of Kansas was
Hetherington’s Exchange Bank, which was founded in 1859 by William
Hetherington.
The Exchange National Bank, of Atchison, Kan., is the oldest banking
institution in the city of Atchison, having been established in 1859,
while Kansas was a Territory. The bank was then named the Hetherington
Exchange Bank. That bank became the successor of the Bank of the State
of Kansas, which was organized in 1857. The founder of the Hetherington
Exchange Bank was William Hetherington, and, except for one year during
the Civil war, it has been in successful operation since it was
established. It passed through the period of its existence during
Territorial days, and the depressing financial conditions as a result of
the war, and business reversals incident to the reconstruction period,
and its management was at all times conducted upon the theory of its
motto adopted by William Hetherington in an early day that “Safety
First” in all of its business transactions was the secret of success.
The bank’s first business home was in the Otis & Glick building,
opposite the Byram Hotel. In 1869 it was moved to the Hetherington
building, at the northwest corner of Fourth and Commercial streets.
Later on, and in 1885, the bank was moved to the southwest corner of
Sixth and Commercial streets, into the building erected by its
president, William Hetherington, where it has since been located.
In 1876, William Hetherington admitted into the firm, as a partner,
Webster W. Hetherington, his eldest son, and in 1881, Clifford S.
Hetherington, his youngest son, became associated with him. In the year
1882 the Hetherington Exchange Bank was incorporated under the laws of
Congress, as a National bank, under the name of The Exchange National
Bank of Atchison, with a paid-up capital of $100,000, and surplus of
$20,000, and at once took high rank as one of the strongest and most
conservative banks in northeastern Kansas, and has ever since maintained
that reputation.
The Exchange National Bank was organized with William Hetherington as
president, August Byram, vice-president, Webster W. Hetherington,
cashier, and C. S. Hetherington, assistant cashier. In 1890, upon the
death of its president, William Hetherington, Webster W. Hetherington
was elected president, B. P. Waggener, vice-president, and C. S.
Hetherington, cashier. In 1892, upon the death of its then president,
Webster W. Hetherington, B. P. Waggener was elected president, A. J.
Harwi, vice-president, W. P. Waggener, vice-president, C. S.
Hetherington, cashier, C. W. Ferguson, assistant cashier, and Webster
Wirt Hetherington, teller. In October, 1906, C. S. Hetherington, the
cashier, died, and C. W. Ferguson was elected cashier, and Webster Wirt
Hetherington, assistant cashier, and Edgar Mattocks, teller. In April
1907, the capital stock of the bank was increased to $200,000.00 with a
surplus of $50,000, and ex-Governor W. J. Bailey was elected vice-
president and managing officer of the bank, which position he has since
held. Upon the death of A. J. Harwi, his son, Frank E. Harwi, was
elected director, and succeeded his father, A. J. Harwi, as vice-
president, which position he now holds.
In 1892 the bank adopted a by-law, which prohibited any officer or
director of the bank from borrowing any money from it, or becoming an
endorser or surety on any obligation or note to the bank, since which
time no officer or director of the bank has been permitted to borrow any
of its funds on deposit. The wisdom of this by-law adopted in 1892 has
repeatedly been approved by the comptroller of the currency. The
management of the Exchange National Bank has adopted and adhered to this
policy, because it believes that a bank officer or director should not
be permitted, under any circumstances or in any emergency, to use any of
its deposits in any of his own personal speculations or ventures.
In February, 1914, Webster Wirt Hetherington was appointed cashier, and
Edgar Mattocks was elected assistant cashier, and George L. Wolfe,
teller.
While the bank is known far and wide throughout the State of Kansas for
its conservatism, yet it makes an effort to accommodate all business
institutions in the city of Atchison entitled to assistance and credit.
It aims to be a distinctive Atchison institution.
Luther C. Challiss appeared as a banker in the city directory of 1859
and 1861, operating his bank at the corner of Second and Commercial
streets, but not much is known of this institution.
First National Bank was organized on the first day of October, 1866, by
David Auld, with the following as the first board of directors: David
Auld, Henry Kuhn, H. H. Moulton, George Scarborough, C. G. Foster, D. C.
Newcomb, and J. M. Linley. David Auld was elected president, George
Scarborough, vice-president, and W. R. Stebbins as cashier. For thirty-
eight years this bank was under the careful and conservative management
of David Auld, who died in October, 1904, and was succeeded by his son,
David Auld, Jr. The bank began business in July, 1867, and since that
time has been one of the strongest financial institutions in the West.
It has always had the benefit of the services of experienced men in the
banking business, and has followed a conservative policy during the
whole of its existence. In 1910 the controlling interest in the First
National Bank was purchased by the Commercial State Bank, which was
organized in Atchison in 1906 by Sheffield Ingalls and O. A. Simmons. In
the merger that took place the Commercial State Bank was absorbed by the
First National Bank, and has continued under the latter name to maintain
its high standard of conservatism, and with the introduction of new
blood and new methods, it embarked upon a policy of service which has
redounded to the lasting benefit of the community. The present officials
of this institution are as follows: Edward Perdue, president; J. H.
Barry, chairman of the board; O. A. Simmons, first vice-president and
manager; J. M. Schott, second vice-president; Charles Linley, cashier;
George H. Edwards, assistant cashier; F. J. Ledoux, assistant cashier.
The directors represent varied business interests of this city and
county, and are as follows: Edward Perdue, J. H. Barry, O. A. Simmons,
Charles Linley, J. M. Schott, C. C. McCarthy, August Manglesdorf, Leo
Nusbaum, Sheffield Ingalls, A. E. Mize, M. Noll and W. T. Hutson.
The Atchison Savings Bank claims the distinction of being “The Oldest
State Bank in Kansas,” having enjoyed a continuous corporate existence
of over forty-six years.
R. A. Park was its organizer and first cashier, and in June, 1869, it
opened its doors for business in a brick one-story building at the
northwest corner of Fifth and Commercial streets. At that time most of
the business was centered close to the river, and this was considered
quite an “up town” location, but time has vindicated the judgment of its
early director in anticipating the westward growth of the town. With the
expectation of building thereon the bank early acquired title to the lot
at the southwest corner of Fifth and Commercial streets, but
subsequently disposed of it to the late Ex-Governor John A. Martin, who
built the _Champion_ building thereon, and the bank moved to its present
quarters, which it had acquired, and still owns, at the southeast corner
of Fifth and Commercial.
William C. Smith (father of Henry T. Smith) was the first president but
the late Judge A. G. Otis soon thereafter succeeded him and remained
president until 1891.
Thomas Murphy (father of John Murphy and one of the builders of the
present Cain Mill Company mill), W. W. Guthrie, Julius Kuhn, C. J.
Drury, Col. Wm. Osborn, J. W. Parker, and other men prominent in the
business and social life of that period were among its early
stockholders and directors, while for seventeen years the late T. C.
Platt served as teller, and by his affability and faculty of remembering
people, made many friends for the institution. A baseball bat, kept
under the counter, was his weapon for defending the funds in his care.
Courtney Challiss, George H. Lawton, “Vode” Kathrens, Lowenholt, O.
Orlopp and Will H. Bryning and others also served varying terms as early
employees and will be remembered for their distinctive personalities. An
apothecary’s scale for weighing gold dust was part of the early
equipment, but one trial was sufficient to prove the presence of too
much dust and too little gold in the commodity offered. For almost
twenty years the bank ran with but few restrictions from the State, the
law simply requiring it to file an annual statement of its capital,
surplus, etc., with list of stockholders and officers, and publish a
statement of its financial condition as of some one day in the year.
Needless to say the day selected was usually one on which the deposits,
loans and resources would make a satisfactory showing, but about 1890
the legislature enacted a banking law, which has since been several
times perfected by amendments, which brought this and all other State
banks under its provisions, and the supervision of a State bank
commissioner, with cast iron restrictions as to the relative amounts of
loans, cash reserves, etc., and although some of the requirements seemed
unduly severe to those accustomed to the former unrestrained exercise of
their own individual judgment, few would now deny that it was wise and
much needed legislation.
Following the retirement from the bank in 1891 of Judge Otis, Col.
William Osborn became president, serving until his death, when R. A.
Park succeeded to the office and served until his death in 1902. C. J.
Drury being elected his successor and giving the institution his
services for about a year, seconded by J. T. Hersey as vice-president,
but both these gentlemen then retired upon the acquisition of a majority
of the stock by Messrs. T. M. Walker, J. C. Fox and F. M. Baker. Of
later years the growth of the bank has been marked, the capital and
surplus having repeatedly been enlarged, and deposits and loans having
shown a corresponding increase. The late Theodore Bartholow added his
ripe experience as a successful banker to the board of directors, while
F. G. Crowell, Joseph W. Allen, William Carlisle, with Messrs. Walker,
Baker and Fox and others as stockholders and directors gave the
institution a State-wide prominence.
R. A. Park, the second, who resigned as vice-president in 1911 to engage
in business elsewhere, entered the bank in 1881; became cashier in 1892;
elected vice-president in 1910, being succeeded as cashier by F. M.
Woodford, who entered the bank’s employ in 1900 as bookkeeper.
C. W. Ferguson, formerly cashier of the Exchange National Bank, has
recently been elected a vice-president of the Savings Bank, and the
present officers and directors are as follows: T. M. Walker, president;
Joseph W. Allen, vice-president; C. W. Ferguson, vice-president; F. M.
Woodford, cashier; W. T. Fox, assistant cashier.
The German-American State Bank of Atchison was chartered May 15, 1912,
and began doing business June 21, 1912. Its original board of directors
was composed of Louis W. Voigt, Henry Klostermeier, William
Klostermeier, F. A. Manglesdorf, L. A. Libel, G. T. Bolman, and F. A.
Manglesdorf. Three months later the charter was amended and Charles
Haase and W. A. Dilgert were added to the board of directors. This bank
was organized with a capital stock of $50,000, and a surplus account of
$10,000. At the first meeting of the board of directors, the following
officers were elected: Louis W. Voigt, president; Henry Klostermeier,
vice-president; William Klostermeier, vice-president; F. A. Manglesdorf,
cashier.
At the time the membership of the board was increased, Guy Elwell was
elected assistant cashier. This bank occupies handsome quarters at the
southeast corner of Eighth and Commercial streets, and has shown a
remarkable growth since its organization. The only change in the board
of directors that has been made since its organization was the
substitution of E. F. Manglesdorf for his brother, A. F. Manglesdorf. At
the close of the first business day of the bank it had deposits
aggregating $25,000, and at the end of one year the deposits had
increased to $248,000, and at the end of the second year it was
$323,000, and at the end of the third year it was $425,000, and in 1915
it boasted of total deposits amounting to $525,000, with a surplus and
undivided account of $21,000. This bank has had an able set of officers,
and its directors are among the most influential and substantial
citizens of the community. It started in by making an aggressive
campaign for business, and it accomplished what it went after. The
institution is conducted along broad and conservative lines, and renders
not only good service to its many patrons, but to the community as well.
German Savings Bank.—This institution was organized in 1873, with the
following officers: George Storch, president; Robert Forbriger, vice-
president; John Belz, cashier.
The capital stock of the bank was $10,000 and its deposits were about
$100,000. It conducted a general banking business, together with a
regular savings department in connection therewith. This bank was
located at 406 Commercial street, and wound up its affairs in 1886, when
it was merged with the United States National Bank and the Dime Savings
Bank, both of which failed.
The Atchison National Bank.—This bank was organized April 1, 1873, by
John M. Price as president; M. Barratt as cashier. G. D. Harrison
succeeded Mr. Price as president, in which capacity he served until
1878, at which time he was succeeded by C. J. Drury, with R. H.
Ballentine as vice-president. When this bank commenced business it had a
capital of $100,000, but in 1877 it was reduced to $50,000. It was
located for many years at 503 Commercial street, afterwards moving to
what is now the Simpson building, in the corner occupied by the Barth
Clothing Company, where it failed in 19—.
The Atchison State Bank.—This bank was organized prior to 1891, and went
into voluntary liquidation March 24, 1898, at which time John M. Cain
was president and cashier, and John H. Murray was secretary. It was
located on West Main street, near the corner of Thirteenth street.
The Commercial State bank was chartered September 8, 1906, and began
business October 31 of the same year, and subsequently merged with the
First National Bank March 24, 1910.
The Union Trust Company was chartered February 28, 1907, and was
organized by B. P. Waggener, with a paid-up capital stock of $100,000.
March 24, 1909, his charter was amended and it became the Exchange State
Bank of Atchison, the officers of which are: F. E. Harwi, president, and
Edward Iverson, cashier. This bank has a paid-up capital of $50,000,
with surplus and undivided profits of $34,776.91, with average deposits
of $350,000. It is one of the strong State banking institutions of
Kansas, and is doing a prosperous business.
Atchison county has a number of strong, flourishing banks, located at
Effingham, Muscotah, Potter, Huron, Lancaster and Cummings.
The Farmers and Merchants State Bank, at Effingham, was organized in
1905, with a capital of $12,000 by A. J. Smith, U. B. Sharpless, Fred
Sutter, R. M. Thomas and J. W. Davis. Since its organization there have
been a few changes among the officers and the board of directors, and in
1915 the officers were: Fred Sutter, president; L. T. Hawk, vice-
president; E. J. Kelley, cashier; D. R. Gerety, assistant cashier. The
present board of directors is as follows: Fred Sutter, L. T. Hawk, Alex.
McKay, U. B. Sharpless, E. J. Kelley.
The capital stock and surplus in 1915 exceeds $15,000, and the bank’s
average deposits are about $120,000. In 1910 a handsome and commodious
brick building was erected at the corner of Main and Howard streets for
its new home, and it was fitted with attractive new fixtures and a
burglar-proof vault of modern structures, at a cost of $4,000. This
institution is purely a local concern, financed by local capital; all of
the stockholders reside in Effingham and vicinity, and comprise leading
merchants and farmers of the Effingham district.
The State Bank of Effingham was organized in 1889, and occupies its own
quarters in a substantial and commodious brick building on the Main
street of Effingham, which was erected in 1897. In 1912 handsome new
fixtures and a burglar-proof vault were purchased at large cost. The
first president of this bank was Wesley Cummings, and the first cashier
was Gilbert Campbell, with Harvey Sharp as assistant cashier and
bookkeeper. Mr. Cummings continued as president until his death in 1899,
and was succeeded by L. A. Murphy, who in turn was succeeded by T. J.
Bohannon, who served until his death, August 29, 1915. A. M. Ellsworth
became cashier in 1892, and was succeeded by W. M. Walker, who served in
that capacity until 1905, when he is turn was succeeded by Clarence L.
Cummings, the present cashier of this substantial and growing
institution. The president officers of the bank are as follows: R. G.
Bohannon, president; A. E. Mayhew, vice-president; C. L. Cummings,
cashier; Carl B. Searls, bookkeeper. The directors are: H. A. McLenon,
A. E. Mayhew, R. G. Bohannon and C. L. Cummings. The capital stock is
$20,000, with surplus of $13,500 and deposits average $100,000. This
institution is one of the most flourishing banks in the county, and its
officers and directors are substantial business men and farmers, who are
not only highly regarded in Effingham and vicinity, but throughout all
of northeastern Kansas.
The State Bank of Lancaster was organized March, 1896, by W. W. Stepp,
Mark S. Cloyes, C. L. Cummings, T. J. Bohannon, and Dr. A. L. Charles.
T. J. Bohannon was elected its first president, and C. L. Cummings its
first cashier. It had a capital stock of $5,000, which subsequently was
increased to $10,000, and in 1915 it had a surplus of $5,000, with
deposits aggregating $80,000. The present directors of this bank are as
follows (1915): M. J. Hines, C. E. Smith, A. J. Smith, J. F. Shell and
M. E. Smith, and its present officers are: M. J. Hines, president; C. E.
Smith, vice-president; A. J. Smith, cashier, and C. G. Stickler,
assistant cashier.
The State Bank of Cummings was organized by H. J. Barber and E. W.
Kaufman in 1908, with a capital stock of $10,000. E. W. Kaufman was
elected president; B. F. Cline, vice-president, and H. J. Barber,
cashier. The capital stock in 1915 was $10,000, with a surplus of $5,000
and deposits aggregating $60,000. A neat and substantial brick building
was erected for banking quarters and equipped with handsome fixtures and
burglar-proof vault, at a cost of $3,500. The officers of the bank in
1916 were as follows: President, John Ferris; cashier, H. J. Barber, and
the directors were John Ferris, H. J. Barber, C. A. Lewis, William
Hegarty and F. W. Kaufman. The bank is in a thrifty condition, and has
shown a steady increase in growth from the date of its organization.
The Farmers’ State Bank of Potter, Kan., was organized in 1905 by B. C.
Daum, C. K. Hawley, P. C. Grenier, Arthur Davis, James Grapengieszer,
Fred Potter, John Niemann, C. L. Cline, J. H. Glancy, who subsequently
became directors of this enterprising institution. The capital stock was
fixed at $12,000 and the first president of the bank was B. C. Daum, and
the first cashier was C. K. Hawley. There are thirty-two stockholders in
this institution, who are practically all farmers, residing in the
immediate neighborhood of Potter. In 1916 the officers were as follows:
President, P. C. Grenier; cashier, A. H. Manglesdorf; vice-president, C.
E. Hudson, and the capital stock was $12,000, with a surplus of $5,500
and deposits aggregating $80,000.
It is unusual to find two substantial banking institutions in a town the
size of Potter, as it is supposed that one bank in such a community
would meet all the requirements of its citizens.
The Potter State Bank preceded the organization of the Farmers’ State
Bank five years. It was organized in 1900 by O. A. Simmons, L. M. Jewell
and Fred Ode, with a capital stock of $5,000. O. A. Simmons remained the
active cashier and manager of the bank for two years, being succeeded by
L. M. Jewell in 1902, who served until 1906. Mr. Jewell was succeeded by
H. A. Ode. A new brick building was erected for this very enterprising
financial institution in 1909, and equipped with new modern fixtures and
a fine burglar-proof vault. The capital stock of this bank in 1916 was
$10,000, with a surplus of $10,000 and deposits aggregating $125,000.
The officers for that year were as follows: President, L. M. Jewell;
vice-president, Fred Ode; cashier, H. A. Ode, and in addition to the
officers, the following prominent farmers of Walnut and Mount Pleasant
townships are directors: C. N. Faulcomer, C. W. Carson, E. H. Blodgett
and Adam Ehart. There are over seventeen stockholders, all of whom are
prosperous and well to do farmers, living in the vicinity of Potter.
This bank has grown rapidly, both in prestige and strength since its
organization, and its average net annual profits since its organization
have been about $2,000.
The Muscotah State Bank was organized by George Storch in 1870, as a
private bank, who remained in charge until about 1890, when Mr. Storch
sold his interest to Harvey and Calvert. This firm conducted the bank as
a private institution until about January 1, 1902, when it was organized
into a State bank, with A. B. Harvey, president, and J. H. Calvert,
cashier. Mr. Harvey remained president until about 1910, and in that
year C. C. Hart became its cashier. The officers of this institution in
1916 were as follows: A. D. Wilcox, president; C. C. Hart, vice-
president; R. A. Allison, cashier. The directors are: A. D. Wilcox, C.
C. Hart, A. H. Calvert, M. E. Bevens, R. A. Allison and Thomas Ryan. The
capital stock is $10,000.00, with a surplus of $10,000.00, and deposits
aggregating $100,000.00. This institution is the oldest bank outside of
the city of Atchison, and remains today one of the most substantial
financial institutions in this part of the State.
The Huron State Bank was organized in 1891, with a capital stock of
$10,000. The first directors were Edward Perdue, John Swartz, John
Drohan, John English, David Rouse, David Rouse, Jr., and T. B. Marshall.
Its first officers were Edward Perdue, president; John Swartz, vice-
president, and W. C. McLain, cashier. This is one of the substantial
banks of the county, and showed by one of its last statements a capital
stock of $10,000, with surplus fund of $5,000.00 and deposits
aggregating $80,000.00. Its officers in 1916 are as follows: Edward
Perdue, president; David Rouse, Jr., vice-president, C. E. Smith,
cashier, and Cloyd Smith, assistant cashier. In addition to the
officers, T. B. Smith, Jr., is the fifth director.
Mr. Perdue, who is the president of this bank, is one of the leading
citizens of Atchison county, and in addition to being president of the
Huron bank, is also president of the First National Bank of Atchison.
C. E. Smith, the cashier, is also one of the well known and most
conservative bankers of the State, and the officers and directors of
this institution have reason to be proud of the splendid growth and
standing of their institution.
The Farmers State Bank of Muscotah was organized and opened for business
February 21, 1910, with a capital stock of $10,000. It now has a surplus
and undivided account of approximately $5,000, and its deposits average
$70,000. The first directors were L. Cortelyou, A. T. Cortelyou, L.
Cortelyou, Jr., and H. M. Turner, who came from Moberly, Mo. W. M.
Walker, of Atchison, was one of the organizers of this institution, but
he sold his interest a few weeks after organization and was succeeded by
William Buckles on the board of directors. L. Cortelyou was elected
president, and H. M. Turner, cashier, and they have continued as the
active officers of the bank. The present board of directors consists of
L. Cortelyou, William Buckles, M. C. Vansell, John Sullivan, J. W. A.
Miller and H. M. Turner. As this history is written it is said that
there has been a consolidation of the two Muscotah banks, under the name
of the Farmers State Bank. A charter has been granted and the new
institution will have a capital of $15,000. L. Cortelyou is to be the
president, H. M. Turner, cashier, and Ralph Allison, assistant cashier.
The bank will continue to occupy the present quarters of the Farmers
State Bank, and the merger, when effected, will give Muscotah one of the
best banks in the county.
The Commerce Trust Company of Atchison, with a paid-up capital stock of
$100,000, received its charter from the State February 11, 1916. The
first meeting of the board of directors was held in the office of the
Commerce Investment Company on the evening of February 19, 1916, at
which time the following officers were elected: President, Sheffield
Ingalls; vice-presidents, Henry Diegel, A. J. Schoenecker, M. J. Horan;
treasurer, Ellsworth Ingalls; secretary, Frank H. Manglesdorf; trust
officer, H. A. Schoenecker; general counsel, J. M. Challiss. The
following named citizens were the first directors of the company: H. A.
Schoenecker, Henry Diegel, J. C. Killarney, O. A. Simmons, A. J.
Schoenecker, Ellsworth Ingalls, T. E. Snowden, Clive Hastings, M. J.
Horan, F. H. Manglesdorf, H. E. Muchnic and Sheffield Ingalls. The
company is a development of the Commerce Investment Company, established
in 1910, and does a general trust business, as provided by the laws of
Kansas. It began business March 2, 1916.
CHAPTER XVI.
CHURCHES.
METHODIST—CHRISTIAN—PRESBYTERIAN—BAPTIST—SALEM CHURCH—GERMAN
EVANGELICAL ZION CHURCH—FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST—ST.
PATRICK’S, MT. PLEASANT—TRINITY CHURCH, EPISCOPAL—ST. MARK’S,
ENGLISH LUTHERAN—ST. BENEDICT’S ABBEY—FIRST GERMAN EVANGELICAL
LUTHERAN CHURCH.
Methodism was introduced into Atchison by the Rev. James Shaw, who had
been a prominent member of the Detroit conference, both as pastor and
missionary among the Indians along the Lake Superior district, and also
as presiding elder. Being in poor health and desiring a new location, he
came to Leavenworth in March, 1856, and finding that Leavenworth was
already provided with a pastor, he proceeded to Atchison. He did not
find Atchison very friendly toward preachers when he arrived, and the
Pardee Butler incident was fresh in the minds of the people at that
time. So the Rev. Mr. Shaw went farther north, to Doniphan and Geary
City, which were Free State towns. He soon thereafter went to Detroit
for his family, and soon after his return to Geary City, he was
appointed as pastor at Atchison and Monrovia. He preached his first
sermon in May, 1857, in the office of S. C. Pomeroy, which was located
on the corner of Third and Commercial streets, and this was the first
sermon from the lips of a preacher of any denomination that was
delivered in Atchison. He organized the Methodist Episcopal church in
January, 1858, with members from various denominations. The first
services were held in a room in the building on the southeast corner of
Second and Commercial streets. He later raised $2,000 for a new church
building, S. C. Pomeroy, O. F. Short and Robert McBratney each pledging
$500, on condition that the new building should be located on the north
side of Parallel street, near Fifth street.
Rev. I. F. Collins succeeded Mr. Shaw, and Rev. C. H. Lovejoy, who had
been preaching at Lawrence for two years, was sent to Sumner. Upon the
arrival of Mr. Collins, he at once began the erection of the new church
building on Parallel street, the two lots on which the building was
subsequently erected being donated by the Atchison Town Company. The
trustees of the church at that time were: John T. Dougherty, Edwin O.
Collins, Archie C. Master, David F. Beagle, William A. Butler, Joseph H.
Gilbert, Robert Hancock, Cyrus A. Comstock and Calvin W. Phelps. The
church building was completed in April, 1859, and was fifty-eight feet
long and thirty-two feet wide. It had a seating capacity of 350 people,
and cost $3,075. The structure was dedicated May 8, 1859, and Rev. Hugh
D. Fisher, the famous Free State Methodist preacher, came up from
Leavenworth and assisted in the dedication. During the first year in the
new church, two young men came to Atchison, who afterwards became
successful and honored citizens of the town, Samuel Gard and D. C.
Newcomb. They subsequently formed a partnership and conducted a drygoods
store under the name of Gard & Newcomb, which for many years remained
one of the leading firms of the city. Mr. Gard died many years ago, and
in 1915 Mr. Newcomb still lives. The Methodist church, perhaps, owes
more to D. C. Newcomb than any other man who was ever identified with
it. His money, business sagacity and consecration have made possible the
success of Methodism in Atchison. His motto has always been, “It is safe
to do right, and unsafe to do wrong.”
Butcher, Auld & Dean, famous contractors of an early day, who built the
first railroad between Atchison and St. Joseph, with their families,
united with the Methodist church and became stanch supporters of it. J.
C. Reisner, who came to Atchison in 1858, and his wife, Rebecca, were
also prominent early members of the church. They built the Tremont
House, which for a great many years was the leading hotel, located where
the Burlington freight house now stands. Rev. Dr. Christian F. Reisner,
pastor of Grace Church, New York City, was the youngest son of Mr. and
Mrs. Reisner. The fourth session of the Kansas-Nebraska conference,
which met in Omaha in May, 1859, returned Rev. Collins to Atchison, and
during that year Mr. and Mrs. John M. Crowell and the McCulley brothers
united with the church. In December, 1859, Abraham Lincoln, on his visit
to Kansas, spoke in the little church edifice on Parallel street,
reference to which has already been made in this history. In the fifth
session of the Kansas-Nebraska conference, Rev. Milton Mahen was
appointed to Atchison. It was a critical period in the history of the
town, and the Rev. Mahen was admonished to be very cautious on the
question of slavery, but he had courage and patriotism enough to order
the Stars and Stripes hoisted on his church. That year T. B. Davis and
his wife, Kathryn, came to Atchison and became useful members. “Grandma”
Davis is living in 1916, and on February 21, 1915, celebrated her
ninetieth birthday. Owing to the great drought that visited Atchison in
1860, the church did not prosper greatly during the period of Mr.
Mahen’s pastorate, but in the succeeding session of the Kansas
conference, which met March 21, 1861, Mr. Mahen was returned to
Atchison, and it was during this year that a severe storm, which
destroyed Sumner, wrecked the church building so that extensive repairs
were necessary. In the seventh session of the Kansas conference, March,
1862, the Rev. Mr. James Shaw was returned to Atchison.
W. M. Davies was the superintendent of the Sunday school, having been
elected in 1859. In 1863 Rev. W. Marlatt was appointed for Atchison, and
March 10, 1864, Mr. Marlatt was succeeded by Dr. W. R. Davis, who had
been president of Baker University. Rev. Mr. Davis was retained in
March, 1865, by the tenth session of the conference, and was succeeded
by Rev. W. K. Marshall. Mr. Marshall was returned to Atchison in 1867,
and in March, 1868, Rev. Hugh D. Fisher, who was known during the war as
the “fighting chaplain,” was made pastor at Atchison. He found
conditions rather discouraging, but went to work to pay off the debts on
the church property and repair the building. He created a great deal of
interest in the town in religious matters, and the little church
building on Parallel street having become too small, two lots on the
corner of Fifth and Kansas avenue were purchased in 1870, and the
basement of the present building was erected and dedicated by Dr.
Fisher, who remained pastor of the church for three years. Dr. Fisher
was one of the strong preachers of Kansas in that day, and a strong
anti-slavery sympathizer. He built the church at Leavenworth in 1859,
which was one of the famous churches of the State, and popularly known
as the cradle of prohibition. He was in Lawrence when Quantrell sacked
the town, and after an eventful life as pastor, chaplain and missionary,
Dr. Fisher died at Baldwin, Kan., October 23, 1905.
Rev. T. J. Leak succeeded Mr. Fisher, and it was during Mr. Leak’s
pastorate that the new church was dedicated, October 26, 1873. Three
years later the Rev. Mr. Leak was succeeded by Dr. George S. Dearborn.
Rev. William Friend succeeded Dr. Dearborn in March, 1876, who was
succeeded by E. W. Van Deventer. Dr. Philipp Krohn became pastor in
1882. He was succeeded by Rev. A. H. Tevis. Dr. J. W. Alderman came to
Atchison in 1887 and remained until March, 1893, and was succeeded by
Dr. E. H. Brumbaugh, who became pastor in March, 1893. Rev. S. V. Leach
followed Dr. Brumbaugh in 1897, who in turn was succeeded by Rev. G. W.
Grines, and since that time Dr. H. E. Wolf, Rev. W. T. Stott, Dr. I. B.
Pulliam and Dr. John W. Scott filled the pulpit of the church down to
the year 1914, when Rev. Thomas E. Chandler, who for five years previous
had been superintendent of the Ottawa district, became pastor of the
church. Dr. Chandler is one of the best informed, most eloquent and
beloved pastors the church has ever had. He is not only popular among
his own church people, but has made numerous friends outside his fold.
In September, 1915, through the efforts of Dr. Chandler, assisted by Dr.
C. F. Reisner, pastor of Grace Church, New York City, together with C.
D. Walker and others, $42,000 was raised for the erection of a new
church. When it is completed it will be one of the finest church
edifices in Kansas.
CHRISTIAN.
The Christian church was organized in Pioneer Hall, corner of Kansas
avenue and Fourth street, May 20, 1882, with twenty-four charter
members. At the end of the first year there were fifty-five members, and
in April, 1884, the church was incorporated under the laws of Kansas.
The first church edifice was located at the corner of Tenth street and
Kansas avenue, and was dedicated May 24, 1885, at a cost of $2,604. The
building was much enlarged during the ministry of W. H. White. In 1912,
the congregation having outgrown its old building, agitation for a new
building was started, and a new site was selected at Seventh and Santa
Fe streets, and on August 19, 1914, a beautiful new church was
dedicated, which cost $47,000. The church also owns a lot adjoining the
church, upon which a parsonage will be erected. The present membership
is 1,400, and the Bible school is next to the largest in the State. The
Sunday school is thoroughly graded, with eight departments, sixty-five
officers and teachers, with H. P. Armstrong, superintendent. The church
has thirty deacons and elders.
The records show that as early as 1869 the Christian church had
followers in this community, and among the pastors who served in the
early days were William C. Rodgers, James E. Gaston and C. C. Band. The
early congregation went so far as to purchase a lot at the corner of
Seventh and Santa Fe streets, opposite the present new edifice, and a
foundation was laid for a building, but the plan had to be abandoned
because of lack of funds.
Miss Etta Beason, of Atchison, and T. D. McCleery, of Effingham, are the
two surviving charter members.
The names of the pastors who have served the church since 1882 are as
follows: M. P. Hayden, W. S. Priest, J. S. Myers, Rev. Cox, W. H. White,
Lowell McPherson, Rev. Ingram, M. E. Harlan, E. L. Ely, W. T. Hilton, Z.
E. Bates. The present pastor of the church is Rev. Jesse M Bader, one of
the most popular, aggressive and conscientious ministers in Atchison.
[Illustration:
White Temple Christian Church, Atchison, Kan.
]
PRESBYTERIAN.
The First Presbyterian Church was organized October 21, 1858, by a
committee from the Presbytery of Highland, Rev. Alexander W. Pitzer, of
Leavenworth, chairman. The number of persons entering into the
organization on that day was eight. Their names were as follows: William
M. Davies, Mary Davies, George B. Irwin, Rebecca Irwin, Annie Love,
Andrew Hamilton, Maximilla Ireland and Edward Hair. The following
persons have served the church as ministers: Rev. Julius Spencer, from
April, 1858, for about eighteen months; Rev. H. H. Dobbins, for seven
months, from September, 1863; Rev. T. P. Lemis commenced his labors in
April, 1865, and continued with the church until February, 1868; Rev.
Edward Cooper had charge of the church from December, 1868, until
December, 1875; Rev. J. H. Clark officiated as pastor from March, 1876,
until June, 1878; Rev. M. L. Howie began his labors in November, 1878,
and continued with the church until November, 1882: he died in Chicago
in August, 1913; Rev. D. C. Milner began his work in December, 1882, and
continued with the church until September 23, 1887: Rev. M. L. Howie
(second term), November 11, 1887, to 1897: Rev. J. D. Countermine, from
1897 to 1899; Rev. B. F. Boyle came February 25, 1900, and continued as
pastor until in the fall of 1911. Rev. W. I. Alexander came in November,
1911, and continued his labors until September, 1914. Rev. W. C. Isett
was called in September, 1915.
[Illustration:
Presbyterian Church at Atchison, Kan.
]
For some months after its organization the church had no regular
minister and services were held in a store room, hall and private
residences. For a time the church held meetings in Bang’s Hall on
Commercial street, and in Price’s Hall, on the corner of Fourth and Main
streets. During the pastorate of Rev. Lewis, the building on Fourth
street, between Commercial and Main streets, known as “the Presbyterian
hall,” was erected, and the congregation commenced using it as a place
of worship in 1865. The congregation began the erection of the present
church building in 1880. The corner stone was laid on September 15 of
that year. About the time of beginning the building, Mrs. S. Donald,
Mrs. Judge Berry, Mrs. C. A. Stuart and Mrs. A. J. North canvassed the
city and secured large subscriptions to the building fund. The building
committee consisted of A. W. Simpson, A. F. Martin and J. M. Covert. The
elders in 1880 were as follows: A. B. McQueen, A. J. North, J. M.
Covert, J. W. Allen, J. S. Trimble, and Harry Harkness. The deacons in
the same year were as follows: B. F. Hudson, J. Edward Lewis, S. D. D.
Smith and D. M. Wynkoop. The trustees were as follows: B. F. Hudson,
president; A. F. Martin, secretary; David Lukens, treasurer; E. K.
Blair, R. B. Drury, A. W. Simpson, S. D. D. Smith. Officers of the
Sunday school were as follows: A. F. Martin, superintendent; J. M.
Covert, assistant superintendent, and J. E. Lewis, secretary and
treasurer. Officers of the Ladies’ Aid Society were as follows: Mrs. A.
J. North, president; Mrs. W. C. North, secretary; Mrs. E. K. Blair,
treasurer. Young Ladies’ Society: Miss May Seaton, president; Miss Tola
Thomas, secretary; Miss Nellie George, treasurer. In the year 1858 the
persons active in the church at that time were: Mrs. Thomas Seip, Mr.
and Mrs. William Davis, Mr. and Mrs. A. B. McQueen. The first
deaconesses were: Mrs. C. J. Parmenter and Miss Anna J. North, ordained
in 1888.
BAPTIST.
The First Baptist Church of Atchison was organized in 1858, in Allen’s
Hall, on the northwest corner of Second and Commercial streets. At the
time of the organization there were but nine members, of whom three are
still living and members of the church, though non-resident: Mrs. L. A.
Alderson, Mrs. Aaron Stephenson and Mrs. Mary A. Challiss. Dr. W. L.
Challiss was soon added to the membership. The lots on the corner of
Ninth street and Kansas avenue were donated by Luther C. Challiss, and a
house of worship was erected upon it, and this location has been the
home of the church ever since.
Rev. L. A. Alderson was the first pastor of the church, and he served
faithfully three years without salary. Then followed Rev. Dr. Perkins
from New Jersey, and Rev. Frank Remington.
Just at this time the troubles of the war came on and very little could
be accomplished. Rev. J. W. Warder became pastor in 1866 and the church
grew strong under his ministry. Rev. H. A. Guild successfully served the
church for a time in 1868. Rev. J. Sawyer accepted the pastorate, and
then Rev. E. Gunn.
Rev. J. W. Luke was pastor directly before Rev. Mulford. He baptized
some of our best workers and did excellent and permanent work for the
church.
The twenty-fifth anniversary was fittingly celebrated at the home of
Mrs. John M. Price, and a silver offering was received toward a new
building which came soon after, under the pastorate of Rev. J. B.
Mulford, who was called to his reward from here.
Rev. D. D. Proper followed and Rev. E. P. Brand and Rev. G. W. Rogers,
all of whom served the church under great difficulties. There was a
heavy debt left upon the new building, which was drawing a high rate of
interest, and the constant calls for money which was paid with
apparently no returns, discouraged the membership. Still, the pastors
resolutely worked at the great task. Rev. G. W. Rogers undertook to
raise $5,000 of the mortgage, and B. P. Waggener, who had always been a
generous contributor, gave $2,000, and made a liberal loan besides. Not
long after Rev. Rogers was called to another field, and again the church
had a pastorless period, but greatly enjoyed the ministrations of the
late Dr. Murphy. Rev. J. R. Comer was called to the pastorate June 1,
1895, and faithfully served the church twelve years. Much of the money
pledged during Dr. Rogers’ pastorate was paid in or collected while Rev.
J. R. Comer was pastor. Then the remaining $1,500 mortgage and all other
debts were bravely taken up and paid, and the church celebrated its
victory in burning the mortgage and a general rejoicing, and also a firm
determination never to go deeply in debt again.
During the present pastorate of more than eight years the church has
strictly followed this rule, but this has not prevented some large
purchases. In 1909 the church purchased and placed a new pipe organ at a
cost of $4,500, and two years later purchased the property adjoining the
church on the west for the accommodation of the growing Sunday school.
This was done at a cost of $5,500 for property and furniture, and the
money was raised at a Sunday morning service. It is in the minds of many
of the members of the church that in the near future there must be a new
church building, and to that end over $6,000 has been accumulated and is
being held for the time when the membership of the church shall be ready
to erect a structure that shall be worthy of the city and an honor to
God.
The work of the church has grown and developed and every department has
accepted a larger share in work, local and world-wide. Last year the
church contributed over $1,200 for missionary and benevolent work,
besides some gifts which did not pass through the church treasury.
The church stands for a strong and helpful and constructive religious
work, and a faithful adherence to the teachings of the Bible, and a
loyalty to the Lordship of Christ. The present pastor is Rev. A. J.
Haggett, who has served his congregation long and well.
SALEM CHURCH.
The Evangelical Association located a mission in Atchison in 1882, with
Rev. C. Brandt as the first missionary. A number of German families were
gathered and signified their willingness to effect a church
organization. Accordingly, a hall was rented at 614 Commercial street
and services held. In 1884 the organization numbered forty-seven
members, and the Kansas conference of the Evangelical Association at its
annual session in 1884 decided to build a church at this time. Rev.
Daniel R. Zellner was appointed pastor, and Rev. John Wuerth, presiding
elder of the Holton district. During the pastorate of Rev. D. R. Zellner
in 1884 the church was built at 522 Atchison street, and dedicated by
Rev. John Wuerth, presiding elder, as the Salem church of the
Evangelical Association, and service has continued uninterruptedly ever
since. Following are the ministers who served consecutively as pastors:
Rev. C. Brandt, D. R. Zellner, C. Brant, second pastorate; C. F.
Erffmeyer, Samuel Mueller, Jacob Schmidle, John Wuerth, C. F. Iwig,
Peter Scheumann, D. R. Zellner, third pastorate; Charles Linge, F. F.
Erffmeyer, D. R. Zellner, fourth pastorate. L. M. Nanninga, J. M.
Fricker, Samuel Breithaupt, present pastor (1916).
The following served as presiding elders during the past thirty-four
years: John Wuerth, Henry Mattill, J. F. Schreiber, Albert Brunner, C.
F. Erffmeyer, W. F. Wothensen and C. F. Iwig. The Evangelical
Association was organized as a denomination in 1800, with Jacob
Allbright as its founder.
Originally, the language used was German, but in the past half century
the German language was rapidly superseded by the English language. At
this time there are very few congregations in the denomination that
worship in the German language exclusively. The services in the
Evangelical church in this city for the past few years are conducted in
English.
This society maintains a well organized Sunday school, with weekly
sessions every Sunday at 10 o’clock a. m. G. W. Bradley is
superintendent; a Young People’s Alliance, E. B. Breithaupt, president,
and a Woman’s Missionary Society, Mrs. Samuel Breithaupt, president.
This organization maintains free pews and extends an invitation to
strangers when in the city to worship with them.
GERMAN EVANGELICAL ZION CHURCH.
In the summer of 1893 a number of men, among them Rev. Nestel, of St.
Joseph, Mo., who had received a special invitation, met at the home of
August Manglesdorf, Sr., and organized a German Evangelical
congregation. It was decided to have services in Odd Fellows hall. Rev.
Nestel came over from St. Joe from time to time and conducted the
services. In January, 1894, Rev. C. Stork, of Concordia, Mo., took
charge of the congregation as their first own pastor. In 1894 two lots
of land, at the northwest corner of Ninth and Santa Fe streets, were
bought, upon which the church was built. In 1895 the congregation became
a member of the German Evangelical Synod of North America. In the same
year the parsonage was erected, and in 1908 a school building was added
to the church. Besides Rev. Stork, the following ministers served the
congregation: H. Limper, 1897 to 1901; C. Bechtold, 1901 to 1905; P.
Stoerker, from 1905 to 1909, and Emil Vogt, the present pastor. Besides
the annual donations for their own church, the members have spent $2,000
for home and foreign missions. The church has a Sunday school, a
teachers’ training course, a choir, a Young People’s Society, and a
Ladies’ Aid Society.
FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST.
[Illustration:
First Church of Christ Scientist, Atchison, Kan.
]
Mrs. Henrietta E. Graybill, of Milwaukee, might properly be called the
founder of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Atchison. She was
the original first reader when she came to Atchison from Kansas City in
1894. In March, 1895, she began a class in instruction at the Byram
Hotel. This was the beginning of the local church. On September 7, 1895,
the followers met in temporary quarters in the Ingalls’ building, at
Seventh and Commercial streets, seven being present. The church was
organized April 9, 1895, with seven charter members. The first
testimonial meeting was held January 3, 1896, and January 15, 1896, the
first Sunday school was organized, with seven children in attendance.
Before the end of 1896 the church was moved to more commodious quarters,
at the southeast corner of Fourth and Commercial streets. These quarters
were soon outgrown, and in March, 1897, the German Methodist church at
Ninth and Santa Fe streets was purchased and the first services held
there were on July 4, 1897. This church was dedicated in April, 1900, by
Mrs. G. W. Pennell, who had become first reader, and from the start had
been a constant and enthusiastic worker. Ten years later, March 28,
1910, lots at the northwest corner of Fourth and Santa Fe streets were
purchased, as a site for the permanent church. Land was secured and the
foundation started September 11, 1911; corner stone was laid July 7,
1912, and first services held in the Sunday school room May 25, 1913.
First services were held in the auditorium September 7, 1913, and the
church dedicated October 19, 1913. Among the permanent members of the
church are Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Pennell, Mr. and Mrs. James W. Orr, L. H.
Munson, Miss N. S. Donald and Miss Emma Maage, the first reader, and D.
W. Rowe.
The present church edifice was erected largely through the liberality of
Mr. Pennell, at a cost of $50,000, and is pronounced an architectural
gem.
ST. PATRICK’S, MT. PLEASANT.
St. Patrick’s congregation, near Mt. Pleasant, was founded in the early
fall of 1857, by the Rev. Father Augustine Wirth, O. S. B. He came from
Doniphan, Kan., over the prairies and through dense timber on foot, not
having the means to buy a horse or secure any kind of a conveyance, in
the summer of 1857. The Benedictine Fathers had been sent west by an
American founder, Rt. Rev. Boniface Wimmer, O. S. B., to establish a
priory in the eastern part of Kansas. They settled in the hills of
Doniphan, and from this county they founded and attended missions in
Atchison, Brown, Nemaha and Jefferson counties. Among the first parishes
established by these priests was one near Mt. Pleasant. Mt. Pleasant at
that time was quite a commercial center, owing largely to the overland
freighting outfits that passed through there on their way to Denver and
the Pacific coast. Patrick Durkin, who is a resident of Walnut township
in 1916, and the late John Delaney were teamsters on this route, and had
many interesting experiences and struggles with Indians and Jayhawkers.
Following the first visit of Father Augustine, after he had told the few
Catholic settlers how he had traveled on foot from Doniphan, a small
congregation collected enough money to pay for a horse, saddle and
bridle, and presented it to him.
Father Augustine attended to the spiritual demands of the early Catholic
settlers in the Mt. Pleasant district about once a month during the
period of his services there. There was no church edifice during that
period, and divine services were held in the humble log cabins of the
Catholic settlers, usually at the homes of John Knowles, Owen Grady, Ned
Cotter, Bernard Fee and James McArdle. Mary Honorah Clare was the first
child baptized at St. Patrick’s parish, September 28, 1857. The first
marriage was that of James Barry to Catherine Hennesy, May 9, 1857, at
the home of Edward Cotter. The ceremony was conducted by Rev. Augustine
Wirth. In the fall of 1857 the first church was built, which was a small
affair, constructed out of native timber. It was poorly constructed and
was of short duration, as it was blown down by a strong wind one cold
winter day, and wrecked beyond repair. Following the destruction of the
first church, the members concluded to build a more substantial edifice
of stone, and in the spring of 1866 the walls were built. The stone work
was done by the late Nicholas Greiner, a German stone mason, who came to
Sumner in the late fifties, and subsequently died, one of the wealthiest
farmers of Walnut township. The church was dedicated December 8, 1866.
In addition to the church proper, the Catholic settlers of Walnut
township, near Mt. Pleasant, have also erected a commodious parish house
for their priest, and a hall for public meetings.
The following is a list of the priests in charge of St. Patrick’s Church
since it was established:
Irregular pastors.—Rev. Augustine Wirth, O. S. B., September, 1857, to
November, 1859; died, December 20, 1901. Rev. Edmund Langenfelder, O. S.
B., November, 1857, to December, 1860; died, April 18, 1885. Rev. Philip
Vogt, O. S. B., February, 1860, to January, 1861; date of death not
known. Rev. Emanuel Hartig, O. S. B., December, 1860, to June, 1861;
died, September 1, 1910. Rev. Thomas Bartel, O. S. B., April, 1862, to
August, 1867; died, November 30, 1885.
Regular pastors.—Rev. Timothy Luber, O. S. B., January, 1864, to March,
1871. Rev. Placidus McKeever, O. S. B., March, 1871, to August, 1873;
died, September 22, 1896. Rev. Maurice Lynch, O. S. B., August, 1873, to
August, 1875; died, December 13, 1887. Rev. Eugene Bode, O. S. B.,
August, 1875, to April, 1880. Rev. Raymond Danial, O. S. B., April,
1880, to September, 1880; died, September 25, 1910. Rev. Peter Kassens,
O. S. B., September, 1880, to April, 1881. Rev. Adolph Wesseling, O. S.
B., April, 1881, to April, 1883; died, September 24, 1891. Rev. Urban
Tracy, O. S. B., April, 1883, to April, 1885; died, May 13, 1915. Rev.
Timothy Luber, O. S. B., April, 1885, to April, 1890; died, March 29,
1901. Rev. Augustine Baker, O. S. B., April, 1890, to December, 1893;
died, June 23, 1909. Rev. Thomas Burk. O. S. B., December, 1893, to
December, 1897. Rev. Columban Meaney, O. S. B., December, 1897, to
December, 1910; died, January 8, 1911. Rev. Ignatius Stein, O. S. B.,
January, 1911, to September, 1912. Rev. Lawrence Theis. O. S. B.,
September, 1912, to September, 1913. Rev. Robert Salmon, O. S. B.,
September, 1913, to September, 1914. Rev Lawrence Theis, O. S. B.,
September, 1914; still in charge (1916).
TRINITY CHURCH, EPISCOPAL.
This church was organized November 3, 1857, as St. Mary Magdalene’s
Church, by Rev. Lewis R. Staudenmayer, John H. Stringfellow, Joseph P.
Carr, G. W. Bowman, William O. Gould, John M. Maury, James W.
Stringfellow and Daniel Adams. The Rev. L. R. Staudenmayer, a German, of
middle age, was the first pastor, and the first property owned by the
parish was at the northeast corner of Kansas avenue and Ninth street,
where a small rectory was built in 1859. The first vestry was as
follows: Richard C. Mackall, A. Hanson Weightman, James L. McClure,
Philipp Link, John M. Maury and Joseph P. Carr, and in October, 1859, a
committee from the vestry was authorized to procure estimates for
building a church on its property upon Kansas avenue at a cost of
$1,500. The foundation for this edifice was laid and some money
expended, but the resignation of Mr. Staudenmayer in January, 1860, and
his removal from the city, brought to a standstill the construction of
the edifice. The court house and Price’s Hall were used as places of
worship for ten years. The Rev. Faber Byllsby succeeded Mr.
Staudenmayer, and in 1863 the Rev. John E. Ryan succeeded Mr. Byllsby.
After Mr. Ryan’s resignation, in September, 1864, Bishop Thomas H. Vail
was made rector of the church, and notwithstanding the manifold duties
which pressed upon him as bishop of the diocese, he gave much of his
time to his work here, with the assistance of his son-in-law, Rev. John
Bakewell, who proved to be a very successful rector. It was during his
rectorship that agitation for a new church building was started, and due
to the efforts of Mr. Bakewell, Col. William Osborne, Richard A. Park,
Judge Otis and E. S. Wills, the present church edifice at the corner of
Utah avenue and Fifth street was erected, at a cost of $20,000. It is
built of stone, in the early English style of Gothic architecture, slate
roof and interior finished in black walnut and pine, and stands today
one of the ornaments of Atchison. In 1871 Mr. Bakewell resigned and was
succeeded by Rev. F. Nelson Meade in January, 1872, and continued in
charge until April, 1874, when he was succeeded by the Rev Thomas G.
Garver, who resigned in September, 1875. Rev. Frank O. Osborne became
rector in February, 1876, and was succeeded by Rev. Abiel Leonard. Rev.
M. Leonard found a congregation of 150 communicants, who in May, 1882,
erected a two-story brick rectory on T street for him. It was during the
Rev. Mr. Leonard’s rectorship that St. Andrew’s Mission, on west
Commercial street, was built. Mr. Leonard was succeeded by the Rev.
Francis K. Brooke, who in turn was succeeded by the Rev. John Henry
Hopkins, who built a parish house adjoining the church, which was opened
for use in 1905. Upon the resignation of Mr. Hopkins, Rev. John E.
Sulger became rector, but he remained only a short time, and was
succeeded by the Rev. John Henry Molineux. Rev. William R. Cross
succeeded Mr. Molineux, and then came the Rev. Francis S. White, who
remained in the parish until 1911, and was succeeded by the Rev. Otis E.
Gray.
The present vestry of the church is composed as follows: E. A. Mize,
senior warden; Dr. W. G. Beitzel, junior warden and clerk, and W. W.
Hetherington, T. L. Lawrence, Clyde Hastings, J. W. Barlow, W. J.
Brownson, Henry Diegel and Sheffield Ingalls.
ST. MARK’S ENGLISH LUTHERAN.
The history of English Lutheranism in Atchison is interesting. The work
of establishing St. Mark’s was fraught with hardship and discouragement.
Several of the early efforts failed. But the battle was renewed and
success at last achieved. Early in 1867 J. H. Talbott, through the
_Lutheran Observer_, called attention to Atchison as a point for a
Lutheran mission. By correspondence he secured the interest of Rev.
Morris Officer, then secretary of the general synod’s home mission
board. At the convention of the general synod at Harrisburg, Pa., in
1868, the Rev. Officer persuaded the Rev. M. G. Boyer, then pastor at
Marklesburg, Pa., to become a missionary to Atchison. Rev. Boyer and his
young wife arrived here June 30, that year. Price’s Hall, South Fourth
street, between Main and Commercial, was rented and fitted up as a
meeting place. Services were begun and a Sunday school organized. On
September 20, 1868, the congregation was organized with twenty-five
members. The first church council consisted of C. Weber and H. Gehrett,
elders; J. H. Talbott, J. Beamer, H. Snyder and F. Brendt, deacons.
In the spring of 1869 the board of church extension granted the
congregation a loan of $500, which amount was invested in the purchase
of an excellent lot on Kansas avenue. There were bright hopes of having
a chapel soon, but these hopes were scattered when an aged minister
advised delay on account of the financial stringency of the times, and
the numerical weakness of the church. Among the members at this time was
the Rev. A. W. Wagnalls, afterward one of the founders of the publishing
house of Funk & Wagnalls, New York City. While here he was in the real
estate business. At his suggestion the congregation purchased a fifteen
acre tract adjoining the city of Atchison on the northwest, which
section was platted and offered for sale with the hope of making enough
profit to erect a church building. “In this the Lutherans were
disappointed,” says the historian, “for they sold only enough lots to
pay for the land.”
After that venture the congregation used the Congregational church
building. About that time many English Lutherans left the city. Rev.
Boyer resigned at the end of the year 1869, and for ten years the church
was without a pastor. The Rev. Wagnalls supplied the pulpit now and then
until his removal in 1876, but finally the congregation disbanded. The
lots belonging to the church were sold for taxes, but were redeemed at
the eleventh hour through Mr. Talbott’s efforts, and deeded to the board
of church extension.
In 1880 the Rev. W. I. Cutter, a returned missionary to India, with the
assistance of Rev. David Earhart and his daughter, Mrs. H. E. Monroe,
gathered the English Lutherans together again. Mrs. Monroe was then
conducting a private school known as the “Atchison Institute,” and she
offered her school room as a place of worship. On the eighth of August
the congregation was reorganized and the following officers elected:
Elders, J. H. Berlin, W. H. Kuhns and N. D. Kistler; deacons, J. L.
Heisey, E. D. Kistler, and John Fusselman; trustees, J. H. Talbott, W.
H. Smith and S. J. Clark. Rev. Cutter served as pastor two years. During
part of this time aid was received from the Home Mission Board. In 1882
this aid was withdrawn and Rev. Cutter resigned.
Not until 1884 did the second organization flourish. In November of that
year the Rev. George S. Diven was commissioned to come to Atchison and
revive the mission. New interest was taken and the rejuvenated
congregation held its first service in the home of Henry Snell at 921
South Seventh street. The Odd Fellows’ hall was then secured as a place
of worship and a Sunday school was organized. Under the leadership of
Pastor Diven this school is said to have quickly become the largest in
the city. That year the pastor reported sixty members.
Atchison’s boom season occurred during Rev. Diven’s pastorate, and
everything was rushed along at a tremendous pace. The movement for a
Lutheran college for Atchison started at this time. The location of
Midland College here was largely due to the efforts of Rev. Diven and
his congregation, supported by the public spirited citizens of the city.
In February, 1885, the church was incorporated as St. Mark’s English
Lutheran Church. Rev. Diven resigned in 1887 and was succeeded by the
Rev. W. F. Rentz, in April, 1888. Rev. Rentz set to work at once to
secure a lot and erect a church building. The present location, corner
of Sixth and Park streets, was purchased for $5,000. The southern end of
the lot with the dwelling on it (now the Keith home), was sold to the
pastor for $1,750. The chapel (now the Sunday school room) was erected
in 1888, the cornerstone being laid August 19, and the church dedicated
December 16. The building and equipment cost $4,010. Pastor Rentz served
nine years, resigning in May, 1897.
The Rev. L. S. Keyser, now professor of dogmatics in Hamma Divinity
School, Wittenberg College, became pastor November 7, 1897, and served
most acceptably until April 7, 1903. During his pastorate the church
became self-supporting, after receiving aid for fifteen years from the
Home Mission Board. The Rev. R. W. Hufford, D. D., served as pastor from
January 9, 1904, to November 27, 1904. After a vacancy of nine months
the Rev. A. E. Renn became pastor August 18, 1905.
The outstanding achievement of Rev. Renn’s pastorate was the erection of
the present church building. The movement began October 21, 1907. Plans
were adopted March 17, 1908, and the building committee ordered to
proceed. The cornerstone was laid during the summer following. The
building was erected under the supervision of A. B. Zimmerman,
contractor, and cost, including organ and furnishings, about $14,000, a
marvel of church financing. The opening service was held May 23, 1909,
and marked an epoch in Kansas Lutheranism. During this pastorate the
congregation adopted the historic Lutheran vestments for pastor and
choir, and advanced in churchly worship. Rev. Renn resigned September 1,
1911.
The Rev. Howard C. Garvic was installed pastor the first Sunday in
March, 1912. No pastor of St. Marks surpassed him in zeal and energy for
the upbuilding of the Lord’s kingdom. Day and night he labored in
personal appeal and in teaching classes of adults and children. In a
little more than two years 175 names were added to the church roll,
constituting the largest growth of any pastorate. The death of the
pastor in the prime of manhood in March, 1915, produced a profound
impression upon St. Mark’s and the city of Atchison. The Rev. Robert L.
Patterson. D. D., became pastor October 17, 1915.
ST. BENEDICT’S ABBEY.
St. Benedict’s Abbey, church and college, are conducted by the
Benedictine Fathers. The first Benedictine father that came to Kansas
was Henry Lemke, O. S. B., who arrived in Doniphan in 1855, where he
laid the foundation of a monastery. He was shortly followed to Kansas by
a number of brother workers, who were sent here by Father Boniface
Wimmer, O. S. B., who founded the monastery of St. Vincent’s, in
Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. They immediately opened a Latin
school with a few pupils, but Very Rev. Augustine Wirth, O. S. B., soon
discovered that Atchison would surpass Doniphan, and on this account the
Catholic brothers transferred their home to Atchison in about 1859. The
Rev. Augustine Wirth, O. S. B., came to Atchison from Doniphan once a
month to hold religious services, which were conducted in the home of
Charles Burnes, located on the southwest corner of Second and L streets.
The following year Father Augustine built a frame parish church in which
services were held for the first time on Christmas day. In this rude
structure the faithful worshipped until about 1865, when the parish,
having increased to such number, it became necessary to build a larger
church. Under the aggressive leadership of Father Augustine, the
parishioners concluded to invest in this structure $25,000. Francis
George Himpler, now living in New York, and for many years a partner of
the late J. P. Brown, was employed as architect. The work was pushed
forward and instead of the proposed church, a magnificent Basilica was
conceived, and the construction of it was carried forward with great
earnestness. The foundation was completed in 1866, and the cornerstone
was laid in October. The Rev. John Hennessy, O. S. B., who later was
archbishop of Dubuque, and one of the most eloquent orators of the
church, delivered the dedication sermon. To obtain brick for the church
walls, Father Augustine bought expensive machinery, and, under the
supervision of the late Peter Bless, started a brickyard in East
Atchison, but the undertaking proved a failure, as the bricks were not
serviceable for the church. Instead of using them in the construction of
the church they were used to build several cottages and store buildings
in the immediate neighborhood and, later on, when suitable bricks were
obtained, the work on the church was continued, and by the summer of
1868 the walls were finished to the window sills.
Father Augustine resigned June 18, 1868, and went to Minnesota, and
subsequently died while pastor at Melrose in that State, December 19,
1901, at the age of seventy-three years. He was succeeded by the Very
Rev. Louis Mary Fink, O. S. B., July, 1868, and it was during his
pastorate that the church was solemnly dedicated Trinity Sunday, 1869,
but it was not completed at that time, and, in fact was not completed
for many years thereafter. The church is built in Roman style and is 152
feet long and fifty-six feet wide. Father Louis was succeeded by the
Very Rev. Giles Christoph, O. S. B., who was appointed prior in July,
1871. In January, 1875, Very Rev. Ouswald Moosemueller, O. S. B., became
prior. Under his direction the church flourished and he is particularly
remembered for his exertions in founding and building up a good library
for the church and school. The members of the church had grown
sufficiently large, so that the priory was promoted to an abbey April 7,
1877, and on September 29 of that year Rev. Innocent Wolf, O. S. B., was
elected abbot, and still retains his place (1916), loved by all. Rev.
Innocent Wolf’s election as abbot was celebrated with appropriate
ceremonies, and the Very Rev. Boniface Verheyen, O. S. B., was appointed
pastor, and at that time the status of the house was as follows: Rt.
Rev. Innocent Wolf, O. S. B., abbot; Very Rev. Boniface Verheyen, O. S.
B., prior; Very Rev. Pirmin Kaumly, O. S. B., prior of St. Benedict’s;
Rev. Augustine Wirth, O. S. B., Emanuel Horlig, O. S. B., Rev. Timothy
Luber, O. S. B., Rev. Peter Kassens, O. S. B., Rev. Eugene Bode, O. S.
B., Rev. Adolph Wesseling, O. S. B., Rev. Ferdinand Wolf, O S. B., Rev.
Winfried Schmidt, O. S. B., Rev. John Steoder, O. S. B.; and Rev.
Matthew Bradley, O. S. B. Besides these there were four priests from St.
Vincent’s, Pa., who acted as assistants, whose names were Rev. Ambrose
Huebner, O. S. B., Rev. Casimir Elsesser, O. S. B., Rev. Theodore
Schmitt, O. S. B., and Rev. Anslem Soehuler, O. S. B. There were seven
clerics, ten lay brothers, five candidates and ten scholastics. Rev.
Charles Stoekle, O. S. B., succeeded Father Adolph as pastor of St.
Benedict’s Church in 1890, and remained pastor until 1898, when he was
succeeded by Rev. Longinus New, O. S. B., who was one of the most
beloved and active pastors of the church. He was a priest burning with
zeal and he delighted in preaching. He was a powerful speaker, and his
sermons were always well prepared and written out. He had a strong
voice; used plain and simple language, and spoke with such zeal and
sincerity that he left a lasting impression on all of his hearers. His
health failed him, however, and he was compelled to seek a southern
climate, and died in a hospital at Birmingham, Ala., March 2, 1899, aged
fifty-three years, and in the twenty-eighth year of his priesthood. He
was succeeded by Rev. Girard Heinz, O. S. B., who was appointed to take
his place January 1, 1899, and Father Girard remains the pastor of the
church in 1916.
[Illustration:
St. Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, Kan.
]
[Illustration:
Rt. Rev. Innocent Wolf, O. S. B.,
President St. Benedict’s College, Atchison, Kan.
]
FIRST GERMAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH.
This church was organized in 1866 by Rev. C. F. Liebe, home missionary
of the Evangelical Lutheran synod of Missouri, Kansas, Ohio, and other
states. The first regular minister was Rev. Mr. Menge, who was installed
in 1867. Rev. G. Landgraf succeeded Mr. Menge in December and was
installed the first day of that month. The church building at the corner
of Tenth and Commercial streets was dedicated at the same time. In 1869
a parsonage, adjoining the church, was erected, and the following year
C. Janzow, of Weston, Mo., succeeded Mr. Landgraf, who in turn was
followed by Rev. C. Hartman, who died in the fall of 1872, and after
which the call was extended to Rev. W. Zschoche, of Miami county,
Kansas. Under the pastorate of Rev. Mr. Zschoche the congregation
increased to a membership of 130, and a day school was conducted in
connection with the church by Mr. Zschoche until 1881.
Rev. C. Vedder succeeded Rev. Zschoche, who in turn was succeeded by
Rev. Theodore Bundenthal, whose untimely death in the latter part of
1915 deprived the church and its congregation of one of the best
ministers it ever had. Mr. Bundenthal was succeeded by Rev. Frederic
Niedner, who is in charge of the church in 1916. The present church
building at the corner of Eighth and Laramie streets was built in 1889.
There are 500 communicants and the church is affiliated with the
Missouri synod.
In addition to the churches already enumerated, there are several negro
churches, of which the Ebenezer Baptist Church, organized in 1867, and
the African Methodist Episcopal Church, organized in the summer of 1868,
are the most prominent. There are also several other denominations
represented in Atchison, including the Latter Day Saints, and the Holy
Rollers.
CHAPTER XVII.
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.
FIRST SCHOOLS, PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS—ESTABLISHMENT OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS—
EARLY SCHOOLS AND PIONEER TEACHERS—DISTRICT SCHOOLS—STATISTICS—
MANUAL TRAINING—ATCHISON COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL—COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS
OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION—ATCHISON CITY SCHOOLS—PRIVATE SCHOOLS—MT.
ST. SCHOLASTICA’s ACADEMY—PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS—MIDLAND COLLEGE AND
WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY—ST. BENEDICT’S COLLEGE.
During the turmoil and confusion that accompanied the movement of
population into Atchison when the town and county were organized, the
question of schools appeared to be a secondary one. It was not until the
bitter days of 1854, 1855 and 1856 had passed that the attention of the
people was directed to this important question. The first schools in
Atchison were private institutions, and a number of them flourished
until after the beginning of the Civil war. Among those which were first
in the educational field here was the Baptist Seminary, at the northeast
corner of Eleventh and Santa Fe streets. It was a school for young women
and was conducted by Mr. Stork. Later Mrs. Lizzie Abbott, who afterwards
became the wife of Judge Cassius C. Foster, conducted a young ladies’
school at the northeast corner of Sixth and Laramie streets, and in the
eighties Miss Mary Teasdale conducted a private school at the same
place. Miss Lizzie Bay, the daughter of Hugh Bay, a prosperous farmer
living southwest of Atchison, was also active in early day educational
affairs, and so was Mrs. Amanda Blair, at that time Miss Amanda Meeker,
who is a resident of Atchison in 1916. Mrs. Blair was the first teacher
in Atchison county. While there was no activity in educational affairs
during the period just mentioned, the first Territorial legislature did,
in fact, pass a law in the summer of 1855 providing for the
establishment of common schools, but the history of the Atchison county
school system did not begin until 1858. The city of Atchison, District
Number 1, was organized August 5, 1858. On September 13th of that year a
meeting was held in the law office of Franklin B. Adams, and the
following school officers were elected: James A. Coulter, director; Dr.
William Grimes, treasurer, and Franklin G. Adams, clerk. O. F. Short was
the other member. Phillip D. Plattenburg, who had previously served as
county superintendent of Fulton county, Illinois, was elected principal
of the schools and Mrs. Blair his assistant. School was opened the first
week in November, in two rooms over Bury’s Grocery Store, on the corner
of Fourth and Commercial streets, where the Y. M. C. A. building now
stands. The next year the corps of teachers had increased to four, and
Miss Lizzie Bay and Miss Melissa Kipp, who subsequently became the wife
of Chief Justice Martin, became the other two teachers. The school was
moved to the old Masonic building further west on Commercial street,
where it was conducted for two years. Mr. Plattenburg was also appointed
county superintendent, and the first teacher’s certificate issued by him
in Atchison county was to D. W. Rippy, who died in Severance, Kan., in
1914, the richest man in Doniphan county. Mr. Rippy taught the first
school in the Second district, organized near the Waggener farm,
southwest of Atchison. Mrs. Blair had her teaching certificate when she
arrived in Atchison, as one was issued to her by Dr. Plattenburg in
Fulton county, Illinois, before she came to Atchison. Her school opened
in Atchison the first Monday in November, 1858, and she had charge of
the primary and intermediate departments. Dr. Plattenburg received a
salary of $100.00 a month and Mrs. Blair a salary of $45.00, which was
increased to $50.00 by Dr. Plattenburg giving her $5.00 of his own
salary. Mrs. Blair had sixty-five pupils. Mrs. Blair says that the first
spelling match in Atchison county took place in W. D. Rippy’s school.
She participated in the spelling match, and was spelled down on the word
“Poisonous.”
Mr. Plattenburg served in the capacity of principal and superintendent
of schools until May, 1861, when the schools were closed for lack of
funds. Because of the Civil war very little progress in education was
made, and the records of the county superintendent’s office for that
period are not available. The earliest record in the office of the
county superintendent concerning the schools of Atchison county is found
in an old record book of July 7, 1863, as follows:
“Through the kindness of the present board of County Commissioners, E.
Leighton, B. Wallack and C. G. Foster, this book was furnished for the
records of the public schools of Atchison county. It is hoped that every
superintendent, into whose possession this book may fall, will perform
every duty devolving upon him officially, and make every effort to
advance the cause of education.
“ORLANDO SAWYER,
“Superintendent of Public Instruction,
“Atchison County.”
[Illustration:
Old High School Building, Atchison, Kan.
]
In spite of the fact that the records of County Superintendent Sawyer,
who held his office from 1863 to 1867, are somewhat incomplete, they
contain much interesting information.
The average length of the school term for the first year was three and
one-half months, and in some districts, owing to the distance and the
rigors of the winter climate, school was held only during the summer
months. Among the early teachers in this county were Miss Lizzie Keith,
who taught in District No. 29 in 1863; Miss Mary A. Shields, who taught
in District No. 16 in the same year; Miss Helen L. Bishop, of District
No. 26, and Miss Stewart, of District No. 31. Miss Bishop was a pioneer
in advocating the teaching of vocational subjects in the public schools,
including domestic science, manual training, agriculture and sewing, and
for her zeal in this respect she was derided and laughed at. Women
teachers in those days, as now, outnumbered the men. The following are
the names of those who received teacher’s certificates in 1863: July 8,
Michael Roach; July 27, Mrs. Esther Thayer; July 30, W. D. Barnett;
August 15, Mary A. Shields; August 15, Solomon K. McCrary; August 27,
Richard Dunn; September 14, Martha Stewart; September 25, Allen Abbott;
September 27, Adelia Guest; October 11, Carlos E. Pease; October 14,
John C. Butman; November 23, I. J. Adams; December 1, R. S. Cook;
December 4, L. A. Messenger; December 4, Harriet Hollister, and December
4, W. R. DeWitt.
There were thirty-one districts in the county in that year, and the
amount of State funds apportioned to Atchison county was $295.30. The
school population was 1941, with an enrollment of 1,072, and an average
daily attendance of 500. Twenty-nine teachers were employed, twenty-two
women and seven men, with an average monthly salary for the men of
$25.20 and $16.75 for the women. The total valuation of school houses
was $1,050, and the amount of money received from the county was
$827.05. The following is a list of the Atchison county school officers
in the year 1863:
District No. 1: P. H. Woodard, director; M. S. Gaylord, clerk; F. Bier,
treasurer; District No. 3: Peter Boyer, L. A. Messenger and A. Wheeler;
District No. 5: Nathan McClintic, Hosea Norris and James Cravins;
District No. 6. W. H. Bowen, J. W. Cain and Jonathan Hartman; District
No. 8: S. Cummings, Milo Carleton and Lewis Brockman; District No. 9:
George Scarborough, Joseph Scarborough and Jacob Pochler; District No.
10: Jacob Beck, Frederick Neerman and James A. Smith; District No. 11:
John Graves, Henry Shell and Henry Widner; District No. 15: John W.
Best, George Lamberson and Boaz W. Williamson; District No. 17: Hiram
Quiett, Chas. Williamson and Wm. Cummings; District No. 18: W. J. Young,
F. L. Fortune and A. J. Reed; District No. 19: Henry Cline, F. Leighton
and W. J. Mayfield; District No. 20: W. J. Oliphant, D. H. Sprong and
Dandridge Holladay; District No. 21: Dwight Williams, Jacob Reese and
John J. Halligan; District No. 22: F. Roach, C. B. Keith and Joseph
Speer; District No. 23: W. A. Adams, W. H. Seever and W. M. Hamm;
District No. 24: James R. May, E. S. Evington and Jefferson Gragg;
District No. 26: R. Breedlone, C. May and James Fletcher; District No.
27: James F. Butcher, C. G. Means and W. L. Davis; District No. 28:
Andrew C. Pittman, David Earhart and George H. McPherson; District No.
29: Anderson Pate, James M. Wylie and H. T. Gill; District No. 30: P. B.
Chadwick, J. W. Roberson and R. A. Van Winkle; District No. 31: Samuel
Vanatta, William Hamon and Hamilton Bailey; District No. 33: Benj.
Rivers, Silas A. Hooey and J. Plotner; District No. 34: D. Kottle, John
S. Van Winkle and A. King; District No. 35: A. A. F. Randolph, D. M.
Stillman and Joshua Wheeler; Union District No. 1: J. A. Anderson, M. C.
Willis and George Storch; Union District No. 2: James Cooley, L. H.
Masterson and Wm. H. Cook; Union District No. 3: W. J. Brown, Thos. A.
Snoddy and J. Lasswell, and Union District No. 4: Richmon Dalton, Albert
Henson and Frederick Eleman.
The next record that can be found of the progress of schools in this
county is of 1868, when Norman Dunshee was county superintendent. In
that year there were forty-six organized school districts, and a school
population of 3,878, with a total enrollment of 2,247, and an average
daily attendance of 1281. The term for white children was increased to
five and one-half months and for colored children to ten months. There
was a total of sixty-four teachers, of whom thirty-seven were women and
twenty-seven men. The wages of the men were $42.92 a month, and for the
women, $28.76 a month, and there was a total of $15,117.87 paid out for
wages. The amount received from the State was $2,627.09, and an
additional source of revenue was from the pounding of stray livestock,
which brought into the school fund of the county that year $589.58. The
amount raised by district school tax was $24,373.21, and there were
forty-three school houses in the county, of which twelve were built of
logs, twenty-six of frame construction, and five of stone, with a total
valuation of $16,750.00. During the interim between 1863 and 1868, the
Third Kansas Teachers’ Association met in Atchison. The meeting was held
July, 1865, and there were fifty-nine teachers present in Price’s Hall.
John A. Martin, John J. Ingalls and Geo. W. Glick attended the meeting
and made addresses.
In comparison with the figures of those days, the figures of 1915 are
interesting, and they are here given as follows:
School population, June 30, 1915 3,530
Total enrollment, 1914–1915 2,477
Average daily attendance, 1914–1915 1,915
Teachers employed, 1915–1916, including county
high school, males 23, females 81 104
Teachers employed 1915–1916, including county
high school, holding State certificates 19
Normal training 33, first grade 22, second grade
27
Teachers without previous experience 21
Teachers serving first year in present positions 56
Teachers more than two years in present position 16
Average experience of teachers:
One-teacher schools 5 years
Graded schools 6 years
Average length of term in weeks: 1914–15 1915–16
One-teacher schools 30.4 30.65
Graded schools 35.3 35.33
Average salary of male teachers: 1914–15 1915–16
One-teacher schools 63.75 67.25
Graded schools 84.77 85.81
Average salary of female teachers: 1914–15 1915–16
One-teacher schools 58.16 57.45
Graded schools 59.64 60.00
Average attendance per teacher: 1914–15
One-teacher schools 21
Graded schools 26
Average cost per pupil per month in attendance: 1914–15
One-teacher schools $ 3.69
Graded schools 4.38
Amount expended for school purposes: 1914–15
One-teacher schools $39,756.47
Graded schools 19,212.88
County high school 17,719.71
—————
Total $76,689.06
Common school graduates, 1915:
Boys 57, girls 71, total 128.
High school graduates, 1915:
Boys 17, girls 19, total 36.
Total number of libraries in rural schools 63
Number of volumes in rural libraries 4,314
Number of schools having room or basement
furnaces 66
Number of county certificates issued during year:
First grade 9
Second grade 24
Third grade 7 Total 40
Number of first grade renewed 5
Number of State certificates registered 7
Number teachers normal training certificates
registered 13
Number of first grades indorsed 3
Number of second grades indorsed 1
The city of Atchison is not included in any of the above statistics.
It is interesting to note that the vision of Miss Helen E. Bishop of
1863 has been realized, for in every school in Atchison county, not only
agriculture is taught, but in about one-third of the schools, plain
sewing and various kinds of fancy needlework are taught also, and while
no rural school as yet is equipped to teach cooking, a number of the
teachers are directing some work along this line and it is done in
accordance with the teacher’s directions in the homes, with the
assistance of the mothers. More attention than ever is also being given
to drawing and music. Earnest efforts are being made by superintendents
and teachers to secure the coöperation of parents by means of community
gatherings. In many districts teachers’ associations, literary societies
and debating clubs have been organized, in which parents as well as
children are taking a great interest. Many of the districts have availed
themselves of the opportunity to use the stereopticon lectures sent out
by the University of Kansas. Lecture courses are being made in some of
the schools, and provisions have been made for serving hot lunches for
children. Medical inspection is also provided for, through the efforts
of teachers. One of the most interesting and valuable features
introduced into the rural school work of the county in recent years is
the community school fair. The plan is to have three to five schools
unite and meet at a school house, where the children enter exhibits of
corn, cereals, seeds of various kinds, vegetables and fruits, and in
addition to these are also exhibited canned fruits, peaches, jelly and
loaves of bread, and other samples of the art of cooking, together with
articles of fancy needlework and plain sewing. Many prizes are awarded
for the best exhibit, and the result is that much interest is stimulated
among the children in these accomplishments. The county farm agent is
also lending great assistance in organizing school gardens, and boys’
and girls’ clubs of various kinds for the purpose of agricultural
development. Much attention is also paid to the supervision of the
children at play, on the theory that all work and no play makes Jack a
dull boy, and the equipment for the playground of various kinds has been
supplied. Six rural schools of the county have organized basketball
teams.
Besides the rural and graded schools, Atchison county has four high
schools. Muscotah maintains an accredited four-year high school,
offering a college preparatory and general course, and the school
building which was destroyed by fire January 13, 1916, will be replaced
by a larger and better school, reference to which has already been made
in this history.
Under the direction of J. S. Blosser, an excellent two year high school
is maintained in Huron.
THE ATCHISON COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL.
In 1888 Atchison county, in accordance with an act of the Kansas
legislature of 1866, established the second county high school in the
State, and it was due to the efforts of Senator B. F. Wallack, and also
the efforts of the public spirited citizens of Effingham, that this
school was located there. The first board of trustees of this school
were as follows: A. J. Harwi, A. S. Best. J. E. Logan, F. E. Cloyes, L.
R. Spangler and W. E. Knight. John Klopfenstein, who was at that time
county superintendent, became the first president of the board.
The present site, which comprises a spacious campus of eight acres, was
purchased by the city of Effingham and donated to the county. A handsome
pressed brick and stone building was erected in compliance with plans
and specifications designed by Alfred Meier, of Atchison. The building,
costing more than $22,000.00, was completed in June, 1891. School opened
September 14, 1891, with F. J. Squires, principal, assisted by J. O.
Ward, Miss Julia Heath, and Miss N. Grace Murphy. Three courses of study
were provided for: Normal, general and college preparatory.
On the night of November 6, 1893, the building was destroyed by fire.
School was opened the next morning and was continued the remainder of
the year down town in lodge rooms, churches, and the public school
building. The present building, erected on the same site, was ready for
occupancy by the fall of 1894.
Following are the names of the principals who have served the school: J.
F. Squires, 1891 to 1893; S. J. Hunter, 1893 and 1896; J. W. Wilson,
1896 to 1907; W. H. Keller, 1907 to 1908; E. H. McMath, 1908 to 1911: J.
R. Thierstein, 1911 to 1915, and A. J. McAllister and G. W. Salisbury.
1915 to 1916.
The county high school exists mainly to afford free high school
education to every boy and girl in the county. Since its students come
principally from the rural districts, it must educate them to become
better homemakers and better farmers, and to appreciate more fully the
advantages of rural life. It must also help prepare better teachers for
the rural schools and train them for business as well as for college.
[Illustration:
Atchison County High School, Effingham, Kansas
]
It has grown in efficiency and influence until it is recognized as one
of the best high schools in the State and is on the accredited list of
the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. This
means that our school is recognized by the colleges of Kansas, Oklahoma,
Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, West Virginia, South Dakota, Wyoming and Colorado, which admit
our graduates without examination.
The faculty has increased in number from four in 1892 to twelve in 1915.
The number of graduates in 1892 was two, in 1915, thirty. Since its
organization the departments of commerce, music, manual training,
domestic art, domestic science, and agriculture have been added, a
farmers’ short course established, and a demonstration farm in
connection with the work in agriculture put into operation.
The school is well equipped in laboratories, and has a library of 3,000
volumes, and all the leading magazines and papers. A lively interest is
taken in athletics, both Young Men’s Christian Association and Young
Women’s Christian Association have a large membership. Every year the
students have the benefit of a splendid lecture course.
From its halls have been graduated 387 young men and young women, who
are now filling positions of honor as doctors, lawyers, ministers,
teachers, superintendents, farmers, bankers and missionaries, and are
found in nearly every State in the Union and in some foreign countries.
Atchison county further increased its educational advantages in June,
1915, by establishing at Potter, a rural high school, in accordance with
a law passed by the legislature in 1915. This district is known as Rural
High School, District No. 1, and comprises 26½ square miles, including
portions of nine school districts, five of which lie wholly in Atchison
county, and the four others jointly in Atchison, Jefferson and
Leavenworth counties.
August 9, 1915, the first school meeting in this district was held, and
J. E. Remsburg was elected director, T. F. Hall, treasurer and D. H.
Strong, Jr., clerk. It was not necessary for this district to vote bonds
for a building, because Union District No. 1, which includes Potter, and
is a part of the new high school district, already had a beautiful
modern four-room structure, which was leased to the newly organized high
school district. A. T. Foster was elected first president, and Miss
Sarah Armstrong, assistant. The school opened September 6, 1915, with an
enrollment of eighteen pupils. The course of study is that prescribed by
the State, board of education, and covers four years.
The year 1915–16 has been a year of progress for the schools of Atchison
county. The State department of education, by virtue of authority given
them by the State legislature in 1915, established a definite standard
of efficiency for the rural schools of the State, and formulated plans
for standardizing rural schools. As a result, two rural school
supervisors were added to the State department. J. A. Shoemaker, county
superintendent of this county, was appointed as one of those
supervisors, and was succeeded in office by Miss D. Anna Speer, who is
making one of the most earnest and efficient county superintendents this
county has ever had. It is universally conceded that the board of county
commissioners made no mistake when they selected Miss Speer as a
successor to Mr. Shoemaker. Miss Speer is making an earnest effort to
bring our schools up to the standard set by the State department of
education, in which she is receiving the cordial coöperation on the part
of the school officers, parents and children of the county. The work
that is being accomplished here has been highly commended by Miss Julia
Stone, one of the new State supervisors, and three schools, approved by
the supervisor, have the honor of the first three “Standard Schools” in
northeastern Kansas. These are: New Malden District No. 45, H. S. Mahan
and Eugene Crawford, teachers; Lancaster District No. 10, O. E. Seeber
and Miss Ione Gibson, teachers, and White Clay District No. 6, J. M.
Pennington, teacher. In 1915 the County Normal Institute was combined
with Midland College Institute, at Midland College. A six weeks’ session
was held, June 15 to July 28. Besides thorough reviews of all subjects
required for county teachers’ certificates, numerous courses for college
credit were offered. The corps of instructors consisted of county
superintendent, Miss D. Anna Speer: professors, W. E. Tilberg. E. M.
Stahl, S. L. Soper, D. W. Crouse. C. F. Malmberg and Bruno Meinecke.
The following is a list of county superintendents of public instruction
of Atchison county from the beginning of our history to the present
time:
Philip D. Plattenburg, served September, 1858, to May, 1861.
Orlando Sawyer, served July, 1830, to January, 1867.
Norman Dunsher, served January, 1867, to January, 1869.
Thomas F. Cook, served January, 1869, to January, 1873.
J. E. Remsburg, served January, 1873, to January, 1877.
Mr. Martin, served January, 1877, to January, 1879.
W. H. Tucker, served January, 1879, to January, 1883.
A. G. Drew, served January, 1883, to January, 1885.
J. F. Class, served January, 1885, to January, 1887.
George A. Ward, served January, 1887, to January, 1889.
John Klopfenstein, served January, 1889, to January, 1893.
Samuel Ernst, served January, 1893, to January, 1895.
C. E. Reynolds, served January, 1895, to January, 1899.
John Klopfenstein, served January, 1899, to January, 1901.
E. E. Campbell, served January, 1901, to May, 1901.
The Kansas legislature of 1901 changed the date of beginning of
superintendent’s term from the second Monday in January to the second
Monday in May, thus creating a vacancy in the office for four months.
Mr. Campbell was appointed by the county commissioners to serve during
that period.
John Klopfenstein, served May, 1901, to May, 1903.
O. O. Hastings, served May, 1903, to May, 1907.
J. W. Campbell, served May, 1907, to March 18, 1909, when he died.
J. A. Shoemaker, served March 23, 1909, to July 1, 1915.
D. Anna Speer, served July 1, 1915, and still remains superintendent.
ATCHISON CITY SCHOOLS.
It was lamentable, but, nevertheless true, that there were many
residents of the city of Atchison of the early period in its history who
doubted the justice of supporting free schools. In 1860 the school board
refused to levy a tax for school purposes in the city of Atchison.
Following this, however, a more progressive spirit prevailed, and free
schools were regularly supported by annual tax levies. For ten years the
schools occupied rented quarters, excepting two frame buildings in South
Atchison. The basement of the Congregational church, the lower floor of
the old Masonic building that stood near the corner of Eighth and
Commercial streets, the upper floor of the Auld building on Commercial
street, near Sixth, Price’s Hall and probably other buildings were used
during those years.
There was little or no general supervision of the work of the schools up
to 1866, little or no system, and little distinction between public and
private schools.
During this unorganized period the business affairs of the schools were
administered by a district board of three members.
Under a law approved March 1, 1867, the Atchison city schools were
organized June 3, 1867, at which time the first board of education of
Atchison was elected, as follows: First ward, Wm. Scoville, Wm. C.
Smith; Second ward, M. L. Gaylord, L. R. Elliott; Third ward, John A.
Martin. Julius Holthaus; Fourth ward, Geo. W. Gillespie, Jacob Poehler.
In the organization of the first board, Wm. Scoville was elected
president, John A. Martin, vice-president, and M. L. Gaylord, clerk.
The board consisted of eight members until Atchison became a city of the
first class in 1881, at which time the ward representation was increased
to three members each, giving a board of twelve members. At the
organization of the first enlarged board, J. C. Fox was elected
president; J. B. Kurth, vice-president. The time of organization was the
first regular meeting in August, a change from the former time, the
first regular meeting in May, which was the law till 1881. During this
year the time of organization was extended three months, giving fifteen
months’ service under the organization of May, 1880. Another change made
at this time was the election of a clerk not a member of the board. At
the organization, August 1, 1881, M. Noll was elected clerk. He was
succeeded in October, by C. N. Seip, who was followed in May, 1882, by
James H. Garside.
By the addition of the Fifth ward, 1884, the board organized in August,
that year had fifteen members. The board organized in August, 1885, had
ten members. This representation continued till the law of 1911 provided
for the reduction to six members, and for a term of four years instead
of two years. The reduction was completed in 1913, and since August of
that year the board has had six members, elected without regard to city
wards.
The presidents of the board from 1871 have been as follows: For the year
ending in May, 1872, H. S. Baker; J. T. Coplan, to May, 1873; J. K.
Fisher, to May, 1874; A. J. North, three years, to May, 1877; John
Seaton, two years, to May, 1879; A. F. Martin, two and one-fourth years,
to August, 1881; J. C. Fox, to August, 1882; John B. Kurth, to August,
1883; J. C. Fox, to August, 1884; Seneca Heath, two years, to August,
1886; E. A. Mize, five years, to August, 1891; R. C. Meade, to August,
1892; J. T. Hersey, two years, to August, 1894; J. F. Woodhouse, to
August, 1895; J. T. Allensworth, to August, 1896; W. L. Bailey, to
August, 1897; Chas. S. Osborn, ten years, to August, 1907; H. H.
Hackney, eight years, to August, 1915; Alva Clapp, now serving his first
year.
While the records of the early days are not available, there are
indications that the chaos of the early schools was reduced to order in
the middle sixties, the graded system unifying the free schools being
established at that time by D. T. Bradford, who served as superintendent
and principal of the high school for four years. In those early days the
superintendent taught during the greater part of his time.
Mr. Bradford was followed by a Mr. Owens, who served one year and was
followed by R. H. Jackson. Available records show that Mr. Jackson was
superintendent in August, 1871, and served till June, 1876. How long he
served prior to the election of May, 1871, is not indicated by records
at hand.
The superintendents following Mr. Jackson are as follows: I. C. Scott,
to 1878; C. S. Sheffield, to 1880; R. C. Meade, to December, 1886; F. M.
Draper, to 1889; Buel T. Davis, to 1891; John H. Glorfelter, to 1901;
Nathan T. Veatch, serving at present (January, 1916).
The principals of the high school serving prior to the union of the
duties of superintendent and principal of the high school were, P. D.
Plattenburg, Orlando Sawyer and David Negley.
The course of study in the high school then was Latin, followed later by
the Latin-Scientific. Little change was made for years, except the
introduction of German in the fall of 1871. For more than thirty years
there was little change in the subject matter of the work. The most
important change during those thirty years or more was the complete
organization of the high school by Superintendent R. C. Meade, in 1880,
at which time a distinct principal was placed in charge of the
reorganized high school. The first principal under the new plan was F.
W. Bartlett. Definite classes were started and the first class graduated
June 7, 1881, in Corinthian Hall, as follows: Jane Boone, Arthur
Challiss, Blanche Challiss, Daisy, L. Denton, Della Estes, Mary E. Fox,
Frances L. Garside, Lilly G. Hathaway. Maggie R. Hedges, May Hosier,
Victor Linley, Nellie G. Reid, Mary E. Scott, Annie Underwood, 14. Total
graduates to date (January, 1916), 568.
[Illustration:
“The Ingalls School,” Atchison, Kan.
]
F. W. Bartlett was principal of the high school until 1883. The
following is the list of principals since 1883: J. B. Cash, to 1883;
Geo. D. Ostrom, to 1887; J.T. Dobell, to 1895; C. A. Shively, to 1900:
W. C. Jamieson, to 1902; A. H. Speer, to 1909; W. H. Livers, to 1910; J.
T. Rosson, to 1911 H. P. Shepherd, now serving his fifth year.
The superintendent and principal aided by one assistant taught the high
school subjects till 1882. With the opening of school in September, of
that year, the high school course of study was changed from two years to
a full three-years course. Miss Sarah E. Steele and Miss Anna M. Niklaus
were assistants during those early years.
The addition to the teaching force, the lengthened course and the
tendency toward greater latitude in the choice of subjects soon doubled
the high school enrollment. The start toward vocational studies began in
September, 1881, when, at the suggestion of J. H. Garside, bookkeeping
was made an optional study.
The growth of the high school was gradual. During the late eighties,
another year was added to the course and an additional assistant was
employed. Manual training was added in December, 1903; sewing, 1907;
commercial subjects were added from time to time till the introduction
of a full business course, including shorthand and typewriting, in 1910;
normal training, 1909; cooking, 1910; physical training, 1910;
elementary agriculture, 1913; school nurse, January, 1914; special music
director, 1915. The addition of courses and optional subjects has so
increased the high school work as to require eighteen teachers, in
addition to the principal, and the enrollment has grown to 393. The
school is on the accredited list of the University of Kansas and of the
North Central Association of Colleges. A school paper, the _Optimist_,
is now in its sixth year. A Glee Club and orchestra have been organized.
A Young Men’s Christian Association and a Young Women’s Christian
Association are doing good work. The athletic association is giving an
outlet for the surplus energy in football, basketball, etc.
Grades and teachers were added in the different buildings until there
are now (January, 1916) five buildings having full eight grades of work,
one building with three grades, and the Branchton school having two
grades. The Branchton building belongs to district 65. Manual training
for the boys and sewing for the girls are given in sixth, seventh and
eighth grades and high school. All the grades have the benefit of
inspection by the school nurse, and instruction in music by the special
director.
In 1882 the teaching force was thirty beside the superintendent. This
grew to forty-one by 1901, and to sixty-five in 1915.
During March, 1881, it was resolved that a “kindergarten” be opened
during the next term. No record is found indicating the opening of such
school. The kindergarten was not made a part of the system till 1910.
Such work was offered earlier in rooms granted by the board. This was,
however, the result of private enterprise.
At the opening of the new high school building in 1910, the first public
kindergarten was established. In the spring of 1914, another
kindergarten was opened in the new Washington school.
The corner stone of the Central building was laid in August, 1868. This
building was destroyed by fire in October, 1869. The construction of a
new building on the old foundation began as soon as plans were
completed. This was the three-story brick building, costing $35,000,
torn down in 1908, to make room for the magnificent high school building
completed in 1910, and occupied for all school purposes in September of
that year. On October 5, 1892, the name was changed to “The Ingalls
School.”
The building begun in 1869 and, when completed, said to be “one of the
finest in the State,” was opened in 1870 and served without change till
1903, when a three-story addition, costing $5,264.00 was built to
provide for the office, manual training, one high school room and
sanitary fixtures. It was finally outgrown after serving thirty-eight
years. While the present building was being constructed, the high school
was housed in the old three-story Douglas building, Fifth and R streets,
and in two rooms of the old Washington building, Sixth and Q streets.
During the two years’ waiting for the new Ingalls building the colored
pupils from Douglas school were housed in a vacant store at Sixth and
Spring streets for one year, and in Lincoln school for part of the
second year, and the grades of Ingalls school were housed as follows:
Seventh and eighth, banquet room of Odd Fellows Hall; sixth, Martin
school; fifth, Pioneer Hall; second, third and fourth, basement of
Congregational church; first, basement of Presbyterian church; manual
training, in old fire department for the first year, and in a vacant
store room till the latter part of December of the second year, when it
was moved to the new building.
The present high school building, the Ingalls school, cost about
$103,500. The equipment and added lots at the southwest corner of the
block, improvement of grounds, etc., will bring the present value of the
property at least to $130,000.
Governor George W. Glick was largely instrumental in the work of
securing the lots for the Ingalls school. The ten lots purchased prior
to the erection of the first building cost, approximately, $3,500. Lots
8 and 9 in the same block secured by condemnation in 1911, cost $2,250.
The three-story brick building at the corner of Fifth and R streets,
built in 1873 at a cost of $15,000, was originally called Washington
school. A three-room, one-story frame building, erected on this site in
the middle sixties, was the first building owned by district No. 1, and
served till 1873. The lots cost $1,200 and the building $2,425. At that
time a frame building at the corner of Sixth and Q streets was used by
the colored pupils and was called Douglas school. This was built in the
middle sixties. It was at first a two-room, one-story building. Later, a
third room was added. The lots cost $820. This was the second building
owned by district No. 1. Early maps of Atchison show the locations of
Washington and Douglas here given.
The names “Central,” “Washington,” “Franklin,” “Lincoln” and “Douglas”
were authorized February 2, 1880.
In 1884 work began on two new buildings, one a ten-room brick building
to take the place of the frame building called “Douglas,” and the other
an eight-room brick building at Sixth and Division streets, named North
Atchison school. The one at Sixth and Q streets cost $18,682, and was
occupied for school purposes January 5, 1885. The white pupils in
“Washington” school were taken to the new building, and the colored
school formerly housed in “Douglas” was taken to the “Washington.” The
names were also transferred soon after the new order of things was
established.
The ten-room Washington building was used till the close of school for
vacation, December, 1913. On January 5, 1914, the school began work in
the present beautiful building, south of R street, between Fifth and
Sixth streets. The old property at Sixth and Q streets was sold for
$2,300, but the name of the school was retained. The new building with
grounds and equipment cost $63,000. The site was secured by condemnation
and cost $5,350.
The original “Washington” remained the “Douglas” until the completion of
the new Douglas on Sixth, between U and V streets. The pupils of
“Douglas” were housed in “Lincoln” till late in the fall of 1909. The
site of this building, lots 18, 19, 20 and 21, block 35, South Atchison,
was secured in March, 1909, in exchange for lots 10 and 11, same block,
the old hospital property, which had previously been donated to the
board of education for school purposes, the money involved being the
payment of some back taxes by the board.
The North Atchison school, Sixth and Division streets, was occupied for
school purposes in September, 1885. The lots cost $800 and the building,
equipment and retaining walls, $5,381.94. On October 5, 1892, the name
of this school was changed to “The John A. Martin School.” This building
was used till the last of May, 1915. Immediately after the close of
school, May 28, 1915, it was wrecked to make way for the new building
now in course of construction. The added ground, secured by
condemnation, cost $6,200 and the building, equipment and improvement of
grounds will cost, approximately, $56,500. During the year 1915–16 this
school is housed in the Ingalls building.
The West Atchison school building, named Franklin school, February 2,
1880, was, originally, a three-room, one-story brick, costing $2,617.10.
This was changed to six rooms by the addition of a second story in 1883,
at a cost of $2,498, and was remodeled and changed to an eight-room
building in 1908, at a cost of $12,500, and reoccupied early in 1909.
The lots cost $400. During the change in Franklin, the pupils were
housed in the “Green-Tree House” and in a vacant store room at 1521 Main
street.
The Lincoln school (colored), Eighth and Atchison streets, was
originally a three-room, one-story brick building erected in 1871 at a
cost of $2,425. The lots cost $750. In 1883, this was changed to a six-
room building at a cost of $2,498. This is the only school building in
the city not modernized.
The records reveal some interesting things. In 1878 it was decided that
“the work of the grades should be completed in eight years.” In 1884 an
attempt was made to establish a branch high school in South Atchison.
While this failed, it was voted that “a sub-junior grade be maintained
in the Washington school.” This was discontinued within a few years.
In March, 1883, it was ordered that the schools close because of lack of
funds. The city council came to the rescue and appropriated $4,000 for
school purposes. The schools re-opened March 29.
The school year was shortened several times in those early days.
The school spirit is in splendid condition. The increased material
equipment is adding greatly to the educational opportunities.
“Continuation schools” have been conducted for several years, with good
attendance.
The improvements have been made without bonds, excepting the $100,000
issue for the high school in 1908. The total bonded indebtedness
(January, 1916) is $122,000. Of this amount, $4,000 will be paid July 1,
1916. Of the issue of 1908, $94,000 remain unpaid, and will fall due in
1923. The $24,000 refunding bonds issued in 1913 will be due in 1933.
The board of education is not using the full limit of its taxing power.
It is only fair to add a tribute at this point to the faithful,
enthusiastic and efficient work rendered by Prof. Nathan T. Veatch to
the public school system of Atchison. During the period of his service
here, Atchison has seen its greatest development in its public school
system, and this has not only been brought about by the fine public
spirit that exists here but by the splendid co-operation which Prof.
Veatch has given it.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS.
In addition to the private schools that existed here in an early day,
there were a number of private schools which did good work in Atchison
subsequently to the Teasdale school, which was operated here in the
eighties. Mrs. Harriet E. Monroe rendered the cause of education in
Atchison county an invaluable and also an imperishable service. Mrs.
Monroe founded the Atchison Institute. In 1871 she erected a building at
the northwest corner of Third and Kansas avenue, to which a wing was
added in 1876, and three years later the large brick building, all of
which are still standing. The property represented an investment of
$25,000, and the success of Mrs. Monroe’s enterprise was phenomenal. She
received no bonus or assistance from city, county, State, church or
individual. She had nine students when she started her school, and
subsequently increased her enrollment to 300. She had a musical
department and an art department, and they were admitted to have no
superior in the Missouri valley at that time. She also conducted a
kindergarten, primary, intermediate and academic grades. Also a
collegiate department, consisting of preparatory, scientific, classical
and literary courses, together with the normal and commercial courses.
She had thirteen teachers. Her vocational department covered all the
arts of domestic economy and domestic science, before which she employed
most eminent women in their special lines to deliver lectures. Mrs.
Monroe was then, and is now, a truly remarkable woman. Her school was a
forerunner of Midland College, and when it came to Atchison in 1887,
Mrs. Monroe closed her school shortly thereafter and has since been a
resident of Washington, D. C. She is a highly educated lady of
refinement and culture, and has spent much time upon the lecture
platform.
Following the Monroe Institute, some years later, Prof. Flint conducted
a Latin school here, which was largely attended. Mr. Flint was succeeded
by Prof. Foot, and as an outgrowth of these two schools, Misses Helen
and Abigail Scofield opened a preparatory school, and successfully
conducted it for a number of years, when they were succeeded by Miss
Mary Walton, who ran her school in the building owned by Mrs. J. W.
Parker, on Laramie street, between Third and Fourth streets, until a few
years ago.
In 1916 the public school system is augmented in its work by several
parochial and denominational schools, conducted by the Catholics and the
German Lutherans.
MT. ST. SCHOLASTICA’S ACADEMY.
One of the first sights to impress the visitor to Atchison is the
imposing collection of buildings which crowns its southern hill, now
commonly known as Mt. St. Scholastica.
Mt. St. Scholastica is practically as old as Atchison itself, the first
sisters having come here in 1863. Few who gaze upon the massive and
commodious array of buildings, surrounded as they now are by well-kept
lawns, spacious meadow and woodland, stop to think of its humble
beginning and the many trials which beset the early foundation. But the
first sisters were in time to feel the effects of the Civil war and the
hardships attendant upon the same.
At the request of Rev. Augustine Wirth, O. S. B., then prior of St.
Benedict’s College, and the first pastor of the church in Atchison, Rev.
Mother Evangelista and six companions were sent from the Benedictine
convent in St. Cloud, Minn., to establish a school in Atchison. Two more
sisters were sent the following April. As these latter were on their
way, they were detained at Hannibal for two days. The funeral cortege of
President Lincoln having reached that city at the same time as the
sisters, one of their sad privileges was that of attending the obsequies
of the martyred President before continuing their journey Kansasward.
The little convent, situated at the corner of Second and Division
streets, near St. Benedict’s church, was the cradle of the present
institution. Second street at that time was not a street at all, but
rather a passageway cut through the hazel brush, then so abundant in
Atchison.
The academy organized its classes December 1, 1863. It was incorporated
in 1873. Its roster bears the names of many of Atchison’s best families
of both town and county.
In the summer of 1877 the Price villa was purchased. A new building was
added in 1889. The third building was commenced in 1900. The buildings
are surrounded by thirty-eight acres of woodland and meadow.
Besides the academy in Atchison, the sisters supply teachers for a large
number of missions or parochial schools in Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri,
and Iowa, also one large school in Walsenburg, Colo. The institution in
Atchison is the center or mother house of all these branch houses, and
in vacation all the sisters from the missions assemble here for the
annual retreat, and for the summer normal.
[Illustration:
Mt. St. Scholastica’s Academy, Atchison, Kan.
]
The venerable Mother Evangelista, the first mother and foundress, was
succeeded in office by Sister Theresa, who governed the community as
Reverend mother for the next twelve years. Since that time Mother
Aloysia has ably carried on the work of her predecessors.
The early days of Mt. St. Scholastica, like the early days of Kansas,
were times of struggle and hardships. Yet, these brave pioneer sisters
were of the true Kansas type, and tell us that they never for a moment
regretted their mission to the Sunflower State. They tell us, too, that
the sunflower itself had a strange power to cheer and encourage their
early days. Its sturdy stalk and bright disk seem so fit a type of
faith, labor and grateful content, that, even to the present day this
rustic flower always finds a place in the convent garden.
The later history of Mt. St. Scholastica is too well known to need
repetition. Its actual growth began with the purchase of Price villa in
1877, since which time progress has been steady and vigorous.
A most comprehensive plan of study is pursued at Mt. St. Scholastica. It
includes all branches needful for a thorough, literal and refined
education, the outcome of long years of experience and thoughtful
consideration. That this fact is appreciated, not only by neighboring
cities and towns, may be seen by consulting the academy roster, which
records a long list of names from many and various sections of the
country. Besides the academic or classical course, Mt. St. Scholastica
furnishes a complete commercial course, together with special advantages
for the study of music and art.
The home life of Mt. St. Scholastica is ideal. The association of
fellow-students amid wholesome environments has the tendency to bring
out and develop every noble and womanly quality, while the beneficient
and judicious guidance of the sisters wisely leads to the attainment of
those lofty principles so needful to right living.
Sacred Heart parochial school, in Atchison, is also controlled by the
Benedictine sisters, and is supported by tuition. Its curriculum extends
through the grades, and the school is under the direction of Sister
Monica, O. S. B., and one assistant. Both boys and girls attend, and the
enrollment in 1916 is seventy-four.
St. Louis College is another parochial school, offering work through the
grades, and admitting both boys and girls. It is maintained by St.
Benedict’s parish. Number of teachers employed is six, and the Rev.
Gerard Heinz, O. S. B., is principal. Enrollment in 1916 is 293.
St. Patrick’s parochial school is located near St. Patrick’s church, in
Union District No. 2, about seven miles south of Atchison. Two teachers
are employed in the school, and Ven. Sr. Merwina, O. S. B., is
directress. It is controlled and supported by St. Patrick’s parish, and
its curriculum extends through the grades. Boys and girls attend the
school, and the enrollment in 1916 was sixty-seven.
St. Ann’s school is a Catholic parochial school, at Effingham. It is
controlled and supported by St. Ann’s parish. Both boys and girls enroll
in the school, which completes the work of the grades. The past year,
forty-six pupils were in attendance. Two teachers are employed, one of
whom is Sister Sr. M. Marcellina, O. S. B., the directress.
The Trinity Lutheran parochial school is controlled and supported by the
Trinity Lutheran parish, corner of Eighth and Laramie streets. The
curriculum extends to the eighth grade, and work is offered to both boys
and girls. The enrollment in 1916 is fifty-three, and Rev. Carl W.
Greinki is principal.
MIDLAND COLLEGE AND WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
The board of education of the general synod of the Evangelical Lutheran
church, after considering propositions from a number of cities in the
Middle West, decided on Atchison as the most suitable location for a
Lutheran institution. It is easy of access from the whole territory from
which students are most likely to come, and the offer of the city to
give $50,000 in money for buildings, twenty acres of land for a campus
and professors’ houses, a half interest in the sale of 500 acres of
land, and to furnish 200 students the first year, was a tempting offer.
Owing to some difficulties that arose, this offer was not entirely
fulfilled, but the twenty acres of ground was donated, and about $33,000
put into buildings. The college was opened on the fifteenth of
September, 1887, with 101 students registered.
In 1888 the main building, known as Atchison Hall, was begun, and turned
over to the board of trustees in the spring of 1889, and formally
dedicated on the 30th day of September of the same year. The institution
was given over to the care of a self-perpetuating board. From time to
time the constitution has been changed, so that the trustees would be
elected by the synods supporting the college.
At the present time the board is composed of twenty-nine members; four
are elected by the board from the citizens of Atchison, six from each of
the Kansas, English Nebraska and German Nebraska synods; two from the
Rocky Mountain and Iowa synods each, and three from the Alumni
Association, with the president of the college advisory member, ex-
officio.
[Illustration:
Carnegie Library, Atchison, Kansas
]
Rev. Jacob A. Clutz, D. D., was elected first president, and served
efficiently in that capacity for fourteen and one-half years. In 1904
Rev. M. F. Troxell, D. D., pastor of the English Lutheran church of St.
Joseph, Mo. was elected president, and was succeeded by Dr. Rufus B.
Peery.
In 1891 Oak Hall, a dormitory for girls, was erected, to which, about
ten years later, the annex was added, giving accommodations for thirty
young women. In 1893 the gymnasium was erected, the money being
solicited by the students of the institution. Through the solicitations
of Dr. Clutz, a splendid six-inch telescope was donated, and an
observatory built in 1899. Through the efforts of Dr. Troxell a
proposition was secured from Andrew Carnegie to donate $15,000 towards
the building of a library, provided the same amount could be raised for
its upkeep. From the synods on the territory, alumni and friends of the
college, this amount was secured, and the handsome library building was
erected during the winter of 1910–1911, and formally dedicated on May
30, 1911. A legacy of $5,000, given several years before, was added to
the building fund in order to have a public hall, and a memorial tablet
was placed in the hall to the memory of the generous donor, Rev. J. G.
Griffith, D. D. On the retirement of Dr. Clutz, his home was bought by
the college board for the use of the president.
The Western Theological Seminary was organized in 1895, and the first
president and professor, Rev. F. D. Altman, D. D., was inaugurated.
The German department of the seminary was added a few years later, with
Dr. J. L. Neve as dean of the department. The home owned by ex-Senator
John J. Ingalls was secured in 1908 for seminary purposes. It is
admirably adapted to that purpose. At the annual meeting of the college
trustees in 1910 the board of education turned over the management of
the seminary to this board.
ST. BENEDICT’S COLLEGE.
St. Benedict’s College is the product of Benedictine activity in Kansas,
in the cause of Christian civilization. Father Boniface Wimmer, O. S.
B., the founder of the Benedictines in the United States, settled in
Pennsylvania in 1846, and ten years later he sent missionaries in all
directions, and where they settled, promptly there, too, their schools
soon were founded. Father Henry Lempe, O. S. B., was the first
Benedictine to touch upon Kansas soil in 1856, and he inspired Bishop
Miege, S. J., of Leavenworth, with the idea of inviting Abbott Wimmer to
make a foundation in Kansas, and thereafter Father Augustine Wirth, O.
S. B., was sent out to Doniphan, in 1857, but in 1858 he moved to
Atchison. Father Augustine’s management of the college continued until
1868, when he was succeeded by Louis M. Fink, O. S. B., who remained at
the head of the institution until 1871. It was under Father Louis that
the first printed catalog of St. Benedict’s College appears. Father
Giles Christoph, O. S. B., succeeded Father Louis, and held the position
three years, from 1871 to 1874, and was succeeded by Father Oswald
Moosmueller, O. S. B. The college is situated on the hills north of
Atchison and commands an extensive view of the Missouri river and
surrounding country. In 1908 the college planned to erect a new group of
buildings to crown the brow of the hill, east of the old college, new
St. Benedict is to be not only first class, but it is to be a monument
of beautiful architecture, which will be in Tudor Gothic and uniform
throughout. The administration building, already erected, comprises the
first of the group, part of which comprises living quarters of the
students. It is a fire-proof building of re-inforced concrete and
vitrified brick, spacious, well ventilated, and conveniently arranged.
The buildings in the old group are of substantial structure, well fitted
to serve their purposes. They comprise an auditorium, recitation room,
kitchen and dining rooms, scientific laboratories, museum of natural
history, music and typewriting departments. The college has two distinct
libraries, one for the exclusive use of the students, and the other, the
college library proper. The students’ library contains upwards of 5,000
volumes, in addition to a number of papers and magazines. The college
library proper, maintained for the use of the professors, occupies four
rooms and the monastery, and it contains more than 27,400 bound volumes
and over 5,000 pamphlets. The scientific laboratories are adequate for
present use, and the museum is one of the best of its kind in this part
of the country. The playgrounds of the college are large and well suited
to afford all manner of healthful exercise for the students.
[Illustration:
St. Benedict’s College, Atchison, Kan.
]
The courses available in the college are the academic, the collegiate,
business and stenographic, which are presided over by twenty-two
professors, and in which are 300 students. St. Benedict’s is one of the
finest Catholic institutions in the West.
CHAPTER XVIII.
BENCH AND BAR.
EARLY MECCA OF LEGAL TALENT—ORGANIZATION OF JUDICIAL DISTRICT—EARLY
JUDGES—PROMINENT PIONEER LAWYERS—MEMBERS OF THE ATCHISON COUNTY
BAR.
Atchison county has always been particularly proud of the high order of
talent that has graced its bench and bar. From the very earliest days of
its history, the legal profession has been well represented here. Men
who have reached a high order of distinction in the profession have had
their beginning at the bar of this county. In fact, this county has been
somewhat unique in this respect, for there is perhaps no other county in
Kansas that has furnished a greater number of distinguished
representatives of this noble profession, who have shed their luster
upon the fair name of the State. For a long period, indeed, Atchison
seemed to be the Mecca towards which the best legal talent from all
quarters of the country gathered, and it was the Atchison bar that
furnished three chief justices of the supreme court of Kansas, one
United States district judge, an attorney-general, a governor, a United
States senator, and a general counsel for a large railroad system.
No attempt will be made in this chapter to give a complete roster of
names of the many lawyers who have successfully practiced their
profession here. The list is too numerous, but reference will be made to
a number of conspicuous leaders, whose names stand out prominently in
the history of the State, and whose careers have enriched the story of
success and achievement.
Atchison county was one of the counties of the second judicial district,
which composed, in addition to Atchison county, Doniphan, Brown, Nemaha,
Marshall and Washington counties. The first judge of the district was
Hon. Albert L. Lee, who lived at Elwood, Doniphan county, and served
from January 29 to October 31, 1861. He died in New York City December
31, 1907. The second judge of this district was Hon. Albert H. Horton.
Judge Horton was born in Orange county, New York, March 12, 1837, and
was educated at Farmers’ Hall Academy, in that county, and at Ann Arbor
University. He was admitted to practice in the supreme court of New
York, at Brooklyn, in 1859, and continued the practice of his profession
at Goshen until 1860, when he removed to Kansas, locating at Atchison.
His first public office here was city attorney, to which place he was
elected in the spring of 1861, upon the Republican ticket, and the same
year was appointed by Governor Robinson judge of the second judicial
district, and held this office, by election, until 1866, when he
resigned. He was a Republican presidential elector in 1868, and in 1869
was appointed a district attorney of Kansas by President Grant, which
office he held until 1873, when he was elected a member of the house of
representatives from this county. Three years later he was elected to
the State senate, and was also a delegate to the National Republican
convention in June of that year, and in the same year was appointed
chief justice of the supreme court of Kansas by Governor Thomas A.
Osborn, to succeed Hon. S. A. Kingman, who was before that time a
prominent practitioner in Atchison. In 1877 Judge Horton was nominated
on the Republican ticket to the office of chief justice of the State,
and he served in that capacity for seventeen years, at the end of which
time he returned to Atchison and formed a partnership with Hon. B. P.
Waggener. Judge Horton was an able jurist and lawyer, a strong
argumentative and fluent speaker. He displayed marked ability as a
parliamentarian while in the legislature, and was, altogether, a man of
strong mental capacity, good judgment, coupled with executive ability,
and much practical experience. After a number of years’ practice here,
following his resignation as chief justice of the State, he subsequently
was reëlected to the same position. He died on the second day of
September, 1902.
Judge Horton was succeeded as judge of the district court of this
district by Hon. St. Clair Graham May 11, 1866. Judge Graham served as
Judge until January 11, 1869, and was on the bench at the time that the
celebrated Regis Liosel land contest was tried in Nemaha county, in
which John J. Ingalls, another Atchison lawyer, represented some
claimants to 38,111 acres of land in the counties of Nemaha, Marshall,
Jackson and Pottawatomie. It was one of the celebrated cases of that
day. The litigation grew out of a French land grant, which subsequently
was confirmed by an act of Congress in 1858.
Judge Graham was succeeded by Hon. Nathan Price, of Troy, Doniphan
county, January 11, 1869. Judge Price served until March 1, 1872. He
practiced law in the district for a number of years thereafter, and died
in Troy March 8, 1883. B. P. Waggener, who began his wonderful career as
a lawyer during the administration of Judge Price, and who has been in
the active practice in Atchison since that time, is authority for the
statement that Judge Price was one of the most brilliant judges that
ever adorned the bench. He is described by Mr. Waggener as being a man
of a powerful personality, and thoroughly grounded in the principles of
the law.
[Illustration:
S. C. KINGMAN
]
[Illustration:
P. T. ABELL
]
During this period in the history of the county, Atchison had one of the
strongest bars in the State of Kansas. Among the able lawyers then in
the active practice were: P. T. Abell, about whom much has appeared in
this history; Gen. Benjamin F. Stringfellow, Alfred G. Otis, John J.
Ingalls, George W. Glick, Samuel C. Kingman, J. T. Hereford, Gen. W. W.
Guthrie, Albert H. Horton, Cassius G. Foster, S. H. Glenn, F. D. Mills
and David Martin, and one of that number, Mr. Waggener, is also
authority for the statement that Benjamin F. Stringfellow was the most
brilliant. General Stringfellow was a brother of Dr. John H.
Stringfellow, one of the founders of Atchison, and, like his brother,
was a strong pro-slavery leader. He was famous before he came to
Atchison, because of his widely known views with regard to the opening
of Kansas as a slave State, and for the depth and force of his arguments
upon the points then at issue. General Stringfellow was born in
Fredericksburg, Va., September 3, 1816, and before coming to Kansas he
was a resident of Missouri. He first located in Louisville, Ky., and
then went to St. Louis, and from St. Louis to Huntsville, Mo., finally
locating at Keytesville, where he settled down in his profession, and
was recognized as being a young lawyer of fine ability. He declined the
position of circuit attorney, but upon the earnest solicitation of the
governor, he finally yielded and entered upon the duties of that office,
and subsequently was elected without opposition, and held that office
for a term of four years at a salary of $250 a year. He subsequently was
elected to the legislature, with the largest majority ever received in a
county, and immediately became a very active, popular and influential
member of that body. Shortly thereafter the position of attorney-general
of the State of Missouri became vacant, and General Stringfellow was
appointed to that place. He held the office of attorney-general for four
years. It was then that he formed a partnership with Hon. P. T. Abell,
which continued until the fall of 1851, and they removed to Weston,
Platte county, Missouri, in the fall of 1853.
At the opening of Kansas to settlement in 1854, General Stringfellow
found the abolitionists preparing to get control of the country, and, in
opposition to the formation of the Massachusetts Immigrants’ Aid
Society, he took part in the organization of a pro-slavery organization
at Weston, Mo., known as the Platte County Self-Defensive Association,
of which he was secretary, and one of its most active members. General
Stringfellow, foreseeing the conflict, insisted that the only means of
preventing or deferring it, was to make Kansas a slave State, and thus
retain sufficient power in the United States Senate to defeat aggression
by the abolitionists on the rights of the South. General Stringfellow,
with all the power and enthusiasm of his southern temperament, labored
ceaselessly for the success of his cause. He was the active man of what
was generally called “Atchison, Stringfellow & Company.”
When the pro-slavery forces finally succeeded, and the destiny of Kansas
was fixed, General Stringfellow went to Memphis, Tenn., in 1858, but not
liking the climate, and compelled by his financial interests to look
after property in Atchison, he brought his family here and became a
resident of Atchison county in the fall of 1859, and remained here
during all the bitter conflict that followed, beloved and respected by
friends and opponents alike. He submitted gracefully to the final
decision, and, while never seeking office, and influenced in his
political action by what he deemed the best interests of the people of
the State, he cordially coöperated with the Republican party in Kansas,
but he was preëminently a lawyer, although he had a large outside
business interests during his residence here. He was active in the
organization and construction of the Atchison & St. Joseph railroad,
which was the first railroad connecting Kansas with the East, and was
its first attorney. Shortly before his death he made a trip around the
world. He died in Chicago in the early nineties.
[Illustration:
GEN. B. F. STRINGFELLOW
]
[Illustration:
COL. J. A. MARTIN
]
A few years after General Stringfellow immigrated from Missouri into
Kansas, there came another famous lawyer, who was also formerly an
attorney-general of Missouri, Gen. Bela M. Hughes. General Hughes was
also one of the brilliant lawyers of an early day, who remained in
Atchison but a few years as general counsel for the Overland Stage Line.
Before coming to Atchison, General Hughes was a resident of St. Joseph,
where he was the president and general counsel for the Central Overland
California & Pike’s Peak Express Company. When this line was sold, under
a mortgage foreclosure, to Ben Holladay, in 1862, General Hughes came to
Atchison. He served as general counsel for Mr. Holladay until the line
was purchased by Wells, Fargo & Company. He was retained by this company
as its general counsel, which continued to operate the overland stage
line, until a railroad was built across the plains, meanwhile moving to
Denver, where he was elected the first president and general counsel of
the Denver & Pacific railway, the first railroad to enter Denver, in
July, 1870, and he later became general counsel for the Denver & South
Park railroad, and a member of the last territorial legislature of
Colorado. General Hughes was born in Kentucky, educated at Augusta
College, and removed with his parents at an early date to Liberty, Mo.
He was a member of the Missouri legislature, prosecuting attorney, and
receiver of the United States land office at Plattsburg, from which
place he went to St. Joseph. In his early youth he was a soldier in the
Black Hawk war, serving with the Missouri volunteers. He took up his
residence in Denver in the late sixties, when the city had less than
5,000 inhabitants. He died in Denver in 1904, at the age of eighty-six
years.
Judge Samuel C. Kingman was born in Worthington, Mass., June 6, 1818. He
attended a common school and academies of his home town, and became
proficient in higher mathematics and Latin, but his regular attendance
at school ended when he was seventeen years old. He was always a sickly
man, and at times during his life was compelled to lay aside all study
and attention to active affairs. At the age of twenty he drifted to
Kentucky, where he remained eighteen years, teaching school, reading law
and practicing as an attorney. He held offices as county clerk and
county attorney in Kentucky, and was a member of the legislature of that
State in 1850. In 1856 he came to Iowa, and in the following year moved
to Brown county, Kansas, where he lived on a farm for a year, and then
opened a law office in Hiawatha. Judge Kingman was a member of the
Wyandotte Constitutional convention, which framed the constitution of
the State, and the same year was elected a judge of the supreme court,
taking his seat upon the admission of the State into the Union in 1861,
holding his office for four years. In 1866 he was elected chief justice,
and reëlected in 1872, but because of ill health he resigned in 1877,
and retired from active professional life. Judge Kingman was for a time
a resident of Atchison and a law partner of John J. Ingalls. He died in
Topeka September 9, 1904.
Cassius G. Foster, another one of the brilliant galaxy of lawyers, who
practiced in Atchison during the term of Judge Price on the bench, was
born at Webster, Monroe county, New York, June 22, 1837. He was brought
up on a farm until he was fourteen years of age, and having only the
advantages of a common district school, he attended high school at
Palmyra, N. Y., after which he went to Michigan, where he lived on a
farm near Adrian, where he worked for his uncle. Meanwhile, he attended
school at the academy in Adrian. He studied law with Fernando C. Beaman,
of Adrian, and afterwards removed to Rochester, N. Y. In June, 1859, he
came to Kansas, having previously been greatly interested in the Free
State struggle, and upon arriving in Atchison, he formed a partnership
with Judge S. H. Glenn, and immediately won for himself a high position
at the bar of the State and Federal courts. He was elected State senator
from Atchison county in 1862, and was mayor of Atchison in 1867. He
practiced law here until 1874, when he was appointed United States
district judge of Kansas.
Hon. P. L. Hubbard, of Atchison, succeeded Judge Price on the bench
March 2, 1872, and served until January 8, 1877, and following Judge
Hubbard, Hon. Alfred G. Otis was elected judge of the second judicial
district January 8, 1877, and served until January, 1881. Judge Otis was
born in Cortland county, New York, December 13, 1828, and came to Kansas
in October, 1855, and immediately became engaged in land litigation,
which at that time was very active here. During the early career of
Judge Otis in Atchison county, and for many years thereafter, land
litigation was the chief source of revenue for lawyers. There were no
great corporations then as now; no railroads for clients, and aside from
land litigation and a general practice of the law, including criminal
cases, there was but little business for lawyers. At that time the
criminal practice was not looked upon with the same disapprobation on
the part of the profession as it is in these days. A good criminal
lawyer then was an ornament to the profession, and a good criminal
advocate was in constant demand and his services brought him large
remuneration. Judge Otis was a Democrat, but a Union man, and in
addition to his activities in his profession, he was also prominent in
the business affairs of the town, and for a long time took an active
part in the management of the Atchison Savings Bank, of which he was for
many years president. Judge Otis died in Atchison May 7, 1912.
Judge Otis was succeeded by Hon. David Martin in January, 1881. Judge
Martin served until April, 1887, and was one of the eminent members of
the Atchison county bar. In personal appearance he was unique among his
fellows, and in physical appearance was the counterpart of Dickens’
famous Mr. Pickwick. He was a partner of B. P. Waggener for a number of
years, and was subsequently elected to the position of chief justice of
the supreme court of Kansas, where he served with great distinction. He
was a thorough lawyer and a scholar. He died at Atchison March 2, 1901.
It was between the terms of Judge Price and Judge David Martin that the
bar of Atchison county reached its greatest eminence, and, while there
have been good lawyers here since that time, there never has been a
period in the history of the county when there were so many brilliant
practitioners at the bar. During several years following Judge Martin,
the second judicial district, which constituted Atchison county alone,
was torn by internal dissension, and upon the resignation of Judge
Martin, Hon. H. M. Jackson was elected to the bench, April 1, 1887, and
served until January, 1888. There never was a more conscientious or
painstaking lawyer a resident of Atchison than Judge Jackson. He was not
only a fine lawyer, but he was a good citizen, useful to clients and the
public alike. At his death, May 7, 1912, he left a large practice, which
has since been conducted by his son, Z. E. Jackson. Following a bitter
contest, Hon. W. D. Gilbert succeeded Judge Jackson in January, 1888,
and served until 1889, and then came Hon. Robert N. Eaton, whose term
began in January, 1889, and ended in January, 1893. Judge Eaton was
succeeded by Hon. W. D. Webb, who in turn was succeeded by Hon. W. T.
Bland, who served from January, 1897, to January, 1902, and resigned to
go into the wholesale drug business. Hon. Benjamin F. Hudson, one of the
oldest practitioners at the bar, succeeded Judge Bland and served until
October 11, 1909, and was succeeded by Hon. William A. Jackson, the
present judge, a sketch of whose career appears in another part of this
history.
During the turbulent years that followed the organization of the second
judicial district, down to 1916, there was no greater lawyer at the
Atchison county bar than B. P. Waggener, about whom there appears an
historical sketch in another part of this history. Mr. Waggener, in
addition to being a native genius, inherited or acquired a faculty for
unremitting toil. These qualifications make him stand out in 1916 as a
brilliant leader of his profession in Atchison county. He has been
associated as a partner with many men who have been preëminent in their
profession at different periods in his career, Horton, Martin and
Doster, all of whom served as chief justices of the State, were his
partners, and in addition to these, Aaron S. Everest was at one time a
partner under the firm name of Everest & Waggener. In January, 1876,
this firm was appointed general attorneys for northern Kansas of the
Missouri Pacific and the Central Branch railroads, and from that date to
1916 Mr. Waggener has been in the constant service of this road, first
as general attorney and later as general counsel for the states of
Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado.
Col. Aaron S. Everest was an interesting member of this bar. He was a
native of Plattsburg, N. Y., and located in Kansas in 1871. His first
partner was A. G. Otis, and when he and Mr. Waggener were associated,
they were not only attorneys for the Missouri Pacific Railway Company,
but for the Pacific Express Company, the Western Union Telegraph
Company, three Atchison banks, the Atchison Bridge Company, and the firm
was also connected with the Union Pacific Railroad Company. Mr. Everest
retired from active practice a number of years before his death, having
acquired a comfortable fortune in the practice of law and in business
operations. He died in St. Louis a number of years ago.
The present membership of the Atchison county bar is composed of lawyers
of fine abilities, and the active members are as follows: James W. Orr,
for many years a partner of Mr. Waggener, and now special counsel for
the Government in important litigation against the Central Pacific
railroad; W. P. Waggener, general attorney for the Missouri Pacific
Railway Company in Kansas; J. M. Challiss, former county attorney, and a
member of the firm of Waggener, Challiss & Crane, of which A. E. Crane
is the other member; W. A. Jackson, district judge; Charles J. Conlon,
county attorney, C. D. Walker and T. A. Moxcey, both of whom were former
county attorneys; W. E. Brown, city attorney; Z. E. Jackson, of the firm
of Jackson & Jackson; Judge J. L. Berry. P. Hayes, Hugo Orlopp, E. W.
Clausen, Ralph U. Pfouts, Charles T. Gundy, judge of the city court,
George L. Brown, William Q. Cain, and Andrew Deduall.
CHAPTER XIX
MEDICAL PROFESSION.
FIRST PHYSICIANS—EARLY PRACTICE—PIONEER REMEDIES—MODERN MEDICINE AND
SURGERY—PROMINENT PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS—ATCHISON COUNTY MEDICAL
SOCIETY.
Any history of this county would be incomplete did it not dwell at some
length upon the activities of the splendid service rendered the
community by the physicians and surgeons who were among the earliest
arrivals upon the frontier, and have presided at the births and
administered to the sick and dying for the past sixty years.
It was peculiarly fitting and appropriate when Atchison was born, that a
prominent physician of those days was on hand to assist in the delivery.
In truth, Dr. J. H. Stringfellow was not only the physician in charge,
but he also was one of the parents, and from that time to the present
the medical profession has been active in the affairs of the county.
There have been many splendid representatives of the profession here
since the days of Dr. Stringfellow, and the vicissitudes and trials and
hardships they went through make up a romantic chapter in our history.
The oldest physician in the city of Atchison in 1916 in point of service
is Dr. E. T. Shelly, and it might be said, without disparagement to
others, he is not only the oldest, but he is perhaps held in as high
esteem and respect as any other physician who ever practiced here. Dr.
Shelly combines the qualities that make for good citizenship. He treats
his profession as a good Christian treats his religion. He is a man of
ideals, of vision, of integrity, and his life rings true. Yet, withal,
Dr. Shelly is not a professional hermit. While his profession comes
first, he does not allow it to exclude him from an active interest and
participation in the affairs of life. He is a student of political and
economic questions, an essayist, and a vigorous advocate of a liberal
democracy. His views on these questions are wholesome and instructive,
but it is to the profession of medicine that Dr. Shelly addressed
himself in a recent interview the author of this history had with him,
and his views were expressed as follows:
“What changes have occurred in the practice of medicine since the days
of the first physicians here! He did his work on horseback with his
medicines in saddle-bags thrown over the horse, and often had to go many
miles to visit a patient over a sparsely settled prairie with roads that
were little more than trails. The streams he had to cross were
bridgeless, and the larger ones could be crossed only at fords, which,
after heavy rains or during freezing weather, were very dangerous.
“Today, in this section of the State, these primitive conditions can
hardly be imagined. Nearly every country doctor now has an automobile,
and crosses gullies and streams on concrete bridges and travels over
‘dragged’ roads. Instead of passing through a sparsely settled country,
he finds a fine large farm house on nearly every ‘quarter’ or ‘eighty’
supplemented by a substantial barn and spacious granaries. He passes a
school house every few miles and occasionally a rural church, and lives
in a comfortable, modern home in a flourishing, well kept country town.
“In the science and art of medicine the change has been no less marked
than in its general practice.
“Until forty years ago, doctors possessed a few great remedies which
they often used very skillfully, but the knowledge of the nature of
disease was very slight. Treatment was largely symptomatic; that is,
remedies were expected chiefly to combat certain symptoms, rather than
to treat underlying causes.
“A notion very prevalent until then, and which has not yet disappeared
entirely, was that there is a remedy for every disease, and that
whenever a patient is not cured of his illness it is due, not to the
limitations of the healing art, but to the fact that treatment was not
begun early enough, or his doctor didn’t know enough, or didn’t care
enough to give him the right medicine. About that time it began to dawn
on the most thoughtful and capable medical men that the course of
disease can usually not be quickly checked; that most diseases run a
definite course; that most patients recover spontaneously, or the
disease persists to the end and is not much influenced by any of the
remedies used. About that time medical men began to appreciate also
another fact: that underlying most diseases, there is a natural tendency
toward recovery, which means that most diseases will cure themselves if
given time enough.
“While medical men insist that the practice of medicine is both a
science and an art, they are also perfectly willing to admit that it is
neither an exact science nor a perfect art. In other words, modern
medicine admits that it has not yet scaled the heights or fathomed the
depths of scientific knowledge in regard to the nature of disease or of
its cure. It is still willing to learn. Indeed, it realizes the fact
that there is still infinitely more to learn than has yet been found
out. And there is no avenue of human knowledge which it is not willing
to explore in order to find out things that will get the sick well and
keep the well from getting sick.
“A stunning blow to the old notions of the nature of disease and to the
old methods of treatment, was administered about thirty years ago by the
discovery that most diseases are due to infinitely small, living
organisms, called germs or bacteria, which prey upon, or poison the
tissues of the body, and thereby disturb, more or less seriously, some,
or all, of the normal functions of the body. The scientific laboratory
thereupon became the shrine of modern medicine; a new epoch in medicine
had arrived.
“This new epoch meant not only that medical and surgical disorders were
henceforth to be treated in a much more scientific and rational way than
they had been in the past, but that one of the greatest scientific
conquests of the ages was underway—the intelligent prevention of
disease. Preventive medicine had been born. Soon thereafter a new and
unprecedented popular interest in medical matters became prevalent.
Newspapers, magazines and the public forum took a hand in popularizing
this new knowledge of the nature of disease and the methods of
preventing disease, which was founded on the new knowledge. Disease
began to be looked on no longer as only a mysterious dispensation of
Providence, but as a thing which, as scientific medicine advanced, was
more and more to come under the knowledge and control of science.
“In no domain of modern medicine have greater advances been made than in
surgery, due chiefly to the discovery of the role which germs play in
the causation of surgical troubles. Because of the discovery of the
necessity of asepsis (the absence of germs) in surgical operations and
its practical application, operations, which, if done thirty years ago,
would have been almost invariably fatal, can now be done nearly with
impunity. Then, surgical operations in large surgical clinics were done
by men in Prince Albert coats. Today, the surgeon and his assistants are
arrayed in sterilized white gowns and rubber gloves with caps for their
heads and special coverings for mouth and nose, which are worn in order
to prevent any unfiltered, contaminated vapor from these orifices coming
in contact with the freshly made wound. Where proper precautions are
taken, and no pus or other filth has come in contact with the wound,
some of the most extensive operations are followed by immediate repair,
without the formation of pus in the wound. To enumerate even a small
part of the triumphs of modern surgery would occupy too much space and
is uncalled for here, and these triumphs would have been impossible
before the advent of surgical cleanliness.
“But modern medicine does not stop at treating or curing people. It does
something even bigger and better—it tries to keep them well. Indeed, the
medical profession is the only immolating profession there is—the only
profession that is all the time trying, by its efforts in the direction
of preventive medicine, to destroy its only source of income—the
treatment of disease—by doing all within its power to make disease less
and less prevalent. It is continually urging better personal and public
hygiene and sanitation. Because medical men understand the stunting
effects of ill health on the growing mind and body of the child, they
are urging careful medical inspection of schools and school children,
and they call for better health conditions in the family, the factory,
and the mine, and they denounce without measure unhealthy child labor.
Modern medicine tries to banish from the home and school, as nearly as
may be, that brutal precept—“He that spareth the rod, hateth his son”—
because it knows that the irritable, petulant, stubborn child may be a
sick child, or has fools for parents, while the incorrigible boy or girl
needs the attention of an expert in nervous and mental diseases rather
than the brutality of an impatient, ignorant parent or policeman.
“Modern medicine enters the jungle and by proper sanitary rules and
regulations makes a deadly, miasmatic swamp a model of cleanliness and
healthfulness, as was done in the Panama canal zone, and without which
the building of the canal would have been impossible.
“Modern medicine seeks to help and to save mankind, not only from
physical ills, but from moral ills as well. By the careful study of the
influence of inheritance and environment on the development and the
conduct of the child, it tries to make his physical inheritance as
favorable as possible, and his economic and social environment as
helpful as may be, realizing that much of our moral delinquency is due
to unjust civic and economic conditions.”
It would require a volume to tell the story of the lives of all the
early-day physicians of this county. Investigation discloses the fact
that they were numerous, and that in addition to Dr. Stringfellow, who
gave more of his time to political matters than to his profession, there
was a Dr. D. McVay here prior to 1860. He was a southern gentleman, but
apparently had more discretion than valor, for he fled from Atchison at
the beginning of the Civil war. Dr. William Grimes, concerning whose
life brief mention has been heretofore made in this history, was a
physician at Atchison in 1858. Dr. W. W. Cochrane was another physician
of the old school, a courtly, amiable gentleman, and a good physician.
He was for a number of years treasurer of the Kansas Medical Society,
and was a pioneer among physicians in administering chloroform in
childbirth cases. Dr. Arnold was here in 1859, and later, on a trip to
Denver, he was scalped by the Indians. Dr. Joseph Malin, of Weston, Mo.,
who married one of the McAdows, was a physician in Atchison in 1861, and
Dr. J. V. Brining practiced in Atchison in 1862, and remained a
practitioner here until 1914.
Dr. William Gough, who had been a Confederate army surgeon, located in
Atchison shortly after the war. He practiced in St. Joseph before coming
to Atchison, and also at DeKalb, where he married Mrs. Annie Dunning.
From DeKalb he moved to Rushville, and then came to Atchison, where he
formed a partnership with the late Dr. J. M. Linley. Together they
enjoyed an extensive medical and surgical practice, until 1887, when Dr.
Gough moved to Los Angeles, Cal., for the benefit of his health. He died
there in 1908. Dr. Gough is described by his friends as being a man of
large physique, the soul of honor, and displayed the utmost care and
gentleness in the care of his patients.
Dr. W. L. Challiss came to Atchison in 1857, and while standing high in
his profession, gave most of his time to business affairs, and practiced
only spasmodically. There was also a Dr. Buddington in Atchison in 1864,
who ran a drug store at Fourth and Commercial streets.
One of the most interesting members of the medical profession in an
early day was Dr. Charles F. Kob, a German physician, who lived here
about 1858. Dr. Kob had been a surgeon in the army and a member of the
Massachusetts and Connecticut Medical Society. He founded the town of
Bunker Hill, on Independence creek, ten miles north of Atchison, to
which reference has already been made in this history. He lived and
practiced in Boston before coming to Atchison. Dr. Amaziah Moore was
another very early day physician, who located on a farm three or four
miles west of Lancaster, in 1857. He came from Ohio. In 1861 he helped
organize a company for the Civil war, which became Company D of the
Second Kansas cavalry, of which he was captain.
[Illustration:
DR. W. W. COCHRANE
]
[Illustration:
WILLIAM L. CHALLIS
]
Dr. John C. Batsell lived about two and one-half miles northwest of
Monrovia. He was a native of Kentucky, and was born in Marion county
March 16, 1818. He was reared and educated in his native county, where
he took up the study of medicine, and became proficient in the science.
He commenced the practice of his profession in Valeene, Orange county,
Indiana, where he continued successfully for over seven years. In the
autumn of 1855 he came to Atchison county, along with John Graves and
others, and after looking around, went to DeKalb, Mo., where he remained
until the spring of 1866, when he returned to Atchison county, and
preëmpted a quarter section, upon which he lived, northwest of Monrovia.
He engaged in the practice of medicine in connection with farming, being
frequently called into Doniphan and Brown counties. Malarial diseases
prevailed to a great extent in those early days, and the people were in
straitened circumstances. He furnished medicine and attended to their
wants, losing largely in a financial way, as the greater portion of the
first dwellers moved away. In 1863 Dr. Batsell organized one-half of
Company D, Thirteenth Kansas, of which he was tendered the captaincy,
but declined and accepted the position of first lieutenant. On account
of serious illness he only served three months in the army. He was major
of the Thirteenth Kansas during the Price raid, and at the close of the
war was elected to the legislature by the Republican party. He was
originally an old-line Whig, but upon the organization of the Republican
party he joined it, as he was in favor of the abolition of slavery.
During his latter years he discontinued his practice and devoted his
time to his farm. He died about ten years ago.
Dr. David Wait came from Missouri to Kansas in 1859 and settled on a
farm near Eden postoffice, now known as the Vollmer farm. He was a
striking-looking man and was looked upon as very proficient in his
profession. He was an ardent Union man. In fact, Dr. Moore, Dr. Batsell
and Dr. Wait were all of great help to the Union cause in the days
before the war.
Among other leading physicians of the county, outside of Atchison, of
the early days, were Dr. J. F. Martin, Dr. S. G. Page, Dr. C. C.
Stivers, and Dr. Desmond, concerning whom the following information is
available:
Dr. J. F. Martin was one of the first practitioners in Atchison county.
He was a native of Bourbon county, Kentucky, and was born September 29,
1828. He graduated at the Transylvania Medical University, in 1854, and
afterwards took a course of lectures in St. Louis Medical University.
Subsequently he removed to DeKalb, Mo., where he practiced until 1856,
coming to Kansas about the same time that Dr. Batsell came. He had a
large practice in Doniphan and Brown counties. He practiced ten years,
and returned to Decatur, Ill., in 1866, where he remained seven years,
and returned to Kansas, locating in Effingham. He died in Effingham in
1877.
Dr. S. G. Page, a native of Juniata county, Pennsylvania, was born July
16, 1845. He attended Bellevue Hospital Medical College in New York in
1867: came to Kansas in 1868, and located in Center township, five miles
south of Effingham, where he located on a farm which he operated a few
years, and then located in Effingham.
Dr. C. C. Stivers, a native of Brown county, Ohio, was born January 6,
1842. He enlisted in Company A, Sixtieth Ohio Volunteer infantry;
participated in the battles of Bull Run, Cross Keys and Port Royal.
Returning from the war, he took a course of lectures at Miami University
in Oxford Ohio; located in Eden in 1877 and practiced until 1881, when
he became a resident of Effingham. In 1880 he attended Keokuk Medical
College, graduating from that institution. He had the reputation of
being a brilliant conversationalist and a very interesting gentleman.
The first doctor to locate at Lancaster was Dr. Desmond, who went there
in the latter seventies. While there he married a Miss Streeper, of Good
Intent, and about 1885 moved to Stewartsville, Mo. Dr. Desmond was
succeeded at Lancaster by Dr. A. L. Charles, who came there from Bunker
Hill, Russell county, Kansas, where he had gone four years previously,
after graduating from the Kansas City Medical College. Soon after
locating at Lancaster, Dr. Charles married Miss Alice Keeney, who lived
near Lancaster. Dr. and Mrs. Charles raised a family of seven children,
the eldest of whom is the Atchison surgeon, Dr. Hugh L. Charles. Mrs.
Charles died of pneumonia in the Atchison hospital in January, 1915. Dr.
Charles has been a very successful physician. He enjoys the profoundest
respect of his colleagues throughout the county, who regard him as an
ideal physician. It is needless to add that he also enjoys the utmost
confidence and esteem of a clientele whose numbers are limited only by
his ability to serve.
The first physician at Mt. Pleasant was Dr. Eagle, who located there
during territorial days and practiced for a number of years. Dr. Jacob
Larry also located at Mt. Pleasant about 1856. He was a South
Carolinian, and a graduate of Charleston Medical College. During the war
he was a surgeon in the army. He located in Iatan, Mo., and was building
up a large practice when he committed suicide by taking strychnine and
then blowing his brains out with a pistol. Before moving to Iatan Dr.
Larry induced Dr. John Parsons, of King’s Bridge, N. Y., who also had
been an army surgeon, to come to Mt. Pleasant. Dr. Parsons practiced
there several years, and his practice became so large that he finally
induced Dr. George W. Redmon to locate at Mt. Pleasant and assist him.
Dr. Redmon located there in the fall of 1872, and remained a number of
years, later locating at Oak Mills. There was also a Dr. W. W. Crook at
Mt. Pleasant, in the seventies. Dr. Crook also practiced in Doniphan,
and later moved to Wyoming. Dr. P. R. Moore was another physician who
located in Mt. Pleasant township during the seventies, as was also Dr.
Johnson. Dr. Charles H. Linley, now a resident physician of Atchison,
practiced in Mt. Pleasant for a number of years, and following Dr.
Linley came Dr. Miller and Dr. Rice. Dr. Roberts had a small drug store
and practiced medicine at Oak Mills in the early days. He was addicted
to the liquor habit, and was found dead in his office one morning. He
had been preceded in practice at Oak Mills by Dr. Earle, who lived about
half way between Oak Mills and Kickapoo, and who settled there during
the fifties.
Dr. J. M. Linley came to Atchison March 14, 1865. He was born in
Concord, Ky., October 28, 1837. He attended college at Princeton, Ky.,
and was graduated from Miami Medical College at Cincinnati, Ohio, in
March, 1858, and subsequently attended lectures in Bellevue College, New
York. He was post surgeon at New Madrid, Mo., in 1864. Dr. Linley was
one of the most successful practitioners of Atchison and was held in
high esteem. In 1891 he went abroad and attended clinics in hospitals of
Berlin and London. He died in Phoenix, Ariz., November 28, 1900.
The following are the members of the Atchison County Medical Society as
reported in 1915: Dr. C. H. Johnson, Dr. H. L. Charles, Dr. M. T.
Dingess, Dr. E. J. Bribach, Dr. Robert Dickey, Dr. E. P. Pitts, Dr. C.
A. Lilly, Dr. Charles Robinson, Dr. C. H. Linley, Dr. T. E. Horner, Dr.
F. A. Pearl, Dr. P. R. Moore, Emmingham, Dr. S. M. Myers, Potter, Dr. G.
E. White, Effingham, Dr. G. W. Allaman, Dr. W. F. Smith, Dr. Virgil
Morrison, Dr. E. T. Shelly.
CHAPTER XX.
INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL.
MUCH WEALTH AND ENTERPRISE ABOUND—MANUFACTURING—MILLING—EXTENSIVE
WHOLESALE HARDWARE AND GROCERY ESTABLISHMENTS—PLANING MILLS—
VARIOUS JOBBING AND RETAIL INTERESTS.
Industrial enterprises of Atchison county, so far as manufacturing and
jobbing interests are concerned, are confined exclusively to the city of
Atchison. There are no mills or factories or large manufacturing
institutions in any of the smaller towns of the county. Outside of
Atchison the labor and industry of the citizens are directed in
agricultural pursuits; the tilling of the soil, the breeding of live
stock and the development of all the other arts of husbandry, but in the
city of Atchison there are a number of establishments which give
employment to labor, and which in a number of instances ship their
finished products to all parts of the United States and into the ports
of foreign countries.
Atchison, however, strictly speaking, is not a factory town, nor a great
manufacturing center. There have been times in its history when it was
more important, commercially, than now, but that was in the days before
the great onrush to Kansas City. Yet the town today is a substantial,
solid community, where much wealth and enterprise abound, and where
there has been a steady, healthy commercial growth.
The largest manufacturing plant is the John Seaton Foundry Company, and
the Locomotive Finished Material Company, an associated enterprise,
established by the late John Seaton, who moved to Atchison from Alton,
Ill., in 1871, having been induced to come to Atchison by a handsome
donation from the citizens of the town. Mr. Seaton originally
manufactured much architectural work; iron and brass casting, boilers,
jail and sheet iron work. For a while it was conducted under the firm
name of Seaton & Lea, but shortly before the death of Captain Seaton, a
few years ago, the Locomotive Finished Material Company was organized to
put the finishing touches on castings and at the death of Mr. Seaton, H.
E. Muchnic became president and general manager of the company, with
John C. Seaton, Clive Hastings, W. S. Ferguson and G. L. Seaton as
associate directors. The average number of employees is about 226, when
the total horse power is 500. They have a payroll of over $14,000 a
month, and are doing a large business with railroads and other big
industrial plants throughout the country.
The Manglesdorf Brothers Company is one of the oldest establishments in
the city. It began in 1875 as a side line in connection with the retail
grocery business, by August and William Manglesdorf, and is now
conducted by the sons of the founders. It is one of the largest seed
houses in the West. The business was incorporated in 1887, and the
officers in 1916 are as follows: August Manglesdorf, president: A. F.
Manglesdorf, vice-president: Ed. F. Manglesdorf, vice-president: F. H.
Manglesdorf, treasurer, and F. W. Manglesdorf, secretary.
[Illustration: Manglesdorf Bros. Seed Company]
The business has grown to such an extent that it was thought advisable
to close out the retail end of it and it is now conducted as an
exclusively wholesale seed house. The new warehouse, which the firm now
occupies, was erected last year and gives it one of the largest and most
complete plants in the West. The new building is modern in every way,
strictly fire-proof and provides an enormous space for storing and
handling the stocks, which are accumulated for the spring trade. The
seed line, perhaps more than any other, is a seasonable one, and by far
the greater proportion of the year’s business must be crowded into a few
spring months. It is necessary, therefore, to move goods quickly and in
large quantities, when the season is on. For this purpose, the
warehouses are equipped with suitable machinery and devices, which are
kept up to the highest possible efficiency for handling and cleaning the
seed. The stocks are obtained in all parts of the world. When crops fail
in one part of the country, it is the business of the seed dealers to
supply the deficiency from some other sections, where conditions have
been more favorable. Thus, the source of supply and the outlet for it
are constantly shifting and it requires keeping in touch with the
progress of the crops and market conditions in many different producing
districts.
The firm does a considerable export business also, particularly in blue
grass and timothy, which are produced here, cheaper and in better
quality than they are in Europe. During each year the firm’s travelers
cover the States of Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, parts of Nebraska,
Colorado and Texas. Its line of garden seeds may be obtained from the
local merchants in nearly every town in this territory.
The Bailor Plow Company, of Atchison, organized in 1910 with an
authorized capital of $50,000. J. M. Schott, president; Charles Linley,
vice-president; W. P. Byram, secretary; E. V. Jones, treasurer and
manager. Manufacturers of a two-row cultivator. S. E. Bailor, then of
Beatrice, Neb., some twenty years since built and began experimenting
with a two-row cultivator. About 1905, the late David Rankin, of Tarkio,
Mo., placed fifty Bailor cultivators in use on his 25,000–acre farm near
Tarkio, giving them a thorough test for efficiency. The result was such
that he induced Bailor to build a plant for their manufacture at Tarkio.
In 1910 the Atchison Commercial Club, which had previously investigated
the possibilities of Bailor’s factory as a valuable addition to this
city’s industrial institutions, induced him to locate his business in
Atchison. The Bailor Plow Company was promoted and incorporated by the
following successful business men: Balie P. Waggener, Henry
Klostermeier, T. R. Clendinen, at that time president of the Commercial
Club; O. A. Simmons, vice-president of the First National Bank; E. V.
Jones, J. M. Schott, W. P. Byram, Charles Linley, at that time treasurer
of Atchison county, and S. E. Bailor, inventor of the cultivator. During
the year 1910, the first year of operation in Atchison, one hundred
cultivators were sold. The year 1915 shows an output of product valued
at about $250,000. The company’s plant has a floor space of 25,000
square feet; forty men are on its payroll and it disburses in wages over
$50,000 per annum.
The National Poultry and Egg Company. This institution is one of the
largest of its kind in the West, and is located on the corner of
Fourteenth and Main streets. Under the able management of G. E. Hanna,
it has steadily increased its capacity and enlarged its business
operations until at the present time it employs an average of fifty-four
men and women a month and pays out in wages almost $30,000 each year.
The plant and machinery represent an investment of about $70,000 and its
sales are over a half million dollars a year. It is engaged in buying
and selling poultry, eggs and butter, and ships fancy dressed poultry to
eastern markets.
Deer Creek Creamery Company. This company has a capital stock of
$10,000; employs eight men and four girls, with an annual payroll of
$8,000. In addition to the employees in the local office, it also
employs twenty men in the country to operate its numerous cream
stations. The company manufactures over a half million pounds of butter
a year, and it puts up and sells in Atchison from 80,000 to 100,000
gallons of milk every year, in addition to 6,000 or 8,000 gallons of ice
cream. Over $125,000 annually is paid out to Kansas farmers for cream;
about $25,000 of this amount going to farmers in the immediate vicinity
of Atchison. It is one of the growing institutions of the city, and the
excellence of the products it turns out is the cause for its constant
increase of business.
Atchison is also the home of two large manufacturers of saddlery. The
Atchison Saddlery Company is the successor to Louis Kiper & Sons and
occupies a large building on Kansas avenue between Fourth and Fifth
streets. Its officers are George Diegel, president; George T. Lindsey,
vice-president, and Henry Diegel, secretary-treasurer. It has a capital
stock of $150,000; employs seventy-nine people. It ships its products
into many States of the West and has been doing an exceedingly large
business in the past few years.
Kessler-Barkow Saddlery Company was incorporated several years ago, with
G. T. Bolman, president; F. A. Barkow, vice-president, and H. B.
Kessler, secretary and treasurer. This company has a capital and surplus
of $85,000, and employs sixty-five people, and has an average annual
payroll of about $40,000.00. It manufactures harness and saddles for the
jobbing trade exclusively and has large accounts with the Blish, Mize &
Silliman Hardware Company, Montgomery, Ward & Company and Sears, Roebuck
& Company.
The Atchison Leather Products Company is another growing institution of
Atchison, the officers of which are the same as that of the Kessler-
Barkow Saddlery Company. This company are producers of cut leather parts
of all kinds, and are large buyers of scrap leather. It has a capital
stock of $7,000.00 and employs fifteen people. Its sales for 1915
amounted to over $65,000.00, and it also handles various leather
specialties and automobile accessories.
Atchison is also the home of three large mills. The Blair Milling
Company, the Cain Milling Company and the Lukens Milling Company, and
these mills handle an average of 20,000 to 25,000 cars of grain
annually, and ship out finished wheat and corn products of 4,000 to
5,000 cars every year. The Lukens Milling Company has recently erected
cement storage tanks for storage of grain, of the capacity of 125,000
bushels, and the Blair Elevator Company, which is operated by J. W. and
W. A. Blair, in 1915, also erected cement storage tanks to the capacity
of 200,000 bushels. The growth of the mills of Atchison is logical, for
they are located in a rich agricultural section, and consequently the
mills are among the most important enterprises in the city. In each case
the mills of Atchison are being operated by the sons of its founders.
The Blair mill was established by E. K. Blair, in an early day of the
history of Atchison, and is now managed by his sons, J. W. and W. A.
Blair. The Lukens mill was founded by David Lukens, who came to Atchison
in 1857. He operated a sawmill and raised corn in Missouri bottoms until
1877, when he built the Diamond Mills, now conducted by his sons, Arthur
Lukens, Edwin Lukens and David Lukens. The original Cain Mill Company
was established by John M. Cain and Alfred Cain, and its successor, the
Cain Milling Company, is operated by Douglas M. Cain, the son of Alfred
Cain.
Atchison is also the home of two of the largest wholesale hardware
stores on the Missouri river, both of which began operations here at
approximately the same time. The operations of the Blish, Mize &
Silliman Hardware Company are the largest of the two companies. This
company travels thirty men and has an office and store force of eighty-
eight men and women. It has an annual payroll of $115,000.00. It was
founded by D. P. Blish, E. A. Mize and J. B. Silliman, who were all
related by marriage. The company began in a small way as a successor to
J. E. Wagner & Company, and has branched out in its business until it
covers several States and territories. It occupies a magnificent re-
inforced concrete fire-proof structure at the corner of Fifth and Utah
avenue, and its business has been increasing from year to year.
The A. J. Harwi Hardware Company is owned and controlled largely by F.
E. Harwi, the son of its founder, and a full account of its operations
appears in a sketch of the life and career of A. J. Harwi in this
history.
Atchison is particularly proud of the fact that it is one of the best
jobbing centers in this part of the country, and in this connection the
wholesale grocery business is well represented in the two splendid firms
of the Dolan Mercantile Company and the Symns Grocery Company. The Dolan
Mercantile Company was established by W. F. Dolan, one of the pioneers
of Atchison, who started in a small way as a retail grocer merchant, and
died leaving a splendidly established wholesale grocery business, which
is now conducted by M. J. Horan and Leo Nusbaum. This house, under the
able management of these two young men is rapidly making for itself a
big reputation among wholesale dealers and grocers. In addition to
jobbing regular lines of merchandise this company has recently installed
its own plant for the manufacture of fluid extracts, baking powder and
pancake flour, and also roasts its own coffees. It has a large traveling
force, visiting the States of Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma,
and the Dolan brands are well known throughout this whole territory.
The Symns Grocery Company was established by A. B. Symns, who came to
Kansas from West Virginia, with his three brothers, in 1858, where he
settled in the town of Doniphan and engaged in mercantile pursuits,
until he removed to Atchison in 1872. He opened a wholesale and retail
grocery here in that year, and continued in business without a partner
until March, 1878, when the firm became Symns & Turner, under which name
it was run until 1880, when it was changed to A. B. Symns & Company. It
was subsequently incorporated into the Symns Grocery Company, and at the
death of A. B. Symns, the business was run by J. W. Allen, J. E. Moore,
C. A. Lockwood and Tom Gray. It operates in about the same territory
that the Dolan Mercantile Company operates in, and its present
enterprising management is keeping up the splendid reputation
established by its founder.
The Odell Cider & Vinegar Company is a new institution in Atchison. A.
Leo is manager, and $30,000.00 is invested in the plant and equipment
here. This company pressed out over 200,00 bushels of apples in 1915,
and made 650,000 gallons of vinegar. Forty men are employed during the
pressing season, and over $30,000.00 a year is paid out for apples,
which are converted into 150,000 gallons of vinegar, which is shipped to
various points in the United States during 1915.
The Stevenson planing mill employs twelve men, with a payroll of about
$10,000.00 a year and annual sales aggregating $27,000.00. S. R.
Stevenson, who for many years was employed by the old Atchison Furniture
Company, is at the head of this business. He settled in Atchison in
1865, and learned cabinet making with Dickinson & Company, of this city.
It would require a volume to properly elaborate upon the operations of
the various commercial enterprises of Atchison. What has been given is
the merest outline of the industrial activities here. The brief
reference to the several business houses and manufacturing plants is
made merely for the purpose of showing the character of the industrial
life of the county.
In addition to those enumerated there are other jobbing and
manufacturing interests operating, in some instances on as large a
scale, and in other instances on a smaller scale, but which in
themselves are just as important. Reference has not been made to the
Klostermeier Hardware Company, one of the largest jobbers in hardware in
northeastern Kansas, or to L. W. Voigt & Company, large shippers of
fruit, vegetables and produce, or to Kean & Tucker, operating along the
same line; neither has the James Poultry Company been mentioned, which
is one of Atchison’s growing concerns. There are also manufacturers of
cigars, brooms and barrels; large distributors of automobiles and
automobile accessories, and candy manufacturers. The Railway Specialty
Company, manufacturers of gasoline propelled railway track cars is
making substantial progress. From a small beginning it has forged ahead,
under the able management of Clive Hastings, until it has reached a
point where it will soon take its place among the leading track car
manufacturers of this country. Already the company has shipped its cars
to foreign parts, and it has also supplied many of the large railroads
of the United States with its cars. The Weiss Cornice Company is the
latest arrival in Atchison. This company makes metal cornices, window
frames and other builders’ fire-proof specialties. It recently moved
here from Kansas City and is already a large employer of labor. The
Washer Grain Company, established by Maj. S. H. Washer, does a large
grain business, and is still managed by Major Washer, who recently
passed his eightieth birthday. He is ably assisted by his son, W. R.
Washer, who is also otherwise prominently identified with the commercial
and shipping interests of the county.
Atchison also is a fine retail center, and draws trade from the
surrounding territory for a distance of from fifty to seventy-five
miles. It has fine dry goods stores, which carry the latest merchandise;
good shoe stores, millinery shops, grocery and hardware stores and shops
of all kinds, all of which are run by enterprising merchants. Atchison
is a good town in which to live; a city of beautiful homes; fine paved
and well lighted streets; a good water system and adequate street car
service, and a fine, prosperous set of people. The future of Atchison,
as a commercial center, is particularly bright, and it may look back
with a justifiable pride to what has already been accomplished, and
forward to a better day that is yet to come.
CHAPTER XXI.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND INSTITUTIONS.
ATCHISON POSTOFFICE—COURT HOUSE—COUNTY HOSPITAL—YOUNG MEN’S CHRISTIAN
ASSOCIATION—STATE ORPHANS’ HOME—ATCHISON PUBLIC LIBRARY—ATCHISON
HOSPITAL—MASONIC TEMPLE.
The first postoffice in Atchison opened in a small, one-story, stone
building, on the south side of Commercial street, between Second and
Third. The room was about 20×26 feet in dimensions, but large enough for
the purpose for which it was intended at that time. The location of the
postoffice was removed in 1856 to the store of Messrs. Woolfolk &
Cabell, on the levee. During the war in Kansas, in August, the
headquarters of the United States mail service were removed to the law
office of P. P. Wilcox. From there the office was removed to a building
on the north side of Commercial street, between Third and Fourth, and it
was there that in July, 1882, the free delivery system was inaugurated
in Atchison, which, with her money order department fully equipped the
postoffice. A number of years later agitation was started for the
erection of a new postoffice, and through the efforts of Senator Ingalls
a site at the northeast corner of Seventh and Kansas avenue was
purchased from Dr. Cochrane by the Government, and the contract was
awarded for the erection of the postoffice June 24, 1892, at a cost of
$61,703.17.
The names and terms of the postmasters of Atchison since the founding of
the office are as follows: Robert S. Kelly, March 15, 1855; John H.
Blasingham, December 20, 1855; Henry Addoms, July 28, 1857; John A.
Martin, April 26, 1861; Benjamin B. Gale, March 5, 1874; John M. Price,
February 6, 1879; Melleville C. Winegar, March 10, 1882; H. Clay Park,
March 30, 1886; Solomon R. Washer, March 20, 1890; Edgar C. Post, June
7, 1894; James M. Chisham, June 3, 1898; William D. Casey, December 14,
1910; Louis C. Orr, December 29, 1914, who is postmaster in 1916.
COURT HOUSE.
The present court house of this county occupies lots 1, 2 and 3, in
block 65, Old Atchison, and the contract for the building was entered
into on the twenty-first day of May, 1896, and accepted by the board of
county commissioners September 13, 1897. The total cost of building and
fixtures was $83,154.48.
COUNTY HOSPITAL.
The present county hospital for the poor is located on the southeast
quarter of section 14, township 6, range 20. The farm was purchased from
R. A. Park October 7, 1903, for $9,540, and the hospital was erected
January 3, 1905, at a cost of $27,501. The average cost of operating the
hospital and farm of 160 acres is approximately $2,109.16 per year, and
the average number of inmates is thirty. The present superintendent is
J. S. Clingan.
THE YOUNG MEN’S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.
On December 2, 1911, there met in the office of C. S. Hull a small group
of men interested in securing a modern Young Men’s Christian Association
building for the city of Atchison. Although this is the first formal
meeting of which there are any minutes recorded it is known that the
idea of an organization and building had long existed in the mind of
William Carlisle, and that encouragement was given him by many others.
At the meeting held on December 2 the Atchison Y. M. C. A. Promotion
Club was formally launched with Claude B. Fisk as president.
At the next meeting, held January 1, 1912, an executive committee,
composed of R. W. Ramsay, W. B. Collett, Fred Oliver, and C. S. Hull was
elected and the secretary was authorized to invite John E. Manley, State
secretary of the Young Men’s Christian Association, to be present at the
next meeting of the club.
On March 6, 1912, the club met at the Byram Hotel for luncheon. Mr.
Manley was present at this meeting and outlined a plan for a campaign to
raise the necessary funds to erect a modern building. The luncheon
meeting adjourned to meet at the office of H. H. Hackney at 4 p. m., at
which time a business committee of twenty-five men was appointed. The
following composed this committee: H. B. Mize, Fred Oliver, Eugene Howe,
W. B. Collett, C. S. Hull, George Guerrier, R. W. Ramsay, Sheffield
Ingalls, D. M. Cain, F. W. Woodford, A. F. Heck, August Manglesdorf,
Jr., T. A. Moxcey, Eugene Pulliam, E. W. Clausen, Clive Hastings, H. H.
Hackney, N. T. Veatch, W. P. Waggener, W. J. Bailey, Charles Linley, Roy
Seaton, Claude Fisk, J. A. Shoemaker, Holmes Dysinger. This committee
was later increased to twenty-seven, and the names of W. A. Carlisle and
W. A. Jackson were added.
The first regular meeting of the provisional committee, as it was now
called, was held at the Blish, Mize & Silliman offices March 13 and a
permanent organization effected. State Secretary Manley was present. R.
W. Ramsay, the present incumbent, was made president at this meeting;
Charles Linley, vice-president; C. S. Hull, recording secretary, and
George Guerrier, treasurer. T. C. Treat at this time tendered the use of
a room in the Simpson building for an office for the organization, which
was gratefully accepted.
At a meeting of the executive committee, held March 18, 1912. L. V.
Starkey was employed as general secretary and took active charge of the
building campaign April 15.
At the meeting held April 22 it was decided to raise $100,000 by public
subscription, and the following team captains were elected: S. R. Beebe,
O. A. Simmons, H. B. Mize, John R. Taylor, F. M. Woodford, L. M. Baker,
Charles A. Brown, W. D. Casey, W. W. Hetherington, and W. A. Jackson.
The charter for the organization bears the date of April 6 and was duly
acted upon and signed by the committee of twenty-seven at a meeting held
April 22.
In a ten days’ campaign conducted May 15–25, 1912, an amount
approximating $85,000 was raised by popular subscription. The
headquarters of the campaign were in a room furnished by J. C. Killarney
at 105–107 North Fifth street.
The latter part of June, 1912. the site at the northeast corner of
Fourth and Commercial streets was contracted for and work begun at once
on the building. On December 4, 1913, the splendid building which now
occupies that corner was formally opened for the regular work of the
association. The membership soon reached 450, and has been maintained at
about that point ever since.
The entire cost of building, including site and furnishings, amounted to
$113,000.
The Y. M. C. A. building contains thirty-four living rooms with a
capacity for fifty men. These rooms are now kept filled practically all
the time. A restaurant is operated on the ground floor and there are
excellent facilities for handling banquets and committee meetings. The
building is always at the disposal of church societies and other
organizations for gatherings of any kind.
There is a gymnasium, 44×72 feet, thoroughly equipped with all necessary
apparatus and a white tile-lined swimming pool, 20×50 feet. With a
separate entrance on Fourth street, there is a special game room for
boys ten to fifteen years of age.
The present board of directors is composed of R. W. Ramsay as president;
B. L. Brockett, vice-president; H. H. Hackney, recording secretary;
Charles Lanley, treasurer; Messrs. W. B. Collett, M. T. Dingess, Claud
B. Fisk, J. A. Fletcher, C. C. Ham, W. W. Hetherington, Martin Jensen,
J. F. Krueger, H. P. Shepherd, and F. M. Woodford.
The present general secretary, Ira J. Beard, came to the association in
April, 1914. Emmett T. Ireland is the present physical director, and
George Kassabaum is the assistant secretary.
On the fourth of December, 1914, an anniversary banquet was held in the
gymnasium, celebrating the first year of the association in its new
building, and the reports of the work accomplished at that time
dispelled any feeling there may have been on the part of some that such
an institution could not be successfully maintained in Atchison. This
banquet was attended by 200 enthusiastic friends and members of the
association, and Governor Arthur Capper was a guest of honor.
Membership in the Young Men’s Christian Association is open to any boy
or man of good character who is over ten years of age. Membership in the
Atchison association is accepted and honored in all other Young Men’s
Christian associations throughout the country. The dominant purpose of
the association is the building up of Christian character.
STATE ORPHANS’ HOME.
The legislature of the State of Kansas at the session of 1885 enacted
the first law for the establishing of a Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home at
Atchison, Kan. For the purpose of erecting the first building the
legislature appropriated the sum of $24,300 on condition that the land
should be donated to the State.
The act of the legislature provided that said Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home
“shall be an institution for the nurture, education and maintenance,
without charge, for all indigent children of soldiers who served in the
army and navy of the Union during the late rebellion, and who have been
disabled from wounds or disease, or who have since died in indigent
circumstances, and other indigent orphan children of the State.” The
institution was located at Atchison, Kan., on the present site which was
purchased from the late J. P. Brown and donated to the State. In
pursuance of the act of the legislature a portion of what is now the
main building was erected and by a subsequent appropriation was
finished, and the first children were admitted on July 1, 1887.
The original building was a four-story brick building with a basement.
The fourth story was made into a dormitory, with five rooms for
employes. The third story consisted of a smaller dormitory, lavatories,
rooms for employes and sleeping room for the superintendent. The second
story had school rooms, superintendent’s office, parlor, lavatories and
rooms for employes. The first floor rooms were dining room, kitchen,
store room, school rooms. The basement was used for boilers, store
rooms, laundry and boys’ lavatory.
The laws regulating the home were amended and enlarged by the
legislature at its session of 1889, so that all children sound in mind
and body and over two years of age and under fourteen years, belonging
to any one of the following named classes shall be eligible for
admission to the home: “First, any child dependent upon the public for
support; any dependent, neglected and ill-treated child who is an object
of public concern, and whom the State may have power to exercise and
extend its protection and control.”
This act of the legislature so increased the number of eligible for
admission to the home that it soon became necessary to enlarge the
building. In 1891 the legislature again appropriated the sum of $7,000
for the erection of the west wing, to be the same width and height as
the main building, and to increase the length by thirty feet and this
gave play room, sitting room, school room and sleeping room for the
kindergarten children, also a room in which the John A. Martin Memorial
Library was placed, and a reading room in the upper story for the larger
boys.
Connected with this appropriation was $1,000 for a hospital building
which is detached from the main building by about 100 feet.
The growth of the institution and the number desiring admission made it
necessary to again ask for an appropriation for more buildings. At the
session of the legislature of 1895 the legislature appropriated $91,800
for the erection of the east wing and for three cottages, 50×42 feet,
and a building for domestic purposes, 40×110 feet, which contains the
chapel, children’s dining room, one large school room, kitchen, store
room, one employes’ dining room and eight rooms for employes.
At the legislative session of 1907 an appropriation of $25,000 was made
for the purpose of erecting a new cottage on the Orphans’ Home grounds,
to be used for the purpose of caring for destitute crippled children who
were otherwise unprovided for under the various acts of the legislature
providing for the Orphans’ Home. The foundation for this building was
commenced on the seventeenth day of October, 1909, and the building was
completed, and ready for the occupancy of children July 1, 1910. The law
providing for only children sound in mind and body between the ages of
two and fourteen years shall be admitted. This cottage at the present
time is used for the older girls of the institution and it seems very
well adapted for that purpose.
The legislature of 1903 very generously appropriated $20,000 to build a
brick pavement from the city to the home. This road was completed to the
city limits in 1904. Since that time the city has extended its pavement
so that now there is a pavement road all the way from the home to the
business district of Atchison.
The two latest improvements of great value to the home are, first the
connecting up of the home with the Atchison Water Company, so that now
we receive a supply of water adequate for all purposes. This was done in
1913 and 1914. Previous to that time water had been obtained from
various sources and the supply was always poor in quality and very
inadequate in quantity. This apparently settles the question of water,
so far as this institution is concerned, and we now have a plentiful
supply of the purest of water. Second: From the very first beginning of
the home the question of sewage disposal has been one of great
difficulty and a source of much annoyance and discomfort to those around
about, particularly the neighboring farmers. For years the sewage of the
institution flowed out through the pasture land and fields of our
neighbors, and various attempts to build sewage disposal plants were
made by the board of control and others who had charge of the State
institutions, but with little or no success. At the present time we are
engaged in connecting up the institution with the city sewer system at a
cost of approximately $6,000.
The original cost of the land occupied by the State Orphans’ Home, and
purchased from J. P. Brown, as hereinbefore mentioned, was $16,000.
No institution in this State occupies a more beautiful and sightly
location. It is situated at an elevation of 275 feet above the Missouri
river, and overlooking the winding course of that stream for miles, with
the city of Atchison at its feet and with the view north and west
unobstructed for miles, it is the wonder and admiration of all who
behold it. It is impossible for me to state exactly or to ascertain
exactly the cost of the institution, properly known as the State
Orphans’ Home, but it is approximately in the neighborhood of $300,000.
The first superintendent was John Pierson; his wife, Mrs. M. A. Pierson,
was his matron, and the celebrated Dr. Eva Harding, now a physician,
located in Topeka, and running for the Democratic nomination for
Congress in the First district, was his physician. Mr. Pierson was not
very long in this office. The records do not show just how long, but he
was succeeded by Charles E. Faulkner, who is now serving as
superintendent of the Washburn Memorial Orphans’ Asylum, at Minneapolis,
Minn. It was during Faulkner’s administration that most of the
improvements heretofore noted were made. Faulkner was succeeded by C. A.
Woodworth in 1898 and served but two years, when H. H. Young was
appointed. He served but a short time and was succeeded by E. L. Hillis,
who held the office until the time of his resignation, April 1, 1907,
because of ill health. Mr. Hillis was succeeded by E. C. Willis, of
Newton, Kan., on April 10, 1907, who remained superintendent until he
was succeeded by Mrs. E. K. Burnes on the first day of September, 1913.
Mrs. Burnes held the place for two years, being succeeded by E. C.
Willis on the first of September, 1915, who is still the superintendent
at the present time.
More than 6,000 have been inmates of the home at sometime or another,
and of the 6,000 only 200 are here at the present time. All of the
others who are still living are out in the world and doing for
themselves like other people with various degrees of success. Some of
them are doing well; others exceedingly well, and are occupying good
positions, or are in business for themselves.
Very sincerely,
EDWARD C. WILLIS,
Superintendent.
ATCHISON PUBLIC LIBRARY.
Major W. W. Downs was the promoter of the association. He was at Kansas
in the spring of 1879 and opened its doors to the public November 17 of
that year.
He was at that time superintendent of the Central Branch railroad and
realized the need of reading and amusement rooms for the young men in
this city. He succeeded in interesting a number of influential Atchison
women in the work and promised a generous personal donation and the
coöperation of the various railroads centering here.
It was unfortunate that before the doors of the library swung open the
Central Branch changed officials. In spite of this discouragement the
Atchison ladies continued to work, and since its organization it has
always been managed by a board of fifteen women.
Funds are raised by the sale of membership and donations and a small
monthly stipend from the city. J. P. Pomeroy subsequently made a
splendid donation, amounting to $10,000, and later on, A. J. Harwi
contributed a like amount for the support of this institution. It now
has almost 11,000 books on its shelves besides hundreds of magazines and
pamphlets.
Mrs. Leontine Scofield was appointed librarian in January, 1883, and has
held that position from that time until 1916 uninterruptedly. She has
endeared herself to the thousands of patrons who have visited this
institution, and her familiarity with the place and her fidelity to the
work especially fits her for this important place.
The following Atchison ladies are the officers of the association in
1916: Mrs. W. W. Guthrie, president; Mrs. F. E. Harwi, vice-president;
Mrs. W. S. Beitzel, recording secretary; Miss Effie E. Symns,
corresponding secretary; Mrs. Fannie W. Linley, treasurer. In addition
to these ladies the following are directresses: Miss Nellie Allen, Mrs.
R. F. Clark, Mrs. L. R. Seaton, Mrs. G. W. Glick, Mrs. E. S. Wills, Mrs.
W. H. Schulze, Mrs. J. M. Challiss, Mrs. D. C. Newcomb, and Miss Mary
Lukens. Mrs. J. J. Ingalls is an honorary directress of the association.
ATCHISON HOSPITAL.
The first attempt to found a hospital in the city of Atchison originated
in 1884, and after a general meeting for organization a board was
appointed which purchased and re-constructed a building situated on
South Seventh street between U and V, and the institution was open to
the public May 20 of that year.
The following named Atchison ladies were prominently identified with the
movement that was responsible for the building of the first hospital in
Atchison: Mrs. A. A. Carey, who was the first president of the
association; Mrs. J. J. Berry, Mrs. W. W. Campbell, Mrs. E. A. Mize,
Mrs. D. P. Blish, Mrs. C. B. Singleton, Mrs. J. J. Ingalls, and Mrs. C.
S. Osborn.
After five years of activity this building as a hospital was closed
through lack of support and the misapprehension of the purpose of a
hospital on the part of the community.
From about 1889 until 1912 the hospital necessities of Atchison were
provided by private institutions and cases were sent outside of the
city, but in the fall of 1912 the need for a hospital within the city
had become very apparent, and as a result the following public spirited
citizens of the city associated themselves together for the purpose of
building a modern hospital: W. P. Waggener, president; R. W. Ramsay,
vice-president; Otis E. Gray, secretary; Joseph M. Schott, treasurer.
The directors with the above officers were: Frank Harwi, T. M. Walker
and L. R. Seaton. They instituted a campaign for the purpose of raising
$50,000 to purchase a site and construct and equip a building for a
general hospital.
The campaign was to a very large degree successful, sufficient money
being raised in this initial effort to warrant the directors in
purchasing a site, the square block situated on North Second street
between N and O streets, where a fire-proof building was constructed to
accommodate thirty-five patients with a maximum capacity of fifty. The
building is equipped with the most modern appliances for hospital
activities. The operating room was modeled and equipped after the
suggestion of the most celebrated surgeons in the country, and since the
opening of the hospital to receive patients in July, 1914, its success
has been assured and its need demonstrated. It possesses appliances and
equipment conservatively valued at $65,000.
The present board of directors are: W. P. Waggener, president; Frank E.
Harwi, vice-president; O. E. Gray, secretary; Joseph M. Schott,
treasurer. Directors: R. W. Ramsay, H. E. Muchnic, Eugene Howe and Leo
Nusbaum.
The purpose of this institution is to take care of the sick and injured
of the community without distinction of race, color or creed. Those who
can afford to pay are expected to pay the fees of the institution. No
one is refused attendance by reason of his or her inability to pay for
such service. The biological and X-Ray laboratories are among the best
equipped in the State and these laboratories with their equipment, like
most of the furnishings and equipment of the hospital, are memorials of
the former residents of Atchison county.
MASONIC TEMPLE.
This magnificent new home for the Masonic orders of Atchison is a three-
story structure of re-inforced concrete fire-proof construction with
basement. It is built of gray Brazil, Indiana, vitrified brick and
trimmed with ocean colored terra cotta. The first floor is a store room
and on the second floor there are a number of offices and the banquet
hall with kitchen facilities. The third floor is used exclusively for
Masonic purposes, and in the rear portion of the third floor is a
mezzanine floor with fire-proof lockers. The lodge room is embellished
with an ornamental plaster cornice and with Scagliola columns and
pilasters. The ceiling is circular with a large dome, and the memorial
room is finished with ornamental plastering in elaborate Egyptian
design. The total cost of this building with furniture and equipment was
close to $60,000.
[Illustration:
Masonic Temple, Atchison, Kan.
]
CHAPTER XXII.
SOCIETIES AND LODGES.
ATCHISON COUNTY PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION—BENEVOLENT AND PROTECTIVE ORDER
OF ELKS—FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES—OTHER SECRET SOCIETIES—CATHOLIC
SOCIETIES.
One of the strongest county organizations among the farmers is the
Atchison County Protective Association. It had its origin in a vigilance
committee which was organized at Good Intent and Shannon, in 1883. For
three years this committee operated as a vigilance committee and was
organized under the Central Protective Association, August 31, 1886, by
William Conners, of Winthrop, Mo. L. P. Dubois, concerning whom a
biographical sketch appears in another part of this history, was the
first president of the Good Intent lodge, and W. H. Smith was the first
secretary. Hon. T. J. Emlen, county treasurer of this county, was the
first treasurer of Shannon Hill lodge, and J. I. Holmes was the first
secretary.
The first work that was done by the consolidated lodges was in running
down a thief who stole a team of horses from the late Rolla Streeper.
Members of both lodges were taxed $10 each to defray the expense of the
chase. J. H. Barry was sheriff of the county at that time and captured
the thief in Nebraska.
Following this capture the lodges decided that the expense was too great
to be borne by them alone and so the Atchison County Protective
Association was formed in the spring of 1889. The first president was C.
S. Prim, and the second president was Hon. W. T. Bland, third president
was Elias Graves. W. H. Bush was the fourth president, and he held
office for ten years and was one of the most popular, tactful and
conscientious officials the association ever had. Will Dooley, of the
Good Intent lodge, was president of the association in 1916, and no
better man ever filled the position. The Hon. Edward Iverson, ex-county
clerk, and now cashier of the Exchange State Bank, at Atchison, has been
secretary of the association since 1901. The association has now a
membership of 1,500 and with twenty-five lodges, and is affiliated with
the Central Protective Association.
BENEVOLENT AND PROTECTIVE ORDER OF ELKS.
This lodge was organized January 17, 1901, with 150 charter members. W.
T. Bland, for many years district judge of this county, was elected the
first exalted ruler. The lodge occupied temporary quarters for a number
of years, and erected its present building at a cost of $20,000 and
dedicated it in 1907. The present membership of the Elk’s lodge is 326,
and the names of the past exalted rulers, in addition to W. T. Bland,
are as follows: Charles Linley, T. S. Young, J. M. Challiss, James W.
Orr, W. S. Washer, Fred Giddings, W. P. Waggener, B. W. Vickery, W. D.
Harburger, Charles A. Brown, G. W. Myers, H. B. Bilimek, and Walter E.
Brown, whose term expires March 31, 1916.
[Illustration:
Elks Club House, Atchison, Kan.
]
ATCHISON AERIE, NO. 173, FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES.
The Atchison Aerie, No. 173, of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, was
instituted on October 3, 1901. The officers in 1916 are as follows: Past
worthy president, Owen Grady; worthy president, John V. Smith; worthy
vice-president, Fred Rambke; worthy chaplain, F. E. Kaaz; treasurer, L.
M. Baker; secretary, W. H. Smith; trustees, S. S. King, Carl Schmitt, E.
N. Underwood; aerie physician, Dr. C. F. Finney.
[Illustration:
Eagles’ Home, Atchison, Kan.
]
The aerie meets every Wednesday evening. The cost of the present
building was about $35,000. The building belongs to the Eagles’
Benevolent Association. The present membership is 550.
SECRET SOCIETIES.
Ancient Order of United Workmen—Atchison Lodge, No. 4, first and third
Thursdays at Odd Fellows’ Hall. L. M. Baker, recorder.
Ancient Order of United Workmen—Mulford Lodge, No. 137. Second and
fourth Thursdays at Odd Fellows’ Hall. W. A. Wilson, recorder.
Ancient Order of United Workmen—Degree of Honor—Columbia Lodge, No. 85.
Second and fourth Thursdays.
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks—Atchison Lodge, No. 647. First
and third Tuesdays at 611 Kansas avenue. George R. Hooper, secretary.
Central Protective Association—Atchison Lodge, No. 32. Meets at call of
president. W. H. Smith, secretary.
Court of Honor—(See Ancient Order of United Workmen.).
Eagles—(See Fraternal Order of Eagles).
Elks Club House—(See Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks).
Fraternal Aid Association—Atchison Council, No. 7. First and third
Wednesdays at Security Hall. Rosa S. Voorhees, secretary.
Fraternal Order of Eagles—Atchison Aerie, No. 173. Every Wednesday at
Eagles’ Hall. W. H. Smith, secretary.
Grand Army of the Republic—A. S. Everest Post, No. 493. First and third
Mondays at court house.
Grand Army of the Republic—A. S. Everest Woman’s Relief Corps, No. 148.
First and third Thursdays at court house. Mrs. John Noron, secretary.
Grand Army of the Republic—John A. Martin Post, No. 93. Fourth Sundays
at court house. Willful A. Stanley, adjutant. C. H. Burrows, commander.
Independent Order of Odd Fellows—(See Odd Fellows).
Improved Order of Red Men—Miami Tribe, No. 15. Every Monday at Red Men’s
Wigwam. J. M. Tarman, sachem.
Independent Order of Foresters—Court Atchison, No. 1741. Meets at call
of Chief Ranger. George R. Hooper, secretary.
Kansas Fraternal Citizens—Atchison Assembly, No. 15. First and third
Thursdays at Odd Fellows’ Hall. Walter North, secretary.
Knights and Ladies of Security—Atchison Council, No. 267. Meets every
Thursday at Security Hall. Courtney Turner, secretary.
Knights and Ladies of Security—Harmony Council, No. 1375. Second and
fourth Thursdays. C. H. Burrows, secretary.
Knights of the Maccabees—Atchison Tent, No. 2. First and third Tuesdays.
F. M. Woodford, record keeper.
Knights of Pythias—Golden Cross Lodge, No. 7. Every Thursday at Security
Hall. W. M. Thistle, keeper of records and seal.
Masonic—Active Lodge, No. 158. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Second
and fourth Mondays at Knights of Pythias Hall. A. W. Nicholson,
secretary.
Masonic—Washington Chapter, No. 1, Royal Arch Masons. Second and fourth
Thursdays at Asylum, 724½ Commercial street. J. E. Henderson, secretary.
Masonic—Washington Commandery, No. 2, Knights Templar. First and third
Thursdays at Asylum, 724½ Commercial street. J. E. Henderson, recorder.
Eagle’s Benevolent Association—Meets at call of president. W. H. Smith,
secretary.
Masonic—Washington Council, No. 2, Royal and Select Masters. Third
Saturdays at Asylum, Masonic Temple. J. E. Henderson, recorder.
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons—Washington Lodge, No. 5, Ancient Free
and Accepted Masons. First and third Mondays at Masonic Temple. J. E.
Henderson, secretary.
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons—Order of Eastern Star—Martha Washington
Chapter, No. 215. First and third Fridays at Masonic Temple. Miss Alice
Noron, secretary.
Modern Brotherhood of America—Atchison Lodge, No. 427. Second Tuesdays
at Red Men’s Wigwam. Charles Pantle, secretary.
Modern Woodmen of America—Unity Camp, No. 356. Second and fourth Fridays
at Odd Fellows’ Hall. T. J. Ritner, clerk.
Mystic Workers of the World—First and third Tuesdays at Security Hall.
Herman Haase, secretary.
Independent Order of Odd Fellows’ Hall—Southwest corner Fifth and Kansas
avenue, second and third floors.
Independent Order of Odd Fellows—Friendship Lodge, No. 5. Every Tuesday
at Odd Fellows’ Hall. W. H. Smith, secretary.
Independent Order of Odd Fellows—Hesperian Encampment, No. 6. First and
third Fridays at Odd Fellows’ Hall. A. W. Heisey, secretary.
Independent Order of Odd Fellows—Rebekahs—Friendship Lodge, No. 288.
Second and fourth Mondays at Odd Fellows’ Hall. Mrs. Bessie Jost,
secretary.
Independent Order of Odd Fellows—Schillers Lodge, No. 33. Every
Wednesday at Odd Fellows’ Hall. Charles Feierabend, secretary.
Order of Eastern Star—(See Ancient Free and Accepted Masons).
P. E. O. Society—Chapter J. Kansas. Every second Friday at homes of
members. Mrs. Anna Lungwitz, secretary. Public rest room, 109 South
Fifth avenue.
Daughters of Rebekah—(See Independent Order of Odd Fellows).
Red Men’s Wigwam—Third floor, 500 Commercial street.
Royal Arcanum—Atchison Commandery, No. 1035. Scott Jones, secretary.
Meets at call of regent.
Royal Neighbors—Atchison Camp, No. 1044. First and third Fridays at Odd
Fellows’ Hall. Mrs. Emma M. Christian, recorder.
United Commercial Travelers of America—Atchison Council, No. 99. Fourth
Saturdays at Masonic Temple. George R. Hooper, secretary.
Woodmen Circle—Atchison Grove, No. 13. First and third Mondays at Odd
Fellows’ Hall. A. W. Heisey, secretary.
Woodmen of the World—Atchison Camp, No. 9. First and second Mondays at
Odd Fellows’ Hall. Judge J. P. Adams, clerk.
Security Hall—524–526 Commercial street, third floor.
CATHOLIC SOCIETIES.
Carroll Club—First and third Tuesdays at St. Louis College Hall. LeRoy
Ostertag, secretary.
Catholic Mutual Benevolent Association—No. 20. First Thursdays at St.
Louis College Hall. Werner Nass, secretary.
Knights of Columbus—Sacred Heart Council, No. 723. Second and Fourth
Thursdays at Hall, 511½ Commercial street. William T. Jochems, financial
secretary; Charles Smith, recording secretary.
Ladies’ Catholic Benevolent Association—No. 602. First and third
Tuesdays at St. Louis College Hall. Agnes Langan, secretary.
St. Joseph’s Benevolent Society—Second Sundays at St. Louis College
Hall. Joseph Tinschert, secretary.
Odd Fellows—Abdallah Shrine Club—Meets at call of president. J. E.
Henderson, secretary.
Masonic Charity Association—Meets at call of president. A. W. Nicholson,
secretary-treasurer.
Ladies’ Catholic Benevolent Association—No. 942. Second and fourth
Tuesdays.
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE AFRO-AMERICAN RACE.
EARLY DAY CONDITIONS—THEIR ADVANCEMENT—PRIOR DICKEY—HENRY C. BUCHANAN—
EUGENE L. BELL—CHARLES INGRAM—CHARLES J. FERGUSON—HENRY DICKEY—DR.
FRANK ADRIAN PEARL, M. D.—DR. W. W. CALDWELL, M. D.
The story of the African race in Atchison county makes an appeal to the
thoughtful and intelligent student of history. It is not a mere
platitude to say that the negro has made marvelous progress in many
lines, and not the least striking illustration of this assertion is to
point to what he has accomplished in this county under circumstances
that have not been altogether propitious. The record of African bondage
here is not voluminous, but it is sufficient upon which to base a story
of his development. As early as 1856 a reference to slavery in Atchison
county is found in the _Squatter Sovereign_, which on September 16 of
that year contained the following advertisement:
$500 REWARD.
Ran away from the subscribers on the night of September 9, two negro
boys, Ned and Harrison.
Ned is about eighteen years old, stout and well built, about five
feet, eight inches high, and weighs about 170 pounds. At the time of
his leaving was dressed in a brown velvet coat.
Harrison is a bright mulatto, about five feet, four inches high,
weighs about 120 pounds, is about sixteen years old, and was rather
shabbily dressed.
Said negroes took with them two horses.
One black, six years old, branded H on left hip, quite thin, about
fifteen and one-half hands high.
One claybank, dark mane and tail, rather bony, six years old, about
fifteen and one-half hands high, paces.
Five hundred dollars reward will be given for the apprehension and
safe return of the negroes, or $250 for the recovery of either of
the negroes and horses.
A. J. FREDERICK,
R. H. CABELL.
Atchison, K. T.
A search of the files of the _Squatter Sovereign_ fails to disclose the
sequel to this advertisement. Whether or not “Ned and Harrison” were
subsequently apprehended and the reward paid must be left to the
imagination, but doubtless they were among the four million black men
from whose limbs, a few years later, Abraham Lincoln struck the
shackles, and whose descendants this day are breathing the pure air of
freedom. There is no definite record of the number of slaves in Atchison
county at the time the advertisement in the _Squatter Sovereign_
appeared. When the first census was taken in 1855 no counties had been
established and the territory in Atchison county was included in the
fifteenth election district. This census provided for the enumeration of
the slaves in the territory, and as far as can be determined, the
following men in and around Atchison were slave owners: D. A. N. Glover,
three; W. M. Size, five; John Samuel, one; R. A. Walker, one; Charles
Echer, three; S. F. Raz, three; and Grafton Thomasson, the sawmill man,
of Atchison, owned three, one of whom drowned herself in the Missouri
river, which fatality was the direct cause of the famous Pardee Butler
incident. It is a far cry from “Ned and Harrison” to Prior Dickey and
Henry Buchanan, successful farmers of Walnut township, and it will be
the object of this chapter to show how far that cry is, by tracing
somewhat intimately the lives and careers of Dickey and Buchanan, and
other leading negroes of the Mills neighborhood.
Prior Dickey was born in Barren county, Kentucky, March 9, 1861, a son
of Jackson and Edith Dickey, the father a native of West Virginia, and
the mother of Kentucky. The first eighteen years of his life were spent
in Kentucky, and in 1879 he came to Kansas, and his first employment was
in a rock quarry at Millbrook, Graham county. He possessed $3.75 when he
landed in this town. He helped build sod houses, and in fact turned his
hand at anything that offered for his board and lodging. During the
spring of 1880 he walked from Millbrook to Concordia, a distance of 200
miles, in search of work. He was accompanied by a friend, Calvin
Trotter, and their joint capital was $1.25. After reaching Concordia,
and also having gone without food for two days, he secured work with a
railroad construction crew, and was sent from Concordia to Atchison, and
thence to Rich Hill, Mo., and later to Texas, where he worked on the
extension of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas railway. When this work was
finished he started for Kansas, and wishing to save his money stowed
himself in a box car. While the train was at a standstill in a Texas
town, a white man knocked on the door, demanding admittance. Prior was
scared, and stealing out of the opposite door, started to run. The white
man called out, “Stop, neighbor,” and Prior stopped. They became
friends, and came north together in the box car. On arriving at Ft.
Scott, Prior gave his white friend $1, fed him at a restaurant, and sent
him on his way. From Ft. Scott he came to Atchison, and later was
employed in railroad construction work of various kinds in Nebraska, on
the Central Branch railroad in Kansas, the Wabash in Missouri, and
elsewhere. In 1833 he secured his first employment on a farm, a field of
endeavor in which he has since made a signal success. From ten dollars a
month to twenty-one dollars, with board and lodging, was his wage. Prior
possessed a spirit of thrift and saved his wages. In 1885, while working
for Medad Harvey, in Grasshopper township, Atchison county, he bought
his first forty acres. On this place he put his father and mother,
bringing them from Kentucky. They lived here until their deaths, that of
the father, in 1895, and the mother in 1911. Prior’s example in caring
for his aged parents, even refusing to marry on account of attendance on
his mother, is worthy of emulation. Three years after his first purchase
of land he bought his second forty, a year later a third forty, then an
eighty, and later from John J. Ingalls, he bought a 160 acre tract. He
is also the owner of a 160 acre farm in Oklahoma, and his various
holdings total over 500 acres. He is a capable and industrious
agriculturist, employs modern methods, is in close touch with the
advancement in scientific farming, and is a successful breeder of high
grade cattle and hogs. His herd of grade Herefords is the equal of any
in the county and numbers over fifty head. His property is well improved
and well kept. He is a stockholder in the State Bank of Potter and
conceded to be no mean financier. He is a stanch Republican and states
“not a black man in the United States can conscientiously be anything
but a Republican.” He cast his first vote in Graham county in the first
election held in that county after its organization. He is a Mason and a
Baptist. A sister and her children comprise his household. Possessed of
ambition to succeed and gain an assured position in his adopted State,
of untiring energy, intelligence and the quality of thrift, Prior Dickey
has developed into a citizen who is worth while.
Henry C. Buchanan was born in Lincoln county, Kentucky, on April 8,
1844. His father was a slave, owned by Dr. Thomas Montgomery, and named
Martin Montgomery, and his mother was Violet Shanks, a slave girl, owned
by Archie Shanks. Their son was born on the Shanks plantation. Following
the death of Archie Shanks, his daughter, Sarah, inherited the boy,
Henry, along with thirty other slaves. She afterward married a man by
the name of Buchanan, and this family name was given the boy. He grew to
young manhood on the Buchanan plantation, and was given fair treatment,
but not any schooling. In 1864 he left the plantation and enlisted in
the Fifth United States cavalry, at Camp Wilson, on the Kentucky river.
He served about twenty-two months and was mustered out at Little Rock,
Ark. He then returned to the old plantation in Kentucky, and found it
had been made a Government post. He was fairly well posted on farming,
as he had been one of the best field hands on the Buchanan plantation,
and this fact being known to the land owners of the neighborhood, he had
no difficulty in leasing a portion of the old plantation. A brother-in-
law was associated with him in this venture, but Henry was the manager.
He later leased land in the adjoining county. His farming was
profitable, and he saved his money, eventually accumulating enough
capital to engage in the general merchandise business in Lancaster, Ky.,
on a small scale. In 1881 he concluded to go west, and chose Atchison
Kan., as his place of location. He arrived here at the time of the great
flood, and shortly afterward opened a grocery and produce store on Fifth
street. He continued in this business until 1891, when he sold out, and
with the proceeds bought 100 acres of land in Walnut township. This
property he improved, and as the years have passed he has added to the
acreage, until now he owns 400 acres. The property is well improved,
well kept and well farmed. He was married in 1878 to Belle Hogans, of
Garritt county, Kentucky, who died in 1899. Handicapped by the lack of
education, he has spared no reasonable expense in the matter of
educating his children, and his sons are now carrying forward their
father’s farm enterprise along modern lines, and are well educated,
intelligent members of the community. A deceased daughter, Luella B.,
graduated from the Atchison county high school, at Effingham. Henry
Buchanan has always been a Republican. He has served as precinct
committeeman, and as a member of the election board at several
elections, and also as judge of election. He is a member of the Baptist
church, and has been a member of the board of trustees of his local
church for many years. Measured from the standpoint of a man who has
done the things which have come to his hand from time to time, he has
done those things well. He has assisted in the development of the
county’s agricultural resources, has been thrifty, and has gained the
respect and esteem of the residents of his township and county.
Eugene L. Bell, prosperous farmer, Walnut township, was born at Oak
Mills, Kan., July 28, 1875, a son of Joseph and Sydney (King) Bell,
natives of Missouri and Kentucky, respectively. Joseph Bell, the father,
was born in October, 1844, in Platte county, Missouri, of slave
parentage. He lived in Missouri until 1863, and then located in
Leavenworth, Kan., where he joined the United States army, becoming a
member of Company G, Seventy-ninth regiment, United States Colorado
infantry. He served until the close of the Civil war, taking part in
fourteen battles. After the war he married Miss Sydney King at
Leavenworth, Kan. In 1872 he removed to Oak Mills, Atchison county, and
settled on a farm in Walnut township. He was one of the pioneers of this
settlement and developed a fine farm. Mr. Bell took an active part in
matters pertaining to the betterment of his community and was an
exemplary citizen. Many of the noted men of his day in Kansas were his
warm and steadfast friends. Mr. and Mrs. Bell were the parents of nine
children, six of whom were reared to maturity: Eugene L., the subject of
this review; Mrs. Birdie Norman, of Omaha, Neb.; Mrs. T. C. Brown, and
Miss Pearlie Bell, of Chicago, Ill.; Humphrey Bell, of Pittsburgh, Pa.;
and Mead Bell, of Cleveland, Ohio. Joseph Bell died May 30, 1914. Mrs.
Bell died April 18, 1903. Like her husband, she ran away from slavery to
Kansas.
Eugene L. spent his boyhood days assisting his father in cultivating the
home farm, and managed to attend school about two and one-half months
out of the year until he attained the age of nineteen years. He then
began to hustle for himself and completed a three years’ course in the
Atchison county high school at Effingham. Ambition and a desire to
educate himself led him to make sacrifices in order to prepare himself
to better cope with the struggle for a livelihood. The priceless boon of
an education was his after considerable effort, and he graduated from
the county high school in 1896. He then returned to the avocation of
farmer and rented land in Walnut township, which he cultivated for some
years. Mr. Bell is the owner of a fine farm in Walnut township.
He was married December 26, 1901, to Miss Mamie Churchhill, of Monrovia,
Kan., a native of Hardin county, Kentucky. They settled in Atchison,
Kan., and lived there three years after this marriage. Mr. Bell then
moved to Walnut township and taught school for two terms in District No.
20. He then bought forty acres of land, on which he has since made his
home. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bell: Inez, Orville,
Eugene, Leslie, Jr., Justin, Irene, Pearlie, Ruthanna. Mrs. Bell died
December 7, 1912.
Mr. Bell has been the local newspaper correspondent of his neighborhood
for several years and has a decided literary talent. For the past
eighteen years he has been connected with school district No. 20 in the
capacity of teacher and school trustee. He is a progressive Republican
in his political affiliations, and has been honored by his party. On May
27, 1915, he was appointed by Governor Capper as a member of the board
of trustees of Quindaro University, Kansas, and also received a
complimentary appointment to attend the Farmers’ Congress as a negro
delegate, held at the Panama Exposition at San Francisco. He is a member
of the Methodist Episcopal church of Atchison, and has been a member of
the Masonic fraternity for the past fifteen years. Mr. Bell has taken a
prominent part in the educational and civic life of Atchison county. He
has served as a delegate to county and State conventions of his party,
and filled the position of doorkeeper and sergeant-at-arms in the house
of representatives at Topeka. His newspaper experience includes a term
of employment in the printing department of the _Omaha Bee_ when
nineteen years old, where he learned typesetting, going from there to
Chicago and attending the World’s Fair. After this experience he
returned home with the intention of securing an education and succeeded.
Mr. Bell is one of the well respected citizens of his community, and is
one of the recognized leaders of his race in Kansas. His father, Joseph
Bell, was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Scott Post, of
Hydro, Okla., whither he removed in 1900.
Charles Ingram, a well known farmer, of Walnut township, whose
agricultural plant is located four miles distant from the town of
Potter, Kan., consisting of 160 acres of good land, is a native of the
Southland. He was born in 1855, a son of Hart and Vinia Ingram, both of
whom were born and reared in Tennessee. Just previous, or some years
before the opening of the Civil war, his parents left Tennessee and came
to Buchanan county, Missouri, as chattels of Jesse Ingram. The Ingram
farm was located about four miles distant from St. Joseph, Mo. Here they
toiled in the fields of the master and owner until given their freedom
by Mr. Ingram near the end of the Civil war. The owner, on setting his
slaves free, told them to go out and hustle for themselves. Hart Ingram
and his family came to Kansas and lived during their first winter here
in Atchison. He then located on a farm in Mt. Pleasant township, and
worked for Mr. Speck for five years. He then rented land of John King
for one year, after which he invested his savings in forty acres of land
in Walnut township, upon which he resided until his demise.
As a youth Charles had no opportunity to acquire an education, and after
his marriage in 1880 he rented land for several years, and eventually
saved enough money to make a payment on forty acres of farm lands. He
immediately made his home on his purchase and has added to his
possessions until he is now the owner of 160 acres of excellent farm
land, with good, comfortable dwelling and improvements. Charles Ingram
was married in 1880 to Margarette Farner, of Atchison county. Five
children have blessed this marriage, who are all receiving the benefits
of a good school education by their ambitious parents.
Mr. Ingram is a Republican in politics, and is a member of the Baptist
church. He is a man of high and strong character, which has been
developed in the stern and exacting school of adversity. Mr. Ingram has
seen the time when he was unable to borrow even twenty-five dollars, and
his credit is now good for as much as $2,500, should he desire it. One
of his daughters, Grace, is a graduate of the Atchison county high
school at Effingham, and the others have been given similar opportunity.
Grace Ingram taught school in Atchison county before her marriage. Mr.
Ingram is a striking example of the progress which his race has made
since the negroes have been freed from bondage.
Charles J. Ferguson, farmer, of Oak Mills, Kan., was born in Platte
county, Missouri, in April 1881, a son of Daniel and Sarah (Williams)
Ferguson, the former a native of Kentucky, and the latter a native of
Missouri. The parents of Charles came to Kansas from Missouri in 1881,
and settled on a small farm of twenty acres, which Daniel bought with
his savings, and still owns. Charles attended school in District No. 20,
and was reared on the parental farm. After his marriage in 1900 he began
doing things for himself and has become the owner of 100 acres of fine
farm lands, overlooking Bean Lake, and located in Walnut township. Mr.
Ferguson has attained to his comfortable position of affluence by
industry, economy, and good financial management, and began his career
with practically nothing. He was the first man in Walnut township to
ship a carload of wheat, and others have since followed his example. He
shipped his first carload of wheat in 1910 and has become noted as a
grower of small grain, having raised 1,690 bushels of wheat in 1914, and
raises on an average over 1,200 bushels annually. He was married March
7, 1900, to Eliza, a daughter of H. C. Buchanan, and is the father of
the following children: Granville F., born December 19, 1900; Sarah,
born March 1, 1902; Sheffield, born January 12, 1905; Rothschild, born
September 8, 1908; Luella, born June 17, 1910: Decina, born May 31,
1912.
Mr. Ferguson is a Republican in politics and has taken an active and
influential part in the affairs of his party in Atchison county. He was
elected a member of the county central committee in 1908, and has held
this position since that time. He is treasurer of the school board of
District No. 20 of his township. He is a member of the Knights of Tabor,
of Atchison, and is well thought of and highly respected by all who know
him.
Henry Dickey, farmer, of Walnut township, was born February 24, 1850, in
Barron county, Kentucky. He was a son of Jackson and Edith Dickey, who
were slaves until freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. After the
Civil war, which resulted in the Dickeys becoming freemen, the parents
remained in Kentucky until 1884. Henry was at that time working on a
farm in Kentucky for fifty cents a day, and he wished to better his
condition and that of his parents. Accordingly, he came to Kansas in
search of a location, and found it in Atchison county. After his
brother, Prior Dickey, joined him in this county, he and Prior pooled
their interests and invested in farm lands until they now own over 500
acres of land in partnership. They also own forty head of fine Hereford
cattle, seven-eighths pure bred stock.
Mr. Dickey was married February 23, 1903, to Celia Kerford, a daughter
of Abraham Kerford, a well known colored family of Atchison county. The
Kerfords came from the home county of Abraham Lincoln, in Kentucky. One
child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dickey, Sarah E., born
September 24, 1906.
Politically, Mr. Dickey is allied with the Republican party, and has
served as a member of the school board of his district. He and his wife
are members of the Baptist church. Mrs. Dickey is affiliated with the
True Eleven lodge of Atchison. Mr. Dickey is one of the most influential
and successful members of the negro race in Kansas, and is considered as
one of the industrious and highly successful agriculturists and live
stock men of Atchison county.
Dr. Frank Adrian Pearl, M. D., Atchison, Kan., is one of the self-made
men of the present generation. He was born September 2, 1886, in the
city of Atchison, a son of Ryes and Sarah J. Pearl, the former of whom
was a native of Missouri, and removed to Atchison, Kan., shortly after
the close of the Civil war. He lived in Atchison until 1888, and then
moved to Butte, Mont., where he lived until his demise. After his demise
the widow married a man named Davis.
Frank A. was reared to young manhood in Butte, and attended the public
and high school of his home city, afterwards pursuing a course in
business college. When yet a boy he began to work for himself and early
became self-reliant in doing any and all kinds of honest labor. In 1905
and 1906 he studied in the Topeka Educational Institute, and supported
himself by hard work while studying in this institution. He then entered
Howard Medical College, of Washington, D. C., and graduated from this
school in 1912. After his graduation Dr. Pearl located in Kansas City,
and for one and one-half years served as interne in the General Hospital
of Kansas City. He located in Atchison in August of 1914, and has built
up an excellent practice among the people of his race, and has made a
name for himself as a skilled and well educated physician. Dr. Pearl is
a member of the County Medical Society, the Tri-State Medical
Association, embracing Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma, and the Kansas
Medical Society. He is an independent in politics, and is a member of
the Methodist Episcopal church. Dr. Pearl is fraternally allied with the
Odd Fellows, the United Brotherhood of Freemen, and the Knights of
Tabor. He is well educated, courteous, a great student, and is fast
making a place for himself in his chosen profession.
Dr. W. W. Caldwell, M. D., of Atchison, Kan., was born in Nashville,
Tenn., in 1877, a son of Jefferson and Elizabeth (Bell) Caldwell. His
mother was a native of Louisiana and had the entire support of ten
children thrown upon her after the removal of the family to Topeka,
Kan., in 1880. Mrs. Caldwell was a capable woman of more than ordinary
ability, thoroughly untutored, but possessed of a strong character, she
determined that her children should be fitted to cope with the battle of
life with well trained minds. She early installed into the minds of her
children those qualities of character which have produced great men. She
possessed an iron constitution and an unconquerable will which enabled
her to put in long hours each day at the wash-tub in order to gain the
means of feeding the hungry mouths of her children. She also taught each
of her offspring to become self-supporting as soon as they were able and
encouraged them to strike out for themselves. An instance of her nature
is shown in an occurrence in the life of Dr. Caldwell: “When the boy was
fourteen years of age he made his way to St. Louis, via ‘the side-door
Pullman’ route. He did not like the appearance of things in St. Louis,
and returned to the safer haven of his home in Topeka, only to be chided
by his mother for his inability to stay away from home and make his own
way in the world as she desired him to do.” The night following his
return he again left home and did not return until time for school to
re-open in the fall, with money in his pocket which would suffice to
carry him through the winter. The mother was an expert laundress and
kept all of her children in school as long as they desired to go. Two of
her daughters nearly finished the high school course in Topeka, but Dr.
Caldwell was the only child of the family to acquire a collegiate
education and a professional training.
He attended both the public and high schools of Topeka and afterwards
studied for three years in the State Normal school at Topeka, and was
granted a life teacher’s certificate. While at college Dr. Caldwell made
a great reputation as a runner and football player, serving as halfback
on the State Normal football team. He acquired his education practically
by his own efforts, encouraged by his ambitious mother. In 1892, when he
was fourteen years of age, he made his first trip away from home, to St.
Louis, but returned home after one month’s stay in that city. His mother
having ridiculed him for coming home, he caught the Rock Island flyer
out of Topeka that night and rode part of the way to Denver. After a
thrilling experience covering a period of two weeks, he finally arrived
at the western city, just as he started, without funds, but with the
desire to obtain employment. He worked in Denver at any honest
employment he could obtain, such as shining shoes, laying concrete,
hotel porter, and similar jobs. His hardships were many, but he was
eventually well repaid for his early struggles. One place which he held
as porter in a barber shop enabled him to lay by a considerable sum of
money each week. He was paid ten cents per shine and allowed to keep the
money thus earned, and saved eight dollars during his first week. He
worked for this shop for three successive summers, and made it a rule to
lay by eight dollars each week. When it came time for school to open he
would “beat” his way back to Topeka via the overland trains and study
during the winter and spring months, and would then again make his way
to Denver in time for employment. Thirty-five dollars saved usually
sufficed to pay his expenses during the winter months while in school,
and he would sometimes make his way home with $300 in his pocket. He
kept up this plan of working and studying until he had completed his
medical course, entering medical college in 1902, and graduating
therefrom in 1906. After practicing in Topeka for one and one-half years
he went to Independence, Kan., but remained there only seven months. In
1908 Dr. Caldwell came to Atchison and opened an office for general
medical practice. He has made a great success in his noble profession,
and has attained to a high position of leadership among the members of
the Afro-American race.
Dr. Caldwell was married in 1906 to Araminta Beck, a native of Wamegoa
county, Kansas, and to this union have been born children, as follows:
Georgia, born in 1909; Elizabeth, born in 1911; Elnora, born in 1908.
The mother of these children was born in Kansas City August 20, 1880, a
daughter of Leonardo Beck, a stone cutter by trade. Her mother, Mrs.
Georgia Beck, was one of the original Fisk Jubilee Singers, who sang in
public recitals in many cities of the United States and in England. They
sang in the cause of education, the money earned by the recitals going
to defray the expenses of erecting the $100,000 Jubilee Hall at Fisk
University, Nashville, Tenn. An uncle of Mrs. Caldwell, Col. James L.
Beck, commanded the Twenty-third regiment of colored Kansas volunteers
which served in Cuba during the Spanish-American war. Mrs. Caldwell is a
well educated lady and is a graduate of the Wamego, Kansas, high school,
and graduated from Kansas University before she attained the age of
twenty years. She is a member of the Eastern Star lodge of Topeka, in
which city she taught school for seven years, later teaching one year in
Springfield, Mo.
Dr. Caldwell is a member of the Masonic fraternity of Topeka, and is a
physician for the Knights of Tabor lodge of Atchison. He is a member of
Ebenezer Baptist Church, and is a Republican in politics. In 1912 he
received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from the State Normal at
Emporia, Kan. On July 30, 1915, Governor Capper appointed the Doctor a
delegate to the National Negro Educational Congress, held at Chicago,
from August 16 to August 21, inclusive. In 1914 he was presented with a
walnut gavel by the Inter-State Literary Association.
CHAPTER XXIV.
OFFICIALS.
COUNTY—TOWNSHIP AND SCHOOL OFFICERS.
County Clerk—C. M. Voelker.
County Treasurer—U. B. Sharpless.
Sheriff—Roy C. Trimble.
Register of Deeds—L. M. Baker.
County Attorney—Charles J. Conlon.
County Surveyor—Charles Woodworth.
County Superintendent—D. Anna Speer.
Clerk of District Court—W. H. Smith.
Probate Judge—J. P. Adams.
County Commissioner: First district—S. S. King.
County Commissioner: Second district—J. H. Glancy.
County Commissioner: Third district—Andrew Speer.
Member of Legislature: Second district—T. A. Moxcey.
Member of Legislature: Third district—A. E. Mayhew.
State Senator: Second district—B. P. Waggener.
TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS—SHANNON TOWNSHIP.
Trustee—Joseph Taylor.
Clerk—Richard Handke.
Treasurer—Edward Underwood.
LANCASTER TOWNSHIP.
Trustee—C. R. Perdue.
Clerk—F. H. Kloepper.
Treasurer—J. R. Gragg.
Justice—C. D. Parrot.
GRASSHOPPER TOWNSHIP.
Trustee—William Stirton.
Clerk—L. N. Plummer.
Treasurer—Charles McCurdy.
Constable—G. R. Shannon.
KAPIOMA TOWNSHIP.
Trustee—F. M. Pratt.
Clerk—Walter Ferris.
Treasurer—James Robertson.
Justice—C. F. Katherins.
BENTON TOWNSHIP.
Trustee—W. S. Heffelfinger.
Clerk—J. G. Niblo.
Treasurer—W. R. Smith.
Justice—W. P. Heffelfinger.
Constable—J. W. Acheson.
Constable—James Farrell.
CENTER TOWNSHIP.
Trustee—J. E. Gibson.
Clerk—Edward Higley.
Treasurer—George Schroeder.
Justice—S. E. Langworthy.
MT. PLEASANT TOWNSHIP.
Trustee—B. Cummins.
Clerk—J. W. Ashcraft.
Treasurer—Robert Volk.
Justice—William Hartman.
WALNUT TOWNSHIP.
Trustee—S. M. Young.
Clerk—J. R. Adams.
Treasurer—C. N. Faulconer.
Justice—B. Brown.
PRESENT ATCHISON COUNTY SCHOOL OFFICERS, 1915–1916.
Names of officers in the following order: Director, Treasurer, Clerk:
District No. 2—
Charles Cummings, Atchison.
James Neilson, Atchison, Route 6.
George Vanderweide, Atchison.
District No. 3—
H. J. Kuhnhoff, Lancaster.
J. W. Louthian, Huron.
Herman Fuhrman, Lancaster.
District No. 4—
J. W. Lewman, Atchison, Route 3.
Robert Limerick, Atchison.
R. L. Stevens, Atchison, Route 3.
District No. 5—
J. B. Davenport, Atchison, Route 2.
H. W. Sachse, Atchison, Route 1.
John M. Price, Atchison, Route 1.
District No. 6—
William Hartman, Cummings.
C. R. Miller, Atchison, Route 3.
William Krall, Cummings.
District No. 7—
Nicholas Boos, Atchison, Route 5.
Conrad Handke, Atchison, Route 5.
John Vandeloo, Atchison, Route 5.
District No. 8—
S. G. Moore, Cummings.
C. P. Higley, Cummings.
E. Scarlett, Nortonville.
District No. 9—
James Servaes, Atchison, Route 1.
A. B. Howe, Atchison, Route 1.
L. E. Lister, Atchison, Route 1.
District No. 10—
Guy P. Chain, Lancaster.
L. J. Woodhouse, Lancaster.
A. J. Smith, Lancaster.
District No. 11—
John Cowley, Nortonville.
W. A. Meador, Monrovia.
Ed. Neill, Nortonville.
District No. 12—
W. D. Chalfant, Atchison, Route 4.
J. A. Kramer, Atchison, Route 5.
P. Wolters, Atchison, Route 5.
District No. 13—
N. W. Enzbrenner, Atchison.
George A. Thurn, Atchison.
John Schletzbaum, Atchison.
District No. 15—
Harry Strine, Monrovia.
S. Swendson, Monrovia.
C. W. Stutz, Monrovia.
District No. 16—
Roy Grandstaff, Atchison, Route 2.
J. B. Findley, Atchison, Route 2.
J. H. Glancy, Atchison, Route 2.
District No. 17—
M. Amend, Cummings.
M. Jones, Cummings.
T. J. Ferris, Cummings.
District No. 19—
C. Cline, Cummings.
William Donnelly, Cummings.
L. B. Allen, Cummings.
District No. 20—
E. L. Bell, Oak Mills.
C: J. Ferguson, Oak Mills.
J. D. Richardson, Oak Mills.
District No. 21—
F. H. Hawk, Effingham.
William Critchfield, Effingham.
Mrs. C. M. Madden, Effingham.
District No. 22—
W. F. Speer, Muscotah.
E. A. Barley, Muscotah.
James R. Fassnacht, Muscotah.
District No. 23—
F. W. Weber, Horton, Route 1.
L. N. Plummer, Horton, Route 1.
John Shoebrook, Horton, Route 1.
District No. 24—
J. E. Wilson, Huron.
W. H. Grimes, Everest, Route 2.
W. F. Harden, Everest, Route 2.
District No. 25—
T. P. Armstrong, Atchison, Route 3.
J. I. Holmes, Atchison, Route 4.
A. L. Keithline, Shannon.
District No. 26—
F. M. Linscott, Farmington.
Edwin Thorne, Farmington.
William Higley, Monrovia.
District No. 27—
W. A. Dilgert, Atchison, Route 2.
William Christian, Atchison, Route 2.
L. H. Davenport, Atchison, Route 2.
District No. 28—
John Myer, Cummings.
George Schrader, Cummings.
Willard Pike, Farmington.
District, No. 29—
H. L. McLenon, Effingham.
Anton Candreia, Effingham.
William E. Steward, Muscotah.
District No. 30—
Frank Plummer, Arrington.
W. J. Schiffbauer, Arrington.
D. L. Dawdy, Arrington.
District No. 31—
J. E. Hamon, Arrington.
Frank Reichart, Arrington.
John Nevins, Valley Falls.
District No. 32—
D. L. Richards, Effingham.
D. Richter, Effingham.
Frank A. Stever, Effingham.
District No. 33—
John A. Sacks, Oak Mills.
H. Pohl, Oak Mills.
J. R. Adams, Oak Mills.
District No. 34—
John Davitz, Oak Mills.
Frank Zacharias, Oak Mills.
R. E. King, Oak Mills.
District No. 35—
F. B. Maris, Nortonville.
E. M. Glaspy, Nortonville.
Dennis Stillman, Nortonville.
District No. 36—
A. T. Bilderback, Nortonville.
Harry H. Nieman, Nortonville.
John Moeck, Nortonville.
District No. 37—
Henry Fankhanel, Monrovia.
H. A. McLenon, Everest, Route 2.
Stewart McLenon, Monrovia.
District No. 38—
S. E. Langworthy, Nortonville.
J. R. Snyder, Farmington.
H. Bertels, Nortonville.
District No. 39—
F. W. Weit, Effingham.
Bon Hargrove, Effingham.
C. N. Snyder, Effingham.
District No. 40—
J. P. Holmes, Cummings.
Mrs. Cora B. Ferguson, Atchison.
J. M. Martin, Atchison, Route 3.
District No. 41—
Mrs. W. H. Ryherd, Horton.
Gates Saxton, Horton, Route 3.
O. E. Rigdon, Everest.
District No. 42—
John Burns, Effingham.
John Huffman, Nortonville.
J. B. Davidson, Nortonville.
District No. 43—
J. F. Thompson, Muscotah.
W. D. Roach, Muscotah.
Ralph A. Allison, Muscotah.
District No. 44—
R. E. Brooks, Huron.
C. E. Smith, Huron.
A. F. Allen, Huron.
District No. 45—
W. H. Wicker, Horton, Route 1.
Gilbert Pendlebury, Horton, Route 1.
Robert P. Waller, Horton, Route 1.
District No. 46—
Abe Gerard, Atchison, Route 6.
Sam Gelwick, Atchison, Route 6.
M. J. Baker, Atchison, Route 6.
District No. 47—
H. H. Rork, Horton, Route 1.
O. G. Wilson, Horton, Route 1.
W. M. Loser, Horton, Route 1.
District No. 48—
E. C. Evans, Shannon.
George Anderson, Lancaster.
A. Fannen, Shannon.
John Miller, Muscotah.
W. E. Hubbard, Muscotah.
F. M. Pratt, Muscotah.
District No. 50—
E. Whittier, Muscotah.
Walter Stewart, Muscotah.
H. M. Foster, Muscotah.
District No. 51—
H. A. Watowa, Atchison, Route 4.
Everett Shufflebarger, Lancaster.
Mrs. Anna Kumfrf, Lancaster.
District No. 52—
R. L. Finnegan, Atchison, Route 5.
Julius Handke, Atchison, Route 5.
Thomas Kilkeny, Atchison, Route 5.
District No. 53—
Frank Fassnacht, Effingham.
W. J. Lauffer, Effingham.
F. R. Schurman, Effingham.
District No. 54—
W. R. Freeland, Effingham.
Ed. High, Effingham.
W. H. Williams, Effingham.
District No. 55—
F. W. Kaufman, Cummings.
W. K. Stillings, Cummings.
E. B. Nieman, Cummings.
District No. 56—
J. E. Behen, Farmington.
J. G. Cormode, Farmington.
S. Congrove, Farmington.
District No. 57—
Samuel Plotner, Horton, Route 1.
N. E. Jacobs, Horton, Route 1.
C. S. Fairbairn, Muscotah.
District No. 58—
Lawrence Kipp, Horton.
J. H. Claunch, Horton.
G. E. Rork, Horton, Route 1.
District No. 59—
Howard North, Lancaster.
Jacob Buttron, Lancaster.
H. A. Dorssom, Lancaster.
District No. 60—
James Mummert, Effingham.
David Morgan, Effingham.
E. L. Henning, Effingham.
District No. 61—
Charles Gilliland, Atchison, Route 1.
John Downey, Atchison, Route 1.
J. D. Hundley, Atchison, Route 1.
District No. 62—
David Rouse, Everest, Route 2.
James W. Freeland, Horton, Route 3.
Wallace E. Harden, Everest, Route 2.
District No. 63—
Frank Hunn, Arrington.
Thomas F. Cawley, Arrington.
M. McGrath, Arrington
District No. 65—
Robert C. Sparks, Atchison.
T. C. Treat, Atchison.
August Haegelin, Atchison.
District No. 66—
William Walz, Atchison, Route 4.
Louis J. Drimmel, Atchison, Route 4.
R. D. Holder, Atchison, Route 4.
District No. 67—
Thomas Mullins, Atchison, Route 5.
Antox Brox, Atchison, Route 5.
C. E. Wood, Atchison, Route 5.
District No. 68—
Sam Beyer, Arrington.
David Beyer, Arrington.
William Lovelace, Muscotah.
District No. 69—
J. H. Durst, Atchison, Route 4.
Chester Yaple, Atchison, Route 4.
H. S. McGaughey, Atchison, Route 4.
District No. 70—
J. D. Nevins, Arrington.
Henry Reichart, Arrington.
W. P. Yazel, Arrington.
District No. 71—
W. J. Hunter, Atchison, Route 1.
Charles Pantle, Atchison, Route 1.
C. E. Jaquish, Atchison, Route 1.
District No. 72—
William H. McLenon, Monrovia.
Gus. Stutz, Lancaster.
Gustav Gigstad, Lancaster.
District No. 73—
A. G. Higley, Nortonville.
John W. Henry, Nortonville.
W. T. Henry, Nortonville.
District No. 74—
J. P. Cummings, Atchison, Route 3.
A. C. Mayfield, Atchison, Route 3.
J. W. Barber, Atchison, Route 3.
Union No. 1—
John Henninger, Potter.
Frank Beard, Potter.
S. A. Ellerman, Potter.
Union No. 2—
Albert Hanf, Atchison, Route 1.
D. T. Greiner, Atchison, Route 1.
Lawrence Wagner, Potter.
Joint No. 3–50—
Charles Handke, Atchison, Route 6.
Paul Kuhnert, Atchison, Route 6.
Henry Handke, Atchison, Route 6.
Joint No. 6—
H. E. Montgomery, Larkinburg.
E. A. Smith, Larkinburg.
J. J. Mooney, Larkinburg.
Joint No. 70–98—
W. L. Heineken, Effingham, Route 1.
Calvin H. Feerer, Nortonville.
G. B. Van Horn, Nortonville.
Rural High School No. 1—
J. E. Remsberg, Potter.
T. F. Hall, Potter.
D. H. Sprong, Jr., Oak Mills.
Atchison County High School—
D. Anna Speer, President, Atchison.
C. E. Belden, Vice-president, Horton.
Fred Sutter, Treasurer, Effingham.
S. W. Adams, Secretary, Atchison.
H. A. McLenon, Everest, Route 2.
J. A. Kinney, Atchison.
D. H. Sprong, Jr., Oak Mills.
[Illustration:
_G. W. Glick_
Statue of Gov. George W. Glick, in Statuary Hall, Washington, D. C.
]
CHAPTER XXV.
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
GEORGE WASHINGTON GLICK.
George W. Glick, ninth governor of Kansas, was born at Greencastle,
Fairfield county, Ohio, July 4, 1827. His great-grandfather, Philip
Glick, a Revolutionary soldier, was one of five brothers who came to
Pennsylvania from Germany. His grandfather, George Glick, served in the
War of 1812, as did also his mother’s father, Capt. George Sanders.
Governor Glick’s father, Isaac Glick, was a man of influence in the
community in which he lived, took an active interest in State and local
politics, and held many positions of public trust. His mother, Mary
Sanders, was of Scotch parentage. Both parents lived to a good old age.
George W. Glick was reared on his father’s farm near Fremont, Ohio, and
there acquired the habits of industry, economy and self-reliance that
made his later life so successful. At the age of twenty-one he entered
the office of Bucklin & Hayes as a law student, and was admitted to the
bar two years later at Cincinnati by the supreme court. He began
practice at Fremont, and soon won an enviable reputation as a hard-
working and successful lawyer. He fully sustained this reputation after
coming to Kansas.
Locating at Atchison in the spring of 1859, he formed a partnership with
Hon. Alfred G. Otis, which lasted until 1874, when an affection of the
throat compelled him to abandon the practice of law. Mr. Glick soon took
a leading place at the Kansas bar. His practice extended to all the
courts. He was a salaried attorney for two railroads and a number of
corporations.
Mr. Glick was a natural leader and began early in life to take an active
part in politics. When but thirty-one years of age he was nominated for
Congress by the Democracy of his district in Ohio, but declined the
nomination. The same year he was nominated for State senator and made
the race against Gen. R. P. Bucklin, his former law preceptor. He was
elected to the Kansas legislature in 1862 without opposition, and
reëlected in 1863, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’68, ’76 and ’82.
During his service as a legislator, he secured the passage of many
needed and important laws which have settled and fixed the policy of the
State on matters of vast interest, that have stood the test of time and
experience. In 1876 Mr. Glick was made speaker pro tem. of the house of
representatives, although that body was strongly Republican. He was a
delegate to Democratic National conventions in 1856, 1868, 1884 and
1892. The Kansas delegation in the Democratic National convention at
Chicago in 1892 presented his name to that convention as its candidate
for vice-president, after the nomination of Grover Cleveland for
President, and, although not the nominee of the convention for that
office, he received many votes. He was nominated for governor in 1868
and made the race in obedience to his party’s call, though his defeat
was inevitable. In 1882 he was again the unanimous choice of his party
for governor and made a memorable campaign, speaking in nearly every
county in the State; and, though fighting against great odds, among them
being a Republican majority of over 52,000, he defeated that
distinguished Republican and Prohibitionist, John P. St. John, by 8,079
votes. Governor Glick was inaugurated January 8, 1883, and his
administration was marked by dignity, intelligence, and a careful and
discreet management of the material and financial interests of the
State. His long experience as a legislator gave him an intimate
knowledge of its needs, and many valuable reform measures recommended in
his message to the legislature were accomplished. He entered an earnest
protest against the burdens imposed upon the agricultural classes by the
railroads and asked that legislation be enacted to prevent these
exactions. A law creating a railroad commission, and embodying
substantially all the improvements asked by him, was passed, and proved
of great benefit to the people of the State.
In 1885 he was appointed by President Cleveland pension agent at Topeka
and re-appointed when Mr. Cleveland again came into office. During Mr.
Glick’s two terms as pension agent at the Topeka agency, he received and
disbursed over $85,000.00.
In 1857 he married Elizabeth Ryder, of Massillon, Ohio, a lady descended
from a distinguished colonial ancestry. Her ancestors were among the
first settlers of Concord, Mass., and she derived her name from forbears
who were well known among the early colonists of New York City. For
fifty years and more this noble matron, having with her the best
traditions of American life, presided over the hospitable home of George
W. Glick, with the grace and dignity inherited from a fine ancestry. She
added to the success of his public life the greater blessings of
domestic happiness. Two children were born to this union: Frederick H.
Glick and Mrs. James W. Orr, of Atchison, Kan. He died at Atchison,
Kan., April 13, 1911, aged eighty-four years; his wife and children
survive him.
Each State is entitled to place in Statuary Hall at the capitol in
Washington, statues of two of its citizens renowned in literature, art,
war or civil life, and several years ago one of such places was filled
by the State of Kansas with a statue of John James Ingalls, of Atchison,
Kan. The regular session of the 1913 legislature of Kansas adopted a
concurrent resolution and made an appropriation for the purchase of a
suitable statue as a tribute to the memory of George Washington Glick,
to be placed in Statuary Hall, where the Nation has granted to its
people the privilege of placing it. The statue was designed and executed
by Charles H. Niehaus and accepted by Congress as a gift from Kansas,
with suitable ceremonies, and is now in Statuary Hall. A cut
representing it precedes this sketch. Sixteen thousand five hundred
copies of a volume containing the proceedings in Congress, and a plate
of the statue, were, by authority of Congress, printed and distributed.
HORACE MORTIMER JACKSON.
He who leaves behind him, when he passes beyond the goal from which no
mortal man has ever returned, a pleasant and abiding memory of his
existence on this earth, and has bequeathed to his progeny and posterity
a heritage of right living and right thinking, has accomplished much.
His memory will be revered long after that of the individual who has
done nothing but accumulate wealth and has made no effort to leave this
earthly abiding place a better place to live than when he came upon it.
Judge Horace Mortimer Jackson, deceased, was a man who lived an upright
life, and was accorded the universal respect of his fellow men and was a
legal practitioner of high rank, whose honorable methods of practice and
manner of living were such as to commend him for most favorable mention
in the archives of his adopted county of Atchison.
Judge Horace M. Jackson was born near Albion, Penn., July 11, 1839, a
son of Lyman Jackson, who was the son of Michael Jackson, whose father
was also named Michael, and was a native of Ireland. Michael Jackson,
the founder of the family in America, came from Ireland and settled near
Hartford, Conn. He went to the coast to trade and was not thereafter
heard from and was supposed to have been killed by Indians. He had three
sons, one of whom, Ebenezer, died in service as a soldier during the
French and Indian war. Another son went south, and the third was Michael
Jackson, the direct ancestor of Horace M. Jackson. Michael was born
March 28, 1735 and on June 4, 1755, was married to Susanna Willcocks,
who was born April 19, 1732. They settled in Windham county,
Connecticut, later removing to Pownal, near Bennington, Vt. Michael
Jackson was a soldier in the colonial army during the French and Indian
war, and was a member of Company Ten, First regiment. He was discharged
December 12, 1759. He also enlisted in the Seventh Company of the Third
regiment of volunteers, Army of Independence, May 5, 1775, and was
discharged December 15, 1775. He later volunteered for service in Col.
Samuel Herrick’s regiment of “Alarm Men.” Lyman, the son of Michael,
also served in the Revolution on the American side. He was born February
29, 1755, at Simsbury, Hartford county, Connecticut. He enlisted eight
different times in the American army. Lyman married Deidama Dunham on
January 3, 1782. This couple lived at Albany, Otsego and Wyoming, N. Y.,
at different times. To them were born thirteen children. About 1805,
Lyman Jackson settled in Erie county, Pennsylvania, and obtained a dense
tract of timber land in the Holland Purchase from which he cleared a
farm. Seven sons and a son-in-law of this redoubtable patriot fought in
the War of 1812.
Lyman Jackson died March 20, 1835. David Bardsley Jackson, a son of
Lyman, born May 29, 1797, at Richfield, Otsego county, New York, married
Lucy Hendryx, on April 11, 1822, near Albion, Penn. He was the ninth
child of Lyman Jackson and cleared a farm of forty acres in the Holland
Purchase on which he resided until the year 1830. He then sold his land,
loaded his effects in a farm wagon, drove to Pittsburgh, and took
passage down the Ohio river and thence up the Mississippi to Warsaw,
Ill., from which landing place on December 15, 1839 he drove to
Knoxville, Ill., and bought a farm ten miles west of the village. He
returned to Pennsylvania in 1841, driving overland with his team 1,000
miles each way accompanied by his wife and two youngest children. In the
year 1846 he removed to a residence in Knoxville and engaged in the
grocery business. In 1854 he settled on a farm one-half mile west of
Cambridge, Henry county, Illinois. He lived here until 1876, then sold
out and made his home at Gilson, for the remainder of his days. This
sturdy pioneer died January 18, 1879. His children were: Mrs. Elizabeth
Ruth Pierce, Zaremba, Obadiah H., Gershom, David, Francis Marion,
Charles Wilmer De Loss, Horace Mortimer, and Mrs. Annie Lucelia Wing.
Horace Mortimer Jackson was reared on the farm, attended the schools of
Knoxville, Ill., clerked in his father’s grocery store, sawed wood for
forty cents per cord, and did the hardest kind of farm work while yet a
boy. During 1860–61, he taught school for $28 per month. On August 7,
1861, he started for De Soto, Neb., by way of Hannibal and St. Joseph.
On April 12, 1861, he boarded a steamer at St. Joseph en route for
Omaha. Arriving there he joined his brother Zaremba on his farm in
Nebraska. He worked here for some time and assisted his brother in
tilling the farm with oxen in the most primitive way. He saved his money
and in 1862 returned to Cambridge, Ill., taught school during the winter
and read law at night. He followed farming, served as deputy sheriff of
the county and finally located at Versailles, Mo., in the practice of
law. He was a member of the board of education which gave the first
public school to the town of Versailles. He married Lavanchia Isabelle
Valentine, December 12, 1865. She was the eldest daughter of John O.
Valentine. For a time the newly wedded couple were in very poor
circumstances.
Their furniture was of crude workmanship, made from store boxes. It was
here that the future judge made the friendship of Anderson W. Anthony, a
good lawyer whom he esteemed highly, who became his first law partner.
He made a journey to Wichita, Kan., in August, 1870, but located at
Marysville, Mo., in September of the same year. He became a partner of
D. L. Palmer, who later went to Jewell City, Kan. He then formed a
partnership with Judge Thomas J. Johnston, and served as prosecuting
attorney of the county. In December of 1878 he started for Beloit, Kan.,
with the intention of locating in that city, but stopped at Atchison
where he met W. S. Greenleaf and Gen. W. W. Guthrie. He remained in
their law offices during the ensuing winter. General Guthrie at that
time was a member of the State senate. He formed a partnership with Mr.
Greenlea on March 17, 1879, which continued until Mr. Greenlea’s death
in September, 1880. His wife died March 26, 1883, and he later, on
February 11, 1886, married Matilda (Adams) Rook, who had one daughter by
a former marriage, Effie, now the wife of C. A. Chandler, of Atchison.
Matilda Adams Rook was a daughter of Peter and Martha Adams, of England,
and sister of J. P. Adams, of Atchison. Horace M. Jackson was appointed
judge of the district court on March 1, 1887, and continued as judge
until his successor was elected. He and his son, William A., conducted
the law business and served as the local attorneys for the Santa Fe and
the Burlington railroads until his death, which occurred December 11,
1910. Judge Jackson left two sons, William Anthony and Zaremba Edward.
He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Elks, Modern Woodmen and
the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He bequeathed to his children and
posterity a heritage of an honorable, upright life without stain or
blemish and will long be remembered as one of the honored citizens of
Atchison.
ZAREMBA E. JACKSON.
The measure of a living citizen is his genuine worth to his community.
If he unselfishly strives to make his home city a better place in which
to live, and does something by which he will long be remembered, as of
lasting good, he has accomplished a task well worth while. While every
town and city can boast of such individuals who are striving to do
things in behalf of the public welfare, there are not a great number who
can act without any ulterior motive and without desire to bring
pecuniary reward to themselves. Of the class of better citizens
mentioned as doing things for the betterment of the condition of the
citizenry, Z. E. Jackson, attorney of Atchison, occupies a prominent
place in the city. Gifted as an attorney, upright in all of his dealings
with his fellow men, interested to a high degree in the welfare of his
fellow citizens, he has striven unselfishly to do good. Jackson Park,
named after this gentleman, represents the culmination of one of his
dreams and years of endeavor to create a breathing place of woodland
beauty and a public playground of which the city may well be proud.
Z. E. Jackson was born in Maryville, Mo., September 23, 1872, and is a
son of Judge Horace Mortimer Jackson, late of Atchison, and a review of
whom appears in this work. He came to Atchison with his parents when six
years of age. He received his primary education in the public schools of
Atchison and afterward studied for two years in Midland College. He then
matriculated in the University of Illinois, with the intention of
preparing himself to become an electrical engineer. After studying for
two years in the Illinois university, he abandoned his original
intention and returning to Atchison, entered his father’s law office in
1893. He studied stenography without a regular instructor and prepared
himself to take dictation, filling the post of stenographer in his
father’s office while reading law. He studied law under his gifted
father’s tutelage and was admitted to the bar in 1899, being later
admitted to practice in the higher State and federal courts. At first he
practiced alone and was then made a member of the law firm of Jackson &
Jackson. This firm was at first composed of Judge Horace M. Jackson, and
his son, William A., and when William A., was elected to the position of
judge of the district court, it was composed of Horace M. and his son,
Z. E. Jackson. Mr. Jackson is local attorney for the Home Building and
Loan Association, and a director of the same concern. He is the local
attorney for the Santa Fe Railroad System and the Burlington Railroad
Company. He is also the legal adviser for several of Atchison’s
corporations. Mr. Jackson has the reputation of being one of the ablest
and cleanest practitioners of the Atchison county bar who has followed
in the footsteps of his illustrious father in never refusing counsel or
advice to a public official, religious denomination or to a charitable
organization, whether or not any fee was forthcoming—in fact, his office
has always been ready to give advice to applicants of the character of
the foregoing without charge or recompense of any kind. Mr. Jackson has
never turned away a client who had a meritorious cause, because of lack
of funds, and in this respect resembles his father in his manner of
conducting his legal practice. While Mr. Jackson is not a member of any
particular religious denomination, he has always been a liberal
contributor to all movements which have had for their intent the
betterment of the community. He is owner of Atchison real estate and
farm lands in Jackson county, Kansas, to which he gives his personal
attention.
Mr. Jackson’s career as a public official began in 1901, when he was
elected police judge of the city and again elected in 1903, after which
he declined to again become a candidate for the office. His career as
police judge was marked by uniform fairness and impartiality, tempered
with kindness in dealing with the city’s minor malefactors who were
brought before him for judgment in his official capacity. From 1905 to
1909 he was assistant city attorney, and in 1912 was elected to the
office of city attorney to fill the unexpired term of Daniel S. Hooper,
deceased. He served out the unexpired term and declined to become a
candidate in 1913, because of the growing demands of his large law
practice. While serving as city attorney many important problems came up
before the city for solution, such as the telephone merger, and the
renewal of the city’s contract with the Atchison Light and Power
Company. His wise advice and counsel steered the city government safely
over the shoals, incidental to the settlement of these questions. Mr.
Jackson found the city finances in bad shape, as related to the renewal
of the lighting contract, a condition of affairs brought about by his
predecessor’s long illness preventing him from attending to business,
and he immediately set to work to unravel the tangle and brought order
out of chaos to the advantage of the city. Another matter to which he
gave considerable attention while city attorney was the intercepting
sewer problem which he handled satisfactorily.
Mr. Jackson is a pronounced Republican in his political views, having
become a convert to Republican principles when he became of age, a
decision which he was influenced to make by the panic of 1893. He is
affiliated with the Knights of Pythias.
He was united in marriage with Miss Maud K. Smith, April 30, 1903. Mrs.
Jackson was born in Burlington, Iowa, a daughter of Lewis T. and Theresa
June (Chadwick) Smith, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the
latter a native of Canada. Lewis T. Smith was born in 1846 in West
Lebanon, Pa., and is one of the old-time railroad men of the early days.
Mr. Jackson’s creed of living is best expressed in his own words, “I
believe that every man should do something for the community in which he
lives, besides getting a living out of it.” It was the practice of his
creed which led to the beautiful park in the southeast part of the city
being named in his honor, over his personal objections. The _Atchison
Globe_ says of his connection with the building and equipping of the
park in the issue of August 18, 1913, in part, after quoting Mr.
Jackson’s creed, as above given:
“That explains the principal reason why he (Z. E. Jackson) has taken
such an interest in the park which now bears his name. Another reason is
he likes to dig in the ground, and investigate things as he finds them
in the woods and wild places. He is also handy at improving on Nature
here and there without spoiling the general effect.
“Seven or eight years ago, after spending many of his boyhood and young
manhood days in Jackson Park, he saw the possibilities of it for a
beautiful playground for young and old. He invited several of his South
Atchison neighbors to meet in his law office one night and a park
improvement association was formed. In order to start a fund for
improvements in the park each member present put up five dollars. Other
citizens were invited to contribute and thus a small fund was raised.
“That proved to be the redemption of City Park, a tract of fifty-six
acres of woodland which cost the city $7,500 about thirty years ago.
“With the few hundred dollars raised by private subscription it was
shown what might be accomplished if the necessary funds were
forthcoming. From the sale of a park bond, issued when the city was
trying to put the coal mine on its feet, the committee secured $500
which was used in replacing the dam which makes the lake and other
improvements.
“If effective service is to be rewarded, then the city council made no
mistake when it acted on the petition presented to it, asking that the
name of City Park be changed to Jackson Park in honor of Z. E. Jackson,
a young man who decided that the making of a park was the debt he owed
the community where he makes his living.”
The action referred to in the foregoing was taken August 1, 1913, when
the official name of Jackson Park was given to the tract in honor of Mr.
Jackson. Besides his work of superintending the park and bringing about
its redemption with the assistance of other public spirited men, Mr.
Jackson and others secured a ten-acre tract of land lying between the
original fifty-six acres and the Missouri river, which has been added to
and is now a part of the park.
THOMAS FRABLE.
Thomas Frable, retired farmer, of Benton township, is one of the oldest
living pioneer citizens of Atchison county, both in age and number of
years of residence in the county. He was one of the old-time freighters
who conducted his own freighting outfit across the plains in the days of
the Civil war, and before the advent of the trans-continental railroads.
Mr. Frable was born in March, 1832, and has spent fifty-six of his four
score and four years of life in Atchison county and Kansas. He was born
on a farm in Pennsylvania, a son of Thomas Frable, who died when the
subject was three years of age, leaving his widow in such poor
circumstances that she was unable to rear her children in comfort.
Thomas was given a home by a man named Queen, who owned a large farm,
and he lived with Queen until attaining his majority. Queen owned a farm
of 300 acres, and Thomas was started to work when still a small boy,
learning to guide a plow across the fields when he was but eleven years
of age. When he became of age and was free to do as he liked, the germ
of adventure and ambition seized him and he decided to try his fortunes
in the great West. In line with this resolve, he crossed the country to
Kansas in 1859, in company with another young fellow named Reuben
Ferguson, with whom he finally bought a tract of land which they farmed
in common for a time, and then made a division. Mr. Frable still owns
eighty acres of the original tract which he and Ferguson purchased. Mr.
Frable engaged in the freighting business and made considerable money in
the old days. He became the owner of two teams which he drove with the
great trains which were constantly leaving Atchison in the early
sixties, en route to the far West, and transported blasting powder to
Denver and mining points in Colorado for the use of the gold and silver
miners. He also carried corn for the United States Government. During
the Civil war Mr. Frable was enrolled as a member of the Kansas State
militia, and served at the battle of Westport in the expedition against
the rebel, General Price. After the war he settled down to farming in
Benton township, and has prospered exceedingly, he and his son, Harry,
now owning over 560 acres of fine land. The Frable home is one of the
most imposing and best built farm residences in the county, and Harry
Frable recently erected a large barn in which the live stock of this
extensive farm is housed. Mr. Frable and Harry have been life-long
Republicans.
Thomas Frable was married in 1862 to Rebecca Graham, a daughter of
Richard Graham, who came from Pennsylvania with his family to Atchison
county in the early days, and was one of the well known pioneers of this
county. Mrs. Frable was born October 5, 1835, and died in November,
1908. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Frable, namely:
Clara, deceased; Margaret, dying in infancy: two died in infancy; and
Harry was born January 22, 1865.
JAMES W. ORR.
The reviewer, in attempting to write a comprehensive and truthful
biography of an individual, must take into consideration the related
facts as to birth and subsequent career, the success attained, the
underlying principles which have combined to assist him in achieving his
desires and ambitions, and to lay particular stress upon the special
talent which has been developed in the life of the subject under review.
In reviewing the life career of James W. Orr, a leading member of the
Atchison county bar, the fact is determined that he is truly an able and
distinguished lawyer, whose reputation for success at the bar, for
having a profound knowledge of the law, and his ability to successfully
practice in the courts of the land, arrayed against the brightest minds
of the legal profession of the country, is recognized, not only by the
people of the State of Kansas and his profession generally, but by the
United States Government, in whose employ he now is as special assistant
to the attorney general of the United States.
[Illustration:
_Eng. by E. G. Williams & Bro. N. Y._
_James W Orr._
]
James W. Orr was born September 14, 1855, in the town of Reading,
Hillsdale county, Michigan. In his boyhood days, and during the struggle
to educate himself for the practice of his chosen profession, he knew
what adversity meant and has the satisfaction of knowing that his
education was obtained through his own unaided efforts. He is a son of
James and Mary Elizabeth (Underhill) Orr, both of whom were natives of
New York City. His father was of Scotch-Irish descent, his forebears
emigrating from Scotland to the north of Ireland in the days of old to
escape religious persecution. His paternal grandfather left Ireland in
an early day and made his home in New York. The Underhill family is of
English origin and a very old one in America, several generations of
whom have been born and reared in this country. His maternal grandfather
was Daniel Underhill, a goldsmith in New York City. James Orr, the
father, was a merchant in New York till about 1848, when he left his
native city and engaged in merchandising in Rome, Syracuse and Utica, N.
Y., (three stores), following which he engaged in wholesale business in
Toledo, Ohio. While a resident of Toledo he became identified with some
of the enterprises of that day and was a stockholder, director and one
of the builders of the Erie & Dunkirk railroad. In 1861 he removed to
Coldwater, Mich., and conducted a merchandise business there until 1868,
when, in broken health, he settled in Niles, Mich., where he died.
When James W. Orr was fourteen years of age he began earning his own
living and educating himself. He and his brother, Louis C. Orr, the
present postmaster of Atchison, worked together for several years,
sharing their work with each other and pooling their earnings. The boys
were fortunate in having a wise and ambitious mother who was well
educated and who taught them at home, thus giving them the education
they were financially unable to obtain at school. At the age of
seventeen years while employed in a drug store he was reading law at
nights and at odd times when his work was not pressing. By persistent
endeavor he managed to secure two years of study at Michigan University,
at Ann Arbor. He then took his examination for admission to the bar in
open court, and was admitted to practice when but twenty years of age.
His first employment in his new profession was with the McCormick
Harvester Company, settling claims, etc., in behalf of that company. He
remained in this position until 1880, and in January, 1881, came to
Atchison where he has since continuously resided. It was necessary for
him to begin the upward climb of the ladder to fame and success without
assistance from any individual or friend. How well Mr. Orr has succeeded
during the past thirty-four years is attested by his present high
position in the ranks of the legal profession and the competence he has
accumulated. He was first employed in Atchison by the New England Loan &
Trust Company as attorney to examine abstracts of titles, etc., at a
salary of forty dollars per month. It was not long until he was
receiving a salary of $150 per month and a share of the profits in the
employ of the same concern. When the concern moved to Kansas City and
became known as the Equitable Loan & Trust Company, Mr. Orr remained in
Atchison. In 1883 he was married to Miss Jennie Glick, the only daughter
of Governor George W. Glick, of Atchison. He took up the practice of
law, purchasing the interest of Judge W. D. Webb in the firm of Webb &
Martin, and entered into partnership with A. F. Martin, which
partnership existed from 1882 until April, 1887. During the five years
he had been in Atchison he had been extending his acquaintance over the
county, and in November, 1866, was a successful candidate for county
attorney on the Democratic ticket, being elected over W. D. Gilbert by a
substantial majority, despite the fact that the county was then normally
Republican by over 800 majority. In April, 1887, he formed a law
partnership with B. P. Waggener and Judge David Martin, the firm having
previously been known as Everest & Waggener. Judge Martin resigning the
position of judge of the Atchison district court to join the firm, which
was known as Waggener, Martin & Orr. In the year 1895 Judge Martin
retired from the firm, and Judge A. H. Horton, then chief justice of the
supreme court of Kansas, resigned his office of chief justice, a
position he had held continuously for nineteen years, to become a member
of the firm. Judge Dawn Martin was appointed to the vacancy so made on
the supreme bench. Judge Horton remained a member of the firm until his
death, when ex-Chief Justice Frank Doster became a member of the firm
known as Waggener, Doster & Orr. During Mr. Orr’s association with B. P.
Waggener in the practice of law they had charge of the legal business
for the Gould system of railroads in Kansas and Nebraska; the Western
Union Telegraph Company; express companies, and the Pullman Palace Car
Company. They were associated in partnership with three ex-chief
justices of the supreme court of Kansas during this period. In June,
1910, Mr. Orr resigned his position as attorney for the Missouri Pacific
Railway Company, and his connection with B. P. Waggener, which had then
continued for twenty-three years, was also terminated. The position of
special assistant to the attorney-general of the United States was
proffered him by Attorney-General McReynolds in October, 1913, while Mr.
Orr was engaged in the trial of a case in St. Louis. He accepted and was
given charge of the suit of the Government against the Southern Pacific
Company and others, including the Central Pacific Railway, to dissolve
the relations between those companies. Mr. Orr conducts his cases for
the Government in addition to his private practice. His rise has been
steady and consistent during the years he has been practicing his
profession in Atchison, and it is true that the youth who began his
career in the city of Atchison for the modest salary of forty dollars
per month now enjoys a lucrative private law practice, in addition to
his income from the Government and not supplemented by corporation
salaries. Mr. Orr has accumulated a comfortable fortune during the years
of his practice and has what is considered the most beautiful home in
Atchison. In his home he has his private library of several hundred
volumes, including the standard works of literature. His law library
lines the walls of his down-town offices and exceeds 2,000 volumes in
number.
[Illustration:
Residence of J. W. Orr.
]
Mr. and Mrs. Orr had but one child, a son, George Glick Orr, who was
drowned while bathing in the Pacific ocean, near San Diego, Cal., on
July 21, 1909, at the age of twenty-five years. The loss of this
talented young man saddened the lives of his parents for years. At the
age when most young men are just beginning to gain a higher education,
George Glick Orr could read, write and speak six different languages.
For seventeen years of his life he was a student, graduated at the
University of Kansas, and had been admitted to the bar, showing great
promise in his chosen profession and being frequently entrusted with
important legal matters.
Mr. Orr has received all the Masonic degrees except the thirty-third,
and is a member of several fraternal societies. He attends and
contributes to the support of the Christian Science Church, of which
Mrs. Orr is a member.
In politics and as a public official and law-maker, Mr. Orr has a record
of which any man may well be proud. He became a member of the Kansas
Democratic State central committee in 1884 and remained such
continuously until 1908, and in point of service was its oldest member.
He has attended, as a delegate, six National Democratic conventions, and
on three occasions was a member of the notification committee appointed
to officially notify the presidential candidate of his nomination by the
convention, including Cleveland in 1892; Parker in 1904, and Woodrow
Wilson in 1912. His exceptional career in politics began as early as
1880, when he served as assistant secretary of the committee chosen to
notify General Hancock at Governor’s Island, N. Y., of his nomination
for the Presidency. Mr. Orr was an original Wilson man and one of the
committee of five having the floor management of the Wilson forces at
the Baltimore convention in 1912 which nominated Mr. Wilson for the
Presidency. From 1901 to 1907 Mr. Orr served three terms successively as
mayor of the city of Atchison and gave the city one of the best
administrations in its history. He served two terms in the State
legislature as representative from the Atchison city district, the
sessions of 1911 and 1913. During the 1911 session he was one of the
three legislators selected by the house to draft and did prepare the
present public utilities law, under which all railroads and public
utilities in this State are now managed and controlled; he was the
author of the present comprehensive drainage laws; the law requiring the
attorney-general to pay into the State treasury all fees received by him
in the prosecution of State cases; the so-called “Orr viaduct law,”
which requires railroads to construct and maintain at their expense all
necessary viaducts over or tunnels under their tracks in cities, and
under which the Fourteenth street viaduct in this city and viaducts in
many other cities have been built and then maintained by the railroads,
also many other laws of public interest and importance. In the session
of 1913 he was chairman of the judiciary committee and was elected
majority leader of the house. At the close of the legislative session of
1913 Mr. Orr was presented with a resolution, unanimously adopted by the
members of the house, beautifully engraved in India ink, artistically
framed and containing a reproduction of the great seal of Kansas. This
resolution thanks Mr. Orr for the assistance he had given individual
members of the house and for his service to the State, both as chairman
of the judiciary committee and as majority house leader, and is signed
by every member. It follows:
“HOUSE RESOLUTION, NO. 51—BY MR. RIDDLE.
“Resolved. That the members of the house extend to the Hon. James W.
Orr their sincere thanks for the splendid service he has given to
them and to the State during the present session. In addition to his
work as floor leader of the majority party, and his work as chairman
of the judiciary committee, he has been tireless, patient, and
industrious in giving to individual members the benefit of his
learning and ability by helping them in their work. His help has
been extended alike to members of all political parties, and has
been especially beneficial to members who have had little experience
in legislative work. He has the confidence, esteem and love of all
the members.
“Done in the city of Topeka, this eighth day of March, 1913.”
ANDREW B. SYMNS.
When the late A. B. Symns passed beyond mortal ken on April 9, 1905,
Atchison suffered a loss from its business circles which could never be
replaced. He left behind him a monument in the A. B. Symns Grocer
Company, one of the largest of the wholesale establishments of the city
and State, which was the product of his brain and ability. He was one of
the noted pioneer figures of a decade which produced great and strong
men. From a modest beginning he rose to become a national character in
the business world of the great West and realized his ambition during a
long and useful life. He not only succeeded in accumulating a
comfortable fortune but left a reputation for integrity and upright
citizenship which has never been surpassed by any of his compeers of the
building age in Atchison and Kansas. From boyhood to the time he had
passed the age of three score years and ten, Mr. Symns was an
indefatigable worker and never relaxed except for much needed recreation
and rest, occasionally. Early in his career he had great faith in the
future of Atchison and that faith was fully justified by his own success
in the jobbing field.
A. B. Symns was born in Monroe county. West Virginia, March 27, 1831,
and was a son of John and Elizabeth (Peters) Symns, natives of old
Virginia, of Scotch-Irish descent.
As a boy he worked on his father’s farm, attending school three months
each winter. At the age of eighteen he clerked in a store at Petertown
and later on attended Lewisburg Seminary one year. He also worked at
White Sulphur Springs before coming west in 1853. He listened to the
call of the great unpeopled western country for young and ambitious men
to develop her dormant resources, and in 1853 crossed the country to St.
Joseph. Mo., where he clerked in a store for two years and then went to
St. Louis. After clerking in St. Louis for one year he became an eighth
owner of the steamboat “Hesperian” and served as clerk aboard the
steamer. This boat made its first trip on the Missouri trade in 1856 and
it was while passing up and down the Missouri river that he was
attracted to the then flourishing town of Doniphan. It far overshadowed
Atchison at that time and he determined to locate in Doniphan. During
the time he was connected with the steamboat service he had many
interesting experiences. He opened a grocery store in 1858, but during
the same year the land office was removed to Atchison and Doniphan lost
ground, but the Symns store grew in size and importance and was the
nucleus around which his great business was subsequently builded. He
removed the store to Atchison in 1872, and began wholesaling in a small
way in connection with his retail business. In 1877 he was doing
business in the corner store room at Sixth and Commercial streets, on
the southeast corner. While located in this building he closed out his
retail business and engaged in jobbing exclusively. With the impetus
given by his splendid business mind and his remarkable energy the
business grew rapidly, and he soon found himself at the head of one of
the largest wholesale grocery houses in the western country. Thirty men
are employed as traveling salesmen by the Symns Grocer Company alone,
and the Symns Utah Grocer Company, which he established, has its own
force. Customers of Mr. Symns over Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri,
Texas, Colorado and Utah have always agreed that A. B. Symns was the
fairest man with whom they ever did business. He had faith in Atchison
as a great jobbing center, and the success of his business fully
justified that belief. The immense jobbing house of the Symns Grocer
Company on Main street of Atchison was built from plans prepared by Mr.
Symns himself and is one of the most complete establishments of the kind
to be found anywhere. So extensive did the business become, however,
that it was necessary to erect an addition in 1903. The capitalization
of the Symns Grocer Company at the time of the demise of Mr. Symns was
$300,000 and that of the Utah concern at Salt Lake City was $80,000. Mr.
Symns was president of both companies and had a controlling interest in
each. He left an estate valued at over $300,000.
One of the interesting episodes of Mr. Symns’ mercantile career was the
looting of his Doniphan store by Cleveland’s band of outlaws, who made
Atchison their headquarters in the winter of 1861–62. At the time Mr.
Symns was absent in St. Joseph, but his brothers, Sam and William Symns,
were in charge when it was surrounded one evening by Cleveland and his
gang. They forced William Symns to open the safe and took what money
there was on hand in addition to clothing, saddles, etc. While the
robbery was in progress, Mrs. Symns ran out to arouse the neighbors, but
no help was forthcoming because of the fact that everybody was afraid of
Cleveland and his gang, and the thieves got away with their booty
unmolested.
A. B. Symns was married in 1858, returning to Old Virginia for his
bride, Miss Elizabeth Tiffany, who was his boyhood sweetheart. Mrs.
Symns was a member of an excellent Virginia family and bore him the
following children: Mrs. A. S. Rowan, who died December 31, 1903; Miss
Effie Symns, of Atchison; Charles, Atchison, and Guy. The mother of
these children departed this life September 12, 1900, at the age of
sixty-four years, having been born in 1836. Six children were born and
died in infancy at Doniphan: John, Joseph, Lee, Hugh, Edna and Louis.
Mr. Symns died April 9, 1905, at Hot Springs, Ark. He was sincerely
mourned and Atchison business circles suffered a loss which could hardly
be estimated.
While Mr. and Mrs. Symns were on their wedding trip on the steamer
“Carrier” en route up the Missouri river from St. Louis to Doniphan, the
boat sank near Hermann, Mo. They easily escaped drowning because the
“Carrier” sank slowly, but they lost their newly purchased household
goods and a large amount of supplies with which Mr. Symns intended to
stock the Doniphan store. Mrs. Symns continued to Doniphan on another
boat, while Mr. Symns returned to St. Louis to lay in another stock of
household goods and provisions for his store.
The Symns family came of old Scotch Presbyterian stock. Although a
southerner by birth, he was a Union man in Kansas. He was an independent
Democrat in politics.
Mr. Symns was in active pursuits even after attaining the age of three
score years and ten, and was always found early at his desk. He was not
only the active head of the business but closely watched the details. He
was always hurrying and was ever busy, and it was his custom to walk
daily to the postoffice for his mail so as to have the benefit of the
exercise. Having always been a man of correct habits he belied his years
and his demise came unexpectedly at Hot Springs. He was accidentally
killed by a locomotive on a railroad crossing at Hot Springs, where it
had been his custom to go for his health during the latter ten years of
his life. He was fond of his family and dearly loved his home life. He
was quiet, unassuming, and was one of the kindest and gentlest of men,
probably no man being more universally admired and beloved in Atchison
during his day. His life story furnishes a decided inspiration for any
one who may read of his success in Atchison.
BALIE PEYTON WAGGENER.
It is not difficult to classify Balie P. Waggener so as to determine his
position in the civic body of Atchison, but it is not easy to write a
review comprehensive enough to give a proper estimate of this
distinguished citizen who has been honored in his home city and in the
State of Kansas. When one thinks of Atchison it is only natural to refer
to the city as the home of Balie Waggener, who is indisputably grouped
among the prominent and widely known figures who have shed fame and
luster upon their home city. A leading attorney, statesman, progressive
citizen, builder, farmer and stockman, friend of all children,
capitalist, and public benefactor are some of the terms which might be
applied to him without fear of contradiction from the mass of the people
who know him best.
He was born in Platte county, Missouri, July 18, 1847, a son of Peyton
R. and Sophronia Briseis (Willis) Waggener, who were American born and
descended from old American families. The great-grandfather of Mr.
Waggener served in the Continental army as a lieutenant-colonel during
the American war of independence, and his grandfather was a major in the
United States army during the War of 1812. Balie Waggener attended the
public schools until he attained the age of fourteen years and then
obtained a situation as toll-gate keeper on the old Platte City &
Western turnpike. He was ambitious to become a lawyer and during the
interims of his duties in attending the toll-gate, and after his day’s
work was done, he read his law books. The next step in his preparation
to become a member of the legal profession was to enter the law office
of Otis & Glick, in Atchison. This was in 1866, and so assiduously did
the young man apply himself to his studies that he was admitted to the
bar June 10, 1867. Three years later he formed a partnership with Albert
H. Norton, then United States district attorney, under the firm name of
Horton & Waggener, which lasted until the election of Judge Horton to
the office of chief justice of the Kansas supreme court in 1876. In 1887
Mr. Waggener formed a partnership under the firm name of Waggener,
Martin & Orr, which continued until April 30, 1895, when the firm was
dissolved and the firm became Waggener, Horton & Orr, Chief Justice
Horton having resigned his position and again entered the firm. David
Martin, Mr. Waggener’s former partner, became chief justice of the
supreme court of Kansas to succeed Chief Justice Horton. In 1902 Judge
Horton died, and later his place in the firm was taken by Ex-Chief
Justice Frank Doster, under the firm name of Waggener, Doster & Orr. It
will thus be seen that Mr. Waggener has been associated in the practice
of law with three chief justices of the supreme court of Kansas. In 1913
Mr. Orr withdrew from the firm to become special assistant to the
attorney-general of the United States, and the firm is now known as
Waggener, Challiss & Crane, being composed of W. P. Waggener, James
Challiss and Albert Crane. Mr. Waggener now devotes his time and legal
talents almost exclusively to his duties as general solicitor for the
Missouri Pacific railway.
[Illustration:
_B. P. Waggener_
]
The ability of a lawyer having the calibre of Mr. Waggener was bound to
attract attention, and on January 4, 1876, he was appointed general
attorney of the Missouri Pacific railway for the State of Kansas, and on
May 1, 1910, he was made general solicitor for that company for the
States of Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado, his son, W. P. Waggener,
succeeding him as general attorney for Kansas. During the forty-four
years Mr. Waggener has been engaged in the practice of law he has won an
enviable position at the bar through his own personal efforts. He has
never ceased to be a student of all subjects pertaining to that most
jealous of professions, and it is worthy of note that he is the
possessor of one of the most complete law libraries in the United
States, containing upward of 10,000 volumes on every conceivable legal
subject. He keeps his library at his residence, which is one of the
handsomest and best appointed in the city of Atchison, and he prepares
most of his cases in the study of his home where privacy is possible.
Naturally, a man of Mr. Waggener’s vigor and broad-mindedness would
engage in enterprises outside of the practice of his profession, and he
has done so in such a manner as to profit himself and the community. In
1892 he was elected president of the Exchange National Bank of Atchison,
which position he has since held. He perfected and put into operation
the Atchison Railway, Light and Power Company in the city, and is the
owner of the famous “Green View Stock Farm,” comprising 500 acres,
beautifully located a short distance west of Atchison, and which is one
of the best equipped and most modern farms in Kansas. Through
experimentation and adapting modern methods of agriculture to the
cultivation of his land and the breeding of fine live stock, Mr.
Waggener has become a recognized authority on agriculture and animal
husbandry. The annual sales of fine live stock which are produced on his
farm have become an annual event in this section of Kansas and the West,
and are largely attended by buyers from all parts of the country.
In addition to his professional and business interests, Mr. Waggener has
manifested a public spirit in matters pertaining to the political
conditions of his city and State. Firmly grounded in Democratic
principles, he has become one of the foremost leaders of his party and
occupies a high place in its councils. In 1869 he was elected to the
Atchison city council when he had barely attained his majority. In the
year 1872 he was the nominee of his party for the office of attorney-
general of the State of Kansas, and in 1873 was made city attorney. From
1889 to 1891 and again in 1895–97 he was mayor of the city. In 1902 he
was elected a member of the lower branch of the State legislature, which
had a large Republican majority, and during the term held the important
position of chairman of the judiciary committee. It is generally
conceded that he influenced much of the legislation at that session, and
his record so commended him to his constituents that in 1904 he was
elected to the State senate from a strong Republican district, carrying
the district by a majority of 1,500 votes, although at the same election
Theodore Roosevelt, the Republican candidate for President, carried the
same district by over 3,600, an indisputable testimonial to Mr.
Waggener’s personal popularity and his ability. Mr. Waggener served in
the senate of the Kansas State legislature in the sessions of 1905 and
1907, and was reëlected by a handsome majority of over 2,000 in November
of 1912. He is now holding the position of State senator from this
district.
Mr. Waggener is a member of many secret orders, and is prominent in
Masonic circles, being a Knights Templar and a Thirty-second degree
member of the Scottish Rite, and a member of the Mystic Shrine.
On May 27, 1869, Mr. Waggener married Miss Emma L., daughter of William
W. Hetherington, one of Atchison’s prominent citizens, now deceased, a
review of whose life and career is given elsewhere in this volume. Two
children were born to this union: William Peyton Waggener, a “chip off
the old block,” and present general attorney of the Missouri Pacific
railway for the State of Kansas, and president of the Exchange State
Bank of Atchison; Mabel L., wife of R. K. Smith, vice-president and
general manager of the Mississippi Central railway.
Perhaps the trait of character that most endears Mr. Waggener to the
people of Atchison county is that liberality which led him in 1897 to
inaugurate the system of giving an annual picnic to the children. Every
year, at his own personal expense, he furnishes free transportation,
free entertainment, and free refreshments to all the children of
Atchison county who can attend his picnic, and the larger the crowd the
greater is his delight. These picnics are not given for the purpose of
increasing his popularity or for any self-aggrandizement whatever, but
solely that he may steal at least one day from his business cares and
derive a wholesome recreation in contributing to the amusement of the
young people. This innovation has occasioned at various times favorable
and commendatory comment in the press of the State, and a record of
these picnics has been placed in the annals of the Kansas State
Historical Society. The report of the secretary of the historical
society for the year 1911 has considerable to say concerning the visit
of President Taft to Kansas in that year and his attendance upon Balie
Peyton Waggener’s picnic to the children of the neighborhood. The
President left Topeka on September 27, about one hour after laying the
cornerstone of the Memorial Hall building and reached Atchison in time
for Mr. Waggener’s twelfth annual picnic. The President spoke words of
high praise of Mr. Waggener and presented him with a silver loving cup
in behalf of the people of Atchison county. Mr. Taft’s words in making
the presentation were: “A token is this, Mr. Waggener, that carries real
sincerity of friendship. I present this beautiful vase of silver in the
name of the people here assembled as a sign of love and esteem. I
congratulate you on the eminence you have attained.” Mr. Waggener
responded: “This is a distinction unmerited. I have no words to express
my grateful acknowledgment.” Balie Waggener’s picnic has become a
feature of Kansas history of a most pleasant nature. He is a life member
of the State Historical Society, and has always been an ardent and most
liberal friend of the society.
When Mr. Waggener was forced by illness to go to Rochester, Minn., for
the purpose of having a surgical operation performed, his safe return to
his home was made the occasion of a time of great rejoicing by the
children of the city, and a reception was given him, such as has never
been given an Atchison citizen before nor since, and which occasioned
State-wide comment on the part of the press as a fitting testimonial of
the great love and esteem in which he was held by the children and
people of his home city. During the time he was at Rochester undergoing
a surgical operation and his subsequent recovery, the children of the
city had been praying for his restoration to health and his safe return
to their midst. It was their great friend who was ill, and, when the
word came that he would arrive home on a certain evening the children
prepared to receive him in an appropriate manner. All the children of
Atchison turned out to give him welcome, and hundreds formed in line,
through which Mr. Waggener passed on his way to his home. He and his
automobile were pelted with flowers and tears filled his eyes, and he
was unable to express his heart-felt appreciation of the reception which
his people had given him. It has been described as the most beautiful
and touching thing that has ever happened in the life of Mr. Waggener.
To quote briefly from the _Kansas City Journal_, which described the
incident: “Few men in this world were so fortunate as to enjoy such an
ovation. Men who have done important things have been received by town
bands and by citizens covered with fluttering badges. Men have come back
to their home people to be received in the opera house, and cheers have
echoed in their receptive ears. But it must be understood that no such
home-coming as Mr. Waggener’s could come to an ordinary man. It was the
tribute of sincere devotion and genuine friendship. It couldn’t be
bought with money or earned by material success. These Atchison children
didn’t care a rap for Waggener, the railroad attorney, nor Waggener, the
politician, nor even for Waggener, the exemplary citizen. It was Mr.
Waggener, the good, kind friend they loved, to whom the welcome was
given, and it sprung from sheer joy that he had recovered his health and
was with them once more. And who can say that the earth holds a more
splendid triumph as the crowning glory of a life than this? All other
laudations and exclamations are tame compared with the flushed
enthusiasm of hundreds of happy children shouting from their hearts:
“‘Waggener, Waggener sis boom ah!
Our friend, our friend, rah! rah! rah!’”
ALBERT E. MAYHEW.
Personal achievement on the part of the individual who accomplishes
things worth while for himself and in behalf of his fellow men, is
always worth recording. The inherent qualities possessed by an able man
will develop and become pronounced in decided results if he be given the
proper opportunity. Albert E. Mayhew, legislative representative from
the Atchison county district, and a successful merchant, belongs to that
type of men who by force of intellect and sheer ability to do things
have placed themselves in the forefront of affairs and taken their
proper places as leaders in their respective communities. Forty-five
years of his life have been spent in Kansas, and he can properly be
classed as one of the pioneers of the State. Mr. Mayhew established
himself in business in Effingham January 1, 1899, and his success since
his advent into Atchison county has been marked and rapid. He began at
first with a capital of $3,000 invested in a hardware and implement
business. With characteristic energy and enterprise he developed his
business to the extent that his extensive stock of goods now requires a
capital of $10,000. In 1912 he purchased a lot at the corner of the two
principal streets of Effingham and erected a handsome two-story brick
building and a warehouse at the same time. This building measures 84×60
feet, including the warehouse and two splendid show rooms, filled with
high class goods. The stock of goods in the Mayhew establishment
embraces hardware, farming implements and wagons, paints, furniture, and
he also conducts an undertaking establishment. Three men are employed to
attend to the extensive trade of this store, which is the most important
institution of its kind in this section of the county.
Albert E. Mayhew was born March 17, 1866, at St. Mary’s, Ontario,
Canada, a son of William, born in 1833, died in March, 1906, and Mary
(Lancaster), born in 1833, died December 25, 1878, Mayhew, both of whom
were born in England and immigrated to Canada when in their youth.
William Mayhew ran away from home and made his way to Canada where he
became a farmer and married. William Mayhew and his wife resided in
Canada until May, 1870, when they immigrated to Kansas, settling in
Nemaha county. They purchased a farm near the town of Centralia,
developed it and Mr. Mayhew made a success of farming and stock raising.
He began with a large tract of land at first, but soon ascertained that
it were better to have a smaller farm, and accordingly reduced his
acreage to 160 acres, upon which he prospered. Mrs. Mayhew, the mother
of Albert E., died on the home place in Nemaha county. William, as old
age crept upon him, removed to San Diego, Cal., where his demise
occurred. He is buried in the cemetery of the California city. Five sons
and a daughter were born to William Mayhew and wife, namely: John, a
merchant, of Denver, Colo.; Robert, a retired farmer and merchant,
living in Topeka. Kan.; George, a merchant, of Denver, Colo.; Eliza,
wife of A. B. Clippinger, Kansas City, Mo.; Albert E., the subject of
this review, and Leonard, of Los Angeles, Cal.
Albert E. was reared to young manhood on the home farm in Nemaha county,
and received his education in the public schools of Centralia, Kan., and
the Seneca, Kan., high school, completing his education in the normal
school at Emporia, Kan. He taught school for a number of years in his
home county, saved his earnings and in 1887 embarked in the hardware and
implement business at Vermilion, Kan. He conducted this business with
fair success until 1897, and then sold out, coming to Effingham soon
afterward and engaging in the same line of business in this city. In
addition to his extensive business Mr. Mayhew is the owner of two
excellent farms in Marshall county, Kansas, aggregating 640 acres in
all, which has his attention. He has a beautiful, modern residence in
the south part of Effingham.
Mr. Mayhew was married in September, 1887, to Anna J. Tinker, of
Vermilion, Kan., born in Humboldt county, Kansas, a daughter of Avery
and Ellen Tinker, natives of New York State, born at Hastings Center,
that State. Two children have blessed this union of Albert E. and Anna
Mayhew: Avery, born in 1889, and died June 2, 1901; Carl H., born
January, 1891 and associated with his father in business. Carl H.
married Miss Vera Snyder, and has one daughter, Lucille, aged two years.
Mr. Mayhew is a stanch Republican in his political affiliations and has
taken an active and influential part in the affairs of his party since
coming to Atchison county. In November, 1914, he was the candidate of
his party for the high office of State representative from this district
and was elected, subsequently serving in the 1915 session of the Kansas
legislature with such marked ability as a legislator that his course and
activities conferred distinction upon himself and his constituents.
During this session he was a member of the committees on insurance,
education, legislative appointments, mines and mining, and judicial
apportionments. Having always taken a keen interest in educational
affairs, his position as a member of the committee on education gave him
an opportunity to support and advocate legislation which would enhance
the cause of education throughout the State. He succeeded in having
passed through the house an act requiring the school moneys of the State
to be loaned to farmers. There was plenty of precedence behind an act of
this character, and the fairness of its provisions is very evident,
although it was opposed by the banking interests of the State. The act,
however, failed to take its regular course through the senate, because
of the adjournment of the legislative body. It is probable that the act
will be finally passed at the next session and it is morally certain to
have strong support, if Mr. Mayhew is again representative from Atchison
county. He also introduced and successfully fathered an act, allowing
districts to levy higher taxes to provide more amply for bridge building
and road improvements, two provisions, which were of direct benefit to
the farming interests of the State, inasmuch as the movement for better
highways is fast gaining ground in Kansas. Mr. Mayhew also assisted in
the passing of better automobile laws, and took an active part in all
the deliberations of the legislative body, specializing, however, in
legislation which had for its ultimate object the betterment of the
school system of the State. He is a member and trustee of the
Presbyterian church, of Effingham, and is fraternally associated with
the Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen. It is probable that no citizen
is more widely or more favorably known throughout Atchison county than
A. E. Mayhew, and his course as a successful merchant and public
official has been such as to favorably commend him to the masses of the
people, who are always found appreciative of honesty and square dealing
on the part of men in public life, whom they honor with their political
preference. He is well worthy of the confidence and trust which have
been bestowed upon him by the people.
JOSEPH COUPE.
Joseph Coupe, late of Benton township, was born December 6, 1852, in
Utica, N. Y., and was a son of James and Jane (Latus) Coupe, both of
whom were born in England. James emigrated from his native land when a
young man and located in New York, where he married and reared a family,
cultivating a farm located one mile from the limits of Utica. He died on
his farm. Joseph was reared on the family farm and attended the Utica
public schools, receiving an excellent education, after which he took up
the study of law and was admitted to practice in his home city. He
practiced his profession in Utica until 1881 and then came west and
located at Falls City, Neb., where he continued his practice with
considerable success until 1906, when he removed with his family to his
farm, west of Effingham. Failing health induced him to make the change,
and it was thought by his physicians that the open air life would be
beneficial to him. He died February 10, 1908.
Judge Coupe was married in 1890 to Miss Anna Mooney, and to this union
were born six children: Margaret, a graduate of the county high school,
and a teacher in the Effingham public schools; James, who is managing
the home farm with his mother; Richard, a graduate of the county high
school; Anna, likewise a high school graduate; Mary, a junior in the
high school; and Joseph, a pupil in the Sisters’ school at Effingham.
The mother of these children was born in Atchison, Kan., confirmed and
baptized in St. Benedict’s church, and was a daughter of James, born in
1833, and Julia (Ryan) Mooney, born in 1837, both of whom were natives
of Ireland. James Mooney emigrated from Ireland when a youth, was first
a resident of Buffalo, N. Y., and in 1857 moved to Nebraska, and was
later employed at the nursery in Atchison, Kan. From Atchison he removed
to Rulo, Neb., where he still lives. He was married in 1860, and the
family lived in Atchison during the Civil war. James and Julia Mooney
were the parents of five children, namely: Thomas, deceased in March,
1908; John and James, farmers: Margaret, at home in Rulo with her
parents; Mrs. Joseph Coupe.
Previous to locating in Kansas, Mr. Coupe had resided on a farm near
Falls City, but was induced to remove to Effingham and here purchased a
farm of 194 acres west of the city in Benton township, this farm
consisting of 160 acres of excellent tillable land and thirty-four acres
of pasture. He was prominently identified with civic and political
affairs in Falls City and Richardson county, Nebraska, and had built up
a large and lucrative law practice. He was a Democrat in politics and
was one of the leaders of his party in Nebraska, serving four years as
county judge and was successful in re-election to a third term, but
resigned on account of poor health. He was popular with the masses of
the people and well liked by all who knew him, being universally admired
for his many excellent qualities of mind and heart.
JOHN SEATON.
The name and accomplishments of the late John Seaton appear prominently
in the history of the constructive period of the development of Kansas
and the city of Atchison. Destiny and natural endowments designed Mr.
Seaton to become a creator and builder; inherent ability also made him a
statesman and leader of men; design and inducement led him to locate his
enterprise, which was the work of his own hands and brain, in the city
of Atchison. In the course of time he was the gainer, becoming one of
the first citizens of Kansas, and Kansas and Atchison were doubly
gainers, because of him and his great work. What John Seaton wrought, in
an industrial sense, will live long as a monument to his energy and
enterprise; the record of right doing, honesty, plain living and his
work in behalf of his fellowmen in the halls of the State legislature
will live in the minds and hearts of his fellow citizens in the long
years to come.
John Seaton was a builder whose vision of a great industrial enterprise
in the city of the great bend of the Missouri came true in a material
sense, inasmuch as Atchison will continue to benefit through the
continued whirring of the industrial wheels which his genius set going.
While the evidence of his handiwork is visible, and the smoke of the
factory which he built will continue to be seen day after day as time
goes on, the greatest reminder of Mr. Seaton’s life on this earth will
be the lesson which his manner of living and his strict attention to the
highest duties of citizenship have left to posterity. Atchison suffered
a sincere loss when his demise occurred and his departure from the
realms of mortal ken created a void which could never be filled,
although Mr. Seaton’s work continues to exist after him.
[Illustration:
_Eng. by E. G. Williams & Bro. N. Y._
_John Seaton_
]
John Seaton was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, June 11, 1834, a son of John
M., and Elizabeth (Jones) Seaton, the former a native of Virginia and
the latter having been born in Vermont. John M. Seaton, the father, was
a soldier in the Mexican War and was killed in battle at the storming of
the heights of Cerro Gordo, Old Mexico. When John was three weeks old
his parents removed from Cincinnati to Louisville, Ky., where his
boyhood days were spent. He was eleven years of age when his father was
killed on the field of battle. He attended school until he was fifteen
years of age, and then began learning the trade of a machinist. A few
years later finds him working as a journeyman machinist in St. Louis,
Mo. In 1856 with a cash capital of two dollars and fifty cents, John
Seaton started a foundry at Alton, Ill. A natural aptitude for mechanics
and machinery appliances, combined with pluck, energy and perseverance,
enabled him to make a success of his first undertaking and the
enterprise prospered.
At the outbreak of the Civil war Mr. Seaton offered his services in
defense of the Union, and was commissioned a captain of Company B,
Twenty-second regiment, Illinois infantry. His first engagement was the
battle of Belmont under General Grant, and Captain Seaton was in command
of the skirmish line that opened this engagement. One of the precious
possessions of his family at this day is the personal letter he received
from the famous commander, commending him for the efficient manner in
which he performed the task allotted to his command. He served for one
year and then resigned his commission and returned to Alton to take
charge of his business. After the war Mr. Seaton remained in Alton in
charge of his foundry until 1872, when he removed to Atchison with his
entire force of fifty employees. He was induced to remove westward by
the fact that six months previous to the time of his removal to
Atchison, the city had voted $10,000 in bonds to any man who would
establish a foundry. He accepted the offer and the result was one of the
most beneficial industries ever located in Atchison. The Seaton foundry
gave employment to over 200 men, and he built up an industry which today
stands without a peer in its line in the West. The secret of Mr.
Seaton’s success lay in the fact that every detail of his business
received his direct supervision, and he insisted that only first class
work be turned out by his factories. For over eighteen years this
captain of industry carried his dinner pail with him to the foundry and
worked side by side with his men. He continued doing this after he had
attained to a position of wealth and affluence which enabled him to own
a home at the seashore at Orient, L. I., and could have retired from
active work at any time he chose. None but the finest finished products
were allowed to leave his establishment, and the name of Seaton and the
output of his plant are noted over the West for the excellence of the
finished manufactured materials and for their absolute reliability. In
addition to general architectural work, he filled orders for the Santa
Fe, Missouri Pacific and Ft. Scott and Gulf railroads, such as casting
locomotive wheels, smoke stacks, steam cylinders, etc., all known as
locomotive finished material products. The business of his large
establishment in Atchison was built up until it amounted to over
$250,000 annually, and the plant covered an area of 700×400 feet. Mr.
Seaton was in business continually from 1856 until the time of his
demise, January 12, 1912.
The activities of this noted citizen of Atchison were not confined
entirely to his business, but he took an active and influential part in
civic and political affairs after his advent in Atchison. His career
showed that he possessed statesmanship ability of a high order. For a
period of eighteen years Mr. Seaton was a member of the Kansas State
legislature, and so great was his influence in the house, and so long
and distinguished was his service that he became known throughout the
State as the “Father of the House.” His name is associated with many of
the important measures enacted into law by the State legislature, among
them being the binding twine factory law, which act is responsible for
the establishment of a plant for the manufacture of binder twine at the
State penitentiary. He probably did more for the success of the
“Douglass House,” during the legislative trouble of 1893 than any other
member of the Republican body. As a citizen and a legislator he enjoyed
the respect and esteem of the people of Kansas without regard to
political affiliations. He was opposed to the dominance of “trusts and
monopoly,” and it was his firm conviction that the great corporations
were devoid of feeling of a personal nature.
April 9, 1857, Mr. Seaton was married to Miss Charlotte E. Tuthill, of
Alton, Ill., and this marriage was blessed with five children: Mrs.
Lillie M. Hendrickson, of Atchison; John C. in California; Mary, wife of
Dr. W. H. Condit, of Kansas City; Mrs. Nellie Taber (Seaton) Byram,
deceased, and George L., married Amy Cox, of Weston, Mo., and resides on
South Fourth street, Atchison; John C. Seaton married Gertrude Hickman,
of Coffeyville, Kan. and resides in Kansas City and Los Angeles, Cal.;
Mrs. Charlotte E. (Tuthill) Seaton was born in Alton, Ill., November 10,
1840, a daughter of Pardon Taber Tuthill, who was born and reared on
Long Island, N. Y., and was a scion of one of the oldest American
families. The great-great-grandfather of Mrs. Seaton, John Tuthill,
known as Pilgrim John Tuthill, came from England with early settlers to
Long Island. The home built by Pilgrim John on Long Island in the early
part of the eighteenth century is still standing in a good state of
preservation. The ancestral home of the Tuthills is located in the
village of Orient, Long Island. On the maternal side an ancestor of Mrs.
Seaton, named Capt. Andrew Englis, commanded a company in the Revolution
and was a great patriot. Pardon Taber Tuthill was a pioneer in Alton,
Ill. He was a contractor and builder and in his later years devoted his
time and talents to horticulture. He was continually experimenting and
developed several new varieties of fruit. He was blessed with a
scientific mind and became famous as a horticulturist.
John Seaton was a member of John A. Martin Post, No. 93, Grand Army of
the Republic, the Loyal Legion and the Knights of Pythias lodges.
Through him the Enterprise theater was rebuilt and remodeled in
Atchison, and he was always found in the forefront of public movements
to advance the interests of his home city. Socially Mr. Seaton was a
genial, approachable, unassuming gentleman, whose pride was manifest
concerning his Civil war record and the fact that he had amassed wealth
and attained a leading position in the civic life of his adopted State
through his own efforts, and built up his fortunes from the ground. He
was a man of undoubted integrity and was a noble character whose demise
was sincerely mourned by the whole city of Atchison. He was a kind and
indulgent husband and father. In his passing Kansas lost one of her best
and most widely known statesmen and Atchison one of her most useful
citizens. His was a life well spent in behalf of the city and State
where his name will long be remembered and revered as one of the honored
pioneers of a widely known city and great State which he helped to
create.
AARON S. BEST.
It is meet that considerable space in this history of Atchison county be
devoted to the stories of the lives of real pioneers of the county. The
old pioneers were the salt of the earth, and a stronger or more vigorous
race of men, never conquered a wilderness. In the class of the real, old
pioneer settlers, comes Aaron S. Best, retired farmer, of Effingham,
Kan. Captain Best has lived in Atchison county for nearly fifty-five
years, and has seen the country transformed from a vast tract of pasture
and grazing land to a region of fertile and productive farms, and well
built towns and cities. During all these years he has taken an active
and prominent part in county affairs, and in his younger days was a
political leader in his own neighborhood.
Aaron S. Best was born June 27, 1839, in Clinton county, Pa., a son of
John W. and Catharine (Schaefer) Best, of German descent, and native
born and reared in Pennsylvania. John W. Best was born in 1809 and died
in 1881. He was the son of Peter Best, a native of Pennsylvania, of
German parentage. In the year 1860, John W. Best, accompanied by his
wife and seven children, crossed the country to find a new home in
Kansas. He had made a trip to Atchison county in the previous year, and,
after carefully looking over the ground, made up his mind that the
country had a great future, and he decided to move his family so as to
make a permanent home in Kansas. The Best family arrived in Atchison in
March of 1861, and at once moved to a farm in old Monrovia. In June of
the same year, the wife and mother died, at the age of forty-five years.
The following children were born to John W. Best and wife: Mary and
Elvina, deceased, in Pennsylvania; Henry, living at Parr, Tex.; Louis,
Luther and Reuben, deceased; Mrs. Henrietta Lamberson, of Argentry,
Ark.; and Michael, deceased.
Aaron Best was twenty-one years of age when the family removed to
Atchison county. Being a Free State advocate, it was only natural that
he take some part in the struggle which finally made Kansas a free
State. When General Price’s threatened invasion of Kansas seemed
imminent, he assisted in raising a company of militia among his
neighbors and was chosen captain. This company marched to Westport, and
took part in the famous engagement which resulted in Price’s retreat to
the southward. Captain Best was in command of Company F, Twelfth
regiment, Kansas cavalry. Only two companies of the Twelfth regiment
were under fire, and Company F was one of these, Capt. Asa Barnes’
company being the other actively engaged. Captain Best’s horse was shot
from under him and badly crippled.
After coming to Kansas, he spent one year assisting his father on the
home farm, and then moved to a farm of his own, south of Monrovia, which
he developed from raw prairie land to a very productive farm, residing
on until 1907, when he rented his land holdings and retired to a
comfortable home in Effingham. The first land which Mr. Best owned was
bought by his father for $750, and he farmed this on the share plan for
six years, after which he paid his father $2,000 for 140 acres. His next
purchase was eighty acres of land nearby, and he continued to add to his
land possessions until he was the owner of 275 acres in all. In the
spring of 1914 Mr. Best sold his farm land for $21,000. His farm was one
of the best improved in Atchison county, and naturally brought a good,
round price, because of the good condition of the buildings and of the
fertility of the soil.
Mr. Best was married in February, 1860, to Malinda Bricker, and to this
union have been born one son and three daughters, as follows: Mrs. Ella
Rebecca Sharp, living at Helena, Mo., and mother of two children, Albert
and Twila; Mrs. Mary C. Bonnell, living on a farm southeast of
Effingham, and who has eight children, Nellie, Edith, Grace, Ruth,
Catharine, Lea, Claude, Malinda; Mrs. Emma Wood, of Council Grove, Kan.,
and mother of four children, Clara, Beulah Morris, Ralph, Esther; John a
merchant, of Monrovia, Kan., father of three children, Leota, Hazel, and
Blanche. The mother of these children was born in Hanover township,
Daulphin county, Pennsylvania, December 15, 1837, and was a daughter of
Joseph and Rebecca (Lohs) Bricker, both of whom were of Pennsylvania
German ancestry, and died in their Pennsylvania home.
Mr. Best has always been allied with the Republican party, and has been
a stanch advocate of Republican principles for a long period of years.
He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and
contribute generously to the support of that denomination. He is
fraternally affiliated with the Odd Fellows Lodge and Encampment, No. 5,
and the Modern Woodmen. Physically and mentally, Mr. Best is a
remarkably well preserved man, when one considers his age and the fact
that he endured so many hardships in his first struggles to attain to
the position of affluence and comfort which he enjoys at present.
LOUIS C. ORR.
Faithfulness to duty on the part of public officials is always
appreciated by the people, and an official who regards his office as
other than a sinecure, is recognized as honest, capable and well
meaning. In Louis C. Orr, postmaster of the city of Atchison, Kan., the
patrons and citizens of Atchison have a capable and conscientious public
servant, whose sole interest is to see that the affairs of this
important Government office are conducted smoothly, and for the
convenience of the patrons of the postoffice. Although, in times past,
the Atchison postoffice has been looked upon as a sinecure, operated as
a well oiled piece of Government machinery with an efficient and well
trained force, Mr. Orr, since taking over the duties of his position,
has demonstrated that he can work as hard and efficiently as any of the
many employees making up the postoffice force. Probably no postoffice in
the State of Kansas is better conducted, or the welfare of the patrons
more carefully looked after than the Atchison postoffice, and credit is
due Mr. Orr for his diligent application to the duties of his office
since his appointment.
Louis C. Orr, postmaster of Atchison, was born August 3, 1857, in
McGregor, Iowa, a son of James and Man Elizabeth (Underhill) Orr,
concerning whom further mention will be found in the biography of James
W. Orr, brother of Louis C., in this volume. When Louis C. was eight
years of age the family removed from Iowa to Niles, Mich. Louis C. and
his brother James W. knew what poverty was in their youthful days, and
shared their hardships in common. Louis C. was ambitious to obtain an
education, and at an early age was compelled, by force of circumstances
over which he had no control, to practically earn his own living and the
wherewithal to obtain an education. For some years he and James W.
pooled their earnings and worked together for their mutual benefit, and
to this day this trait of brotherly devotion is present. Louis C.
attended school until he had attained the age of eighteen years, and he
then entered a drug store at Niles, Mich., in the capacity of clerk. He
remained in Michigan until 1885, when he came to Atchison. Kan., where
his brother, James W., had preceded him in 1881. Mr. Orr entered the
Government railroad mail service, and was employed in this capacity on
the Santa Fe Railway System, on the run from Atchison to Topeka, during
Grover Cleveland’s first administration. He then left the railway mail
service and was employed as clerk in the drug store of A. W. Stevens for
the following period of eight years. For the six years following he was
in charge of the paint department of the McPike Drug Company, a
wholesale drug firm then operating in Atchison, and since removed to
Kansas City, Mo. For four years, from 1907 to 1911, he served as city
collector of Atchison. He was engaged in the real estate and fire
insurance business until January, 1915. Mr. Orr was appointed postmaster
of Atchison December 29, 1914, by President Wilson, to take effect
January 4, 1915, although Mr. Orr did not begin his duties until January
15, 1915.
Mr. Orr was married in 1886 to Mary Isabelle Smith, of Richmond, Ind., a
daughter of John P. and Mary (Sedgwick) Smith, residents of Richmond,
Ind. One son has been born to this marriage, Richard Sedgwick Orr, born
in 1888, and at present employed as manager for the Standard Oil Company
in Atchison.
Louis C. Orr is a Democrat and is affiliated with the Christian
Scientist church. For the past twenty-five years he has been a member of
Lodge No. 127, Ancient Order of United Workmen. It can be said of him
that he is courteous, efficient and obliging to all with whom he is
brought in contact.
CARL LUDWIG BECKMAN.
Successful as an agriculturist, and again achieving success as a live
stock buyer and shipper, is a summary of the life and accomplishments of
Carl Ludwig Beckman, one of the best known and progressive citizens of
Effingham, Kan. Mr. Beckman’s live stock operations invoke the buying
and shipping of over fifty carloads of live stock yearly. In addition to
his business dealings, he also looks after his fine farm of 200 acres in
Benton township.
Mr. Beckman was born April 2, 1861, in Quincy, Ill. As the name
indicates, he is the son of German parents, his father, William Beckman,
having been born in Germany, in 1830, and was unfortunately killed by a
stroke of lightning in Burlington, Iowa, in 1863. When a young man,
William Beckman left his native land to seek his fortune in this
country. He located at Quincy, Ill., where he married Elizabeth Kipp,
who bore him four children, and was also born in Germany in 1824.
William Beckman removed his family to Burlington, Iowa, in about 1862.
The four children born to this couple were: William, a resident of
Parnell, Atchison county, Kansas; Mrs. Hannah Buhrmaster, living on a
farm in Benton township; Minnie, and Carl Ludwig, with whom this review
is directly concerned. The mother of these children later married Henry
Vollmer, a farmer, in Iowa, who gave her and the children a good home
and left his widow well provided for. Mrs. Vollmer, mother of C. L.,
resides at Mediapolis, Iowa.
When Carl was twenty years of age he left the farm in Iowa, and came to
Kansas in 1881, and in partnership with his brother, William, rented a
farm near Effingham for thirteen years, dissolving partnership in 1894.
Through purchase and by inheritance, on his wife’s part, Mr. Beckman and
his wife came into possession of 200 acres of land in 1894, upon which
they resided until 1908. In that year they bought a small farm of
thirty-five acres, one mile west of Effingham, upon which they resided
for three years, and then made a permanent home in Effingham. Since 1908
Mr. Beckman has been engaged in the buying and shipping of live stock,
with Robert M. Thomas as a partner in the enterprise, and has been very
successful in this business, being an accurate judge of live stock and
keeping abreast of market conditions.
He was married in 1894 to Miss Lebeldine Gersbach, born in Atchison
county in 1863, a daughter of Samuel and Catharine Gersbach, both of
whom were natives of Germany, and, after emigrating from their native
country to America, settled in Atchison county as early as 1854, and
were among the earliest pioneers of Kansas. Mr. Gersbach preëmpted land
and built up a fine farm which is now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Beckman. Two
children were born of this marriage: Rosa, aged twenty years, and a
student in the Atchison county high school, class of 1916; and Pearl,
aged seventeen, also a student in the high school, class of 1916.
Mr. Beckman is a Republican in politics, and takes an interest in the
civic and political affairs of his home town and county. He is a member
of the Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen. Mrs. Beckman and daughters
are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Beckman is a
stockholder of the Farmers’ Mercantile Association of Effingham, and is
generally found in the forefront of all undertakings which are intended
for the betterment and progress of conditions in his home city.
JAMES GRANVILLE MORROW.
We are taught that life is eternal; that when the course of man has been
run upon this earth and his work is done, his spirit returns to his
Maker and he is judged according to his deeds while a mortal among his
fellow creatures. This thought and belief is comforting alike to the
dying and the bereaved ones left behind to mourn their earthly loss for
the time being. Longfellow has written: “Life is real, life is earnest,
and the grave is not its goal; dust thou art, to dust returneth, was not
written of the soul.” So thought and so lived the late Capt. James
Granville Morrow, who at the time of his demise was the oldest living
pioneer resident of Atchison, and a man famed for his upright life and
beloved for his good and kindly deeds. Life was very “real and earnest”
to Captain Morrow and he enjoyed his earthly existence to the fullest
extent, the latter years of his residence in Atchison being the fullest
and best of all, in the sense that he indulged his taste and talents to
doing things which he loved, all the while being surrounded by a loving
wife and children whose respect and love he had to comfort him through
the greater part of his long and useful life. Captain Morrow lived in
such a manner as to endear him to all of his associates and he will long
be remembered as one of the noted figures of the pioneer and the present
era of Kansas development. It is meet that the life story of this truly
noble citizen be recorded in these annals of his county and city for the
inspiration and encouragement of the present and coming posterity for
all time to come.
[Illustration:
_Eng. by E. G. Williams & Bro. N. Y._
_James G. Morrow_
]
James Granville Morrow was born on a farm in Wayne county, Kentucky,
June 27, 1827, a son of Jeremiah and Lydia (Holder) Morrow, both of whom
were born and reared in Kentucky. Jeremiah Morrow was the son of Matthew
Morrow, a native of Virginia, who was one of the early pioneers of
Kentucky, and of Scotch descent, his ancestors having emigrated from
Scotland to America in the early colonial period of American history.
Jeremiah Morrow, father of James G., was born in 1802, and after his
removal to Kentucky married Lydia Holder. Six sons and two daughters
were born to Jeremiah Morrow and wife, only one of whom survives, Mrs.
W. H. Crisp, residing in Kentucky. Their children were as follows:
Mahala, wife of Rev. W. H. Crisp, of Kentucky; Floyd, deceased; James
Granville, the subject of this review; Nimrod, deceased; Riley, William,
Nancy, deceased wife of John Pennington; Percy, deceased. Granville
Morrow spent his boyhood days on the family farm in Wayne county,
Kentucky, and at the age of sixteen years was sent to a select school.
He made his home with his parents until he attained his majority and
then set out to make his own way in the world. He dealt quite
extensively in horses which he drove from Kentucky to Georgia. He was
also associated with his brothers in raising, purchasing and selling
hogs, which they drove 400 miles into Georgia, where they were sold to
the Georgia planters. Sometimes a single planter would buy 500 head and
the price ranged from eight to nine dollars per 100 pounds, live weight.
The Morrow brothers frequently drove as high as 13,000 head, traveling
only seven miles a day. There were no railroads in those days, but the
country was dotted with stations. Hog cholera did not bother swine in
those days and it was Captain Morrow’s frequent expression that hog
cholera was a product of civilization and high breeding, and, although
the hogs were driven as far as 400 miles they did not lose weight on the
trip. The business of the Morrow brothers was not always profitable,
however, and they lost money on some of the trips. Mr. Morrow abandoned
the business in 1850, and in 1854 arrived in Atchison en route to
California, but he did not go any farther. On April 5, 1854, he arrived
at Rushville Landing, now East Atchison. This was shortly before Kansas
was opened for settlement, and the only man living at that time on the
townsite of Atchison was George Million, who operated a rope ferry
across the Missouri river. Mr. Morrow found on landing at Atchison that
the overland train which he expected to join en route to the far West
had left, and, as he was ill he decided to wait for the next train.
Captain Morrow ate his first dinner in Kansas with Samuel Dixon at Dixon
Spring, now included in the city of Atchison. The food was ladled out of
a common kettle to which all the diners had access without style or
invitation other than “help yourself.” A tree trunk sawed off smooth
answered the purpose of a table on which the meal was served. While
waiting he found a job with Million and decided to remain in Kansas. In
the fall of 1854, he, with John Alcorn, bought out Portumous Lamb’s
ferry boat which was operated by horse power and a tread-mill, and from
that time on for seventeen consecutive years Mr. Morrow plied his ferry
between Atchison and Winthrop. In the fall of 1855 he began operating a
side-wheel steam ferry which had been brought here from Brownsville, Pa.
In 1857 he became captain of the steam ferry, “Ida,” later running the
steam ferry, “Pomeroy,” after which he went to Brownsville, Pa., where
he built the transfer boat, “William Osborne,” remaining there eight
months while the work was in progress. When he brought the “William
Osborne” to Atchison it was loaded with 300 tons of rails for the
Central Branch of the Missouri Pacific railroad, now the Northern Kansas
Division. This boat also conveyed across the Missouri river the first
locomotives used on the road after its construction.
Not long after his arrival in Atchison Captain Morrow began to
accumulate land, and in 1869 turned his attention to farming, retiring
from the steamboat business entirely in 1871. He accumulated 1,240 acres
of rich bottom lands in the Missouri river bottoms near East Atchison
which has never failed to produce a crop and is very valuable. He
formerly owned a section of land in Osage county, Kansas, near Lebo. He
also was the owner of two valuable farms on the Atchison side of the
river, 320 acres near Jacksboro, Texas, and owned considerable real
estate in the city, all of which has been left to his widow in trust for
his children and heirs. He was very successful as a wheat grower, and in
this way gained the greater part of his working capital. He erected a
beautiful home called “Enidan Heights” at Eighth and U streets, on the
south side of Atchison, where he spent his declining years in peace and
comfort. About 1875 he opened a general store in East Atchison which he
conducted until 1883. Those were still pioneer days, and the settlers in
the vicinity were poor and sometimes were unable to pay for the goods
they needed. The captain’s big heart and generous impulses frequently
led him to extend credit to patrons whom he knew would not be able to
pay for their purchases, and it was a favorite expression of his when
his clerk would report to him that a poor man wished credit, “Gracious
to goodness, if we don’t let him have the stuff he’ll starve to death.”
The captain sold hundreds of dollars’ worth of goods which were probably
never paid for, but his good heart would not permit him to see a fellow
creature in want for the necessities of life. This trait of kindness was
the predominating characteristic of his life and endeared him to
hundreds of people. After quitting the mercantile business Captain
Morrow devoted himself entirely to his farming interests and his
transfer business which he established in 1888 with his partners, later
becoming the sole owner of the business. He retired entirely from active
business pursuits and his farming in 1910 and spent the most of his time
working around the gardens of his fine home in Atchison. For years it
was his custom to drive back and forth to his big farm on the Missouri
side and he was gradually persuaded to abandon this activity. His demise
occurred December 2, 1915, after a brief illness, beginning with an
attack of la grippe, his great age and depleted vitality militating
against his recovery.
James Granville Morrow was married November 20, 1874, to Miss Sarah J.
George, and this happy marriage was blessed with the following children:
Della, born November 11, 1875, and died in 1904; Mary Etta, born in
Missouri March 17, 1880, dying October 2, 1880, and who is buried in
Orearville cemetery, Saline county, Missouri; James Granville George,
born September 16, 1878, married Ethel Worrell, and is the father of
four children: James Granville, Jr., John Worrell, Frances and Robert
George; Nadine, wife of John Raymond Woodhouse, who lives with Mrs.
Morrow, of Atchison, and mother of John Granville, born December 16,
1914; James G. Morrow resides in Buchanan county, Missouri, and has
charge of the immense Morrow farm in the Missouri bottoms. The children
of Captain and Mrs. Morrow have all been well educated and afforded
every facility for mind cultivation. Mrs. Nadine Woodhouse was educated
in Mount St. Scholastica Academy and the College Preparatory School of
Atchison, after which she completed her studies at Central College of
Missouri. Miss Della Morrow studied in Mount St. Scholastica Academy,
Midland and Central colleges, and Washington University, at St. Louis,
and was a bright and talented young lady prior to her demise. James
Morrow, the son, studied in the Atchison public schools and Midland
College. The mother of these children, Mrs. Sarah J. (George) Morrow,
was born March 30, 1853, near Orearville, Saline county, Missouri, a
daughter of Dr. James Jameson George, a native of Prince William county,
Virginia. Dr. George was born in Virginia November 25, 1810, a son of
William Henry George, a soldier in the War of 1812, who moved from
Virginia to Hardin county, Kentucky, in 1816 with his brothers, Moses
and Lindsey George, who settled at Shelbyville, Ky. The mother of Dr.
George was a member of the Jameson family, an old Virginia family. The
ancestry of both the George and Jameson families goes back to the pre-
Revolutionary days of the Virginia colony. Dr. J. J. George was a
graduate of the Transylvania College at Bairdstown, Ky., and also
studied at Lexington, Ky. He was married in 1841 at Mt. Sterling, Ky.,
to Mary (Catlett) Orear, a daughter of Robert Catlett Orear, who was
born in Mt. Sterling. Ky., January 30, 1814, and departed this life
March 27, 1876, in Johnson county, Missouri. Dr. J. J. and Mary George
were the parents of the following children: Robert died in June, 1905,
on his ranch in Coffey county, Kansas; Joel S., who resides at Peace
River Crossing, Alberta, Canada; Mary E., wife of J. H. Russell, died
June 28, 1911; Mrs. Malinda Morrison, of Tecumseh, Okla.; Benjamin
Franklin, born in Saline county, settled in Coffey county, Kansas, and
now resides in Denver, Colo.; Mrs. James Granville Morrow; two who died
in infancy; James Nelson contracted fever at Central College, and died
October 26, 1875, aged twenty-one years and twenty-nine days; Lee Davis,
a ranchman, of Coffey county, Kansas. Four of these children were born
in Kentucky, and the last four were born in Missouri, where the family
removed in 1850.
Dr. George was a minister of the Gospel and a member of the Methodist
Episcopal conference in Kentucky from 1838 to 1839. He came to Missouri
to farm and preach the Gospel, but was impressed very early in his
western career with the woeful dearth of skilled medical care for the
sick and ailing of the backwoods country, and was frequently called to
the bedside of people who were supposed to be dying, and whom he
realized could be easily saved with some medical attention. Fired with
zeal to assist an unfortunate and suffering people, he conceived the
worthy idea of studying medicine, so that he could be of material
assistance to his people other than in a religious sense. He returned to
Kentucky and entered the Medical College at Lexington. After completing
his course he returned to Saline county, Missouri, and engaged in the
practice of his profession until old age came upon him. He then removed
to Cass county, Missouri, and became a local minister. His was a long
and useful life, every matured year of which was given in behalf of his
fellowmen, unselfishly and devotedly. He was one of the noted
missionaries of the early days in Missouri and extended the word of the
Gospel to the remotest settlements. He organized churches and Sunday
schools where they seemed needed most and his work called him to preach
the Word in log houses and the most primitive habitations of man. Dr.
George was deeply in love with his great work, and loved the people, and
worked tirelessly for their well being in a religious and practical way.
He departed this life August 4, 1875. The last public utterance which he
made was when he spoke to a Sunday school assemblage in Coffey county,
Kansas, in the village of Key West. His end was peaceful and tranquil,
and the departure of this good man’s soul to the realms beyond mortal
kin marked the passing of one of the truly great men of the western
country whose work will go on and on forever. Dr. George and Captain
Morrow became great friends in the early sixties.
On Thanksgiving day of 1915, just the day before Mr. and Mrs. Morrow’s
forty-first wedding anniversary, the captain’s last illness began which
resulted in his passing away. His burial occurred on December 4 from
Trinity Episcopal Church, Rev. Otis E. Gray officiating, with the
Masonic lodge of Atchison conducting burial service at the grave. He was
for many years a Mason and was greatly interested in the Masonic
fraternity, rarely being absent from the lodge meetings, his last spoken
regret having been that he would be unable to attend the ceremonies held
at the laying of the cornerstone of the new Masonic Temple in Atchison.
The last five years of Captain Morrow’s life were perhaps the most
satisfactory and the happiest of his existence. His years of retirement,
although few as compared with that of most men, were spent almost
entirely at his beautiful home, with occasional visits to his farm
lands. He was loath to retire, and did so only at the urgent insistence
of his devoted wife, and for quite a long time after he was eighty years
of age he would insist on driving across the river to his farm. He took
the greatest pleasure with his grandchildren, and especially with his
namesake. In his later years he became a specialist in gardening and
fruit growing merely for his own satisfaction and would frequently
surprise his family with some very choice and rare fruits grown in his
gardens and orchards. From his orchard of peach trees he gathered over
400 bushels of peaches in one season, and also set out an apple orchard
which he attended assiduously. He became a disciple of the famous Luther
Burbank and was a member of the Luther Burbank corporation. Through the
exercise of his skill as a fruit grower be produced several kinds of
rare berries and was continually experimenting in small fruits and
vegetable growing. It was fitting that the life of Captain Morrow should
close in such a manner and that during his last years he was permitted
to indulge himself in his favorite pursuits, surrounded with the loving
and watchful career of his devoted wife, who was always his confidant
and adviser, and to whom he went in time of stress or trouble for
comfort and advice. His was a life well spent and his memory will live
long in the hearts and minds of those who knew him best.
ORLANDO C. SCOVILLE.
In the northeast part of Benton township, in a comfortable farm home on
section 11, range 18, there resides the oldest pioneer settler of that
section of the county, the review of whose career takes one back to the
days of the Civil war when he shouldered a musket in defense of the
Union, and to the early days of Kansas history when the long freight
trains hauled by oxen and mules were leaving Atchison for the far West.
We are reminded of the Indian troubles which beset the hardy freighters
as they convoyed their treasures across the wide reaches of prairie and
mountain. In all these things Orlando C. Scoville, Union veteran, old-
time freighter, and pioneer farmer, participated, and it is meet that
the story of his life and adventurous career be recorded for the
entertainment of succeeding generations of men and women in order that
they might know how a wilderness was redeemed and what manner of men
their forefathers were and whence they came.
Orlando C. Scoville was born February 4, 1846, in Cook county, Illinois,
on a farm located just twenty-two miles from the city of Chicago. His
father was William Scoville, born in 1820, at Watertown, N. Y., a son of
Abijah Scoville, a native of Connecticut, and a scion of an old New
England family. Abijah Scoville was a carpenter by trade and his art was
transmitted to his descendants. William Scoville received a good
education in his native State, and taught school in New York when a
young man seventeen years old. As early as 1842 he came west, to Cook
county, Illinois, and owned a farm in that county which he cultivated
until 1865 when he came to Atchison, Kan., where he first engaged in the
handling of live stock. Later he was in the lumber business with a Mr.
McCoy, who later sold out to Henry T. Smith, and he and Smith conducted
a wagon and lumber business on Utah avenue, just east of the old
Episcopal church, between Fourth and Fifth streets. William eventually
sold out his business and moved to a farm in Benton township, south of
where his son, O. C., lives, and there died in December, 1891. Previous
to removing to his farm he was foreman of the Hixon Lumber Company’s
interests in Atchison. The mother of Orlando C. was Lucinda Lasher, whom
William Scoville married in New York, and who removed to Arrington after
her husband’s death, and there died in November, 1893, at the age of
seventy-five years. William and Lucinda Scoville were the parents of
seven children, two of whom died in infancy: Imogene, wife of A. W.
Mulligan, of Blue Rapids, Kan.; Orlando C.; Eulalie, died in Atchison in
1866, and is buried in Oak Hill cemetery; Freeman, a railroad engineer
for many years, and who died at Arrington, in 1911; Giles, a successful
law practitioner, located in Chicago, and who studied law under the late
Senator John J. Ingalls.
O. C. Scoville was reared to young manhood on the farm in Cook county,
Illinois, and when eighteen years of age enlisted (1864) in Company B,
One Hundred and Thirty-second regiment, Illinois infantry. He served for
six months in the Army of the Tennessee, under General Thomas, and took
part in the several hard-fought battles, among them being the battle and
siege of Atlanta. His command started on the march with Sherman, to the
sea, but were turned back by department orders. After his war service
expired he came to Atchison and joined the family. His first occupation
in Atchison was the operating of a wagon shop, just across the street
from the Blair Mill, and it is a matter of history that his shop was
used as the first depot of the Central Branch railroad, then building.
He ran the wagon shop for two years and then made two trips across the
continent in the capacity of freighter and convoying a herd of cattle.
In 1867 he was one of the freighters in charge of the first train sent
over the Smoky Hill route for Butterfield to Denver. The live stock was
run off by the Indians during this trip, and Butterfield came out and
found them after four weeks’ search; his next trip was to Salt Lake
City. In 1868, he with others, drove a herd of milch cows which had been
sold by McCoy to a man named Murray, and consigned to him in California.
This trip required eighteen months to consummate, and they were forced
to winter in the Antelope valley on Walker river. After taking the
cattle to their destination he returned across the mountains to Reno,
Nev., and there boarded the train for the rest of the journey home, Reno
at that time being the western terminus of the railway. During 1869 he
worked for one year in the engineering corps of the Santa Fe railroad,
and in that winter his father bought his present farm in Benton
township. In the fall of 1872 he moved to the farm where he has resided
continuously for the past forty-three years. In 1893 he bought the farm
formerly owned by the family and has increased his acreage until he and
his son are the owners of 400 acres of land, the latter owning 180
acres, upon which formerly stood three sets of farm buildings, one of
which was destroyed by fire in April, 1915. His present residence was
erected in 1893.
Mr. Scoville was married in Atchison May 8, 1873, to Virginia Williams,
born in Greenbrier county, Virginia, in 1854, and a daughter of
Alexander Williams. Her father died when she was very young and she came
with her mother and stepfather to Missouri in the early pioneer days
when her mother died and she was adopted by Mrs. Miller, a music
teacher, of Atchison, Kan. Three children were born to this union,
namely: Katie died in infancy; William C., born August 10, 1875, married
Myrtle Lollar, and has two children, Earl, born December 13, 1911, and
Alice, born May 16, 1914. William C. is the only living son of Orlando
C. Scoville. Mrs. Scoville died in October, 1913.
This sturdy pioneer has been a Republican ever since he cast his first
vote, and is one of the true blue variety who prides himself on being a
“stand-patter,” who believes thoroughly in the principles of his party
and will never desert the standard of Republicanism. He has never held
office and has never been a seeker after political preferment; has never
been a party to a law suit, never served on a jury, and has been called
only once in his lifetime to the witness stand. He has endeavored at all
times to live at peace with all mankind and has succeeded to such an
extent that at a ripe old age, this pioneer settler of Atchison county
is living in peace and comfort in the home which he created out of a
wilderness.
Mr. Scoville cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln in St. Louis, in
1864.
JOHN JAMES INGALLS.
John James Ingalls, author, lawyer, and United States Senator, was born
in Middleton, Mass., December 29, 1833, a son of Elias T. and Eliza
(Chase) Ingalls. He was descended from Edmond Ingalls, who, with his
brother, Francis, founded the town of Lynn, Mass., in 1628. His father
was a first cousin of Mehitable Ingalls, the grandmother of the late
President Garfield. His mother was a descendant of Aquilla Chase, who
settled in New Hampshire in 1630. Chief Justice Chase was of this
family. After going through the public schools Ingalls attended Williams
College, at Williamstown, Mass., graduating in 1855. He then studied law
and was admitted to the bar in 1857. The next year he came to Kansas and
in 1859 was a member of the Wyandotte constitutional convention. In 1860
he was secretary of the territorial council and was also secretary of
the first State senate, in 1861. The next year he was elected State
senator from Atchison county. In that year, and again in 1864, he was
nominated for lieutenant-governor on the anti-Lane ticket. During the
Civil war he served as judge advocate on the staff of Gen. George W.
Deitzler with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In 1865 Mr. Ingalls
married Miss Anna Louisa Chesebrough, a descendant of William
Chesebrough, who came to this country with Gov. Winthrop in 1630. Her
father, Ellsworth Chesebrough, was a New York importer who came to
Atchison, Kan., in 1859, and at the time of his death, in 1860, was an
elector on the Lincoln ticket. Of this union eleven children were born,
six of whom were living at the time of Mr. Ingalls’ death, viz:
Ellsworth, Ethel, Ralph, Sheffield, Marion and Muriel.
[Illustration:
_John J. Ingalls_
]
In 1873, “Opportunity,” of which Mr. Ingalls wrote in his declining
years, knocked at his door. He was made a candidate for United States
senator at a private caucus one night and was elected by the legislature
the next day. His career at Washington, covering a period of eighteen
years, was one of great brilliancy. He quickly acquired distinction, and
Speaker Reed remarked before he had learned the name of the new senator:
“Any man who can state a proposition as that senator does is a great
man.” As a parliamentarian he was unsurpassed. Senator Harris, a
Democrat from Tennessee, said: “Mr. Ingalls will go down upon the
records as the greatest presiding officer in the history of the senate.”
His speeches made him famous. He was the master of sarcasm and satire,
as well as of eulogistic oratory. His address on John Brown, a speech of
blistering satire; the one delivered in Atchison after his vindication
in the senate; and his eulogies of Senator Hill and Senator Wilson are
classic masterpieces, seldom if ever excelled in oratory. Senator
Ingalls was a strict partisan, an invincible champion of any cause, and
a bitter and persevering opponent. During his three terms in the senate
his greatest efforts were in the advocacy of the constitutional rights
of the freedom of the South and the rights of the veterans of the Civil
war. When a wave of Populism came over Kansas it found him practically
unprepared. He had given little attention to the money question and the
tariff, and it was these things which were clamoring for solution. He
was defeated by the Populists for senator in 1891. Mr. Ingalls said many
times that he valued a seat in the senate above any other honor in the
gift of the American people. As an author Mr. Ingalls won his reputation
first by a number of articles appearing in the old _Kansas Magazine_,
among which were “Cat-Fish Aristocracy” and “Blue Grass.” His poem,
“Opportunity,” is worthy to be classed with the greatest in the English
language, and it may yet outlive his reputation as an orator and
statesman and be his lasting monument. After leaving the senate Mr.
Ingalls retired from active life, traveled for his health, and died in
New Mexico, August 16, 1900. In January, 1905, a statue of him was
installed in Statuary Hall at Washington with fitting ceremonies, being
the first statue to be contributed by Kansas, although Mr. Ingalls
during his lifetime had urged upon the State to place one of John Brown
in this hall.
SIDNEY MARTIN.
A publication of this nature exercises its most important function when
it takes cognizance of the life and labors of those citizens who
attained prominence and prosperity through their own well directed
efforts and who were of material value in furthering the advancement and
development of the commonwealth. Sidney Martin came to Atchison county
in 1856 when a boy of eleven. He endured the hardships common to the
resident of Kansas previous to and during the Civil war period. He made
several trips between Atchison and Denver as a freighter; drove over
some 400 miles of country infested with Indians and narrowly escaped
death at their hands. He bought the first section of land that was sold
in the Kickapoo reservation and became one of the most successful
farmers and stock breeders in northeastern Kansas. He was actively
identified with the development of this section of the State and
attained prominence and influence as a citizen.
Sidney Martin was a native of Kentucky, born in Estill county on
November 1, 1846, a son of Jackson H. and Polly (Walters) Martin. His
ancestors, paternal and maternal, were among the first to settle in the
Virginia colony, coming from England in 1607. His father, Jackson H.
Martin, best known to the residents of Atchison county as “Uncle Jack”
Martin, was also a Kentuckian, born in Estill county on January 15,
1812, a son of Robert and Mary (Harris) Martin, both of whom were
natives of Virginia. Robert Martin served in the War of 1812 and was a
commissioned officer. The epaulets from his uniform were in the
possession of the family until a few years ago. Subsequent to this
service he removed to Kentucky and was one of Daniel Boone’s companions
and was with him during many Indian fights. He was one of the pioneer
settlers of Estill county.
Jackson H. Martin, or “Uncle Jack,” as he was commonly called, was
reared in Estill county, married there, and in 1855 brought his family
to Buchanan county, Missouri, where he lived one year. In the spring of
1856 he came to Kansas and settled at Mormon’s Grove. The place derived
its name through being a former Mormon emigrant settlement. It was about
five miles from Atchison. “Uncle Jack” and his family occupied the
Mormon cabin until he could build one of his own. He preëmpted a quarter
section of land at this point and engaged in farming. A native of
Kentucky, a Democrat as well, he naturally became involved in the
turmoil of events preceding the Civil war. For the protection of himself
and family, he built a double wall of stone and earth around his
dwelling. This caused it to be called Ft. Martin. The place was attacked
one night by Jayhawkers who were after horses. The attacking party were
driven off without booty and several of their number were wounded.
“Uncle Jack” continued to reside at Ft. Martin until 1878, when he
became a resident of Effingham. He built the Martin Hotel and conducted
it for a number of years. He was a success as a host, his hotel was
famous for its cookery and hospitality and Effingham the gainer by his
coming. His death occurred in April, 1902, at the age of ninety years.
He had lived an eventful life, had watched Kansas grow from a sparsely
settled, faction-torn border State to one of the most prosperous
agricultural commonwealths of the Union. He had met many of the most
famous men of her formative period, and was a personal friend of John A.
Martin, Paddy Brown, Governor Glick and Charles Robinson. His wife,
Polly Walters, whom he married in Estill Springs, Ky., died in April,
1895. They were the parents of four children: Ann Elizabeth, the wife of
William Hight, of Fremont county, Colorado; Sidney, the subject of this
review; Mary W., widow of Gilbert Keithline, of Atchison county, and
Sally, widow of Henry Woodard. Twins died in infancy. Martha died at the
age of sixteen years. Sally (Martin) Woodard was born in Estill county,
Kentucky, in 1852, and came with her parents to Kansas in 1856. She was
reared on the old Martin farm in Atchison county, and in 1869 married
Henry Woodard, who was born in Evansville, Ind., in 1844. He was a son
of Philander Henry Woodard, who came to Atchison in the early sixties
and engaged in the milling business. After his marriage Henry Woodard
settled on a farm in Jackson county, where he remained until 1874, when
he located in Effingham and engaged in the mercantile business. He
followed this line of occupation until a few years before his death
which occurred May 30, 1914. He is survived by his widow and the
following children: Philander Henry, Jack Martin, Gilbert Campbell,
Dorothy, wife of Elmer Percival, of Sheridan county, Kansas; Helen Lee,
wife of Rolla Taliaferro; and Sally Bernice, a student in the Atchison
Business College.
Sidney Martin acquired his education in the schools of Atchison, and
later completed a course in the Platte City (Missouri) Academy. He was
reared on his father’s farm, near Atchison, and assisted in its carrying
on until about sixteen years of age. He then secured employment with Mr.
Teuschau, a pioneer French trader and freighter, who had an Indian wife.
He was also with the Scotch freighter, Kisskadden, on several trips. The
latter recommended him as a capable guide and driver to G. T. Smith, who
wished to secure the services of some one who could take his wife and
baby, and the aged wife of his partner, from Atchison to Denver in 1864,
where Smith owned a hardware store. Although but sixteen years of age,
young Martin secured the job. This was in 1864, a time when the Indians
were on the war path and Smith’s wagon with young Martin as driver,
started alone, but joined a freighting outfit numbering some forty
wagons and drivers. Just before they reached Ft. Kearney at Big Sandy,
they met fleeing Blue River ranchmen, who were hurrying to the nearest
settlement, and who told them the Indians were on the war path. They
stayed all night at the home of a settler and heard the following day
that Indians had murdered the settler’s family and burned their house.
The wife of Smith’s partner was insistent on a proper observance of the
Sabbath day, and while in the Indian country caused Mrs. Smith to order
that their wagon remain in camp over Sunday. The wagon train left them
behind and the Lord’s day was properly kept by the women, although they
were warned by Martin that it was dangerous to leave the protection of
the train. As related by Martin “that was the longest day I ever spent.”
About midnight he fed and harnessed the team and started on with the
intention of joining the train of eleven men and wagons which had
preceded them. At sunrise they reached a lone ranch and its owner, who
was postmaster, told Martin the wagons were just ahead, over the first
hill. Here he mailed a letter to his mother. On arriving at the hill top
Martin was able to see the valley where the train had camped. The wagons
were in flames, had been robbed of their contents, a large part of which
was whiskey. Two women were taken captives and the eleven freighters had
been killed and scalped by Indians. The savages had indulged in the
captured whiskey and were so thoroughly stupefied that they were
incapable of riding a horse and also failed to follow the wagon which
Martin drove. He wheeled his team and drove them at full speed to the
nearest ranch and found the buildings burned. They drove on to the next
ranch where they secured protection, a company of soldiers arriving
there the same day. The officer in command was drunk and refused to
attack the red-skins that night when victory would have been easy. When
the company reached the scene of the massacre the following day, the
Indians were not to be seen. Martin’s next stop was at another ranch and
here Mr. Smith joined the wagon, having rushed forward in the belief
that Martin had been killed and the women captured by the savages. On
parting from his charges Martin was given a plain band gold ring by Mrs.
Smith with her blessing. He made several other trips across the plains,
the last one with his father, “Uncle Jack” Martin, which took them to
Montana. When the Kickapoo Indian reservation was thrown open to
purchase, Sidney Martin bought the first section that was sold and
several years later he bought the last, becoming the owner of 560 acres
in one body. He entered actively into the developing of his raw land and
brought it up to a highly productive state. He became widely and
favorably known as a breeder of Shorthorn cattle, and from time to time
purchased additional acreage until his holdings in land were extensive,
owning at one time 747 acres, at the time of his demise. He took an
active part in political affairs of his section, and, while disinclined
to accept office, was called upon frequently for counsel and advice. He
was a man of keen perceptions, knew men and the motives which actuated
them, and was a student thoroughly familiar with the questions of the
day. He numbered among his close personal friends, Governor Glick. His
death occurred on January 3, 1904.
Mr. Martin married on February 20, 1868, Miss Mary Elizabeth White, a
daughter of George B., born May 10, 1815, and Mary Elizabeth (Lindsay)
White, born December 14, 1820, the former a native of Woodford county,
Kentucky, and the latter of Carroll county. They were married January
25, 1839. She died September 25, 1860, while the family was residing in
Missouri. After the death of his wife, Mr. White came to Atchison and
engaged in the grain business. With S. R. Washer he built the first
elevator in the city of Atchison. He died in November, 1900. Mrs. Martin
was born on May 15, 1848, while her parents were living in Missouri. On
the maternal side she is descended from the Blackburn family, members of
which fought with the Continental troops in the war for independence.
After the death of her husband, Mrs. Martin became a resident of the
city of Atchison, where she has since resided.
ROBERT M. THOMAS.
In every community we find that there are some individuals who seem
naturally endowed with the ability to go ahead and do things and take a
place of leadership among their associates. Robert M. Thomas is one of
those who possess the natural endowments, peculiar to leadership and the
ability to make things go with which he is connected. A successful
farmer, a good citizen and business man, makes an excellent combination,
and Mr. Thomas has made his mark in his community as a progressive and
enterprising citizen.
Robert M. Thomas was born in Buchanan county, Missouri, February 2,
1868, a son of Moses and Katie (Critchfield) Thomas, who were born and
partly reared in old Kentucky. The parents of both were early settlers
of Buchanan county. Moses was the son of Robert Thomas, and the father
of his wife was Martin Critchfield. They were Southern born, and were
descendants of old Southern families. Moses Thomas was born in 1843, and
still resides in Buchanan county; his wife, Katie, was born in 1850, and
is still living. The Thomas family has a farm of 140 acres in Buchanan
county, upon which was reared a large family of eleven children, nine of
whom are living: Robert M.; John, deceased; Walter, living in
California; Forrest, residing in St. Joseph, Mo.; Harriet and Cecil, at
home; Ollie, deceased; Louise, Margaret, Cora and Ellen, at home with
their parents.
R. M. Thomas received his education in the public schools of his native
State and assisted his father in the operating of the home farm until
1892, when he married and farmed for three years in Buchanan county,
Missouri, and then worked his farm in Platte county, Missouri, for four
years. His first purchase of land was in 1899 when he invested in a farm
of 120 acres in Buchanan county, which he sold three years later at a
profit over the original purchase price. In 1902 he bought another farm,
and in 1903 located two and one-half miles northwest of Effingham in
Benton township. This farm comprises 160 acres and is now one of the
best improved places in the neighborhood. Mr. Thomas did so well in
Atchison county that he was enabled to buy another farm of 160 acres in
1912. This farm is located in Grasshopper township, about three miles
north of Muscotah. Upon the organization of the Farmers’ Mercantile
Company in June, 1913, in which Mr. Thomas took an active part, he
assumed the managership of the same and attends to his business during
the day, while still making his home at the farm. This plan gives him an
excellent opportunity to oversee his farming operations at all times.
Mr. Thomas was married in 1892 to Katie Stanton, of Platte county,
Missouri, a daughter of William and Cynthia (Hall) Stanton, natives of
Platte county, and of Eastern origin. To this union the following
children have been born: William, married Pearl, daughter of Thomas O.
Gault, and is managing his father’s farm, two miles north of Muscotah;
Clara, a graduate of the Atchison County High School, and a teacher in
the public schools; Margaret, Ollie and Jessie, students in the county
high school; Elva, Emma, Robert M., and Daisy, attending the district
school near their home.
Mr. Thomas is a Democrat in politics and has filled the office of
trustee of Benton township one term. He and his family are members of
the Christian church. He is fraternally connected with the Odd Fellows
lodge.
The Farmers’ Mercantile Association, of which Mr. Thomas is the manager,
was organized in June of 1913 for the purpose of handling grain, coal,
feed and seeds. The capital stock of the concern is $10,000, of which
$6,800 is fully paid up. The officers of the association were:
President, C. A. Taliaferro; vice-president, Stewart Hefflefinger;
secretary and manager, R. M. Thomas; treasurer, C. M. Snyder. The
directors are: C. A. Taliaferro, S. Hefflefinger, Charles M. Snyder,
John E. Sullivan, R. M. Thomas, E. H. Cawley, W. M. Sutter, R. B. Hawk,
Reuben Hargrove. The present officers are the same with the exception
that Reuben Hargrove is now serving as the vice-president, and Fred
Wyatt was elected to fill the vacancy in the board of directors, caused
by the demise of C. A. Taliaferro and Edward High succeeded W. M.
Sutter. The concern has a grain elevator with a capacity of 8,000
bushels. The largest shipment of grain made in any one year has exceeded
115,000 bushels.
WILLIAM McADAM.
William McAdam, retired farmer, of Effingham, Kan., was born February 6,
1861, in Sterlingshire, Scotland, and is a son of James and Helen
(Macnee) McAdam, who, with their children emigrated from their native
country in 1882 and settled on a farm near Effingham in Atchison county,
Kansas. They reared a family of five children, of whom William is the
oldest, the others being as follows: Mrs. Jane Drummond, of Ellenville,
Kan.; George, of Holton, Kan.; Mrs. Nellie Drummond, residing in
Cottonwood Falls, Kan.; and James, living at Holton, Kan. The father of
these children was born in 1820, and died in 1885, just three years
after coming to America. He was a hard-working, industrious farmer. The
mother was born in 1839 and departed this life in May, 1899.
William McAdam was twenty-one years of age when the family came to
Atchison county and for three years after his arrival here he assisted
his parents in the operation of the home farm. He then worked out for
one year and began renting land on his own account, renting twelve years
in all, five of which were in Jackson county, Kansas. His first purchase
of land was a tract of ninety-six acres in Jackson county, which he
improved and resided upon until 1907, when he moved to Effingham, where
he and his family reside in one of the most attractive homes in the
city, located on a tract of ten acres. Mr. McAdam is now the owner of
160 acres of good land south of Effingham, over which he has
supervision.
He was married in 1888 to Miss Augusta Sutter, a daughter of Frederick
Sutter, now deceased, who was one of the earliest settlers in Atchison
county, and who became one of the wealthy land owners of the county.
(See sketch of Fred Sutter.) Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs.
McAdam, Fannie and Mabel, both of whom are at home with their parents.
The mother of these children was born in Atchison county in 1861.
Mr. McAdam is an independent Democrat, who votes as his conscience
dictates, and prefers to support the man rather than any one political
party or creed, believing in this manner that better government will
result. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and is fraternally
connected with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.
CLAUDIUS DEMONT WALKER.
The citizen who loves his city to the extent that he is willing to
devote his energies toward making it a better abiding place for his
fellow men, and does his duty in a public capacity, regardless of
criticism or adverse comments, is a man worth while. He whose name heads
this review is such an individual. As mayor of Atchison, C. D. Walker
made a record which will outlive the present generation; as an attorney
he has achieved a signal success and ranks high in the legal fraternity
of the State of Kansas; as a religious worker he has accomplished much
good of a lasting and enduring quality for the community in which he
lives. Born of Kansas pioneer parents, his training and education were
such as to prepare him for the career which has made him distinguished
among his fellow men; and he has proven that a wholesome example set by
noble parents is the best incentive that a man can have to guide him
through life.
[Illustration:
_Eng. by E. G. Williams & Bro. N. Y._
_C. D. Walker_
]
C. D. Walker was born March 29, 1851, at Greenville, Pa., a son of
Harvey and Anna M. Walker, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the
latter a native of Ireland. Harvey Walker, the father, was born in 1820
and was a son of Harvey Walker, a native of the Keystone State, who
married at Pittsburgh, Pa., Miss Mary Ann Carr, who was born at Mile
End, England. The grandfather of C. D. Walker was a wagon and carriage
maker by trade and operated a shop in Greenville for many years. The
history of the Walkers in America begins with three brothers who
emigrated from the north of Ireland in colonial days. One of whom,
Samuel Walker, located near Rochester, N.Y., one, Andrew Walker, settled
in Virginia, and one, the great-grandfather of C. D. Walker, settled in
Pennsylvania. Being north Ireland people it is practically certain that
the Walker family is of Scotch descent, their ancestors having emigrated
from the ancestral home of the family to the north of Ireland a few
centuries ago when the migration of the protestant people from the Isle
of Britain to escape religious persecution occurred. Harvey Walker
learned his father’s trade of wagon and carriage making, but worked but
little at the business. Imbued with the desire to better his fortunes in
the great West, he left the old home of the family in about 1854 and
migrated to Oneida, Ill., near which town he purchased a homestead.
After farming for a few years he sold out and started overland to the
new State of Kansas, which at that time was attracting adventurers from
all parts of the country. The family possessions were loaded upon wagons
drawn by horses, and in due time the Walkers arrived at Ft. Scott in
Bourbon county, Kansas, their destination. During the years ’57–’58–’59,
the senior Walker traded with the Indians, and eventually located on a
homestead, twelve miles northwest of Ft. Scott. Harvey Walker was a
stanch Methodist of the uncompromising type and was unalterably opposed
to the institution of slavery. He fearlessly and freely voiced his
convictions at every opportunity, and his outspoken tendencies
frequently brought trouble upon him from the slavery advocates, who had
settled in the neighborhood in considerable numbers. He was always
introducing new innovations in farming methods and machinery. It is a
matter of history that he owned and used the first rake harvester
brought to that part of the country. The slavery advocates and border
ruffians annoyed him considerably. They stole his horses, broke up his
wagons and farming implements and so pronounced were the threats of the
slavery men that Mr. Walker was forced to spend most of his time in Ft.
Scott away from his family. He was greatly interested in the success of
the anti-slavery propagandists and used great influence in determining
the ultimate destiny in Kansas becoming a free State. When the war broke
out he decided to move north. In the spring of 1861 he arrived in the
city of Atchison, which at that time was a small village, and was
induced by Capt. Asa Barnes to locate in Atchison county, where he
remained about a year. He afterwards purchased and settled on a tract of
land adjoining the town of Winchester, Jefferson county, Kansas. Here he
located his permanent Kansas home, and developed a fine farm. Here he
raised a large family, and gave his children the best education the
school facilities at that time afforded. Harvey Walker was married
December 24, 1848, to Anna Mariah Nelson, who bore him the following
children, namely: Crandall C., an importer of thoroughbred horses, Sioux
City, Iowa; Claudius D., with whose career this review is directly
concerned; Marion D., a farmer and fruit grower, living near Midland
College, Atchison county; Marvin L., a banker of Oklahoma City, Okla.;
Ellis Lytle, living in Washington State; Schuyler R., a farmer of
Stillwater Okla.; Harvey Mitchell, an importer of thoroughbred horses of
Oklahoma City; William Nelson, a farmer of Stillwater, Okla.; Roland
Ferris, who died in infancy; Orlina L., widow of William McKenney,
deceased, a hardware merchant of Winchester, Kan., and Anna M., wife of
William B. Stevenson, a Methodist minister. The mother of the foregoing
children was born in north Ireland, September 24, 1824, a daughter of
James and Elizabeth (Farris) Nelson. James Nelson was agent for an
English estate in Ireland, and was the son of William Nelson and
Catherine (Stewart) Nelson. His wife, Elizabeth Farris, was the daughter
of Robert and Jane Farris, all of English descent. Anna Mariah Nelson
came to America when eight years old with a brother, and went to live
with an aunt in Greenville, Pa., while her family settled in Bayfield,
Canada. She was educated in the schools at Greenville and afterwards
became a teacher in the public school where she was wooed and married by
Harvey Walker. Harvey Walker and his noble wife were sturdy God-fearing
Christians, and the family prayers were a part of the regular regime of
the religious creed followed by them through life. They were ardent
Methodists who believed in living faithfully according to the precepts
of their religion, and the examples set by their upright and consistent
conduct throughout their long lives left an indelible imprint upon the
lives of their children, who have endeavored to follow in the footsteps
of their parents. Claudius DeMont attended the district school at
Winchester, and when eighteen years of age left home to enter Baker
University at Baldwin, Kan. After two years of hard work in Baker
University he entered the agricultural college at Manhattan, which at
that time was a college controlled by the Methodists and had the best
facilities of any college of the State of Kansas. Here he spent four
years and should have graduated in the class of 1873, but on account of
ill health was compelled to leave school before the end of the term. In
the fall of 1876 Mr. Walker matriculated in the law department of the
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. During the year previous to this,
he had studied law in the office of Boyce & Boyd in Cincinnati, Ohio,
and upon his matriculation at Ann Arbor entered the junior class of the
university. He graduated from the law department at Ann Arbor in the
class of 1878, and immediately located in Atchison, where he began the
practice of his profession. From the very beginning his professional
career was a success. In February, 1882, he formed a partnership with
Judge Gilbert, which continued until Gilbert’s election to the district
bench in the fall of 1887. Since that time Mr. Walker has practiced his
profession alone for thirty-four consecutive years, which has been
filled with gratifying success. The district records of Atchison county
show that for many years Mr. Walker was interested in virtually all of
the important cases pending. For many years he was attorney for the
First National Bank of Atchison, Kan., together with many other large
institutions of the city.
During his long successful legal career, Mr. Walker has not neglected
the material side of his affairs and early invested his money in loans
and real estate. His investments were so judiciously made that he has
become one of the largest land owners of Kansas, and is rated as one of
Atchison’s wealthiest citizens. His total holdings in Atchison county
will exceed 1,700 acres of farm lands, and he also owns other lands in
Texas and western Kansas.
The political and civic career of Mr. Walker has been a noteworthy one
and portrays the rugged honesty and public spirited feeling which have
actuated him during his whole life. He was first appointed to the office
of county auditor by Judge Gilbert in 1888, and served for two years;
and was elected to the office of county attorney in 1891, and served in
this capacity until 1894. His service as county attorney included the
most strenuous years of his life, inasmuch as the court docket was
continually crowded during his entire incumbency. This was the time that
Coxey’s army of unemployed was making its journey from this part of the
country toward Washington and on its way committed all kinds of small
crimes, and many arrests were made daily. It was Mr. Walker’s duty to
prosecute these numberless cases as they came up for trial which
overwhelmed him. He has served as a member of the city council of
Atchison several terms, and was mayor for two years, 1911 to 1913. Mr.
Walker’s administration of the city’s affairs during his incumbency as
the chief executive is considered to have been the best that Atchison
ever had in a constructive and law-abiding sense. Several miles of
street paving was accomplished and many bad streets were repaved
thoroughly and well. The first concrete paving in the city was laid on
Division street and done in the best manner possible. The city purchased
the finest fire apparatus ever brought to a northeast Kansas city. The
West Atchison fire station was built. Three large sewer districts were
created and the sewers installed. One of these was the intercepting
sewer in White Clay creek. For many years the city of Atchison suffered
from the filth and stench of White Clay creek until the same became
intolerable. The remedy had been thought impossible, but on Mr. Walker’s
election he conceived the plan of installing an intercepting sewer which
has proved a great success, and a benefit to the city.
The electric light rate was reduced from 15 to 10 cents per kilowatt,
thus saving to the consumer thousands of dollars annually. The street
lighting was changed from the half night to the all night moon light
schedule, with many new lights added and without a dollar’s increase in
expenses. The city was freed from joints and gambling places and houses
of ill repute within the first few months after Mr. Walker went into
office and remained so during his entire term. As mayor he first raised
the question of requiring the mills and other large institutions located
along railroads, and the railroads entering the city to light their own
premises and yards.
Mr. Walker was the promoter and organizer of the first independent
telephone company in the city, which company succeeded in putting the
Bell Telephone Company out of business for the time being, and until the
Home company was sold to the Bell company in 1911, and a consolidation
effected.
Mr. Walker is a Republican and has always taken a more or less active
part in his party’s affairs. He was at one time a candidate for Congress
from the First Congressional district of the State of Kansas, at the
time the three-cornered fight for the nomination between Ex-Governor
Bailey, Charles Curtis and C. D. Walker was waged, and a deadlock ensued
which lasted for more than one week.
His family life has been an ideal one, and in keeping with the career of
the man himself. The marriage of Mr. Walker and Miss Lizzie E. Auld took
place June 7, 1881, at Atchison, Kan. One daughter has blessed this
union, Isabelle, wife of Louis D. Brockett, a son of B. L. Brockett, a
leading lumber merchant of Atchison. Mr. Brockett has charge of the loan
business established by Mr. Walker. Mrs. Lizzie Auld Walker was born in
Brownsville, Pa., a daughter of William W. and Isabelle Mullen Auld,
natives of Pennsylvania, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. The Auld family is
one of the oldest of American families. Its members are related closely
with the Carrolls of Carrollton, Va., whose ancestors came from north of
Ireland and were originally of Scotch ancestry. William W. Auld migrated
from Pennsylvania to Atchison, Kan., in, 1872, and was a member of the
milling firm of Blair & Auld, from that time until his death in 1895.
Mr. Walker has been a member of the Masonic fraternity for over thirty
years, and has taken a regular course of Masonry, being a Knight
Templar. He is fraternally affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen, Knights and
Ladies of Security, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and the Royal
Arcanum. It is only natural that a man reared in a religious atmosphere,
as he has been, should take an active and influential part in church and
religious work. Mr. Walker has been a member of the official board of
the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Atchison, since 1880, and has
been a liberal and cheerful supporter of this denomination. At present
he is chairman of the building committee which has charge of the
erection of the new building planned by the church for the ensuing year.
Since 1889 he has served as a member of the board of trustees of Baker
University, of Baldwin, Kan. In 1908 he was a delegate to the National
conference of the Methodist denomination at Baltimore. Successful as a
lawyer, having achieved substantial competence in his behalf, made
history as a public official, followed the teachings of his Christian
parents as regards an upright life and doing his duty in a religious
sense, sums up the life career of this useful Atchison citizen.
ALVA CURTIS TRUEBLOOD.
Alva Curtis Trueblood, a former Atchison merchant and city official and
Union veteran, now deceased, was born in Salem, Washington county,
Indiana, in 1838, a son of Dr. Joshua and Zelpha (Arnold) Trueblood,
natives of South Carolina, who emigrated from their native State to
Indiana in the early pioneer days when the Indians were still camping on
the streams and roaming the forests of the Hoosier State. The parents of
A. C. Trueblood settled in Salem and he was there reared to manhood,
receiving his education in the district schools and the Seminary at
Battle Creek, Mich., where he was graduated. After his graduation in the
classical course at Battle Creek, he returned to his home town of Salem
and embarked in the newspaper business, purchasing the _Salem Times_,
which he edited until the outbreak of the Civil war. He enlisted at the
first call for troops issued by President Lincoln and was mustered in as
a member of Company H, Thirteen regiment, Indiana infantry, under
Captain Sales, who was later promoted to the rank of colonel, private
Trueblood being successively promoted to a second lieutenancy and then
to first lieutenant of his company. Later, he was commissioned a captain
and remained Captain Trueblood until the close of the war. He saw much
active service during the great rebellion and was under fire with his
regiment at the very first battle in which it was engaged, at Green
Brier Mountain, W. Va. Captain Trueblood fought in thirty-six terrific
battles during his term of service, and was engaged in the nine days’
battle at Cold Harbor under General Grant. Captain Trueblood often gave
a vivid and heart-rending description of the terrific slaughter of human
lives which took place at this great battle, and told of how a person
could walk for miles on the dead bodies with which the field was strewn.
His time of enlistment expired while the battle of Cold Harbor was in
progress, and he then returned to his home, where he was married
December 29, 1864, to Hattie Allen.
Mr. and Mrs. Trueblood resided in Salem, Ind., until after the close of
the war when he entered the mercantile business in Salem and was very
successful. His health failing him it was deemed advisable that they
seek a new home in the West. During his business career he had invested
in Atchison county land, and they came to this county in 1880, settling
on their farm in the spring of that year. They remained on the farm but
a short time, however, until Mr. Trueblood regained his health, in a
measure, and then removed to Atchison, where he embarked in the
queensware business, which he conducted for about three years. He was
then elected city clerk and held this office for about ten years.
Captain Trueblood died April 16, 1904. Mr. and Mr. Trueblood have reared
the following children: Albert, now engaged in the newspaper business at
Sacramento, Cal.; Victor T., manager of the Van Nuys News Company, of
Kansas City, Mo.; Paul T., a traveling salesman, residing in Grand
Island, Neb.; Owen T., of Kansas City, an express messenger of the
Missouri Pacific railroad; Nellie, a graduate of Midland College, and a
teacher in the Ingalls school; Norvel died in 1867, at the age of four
years. The mother of these children was born in March, 1840, a daughter
of Thomas and Annis (Brinkley) Allen, both natives of West Virginia, and
pioneer settlers of Washington county, Indiana. She was educated in the
common schools of her native county and attended the Salem Female
College. Thomas Allen, father of Mrs. Trueblood, was proprietor of a
cotton and woolen manufactory at Salem, and was forced to pay Gen. John
Morgan and his raiders the sum of $1,000 to prevent the burning of his
mill, when Morgan and his troops made their memorable raid and burned
the depot at Salem and raided the stores. Thomas Allen and wife were the
parents of eight children, six sons and two daughters. Three of the sons
were Union soldiers, William Allen, the twin brother of Mrs. Trueblood,
serving in the same regiment with Captain Trueblood.
Mr. Trueblood was an efficient and capable city official during his many
years of service in the city clerk’s office and had many warm friends in
Atchison. He was allied with the Republican party and was prominent in
the affairs of his party. He was well known in Masonic circles and was
high in the councils of the Masonic lodge, being master of Washington
Lodge, No. 5., of Atchison, Kan., for several years, and was a leading
member of the Grand Army of the Republic, both of which bodies
officiated at the ceremonies held when his body was laid away for the
long rest.
WILLIAM J. CLEM.
William J. Clem, deceased farmer and horticulturist, of Shannon
township, was born June 9, 1851, in Randolph county, Virginia, a son of
Aaron Clem, who immigrated to Kansas in 1863 and settled on Independence
creek, near the Doniphan-Atchison county line. On the farm, which his
father owned in this pioneer settlement of Kansas, William was reared to
young manhood, and married, after which he lived on a farm in the
southern part of Doniphan county for four years, then moved to the Myers
farm, which he and his wife purchased some years later and cultivated
until March of 1898. In this year he purchased the fine farm which is
now owned by his widow and immediately began improving it. This farm
consists of sixty acres and lays within a few miles of Atchison in a
northwesterly direction. Its acreage is divided as follows: Twenty acres
of apples and small fruits, and forty acres of farm land and pasture.
Realizing that it was necessary to follow intensive farming on a sixty-
acre farm, Mr. Clem set out an orchard of 350 trees, which have been
bearing prolifically for several years. An attractive farm residence,
set in a fine lawn in which shrubbery and flower beds please the eye,
together with a good barn and silo, greets the eye as they stand out on
a rise of land. Mr. Clem was a very industrious farmer, a good citizen,
and a kind father and husband, and will long be remembered by those who
knew him best and were aware of his many excellent qualities. He
departed this life on May 26, 1906. He was a member of the Baptist
church and a Democrat in politics.
W. J. Clem, and Laura E. Myers, his widow, were married June 16, 1879,
and to this union were born children, as follows: Mrs. Effie Randolph,
of Atchison, who is the mother of two children, Elizabeth and Bernice;
Mrs. Clara Waltz, of Shannon township, and mother of one child, Virginia
Frances; Mrs. Addie Underwood, residing on a farm in Shannon township,
who has one child, Spencer Eugene; Mrs. Laura Demmel, living near
Rushville, Mo., and mother of one son, Raymond; Albert, married Ella
Turner, and Edgar, at home; Mrs. Lissa Marie Altauf, of south Tenth
street, Atchison; Frances and Jessie, at home. Mrs. Laura E. (Myers)
Clem was born June 9, 1859, in Buchanan county, Missouri, a daughter of
Augustus and Hulda (Snyder) Myers, natives of Germany and Indiana,
respectively. Augustus Myers was born in 1825 and died October 6, 1909.
His parents with their family immigrated to this country from Germany in
1831. Augustus was reared on a farm, south of St. Joseph, and was there
married. His wife, Hulda, was born in 1831 and died October 8, 1907. She
came with her parents to Buchanan county, Missouri, in 1841. There were
nine children in the Myers family, namely: Hiram K., deceased; Edward
S., deceased; William H., living in Doniphan county; Mrs. Laura E. Clem,
with whom this review is directly concerned; Winslow, of Gower, Mo.;
Charles W. of Lancaster township, this county; Mrs. Dora Augusta Saeger,
of Quincy, Ill.; Mrs. Malinda Frances Underwood, of Shannon township;
and Ray Evans, of Seattle, Wash. The Myers family came to Atchison
county in August of 1875, living in Atchison until February, 1876, and
settled on a farm in Shannon township, which he purchased from Andrew
Evans, living on their place near Good Intent, until March of 1891, when
the old couple sold their farm to Mr. and Mrs. Clem, and retired to a
home in Atchison, where they died. Augustus Myers was a soldier in the
Union army and served for a few months under Captain Snyder, an uncle of
Mrs. Clem.
Mrs. Clem and her children are all members of the Christian church and
take an active part in the social and religious affairs carried on by
the large membership of this flourishing denomination. She and her
sturdy sons carry on the farming operations in a creditable and
profitable manner and are happy and contented. The boys are greatly
interested in athletics and were an important part of the winning church
baseball team during the season of 1915. A happier nor more contented
family can not be found in Atchison county. Mrs. Clem is a capable and
intelligent woman who did not hesitate to take over the management of
the farm upon her husband’s demise and has made a success of the
undertaking.
JARED COPELAND FOX.
The late Jared Copeland Fox was one of Atchison’s ablest citizens,
public spirited, a successful financier and a familiar figure in the
leading circles of the city for many years. Merchant, banker, scholar, a
kind husband and father, his demise left a void which can never be
filled. Coming of a distinguished family, born October 30, 1841, in
Chili, N. Y., his life bears out the oft repeated assertion that lineage
and birth have something to do with shaping a man’s destiny, and
influencing his career. His parents were Jared Ware and Mercy Chapman
(Copeland) Fox. Jared Ware Fox was a son of Alanson and Elizabeth (Ware)
Fox. His maternal grandfather was Jonathan Copeland, who married a Miss
Wells at Charlton, Mass., who was a direct descendant of Ruth, a
daughter of John and Priscilla Alden. On April 2, 1816, Jonathan
Copeland was commissioned a captain in the militia and adjutant on the
governor’s staff of Massachusetts in 1816. In 1819 he was appointed a
brigadier commander of the State militia. After his marriage he removed
to New York and was there a colonel in the State militia of New York. He
held five different commissions in Massachusetts and New York. The Fox
family is of English descent and originally settled in Connecticut. The
maiden name of the wife of Col. Jonathan Copeland was Rebecca Edwards
and she was a connection of the family of which Rev. Jonathan Edwards
was a member. Colonel Copeland had three children: Mercy, Elizabeth and
the Rev. Jonathan Copeland, a Congregational minister of New York, who
conducted an academy in that city and one of whose pupils was Philip
Armour of beef packing fame. Jonathan was born October 16, 1786, died in
1858 in New York; Rebecca was born in 1790, died February 6, 1863, in
Kansas.
[Illustration:
_Eng. by E. G. Williams & Bro. N. Y._
_A. C. Fox_
]
Alanson Fox, grandfather of Jared C., removed from Connecticut to a farm
near Sherburne, N. Y., and here Jared Ware was born December 5, 1810.
Rev. Jared Ware Fox was educated for the ministry, studying four years
in Oneida Institute and one year in a seminary in New York City, and for
fifty years preached the Gospel according to the Congregational faith.
In the early days he was sent to Kansas by his church to establish and
organize churches in the new towns and cities building up on the broad
prairies. He formed a church at Burlingame and Ridgeway, Kan., making
his home at the latter place and preaching throughout the country
serving churches at Kunwaka, Waveland, Valley Brook and one year at
Lawrence. He spent one year in Topeka in charge of a church in the
capital city. He was a strong abolitionist and was in his natural
element when he first came to Kansas in 1860, the year of the “great
drought.” He took an active part in the relief work in Kansas at that
time and sent his son, Jared C., then but eighteen years of age, back to
Galesburg, Ill., where an old friend of the family resided, to gather
potatoes and produce for the sustenance of the drought suffers. He died
March 2, 1898, leaving the following children: Charles G., on the old
homestead at Ridgeway, Kan.; Jared C.; Irving Dwight, deceased; Herbert
Everett, of California; Herman Elliot, Davenport, Iowa. The mother of
these children, Mercy C. (Copeland) Fox, was born February 16, 1816, and
died April 11, 1893.
Jared C. Fox received an academic education in New York and accompanied
his parents to Kansas. At the age of nineteen years he was first
employed in a general store conducted by Crosby Brothers at Valley
Falls, Kan., at a salary of $150 per year and his board. He yearned for
a larger field and came to Atchison in 1862, entering the employ of
William Smith, who owned a dry goods store. During a part of the Civil
war he served as clerk in the commissary department at Rolla, Mo., under
Major Grimes for two years. After the close of the war he was deputy
county treasurer under Sam C. King, and upon Mr. King’s resignation from
the county treasurership, he was appointed to serve for six months
finishing out Mr. King’s unexpired term. He then served as deputy United
States marshal under Charles Whiting. For some years previous to
embarking in the drug business he was associated in the real estate
business with H. Clay Park, former postmaster of Atchison and editor of
_The Patriot_, and now one of the editors of the _St. Joseph News_. In
1869 Mr. Fox made the business venture which was the turning point of
his fortunes and launched him on the high road to financial success. He
entered into partnership with W. C. McPike, S. C. King and Frank Allen
in the wholesale drug business. Later Mr. Fox and Mr. McPike became the
sole owners of the business, Mr. Fox disposing of his interest to T. M.
Walker and the firm removed to Kansas City, where it is still doing
business under the name of the McPike Drug Co. Mr. Fox became interested
in banking and at the time of his death was vice-president of the
Atchison Savings Bank, the oldest State bank in Kansas. He conducted a
loan business as his financial resources increased in strength and he
became one of Atchison’s wealthy citizens.
On December 22, 1868, Mr. Fox was married to a charming southern lady,
Miss Virginia Alexina Tortat. This union was blessed by the birth of
five children as follows: Jared Copeland, Jr., manager of the Howard
Manufacturing Co., of Atchison, and father of eight children, Virginia
Parker, Marjorie Parker, Jared Copeland, Jr., Parker, Amelia Joanna,
Lawton, Edith and William Horan; Edith Fox Jackson, wife of Judge W. A.
Jackson, and mother of two children, Jared Fox and Edmund Valentine;
Henry Irving, wholesale druggist at Wichita, Kan., and father of Everett
Cranson, Florence, Mary Anne and Sarah Virginia Fox; William Tortat,
assistant cashier in the Atchison Savings Bank, and father of one
daughter, Mary; Florence, at home with her mother. The mother of these
children, Mrs. Virginia Fox, was born at Eufaula, Ala., December 20,
1847, a daughter of Henri Sylvest and Nancy (Decker) Tortat. Henri S.
Tortat was born in October, 1811, in France. He was destined to be a
clergyman by his parents, but, having no intention to enter the
priesthood, took part in the three days’ revolution against Charles X.
He left home and joined an uncle who was an officer in the French army
of occupation in Algiers in 1833. He came to America in 1836 when a
young man and was married at Wiscassett, Me., to Nancy Decker, whom he
met at Boston, Mass. After his marriage he took his bride to Charleston,
S. C., and thence to Eufaula, Ala., and conducted a merchandise store
there until he was induced to join a colony of southern people who were
going to Kansas in May, 1857. When he came to Kansas he first took up a
homestead claim and then purchased a bakery at Tecumseh, Shawnee county,
but died July 6, 1858, before he could get fairly settled in the new
country. Seven children were born to and reared by Henri and Nancy
Tortat: Henri Alexis, deceased; Mrs. Amelia Caroline Barry, deceased;
Mrs. J. C. Fox; Jean Paul, deceased; Augusta makes her home with Mrs.
Fox; William Marshall, Peabody, Mass.; Mary died at the home of Mrs.
Fox. Six years after Mr. Tortat’s demise, the mother and children
removed to Atchison, where she died December 20, 1864.
In his younger days Mr. Fox was a Republican, but later became a
Democrat and was a strong Cleveland adherent. He was a supporter of
President Theodore Roosevelt during his first administration. He was a
staunch supporter of Woodrow Wilson when Wilson was a candidate for the
Presidency, but was generally broad minded in his political views. He
was a member of Washington lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons,
Knights Templar, a Mystic Shriner and an Odd Fellow; he was reared in
the Congregational church atmosphere but after marriage chose to attend
the Episcopalian church with his wife. His death occurred August 23,
1914, when a strong and noble character passed to the great beyond. Mr.
Fox was blessed with a singularly happy temperament which manifested
itself even on his bed of illness; he was always good humored and had a
strong sense of humor which, combined with a kindly disposition, made
him a prime favorite with his friends and acquaintances. He was a great
reader, an expert accountant, possessed a strong memory and was a
Shakespearean scholar, quoting from Shakespeare while lying on his couch
awaiting the last summons, and also quoting the Twenty-first Psalm on
his last day on earth. He served the city as a member of the city
council and was president of the school board for a term, being of
material assistance in handling their financial affairs, because of his
genius in this direction.
JAMES EMERY PENNINGTON.
The _Western Advocate_, Mankato, Kan., in an issue of July, 1899, has
this to say in part regarding one of the most remarkable family reunions
ever held in Kansas or anywhere in the country: “Without doubt the most
remarkable family reunion ever held in Jewell county has been for the
past week at Burr Oak and among the various members of the family in
that vicinity. It is the reunion of the eleven children, together with
many of the sixty-four grand children of the late James Pennington and
Susan Wisdom Pennington. The Pennington family is a Southern family, the
elder Pennington being a native of Tennessee, and his wife of North
Carolina. All of the eleven children, however, with the exception of the
oldest son, were born and raised in Missouri. The Pennington family is
remarkable in that there were just eleven children and they are all
living and enjoying good health, although the youngest is now fifty
years of age, the eldest being a little past seventy. These family
reunions, which are an annual event, prove that the family tree,
nourished by the good old warm Southern blood, is still bearing the
fruits of hospitality and good cheer. Once a year they get together,
parents, children and grand children, and the ties of family, of
kinship, and affection are drawn a little closer. Hearts are cheered,
lives are brightened and days are lengthened.” Speaking of the gathering
on Saturday of the reunion week, the _Western Advocate_ goes on to say:
“On this day a company of one hundred gathered around the banquet board,
and the eleven brothers and sisters were weighed and their combined
weight found to be 1,832 pounds, an average of 166 pounds each.”
The father of this remarkable family was James Pennington, a native of
Tennessee, born in that State in 1822, and was there married to Susan
Wisdom. They migrated to Missouri in the early thirties and settled in
Nodaway county, developing a fine farm until the discovery of gold in
California. James then set out across the plains and mountains to the
gold fields of the New Eldorado in quest of fortune. While in California
he became a freighter and transported flour and provisions to the mining
camps afoot. He would carry a fifty pound sack of flour a distance of
sixteen miles and was paid at the rate of $50 per sack for
transportation, the flour costing $50 per sack at the point of purchase
and being valued at $100 when it was taken to its destination by the
carrier. James, Sr., remained in California until 1851 and then returned
to his home and family in Missouri, where he lived the remainder of his
days, dying in 1878, in Platte county. James and Susan Pennington were
the parents of eleven children as follows: William W., born in 1837,
died February, 1913, at Lebanon, Kan.; John Thomas, California, born in
1839; Mrs. Telitha Thorp, Marysville, Mo., born in 1841; Mrs. Julia
Denney, Benedict, Kan., born in 1842; Mrs. Clementine Conner, Santa Ana,
Cal., born in 1844, a widow; Mrs. Nancy Miller, California, born in
1845, a widow; James Emery, with whom this review is directly concerned;
Mrs. Sarah Robertson, Elk City, Okla., born in 1849; Mrs. Mary
Robertson, Burr Oak. Kan., born in 1853; Mrs. Cynthia Jane Judy, Burr
Oak, born in 1855; Mrs. Rocksinah Graves, Burr Oak, Kan., born in 1857.
James Emery Pennington, retired farmer of Potter, Kan., was born on a
farm in Nodaway county, Missouri, October 30, 1847. He was reared on the
farm in Missouri until seventeen years of age, and he then left home and
crossed the plains. The occasion of his going was because of the fact
that two brothers and three brothers-in-law had already enlisted in the
Union army for service in the Civil war, and the father felt that he
could not spare his son, James E., so it was agreed between father and
son that the boy should go west for a time. He made his way across the
Missouri to Ft. Leavenworth and there joined an overland freight train
which was bound for Salt Lake City, Utah. At that time all the freight
and merchandise west of the Missouri river was transported in wagons,
drawn by horses, mules or oxen. These wagons were loaded with from six
to twelve thousand pounds of merchandise and were drawn by teams ranging
in numbers from twelve to twenty-four animals. From twenty to forty men,
wagons and teams constituted what was then known as a “freight train.”
The train to which young Pennington attached himself consisted of forty
wagons, forty teamsters, two wagon masters, four assistants, two night
herders, and two extras, in all, fifty men, four hundred and ninety oxen
and a few horses for herding purposes. Being a farmer boy and having a
working knowledge of animals, young Pennington soon made himself
indispensable to the outfit and received the name of “Our Boy” from the
other men in charge of the train. The train proceeded its long way over
the plains of Kansas and followed the valley of the South Platte to the
Rockies without mishap, other than a few Indian skirmishes. In October
of 1864, “Our Boy” stood on the crest of the Rockies with one foot on
the Atlantic and one foot on the Pacific slope. Winter soon came on and
stock perished and they arrived at their destination in the dead of
severe winter. Young Pennington spent the winter in the home of a Mormon
family, consisting of a Mormon and his seven wives. From Utah he went
north into Idaho and Montana, and in that region took up his favorite
pursuit of freighting, which he followed for four years. His operations
were mainly from Ft. Benton, the head of navigation on the Missouri
river, to which point the river steamers carried the freight destined
for the mining camps of the mountain regions. He, with others,
transported the first quartz mill to the mining camp, later widely known
as Butte City, Mont. He returned home in 1869 and lived there for three
years, coming to Kansas in 1872. He had saved some capital which he
brought with him to Atchison county, and invested this money in a herd
of cattle which he grazed upon the free ranges, in this manner getting
his first real start in life, and which was the beginning of his later
prosperity. After his marriage in 1872 to Elizabeth Snoddy, he and his
wife settled on the home farm of the Snoddy’s, and at the end of one
year the father of Mrs. Pennington deeded the young couple eighty acres
of land which became the nucleus of their present acreage. This land is
four miles east and one-half mile south of Potter. Leavenworth county,
and the farm has been increased to 320 acres of well improved land. Mr.
Pennington removed to Potter in the spring of 1916, from the farm in
Leavenworth county, and has recently completed a fine, modern, ten-room
residence which will serve as his future domicile during the remainder
of his days.
James E. Pennington was married February 1, 1872, to Elizabeth, daughter
of Thomas and Margaret (Brown) Snoddy, the former a native of Tennessee,
and the latter a native of Missouri. Thomas Snoddy first came to Kansas
in 1854, and preëmpted the farm which he improved and where his children
were reared. He was a Mexican war veteran and the Government gave him
for his services a grant of land in northwestern Missouri, which he sold
for $1,600, and with the proceeds of the sale built his home on his
preëmption in Kansas. The upper part of the house was used as
headquarters for the Kickapoo Masonic lodge for many years. Thomas
Snoddy was born August 27, 1825, and died October 8, 1909. His remains
were interred in the Round Prairie cemetery. A remarkable fact about the
Snoddy house is, that the roof existed without repairs for over fifty-
five years and at the time of its repair by Mr. Pennington, the
excellence of the material which went into the building of the house
excited newspaper comment. Mrs. Pennington was born on September 25,
1856, and lived her whole life on the farm which her father preëmpted.
The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. James Emery Pennington:
Rebecca, wife of William Ehart, of Atchison county, Kansas; Bessena,
wife of Joseph James, of Atchison county, a farmer and horse and mule
dealer; Roxie, wife of John Goff, of Potter, Kan., a thresher and
farmer; Thomas W., living on the home farm; Frank P., a lumber merchant,
of Burr Oak, Kan., who was associated with his father in the grain
business in Potter, in 1906; George, a farmer living in Leavenworth
county; Mamie, a student in the Potter High School.
Mr. Pennington, with others in his neighborhood, organized and placed in
operation the Farmers’ Elevator Company, of which he was president. This
concern built the Potter grain elevator and later sold it to H. A. Ode.
He has long been identified with the Democratic party, but has never
sought political preferment of any kind. At the time of the organization
of the Potter High School district, Mr. Pennington was one of the prime
movers in the building of the new high school building. Perhaps the best
known trait of this grand old pioneer is his inherent hospitality, which
has made him famous and one of the best loved men in his section of the
State. Concerning a great Christmas celebration held at the Pennington
home in 1911, the _Atchison Globe_, of December 27, 1911, says:
“J. E. Pennington, a well known farmer of the Round Prairie
neighborhood, south of town, always provides a big entertainment for his
immediate friends and relatives every Christmas, and spares no pains or
expense to make these annual affairs highly enjoyable. The late holiday
was no exception to the rule. On Monday quite a crowd gathered at Mr.
Pennington’s home, as usual, and spent a day of merriment. A big
Christmas tree loaded with almost everything conceivable in the way of
holiday gifts, was provided by Mr. Pennington; a big dinner was also
served, and in the afternoon the men indulged in a hunt. A long wire was
stretched across a field, with a horse hitched to each end of it. The
wire was thus dragged across the field and in this manner all of the
rabbits were scared up. The men followed behind the wire and shot the
rabbits as they jumped out. Four jack rabbits were scared up and one of
them killed; also many cottontails. It is said that Mr. Pennington
expended nearly $200 on this affair. He is a very prosperous farmer and
is noted for his hospitality.”
DR. EARL A. GILMORE.
Dr. Earl A. Gilmore, veterinary surgeon, of Effingham. Kan., was born
September 27, 1887, at Ames, Iowa, a son of William T. and Jerusha
(Norton) Gilmore. His father was born in 1850, in New York State, and
when an infant accompanied his father, George Gilmore, to Iowa. His
mother was born at Zearing, Iowa, November 10, 1855, and died March 7,
1898. William J. was reared on the pioneer farm in Iowa, and was able
when a young man to take advantage of the opportunity to amass wealth in
the new and rich State, which was being developed during his day and
lifetime. He was married September 5, 1869. He became one of Iowa’s most
prosperous farmers, and in his later days, when he retired from active
farm work, he traveled extensively throughout the country, visiting many
points in the West, and the Philippine Islands. On February 1, 1915,
while aboard a Missouri Pacific train en route to Kansas City, the train
was wrecked, and he was injured to such an extent that he was laid up in
the hospital at Kansas City for several weeks, and then returned to his
home at Ames, Iowa. There were ten children in the Gilmore family: Mrs.
Uretta Stevens, of Star City, Mich.; Mrs. Maria Pellersells, of Grand
Rapids, Wis.; Maines Gilmore, now in Alaska; Charles, of Greeley, Colo.;
George, living in Iowa; William, a college professor at Winnipeg,
Canada; Earl A., the subject of this review; Mrs. Eva Burton, of Ames,
Iowa; Ella, deceased: one child died in infancy. The mother of these
children was a daughter of Isaac Gilmore, a native of Ireland. The
Gilmore family is also of Irish descent, all four of Dr. Gilmore’s
grandparents having emigrated from the Emerald isle.
Earl A. Gilmore was educated in the Nevada (Iowa) High School, and
studied at Drake University for one year; the Iowa State College at Ames
for two and one-half years; then studied for two years in the Kansas
City Veterinary College, graduating April 16, 1912. His funds being
exhausted, when he decided to become a veterinary surgeon, he found it
necessary to work his way through his final college course, by doing
reportorial work on the staff of the _Kansas City Star_. Upon his
graduation he immediately located in Effingham and has built up an
extensive practice in his profession, covering a territory of twelve
miles, north and south, and nine miles, east and west.
Dr. Gilmore is a member of the Missouri Valley Veterinary Association,
and the National veterinary fraternity, the Kansas City chapter of the
Delta Alpha Psi. He is a Republican in politics and is fraternally
affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge and the
Knights and Ladies of Security. Dr. Gilmore takes a keen and active
interest in the civic welfare of Effingham and is usually found in the
forefront of undertakings which are intended to promote the best
interests of the city.
ALFRED JONATHAN HARWI.
In writing the history of a city and county such as Atchison, the
reviewer very naturally finds that among the large number of men who
have had much to do with the upbuilding of the community, and who can be
counted among the really successful men of the period covered, there are
few who stand out preëminently among their fellows, and whose
individuality looms far above the average, and who are noted not only
for their individual accomplishments on their own behalf, but who have
performed deeds which have endeared their memory to posterity for
generations to come. In this respect we must consider the late Alfred
Jonathan Harwi, founder of the great A. J. Harwi Hardware Company,
millionaire, statesman, and philanthropist, of Atchison. Mr. Harwi will
long be remembered as one of the leading figures in the business world
of Atchison. He was a pioneer in the establishment of the great
wholesale houses which have made Atchison famous over the western
country. Beginning his career a poor man, endowed with financial and
business ability of a high order, blessed with a keen foresight into the
future, having confidence in the ultimate development of the country,
tireless and industrious in all his undertakings, he achieved a truly
remarkable success, and through it all he was a man among men, who never
lost the respect and regard of his fellow men because of his great
success in the realms of business and finance.
[Illustration:
_A. J. Harwi_
]
Alfred Jonathan Harwi was born at Ritterville, Lehigh county,
Pennsylvania, January 21, 1847, the eldest of four sons, born to Michael
and Lucretia Harwi. One of the children died in infancy, and the others,
Edwin C. and W. H., followed Alfred J. to Atchison and became associated
with him in the hardware business which he had established. Edwin C.
died September 4, 1903, and Wilson H. Harwi died May 30, 1911. A sister
died in Pennsylvania when but a child. Michael Harwi followed the trade
of carpenter in heavy construction work during his life, and was engaged
in the building of canal locks in the days when the construction of
internal waterways was in vogue. He was also a farmer, and at the time
of his death was engaged in quarrying and contracting for slate. His
sons having all come to the West, he made preparations to join them here
in Atchison, but on the point of his departure on October 8, 1882, he
was taken ill and died. His widow, Lucretia Harwi, then came to Atchison
and resided here with her children until her demise, in November, 1904.
A. J. Harwi received his education in the schools of his native State,
attending the district school of his neighborhood until ten years of
age, then becoming a student at a Moravian school in Bethlehem, which
was located four miles from his home and required him to walk the
distance across a mountain both morning and evening. After spending two
years in diligent study in this institution he entered a general store
at Bethlehem for the purpose of acquiring business experience. However,
while learning the art of barter and trade over the counters of the
general store he did not neglect the cultivation of his mind. He read,
listened and learned, and in his spare time continued his studies until
his mind was broadened and he became a man of advanced thought, learned
to read and judge his fellow men, and acquire a refinement and polish
which in later years assisted him in his undertakings and enabled him to
command the respect of his fellows. His ambition was to eventually
engage in business for himself, and he saved his money to this end, and
in 1868, when he was twenty-one years of age, he became a partner in the
furniture business with J. B. Zimmele, but sold out two years later and
hearkened to the advice of Horace Greeley, who said: “Go west, young
man, go west, and grow up with the country.” While at Bethlehem Mr.
Harwi married Cora Wheeler, with whose father he became associated in
the hardware and implement business at Butler, Mo. When this partnership
was dissolved a few years later, Mr. Harwi went to Cedar Rapids, Iowa,
and for a few months was a clerk in a hardware store. In the year 1875
he came to Atchison equipped with considerable commercial experience,
but having little capital. He and C. H. Dearborn began a retail hardware
business in a small way in the building at 408 Commercial street. The
concern prospered from the start and its success was undoubtedly due to
Mr. Harwi’s intelligence and common-sense business methods and his
wonderful capacity for hard and unremitting work. This hardware business
soon became one of the leading local business enterprises of the rapidly
growing city of Atchison. Like other men who have been successful in
life, Mr. Harwi was visionary, but his vision did not take on the dream-
like character. It was practical and foresaw the inevitable development
of the western country and an increased demand for all kinds of products
as the country became more and more settled. He believed in common with
others of the period that Atchison was destined to become the gateway
and the distributing point for a large section of territory. Acting upon
this sound, practical belief in the early eighties when the retail
business had assumed large proportions and necessitated expansion in
other ways, he conceived the idea of engaging in the jobbing business.
He did so, and again his wonderful business acumen and ability came into
play, with the result that the A. J. Harwi Hardware Company is known
throughout the West and middle West, and has done a noteworthy part in
making Atchison famous as a wholesale center. The result of its
founder’s vision and industry is one of the great wholesale houses of
the West, represented by about twenty traveling salesmen covering four
States, while over fifty local employes are engaged to handle the vast
amount of office work and the great warehouse and shipping details
incident to such an important commercial institution as the A. J. Harwi
Hardware Company has developed into within thirty-five years. Their
commodious four-story office and warehouse building, located on the
corner of Commercial and Ninth streets, is one of the handsome modern
business houses of Atchison. One can begin to realize the scope and
extent of this business when he stops to think that it requires 75,000
feet of floor space to afford ample warehouse facilities. In 1889 the A.
J. Harwi Hardware Company was incorporated with a capital stock of
$100,000.
Mr. Harwi was three times married. His first wife, Cora Wheeler, whom he
married in Bethlehem, left one daughter, Mrs. E. P. Ripley, of Boston.
His second marriage was with Elizabeth Whitehead, of Atchison, in 1873,
to which union two children were born: Mrs. H. P. Shedd, of Bensonhurst,
Long Island, and Frank E., president of the A. J. Harwi Hardware
Company. The mother of these children died October 14, 1907. Mr. Harwi’s
third marriage occurred June 3, 1909, to Mrs. Mary E. Holland, who
survives him. Mr. Harwi passed away September 5, 1910. During his later
years the stress of business and the ceaseless activity which had been
his lot during life began to tell upon him, and for over twenty-five
years prior to his demise he was a sufferer from locomotor ataxia. The
things which he accomplished necessarily demanded that he be a hard and
tireless worker, but he never spared himself, and at a time when he
should have begun to conserve his bodily strength he worked the hardest,
with the result that his span of life was shortened under what it might
have been.
It is not alone through the magnificent mercantile concern which Mr.
Harwi conceived and built up that he is known, but he was a public
spirited gentleman who contributed generously to charity and
philanthropic work. Although he accumulated wealth outside of his
business to exceed a half million dollars and loaned out considerable
money on mortgages, he was never known to have taken advantage of a
debtor and to foreclose a mortgage. Although he was a member of the
Congregational church, he was a trustee of Midland College, Atchison,
and established and endowed the Harwi scholarship prizes, which have
been of inestimable benefit to many young students. He was one of the
trustees of the Atchison County High School at Effingham, and was also a
warm advocate of providing well for the education of the youth of the
community. Mr. Harwi was elected State senator from the Atchison
district in 1884, but did not allow his duties as legislator to
interfere with his business affairs, it being his custom while the
legislature was in session to spend the day in the legislative halls at
Topeka, return home and spend the greater part of the night in the
supervision of the business. His ability as a legislator came naturally
into the limelight, and there was talk of running him as the party’s
candidate for governor of the State, but this talk met with little
encouragement from Mr. Harwi, inasmuch as he was wrapped up heart and
soul in the reorganized Harwi Hardware Company at the time, the project
demanding all of his time and energy.
FRANK EDWIN HARWI.
Frank Edwin Harwi, president of the A. J. Harwi Hardware Company, is one
of Atchison’s live young citizens who is following in the footsteps of
his highly successful father. Mr. Harwi is in charge of the extensive
wholesale hardware concern founded and built up by his father, A. J.
Harwi. Frank E. Harwi was born October 11, 1884, in Atchison. He
received his education in the public schools of his native city and in
the Andover Preparatory School at Andover, Mass. He matriculated as a
freshman at Yale University, but was called home by the illness of his
father, and he became his father’s assistant for the ensuing year. In
1905 he entered the sophomore class of Kansas University, but gave up
his college course in 1906 to enter his father’s hardware establishment,
and upon his father’s demise took over the active management of the
concern and became president of the A. J. Harwi Hardware Company.
Mr. Harwi was married September 30, 1908, to Miss Florence Cain, a
daughter of John M. and Lucy Cain. To this union two children have been
born: Alfred J., born August 22, 1909, and Lucy E., born January 12,
1912. John M. Cain, father of Mrs. Harwi, was born July 30, 1839, at
Castletown, Isle of Man. He was educated in the select schools of his
native island, learned the carpenter’s trade and emigrated from the Isle
of Man in 1856, locating in Kansas, where he was successively farmer,
soldier, merchant and banker. He was a volunteer soldier in the company
organized by A. S. Speck and Asa Barnes, and was accepted for service in
1862, enlisting in Capt. P. H. McNamara’s company, of which he became
sergeant, and upon the organization of the regiments of colored troops
he was appointed first lieutenant of a company in the Eighty-third
regiment, colored infantry. He was afterwards commissioned a captain and
did splendid service throughout the Civil war. After the close of the
war he farmed in Atchison county, became a merchant, and was connected
with the old Atchison State Bank. He died in 1897. Mr. Cain was married
May 15, 1879, to Lucy Neerman, a daughter of Frank and Isabella (Rust)
Neerman. The following children were born of this marriage Eva, wife of
Foster Branson, of River Forest, Ill.; Ralph R., a banker, at Ada,
Okla.; Florence, wife of Frank E. Harwi; John Milton, with the A. J.
Harwi Hardware Company: William O., an attorney in Atchison, and Alfred
Neerman, deceased.
Mr. Harwi is an independent in politics. He was one of the organizers of
the Atchison Commercial Club and served as president of this thriving
organization in 1913, and is at present a member of its board of
directors. He is a member of the board of trustees of Midland College
and is a member of the Atchison city board of education. He has likewise
been one of the trustees of the Atchison city hospital since its
establishment. While the responsibilities connected with the conduct of
the great business establishment thrust upon his shoulders at the demise
of his father have been such as would probably daunt the young man of
average ability, Mr. Harwi has shown that he fully measures up to the
requirements of his important position in the mercantile world and has
made a reputation on his own individual account as a business head of
decided executive ability of a high order.
JOSEPH TROMPETER.
When Joseph Trumpeter departed this life Effingham lost one of its best
and most-highly respected citizens and his family suffered the lost of a
kind and industrious husband and father, whose sole ambition in life was
to provide well for his kindred and those dependent upon him for a
livelihood, and to accomplish his purpose in the most honorable and
upright manner possible. To him fell the task of erecting the first
county high school building in Effingham, and many of the most
pretentious dwellings of the city were built by him. He was one of the
widely known and successful contractors of the county, whose operations
extended over a wide stretch of territory, and whose work was always
strictly up to a certain high standard and honestly performed.
Mr. Trompeter was born June 15, 1857, in Prussia, Germany, and when ten
years of age he accompanied his parents to America. His father was
Maurice Trompeter, who settled on a farm in Illinois and who went from
Illinois to Texas, but after a short residence in that State returned to
Illinois, where he passed the remainder of his days. Joseph was reared
to young manhood in Illinois and there married Hannah Sowers. He also
went to Texas and removed from there to Horton, Kan. His father before
him was a carpenter and Joseph learned his trade and followed it,
becoming a contractor and builder when a young man. He erected several
court houses in Texas, and built several school buildings and church
edifices in Kansas. His first wife died in Horton, Kan., eight children
being born to this union, of whom two are living, namely: Mrs. Tina
Demmer, of Effingham. Kan.; Mrs. Bertha Wallace, also residing in
Effingham. Mr. Trumpeter removed to Effingham, and at once engaged in
building and contracting on an extensive scale. He erected all the
buildings on the main street of the town, on the north side of the
street, running from the banners and Merchants Bank building to the
newspaper office, at the end of the block. He also built the greater
part of the finer residences in Effingham and it is due to his handiwork
and taste that the city presents such an attractive appearance to the
visitor. In the spring of 1912 he and the family moved to his farm of
160 acres southeast of Effingham on which with his own hands Mr.
Trompeter erected a handsome farm dwelling and fitted it with all modern
improvements, adding an attractive barn at the same time. He did not
live to enjoy the comforts of his new home long, however, as illness
brought on by overwork, caused him to take to his bed and his demise
occurred August 19, 1915.
His second marriage was with Louise Richter, on November 8, 1892, at
Effingham. Four children were born of this marriage, namely: Amelia,
John, James and Mary, all of whom are at home with their mother. Mrs.
Trompeter was born in Austria, in 1874, a daughter of John, born
September 2, 1852, and Amelia (Wohletz) Richter, born May 31, 1849. The
Richters are of German birth and immigrated to America in 1882, first
residing in Atchison and then coming to Effingham. For twenty-eight
years Mr. Richter was employed in railroad work on the Central Branch of
the Missouri Pacific railroad. Mr. and Mrs. Richter now make their home
with their daughter, Mrs. Trompeter, and assist in the farming
operations. The Richter children are as follows: Mrs. Joseph Trompeter;
Domineck, conducting a meat market in Effingham; Leapold, living at
Tacoma, Wash., also a builder and contractor; Mrs. Amelia Hansen,
residing in Texas; Mrs. Anna Royer, Tacoma, Wash. There are eleven grand
children in the Richter family.
Mr. Trompeter was affiliated with the Democratic party, but was never a
seeker after political preferment. He was a member of the Catholic
church, and was fraternally connected with the Knights of Columbus and
the Modern Woodmen. Throughout his life he was an industrious and hard-
working citizen who did his duty as he saw it and lived an upright and
honest life. He was prominently identified with the civic life of
Effingham and was highly respected for his many excellent qualities.
JOSEPH N. ARTHUR.
Joseph N. Arthur, automobile salesman and garage proprietor, of
Effingham, Kan., is one of the progressive and enterprising business men
of the second city of Atchison county. Signal success has attended his
efforts during the years he has been a resident of Atchison county. He
embarked in the automobile business and established a garage in
Effingham, despite the fact that predictions were made that the venture
would not be a success, and Mr. Arthur as a result is the recognized
pioneer automobile man of his part of the county. Since taking the
agency for the Ford cars in 1912, he has sold over half the total of
Ford cars sold in the county and vicinity. Mr. Arthur first started in
business in 1910 and established a small garage in the rear of his real
estate office. His business grew to such an extent that larger quarters
became necessary, and in 1913 he erected a large concrete building,
forty by eighty feet in extent, in which is incorporated his office,
display and repair rooms. He employs a skilled mechanic, assistant and
driver. Mr. Arthur handles the Dodge Brothers, the Maxwell, and Ford
automobiles.
J. N. Arthur was born June 3, 1869, near Corning, Adams county, Iowa,
and is a son of John and Martha Arthur, natives of Ohio. Both parents
were reared in the old Buckeye State, and were early pioneer settlers in
Iowa, coming from Bucyrus, Ohio, in 1855, and driving overland via the
ox team route, with all their movable possessions loaded on wagons en
route from St. Joseph, Mo., to their destination in Adams county, Iowa.
John Arthur homesteaded Government land in Adams county and preëmpted
along the river where timber and water were plentiful. He prospered as
the years went on and the country became more and more settled, and he
became the owner of over 800 acres of excellent Iowa farm lands. He
resided in Adams county, Iowa, until his demise, in 1907.
John Arthur settled on the banks of a river for the purpose of having
timber, fuel and water, three essentials in keeping alive in the then
sparsely settled country in the southwestern part of Iowa. He built a
log cabin of logs hewn from trees chopped down with his own hands and
chinked the cracks and crevices with mud. When he preëmpted his first
tract of land in Iowa he had a yoke of oxen, $10 in money and a favorite
bull-dog, things which he was fond of telling about as he grew older and
more prosperous. During his fifty-two years of residence in Iowa he
accumulated 800 acres of land and had money loaned out to the amount of
$10,000. He was the father of eleven children, nine of whom grew to
maturity, each of whom as he married was assisted by the father to
settle on a farm of his own, and all have prospered—an enviable record
for a pioneer family to make.
Joseph N., with whom this review is directly concerned, was reared on
the Iowa farm, and knew something about the hardships of the pioneer
days in his boyhood. He attended the district school in his
neighborhood, and followed farming until he engaged in the implement
business in his home county for some years, with a fair degree of
success. He left his native State in 1904 and came to Effingham, Kan.,
purchasing 120 acres of land about one and one-half miles distant from
Effingham in Atchison county. One year later he embarked in the real
estate business, in partnership with B. F. Snyder. This partnership
lasted for two years and then Mr. Arthur engaged in the business for
himself. He also began to write insurance, and was reasonably successful
in both the real estate and insurance business. He erected a brick
building for his office quarters, and, when automobile owners multiplied
in Effingham and vicinity he foresaw the need of a repair shop and
established one in the rear of his real estate office. He soon afterward
rented an abandoned garage and hired a mechanic to do the repair work.
It was not long until larger quarters became necessary, and he built as
told in a preceding chapter. In July of 1915, Mr. Arthur disposed of his
insurance business, and has since devoted his energies entirely to the
automobile business.
He was married in 1892 to Lillie M. Ramsey, daughter of Newton Ramsey, a
pioneer settler of Adams county, Iowa, and a Union veteran of the Civil
war. Four children have blessed this union: Pearl, aged twenty-one
years; Jennie, aged eighteen years, and a teacher of music, and an
accomplished musician; Le Roy, nine years of age; Charles, three years
old. Three children are deceased: Chester A. died at the age of eight
years; Milton died at the age of eighteen months; Blanche died at the
age of nine months.
Mr. Arthur is a Republican in politics, and has identified himself more
or less with the civic life of his adopted community, and is considered
as one of Effingham’s best boosters and live wires. He is a member of
the Methodist Episcopal church, contributes to the support of the same,
and is affiliated with the Odd Fellows lodge and the Knights and Ladies
of Security.
DON CARLOS NEWCOMB.
It is a pleasure for the biographer to write a story of the life of a
man who has arrived at the evening of life and be able to record
something really worth while for the benefit of posterity. The life
annals of a man who has succeeded in making a name for himself,
achieving a well deserved competence, and been of some use to his
community, and has arrived at the time of life when he can look back
over the vista of the busy years that have passed, is interesting to a
high degree. In D. C. Newcomb, pioneer merchant and patriarch, of
Atchison, we find embodied that spirit of the West which enabled men to
build up this great country and to achieve things of importance in the
business and civic world. Mr. Newcomb loves his home city, its people
and prestige and is proud of its standing among the cities of the West.
He has had no small part in the upbuilding of Atchison, and it would
have been better in the days gone by if the city had more men like him
to assist its growth. Ever ready to contribute to any enterprise which
might help the growth of the city, his liberality and boosting
proclivities became proverbial, and it has oft been a saying of his that
Atchison could just as well have been a city of fifty or sixty thousand
inhabitants as to be its present size. Such men as he are of decided
benefit to any community.
[Illustration:
_Eng. by E. G. Williams & Bro. N. Y._
_D. C. Newcomb_
]
D. C. Newcomb, a pioneer merchant of Atchison, perhaps has had as much
to do with the commercial development of Atchison county for the past
half century as any other man within its borders. When Mr. Newcomb came
to Atchison county in 1858 it was a difficult matter to tell whether
Atchison, or its rival town, Sumner, was to be the chief town of the
county. Sumner was a thriving frontier town, but Mr. Newcomb picked
Atchison as the winner and time has demonstrated that his judgment was
sound. D. C. Newcomb was born in Washington county, Vermont, on Friday,
July 13, 1836, and is a son of Hosea and Harriet (Bixby) Newcomb, the
former a native of New Hampshire and the latter a native of Roxbury,
Mass., born in 1805. Hosea Newcomb was born in 1803 and came from a
prominent New England family of English descent. The Newcomb family was
founded in New England in 1635 by Francis Newcomb and his wife, who came
from England and located in New England at that time. It is recorded
that they made the voyage on a sailing vessel named “Planter.” Hosea
Newcomb, the father of D. C., was prominent in the affairs of his native
town, Waitsfield, Vt., where he remained until 1859, when he came to
Kansas, settling at the new town of Sumner, now extinct, in Atchison
county. He took an active part in the early-day development of that
promising frontier town and served as postmaster there. However, he
returned to Vermont in 1873, where he died in 1889, at the age of
eighty-six, and his wife passed away March 17, 1903, age ninety-seven
years, eight months and one day.
[Illustration:
Residence of D. C. Newcomb, Atchison, Kan.
]
D. C. Newcomb was one of a family of five children and is now the only
one living, except a sister, Mrs. Lydia M. Shephard, of Minneapolis. A
brother, Dan J. Newcomb, was a very early settler in Atchison county,
coming here some time before D. C. arrived. He was prominent in the
organization of Atchison county and was the first register of deeds of
the county, D. C. serving as his deputy. D. C. Newcomb was reared in the
town of Waitsfield, Vt., where he attended the public schools and later
was a student at Newbury Seminary. In early life he clerked in a store
at Johnson, Vt., and also clerked for a time in Montpelier, Vt. In 1858
he came to Atchison county and first landed at Sumner, but immediately
went to Atchison, and, although the latter town was also in its early
stages of development, the location impressed Mr. Newcomb so favorably
that he determined to locate there. Soon after coming here he was
appointed deputy register of deeds and served in that capacity for three
years. He then engaged in clerking in a store, and in 1864 entered into
partnership with Samuel Gard, who had been a fellow clerk of his, and
they organized the firm of Gard & Newcomb and engaged in the mercantile
business. Their capital was limited, perhaps less than $2,500, but they
were two industrious young men and had a reputation for honesty and
square dealing, which was an important asset. Mr. Newcomb went to New
York and bought a stock of goods valued at about $15,000, mostly on
credit, and at the end of the first year they had paid for every
dollar’s worth of goods which they had bought in the meantime and had a
stock of about $15,000 worth on hand. The partnership arrangement
continued about four years, when Mr. Newcomb purchased his partner’s
interest, who desired to dispose of his business on account of failing
health. Mr. Newcomb continued in business alone and conducted the great
Newcomb department store, the business of which developed far beyond his
most fanciful dreams. Mr. Newcomb continued in the mercantile business
until 1905, and for years was the leading merchant of Atchison. He sold
his business to Ed Lake, who has conducted it since 1905.
Mr. Newcomb has not only been a merchant prince in northeastern Kansas,
but has been identified with the growth and development of Atchison from
many standpoints. He was one of the organizers of the First National
Bank and was closely identified with that financial institution for
fifteen years. He served successively as director, vice-president and
president, but when he went out of business he disposed of his banking
interests.
Mr. Newcomb was united in marriage in 1866 with Miss Anna E., daughter
of Capt. George W. Bowman, an early-day steamboat captain, but later
engaged in the mercantile business at Atchison. He was a native of
Brownsville, Pa. To Mr. and Mrs. Newcomb have been born two children:
Hattie May, now the wife of Maj. Harry A. Smith, U. S. A., a graduate of
West Point Military Academy. During the Spanish-American war he held the
rank of major in the Twenty-first regiment, Kansas infantry, and is now
major in the Twenty-eighth regiment, United States infantry, doing duty
on the Mexican border. To Major Smith and wife have been born two
children: Newcomb, a cadet in the United States Military Academy, West
Point, N. Y., and William A., a graduate of Shattick’s school,
Fairibault, Minn., now a student in the University of Minnesota. George
Edgar, the youngest child born to Mr. and Mrs. Newcomb, born March 19,
1869, died March 25, 1909, aged forty years. He was married in October,
1895, to Miss Dorothy Jones, a native of Wisconsin, and three children
were born to this union: Clara Forest, D. C., and Charles Jones. Mr.
Newcomb has been a life-long Republican and has always supported the
policies and principles of that party. He has had many flattering
inducements to enter politics, but has refused to accept, preferring to
follow his commercial career in which he has been so successful. Mr. and
Mrs. Newcomb are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and for
years have been active in the work of their congregation and both have
lived exemplary Christian lives. Mr. Newcomb has held every office
within the gift of the church, all of which have come to him without
solicitation. In fact, every preferment has come to him unsolicited. In
1896 and 1900 he was elected a lay delegate to the general conference of
the Methodist Episcopal church held at Omaha in 1896 and Chicago in
1901.
WILSON R. SMITH.
Wilson R. Smith, of the firm of Snyder, Smith & Company, Effingham,
Kan., is an admirable type of a successful business man who has been a
resident of Effingham for the past six years, and has so identified
himself with the life of the community that it seems to the average
citizen that Mr. Smith has been a resident of the city and county all of
his natural life. The firm, of which he is an active member, handles
hardware, implements, grain, coal and feed, and is composed of G. M.
Snyder, W. R. Smith and U. B. Sharpless, present county treasurer. This
firm was organized in February of 1915 and took over the business of
Sharpless & Snyder. The concern also operates a grain elevator of 10,000
bushel capacity, and has two large warehouses and coal-yards, in
addition to the business room on Main street.
Mr. Smith is a Virginian by birth, and was born at Salt Sulphur Springs,
Monroe county, W. Va., on April 28, 1856. He is a son of Granville and
Caroline (Clark) Smith, both of whom were born and reared in Virginia,
and were descended from colonial ancestors. A direct ancestor of Wilson
R. was the first settled in Monroe county, and headed a long line of
tillers of the soil, the parents of Wilson R. living on their farm in
Virginia until their deaths.
Wilson R. left his ancestral home in Virginia in April of 1884 and
journeyed to the town of Craig, Holt county, Missouri, purchasing a farm
in the neighborhood of Mounty City, which he cultivated with
considerable success for ten years, and then engaged in the grain and
stock business for a period of nine years. He resided in Holt county
until 1909 and then came to Effingham, Kan. His first venture here was
in the grain and elevator business, which he conducted for a period of
four years, and then sold out to the Farmers’ Elevator Company. In
February of 1915, he purchased an interest in the business in which he
is now engaged. Continuous success has followed Mr. Smith’s efforts, and
practically every business venture in which he has embarked has proved
to be uniformly successful. His methods of transacting business are
above reproach and are such as to commend him to the public in general.
He was married in 1885 to Mrs. Celia C. Zachary, a widow, who was the
mother of one child, Edith Belle, by a former marriage. Two children
have blessed this marriage: Alberta, wife of Ross Meador, living on a
farm, five miles southwest of Effingham; Jennie, wife of C. A. Hawk,
residing three miles north of Effingham on a farm.
Mr. Smith is a stanch Republican in his political affiliations, and is a
member of the Modern Woodmen and the Brotherhood of American Yeoman. He
is one of Effingham’s substantial and enterprising citizens, who is ever
ready to assist his adopted community to better the conditions of things
in general and readily lends a hand when needed to assist the growth and
well being of the city.
GEORGE E. HENDEE.
Mr. Hendee is an automobile salesman, machinist and garage proprietor,
is one of Atchison’s hustling business men who has made good in the
automobile business. Seven years in the motor industry in Atchison has
seen him advance in his chosen work until he now owns the largest and
best equipped garage in the city, and has a plant including equipment
and cars in stock valued at over $15,000. Mr. Hendee is salesman for the
Regal, Chalmers and the White automobiles.
He was born on a farm in Lancaster county, Nebraska, July 31, 1872,
being a son of George and Loretta (Kistler) Hendee, who were the parents
of five children: William, deceased; Mrs. Margaret Bennethy, of
Logansport, Ind.; George E.; Delbert, of Logansport, Ind., and Leona, at
home with her parents. George Hendee, Sr., was born in Canada, in 1846,
removing from his native country to Indiana with his parents when a boy.
He was reared to young manhood in Indiana and served as a soldier in
Company G, Twenty-first regiment, Indiana infantry, until the close of
the war, in 1865. After the Civil war he migrated to Lancaster county,
Nebraska, and homesteaded on 160 acres of Government land. He built up a
splendid farm from the raw and unbroken prairie and prospered as he
deserved, living on his acreage until 1891, at which time he started a
general store at Panama, Neb. He retired from active pursuits in 1898
and moved to Royal Center, Ind., where he is now living. The Hendee
family is of French origin, and the founders of the family first settled
in the Dominion of Canada. The mother of George E. was born in
Pennsylvania in 1842, a daughter of Pennsylvania Dutch parents.
He of whom this review is written was reared on the Nebraska farm and
received his elementary schooling at Panama and York, that State. Early
in life he displayed an aptitude for machinery and determined to fit
himself to become an expert machinist. Accordingly, in 1895, he enrolled
as student in the State University at Lawrence, and pursued the
machinist’s course, having previously studied electrical engineering at
York, Neb. When thirteen years of age, George started out to make his
own way, educate himself and at the same time earn his living. While a
student in the York Technical School, he worked nights in the electric
light plant. For a period of three years he was a fireman on the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad and the Santa Fe System, being
promoted to the post of railway engineer while in the employ of the
latter system, He was then employed by the General Electric Company, of
Chicago, in the installation of and erecting mining machinery. his
duties requiring him to travel in the South for over a year. He was
employed by the Chalmers company for one year erecting heavy engines,
and was employed as engineer of the Pearsons’ Flouring Mills at
Lawrence, Kan., for seven years. For a time he served as master mechanic
at the Leavenworth coal shaft on the Government grounds at Leavenworth,
Kan. In the year 1901 he built and operated a machine shop at Cripple
Creek, Colo., but his plant was destroyed by fire in 1902. He then moved
to Grand Junction, Colo., where he worked in the oil fields and was
round house foreman for the railroads in that city until he resigned his
position and located in Denver, Colo., where he worked as a machinist in
the Missouri Pacific shops until he took employment as engineer on the
Colorado & Southern railway. After this he was employed as a machinist
in the shops of the Santa Fe railroad, but resigned this place to become
foreman in the plant of the Locomotive Finished Material Foundry in
Atchison. Following this he was chief engineer for the Blair Milling
Company, resigning to take employment as an expert machinist with the
Atchison Motor Company until 1908. In that year he engaged in business,
and has made a name for himself in the motor and business world of
Atchison. Mr. Hendee is looked upon as one of the rising and successful
young business men of Atchison, and justly deserves all of the success
which has come to him.
His marriage with Laura Hall, of Lawrence, Kan., occurred in 1902 and
gave him a faithful helpmate who has assisted him in every way to
achieve his present success. Two children were born of this marriage,
Velva and Kenneth, both deceased. Mrs. Hendee was born in August, 1879,
in Wisconsin, a daughter of John and Nettie (Crow) Hall, natives of
Wisconsin. She is a well educated lady and is a graduate of the college
at Burlington, Kan. Mr. Hendee is an independent in political affairs,
and is fraternally allied with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Modern Woodmen of America.
WILLIAM D. KISTLER.
William D. Kistler, prosperous farmer of Shannon township, is descendant
of good old Pennsylvania Dutch stock, and has lived in Atchison county
for thirty-six years. He came to this county from his ancestral home in
Pennsylvania, in moderate circumstances, if not actually a poor man, and
during that time has accumulated a fine farm of 200 acres which ranks
among the best and most productive farms of the county. The little shack
in which he and his family lived when they first came to Kansas has been
superseded by a handsome and comfortable residence and great shade trees
have grown up around it. The modest “eighty” in which Mr. Kistler
invested all of his small capital on his arrival here has grown steadily
with substantial additions from time to time as he was enabled to
purchase adjoining tracts. A large red barn alike shows evidence of
thrift and good management on the part of the proprietor.
W. D. Kistler was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, December 5, 1853,
a son of Nathan J. and Catharine (Dietrich) Kistler, both of whom were
born in the adjoining county near Lehigh county. Nathan J. Kistler was
born April 6, 1811, and died September 11, 1878. He was a son of Jacob
S., who was a son of Samuel Kistler, whose father, John George Kistler,
emigrated with his wife, Dorothia, from Germany and settled in
Pennsylvania early in the eighteenth century, arriving in Philadelphia
October 5, 1737. Nathan J. Kistler was a captain of State militia and
died at the old home in Lehigh county. Two brothers of W. D. and a
sister out of a family of nine children settled in the West. After his
public school training Mr. Kistler attended the Kutztown, Pennsylvania,
Normal School and prepared himself for the teaching profession. He
taught school in his native State for four years, after which he clerked
in a general store for four years, previous to migrating to Kansas. He
left the old home in Pennsylvania in 1879 and came to Atchison county,
Kansas, investing in an eighty-acre tract in Shannon township which he
gradually improved. The small house which he first erected was gradually
enlarged as the needs of his family demanded more room and his means
permitted. In 1883 he erected the present handsome home, which is one of
the most attractive places in the township. Mr. Kistler raises cattle,
horses and hogs and feeds his grain products to the live stock on his
farm, thus managing to keep up the fertility of his acres and being able
to market his farm products in the most profitable manner.
He was married in 1876 to Ellen Brobst, who was born in Lehigh county,
Pennsylvania, in 1853, a daughter of Daniel and Lydia (Kunken) Brobst,
of Lehigh county, and whose ancestry came from Germany. They are the
parents of five children: Mrs. Alice Bunnell, of Lancaster township,
this county: Anna, wife of Samuel Du Bois, also of Shannon township;
Calvin, a farmer, residing at the Du Bois home, and assisting in the
management of the farm; Bertha, wife of James Dooley, residing in
Shannon township; William, at home, married Catharine Wolters.
Mr. Kistler is a Republican in politics, but he has never been an office
seeker, or sought preferment at the hands of his fellow citizens. He is
affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He and the members
of his family stand well among their neighbors and are highly esteemed
by all who know them.
ANDREW KEITHLINE.
The late Andrew Keithline enjoyed the distinction of being one of the
oldest, if not the oldest living pioneer resident of Atchison. Fifty-six
years of his four score and seven years of life were spent in Atchison
and vicinity. In the fulness of his years, and satisfied in the
reflections concerning a long and useful life well spent he lived a
quiet, retired life in his comfortable home at 1121 Santa Fe street
until the Death Angel called him. He loved to meet his many friends and
speak reminiscently of the days when Atchison was in the embryo stage,
and of the stirring scenes during the days when Kansas was in the throes
of becoming an integral part of the great American Union. He was one of
the city’s grand old men who was universally loved and respected by all
who knew him. He came of that sturdy Pennsylvania German stock, noted
the country over for their sterling qualities of endurance and the
ability to do their share in the transformation of a wilderness to a
land of homes and plenty.
Andrew Keithline was born on a farm in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, a
son of John and Mary (Neyhart) Keithline. The first Keithline to come to
America was Colonel Keithline, who figures prominently in Revolutionary
annals and who accompanied Baron De Kalb to this country in 1775. Andrew
Keithline’s grandfather, Joseph Keithline, was born in Northhampton
county, Pennsylvania, served in the War of 1812, and died in 1850. He
was a tailor by trade and contracted to make buckskin breeches for the
Government, to be worn by the soldiers during the war. Joseph’s children
wore buckskin breeches made by their father. John Keithline, the father
of Andrew, operated a wagon shop which also served as the family
residence for some years, in fact, Andrew was born in his father’s wagon
shop. He prospered, in the course of time and came west in 1863 and
invested in eighty acres of land, south of Atchison and later owned 320
acres west of Atchison on the Parallel road. This tract was partly
fenced at the time of purchase and cost John Keithline $25 per acre. He
made his home thereon and was joined by his family in 1864. The mother
of Andrew died in 1865 and John returned to the old home in Pennsylvania
where he died in 1868. Nine children were born to John Keithline and
wife: Samuel, Catharine, Andrew, Julia, Sarah, Priscilla, John, Peter
and Mary E. Of these, Samuel, Sarah and Andrew came to Atchison county.
[Illustration:
_A. Keithline_
]
Andrew left the parental home in December of 1857, and went to Michigan,
remaining until 1859, when he came to Atchison, where he resided until
the fall of 1864. His first employment was with the firm of Walters &
Roswell, who conducted a general store and wanted a clerk familiar with
the German tongue. For the two years previous to his locating in
Atchison he conducted a coöperative store in Michigan. His first trip to
the Far West was taken in 1860, when he went to Denver and disposed of a
stock of goods for his firm. He made another trip across the plains
later than this. In 1864 he was called out with the Kansas State militia
to repel the Price invasion. On October 31, 1864, he moved to his farm
west of Atchison, and remained there tilling his acreage until September
1, 1898, and made his permanent home in Atchison until his death. His
fine farm consisted originally of 220 acres and when he removed to
Atchison he still owned 190 acres of the original farm. Mr. Keithline
bought a handsome brick residence on Santa Fe street and by wise
investments and carefully husbanding his resources accumulated a
comfortable competence for the support of his declining years. He was
considered a well-to-do citizen. He was married on November 5, 1854, to
Rose Varner, born in 1832 in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of
George Varner, whose father was a soldier in the Revolution. Two
children were born to this well respected couple, namely: Gilbert, born
in 1855, died in Jackson county in the spring of 1915. He was the father
of seven children, Herschell, Sydney, Rose, Emma, Mary, Andrew and
Laura. Mrs. Cora Warters, a daughter of Mr. Keithline, lives in
Atchison. She is the mother of four children: Bessie, Andrew, Cora
Willis and Lorene.
Mr. Keithline was one of the original Free State men of Kansas, and was
induced to come here by the fact that men in favor of making Kansas a
free State were needed in the Territory. He consistently espoused the
principles of the Republican party, taking an active part in politics
during his younger days and served for two years as justice of the
peace. One of the bright spots in his memory of bygone days was his warm
friendship for Senator John J. Ingalls, which friendship was
reciprocated by the illustrious senator. He always adhered to the
Lutheran religious denomination, which was the faith of his fathers. The
evening of life must come to us all and happy is the man who can calmly
wait for the last call to summon him to his just reward in the world to
come, at peace with all mankind and cared for by capable hands; such was
the life of this fine old gentleman of whom it has been a pleasure to
write this brief review.
Andrew Keithline departed this life December 14, 1915. The end came
peacefully, as he had wished. The worn-out body of this grand old
patriarch ceased to be able to hold the immortal soul of one of the
grandest and best loved men of the early pioneer days of Atchison
county. Mr. Keithline was a good and honest citizen whose upright and
sturdy character will long prove an inspiration and guidance for the
present and future generations of Kansans who may peruse these pages. He
was a prominent factor in the building up of Atchison county, and was
intimate with the great men of his day and generation. When his time
came and the Angel of Death called him to the long rest he was content
to go and had no regrets. Death had no terrors for him as his life was
unspotted and clean, and in keeping with the attributes of the man
himself.
ABRAM STEVER.
Abram Stever, one of the early settlers of Benton township, Atchison
county, and now deceased, was born November 3, 1837, and departed this
life on July 27, 1881. He was born in Schoharie county, New York, a son
of Abram and Nancy Stever, both of whom were born and reared in New York
State, the father being a son of German parents, who were founders of
the family in this country. Two brothers emigrated from Germany, one of
whom settled in New York and the other made his home in Ohio. Abram was
reared to young manhood in his native State and when twenty years of age
migrated to the new State of Wisconsin, then in process of settlement.
He became a farmer in Walworth county and cleared a home from the
timber. Five years later he was married, and in 1867 came to Kansas,
driving his movable possessions across the country, his wife and
children coming by train to St. Joseph, Mo., where they crossed the
Missouri river by ferry. The first location of the family was in Brown
county, Kansas, where they lived until 1874 and then came to Atchison
county, where Mr. Stever purchased 160 acres of wild prairie land in
Benton township, one and three-fourths miles northwest of Effingham. He
improved his farm, erected a good home and beautified the premises with
fine shade trees and shrubbery. After his demise in 1881, Mrs. Stever
made her home on the farm until 1893, when she removed to Effingham, and
has since resided here, with the exception of a few years’ residence in
Mankato, Jewell county, Kansas, with her daughter, maintaining a
permanent home in Effingham.
Abram Stever was married December 24, 1862, to Sarah Elecia Bailey, of
Walworth county, Wisconsin. To this union have been born the following
children: Leona May, died at the age of fifteen years; Jennie Bailey,
died at the age of thirteen; Joseph Warren, died when twenty-two years
old; Arthur Carlton, a clothing merchant at Wetmore, Kan., who married
Maud Hawk, of Effingham, and they have one daughter, Leona May; Carrie
Adella Stever, at home with her mother, a graduate of the county high
school, and taught for seven years in the Effingham schools, and is a
specialist in music, having graduated from Bethany Conservatory at
Lindsborg, Kan., in 1906. She pursued a post-graduate course at
Lindsborg during winter vacation, and studied during one winter under
William H. Sherwood, America’s greatest pianist. She was for five years
a successful teacher of music at Mankato, Kan. Returning to Effingham in
1911, she became music director in the Atchison County High School, but
resigned to take up studio work entirely; Ray Howard, conducting a
suitatorium at Frankfort, Kan., married Inez McFarlan; Ralph Roy Stever,
a teamster at Nevada, Mo., married Treva Spell, and has had four
children: Lloyd Orr, Warren Clayton, Ralph Vern, Lola Esther, deceased;
Ernest Clayton, a graduate of the county high school, proprietor of a
suitatorium at Macon, Mo., married Charlotte Henderson, and has one
child, Roy Estell; Frank Abram Stever, county high school graduate,
located on the family estate in Benton township, married Daisy McFarlan,
and is the father of three children: Coral Nadine, Geneva Fay, and
Mildred Lorene. Mrs. Stever was born January 10, 1843, on a farm in
Walworth county, Wisconsin, a daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Perry)
Bailey, natives of Maryland and Dundee, Ill., respectively. An uncle,
Amos Bailey, was one of the first surveyors in the city of Chicago, and
run the first line in what is now the city. Joseph Bailey was one of the
first settlers in Walworth county, Wisconsin, at a time when there were
very few people in the State and neighbors were twelve miles distant
from one another. It was a common custom for a number of settlers to
band together and market their produce together in the city of Chicago.
Amos Bailey was the owner of several sections of land near Lake Geneva,
Wis., which is now the great millionaires’ resort, near Chicago. Joseph
Bailey was twice married, his second wife being Mary Catharine Sipperly.
It is also worth recording that a brother of Abram Stever, named
Washington Stever, was a soldier in the Union army and fought in the
Army of the Potomac from the beginning to the end of the war. At the
time of Mr. Stever’s death, the oldest son was only thirteen years of
age, and Mrs. Stever was left with a large family, the youngest of whom
was six months old.
Abram Stever was a Republican in his political affiliations, but will
best be remembered for his activity in behalf of the organization of the
Presbyterian church in Effingham. He was one of three men who raised the
fund to pay for the building of the First Presbyterian Church erected in
Effingham, and was a deacon and trustee, having been one of the only two
deacons ever installed in the early church. He was active in church work
during his entire life and was a thoroughly honest, religious gentleman,
who carried his belief into his daily life and in all his undertakings.
He was a good husband, a kind parent and an excellent citizen, and loved
by everyone who knew him.
REV. Z. S. HASTINGS.
Few pioneer citizens of Atchison county have lived more useful or
cleaner lives than Rev. Z. S. Hastings, retired minister and farmer, of
Effingham, Kan. During his nearly fifty years of residence in Kansas as
a farmer, educator, preacher, and statesman, he has worked continually
for the well-being of his neighbors and friends. Without fear of
contradiction it can be stated that Rev. Hastings has performed a
greater number of marriage ceremonies and officiated at the funerals of
more deceased residents than any minister in Atchison county. Despite
his three score and seventeen years this grand old patriarch bears his
age lightly and takes an active interest in the affairs of his
community.
Rev. Z. S. Hastings was born March 15, 1838, on a farm near Bedford,
Lawrence county, Indiana, a son of Howell and Edith (Edwards) Hastings,
natives of North Carolina. On his father’s side the family is of Quaker
origin and a very old one in America. The first Hastings having been a
follower of William Penn, came from England to settle in the Quaker
colony in Pennsylvania. A descendant of the first American Hastings,
Joshua by name, migrated to North Carolina and there founded another
branch of the family. Here in the Southland, Howell Hastings was reared
and married, and with his wife and two sons migrated to Indiana to
become one of the pioneer settlers of the Hoosier State. He died at his
home in Indiana December 25, 1854, leaving seven children: Joshua
Thomas, deceased; William Henry, John Arthur, Nancy Elizabeth, deceased;
Zachariah Simpson, with whom this review is concerned; Charlotte Ann,
deceased; Rufus Wiley, living in Arkansas. Of the foregoing, Joshua
Thomas and William Henry fought in the Union army during the late
rebellion of the Southern States; Joshua first fought in the Home Guards
of Missouri, and, returning to Indiana he raised a company for service
in the war, after fighting under General Lyons at the battle of
Springfield. He taught school for a time in Missouri, but returned to
Indiana. He died in Kentucky. William Henry enlisted in a Missouri
regiment.
Z. S. Hastings was educated in the common schools of his native State,
studied in Indianapolis, and also pursued a course at Hiram College, in
preparation for the Christian ministry. In 1857 he went to Missouri and
taught school for five years, studying in the meantime while teaching.
In 1862 he returned to his native State and began preaching the Gospel
in the Christian denomination. He taught and preached at the same time
while preparing himself further for the ministry. His first experience
in the ministry was obtained in 1860 while in Missouri. In 1867 Mr.
Hastings came to Kansas, resided in Leavenworth county for one year and
in 1868 came to Atchison county and located on a farm near Farmington.
He taught the Farmington school for five years and preached in the
vicinity of his home during this time. He cultivated his farm of 130
acres and preached at the Farmington church and in the surrounding
country for a period of twenty-five years. In 1895 he removed to
Effingham and continued preaching until 1903 when he retired from active
work in the ministry. Mr. Hastings was an excellent farmer as well as
minister and made a success of his farming operations, having the
distinction of selling an eighty acre tract of farm land, the first for
$100 an acre ever sold in the county up to that time. This farm was
located east of Effingham, and was the first tract near the town to
bring the price of $100 an acre.
He was married on June 28, 1870, to Miss Rosetta Butler, and to this
union have been born seven children: Harry Howell, an electrical
engineer, located at St. Louis, and who was educated in Holton College
and Kansas University; Paul Pardee, assistant freight and passenger
agent of the Santa Fe railroad, with headquarters at San Francisco; Otho
Ono, a graduate of the Atchison county high school, taught school for
ten years, served as county superintendent of Atchison county four
years, and graduated from the Atchison Business College, and is at
present bookkeeper for Urich’s planing mill at Independence, Kan.; Wiley
Wyatt died in infancy; Clara Charlotte, deceased, formerly a teacher,
wife of Charles Sprong, of Potter, Kan.; Edith Eliza, deceased, who was
also a public school teacher; Milo Milton, a journalist and author, of
New York City. Milo graduated from the Atchison county high school, the
State Agricultural College at Manhattan, and pursued a post-graduate
course in the State university. The mother of these children was born
August 5, 1844, in Sandusky Plain, Ohio, a daughter of the Rev. Pardee
Butler, a famous figure in Kansas history, and who was an outspoken
advocate of the anti-slavery principles during the struggle which made
Kansas a free State. He was so frank and fearless in the expression of
his views and so strenuous in the support of the anti-slavery doctrine
that his utterances brought him frequently in contact with the pro-
slavery men and border ruffians, and on one occasion when in Atchison he
was captured by ruffians and sent down the Missouri river on a raft.
Complete details of the life and activities of Pardee Butler are given
in another chapter in this volume. “Pardee Butler’s Own Book,” begun
during the latter part of his life, and finished and published by Mrs.
Hastings, tells of his life and adventures in Kansas. Speaking
biographically, Mr. Butler was born March 9, 1816, and died October 20,
1888. He first saw the light of day at Skaneateles, N. Y., and
immigrated with his parents, Phineas Butler and wife, who came to Ohio
in 1818. Phineas Butler was born in New York State. Pardee Butler was
reared to young manhood in Ohio and there married Sybil Carlton, of
Sullivan, Ohio, who was born July 4, 1823, and died August 7, 1898. She
was a daughter of Joseph Carlton, a native of Massachusetts, who
immigrated to Ohio in an early day. In his boyhood, Pardee herded sheep
on Sandusky Plain, and after his father’s death resided in Sullivan,
Ohio. In 1850 he removed to Iowa and settled on a farm in Cedar county,
where he lived for five years. While a resident of Iowa he preached in
Illinois for two years. In May of 1855 he set out for Atchison county,
Kansas, on horseback and settled on a farm at Farmington. For many years
he served as a Christian minister and conducted farming operations. He
had a remarkably retentive memory, which enabled him to memorize the
whole of the New Testament while herding sheep in Ohio. Rev. Butler was
the first State evangelist of the Christian denomination to visit Iowa
and was also the first State evangelist to take up the work of his
church in Kansas. Practically all of his traveling while engaged in
missionary work was accomplished on horseback. Night coming on he would
picket his horse in a grassy spot and use his saddle for a pillow.
Pardee Butler was one of the notable figures in the history of Kansas,
and will be remembered as long as history endures, as a brave, useful
and faithful patriot, and minister, whose life was full of good deeds
and who always stood for the right. He was the father of seven children:
Mrs. Rosetta Hastings, Clara Louise, Eugene Pardee, Maria Corintha, all
of whom died in infancy; Charles Pardee on the home farm; Ernest, died
in infancy; George, living at White City, Kan.
Rev. Hastings has always been a steadfast advocate of prohibition, but
has generally allied himself politically with the Republican party
principles. In 1876 he was selected by the Republican party in the
county as their candidate for the legislature, although at the time he
was an avowed Prohibitionist, and was elected, serving in the Kansas
legislature during the ensuing session. For eighteen years he served as
a member of the school board in his home district, and was for six years
a member of the Atchison County High School Board. He believes in
education for the young to the fullest and is heart and soul in favor of
giving young men and women every opportunity to acquire a higher
education, as is attested by the splendid training which he was enabled
to give each of his own offspring. Rev. Hastings has baptized hundreds
of converts during his ministerial career and started them onward in the
better life. His whole life has been dedicated for good.
KNUD G. GIGSTAD.
Knud G. Gigstad, farmer and breeder of fine cattle, was born in Norway
September 28, 1856, and is a son of Gulick and Anna Gigstad. He was one
of seven children one of whom is now dead. Four of the boys and one
daughter are living in the United States. The father was a native of
Norway and spent his life in that country.
Knud G. Gigstad left Norway at the age of twenty to try his luck in
America. He came without funds and went to work as a farm hand in Brown
county, Kansas. He remained at that place two years and then rented 160
acres from his uncle, Benedict Mutson. This was a profitable venture and
before long he was able to buy eighty acres of unimproved land in
section 28, Lancaster township, Atchison county, for which he paid
$16.25 an acre. Mr. Gigstad worked hard to get his farm in workable
shape, each year finding him a little more prosperous, and finally he
added 320 acres to the farm, besides 436 acres of rice land in Liberty
county, near Houston, Texas. Eighteen years ago he built a large house
on the farm and has since erected a large barn and other substantial
buildings. Mr. Gigstad is a breeder of Shorthorn cattle and has made
exhibits at the American Royal stock show in Kansas City, Mo., and in
1913 was awarded the prize as grand champion of America on his
Shorthorns. This is a high honor and is ample testimony of the quality
of Mr. Gigstad’s stock. He is an extensive shipper to all parts of the
United States. His reputation as a breeder is firmly established among
cattle men all over the country. He is almost sure of one or two first
prizes whenever he enters his cattle in a fair. Mr. Gigstad also has a
fine three acre orchard. He is a hard working man and has succeeded
despite great handicaps, and his financial success has not caused him to
neglect the welfare of his county, as he has always been active in
supporting measures for the good of Atchison county.
He is married to Lena Olsen, a native of Atchison county, and a daughter
of Herrol and Julia Olsen. She was born in 1866. Her parents are natives
of Norway and her father was an early settler of Atchison county. Mr.
and Mrs. Gigstad have eleven children: Anna Flattre, of Lancaster
township; Mrs. Julia Henz, of Lancaster, Kan.; Harry, Clara, Gena,
Gilbert, Matilda, Lillian, Gladis, Carl, Charles, all living at home.
Mr. Gigstad is a Republican and a member of the Lutheran church.
ALBERT BARNES HARVEY.
The memory of a good and noble man lingers long after his demise in the
hearts and minds of those who knew him best. The late Albert Barnes
Harvey, of Muscotah, Kan., during the course of a long and notable
career, covering ever forty years in Atchison county, accomplished much
in a material sense and left behind him an unimpeachable record for
integrity and upright living which will long endear his memory to his
former mortal associates. He lived in the days when men were more
closely drawn together in the great struggle to create a State from a
wilderness of prairie and unpeopled waste, and did his part in the
development of his adopted county, of which he was one of the real
pioneers. Soldier, farmer, banker and religious worker who lived true to
his ideals as a man and citizen, he walked with the leaders of the great
State which he assisted in upbuilding.
[Illustration:
_Eng. by E. G. Williams & Bro. N. Y._
_A. B. Harvey_
]
Albert Barnes Harvey was born May 12, 1841, at Williamsport, Pa., a son
of Samuel and Margaret Harvey. His parents went from their native State
to Illinois in the early days of the settlement of that State,
developing a fine farm in Henderson county, Illinois. Samuel Harvey
prospered in the State of his adoption, reared a fine family, and in his
later days retired to a comfortable home in Monmouth, Ill., removing to
the city for the purpose primarily, of giving his children the
advantages afforded there for obtaining a good school education. He died
at the home of his son in Henderson county after a long and useful life.
The subject of this review, Albert Barnes, when a young man twenty years
of age, hearkened to the first call of President Lincoln for troops with
which to quell the rebellion of the Southern States and enlisted in
Company G, Tenth infantry, regiment of Illinois volunteers, and served
faithfully throughout the Civil war. He was engaged with his regiment in
many great battles, such as Corinth, Island Number Ten, Missionary
Ridge, Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga, Siege of Vicksburg, and Capture of
Atlanta, and took part in Sherman’s famous march from Atlanta to the sea
and the subsequent taking of Savannah. He marched in the Grand Review at
Washington, D. C., and was mustered out of the service July 12, 1865. He
then returned home and engaged in the peaceful pursuit of farming until
1874, when he came to Kansas and settled on a farm southwest of
Muscotah. This farm was only partially improved at the time of his
purchase and he improved and cultivated it until 1880, at which time he
came to Muscotah and engaged in the hardware business in partnership
with A. J. Harwi; later he was in partnership with F. S. Roberts, who
was succeeded by W. C. Allison. In 1890 he became associated with J. H.
Calvert in the banking business at Muscotah, he and his partner
purchasing the bank founded by George Storch and changing the name to
the Muscotah Exchange Bank. This bank was later changed to the Muscotah
State Bank and is one of the thriving financial concerns of Atchison
county, now incorporated with the Farmers State Bank. Mr. Harvey was in
the banking business for twenty years and served as president of the
Muscotah State Bank, and was successful in his business ventures to such
an extent that he became one of the wealthy citizens of the county.
During his later years he and Mrs. Harvey enjoyed traveling about the
country, the condition of his health becoming such that it was
practically necessary for him to spend his winters in the Southland. He
and Mrs. Harvey spent many happy days in visiting the battlefields of
the South over which his regiment had fought and they enjoyed life to
the utmost during those later years.
Mr. Harvey was married October 25, 1871, at Stronghurst, Ill., to Miss
Viola Allison, who was born October 25, 1841, in Washington county,
Pennsylvania, a daughter of John and Margaret (Carter) Allison. John
Allison was born in Pennsylvania and was a second cousin of President
William McKinley, whose mother was an Allison. Margaret Carter Allison
was born in Scotland and accompanied her parents to this country when
twelve years of age, where they settled in Henderson county, Illinois.
Both of Mrs. Harvey’s parents died in Illinois, and a brother, John C,
who enlisted in the Union army at the age of seventeen years, died at
Ft. Donelson. An older brother, Hugh, also served in the Union army, and
a half brother, W. C. Allison, now of Horton, resided in Muscotah for
many years and was one of the pioneer business men of the city. The
Allison family is a very old and numerous one of Scotch descent. No
children came to bless this happy wedded life of Albert H. and Viola
Harvey, but they reared two adopted daughters, who are now established
in comfortable homes of their own, namely: Lela, wife of A. P. Bishop,
of Topeka, now a farmer living southwest of Muscotah, and Lula, wife of
E. H. Purdy, of Kansas City, Mo. Mrs. Bishop has four children: Albert,
George, Dorothy and Ruth. Mrs. Harvey spends the spring and summer
seasons in her beautiful residence in Muscotah and invariably travels in
the South during the winter. Mr. Harvey retired from active banking
pursuits in 1910.
Mr. Harvey was a member of the Congregational church at Muscotah and
served as deacon of the church from 1898 until his demise, on Monday,
July 22, 1912. For many years he was superintendent of the Sunday school
and was very fond of young people, nothing giving him more pleasure than
to gather about him a group of intelligent young folks with whom he was
always at his best. He took a keen interest in church and Sunday school
work and endeavored to follow the precepts of the Greatest of All
Teachers during all the days of his long and useful life. He was
prominent in Masonic and Odd Fellows lodge circles and served as
worshipful master of the Muscotah Masons on two occasions. He was a
member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He was a Republican in
politics and took a keen interest in the political and civic affairs of
Atchison county, serving three terms as a member of the Atchison County
High School board and a term as mayor of his home city. Many of the
distinguished men of Atchison and the State of Kansas were his personal
friends, among them being the late Governor George W. Glick, with whom
he spent a winter in Florida, Ex-Governor W. J. Bailey, and the late
Judge Horace M. Jackson, of Atchison. He was, withal, a home and church
man above everything else. He loved his home and his family and was
hospitable to the core of his being, always ready to entertain friends
or even strangers at his board, jolly and big-hearted, always.
MARTIN KLEIN.
Martin Klein, living a retired life in the town of Potter, Atchison
county, Kansas, at the advanced age of four score and two years, is one
of the oldest of the Kansas pioneers, who for over sixty-one years of
his long life has lived in the Sunflower State, and has seen the steam
railway take the place of the overland freight trains, hauled by oxen
and mules, and has witnessed the automobile superseding the farm wagon
and horse and buggy as a means of transportation. On his lonely claim in
the north part of Leavenworth county, near Potter, he could see the
great trains passing along the Ft. Riley road from Leavenworth to Salt
Lake; he remembers the dread visitation of the grasshoppers in the
seventies, when the “hoppers” came in dense clouds, ate up all the
growing crops and left devastation and desolation in their wake. Martin
Klein is one of the best known of the old-timers in this section of
Kansas and took an active part in the slavery contest which was bitterly
waged on Kansas soil, and nearly gave his life in defense of his
principles, later to shoulder a musket in defence of his adopted
country.
Martin Klein was born March 2, 1833, in Alsace-Lorraine, a son of Peter
and Teresa (Miers) Klein, both of whom were born and reared in Alsace-
Lorraine, and were of ancient French extraction. When Martin was
fourteen years of age, his parents in 1847, left their native land and
immigrated to Oneida county, New York, where they settled on a farm near
Rome. The elder Klein prospered in the land of his adoption and Martin
grew up imbued with American ideals, along with the other five children
of the Klein family. Martin was the youngest of a family of six children
born to Peter and Teresa Klein. Three brothers of Mrs. Klein, Joseph
Miers, and two others, were soldiers, who served under Napoleon
Bonaparte, and were members of the Grand Army of Napoleon which marched
to the siege of Moscow. Two of the brothers were killed at Moscow, and
Joseph was one of the few out of the many thousands of soldiers who
lived to return home and tell about the ill-fated expedition which cost
Napoleon his grand army.
In the fall of 1854, Martin Klein left his old home in New York and set
out for Kansas, to grow up with the country. He arrived in Leavenworth
on September 18 of that year, and lost no time in taking up a claim in
Leavenworth county, which served as his home until 1900, when he retired
to a comfortable home in the town of Potter. Six years after his arrival
in Kansas he married Miss Paulina Hawley, whom he espoused on March 29,
1860. She was a daughter of Francis H. and Louise Hawley, both of whom
were natives of old Virginia, and were early settlers in Kentucky, where
Mrs. Klein was born November 12, 1826. She departed this life January 4,
1907, in Potter, Kan. She was a loving and faithful helpmeet to Mr.
Klein for forty-seven years, and endured with him many hardships
incident to the pioneer life in Kansas.
When Mr. Klein first came to Kansas in 1854, the turmoil and the border
warfare waged between the pro- and anti-slavery forces, was just
beginning, and he, being a pronounced anti-slavery man, was thrown into
the thick of the fight. He was an accurate marksman with the revolver,
and often found occasion to make use of his ability with the pistol. He
was so active in his work in behalf of the Free State party that he was
marked for vengeance by border ruffians. An occasion which is memorable,
and marked the savagery of this warfare, is worth recording: “On a
Sunday in the spring of 1856, when Mr. Klein was at church, three
strangers came to church, ostensibly to buy corn from him. After the
bargain had been struck, and he had agreed to sell the men the corn
wanted, they insisted on him accompanying them to Easton, Kan., in order
to get his pay for the corn. This Klein refused to do. During the parley
one of the men had kept a hand hid under his coat on the plea that he
had a sore member. The wind blowing the coat flap to one side, Klein
noticed that the man was concealing a revolver in his hand. They finally
showed him a warrant for his arrest. He then knew that his life was in
danger, and again refused to accompany the men to Easton. He turned to
go back to the church and they opened fire on him, firing eight shots in
all, four of which took effect in his body, one shot striking him in the
head, one in the side, and one in the hip. He fell to the ground and the
ruffians rode away, leaving him for dead. Happily, the wounds were not
fatal, and he recovered, and lived to see the final triumph of the cause
which he loved, and for which he had sacrificed his peace and nearly
lost his life in advocating. During those early days Mr. Klein served as
constable and deputy sheriff and was constantly in danger of his life.
In the fall of 1856, he and others of the Free State men deemed it
prudent to leave their homes and go to Lawrence, Kan., where they joined
the citizen army, which was being organized in defense of Free State
principles. He took part in several incipient battles and scraps with
the pro-slavery advocates during those years, and when the war broke out
he enrolled in the Kansas militia and fought in Captain Baird’s company
when it marched to battle against General Price’s army of invasion.
Mr. Klein has a keen remembrance of his first day in Kansas, when he
walked a distance of twenty-four miles from Ft. Leavenworth to find his
brother-in-law, Charles C. Foster. He was all day finding Foster’s
claim. Starting out without his breakfast, he lost his way, and it was 8
o’clock that night before he arrived at his destination, footsore, weary
and hungry. The prairie grass in those days grew as high as a man’s head
in the bottom lands, and was knee high on the uplands, and the richness
of the soil was apparent to a man brought up on a farm. From his cabin
door Mr. Klein could look out in the distance and see the old Ft. Riley
trail which led from Ft. Leavenworth to Salt Lake. One morning on
arising he saw eighty covered wagons standing on the trail, each of
which had hitched to it six yoke of oxen. This was a sight worth seeing
and entertaining to a plainsman, being an indication of the onward march
of civilization as it moved ever westward. On one occasion while serving
as an officer of the law, Mr. Klein was sent to the cabin of Jim Foster,
a noted border desperado, to effect his arrest, but Foster was absent at
the time from his home on the bluffs overlooking Big Stranger creek.
After the war was over, Mr. Klein settled down to farming and peacefully
tilled his acres until his retirement to Potter. He took an active and
influential part in the affairs of his community, and has always been
allied with the Republican party, never, however, having been a seeker
after political preferment, and never held office except the post of
school director in his district.
BARNEY CUMMINS.
Barney Cummins, farmer and trustee of Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison
county, was born in Atchison December 17, 1859, a son of Patrick and
Mary (Faulkner) Cummins, the former a native of Roscommon county, and
the latter a native of County Caven, Ireland. Both came to America from
their native land when young, and met, and were married in Philadelphia.
After their marriage they went to Wisconsin and lived there one year and
then came to Atchison, Kan. Patrick was employed on a Missouri river
steamboat for a time, saved his money and moved to a farm, which he
rented for about ten years, accumulating sufficient capital to then
purchase a quarter section of school land in Mt. Pleasant township, the
tract now known as the old Cummins homestead. Patrick Cummins succeeded
in his farming venture and became prosperous as the years passed. During
the Civil war he was enrolled as a member of the Kansas State militia.
He was known as a Free State Democrat, and was a member of the Catholic
church. He died in 1871, and the widowed mother of Barney Cummins is
still living at the age of seventy-six years, on the old home farm.
There were six children in the Cummins family, namely: Barney; Charles,
on the home place; John, a farmer in Atchison county; Kathrine, living
with her mother; Mary, wife of William Rogers, of Nortonville, Kan.;
Sophia, wife of Thomas Cavanaugh, of St. Joseph, Mo.
Barney was about four years of age when the family removed from Atchison
to the farm in Mt. Pleasant township. He received his education in the
district school, near his home, and has lived on the farm all of his
life, excepting one year spent in Atchison. Mr. Cummins recollects with
sadness the severity of the early-day teachers as compared with the
teachers of today. He recalls that he was frequently given his choice of
punishments, which included either having his ears cut off, or take a
sound whipping with a great gad. This badly frightened him, and he also
remembers how the teacher jerked a big boy from his seat and threw him
unconscious to the floor of the school room. Happily, the days of brute
strength control of pupils in the schools is past, and a new and better
era of kindness and forbearance has dawned, years since. Mr. Cummins is
the owner of 100 acres of well improved land and is a progressive
farmer.
He was married January 9, 1882, to Sarah Maylen, a daughter of Joseph
and Elizabeth Maylen. The father was a native of Canada, and the mother
was born in Liverpool, England, their children being a product of the
intermarriage of French, English and Welsh ancestry. Joseph Maylen was a
French Canadian and his wife was of Welsh and English descent. They came
to Kansas in the early days and settled on a farm in Doniphan county.
Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cummins: William, living at
Potter, Kan.; Ella, wife of Luther Blodgett, a farmer in Atchison
county; Anna, wife of Harry Linsey, living in Atchison county; Joseph,
at home with his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Cummins have reared all of their
children on the farm upon which they have lived continuously since their
marriage.
Mr. Cummins is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen lodge of Potter, and
is a member of the Catholic church. He is a Democrat of the old school,
and since attaining his majority he has taken a more or less active part
in political affairs. He has served several terms as trustee of Mt.
Pleasant township, and it can be said of him that no man ever filled the
office more capably or administered the affairs of the township to
better advantage or more economically and honestly than Barney Cummins.
He was first elected to the office in 1892, again in 1907, then in 1908
and again in 1912, being re-elected in 1914. As trustee, Mr. Cummins has
the supervision of eight schools in his township, including the graded
high school of Potter. He is a faithful and conscientious public
official in whom the people impose every trust.
ALVA CLAPP.
Alva Clapp, president of the retail hardware company which bears his
name, has been engaged in business on Commercial street in Atchison
since May, 1907. At that time he purchased the retail store of a local
wholesale firm, and has made a pronounced success of the venture. It is
one of the most attractive and well stocked stores of the city and is
well patronized. Mr. Clapp is popular with his patrons and the citizens
of Atchison generally. He takes an active part in city affairs and is
especially interested in the public school system. Having been a teacher
before he became a merchant, he has never lost interest in the schools,
and is now the president of the Atchison city board of education.
Mr. Clapp was born August 23, 1868, at Carthage, Mo. He is a son of
Isaac and Susan B. (Eckler) Clapp, natives of North Carolina and
Illinois, respectively. Isaac Clapp emigrated from North Carolina to
Danville, Ill., when a young man, and married in his adopted State. His
parents were slave owners in the southland, and he himself owned slaves,
but having a pronounced distaste for the institution of slavery he
disposed of his human chattels and moved to the North. After a residence
of some years in Illinois, he located in Carthage, Mo., and owned a farm
in Jasper county which he cultivated. In 1875 he removed to Cherryvale,
Kan., and invested in a tract of land near that city. Here he resided
until his death in October, 1913.
Alva Clapp received his education in the schools of Cherryvale, Kan.,
and began teaching school when a very young man. He taught two terms in
a district school and served for two years as high school principal. He
had a liking for business and obtained his first experience in the
retail hardware trade in a store at Conway Springs, Kan., from 1891 to
1900, or a period of ten years. He then traveled for two years in the
interest of a local wholesale hardware company and was then employed for
five years in the various departments of the local concern. In 1907 he
organized the Alva Clapp Hardware Company and purchased the retail
department of the Blish, Mize & Silliaman Company of Atchison. Mr. Clapp
has given evidence of a pronounced aptitude for business affairs, and
faithfully attends to the numerous details which require the undivided
attention of the proprietor of a thriving concern, such as is in his
charge.
He was married in September of 1896 to Beatrice Kathrine De Haven, of
Wichita, Kan. They had one child, Harold De Haven, who died at the age
of one and one-half years. Mr. Clapp refers to Mrs. Clapp as his partner
in the business and his best and most competent assistant. Mrs. Clapp is
not only a good wife and socially active in the city, but she takes a
just pride in assisting her husband in making a success of his business.
Mr. Clapp is politically allied with the Republican party and has served
for fourteen years as a member of the school board. During his period of
service as a member of the board the school system of Atchison has made
its greatest advances, and the high school has achieved considerable
prestige. New buildings have been erected to accommodate the growing
needs of the school system, and others are in course of erection. All of
these improvements have received the hearty support of Mr. Clapp and he
enjoys the respect and esteem of his brother members to such an extent
that when the presidency of the board became vacant he was elected to
the position. He was also recently elected treasurer of the Commercial
Club of Atchison, another city boosting organization in which he is a
prominent figure. Mr. Clapp is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen and
the Elks lodges.
HON. GEORGE STORCH.
One of the notable and influential figures of the first and second
decades in the history of Atchison county was the late George Storch, of
Atchison. He came to Kansas when the State was in its infancy of
development and was a pioneer merchant of old Kennekuk, becoming in turn
a merchant, banker, statesman, and was, withal, one of the most useful
citizens of Atchison county of whom the reviewer has had opportunity to
write. Mr. Storch was a pioneer with a vision which enabled him to see
far ahead into the future. This vision, coupled with faith in the
eventual prosperity of Kansas, led him to invest heavily in farm lands
which made him one of the wealthy citizens of Kansas prior to his
demise. For nearly half a century, Mr. Storch was closely identified
with the financial and civic life of Atchison county, and twice
represented the county in the halls of the State legislature, each time
acquitting himself with credit and honor.
[Illustration:
_Geo Storch_
]
George Storch was born near Poppen-Hausen, Bavaria, Germany, February
22, 1835, and was a son of Thomas and Margaret (Breitung) Storch.
Thomas, the father, was a farmer and linen dealer in his native locality
and was considered fairly well to do. George was reared to young manhood
in his native land and received a good common school education. When
seventeen years of age he determined to cross the seas and seek his
fortune in America. In accordance with this determination he embarked on
a sailing vessel which landed him at New Orleans. From this southern
city he made his way by river steamer up the Mississippi and Missouri
rivers to Herman, Mo. Here he joined a brother who was farming in the
neighborhood and who assisted George in securing employment on a nearby
farm. He worked at farm labor in Missouri for some years and in April,
1859, he came to Atchison, Kan. This city did not offer much inducement
for the ambitious young man and he was desirous of engaging in the
mercantile business. Kennekuk, in the north central part of the county,
was then in the heyday of its prosperity and seemed to offer a better
location than Atchison. After a few months’ stay in Atchison he went to
Kennekuk and opened a general merchandise store with the capital which
he had saved while working on the farms in Missouri. He was successful
from the start and his judgment in the matter of Kennekuk being an
excellent business location proved correct. Kennekuk was at that time a
prosperous and thriving village located on the overland mail and
emigrant route and the Storch store made money for its owner to such an
extent that he was enabled to branch out and invest in lands and engage
in the banking business. Mr. Storch justified his faith in his adopted
State by investing heavily in lands which have greatly increased in
value since his original purchase of the same. In the early days of the
development of the West, the railroad companies were granted large
tracts of farm lands along the right of way by the Federal Government.
These tracts were placed on sale by the railroads, and were sold for
very low prices and easy terms in order to induce settlers to locate in
the regions being developed. Mr. Storch took advantage of the low prices
of the farm lands and invested heavily. This property comprised many
thousands of acres which have since increased enormously in value over
and above the original purchase price. Kennekuk had its day, and the
time came when the decline of the village was inevitable owing to the
building of the Central Branch railway out of Atchison, and which passed
to the southward of Kennekuk. Mr. Storch saw the time coming when the
once flourishing inland village would be no more, and in 1867 he removed
to Atchison and managed his large farming interests from this city.
Upon his removal to Atchison he immediately became identified with the
leading financial interests of the city and in 1873 organized the German
Savings Bank which was for many years one of the strong financial
institutions of the city. He was also identified with the first bank
established in Muscotah, Kan. He engaged in the real estate and farm
loan business in Atchison and organized the Eastern Kansas Land and Loan
Company, a concern which is still doing business and of which his
daughter, Mrs. Louisa J. Lips, is president. Mr. Storch served as
president of the German Savings Bank until its stock was purchased by
the United States National Bank, and also filled the office of president
of this bank during the period of its existence. He was engaged in
banking pursuits for a period of eighteen years.
He was married in 1859 to Miss Elizabeth Fox, a daughter of John and
Elizabeth Fox, who removed from Evansville, Ind., where Mrs. Storch was
born, to Carroll county, Missouri, and settled on a farm. Two children
blessed this union of George and Elizabeth Storch: George H., who will
be remembered as a bright, intelligent and capable Atchison citizen and
who was associated with his father in business for several years, and
died in July, 1911, and Louisa Justina, widow of Oscar Lips. Mrs. Storch
died in February, 1905, and almost three years later followed the demise
of the husband and father, who departed this life in January, 1908.
Oscar Lips and Louisa Justina Storch were married in 1891, and that
union was blessed with a son, Charles, born in October, 1896. Charles
Lips received his primary education in the public schools of Atchison,
his preparatory work in the Culver, Ind., Military Academy, and is now
pursuing a collegiate course in the Kansas University at Lawrence. Oscar
Lips was born in St. Louis, Mo., a son of Dr. Charles August Lips, a
former practicing physician of St. Louis, and who was of German descent.
Oscar was reared and educated in his native city, and when a young man
engaged in the wholesale drug business. His demise occurred in Atchison,
August, 1905.
George Storch was a Republican in politics and took an active and
influential part in political affairs during his long years of residence
in Kansas. Not long after establishing himself in business at Kennekuk
he became postmaster of the town, and assisted in establishing the first
union school in the village, serving as a member of the board of
education which had charge of this school. The _Horton Headlight_ has
the following historical account of this school in an issue of August,
1905, in part: “The old stone school house was not the first school
building in the Kennekuk neighborhood, but it was the first substantial
one in this part of the country and marks an important epoch in its
development. It was built in 1867. It was a joint district, eight miles
north and south. The west line was the road between Atchison and Jackson
counties. A strip of country two miles wide and eight miles long was in
Atchison county and a corresponding trip of country was just over the
line in Brown county. The school house was quite a structure to be
builded in that early day, but the settlers did not complain at the high
taxes, since their children had a good place to attend school. The cost
was about $3,000, quite a good sized sum for early settlers to expend,
but it shows their determination to provide an education for their
children. The first school board was composed of George Storch, Squire
Willis and Henry Claunch....”
Mr. Storch was always greatly interested in the cause of education and
after his removal to Atchison he served as a member of the Atchison
board of education and was president of this body for a time. While a
resident of Kennekuk he was elected to represent Atchison county in the
Kansas legislature in 1864. During the ensuing session he voted for Gen.
James H. Lane for United States senator and voted to ratify the
fourteenth amendment to the National constitution. In 1876 he was
elected a member of the legislature from the city of Atchison, and
during the session following his election he was a member of the ways
and means committee and voted for P. B. Plumb for United States senator.
Mr. Storch made an excellent record as an able and honest legislator,
who had the best interests of his State at heart. He was active in civic
and political affairs in Atchison and served as a member of the city
council of which body he was president for one year, declining re-
election when his term of office expired. The following tribute to his
ability as a city father appeared in the _Atchison Champion_ of April 6,
1873: “One of the best councilmen our city has ever had leaves that body
after two years’ service in it. We refer to Hon. George Storch, chairman
of the committee on improvements. He has been industrious, independent,
and energetic. Having the chairmanship of the most important and
laborious committee, he has given his time and attention to the
discharge of the duties devolving upon him, and in the decision of all
questions in the council he has exhibited a clearness of judgment and a
carefulness in guarding the interests of the city that entitle him to
general commendation. He declined re-election.”
Mr. Storch served for three years as city treasurer and exhibited the
same judgment and careful management of the city’s affairs in this
important capacity that has marked the performance of his official
duties as a councilman and school trustee. It is worthy of record that
in 1865, while in Kennekuk, he was elected a member of the board of
county commissioners and served as chairman of that body.
Few pioneer citizens of Atchison lived a more useful or busier life than
he of whom this review is written. The name of George Storch figures
prominently in the historical annals of Atchison county as a builder and
creator and an honorable and upright citizen, who left behind him when
his soul winged its way beyond the knowledge of mortal ken, a record
imperishable, and a name unblemished and untarnished of which his
descendants may well be proud. While opportunities for achieving fortune
and fame may not be as great at this day as they were in George Storch’s
time and era, the story of this poor German emigrant boy who made his
own way in Kansas from poverty to affluence and won an honored place in
the history of his adopted county and State is well worth reading and
may serve as an inspiration and guidance to others of the present and
rising generations.
THOMAS BROWN.
There is considerable satisfaction in writing the life story of a man
who has worked his way upward from poverty to a position of wealth and
influence in the space of a lifetime, and accomplished it all with his
own strong arms and mind. When one adds to this accomplishment the
rearing of a large family to lives of usefulness, and to bring up a bevy
of young men and women to comfort their parents in their declining
years, there is not much for any one individual to wish for. Thomas
Brown, retired farmer, of Effingham, Kan., has done all of this and is
the proud father of one of the largest families in Atchison county. Had
he done no more than to bring into the world his thirteen children, he
would have been worthy of praise and been entitled to honorable mention
in this volume, as a patriotic and sturdy American citizen. A native of
the Emerald isle, he came to America in his youth, and now ranks as one
of the Kansas and Atchison county pioneers.
Thomas Brown was born in the little village of Altone, Ireland, and is a
son of John and Mary (Dalton) Brown. His birth occurred on February 10,
1847. His father was a farmer in his native country, and made a good
living for his family, later moving to the town of Altone and engaging
in the transfer business, in which occupation he was fairly successful
and enabled to provide for his family in comfort. He was the father of
ten children, seven of whom came to America to seek their fortunes in
the land of opportunity. The seven who came across the Ocean were: J. P.
Brown, a pioneer merchant and capitalist, of Atchison, now deceased;
Mrs. Bridget Norton, who died in 1913 at her home in Pittsfield, Mass.;
Mrs. Mary Scully, of Troy, N. Y.; Mrs. Anna Elkhorn, of Troy, N. Y.;
Mrs. Margaret Hewitt, of Independence, Mo.; Mrs. Kate Waters, deceased,
who was the wife of a soldier in the British army. The father of these
children died in Ireland, and the mother died in Troy, N. Y.
Thomas Brown emigrated from his native land to this country in 1865, and
hired out to a farmer in Orange county, New York, at $20 per month. The
farm where he was employed was located seventeen miles north of Newburg,
on the Hudson river. He worked there for two years and carefully saved
his earnings until he had $300. With this capital he set out for the
West and joined his brother, J. P. Brown, who was then located in
Atchison. His first employment was on his brother’s stock farm, located
north of Monrovia. Unfortunately, he was taken ill not long after his
arrival, and lay sick for a long time with typhoid, all of his savings
going to pay for medical services and nursing. He remained on his
brother’s farm for ten years and laid by another stake during that time.
During this period he cultivated three farms, owned by J. P. Brown, who
did not require him to pay any rental fees. Even the taxes were paid by
his brother who was only anxious to keep the land in cultivation and
give his brother, Tom, a start in the world. In the year 1877, Thomas,
having saved enough money to buy a farm of his own, invested his savings
in a tract of 160 acres of high prairie land, northwest of Effingham, in
Benton township. His first land investment cost him $2,250. The land had
on it only a small shack which was soon replaced by a comfortable home.
It is now one of the best improved places in this section of Kansas, and
the Brown farms are among the most productive in the whole State of
Kansas. A handsome white farm house graces the home place, which can be
seen for miles around, and it is quite imposing. Mr. Brown prospered as
he deserved and increased his holdings to the grand total of 640 acres
of good Kansas land. The remarkable part about his purchases of land is
that he paid cash for every tract of land which he bought and never went
in debt for a single acre. This land, purchased at varying prices, is
now easily worth $125 an acre. Mr. Brown carried on general farming and
live stock raising until February of 1911, when he turned over the
management of the home farm to his son, and removed to Effingham, where
he has a beautiful and comfortable residence in the west part of the
city.
He, of whom this review is written, was married on October 20, 1869, to
Miss Anna Neely, born in Ohio in 1846, a daughter of Samuel Neely, who
migrated to Atchison county, Kansas, in 1868. Sixteen children have been
born of this marriage, thirteen of whom are living, all of whom are
married excepting one daughter and a son: John, a farmer, living near
Blue Rapids, Kan.; Mrs. Ida Fishburn, living on a farm near Meriden,
Kan.; William, Charley, Frank, and Edward, who are located on their
father’s ranch; George lives at Effingham; Richard, a successful farmer,
living south of Muscotah; Mrs. Pearl Dunn, of Oklahoma; Mrs. Ethel
Smith, residing in Oklahoma; Edith, at home with her parents; Mrs. Julia
Wagner, living near Mortimer, Kan.; Mrs. Mary Kemp, on a farm near
Vermilion, Kan. This worthy couple have thirty-six grandchildren.
Mr. Brown is a Republican in politics, but is decidedly independent in
his voting and making up his mind concerning political questions of the
day. He believes in supporting the man best qualified to serve the
people in a civic capacity, rather than blindly following the dictates
of political leaders or so-called bosses, a characteristic of the man in
all of his conduct through life. He is a member of the Effingham
Catholic church and is a liberal supporter of this denomination, having
contributed liberally toward the building of the local church. He is a
member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons lodge and became a member
of this lodge in 1871. It is a matter of historical record that Mr.
Brown, Willis Walker and Hump. Henderson, of Effingham, are the three
oldest living Masons in Atchison county in point of years of membership
in the order. What more honor does a man wish than has befallen this
Atchison county pioneer?
ALBERT H. BLAIR.
Albert H. Blair, farmer, of Center township, Atchison county, was born
March 6, 1862, near Astoria, Ill., and is a son of William and Alcinda
(McCormack) Blair. He was one of five children, Daisy being the only
other survivor. She resides in Center township and is now Mrs. Warner.
Two other children died in infancy, and William died while living on the
farm which Bert now owns. The father was born May 18, 1833, in
Brownsville, Fayette county, Pennsylvania. He was a son of William
Blair, and was a glass cutter while living in the East, but when he went
to Illinois, he engaged in farming. Later, he farmed in Fulton county,
Illinois. In 1863 he came to Kansas and engaged in freighting between
Atchison and Denver, with his brother, Edward. They followed this
exciting occupation about three years, and in that short time had many
experiences which they related with great delight in after years. They
were never attacked by the Indians, for the reason that they drove in
large numbers, with 100 wagons to the train, and the Indians were shy of
such a large force. However, one night they thought that their luck had
changed. Mr. Blair can just barely remember the incident, although his
father has told it over so many times that it seems to him as if he
remembered the original incident. One night the party camped on the
trail between Atchison and Denver, lying asleep under their wagons.
Indians had been seen that day and the freighting party was a little
uneasy, and some of the more nervous members feared an attack. Late in
the night the mules became frightened and woke up Mr. Blair. William
jumped up, and off in the dark he could see a white object approaching.
The cry of “Indians” went out and rifles were aimed. William shot, but
could not hit the object. No one else could, for it was very dark and
the object could not be seen distinctly. The white object kept
approaching, and finally took a definite outline in the darkness. It was
a white steer. One night when Indians stampeded the mules of the train,
William and a comrade set out in pursuit of the Indians by flaying the
mules with arrows and drove them so fast that the pursuers caught up
with them by hard exertion and recaptured the horses. These are typical
of many narratives which the elder Blair related of his early-day
experiences on the plains. After quitting the freighting business, he
and his brother engaged in milling in Atchison, Kan. Three years later
William sold his interest to his brother, and started a livery business.
A year later he went to farming in Doniphan county, Kansas, and moved
from one farm to another for several years. In 1882 he was elected
sheriff of Atchison county on the Democratic ticket, and his first term
was so successful that he was re-elected. After his term expired he
continued to live in Atchison for some time. He then bought 160 acres of
land in Center township and remained there until 1891, when he removed
to Effingham, where he lived in retirement until his death in 1899. The
mother of Bert Blair was born January 11, 1842, in Brownsville, Pa. She
is a daughter of Alonza and Sarah J. (Hibbs) McCormack, who were natives
of Pennsylvania. They came west in the early days and farmed in Illinois
and Iowa. The mother is now living with her daughter, Mrs. Daisy Warner,
in Center township, Atchison county.
Bert Blair grew up on his father’s farm and in Atchison, and was
educated in the district schools and the Atchison public schools. He
lived at home until he was eighteen years of age when he engaged in
railroading. It may have been the stories of his father about the
travelers that prompted him to go into railroading. At any rate he found
the adventurous work to his liking and he worked as a fireman on the
Missouri Pacific railroad passenger train from Kansas City to Omaha,
until he was promoted to the position of locomotive engineer. His run
was from Hiawatha to Kansas City, which was a division of the Missouri
Pacific then. In 1890 he rented his father’s farm, and at the death of
the latter, he inherited eighty acres, and he has since increased his
holdings to 160 acres. He has built a fine modern barn on his place,
50×54 feet in size, with a capacity of ninety-two tons of hay, and was
designed and built by Mr. Blair himself.
In 1886 he married Sarah P. Jeffery, who was born February 20, 1869, in
Missouri. She was a daughter of Ira P. and Mary (Farley) Jeffery, both
of whom were born in Virginia. They came to Atchison county, Kansas, in
the seventies, and are now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Blair have been
born four children, as follows: Roberta, deceased; Claude, Effingham,
Kan., married Vera Pittman, of Effingham, and has one son, Thomas
Albert, who was born December 24, 1909; William C., who married Elsie
Stickler, of Lancaster, and has two sons, Chester Eugene, born April 23,
1913, and Bert William, born October 20, 1914. A daughter, Sarah, died
in infancy in Kansas City. Mrs. Blair died November 20, 1915, and her
remains were interred in the cemetery at Lancaster. Mr. Blair is a
Democrat. He attends the Methodist church, and is a member of the Eagles
and Modern Woodmen of America.
GEORGE H. T. JOHNSON.
There is considerable distinction in being the oldest practicing
physician in Atchison county, and this well merited honor properly
belongs to Dr. George H. T. Johnson, of Atchison, Kan., who for nearly
half a century has practiced his profession continuously in the city
with ever increasing prestige and success which has never abated during
the long period of his career. Dr. Johnson is one of the best loved and
well respected professional men of the city who has won his place in the
front rank of his profession by sheer merit and ability of a high order.
Despite his seventy-three years of age he still continues to minister to
the ailing and has kept abreast of the wonderful advances made in
medical science.
[Illustration:
_G. H. T. Johnson_
]
Dr. G. H. T. Johnson was born near Mt. Vernon, Jefferson county,
Illinois, October 15, 1842, a son of James and Lydia (Cricle) Johnson,
the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of Illinois. His
paternal grandfather, George Johnson, was a soldier in the American army
during the War of 1812. The father of Dr. Johnson died when he was an
infant and his mother departed this life at the age of seventy-eight
years. George H. T. was educated in the public schools of Jefferson
county and Mount Vernon. He remained at home until the summer of 1862,
when he enlisted in the Union army as a member of Company G, One Hundred
and Tenth regiment, Illinois infantry. In September of the same year
this regiment was assigned to the command of General Buell, then at
Louisville, Ky., and first saw action at the battle of Perryville, Ky.,
October 8, 1862. Subsequently, the One Hundred and Tenth was transferred
to General Rosecrans’ army and took part in the great battle of Stone
River and the campaign which resulted in the capture of Chattanooga, and
the great battle of Chickamauga. He was under General Thomas at the
battles of Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. General
Grant in person directed the maneuvers of Generals Thomas’ and
Rosecrans’ combined forces during these famous engagements.
Subsequently, his regiment was assigned to the command of General
Sherman and served under Sherman until the close of the Civil war. He
took part in the siege and capture of Atlanta and the famous March to
the Sea, which culminated in the capture of Savannah, which city Sherman
presented to President Lincoln as a Christmas gift. He also participated
in the campaign of the Carolinas and was at the last battle fought by
Sherman’s army at Bentonville, N. C., and at the surrender of the
Confederate army under Gen. Joseph Johnston near Raleigh. From there the
victorious army marched to Richmond, thence to Baltimore and on to
Washington, where they participated in the Grand Review. Mr. Johnson was
honorably discharged from the service and mustered out June 8, 1865. The
doctor tells many anecdotes of his long and varied army experience which
are all interesting and show that he proved himself not unworthy of the
martial blood coursing through his veins and transmitted from his
grandfather.
Upon his return home from the war Mr. Johnson taught one term of school
and then decided to take up the study of medicine and make the science
of healing his life vocation. Accordingly, he entered the Cleveland
Homeopathic Medical College and subsequently attended the Homeopathic
Medical College of St. Louis, Mo., where he was graduated February 26,
1869. While a student at college he heard of the city of Atchison and
was impressed with the idea that it would be a good place to locate.
After looking around for a few weeks he became convinced that Atchison
was a desirable location for a young physician and he came here in April
of 1869 and soon built up an excellent practice which grew in volume as
the years went on. In 1885 Governor Martin appointed Dr. Johnson a
member of the State board of health, and in April of that year he was
elected president of the board and retained the position for eight
years. He is president of the Atchison board of pension examiners for
the United States Government and has acted in that capacity for several
years, his service as pension examiner beginning during the term of
President Arthur and continuing under the administrations of Presidents
Harrison, McKinley, Roosevelt and Taft. He always takes an interest in
the brothers who fought in the army under the stars and stripes for the
preservation of the American Union and does everything in his power to
aid the old soldiers. He is a charter member of the Homeopathic Medical
Society of Kansas and served two terms as president of this society. He
is also a member and has been a senior member of the American Institute
of Homeopathy, the oldest medical institute in the United States. For
many years he has been a member of the American Public Health
Association, as well as the County, State, and American Medical
Associations. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Masonic order, the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Ancient Order of United
Workmen, and has been a surgeon of John A. Martin Post, No. 93, Grand
Army of the Republic, since its organization, excepting two years when
he served as the post commander. Dr. Johnson is a man of wide and
thorough experience, broad and tolerant in his views, who has commanded
the confidence and high esteem of the people of Atchison and the
surrounding country during the many years in which he has been a
resident of the city. He is one of the best known men in the county and
holds high rank as a physician whose skill has not suffered abatement as
the years have gone by.
CHARLES H. JOHNSON
Dr. Charles H. Johnson, his son, practices with his father. He is a
graduate of the Kansas State University and completed a course in the
medical department of Columbia University, N. Y., and also graduated
from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York City. For two
years he served as staff physician of the Roosevelt Hospital of New York
City, where he gained a wide and varied experience in the practice of
his profession that has proven to be invaluable to him in his later
career. Since locating in Atchison with his father he has built up a
fine practice and served for ten years as surgeon of the Orphans’ Home
at Atchison.
THOMAS C. TREAT.
Thomas C. Treat, who is engaged in the investment brokerage business in
Atchison, is one of the extensive land owners of Atchison county. Mr.
Treat is a native of Atchison county, born March 26, 1865, and is a son
of Levi S. and Mary D. (Cooper) Treat, the former a native of
Connecticut and the latter of England. Mary D. Cooper was born in
Exeter, Devonshire, England, and was a daughter of Thomas and Mary A.
Cooper. The Cooper family immigrated to America when Mary D. was a
child. The family consisted of the parents and three children. They made
the trip across the Atlantic in a sailing vessel, the voyage taking six
weeks. They located at Covington, Ky., where the parents spent their
lives. Mary D. Cooper had friends living in Atchison, and came here in
1857, where she later met and married Levi S. Treat. Levi S. Treat was
born in Connecticut in 1814, and was a son of Amos Treat, who removed
with his family to the Western Reserve, which comprised twelve counties
in northeastern Ohio. The Treat family located in that section in 1828,
when Levi S. was fourteen years old, and there the parents spent the
remainder of their lives.
When a young man, Levi S. Treat was in the employ of the Government,
prospecting for copper in the Lake Superior region. He was thus engaged
for eight or ten years, and in 1856 came to Atchison county, Kansas.
Shortly after arriving here, he preëmpted 160 acres of land, part of
which is now included within the city limits of Atchison. Here he
followed farming and fruit growing in the early days and prospered and
acquired considerable land. He dealt quite extensively in real estate
and was one of the early promoters of Atchison, and built the first
brick business house in that city. This building was located two doors
east of the Byrum Hotel. Levi S. Treat was a successful business man and
one of the substantial citizens of Atchison county. During the Civil war
he was a colonel of the Twelfth regiment, Kansas militia. He died April
13, 1881, and his wife survived him for several years, passing away
March 29, 1913. They were the parents of six children, as follows: Kate
married Samuel K. Woodworth, and they reside in California; Frank
resides in Arizona; Thomas C., the subject of this sketch; Alice married
George Guerrier, of Atchison, Kan.; Grace married William Berry, of
Atchison, Kan., and Ethel married Harry McDuff, of Omaha, Neb.
Thomas C. Treat was reared in Atchison and educated in the public
schools, and later attended St. Benedict’s College. He then was engaged
in fruit growing for a number of years, and in 1889 engaged in the
investment and brokerage business in Atchison, and has continued in that
business to the present time. Mr. Treat owns over 1,100 acres of land
besides various other interests and investments. He is one of the
pioneer fruit growers of Atchison county, and owns a fifty-acre fruit
farm, which has few equals, if any, in the State of Kansas. The trees on
this place are about fifteen years old, and, under normal conditions,
are very productive. Mr. Treat has made an extensive study of the fruit
business and has developed a scientific system of treating his trees. He
was the first fruit man in Atchison county to use the spray method, and
he has been very successful in the fruit business.
Mr. Treat was one of the organizers of the Union Trust Company, which
was later merged into the Exchange State Bank, and has been a director,
or other officer, in that institution since its organization. He is also
a stockholder in the Exchange State Bank. He is a member of the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is one of the progressive
and public spirited citizens of Atchison county.
CHARLES H. FUHRMAN.
Charles H. Fuhrman, farmer and stockman, of Lancaster township, Atchison
county, Kansas, was born in Schleasien, Germany, December 13, 1852. He
is a son of Ernst and Louise (Heine) Fuhrman, and is their only child.
The father was married again, however, and to his second wife, Johanna
Gerlach, twelve children were born, as follows: Ernst, Atchison, Kan.;
Caroline (Dierking), Dodge City, Kan.; Louise (Repstein), Jefferson
county, Kansas; William, St. Joseph, Mo.; Reinhold, farmer, Lancaster
township, Atchison county, Kansas; Julius, Doniphan county, Kansas;
Traugot, Center township, Atchison county; Herman, Lancaster township,
Atchison county; Paul, Center township, Atchison county; Emma (Schwope),
Center township. Two children died in infancy. The father was born in
Germany July 8, 1826, and in 1872 came to America and settled in
Atchison county, Kansas, where he bought 160 acres of land in section
16, Lancaster township. This was timber and prairie land and there was
only a small, poorly built house on it at the time, but during the
twenty years which he owned it he built several substantial buildings
and made numerous improvements. He then sold the place to his son,
Herman, and removed to Lancaster, where he lived in quiet, well-earned
retirement for five years, when he went to live with his son, Paul, in
Center township, where he died September 2, 1915. The mother, Louise
(Heine) Fuhrman, died in Germany when a young woman in 1852. Charles
Fuhrman’s stepmother, Joehanna (Gerlach) Fuhrman, was born in Germany,
and is now living with her daughter, Emma, in Center township, Atchison
county, in her eighty-fifth year.
Charles Fuhrman left Germany with his parents when he was nineteen years
of age. He had received his education under the German system, and had
been taught the carpenter’s trade, but never followed this occupation
after he came to America. He remained with his parents, helping his
father on the farm in Lancaster township until he was twenty-five years
old, when he bought 160 acres of land in section 18, Lancaster township.
When he took possession the farm had no improvements, and he first built
a house and a barn, and added other improvements and conveniences. He
acquired more land until he now owns 390 acres, including eight acres of
fine timber land on his home place and ten acres of timber on the farm
which he rents. He has stocked his farm with graded animals. Besides his
real estate investments, Mr. Fuhrman is a shareholder in the Huron
Telephone Company. He was married in 1878 to Louise Roerchen, who was
born in Germany July 16, 1857. She left her native land with her uncle,
Karl Schwope, in 1860. They came to Wathena, Doniphan county, Kansas.
Her mother died on the ocean while coming to America and the little
daughter was reared by her grandparents in Doniphan county and attended
the grammar school at Wathena. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs.
Fuhrman: Ernst, farmer, Lancaster township, Atchison county; Ida
(Tuley), deceased; William, Lancaster township; Selma (Lange),
Grasshopper township, Atchison county; Edward, living at home; Mabel,
also living with her parents. Mr. Fuhrman is a Republican, and has been
road overseer of Lancaster township. He belongs to the Evangelical
church, and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
CHARLES LINLEY.
A true analysis of the growth and development of the manufacturing and
commercial enterprises of a city invariably brings forth the fact that
while the interested principals furnished capital, energy and ability,
its financial institutions were also material factors. The city of
Atchison is not an exception to the rule. The policy of her banks has
been, since the first one was established, to extend assistance to
merchants and manufacturers. Both executives and directors have been
keenly alive to the fact that a liberal policy, in so far as was
consistent with sound banking, was essential to commercial growth. Among
those who have realized success in this field of activity is he whose
name initiates this article. He first entered the banking life of the
city in the early nineties, subsequently served Atchison county in an
official capacity and re-entered financial circles as one of the
organizers of the Union Trust Company in 1907, was later elected cashier
of the Exchange State Bank, and in 1911 resigned to accept his present
position, that of cashier of the First National Bank.
Charles Linley was born in the city of Atchison July 10, 1867, and is
the only surviving member of the family of Dr. James M. Linley, a
pioneer physician of the city and one of her most influential citizens.
Dr. Linley was born in Salem, Ky., the son of a pioneer, and was of
English descent. He was reared in his native State, received a good
academic and classical education, and subsequently entered Miami Medical
College at Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he was graduated with the Degree
of Doctor of Medicine. During the closing years of the Civil war he
entered the Union army as a regimental surgeon and served until the
close of the conflict. Previous to entering the army he had married Mary
A. Hubbard, a daughter of Charles Hubbard, of Hickman, Ky., a member of
one of Kentucky’s most prominent families, an influential citizen and a
widely known and successful physician.
Following his service in the Union army, he came to the conclusion that
Kansas spelled opportunity for him, and bringing his family, located in
the city of Atchison in 1865. From this time until his death, which
occurred November 28, 1900, he continued in the active practice of his
profession. He was recognized as one of the most successful physicians
and surgeons in northeastern Kansas. He was a man of attractive
personality, was intimately acquainted throughout the city and county
and held in the highest esteem by all who knew him. His record for
continuous years of practice has seldom been equaled in the State. He
was a believer in the religion of deed, and his creed was to do good. He
believed in the gospel of help and hope. For forty-five years he lived
his creed and preached his gospel to the citizens of his adopted State.
He was not only a successful physician but also realized a substantial
success in a commercial way. He was directly or indirectly interested in
many business enterprises. He was one of the active forces in the
organization of the First National Bank, and from the establishment
until his death was a member of its directorate. He and his wife were
prominent in the social and religious life of the city, and the Linley
residence was known for its gracious hospitality which was extended to
their many friends with true Kentucky spirit. Dr. and Mrs. Linley were
the parents of five children, all of whom, with the exception of our
subject, are deceased. Hubbard Linley, the eldest, was graduated in
medicine and became one of the most prominent surgeons in northeast
Kansas. He was division surgeon of the Missouri Pacific railway,
Atchison district. His death occurred in July, 1911. Thomas died in
childhood; Victor, on November 20, 1915; and Maria died in childhood.
Charles Linley was reared in the city of Atchison and received his early
education in its public schools. Subsequently, he entered Kansas
University, where he completed a course in English. He initiated his
commercial career in 1887 when he entered the employ of the First
National Bank of Atchison in the capacity of collector. In 1892 he was
appointed deputy treasurer of Atchison county. That he filled this
position satisfactorily is attested through his having been elected
treasurer of the county in 1899 and re-elected to that office in 1902.
His second term expired in 1905, but he held over until 1907, as the
gentleman elected to the office in the fall of 1904 died before being
sworn in. The administration of the affairs of this office under Mr.
Linley was marked by efficiency, economy and courtesy. During the last
two years of this service he was the junior member of the Antle-Linley
Grain Company of Atchison. In 1907 he was actively concerned in
organizing the Union Trust Company of Atchison, and was elected
secretary and treasurer. He filled this position until 1909, when the
Exchange State Bank was organized. This institution took over the Union
Trust Company, and Mr. Linley was elected cashier. He remained with the
Exchange State Bank until 1911, when he was elected cashier of the First
National Bank, the institution in which he had received his first
business experience some twenty years previous, and in the organization
of which his father was an active factor. To the banking fraternity Mr.
Linley is known as an energetic, able and progressive executive, one who
has brought the administrative policy of his bank to a point of high
efficiency. He has extensive commercial interests aside from the bank.
He is a stockholder in the Globe Publishing Company, the Bailor Plow
Company, and the Cain Milling Company. Since attaining his majority, he
has been active in the political life of the county, and is one of the
influential members of the Progressive party. Mr. Linley is a member and
past exalted ruler of Atchison Lodge, No. 647, Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks. He is also a member of Atchison Lodge, No. 404, Loyal
Order of Moose.
On June 26, 1890, in Atchison, Mr. Linley married Miss Roberta Wilson
Riddell, a daughter of Mrs. Josephine E. Riddell. They have one child
Robert Wilson Linley, born in Atchison, March 8, 1894. He was educated
in the public schools of his native city and graduated from its high
school. In 1911 he entered the law department of Kansas University,
remaining until 1913, when he entered the University of Wisconsin, where
he completed a course in English. In 1915 he entered the employ of the
First National Bank of Atchison in the capacity of collector and
remittance clerk.
WILLIAM H. BUSH.
William H. Bush, farmer and stockman, of Lancaster township, Atchison
county, was born January 16, 1856, in Hanover, Pa. He is a son of Elias
D. and Sarah (Keithline) Bush, and was one of six children, as follows:
William, subject of this sketch; Samuel, deceased; John, deceased;
Andrew, foreman of tailoring establishment in St. Louis, Mo.; Charles
F., signal man for the Missouri Pacific railway in Colorado; Minnie,
Atchison, Kan. Elias D. Bush, the father, was born December 16, 1834, in
Pennsylvania. He was a stationary engineer and also followed farming for
a time. During the eighties he came to Atchison county and took up
farming in Shannon township. For a few years he rented his land, but
later bought 160 acres in section 26, Lancaster township, which is now
owned by Amel Markwalt. Elias D. Bush followed farming here until 1904,
when he sold his place and removed to Atchison, where he is now living
in retirement. William H. Bush’s mother was born February 27, 1834, in
Hanover, Pa., and died in 1890, and is buried in Lancaster cemetery.
William H. Bush attended the common schools in Hanover, Pa., and later
worked in the coal mines. In 1876 he left the East and came to Atchison
county, Kansas, and for five years worked for his uncle, Andrew
Keithline, and then rented land in Shannon township for eleven years. He
was successful in this venture, and in 1890 bought the farm of 160 acres
which he now farms, in Lancaster township. When he took the farm it had
only the most meager improvements, consisting chiefly of a small house
and an old barn, both in a dilapidated condition. Mr. Bush has built a
fine eleven-room house and a large barn, 64×60 feet. This barn cost him
$3,000, and he is willing to wager that it is one of the best, though
perhaps not the largest, in Atchison county. He now owns 320 acres of
land in Lancaster township and has a number of head of high grade stock,
including Shorthorn cattle and Duroc Jersey hogs. Mr. Bush is a
practical farmer, who, with practically no start, has, by hard work and
diligent economy, become a man of comfortable circumstances. He holds a
position of high esteem among the many acquaintances he has made in
Atchison county.
[Illustration:
MICHAEL J. HINES
]
[Illustration:
WILLIAM H. BUSH
]
[Illustration:
GEORGE DORSSOM
]
[Illustration:
CHAS. H. FALK
]
On March 30, 1881. Mr. Bush was united in marriage with Ellen J.
Christian, a native of the Isle of Man, a small island in the Irish sea
lying between Ireland and England. She was born January 24, 1857, a
daughter of Charles and Mary (Kneale) Christian, both of whom were
natives of the Isle of Man. Mrs. Bush died in February, 1911. They had
six children, as follows: Cora, Atchison, Kan.; Harry, Atchison, Kan.;
Mary Smithson, Lancaster, Kan.; Ina, deceased; Sarah, Atchison Kan.;
Jessie, Atchison, Kan. On October 29, 1913, Mr. Bush married Mary E.
Christian, a niece of his first wife, and a daughter of Charles and
Ellen J. (Wade) Christian, natives of the Isle of Man. She was born near
Pardee, Atchison county, March 21, 1869, and attended the Catholic
parochial school of Atchison. They have no children. Mr. Bush is a
Republican and attends the Methodist church. He is a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen of America of
Lancaster. He also is a member of the Atchison County Protective
Association, of which he was one of the organizers, and served as
president of the association for a number of years.
Mr. Bush is one of the most successful farmers in Kansas and is the
owner of a highly productive tract of land. As an illustration of his
success as a farmer, the records show that from a tract of twenty-one
acres there was corn produced at an average of 108 bushels to the acre
the first year, ninety-seven bushels to the acre the second year, and
eighty-four bushels to the acre the third year, after which the land was
sown to wheat in the natural order of crop rotation and the yield was
thirty-eight bushels to the acre. Mr. Bush is a firm believer in crop
rotation as a means of preserving the fertility of the soil.
MICHAEL J. HINES.
For an individual to come to Atchison county without funds and with
practically no influential friends to assist him to achieve success, it
is remarkable for him to accomplish in the rather brief period of
twenty-six years as much as has been done by Michael J. Hines, of
Lancaster township, Atchison county. It is apparent that Kansas presents
unusual opportunities for a man to better his condition, if one man can
accumulate 480 acres of land, become president of a flourishing banking
concern and a stockholder in another important city bank. The main
reason for Mr. Hines’ wonderful success must lie in the ability of the
man himself, and the reviewer must of necessity conclude that the power
to achieve was inherent in his mental and physical makeup, which,
combined with industry, decided financial ability, honesty and
uprightness has made him one of the leading citizens of his adopted
county. Mr. Hines is a scion of old southern families, and comes of good
old Virginia stock on his mother’s side, being descended from the well
known Hunter family of Virginia, who were among the founders of the
Baptist church in the southland. Mr. Hines is a large stockholder and
director, and was formerly vice-president of the Antelope Peak copper
mines of Arizona. He is the owner of a 320–acre irrigated ranch in the
Valier valley of Montana, near Valier.
Michael J. Hines was born July 5, 1863, in Roanoke county, Virginia, and
was one of the twelve children of Henry and Katherine (Jeter) Hines, six
of whom are living. The father was born in Rockingham county, Virginia,
in 1833. He was a Confederate soldier during the Civil war, having
enlisted in Virginia but was not in any battles during the war. His life
was spent in farming except for a time when he speculated in Confederate
money. At the close of the war he had a sack full of Confederate scrip
which could not be redeemed. He died at his home in Abington, Va., in
1898. His father, Richard Hines, was of Irish descent and was a
plantation owner in Virginia. His mother was Sallie (Howmaker) Hines,
and was of German descent. The mother of Michael Hines was also a
Virginian, having been born in Bedford county, Virginia, in 1841. She
died in 1890. She was a daughter of Allison Jeter. Her mother was a
member of the Hunter family, who were among the first members of the
Baptist church.
Michael Hines was reared and educated in Virginia and left that State in
1883 when he was twenty years of age, settling in Morgan county,
Illinois, where he worked as a farm hand for six years. He then came to
Atchison, Kan., and was engaged as foreman by the Greenleaf & Baker
Grain Company. Six years later he bought his present farm of 160 acres.
It was unimproved and none of the land was broken. Since buying the land
he has made $10,000 worth of improvements on his place and has set out
fifteen acres of orchard. This evidence speaks for the thrift and good
judgment of Mr. Hines. He also has bought 480 acres of land in Lancaster
township. He is a live, progressive farmer and stock raiser and keeps
graded stock of all kinds on his farm. Mr. Hines is a shareholder and
president of the Lancaster State Bank, and is also a stockholder in the
German-American Bank of Atchison, Kan. In politics Mr. Hines is a
Democrat, but votes independently in county and State affairs, and for
the individual.
Mr. Hines was married in 1890 at Alexander, Ill., to Lillie Kaiser, who
was born August 27, 1870, and six children have been born to this union,
as follows: Samuel, who was graduated from the Atchison business
college, and is now farming at home; Frank, Helen, Louise and Lillian,
all living at home, and one died in infancy. Mr. Hines is a member of
the Methodist church and is a trustee and steward in the Shannon
Methodist Episcopal Church. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America
and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Lancaster, Kan.
CHARLES H. FALK.
Charles H. Falk, of Shannon township, is the owner of the first tract of
land which was filed upon in the Atchison county land office in 1854.
This farm was preëmpted by Capt. William Jackson, who was a justice of
the peace and a captain of home guards during the Civil war, and died at
Ft. Worth, Tex., in 1911. The first house built on the place was made
from material taken from the cabin of a river steamer sunk in the
Missouri river. Henry Falk, father of Charles, and his son, have made so
many excellent improvements on the dwelling that the dining room of the
present residence is the only part of the old cabin now in use. This
part of the home was built in 1857. The original owner set out a grove
of cottonwoods in 1857 which was cut down in the fall of 1892 by the
present proprietor, and erected a barn from the lumber sawed, which made
over 112,000 feet of good merchantable lumber. Mr. Falk’s barn was built
from this lumber, with the exception of the shingles. Captain Jackson
sold the land to Frank Fisher, who died in 1877, six months after the
purchase, and it was bought by Henry Falk, father of Charles H., in
1878. After Henry Falk’s death, Charles H. came into possession of the
land by inheritance, and by purchase of the interests of the other
heirs. He has made very extensive improvements since becoming the owner
and despite that the soil has been in constant cultivation for more than
sixty years the yield of crops is greater now than ever before, and the
wheat crops in late years have exceeded twenty-two bushels an acre. The
farm residence is attractively situated, in the center of the tract of
155 acres and is reached by a splendid driveway, kept in first class
condition by Mr. Falk. In fact, the private road to the Falk residence
is kept in far better condition than many of the country roads in
Atchison county, and is in keeping with the general appearance of this
fine farm.
Charles H. Falk was born May 23, 1864, in Watertown, Wis., a son of
Henry, born in 1815, and died, 1894, and of Wilhelmina (Clout) Falk,
born 1819, and died in 1901. Both parents were born on the River Rhine
in Germany, and married in their native land. Henry Falk was a cabinet-
maker and immigrated to Wisconsin in 1857, and worked at his trade until
1866, when he settled on a farm. He came to Atchison county with his
family in 1879, and on February 2, of that year, moved on the farm which
he had purchased the preceding year.
Charles H. Falk was married in 1885 to Elizabeth Wolters, a daughter of
John Wolters, a native of Holland, who was one of the first brick-makers
in Atchison and Doniphan counties. John Wolters emigrated from Holland
to Doniphan county, Kansas, in 1857, and came to Atchison in 1858.
During his long residence in Atchison he has been a manufacturer of
brick, and the results of his handiwork are seen in the construction of
many of the brick buildings in the city. Mr. Wolters was born in May,
1827, and is now over eighty-nine years of age and the oldest Atchison
county resident at the present time. He lives a retired life on South
Second street. Mr. and Mrs. Falk have children as follows: John H., a
resident of Beattie, Marshall county, married Margaret Gressel, and they
have two children, Karl and Pauline; Henry, in the employ of the Symns
Grocer Company; Anna, a seamstress, living with her parents; Rose, wife
of John McGrath, a traveling salesman for the Symns Grocer Company, and
they have one child, Rosemary; Herbert, aged twenty years, and Irene,
aged ten years, both of whom are at home with their parents.
Mr. Falk and his family are members of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church,
and Mr. Falk is a member of the church committee of four councilors. He
is a Democrat, but is inclined to be independent in his voting, having a
decided leaning toward the support of those candidates that seem best
fitted for the office. He has filled no civic office but that of
township trustee, which he held for one year, having been appointed by
the county commissioners to fill a vacancy in Shannon township. He is
affiliated with the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association and the Central
Protective Association and is a member of the St. Joseph society.
GEORGE DORSSOM.
George Dorssom, one of the oldest living pioneer settlers of Lancaster
township in point of residence, now living retired at Lancaster,
Atchison county, was born August 4, 1864, in Lancaster township,
Atchison county. He is a son of George and Sophia (Storm) Dorssom, and
was one of thirteen children, four boys and five girls of whom are still
living. The subject of this sketch was the seventh child of the family.
The father of George Dorssom, whose name also was George, was born in
Germany January 8, 1820. He sailed to America and settled in New Orleans
when a young man and worked as a tailor there. He then went to Wayne
county, Ohio, where he worked as a tailor for a time, when he engaged in
farming. In 1860 he came to Atchison county, Kansas, and bought forty
acres of prairie land in section 21, Lancaster township, which he broke
with oxen. He farmed on this place until his death in January, 1895. He
came to America a stranger and without funds, but by hard work he
accumulated considerable means and reared ten out of a family of
thirteen children. His wife, Sophia, was a devoted helpmate, and when
they were struggling to make their farm pay, she would load up a small
hand wagon with vegetables and garden truck and pull it to Lancaster,
where she would sell or exchange the produce for goods. This trip was
two miles, and it was a great exertion for Mrs. Dorssom, but she was
glad to be able to help her husband in whatever way she could. After the
death of her first husband she was married again on February 19, 1896,
to Jacob Merkel, a native of Germany. He died March 12, 1908. His wife
is still active, despite her age, and lives in Lancaster with a maid.
She is able to be about her work and takes a keen interest in life. Her
children are: Mrs. Margaret Kleppe, a widow, residing in Brown county,
Kansas; Mrs. Katherine Hinz, a widow, Lancaster, Kan.; John, farmer,
Lancaster township; Mrs. Caroline Kloepper, deceased; Mrs. Sophia Myer,
living in Soldier, Jackson county, Kansas; Adam, Lancaster township;
Louisa Henrietta, dead; Mrs. Lizzie Myer, of Lancaster; Dora W.,
deceased; Adam, of Lancaster, Kan.; Mrs. Louisa Fridel, Brown county,
Kansas; Henry, farmer, and three children who died in infancy. She has
forty-five grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren and is very
proud of them all. Her descendants all carry the idea of an industrious
woman with them and the influence of the life of this woman will stay
with them all through their lives.
George Dorssom, the subject of this sketch, was reared on the farm of
his father. He attended school in the Bell district and worked on his
father’s farm until he was twenty-five years of age. He then bought
eighty acres of land from his father in section 21, Lancaster township,
and followed farming for fifteen years. He has added forty acres to his
farm and made extensive improvements to the extent of $7,000. He now
owns 138 acres of land and a fine residence with about five acres of
residence property in Lancaster, Kansas. Mr. Dorssom was a breeder of
Berkshire hogs, to which he paid special attention. In 1909 he retired
and moved to Lancaster, Kan. He is a Republican and was a member of the
city council for four years. For a term of seven years he was road
supervisor of Lancaster township. He has always taken an active interest
in public affairs of his community. He has led a useful life and looks
back on one of the longest careers of living citizens who were born in
Atchison county. He has traveled in many parts of the United States, but
is glad to have settled down in retirement in Atchison county, believing
it to be the happiest country he has ever seen.
On December 31, 1890, Mr. Dorssom married Hulda Hinz, who was born in
Germany October 1, 1860. She came to America when she was twenty years
old. Her father, Edward Hinz, died in Germany in 1895, at the age of
fifty-eight years. The mother, Caroline (Lutce) Hinz, came to Atchison
county, Kansas, in 1896, and now resides at Leavenworth. Mrs. Dorssom
attended school in Germany. She was one of nine children. A brother,
Richard, is a florist at Leavenworth, Kan., and two brothers are in the
same business, one, Rudolph, at St. Joseph, Mo., and the other, Amiel,
at Leavenworth. Mr. and Mrs. Dorssom have no children, but they adopted
a child, Gustave Hinz, a nephew of Mrs. Dorssom. They reared and
educated him, and he is now farming on the home place. Both Mr. and Mrs.
Dorssom are members of the English Lutheran church. He is a charter
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has been a member of
the Lancaster Lodge of Odd Fellows, No. 355, since October, 1891, nearly
twenty-five years. Mrs. Dorssom is a charter member of the Daughters of
Rebekah Lodge, No. 431.
CYRUS E. DAVIS.
Cyrus E. Davis, founder and proprietor of the firm C. E. Davis & Sons,
plumbing and heating contractors, at 509 Kansas avenue, is one of
Atchison’s leading citizens, and a successful business man who has built
up his business from a modest beginning in a few short years. He first
started with a small shop on Commercial street, and in October, 1914,
moved to his present location. A complete stock of plumbing, heating and
steam fitting goods is carried in the shop, exceeding a value of $2,500.
The excellence and thoroughness of the work done by the Davis
establishment is marked, and the business is constantly on the increase.
Mr. Davis was born October 10, 1864, in Frederick county, Maryland, son
of George W. and Belinda (Saunders) Davis. The Davis family is a very
old one of Welsh extraction in America. The founders of this family were
four brothers, who crossed the ocean and left their native land of Wales
early in the seventeenth century. George W. Davis was also born in
Frederick county, Maryland, and became a contractor and builder. He
followed his trade in his native State until 1873, when he migrated to
Nebraska with his family. Later he went to Texas, where he died in 1900.
He was the father of nine sons, as follows: George W., a contractor and
builder, of David City, Neb.; Harry W., a building contractor, of
Houston, Texas; Theodore E., a contracting painter, of Columbus, Neb.;
Mahlon, a tailor, located in Norwalk, Ohio; William M., deceased; Lewis
A., a tinner and coppersmith, of San Bernardino, Cal., in the employ of
the Santa Fe railroad; Cyrus E., with whom this review is directly
concerned; Frank H., business agent for the Carpenters’ Union of
Oklahoma City, Okla. The mother of these children was also born in
Frederick county, Maryland, in 1825, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter
Saunders, natives of England. Walter Saunders came of a good English
family and studied in a boarding school of Southhampton, England, and
became a school teacher in Maryland. He had the distinction of having
taught for forty years in one school district in Frederick county,
Maryland, and became well-to-do. Mrs. Davis died in 1889.
Cyrus E. Davis was educated in the public schools of Columbus, Neb.,
learned his father’s trade when a young man, and after taking a
correspondence course in bridge engineering, he entered the employ of
the Missouri Pacific Railway Company as bridge constructor. He remained
with this road for five years and came to Atchison in 1886. He was
employed by the Missouri Pacific Railway Company until 1905 and then
entered the plumbing and heating department of the Farwell Heating
Company for one and one-half years, and then became foreman for the
Thayer Supply Company of Atchison. In the year 1912 he started a shop of
his own on Commercial street and was successful from the start. It
became necessary for him to seek larger quarters, and in October of 1914
he moved his business and shop to his present location.
Mr. Davis was united in marriage with Ida Mayhood in 1889, and to this
union have been born seven children, as follows: Frank M., George E.,
Reynold, Fred, Norma, Charles, and Verner, deceased. All of Mr. Davis’
sons are associated with him in his business, and have learned to become
expert plumbers and steamfitters under their father’s tutelage. The
mother of these children was born November 9, 1869, in Leavenworth
county, Kansas, a daughter of George and Mary (Carr) Mayhood, natives of
Ireland, and Canada, respectively. George Mayhood emigrated from Ireland
in an early day and settled in Leavenworth county about 1865, where he
engaged in farming. He and his wife were married in Lowell, Mass.
Mr. Davis is a Republican, and has taken an active and influential part
in the civic life of his adopted city, having served two terms as a
member of the city council. He and his family are members of the
Christian church, and he is fraternally connected with the Ancient Free
and Accepted Masons, Active Lodge, No. 158, and the Modern Woodmen of
America, in both of which lodges he is much interested.
HENRY BUTTRON.
The life story of Henry Buttron, late of Lancaster township, Atchison
county, Kansas, reveals the accomplishments of a poor German emigrant,
who began his career in Kansas with no money, and rose to become the
practical leader of the German colony in the township, and to amass
considerable wealth. His large farm of 960 acres which he owned at the
time of his demise was left intact, to be held in trust for his children
and heirs.
Henry Buttron was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, October 12, 1831,
and he was one of the five sons of Jacob and Margaret (Zimmer) Buttron,
two of whom came to America from their native land. Two brothers of the
family, Frederick and Henry, came to America in 1852; Frederick settled
in Pittsburgh, as did Henry, and he resided there until 1854, and then
came to the West. In his native land, Henry Buttron had learned the
trade of blacksmith; he worked at his trade in Pittsburgh, and after he
came west, he was employed as a smith at Elgin, Ill., until 1857. He
then came to Kansas and preëmpted a claim on section 22, Lancaster
township, Atchison county. He brought a small amount of money with him,
and was enabled to build a very small house, and then began to improve
his farm. The crops failed in 1860, and he found it necessary to resort
to the hammer and anvil in order to gain a livelihood for himself and
his family. He, accordingly, removed to Atchison and was employed at his
trade by Tom Ray, of the firm of Ostertag & Carmichael, and Anthony &
Ostertag, consecutively for nine years. He then returned to his claim,
redeemed the unpaid taxes, and entered upon a new era of progress and
industry which led to his great success in the ensuing years. In 1882 he
erected a large, handsome farm house, which at the time was one of the
most conspicuous homes in the county. He added to his possessions as he
was able, and accumulated a total of six quarter sections of good land,
of 960 acres in all, all of which he left to his widow, who resides on
the old home place.
Henry Buttron was married in Atchison, Kan., in 1866, to Rosa Scheu,
whose father, Andrew Scheu, came from Wittenberg, Germany. The following
children were born to this union: Rosa, wife of Louis Gerhardt, of
Atchison; Emma, wife of Charles Kammer, of Lancaster township; Kate and
Jacob, at home; Henry, who married Bertha Kemmer; Fred, married Louise
Meek, lives near Nortonville, Kan.; Anna, wife of George Schulz,
Lancaster township; Karl, married Anna Hegland, Lancaster township;
William, George and Louis, at home. The mother of these children was
born in Germany, in May, 1845, and came to America with her parents when
nine years of age. She was a daughter of Andrew and Rosena (Baner)
Scheu, both deceased.
[Illustration:
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Buttron and Family, of Lancaster Township
]
Mrs. Buttron has grandchildren as follows: Kathrine, Rosa and Henrietta
Kammer; Henry Buttron’s children, three, Clarence, Esther and Ruth; Fred
Buttron has three children, Karl, Ralph, Mildred; Mrs. Anna Schulz has
two children, Gilbert and Karl; Mrs. Rosa Gerhardt has one son, William;
Karl Buttron has one child, Edward; Jacob Buttron has four children,
Bertha, Emma, Alice and John.
Henry Buttron died February 8, 1913. During the Civil war he was a
member of the Kansas State militia, and was in the engagement fought at
Westport, and which resulted in the rout of the forces of the rebel
general, Price. Mr. Buttron always took a keen interest in local and
county affairs, and took a prominent part in affairs of importance to
the well being of the people. He was always modest and unostentatious in
his conduct, and was greatly respected by the people of his neighborhood
for his cool judgment and patriotism at all times. Henry Buttron was a
good citizen, and a kind parent who was highly esteemed by all who knew
him.
W. H. SMITH.
Some men are natural organizers and blessed with such a deep love for
the well being of their fellowmen that their activities are to a
considerable extent devoted to spreading the gospel of good fellowship
among mankind. The social and fraternal orders which are popular among
men of any locality are simply the outgrowth of that desire, for the
realization of a great dream for the “Brotherhood of Man,” which was
predicted 2,000 years ago. A man who furthers the growth of
organizations which have the welfare of the individual, singly and
collectively, at heart is doing a considerable amount of definite good
for the betterment of social conditions. Such a citizen is W. H. Smith,
the widely known and efficient clerk of the district court of Atchison
county, and a likeable and able personality, who figures prominently in
the history of his county.
Mr. Smith was born February 3, 1855, at Knoxville, Ill. He is a son of
John and Harriet (Gibbons) Smith, natives of England. John Smith, the
father, was born in 1808, and died in the year 1863. He was a scion of
an English family and was a graduate of Oxford University. He became a
contractor and builder in his native land, but immigrated to America
with his wife and three children in 1852, settling in Knoxville, Ill.,
where he died eleven years later. He was the father of the following
children: Mrs. Sarah Ann Simpson, deceased; Mrs. Harriet Ann Webb, of
Burlington Junction, Mo.; Charles E., of Sierra Blanca, Texas, employed
as a stationary engineer by the Texas Pacific railway since 1880. The
mother of these children departed this life February 2, 1890, aged
seventy-eight years, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Simpson.
W. H. Smith was reared in Knoxville, Ill. Being left an orphan at an
early age, by the death of his father, it was necessary for him to start
work when a boy and practically earn his own living and educate himself.
By working on neighboring farms during the spring and summer he was
enabled to attend school during the winter months, and succeeded in
attending the Knoxville high school. He did farm work until 1865 and
then learned the printing trade in Knoxville, being attached to the
staff of the Knoxville Republican during the winter of 1866 and ’67, and
remained until 1874 in that capacity. At the early age of twenty years
he wedded Elmira Kistler, and then settled on a farm in Lehigh county,
Pennsylvania, on which was located a tannery. He operated both farm and
tannery until 1880, when he decided to cast his fortunes in the western
country. March 2, 1880, he came to Atchison with his family and moved to
a farm near Good Intent, five miles northwest of Atchison. The year
before this he had made a trip to Atchison county and invested in eighty
acres of land which was partly improved. He developed this tract into a
very fine farm and sold it at a considerable advance over and above the
purchase price in 1895. In the spring of 1890 Mr. Smith removed to
Atchison and for three years served as night agent at the union station
for the Wells, Fargo and American Express companies. He then bought an
interest in the Home Show Printing Company, and was connected with this
concern in active capacity for a period of twelve years, or until 1905.
The printing company was then taken over by other parties and he
continued working in the office until 1909.
During his residence in Atchison county previous to this time, Mr. Smith
had become prominently identified with the Republican party and had
become known as a “wheel horse” of the organization and universally
esteemed by the rank and file of the party. He was elected to the office
of clerk of the district court in the fall of 1908, and began the duties
of his office in January of 1909. He was reëlected in 1912 and again in
1914. He was elected without opposition from any source in 1912, and
overcame his opponent in 1914 by the immense plurality of 3,010 votes.
For a period of three years he was secretary of the Republican central
committee, and was for six years a member of the first Atchison county
high school board, being one of the surviving members of the original
board which erected the county high school at Effingham, and was
likewise a member of the board which rebuilt the school house when it
was destroyed by fire. Mr. Smith was a member of this board while still
a resident of the county and took a prominent part in the inauguration
of this worthy institution, which has been so much appreciated by the
people of Atchison county.
In religious matters Mr. Smith is identified with the Episcopal church.
Probably no man in Atchison county is identified with a greater number
of fraternal organizations than is he. He became a member of the Odd
Fellows August 2, 1882, and is also a member of the encampment. Since
January 1, 1915, he has served as a secretary of Friendship Lodge,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 5, and has been scribe of the
encampment for the past fifteen years. For eighteen years he has been
secretary of the board of trustees of the Odd Fellows lodge and is
affiliated with the Rebekahs, and is a member of the canton. Since 1880
he has been a member of the Central Protective Association and was
practically its originator, and has been the grand secretary of the
order since 1886. The first of the annual outings and picnics held by
this famous association was conducted in the grove on Mr. Smith’s farm.
Visitors and guests to the number of 10,000 people have attended these
picnics. Mr. Smith has been a member of the Ancient Order of United
Workmen since 1895, and recorder of the order for thirteen years. He is
a member of the Woodmen of the World and has been their banker for six
years past. He is affiliated with the Knights and Ladies of Security;
the Kansas Fraternal Citizens; a member of Atchison Aerie, Fraternal
Order of Eagles, No. 173, and its secretary since 1904. Before removing
to Atchison he was secretary of the Central Protective Association at
Good Intent for five years. He is at present serving his second term as
State secretary of the Kansas Eagles, and has held various offices in
the State aerie, including the important post of State representative.
Since 1895 Mr. Smith has been a member of the Modern Woodmen; is a
member of the Fraternal Aid Union, and the Improved Order of Red Men,
and is an honorary member of the Typographical Union.
Mr. Smith’s happy wedded life began July 4, 1874, when he married
Elmira, daughter of Joel and Matilda Kistler, of Lehigh county,
Pennsylvania, members of an old Pennsylvania family. Joel Kistler was a
large land owner and tannery operator in Lehigh county. He and his
brother, Stephen, operated a number of tanneries, and were extensive
farmers, and were very wealthy. Joel Kistler came west, located in
Knoxville, Ill., and invested heavily in Illinois land. He died at Stony
Run, Berks county, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Kistler died at Schnecksville, Pa.
To Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been born the following children: Estella,
born July 14, 1875, deceased; Harriet Matilda, born June 6, 1876, wife
of J. A. Wilkinson, of Hershey, Pa., and the mother of two children,
John J., aged twelve years, and Michael aged eight years; Isabelle, born
December 15, 1880, wife of Dr. J. E. Exter, of Atchison, and mother of
one child, Eugene, aged five years; Pearl, born October 12, died April
25, 1890; Helen, born May 1, 1885, wife of R. H. Jones, chief train
dispatcher for the Missouri Pacific railroad at Falls City, Neb., and
mother of one child, Mary Elmira, aged six years; Frank Gibbons Smith,
born August 8, 1891, and died February 23, 1901.
W. H. Smith is considered as one of the best officials who has ever
filled a county office, and he is held in high esteem for his many
excellent qualities. To his many friends and associates he is
affectionately known as “Big Bill,” an appropriate name on account of
his large stature, and an appellation which can well be applied to his
heart and mind. While large of body, he is also big-hearted and blessed
with a breadth of mind and good will which embraces all mankind.
JOSEPH W. ALLEN.
For over forty-five years Joseph W. Allen, veteran, merchant, and
descendant of an old and distinguished colonial family, has been
identified with the civic and mercantile life of the city of Atchison.
He comes of rugged New England stock, noted for their integrity, honesty
and proverbial industry throughout the United States, and has been one
of the builders of Atchison’s largest wholesale grocery house. Mr. Allen
has grown up with Atchison, and has come to be one of its best known and
highly respected citizens, having risen from moderate circumstances at
the outset of his career to a position of affluence and decided prestige
among the commercial men of northeast Kansas.
Joseph W. Allen was born in Craftsbury, Orleans county, Vermont, March
2, 1841, a son of Hollis F. and Sophia (Root) Allen, natives of
Massachusetts. The father was a merchant and when a young man removed
from his native State to Craftsbury, Vt., where he was engaged in the
mercantile business for a number of years, and in the latter part of his
life he came to Atchison, Kan., dying in 1874. He had three sons who
served in the Union army: Frank H., who later came to Atchison and was a
member of the wholesale drug firm of McPike & Allen; George R. Allen, a
retired manufacturer, living at Alton, Ill., and Joseph W., with whose
career this review is directly concerned. A daughter, Anna H., wife of
the late Frank Howard, founder of the Frank Howard Manufacturing Company
of Atchison, died in 1915 at her home in this city. Another daughter,
Nellie, makes her home with her brother, Joseph W., in Atchison, and is
now in Honolulu. The Allen family is of Scotch origin, and Ethan Allen,
of Revolutionary fame, was a member of the same family.
Mr. Allen was reared to manhood in Vermont and received a good common
school education, attending the Craftsbury Academy. On October 2, 1861,
in answer to the President’s call for volunteers to defend the Union, he
enlisted for three years in Company I, First regiment, Vermont cavalry.
He was mustered in with the regiment November 19, 1861, at Burlington,
Vt., as bugler, and was mustered out of the service November 18, 1864.
He left Burlington December 12, 1861, for Washington, D. C., and
remained there with his regiment until February, 1863, at which time he
was detailed at General De Forest’s headquarters as musician.
Afterwards, he was detailed to General Kilpatrick’s headquarters as
musician and remained there until General Wilson took command of the
division in April, 1864. He was then detailed to General Sawyer’s
headquarters until October, 1864, at which time he came to Burlington
Vt., where he was mustered out of the service. Mr. Allen was in thirty-
seven engagements during his three years of service, and was never
wounded nor captured, nor was he absent from duty a single day on
account of sickness. His regiment did notable service under Generals
Sheridan and Custer, and he was engaged in the famous battle of
Winchester. An incident of Mr. Allen’s army career is well worth
recording. He effected, single handed, the capture of four Confederate
soldiers, and the story of the capture is one of the historical
incidents of the great conflict. The incident took place near
Lightersville, Md., and it was after the regiment had taken part in the
battle of Huntersville, Pa., July 2, 1863, and the battle of Gettysburg,
July 3, 1863, the battle of Monterey on the Fourth of July,
Lightersville on July 5, and on the sixth of July occurred the battle of
Hagerstown. The men were all fatigued and had been deprived of both
sleep and rest for several nights in succession, Joseph Allen among the
rest. When they had ridden nearly all night to a point near
Lightersville, they halted for rest in the small hours of the morning.
Many were dismounted and fell asleep on the ground, Mr. Allen doing
likewise. He slept so soundly, however, that when he awoke his comrades
were gone. It was dark and he was uncertain in which direction the
command had gone. He mounted his horse and let the animal pursue its own
way without guidance. Dashing down the road, horse and rider came out
into a main highway and unexpectedly came upon four men who were as much
taken by surprise and fright as Allen himself. The rebels, supposing
that there was a larger number of Union men following, made haste to
surrender without waiting for an invitation. Allen promptly accepted
their surrender and took them along to the main body which was some
distance ahead. His prisoners proved to be a major, a captain and two
lieutenants of the Eighth Georgia regiment.
Mr. Allen rode during the war a very sensible and intelligent cavalry
horse, and thereby hangs a tale. In one of the cavalry engagements in
which he participated he and his comrade were riding together under
heavy fire. His riding partner was shot from the saddle and Mr. Allen
felt his own horse sinking under him. Believing that the animal was
mortally hurt he dismounted and jumped on the back of his dead comrade’s
mount and rode away to safety. That night while lying in his blankets
with the earth for his couch and the starlit sky for a canopy overhead
he felt something soft and gentle nudging him. Startled, he arose
hastily and was overjoyed to find that it was his favorite horse which
had returned safely, but badly wounded, from the battlefield, and had
hunted out his master from among the hundreds of recumbent and sleeping
forms on the camping ground.
He returned to Craftsbury after his war service and engaged in
mercantile business which he continued until 1870, when he came to
Atchison at the solicitation of his brother, Frank H., who was at that
time the junior member of the firm of McPike & Allen, wholesale
druggists of Atchison. Mr. Allen entered the employ of the company as
traveling salesman and was thus engaged for a period of three years. He
then embarked in the grocery business in partnership with Colonel Quigg
under the firm name of Quigg & Allen. Colonel Quigg commanded the
Thirteenth Kansas infantry regiment during the Civil war. The firm of
Quigg & Allen carried on a wholesale grocery business for about three
years. Then Mr. Allen purchased his partner’s interest, and three years
later consolidated with the A. B. Symns Grocer Company. A. B. Symns
became the president of the company and Mr. Allen became vice-president.
When Mr. Symns died in 1905 Mr. Allen became president and held the
position until 1911 when he retired from active participation in the
business, although he still retains a substantial interest in the
company. Mr. Allen was one of the dominant individuals in the
development of the Symns Grocer Company in the extensive concern which
it is at the present time. When he joined forces with Mr. Symns their
combined capital did not exceed $15,000, and during his period of
association with this company their business developed into enormous
proportions, and the capital of the Symns Grocer Company now amounts to
$300,000. Mr. Allen was a natural salesman and had complete charge of
the traveling sales department of the Symns Grocer Company, and, in
fact, during the first few years was the entire traveling sales force
himself. Later, as additional salesmen were added to the force he
continued to direct the sales department of the business. Mr. Allen is a
prominent factor in the business world of Atchison, and is vice-
president of the Atchison Savings Bank. He is a member of the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks, and in his political views is absolutely
independent.
RALPH U. PFOUTS.
Ralph U. Pfouts, a leading young attorney of Atchison, is a native son
of Atchison county. He was born at Monrovia December 4, 1890, and is a
son of William A. and Ollie (Sharpless) Pfouts. William A. Pfouts, the
father, is also a native Kansan, born in Nemaha county in 1861 and is a
son of James and Caroline (Kellam) Pfouts, natives of Pennsylvania,
where they were reared and married, and in 1860 came to Kansas, locating
in Nemaha county. The father, James Pfouts, died a few months after
coming to this State and his wife returned to Pennsylvania with her
little family. A few years later, however, the Pfouts family returned to
Kansas, locating at Lancaster, Atchison county, and here William A.
Pfouts was educated and reared to manhood. He followed farming in early
life and for eighteen years was a school teacher. In 1896 he engaged in
the general mercantile business at Lancaster. To William A. and Ollie
(Sharpless) Pfouts were born two children, as follows: Ralph, the
subject of this sketch, and Mabel, deceased. The wife and mother died in
1901, and in 1905 William A. Pfouts married Miss Sadie M. Monnies.
Ralph U. Pfouts was educated in the public schools of Atchison county,
and Kansas University, at Lawrence, Kan., graduating from the law
department of the latter institution with the class of 1914. Shortly
after graduating he passed the State bar examination and engaged in the
practice of his profession at Atchison where he is meeting with well
merited success. He has appeared in connection with important
litigations in both the State and Federal courts and is enjoying a
lucrative practice. He possesses the natural qualities of an able lawyer
and is an untiring student, and those who know him best predict for him
a successful career in his chosen profession. Politically, he is a
Republican. Mr. Pfouts is a member of the Ancient Order of United
Workmen, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Atchison Aerie No. 173,
Fraternal Order of Eagles.
OLE G. GIGSTAD.
Ole G. Gigstad, farmer and stockman, Lancaster township, was born in
Norway, October 25, 1856. He is a son of Gulick and Anna (Grannan)
Gigstad. He was one of seven children, one of whom is now dead. Four
sons and one daughter are now living in the United States. A brother,
Knud G. Gigstad, is also a farmer and stockman in Lancaster township.
The father was a native of Norway and spent his life there. Ole Gigstad
left Norway in May, 1883, and came to Atchison county, Kansas, where he
worked a year for his brother, Knud. Then for three years he rented a
farm from his uncle in Brown county, Kansas, and in 1887 bought the farm
in Lancaster township. It is an eighty acre farm and Mr. Gigstad has
made improvements to the extent of $5,000, including a fine house and
barn. He now owns 320 acres of well improved land, 160 acres of which
are being farmed by his oldest son, Gustave, and it has a comfortable
residence.
Ole Gigstad attended school in Norway, but when he sailed for America he
could not speak the English language, and when he arrived here he was in
debt to the extent of fifty dollars, which was an additional handicap.
But his industry has brought him to the front rank of Atchison county
farmers. He owns a fine herd of graded stock and is a successful farmer
and stockman. He rented eighty acres additional in 1915 and he had 100
acres in corn last year.
Mr. Gigstad was married in 1888 to Severine Knudson, who was born in
Norway, September 23, 1866. She left her native land in the spring of
1883 and settled at Everest, Kan., where her brothers were living at the
time. In 1884 she removed to St. Joseph, Mo., where she worked four
years. Her parents were Knud and Inger Sofie (Berntson) Knudson, natives
of Norway. Her father was born in 1814, and immigrated to America in
1891, coming to Atchison county, Kansas, where he lived with his
children until his death, in 1894. The mother was born in 1827, and died
in her native country in 1887. Mr. and Mrs. Gigstad have eight children:
Gustave A., farming the 160 acres west of his father’s farm; Ida,
Charles, Albert, Emma, Edna, Alice, Benjamin, all living at home. Mr.
Gigstad is a member of the Lutheran church and is a Republican.
JOHN H. BARRY.
John H. Barry, chairman of the board of directors of the First National
Bank of Atchison, is one of the well known citizens of the city who has
figured in the development of Kansas, especially the eastern portion of
the State, for a period of many years. For fifty-seven years he has been
a resident of the State, and has made his own way from comparative
poverty in his youth, to a position of affluence which compares most
favorably with that of the men of his day with whom he has been
associated. He has seen the Sunflower State develop from a wilderness,
unsettled and unpeopled, except by the wild animals and Indians, to
become one of the fairest and greatest of the sub-divisions of the
American Union. He is proud of Atchison and her prestige, and has played
no small part in the task of advancing his adopted city to the forefront
of western municipalities.
J. H. Barry is of Celtic origin, having been born in the city of Boston,
of Irish parents, in 1849. His parents, Michael and Ellen (Roach) Barry,
were natives of County Cork, Ireland, where they were reared and
married, and crossed the Atlantic to seek their fortune in the new
world. Settling in Boston in the early forties, Mr. Barry plied his
trade of tailor with fair success and owned and conducted his own
tailoring establishment. He died there when John H. was a small boy. His
widow, accompanied by her son, then journeyed across the country to
Leavenworth in 1858. Here the boy was brought up until he was fifteen
years of age and in 1862 became a freighter in the employ of the
Government. He was a “mule whacker,” or driver, who had charge of a team
of six mules which he drove from Ft. Leavenworth across the Great Plains
to New Mexican points. Saving his earnings, he embarked in the
freighting business at Leavenworth for himself in 1866, driving his
outfit over the route of the Ft. Scott & Gulf railroad, via Baxter
Springs, Kan., through the Indian Territory to Indian agencies in the
territory and Texas, carrying wagon loads of merchandise and trinkets on
the outward bound trip, and bringing back a load of furs, hides and
osage orange seed. The trinkets taken along were intended for the
Indians who exchanged their furs for adornment. The osage orange seed
was in great demand at this period inasmuch as the settlers were then
girding their lands with osage hedges. Mr. Barry’s freighting venture
proved profitable, and he made considerable money during the two years
in which he made trips to the Southwest. In 1870 he engaged in railroad
contracting, and was fairly successful until 1873. He graded and built
many miles of railroad in southern Kansas and through Oklahoma, and in
the building of the L. L. & G. R. R., he reaped excellent profits. He
had his ups and downs, like other contractors, however, and one
experience in particular very nearly proved his undoing. This was in the
building of the M. K. & T. R. R., in which Mr. Barry had contracted to
build a twenty foot embankment for a distance of one mile. It was
understood with the railroad officials that the grading was to be
completed by the first day of the following year, but he rushed the work
so as to have it completed before the fall rains began. He succeeded in
doing this early in the fall, but the head contractor, Stewart McCoy,
would not accept the work as finally done before the time limit of the
contract, unless he would deduct twenty per cent, from the contract
price agreed upon. This arrangement meant the complete dissipation of
his profits, and he finally came through with only his outfits. This
experience ended Mr. Barry’s contracting career, as far as railroad
building was concerned, and disposing of his outfits, he came to
Atchison in 1873 with a small capital. Here on March 17, 1873, he
entered the employ of the Missouri Pacific railroad as switchman and
remained in the employ of this road until 1879, filling various
positions, such as baggageman, trainman and yardmaster. While engaged in
railroading he became interested in the civic and political life of
Atchison, and possessing an engaging and candid personality, he made
many warm friends, and was given political preferment. In the spring of
1879 he was elected constable and held the post and various others for
three years. Following this office he was appointed chief of the
Atchison city police in 1883 by Mayor C. C. Burns and served until 1885.
In 1885 he served as superintendent of the Street Railway Company. Since
then he has taken a more or less active part in political matters in the
city and county, and is considered one of the political leaders of his
party. While serving as city marshal he was a United States deputy
marshal under United States Marshal Ben Simpson. In 1885 he established
the Barry Coal and Wood Company, which he successfully conducted along
with other commercial propositions until 1910. He became interested in
the Atchison Paving Brick Company, and was active in the affairs of this
manufacturing concern for over fifteen years, being still interested in
the company. Upon the organization of the Commercial State Bank in
November, 1906, he was elected president of the institution, and upon
its consolidation with the First National Bank of Atchison he became
chairman of the board of directors of the new organization.
Mr. Barry’s marriage with Kate Curtin occurred November 28, 1874, and to
this marriage have been born the following children: John, engaged in
business in New Mexico; Henry, Helen and C. W., deceased; Frances Barry
Simmons, and one son, who died in infancy. The younger daughter is the
wife of O. A. Simmons, whose biography appears in this volume. The
mother of these children was born and reared in Leavenworth, Kan., a
daughter of John and Helen Curtin, natives of Ohio, who came to
Leavenworth in 1856. John Curtin was a landscape gardener by profession.
Mr. Barry has always been a Democrat. In 1885 he became a candidate for
sheriff of the county, but was defeated by only four votes. In 1887 he
was again a candidate for the office and was elected by the large
majority of 1,150 votes. This, too, in the face of the fact that
Atchison county has generally been considered a stronghold of
Republicanism. So well did he perform the duties of his office, and so
popular did he become that he experienced no difficulty in a second
election to the sheriff’s office in 1889, with a majority of 850 to his
credit. It is stated that his majority when elected sheriff of the
county was the largest ever given a candidate for the place. He is a
member of the Catholic church and is fraternally connected with the
Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Knights of Columbus, and the Elks.
Mr. Barry’s success has been due to a strong and winning personality,
squareness in the conduct of his business transactions which have been
proverbial, a genius and capacity for organization, which enabled him to
plan and carry out his various undertakings to a successful issue, and
the ability to make and retain friends.
WARREN W. GUTHRIE.
It is given to relatively few men to leave this world for the mysteries
of the next, contented with what they have done here, and without regret
for duties unfulfilled. At the end of a lingering illness, giving ample
time for reflection, and as a last utterance, General Guthrie called
closer to his bedside his faithful wife and companion and his six living
children then gathered about him and whispered to them: “I know that I
am about to leave you forever. I want you to know that I am going
without regret except for our separation. I have raised a family in
which I have had only pride. I have tried to prepare you to be good
members of your own families and useful citizens. I have fought the
fight and my work is done. I am ready to go. I want you to know that I
leave you feeling that I have never done any man an intentional wrong,
or left unfulfilled any duty I was capable of accomplishing, and that I
go content.”
These last whispers give a fair index to the life and character of this
sturdy pioneer Kansan. He was a type of a product of the early years of
struggle in Kansas, now largely passing away. Diplomacy was a word of
which he might never have known the meaning. He at least never practiced
it to the prejudice of frankness. Whether as a friend who could be
depended upon in any emergency and regardless of consequences to
himself, or whether as a foe who could not be placated by excuses or
offers of advantage personal to himself, and equally regardless of
consequences his cards in the game were always upon the table face up.
He despised sham and pretense in every form, and whether in business,
politics or the judicial forum, he always fought his way double-fisted,
straight for the goal.
Born June 9, 1834, on a flinty hillside farm on the banks of the
Housatonic river in Connecticut, and ambitious for a broader field, W.
W. Guthrie struck out for himself early in life. At seventeen he was
providing for his further education by teaching a rural school in New
Jersey, on the present site of Long Branch, where the chief
qualification for the teacher was his ability to thrash the biggest
young fisherman in the school. In his later years it was one of the
delights of General Guthrie to tell of his experiences in instructing
the youth of New Jersey with a clapboard.
In 1857 under the well known general advice of Horace Greeley, Mr.
Guthrie, then admitted to the bar, came, seeking his fortune, to Kansas
by way of steamboat up the Missouri river from St. Louis, landing at
Whitecloud, thirty-one miles north of Atchison, then one of the cities
upon the Missouri with small population but unlimited future
possibilities. Shortly afterwards he moved again westward to Hiawatha,
the county seat of Brown county, where he established himself in
practice, his business radiating to the surrounding counties, which were
reached principally on muleback. General Guthrie was over six feet in
height, and he loved to tell how, as a lanky young lawyer with a small
mule, it was difficult to keep his feet off the ground in traveling from
county seat to county seat. At Hiawatha he and the late Gov. E. N.
Morrill were close friends, kept “bach” together, and had the usual
quarrels as to whose turn it was to scrape the skillet.
Elected to the Territorial legislature, his service attracted such
attention that in his absence, and without his knowledge, he was given
by the Republicans the first nomination under State organization for the
office of attorney general; he was duly elected and served as the first
attorney general of the newly created State. It was from his incumbency
in that office that he became known as General Guthrie. He was not
acceptable for military service and took no part in the Civil war except
as a volunteer in the organization hastily effected to repel the
invasion of Gen. Sterling Price, which was cut off by his defeat at the
battle of Westport.
Some of General Guthrie’s friends have felt that he would not have been
nominated for attorney general if he had been at the convention where he
was nominated, or had known that he was to be suggested as a candidate.
While General Guthrie subsequently served with credit in the Kansas
State senate and was an influential factor in Kansas politics for many
years in the interests of others, he was not a successful politician as
a candidate in conventions not made up of a majority of men who
personally knew him well. He was thrice a candidate for the Republican
nomination for Congress, and once nominated by one of the two factions
of a convention which split up in a row and nominated two different
candidates. When it came to bodies made up of trading delegations
dickering for local advantages, General Guthrie’s straightforwardness,
his aversion to crooked deals and trades, and his unwillingness to offer
personal reward for political assistance put him at a serious
disadvantage. If he thought a man or thing was wrong he never hesitated
to say so, even though he understood what the results would be. It is
said that at the last congressional convention in which he was a
candidate, and in which he was the favorite candidate, the balance of
the power was held by a delegation amenable to the allurements of
promise of office, or more direct substantial and immediate reward. His
less scrupulous friends tried to “dope” the General with some medicine
that would put him out of action while they used the necessary means to
the end. But the General refused to be either doped or to retire and
shut his eyes to the situation, preferring an honorable defeat.
General Guthrie had physical as well as moral courage. Contesting the
candidacy of a former prominent citizen of Atchison who had come from
another State under a cloud, General Guthrie collected the record of
this candidate in his former home and announced that he would read it at
a meeting to be held in old Turner Hall. This was in the early days when
Atchison had her quota of “roughneck” citizens. General Guthrie was
notified that they would attend and that he would read his documentary
evidence at the peril of his life. He had never owned or carried a
firearm except during the preparation to resist the Price raid, but on
the night of the meeting he stepped out on the platform at Turner Hall,
and laying upon the table a pair of old army revolvers, he looked down
on the “roughnecks” in the front row and advised them that he was about
to proceed with his speech, and that persons who didn’t like trouble had
better leave before it began. He made the speech. The trouble did not
start. The candidate he was opposing was defeated.
From the time Kansas became a State until his death, General Guthrie was
a citizen of Atchison contemporary with that circle of brilliant and
able men who in the early days made Atchison the mother of the political
history of the State, such as Senator John J. Ingalls, Governor John A.
Martin, Governor George W. Glick, United States District Judge Cassius
G. Foster, Chief Justices Samuel A. Kingman and Albert H. Horton, and
such early-day business men as David Auld, the Challiss brothers, Jacob
Leu, and Samuel Hollister.
After his election as attorney general on December 21, 1863, General
Guthrie, accompanied by his friend, Chief Justice Albert H. Horton, as
best man, crossed the Missouri river to St. Joseph upon the ice,
crawling upon their hands and knees, the ice being too treacherous to
support a man walking upright, to be married to Julia, daughter of Capt.
William Fowler, of St. Joseph, also a pioneer, the first county clerk in
the territory of which St. Joseph is now the county seat. There were
born of this marriage eight children, two of whom died in infancy, the
others and the wife surviving General Guthrie. W. F. Guthrie, the eldest
son, practiced law with his father until about the time of the death of
the latter, when, with his wife and three children he removed to Kansas
City and is still in practice. The second son, F. L. Guthrie, a retired
banker, with wife, resides at Paola, Kan. Mary Louise Guthrie is the
wife of A. E. White, head of the commissary department of the Burlington
system, residing in Chicago, and the mother of four children. Warren W.
Guthrie, Jr., practiced law in Atchison in association with his father
and brother, and afterwards practiced alone until his death on August
17, 1914, being one of the most beloved men personally of all the people
of Atchison. Theodore F. Guthrie, also the father of four children, is,
as he has been since before his father’s decease, the manager of the
Guthrie ranch in Chase county, Kansas. Gilbert L. Guthrie has been the
wanderer of the family, a metallurgical engineer who has seen
distinguished service on every continent of the globe, but has given up
his work to be a companion to the widow, residing on the old Guthrie
homestead adjoining Atchison.
From the first General Guthrie became and until ill health overtook him
remained a notable figure at the bar, not only of Atchison, but of the
State at large, and particularly northeast Kansas, where his early
successes brought him in as a consultant in the territory he had
formerly covered on muleback, long after that territory had developed
many able lawyers of its own. His name appears frequently in the reports
of the supreme court of Kansas, and in connection with the establishment
of many new and novel precedents in the courts. General Guthrie was an
original thinker along legal lines, and not over-tolerant of the law as
he found it in the books. When it did not suit him his vigorous mind
would discern logical modifications and novel applications of old
doctrines to meet the new necessities of his litigation.
Every fight for the general good of the community found General Guthrie
in the front of battle. No difficulty daunted him. All that was required
for him was to decide as to what he thought right, and his hat was in
the ring. Perhaps the greatest personal, direct service rendered by
General Guthrie to the community was in connection with the failure of
the Peoples Savings Bank. The Peoples Savings Bank was an auxiliary of
the United States National Bank, the closing of which was brought about
by the circulation of rumors affecting its solvency. It paid its
liabilities in full before it closed, but the assets of the Peoples
Savings Bank were invested chiefly in real estate mortgages and bonds
not immediately payable, and as times were then, not readily
convertible, so that its closure, following that of the United States
National, left hundreds of citizens with their needed savings not
immediately realizable. General Guthrie was a holder of one share of
stock only in each of these banks, for the purpose of qualifying as a
director as an accommodation to the operating officers, his friends.
This double failure, at a time of general financial uneasiness, helped
by stories circulated by enemies of the bank officials anxious to bring
them into disgrace, filled Atchison with excitement. Nightly meetings,
attended by hundreds of depositors, were held, and in their ignorance
measures were initiated which would have resulted in a sacrifice of the
assets and the realization to the depositors of but a small per cent. of
their claims. General Guthrie undertook to stem this tide and save the
depositors from themselves. He arranged with his co-directors to advance
a sum to buy up at face value the deposits of the smaller and more needy
depositors, and out of his own funds advanced the moneys necessary to
protect the assets from sacrifice, and lent his own uncompensated
efforts to their realization at their actual value, with the result that
within a year every claim of the bank was paid in full.
Like many successful men who have been born and spent their early years
upon a farm. General Guthrie was interested in farming and in farm
development and in showing what could be done through proper cultivation
and stock development. He left ample provision for his widow and younger
children, chiefly in farm lands. He gave personal attention to the
operation and improvement of his farms, and took particular delight in
the management of his 6,000 acre ranch in Chase county, Kansas, and in
the development of a grade of cattle originated by himself, the Polled
Herefords, a strain of Herefords, from which he succeeded in breeding
off the horns. Nothing gave him greater pleasure in the later years of
his life than to explain his farming and cattle operations to his
friends and intimates. He was ready to put aside the most intricate
litigation at any time for a chat on this subject.
While General Guthrie’s open-handed warfare upon the things he thought
wrong made him many enemies, his untiring energy, integrity and
readiness to help anyone or anything he believed to be right, brought
him a host of friends, not only among the young lawyers he raised and
trained, but among the public at large, and he died an honored and
respected member of this community on April 22, 1903, at the old home
place adjoining the city of Atchison.
JOHN PETER ADAMS.
Faithfulness to duty is generally recognized and rewarded by the people
of an average American community. Atchison county is singularly
fortunate in having as its officials men of whom it can be said are
above the average type of county officials. The office of probate judge
of the county is no exception, and is ably filled by the present
incumbent of whom this biography treats. John Peter Adams is an able
member of the Atchison county bar and a painstaking and conscientious
public official. In the performance of the duties of his high office he
has won the esteem of the people of the county and showed such marked
ability in his judicial capacity that he was elected to the office for
the third time without opposition from any source.
Judge John Peter Adams was born in the town of Lock Berlin, Wayne
county, New York, June 7, 1855. His parents were Peter and Martha
(Eldridge) Adams, and Judge Adams was one of six children.
[Illustration:
WILLIAM A. JACKSON,
Judge District Court.
]
[Illustration:
CHARLES J. CONLON,
County Attorney.
]
[Illustration:
JOHN PETER ADAMS,
Judge of Probate Court.
]
[Illustration:
ROY C. TRIMBLE,
Sheriff.
]
Judge Adams received his early education in the schools of his native
State and the Macedon Academy, following which he completed a business
course at the Eastman Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. He
practically worked his way through school by teaching, becoming a
teacher at the early age of eighteen. He came to Atchison in 1879 and
entered the law office of Judge H. M. Jackson, as a law student, and was
admitted to the practice of law in 1880. A short time following his
admission to the bar he opened an office for himself, and later became a
partner with Roy C. Crawford. A partnership with Charles J. Conlon was
formed some time afterward, which continued until the election of Mr.
Adams to the office of probate judge in 1910. Judge Adams was reëlected
in 1912, and again in 1914, without opposition for the nomination or
election. He is a Republican and a firm believer in a high protective
tariff. Previous to his election to the probate judgeship, he served as
judge of the Atchison city court, having been appointed by Governor
Bailey in 1902, and reëlected three times following his appointment
without opposition. Judge Adams has always earnestly advocated
Republican principles and has been a faithful party worker.
Judge Adams was married in Albion, Mich., June 24, 1885, to Mary
Stevens, a native of Lock Berlin, N. Y., and a daughter of Wells J. L.
and Nancy Stevens. To Judge and Mrs. Adams have been born three
children, who are the pride of their parents, as follows: Eldridge, born
November 30, 1892. He received his classical education in Kansas
University and graduated in medicine from Rush Medical College at
Chicago in 1914, after a thorough course of study in the University of
Chicago, now a practicing physician and surgeon in the Illinois State
Hospital for eye, nose and throat, at Chicago. Dr. Adams is a rising
young physician of marked ability and was an apt student, and is
ambitious to succeed in his chosen profession. He graduated from the
Atchison High School at the age of fifteen, from the Kansas University
at the age of nineteen, and received his Doctor of Medicine degree from
Rush College of Medicine when but twenty-three years of age. It is safe
to predict a brilliant future for this Atchison boy. A daughter of Judge
Adams, Eleanor, aged twenty, is a student of Knox College, Galesburg,
Ill., class of 1916, where she is specializing in music—violin and
voice. Genevra, the youngest child of Judge and Mrs. Adams, is eighteen
years old, a graduate of the Atchison High School, and a student in
Baker University. The Adams family has resided in the same house at
Fourth and Laramie streets for thirty years, or since the marriage of
Judge and Mrs. Adams. They believe in giving their children the
advantages of a good education, as the best preparation possible for
their future success.
Judge Adams was reared in the Episcopalian faith, which was the church
of his fathers, but is an attendant with the members of his family at
the Methodist Episcopal church. He became a member of the Masonic lodge
in 1876.
WILLIAM ANTHONY JACKSON.
While we reverence the courts and look upon them as the final refuge of
the citizenry in time of oppression or trouble, we realize that the
tribunals of the people for safeguarding our inalienable rights as
citizens are measured in their usefulness by the character of the men
chosen to sit at the head of the judiciary. Society is protected from
those criminally inclined, and we accept without criticism the decisions
of the judges with whom we come into personal contact, because of the
fact that the masses of the people have an abiding faith in the
integrity of the courts. This confidence is more in evidence in a
community where all have an opportunity of judging at close range the
qualifications and personal integrity of those chosen by the people to
administer the judicial affairs of the people. It is meet and necessary
that the judges in whom we place implicit confidence be men of the
highest calibre, broad-minded and sympathetic in dealing firmly with the
many diverse cases which are brought before them for adjudication. The
district court of Atchison county is presided over by a learned jurist
who has the confidence and esteem of the people, and who enjoys the
universal respect of the citizens of the county. Hon. William A.
Jackson, judge of the district court of Atchison county, is such a man
wisely chosen to fill the highest office within the gift of the people
in his district. His career as presiding officer of the court has been
marked by a display of ability, legal acumen, broad-minded and
sympathetic discernment of right and wrong in handing down his decisions
that have satisfied the most exacting. He was born in Versailles, Morgan
county, Missouri, October 6, 1866. He is a son of Judge Horace M. and
Lavanchia Isabelle (Valentine) Jackson, a review of whose life is given
in this volume.
Judge Jackson has a reputation for fairness and impartiality in his
judicial decisions which has gone far beyond the borders of his county.
The Atchison _Daily Champion_ in its issue of September 25, 1913, has
this to say of his high honor and integrity:
“In these days of alleged lawless lawyers and corrupted courts it is a
good thing to know that Atchison county has an honest and efficient
judge to administer justice from the district bench. Many big men,—men
of splendid qualifications and sterling integrity—have occupied the
important position now held by Judge Jackson, but never before has this
county had a judge whose service on the bench commanded more universal
satisfaction than that rendered by Judge Jackson. It is the unanimous
opinion of the Atchison bar that he is the best district judge in the
State. Absolutely fair, impartial, capable, he performs the functions of
his office with a high sense of duty and responsibility to the law and
to his fellow men, a duty and responsibility which precludes all other
results, save only unqualified justice for each case that comes under
his supervision.”
The supreme test which could be applied to a man in his position came on
an occasion when the father and brother of Judge Jackson appeared for
the defendant in a case which was tried in the Atchison court with Judge
Jackson on the bench, and he was not found wanting. Quoting from the
Atchison _Daily Champion_ in its issue of April 19, 1909, concerning
this unique situation and the conduct of Judge Jackson during the course
of the trial of the case:
“Many people have attended court the past week as witnesses, jurors and
spectators in the Norris-Mapes trial, and the fact was freely commented
upon that the appearance in the trial of father and son as attorneys for
the defendant and another son was on the bench, presented a situation
that was quite unusual. Some at first indulged in unfriendly criticism
of the circumstances and it is therefore a pleasure for the _Champion_
to say that it has heard nothing but the most universal praise for the
fairness, the impartiality and the splendid integrity of purpose Judge
Jackson displayed in his rulings on every disputed question of law and
evidence in the case. It is a fact worthy of comment that the _Champion_
takes pleasure at this time in giving public recognition to so important
a matter. There is nobody in Atchison who has a stronger following of
loyal friends than Will Jackson, and it is because of his manhood, his
honesty and fine sense of honor that he has earned them and retains
them.”
William Anthony Jackson was trundled in a home-made baby-cart and
dressed in clothing spun and made by his devoted mother. Few were the
luxuries in which he was indulged; the plainest of fare was his
sustenance during his childhood days. In 1870 he was placed in school at
Marysville, Mo., and after coming to Atchison with his parents he
attended the city schools. He attended the Monroe Institute and later
entered Kansas University at Lawrence, graduating therefrom in 1888. He
was admitted to the bar and in 1889 was made a member of the law firm of
Jackson & Jackson. His success in the practice of his profession has
been marked and he is widely known as a capable lawyer and jurist. His
first public office was that of city attorney, to which he was elected
in April, 1905, and served until 1909. During the four years of his
incumbency of the office of city attorney he lost but one case which
came up for trial under his care for the city. He was elected judge of
the district court, second judicial district, in November of 1908, and
resigned the office of city attorney to take up his duties on the bench
in order to qualify in January, 1909. His career on the bench speaks for
itself and the fairness of his decisions is proverbial. Judge Jackson is
remarked frequently for his kindness of heart, and soon after he was
admitted to the bar the opportunity came to him to “return good for
evil” in one particular case. A lad with whom he had come into contact
on the school ground at Marysville, and who had tried to impose on him,
with the result that strained feeling existed for many years between
them was the beneficiary of his goodness. This lad, then grown to man’s
estate, came to the judge in Atchison and asked him to assist him in
getting employment. The judge did so and earned the thanks of his
boyhood enemy.
Judge Jackson’s wedded life began April 26, 1894, when he was united in
marriage with Edith Fox, of Atchison. To this union have been born two
children: Jared Fox Jackson, born November 19, 1895, and now a student
in the law department of Kansas University; Edward Valentine Jackson,
born June 6, 1900, a student in the Atchison High School. The mother of
these children is a daughter of Jared Copeland. (See sketch of Jared
Copeland Fox elsewhere in this volume.)
Judge Jackson is fraternally affiliated with the Masonic Lodge,
Washington, No. 5, of Atchison, the Knights of Pythias, the Elks, the
Fraternal Order of Eagles, and the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity of the
Kansas State University. He is a liberal contributor to charitable and
religious denominations, and is usually found in the van of all projects
which have for their purpose the betterment of his home city and county.
ROY C. TRIMBLE.
In Roy C. Trimble, sheriff of Atchison county, the people have an
efficient and capable public official, who believes that his duties are
paramount over all other considerations, and he has shown by his
steadfast and unswerving loyalty to the ethics of his office that he is
a man eminently fitted for high public office. Mr. Trimble is a young
man to hold such an important office, but is old in ability and
experience. He is a native of Atchison county, and a son of James M. and
Margaret E. (McCreary) Trimble.
Roy C. Trimble was born August 11, 1877, on a farm, four miles southwest
of Atchison. His father, James M. Trimble, was born September 10, 1843,
in Buchanan county, Missouri, and died in January, 1910, in Atchison
county. He was the son of Benjamin F. Trimble, a native of Kentucky, who
immigrated to DeKalb, Mo., where he conducted a blacksmith and wagon
repair shop, and later removed to Texas. After a residence of some years
in Texas he settled in Atchison county, where the son, James M., bought
a farm which he cultivated until 1905, when he disposed of his land and
invested in a livery business. He was thus engaged until his death.
During the Civil war, Mr. Trimble was enrolled in the State militia.
Benjamin F. Trimble was one of the early pioneer settlers of Atchison
county and owned a farm near Effingham. The children of James M. Trimble
are J. P., a railway mail clerk on the Central Branch railroad; A. F., a
rural mail carrier; K. S., a farmer, south of Atchison; E. S., a
resident of Lake Ballinger, Wash.; Roy C., and T. O., a ranchman, near
Seattle. Wash.
The mother of the foregoing children was Margaret E. McCreary, born in
1850 and died in 1890. She was a daughter of Solomon McCreary, a pioneer
settler of Atchison county, who had a farm eight and one-half miles
south of Atchison. Solomon McCreary was born in Clay county, Missouri,
in 1822, and died in July, 1911. He was a son of Elijah McCreary, and
was the youngest of a family of thirteen children. The family is of
Scotch-Irish ancestry, and originally settled in South Carolina. S. K.
came to Kansas in 1854, first settling in Leavenworth county, and four
years later moving to Atchison county. He bought a land patent from a
Mexican war veteran, and made his home on the pioneer farm until his
death. His children were as follows: Mrs. B. Frank Trimble, Mrs.
Margaret Trimble, deceased; Mrs. Nellie Adams; Cora, deceased; W. S.,
deceased; Mrs. Nettie Perkins, Leavenworth; S. K., and Mrs. Grace
Salmon, of Los Angeles.
Roy C. Trimble was educated in the district school No. 5, located south
of the city, and resided on the farm until 1905 when he was engaged in
the livery business with his father, continuing until the latter’s
death, after which he conducted the business for a few years and then
traded it for some real estate. He was first a candidate for sheriff in
1912 on the Republican ticket, but lost out by 288 votes. He was again a
candidate in 1914 and won by the considerable margin of 700 votes.
Sheriff Trimble was married November 2, 1904, to May Florence Hartman,
who was born near Purcell, seven miles southwest of Atchison, and is a
daughter of Ex-Sheriff F. C. Hartman, now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs.
Trimble have been born the following children: Guy Roy, born August 7,
1905; Cynthia Grace, born May 2, 1907; Clara May, born May 10, 1913, and
Henrietta Gale, born June 4, 1915.
Mr. Trimble and wife are members of the Presbyterian church. He is
fraternally affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the
Fraternal Aid. Mr. Trimble is likeable, and has a winning personality
which goes far toward making him a successful and popular official. Such
encomiums and praise as have come to him for his conduct of the duties
of the sheriff’s office are well deserved and he is constantly widening
his circle of friends.
CHARLES J. CONLON.
Charles J. Conlon, a prominent attorney of Atchison, who is now serving
his second term as county attorney, is a native of the Empire State. He
was born at Orwell, Oswego county, New York, October 31, 1860, and is a
son of James and Anna (Bowen) Conlon, the former a native of New York
and the latter of Ireland. Anna Bowen, the mother, came to America with
her parents, William and Nancy Bowen, when she was thirteen years of
age. James Conlon was born in Oneida county, New York, and was a son of
Charles Conlon, a native of Ireland, who immigrated to America in 1814
and settled in Oneida county, New York, where he spent the remainder of
his life. James Conlon grew to manhood in Oneida county, and in 1859 was
married and about a year later removed to Oswego county, bought a farm
and followed farming there until 1867. He then returned to Oneida
county, where he remained until 1870, when he came to Kansas, locating
in Atchison county. He bought a farm about a mile and one-half southwest
of the city of Atchison, where he was successfully engaged in farming
and stock raising until about a year prior to his death, November 1,
1899, at the age of seventy-three. He was a very successful farmer and a
highly respected citizen, and at the time of his death owned 200 acres
of valuable land, which is still owned by the Conlon family. He was a
life-long Democrat and a member of the Catholic church. His wife died
September 22, 1898, aged sixty-three years. They were the parents of the
following children: Anna M. married Peter Donovan, now deceased, and
three children were born to this union, Peter, Fredrick and Charles, and
after the death of her first husband, Anna M. married John McInteer, who
is also now deceased and she resides in Atchison; Charles J., the
subject of this sketch; William H. resides on the old homestead; John
F., farmer, Atchison; James D., plumber, St. Louis, Mo.; Letitia M.
McKenna, Denver, Colo., and Fred J. died in Atchison at the age of
thirty-three years. He was a machinist and well and favorably known in
Atchison county. Charles J. Conlon was educated in the public schools,
St. Benedict’s College, Atchison, Kan., and Whitestown Seminary,
Whitestown, N. Y., graduating from the latter institution in the class
of 1882. He then entered the law department of the University of
Michigan, at Ann Arbor, Mich., and was graduated in the class of 1884
with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He then engaged in the practice of
his profession at Atchison, Kan., and has continued in the practice to
the present time. He was elected county attorney of Atchison county in
1912 and reëlected to succeed himself in 1914. Mr. Conlon is a capable
lawyer and is a fair and fearless prosecutor. Mr. Conlon was united in
marriage February 14, 1903, to Miss Mae Flanigan, a native of Oswego
county, New York.
JOHN F. CONLON.
John F. Conlon, farmer, was born October 15, 1865, in the town of
Orwell, Oswego county, New York. He was educated in the common schools
of his native town and later attended the Whitestown Seminary at
Whitestown, N. Y. After coming to Atchison county, Kansas, in 1885 with
his parents, he studied at St. Benedict’s College. He remained with his
parents on the home farm southwest of Atchison until their death, and
managed the estate for several years thereafter successfully.
THOMAS O. GAULT.
Personal achievements of the individual are always worth recounting when
he has accomplished something worth while. There is considerable
satisfaction in the latter years of the life of an industrious couple,
who, having begun at the foot of the ladder of success and having
climbed upward by degrees, have attained to a state of wealth and
comfort by the time middle age has been reached. Thomas O. Gault and his
wife, residing in a beautiful farm home in the northeast part of the
city of Effingham, are among the most respected citizens of Atchison
county. Mr. Gault is one of the large land owners of the county, and
while not an old resident he can lay claim to the fact that he was a
homesteader in Kansas back in the “grasshopper” era, and has had as many
ups and downs as the average western pioneer.
Thomas O. Gault was born November 7, 1849, in Wycomico county, Maryland,
a son of Archibald and Eliza (Littleton) Gault, natives of Maryland, and
descendants of old American colonial families. The ancestry of the Gault
and Littleton families dates back to the earliest days of the settlement
of the eastern coast of America. Archibald was the son of Obid Gault,
who was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was an early pioneer settler
of Indiana. Eliza Littleton was a daughter of Thomas Littleton, and died
when Thomas O. was seven years of age. Archibald Gault emigrated from
Maryland to Ripley county, Indiana, about 1859, and settled on a farm
south of Pierce City, or near Stringtown. This was in a timbered
country, and he lived there only three years, returning to Maryland
during the dark days of the Civil war, where he remained until the war
was over. In 1865 he returned to his farm in Ripley county, and
cultivated his Indiana farm until old age overtook him, and he finally
returned to the old home in Maryland, there spending his declining
years, dying in 1900, at the age of eighty years.
Thomas O. Gault was educated in the district schools of Ripley county,
Indiana, and began working at the hardest kind of farm labor when yet a
boy. When he attained his majority he came to the great West, where
opportunity seemed to beckon with a more lavish hand than among the
hills and forests of his native county and State. He located in Jasper
county, Iowa, and worked at farm labor until twenty-five years of age,
then came to Kansas and homesteaded a Government claim in Phillips
county. This was a sad experience, however, as the grasshoppers came
along soon afterwards and “cleaned out” the crops of the homesteaders in
his neighborhood, and he abandoned his claim and left the country. He
returned to Jasper county, Iowa, in 1873, where he remained for three
years, after which he remained in Iowa, locating in Pottawattamie county
in 1878, where he had purchased a farm. He and his wife developed the
farm and prospered for a period of fourteen years. Selling out their
Iowa farm at a good round price in 1903, they located in Effingham,
where they have resided since March of 1903. Mr. Gault invested his
capital in Kansas and Missouri lands and has made money since he came to
Kansas. Being gifted with the moneymaking instinct and capacity, he has
dealt somewhat in land and been successful in his farming operations in
Atchison county. He is the owner of an eighty acre tract of valuable
land, purchased in 1902, adjoining Effingham, Kan., on the northeast,
and has one of the most attractive modern farm homes in the county. He
owns at the present time a total of 582.5 acres of land, 262.5 acres of
which is located in Grundy county, Missouri, and the rest in Atchison
county. He has a large farm of 240 acres near Pardee in Center township,
which is one of the best improved tracts in the vicinity. This farm was
purchased in 1902 and is equipped with excellent buildings, including a
house of twelve rooms and three good barns.
He was married on March 4, 1888, to Miss Melissa Drury, of the town of
Drury, Rock Island county, Illinois. They are the parents of two
children: Essie, at home with her parents, and Pearl, wife of William
Thomas, a son of Robert M. Thomas, of Effingham. Mrs. Gault was born
March 4, 1861, in Drury, Rock Island county, Illinois, a daughter of Eli
and Margaret (Hubbard) Drury, natives of Wayne county, Indiana, and
Bedford county, Pennsylvania, respectively. Mr. Drury served as
postmaster of the village named in his honor in Rock Island county for
thirty-five years, and was filling the office at the time of his death,
in 1892.
Mr. Gault is a stockholder in the Farmer’s Mercantile Company of
Effingham. He is a Republican in politics, but is an independent voter,
who believes in doing his own thinking as regards the merits of
respective candidates for office and the principles which influence good
government. He became an Odd Fellow in Marshall county, Iowa, in the
early eighties, and has continued in good standing in the order to the
present time. One of the incidents of his early career which left an
impression on Mr. Gault’s memory, which time has never been able to
eradicate, was his first Kansas experience. He was so thoroughly cleaned
out during the great grasshopper scourge in the seventies, in Phillips
county, Kansas, that he was forced to walk the entire distance from Blue
River, Kan., to Atchison.
WILFULL A. STANLEY.
Wilfull A. Stanley, a Civil war veteran, who perhaps has had more
military experience than any other man in Atchison county, is a native
of New Jersey. He was born at Salem, November 26, 1838, and is a son of
Joseph C. and Rebecca D. (Gosline) Stanley, both natives of New Jersey
and descendants of colonial ancestors, who trace their family genealogy
back for several generations in this country. The first white child born
in the English colony that settled in New Jersey, opposite Egg Harbor,
was an ancestor of Wilfull A. Stanley. Joseph C. Stanley, the father of
Wilfull A., was a son of Friend Richard Stanley, who was a soldier in
the War of 1812. The Stanley’s were Quakers, but there were a great many
fighting Quakers distributed along the line of descent. Friend Richard
was a son of John Stanley, who was a Revolutionary soldier and served in
Lighthorse Harry Lee’s cavalry. He was captured and confined in a
British prison ship for some time. He lived to be a very old man and
died in 1845, at the age of 102. He was very active physically and
mentally to a very old age. Wilfull A. Stanley was reared in New Jersey
and received a common school education. On December 22, 1860, he
enlisted as a private in the United States marine; and after making a
trip around the world was detailed in 1861 as orderly to Admiral
Dahlgren at Washington, D. C. He also served as orderly to Commanding
Officer C. R. P. Rogers. Mr. Stanley was at the taking of Hatteras Inlet
and the operations on Roanoke Sound in conjunction with General
Burnside’s expedition. He was at the engagement of Port Royal and served
as orderly to Capt. C. R. P. Rogers there. He was also at the engagement
at Ft. Walker. The “Wabash,” upon which he was serving then, joined
Admiral Farragut’s fleet at New Orleans. Here Mr. Stanley was
transferred to the “Hartford,” Admiral Farragut’s flag ship, and served
as orderly to Farragut and participated in the engagements at Fts.
Jackson and Phillip, and was at the capture of New Orleans when he was
again detailed to the “Wabash.” Shortly after that he was taken sick
with a fever and sent to the marine hospital at Brooklyn, N. Y. After
recovering he was discharged, and with his discharge received a very
complimentary letter from Admiral Rogers. After remaining home a short
time he enlisted in the Second regiment, New Jersey cavalry. He
participated in the battle of Nashville and was at the siege of Mobile.
He went from there to Montgomery, Ala. About this time the war closed,
but Mr. Stanley’s regiment was kept in the South for nearly a year
during the reconstruction period, and in 1866 he was discharged and
returned to his New Jersey home. Mr. Stanley had learned the plasterer’s
trade when he was a young man and at the close of the war worked at it
for some time, when the military spirit took possession of him again and
he enlisted at Philadelphia, Pa., and was assigned to Troop L, Seventh
United States cavalry, and was sent from Ft. Leavenworth to Ft. Morgan
on the Platte river. Capt. Michael V. Sheridan, a brother of “Little
Phil,” commanded this troop and they were mobilized at Ft. Hayes for a
winter campaign against the Indians in the Wichita mountains. This
campaign was against the Arapahoes, Comanches and some other tribes.
After an engagement with Lone Wolf’s band the soldiers were forced to
retreat, but soon after were re-inforced at Big Timber by a Kansas
regiment, and after that captured Lone Wolf and Satanta, chief of the
Kiawas, and returned the Indians who had been on the war path to the Ft.
Sill reservation. After that Mr. Stanley returned to Ft. Leavenworth and
had charge of the hospital stores for two years, when he was transferred
to Wingate, N. M., where he also had charge of the hospital stores until
1872, when he was discharged and returned to New Jersey. In 1889 he came
to Kansas, locating in Atchison, where he has since worked at his trade
most of the time. He had lived in Philadelphia for some time and in
Georgetown, S. C. before coming to Kansas, and came to this State on
account of his wife’s health. Mr. Stanley was married in 1877 to Mrs.
Mary E. (Ingram) Fpuntain, a widow. She is a native of Bellefont, Pa.,
born June 25, 1842, a daughter of Isaac D. and Deborah (Grant) Ingram,
natives of Pennsylvania and descendants of old Pennsylvania stock.
Joshua Bloomfield Williams, a major in the Revolutionary war, and at one
time colonial governor of New Jersey, was a grand-uncle of Mrs.
Stanley’s mother, and Mrs. Stanley is a Daughter of the American
Revolution. She is a member of the Ladies’ Corps of the Grand Army of
the Republic, and is past department president of Kansas, and National
press correspondent, and has filled all the offices from the local
circle to the National. Mr. and Mrs. Stanley have one child, Leon Glen,
born in 1881. He served in Troop B, Sixth United States cavalry. He was
in China at the rescue of the foreign legations and suppression of the
Boxer uprising and later served in the Phillipine Islands, and after
three years’ service he was honorably discharged. He was the first post
printer at Ft. Leavenworth, and is now in the employ of the _Atchison
Globe_, in the capacity of pressman and mailing clerk. He married Sadie
Wiggins, and two children have been born to them, as follows: Inez Leona
and Richard. Wilfull A. Stanley is a member of the Grand Army of the
Republic and has been adjutant of the Atchison post for ten years and is
past commander.
CHRISTIAN W. STUTZ.
Christian W. Stutz, a substantial farmer of Center township, Atchison
county, was born and reared in Lancaster township, this county, and is a
son of pioneer settlers of the county. The Stutz family came to Kansas
from Missouri in 1859. Christian W. is a son of Christian and Catharine
(Schweitzer) Stutz, both of whom were born in Germany from whence they
came to America in 1855, and first settled in Jackson county, Missouri,
coming from there to Lancaster township in Atchison county four years
later. Christian, the father, was born in Germany, March 25, 1825, and
when thirty years of age decided to locate in the new country where
there were better opportunities for gaining a livelihood and laying up a
competence. Accordingly, we find that after a residence of four years in
Jackson county, Missouri, he came to Atchison county, and with his
savings invested in eighty acres of timber and prairie land in Lancaster
township. He hired a man to break this land with ox teams, and proceeded
to cultivate his land. He made extensive improvements on his farm from
time to time as he was able, and added to his acreage to such an extent
that at the time of his death, December, 1898, he was the owner of 380
acres of land. Christian Stutz was the father of seven children as
follows: Mrs. Caroline Demel, of Central City, Neb.; Mrs. Katherine
Wilkins, of Atchison, Kan.; Frederick, a member of the Atchison police
force; Christian W.; Gustave, a prosperous farmer of Lancaster township;
John, a farmer in Center township; one child died in infancy. The mother
of these children was born in Germany in February of 1829, and died in
Lancaster township, in December, 1888.
Christian W. Stutz, whom this review directly concerns, was reared on
the old home place of the Stutz family in Lancaster township, and
educated in the Lancaster school. He assisted his father in the
operation of the home farm until he was twenty-three years of age, and
then began farming for himself on land which he rented from his father.
He continued to till the rented land for four years, all the time saving
his earnings, with a view of eventually owning a farm of his own. He
made his first investment in 1891 when he purchased and inherited,
partly, eighty acres of improved farm land in section 8, Center
township. He at once began to remodel the home and make extensive
improvements, and it might be said that he has never ceased to improve
his surroundings. In 1908 he erected a new barn, 50×50 feet, and now has
one of the attractive places of his township and county. Mr. Stutz has
continued to add to his land holdings until he is now the owner of 393
acres of land, all of which he has secured through his own efforts.
During 1915 he had planted 160 acres to corn which gave him an excellent
crop. He keeps good graded stock and maintains a herd of Shorthorn
cattle. He has made quite a reputation as a breeder, and in 1914
exhibited a “Mahrath Jack” at the Atchison county fair which was awarded
the second prize. In addition to his farming interests he is a share
holder in a copper mine located in Arizona.
Mr. Stutz was married in 1891 to Kathrine Walz, and of this union have
been born ten children, as follows: Charles F., William, John E., Clara,
a graduate of the Atchison County High School; Arthur, Mary and Margaret
(twins), the latter deceased; Francis, Nora B., Reidel, all of whom are
at home with their parents. Mrs. Stutz was born September 8, 1868, in
Atchison, Kan., a daughter of Charles and Kathrine (Reidel) Walz, both
natives of Germany. Charles Walz emigrated from Germany to Cincinnati,
Ohio, and there learned the butcher business and trade. When nineteen
years of age he left Germany to seek his fortune in America, and about
1857 came to Atchison and worked in the first butcher shop ever operated
in that city. He later bought the shop of Phillip Link, and after
operating it for a time bought a farm in Shannon township, where he
lived until his death, in 1891, at the age of sixty-one years. Kathrine,
his wife, was born in 1842, and died on the old home place in Shannon
township.
Mr. Stutz is a Democrat, but has never sought political preferment,
having no time other than for the management of his large farming
interests. He is fraternally connected with the Odd Fellows and the
Fraternal Order of Eagles.
MICHAEL JOSEPH HORAN.
In observing the management of the leading commercial houses of
Atchison, the fact is determined that, invariably, the executive
departments are in charge of young men who have practically grown up
with the business. The Dolan Mercantile Company is one of the oldest
wholesale institutions of the city, and one of the most successful and
substantial. Its affairs are conducted by young men who entered the
employ of its founder when boys, and have advanced, step by step, in the
management of the concern. M. J. Horan, the president of the Dolan
Mercantile Company, began his career in a humble capacity in the
business of which he is now the chief executive, and has become an
honored and able member of the body of commercial men who have made
Atchison preëminent among the cities of the West. The story of a self-
made man is always interesting and this review is a story of a self-made
man.
Michael Joseph Horan is a native of Atchison, born November 12, 1875. He
is a son of Michael Frank Horan, a native of Bir, Kings county, Ireland,
born in 1824. The elder Horan left his native heath when a young man,
with his young wife, who died later in Atchison. He first located in
Peru, Ind., and there met William Dolan in 1840. He came to Kansas in
1865 and located some land at Wetmore, proved up on his homestead, and
one year afterward located in Atchison. Here he engaged in the real
estate business, and became fairly well to do. For years he was a well
known figure in Atchison and took an active interest in Democratic
politics. He died in 1888. His second wife was Anna Dean, whom he
married in her native county of Queens, Ireland. She was born in 1844
and died in February, 1910. They were the parents of the following
children: Mrs. John A. Reynolds, Atchison; Miss Bridget Horan, Atchison;
Anna, at home; Michael Joseph, Atchison; Frank, Marshalltown, Iowa;
Charles L., secretary of the Dolan Mercantile Company, and in charge of
the shipping department.
M. J. Horan was educated in the parochial schools and St. Benedict’s
College, of Atchison. At the age of sixteen years, or in 1892, he
entered the employ of the Dolan Mercantile Company, as office boy. He
applied himself diligently to his duties and promotion step by step
followed, as a matter of course. His next position was that of bill
clerk. This was followed by his promotion to the post of bookkeeper and
then buyer. When the company was incorporated in 1900, he was elected
vice-president. He succeeded Mr. Dolan as president of the company, upon
the latter’s death in 1913.
Mr. Horan was united in marriage in Kansas City, Mo., with Martha Emma
Malone in 1909. To them have been born four children: Michael Joseph,
Mary Ann, Francis and William. Mrs. Horan is a daughter of Edward
Malone, formerly a resident of Atchison, and who died here, after which
the mother and all of the family except Martha Emma removed to Chicago.
In political affairs Mr. Horan is an independent Democrat, who favors
good and efficient government, and believes that it can best be obtained
by good and capable officials regardless of their political adherence.
He is a member of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, and is affiliated with
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the United Commercial
Travelers. Mr. Horan is recognized as one of the substantial and
progressive business men of the city, and he and his wife have many warm
friends among the best families of the city, who esteem them for their
many excellent qualities of mind and heart. Mr. Horan’s dignified and
courteous demeanor in the conduct of his business affairs has won him
universal respect and esteem both of patrons and employes of the concern
of which he is the head.
RINHOLD FUHRMAN.
Rinhold Fuhrman, farmer and stockman, of Lancaster township, Atchison
county, Kansas, was born in Germany February 11, 1863. He is a son of
Ernest and Johanna (Gerlach) Fuhrman, and was one of twelve children
born to them. The others are as follows: Caroline Deaking, Dodge City,
Kan.; Louise Repstein, Jefferson county, Kansas; William, St. Joseph,
Mo.; Julius, Doniphan county, Kansas; Trauget, Center township, Atchison
county; Herman, Lancaster township, Atchison county; Paul, Center
township, Atchison county; Emma Schwope, Center township, Atchison
county; Ernest, Atchison, Kan., and two children who died in infancy.
The father by an earlier marriage to Louise (Heine) Fuhrman had one son,
Charles, a farmer and stockman of Lancaster township, Atchison county.
Ernest Fuhrman was born in Germany July 8, 1826, and immigrated to
America in 1872, settling in Atchison county, Kansas, where he bought
160 acres of land in section 16, Lancaster township. This was timber and
prairie land and had only a small, poorly built house on it at the time,
but during the twenty years that he owned it he built several
substantial buildings and made numerous other improvements. He
eventually sold the place to his son, Herman, and then bought 160 acres
in Doniphan county, where Julius lives, and moved into Lancaster where
he lived in retirement. He bought eighty acres in Center township. Five
years later he went to live with his son, Paul, to whom he sold the
eighty acre tract, in Center township. He died on Paul’s second farm of
160 acres in Center township September 2, 1915. The mother, Johanna
(Gerlach) Fuhrman, was born in Germany and resides with her daughter,
Emma, in Center township, Atchison county, at the age of eighty-five
years.
In 1872 Rinhold Fuhrman left Germany with his parents who came to
Atchison county, Kansas. He was reared on his father’s farm and attended
school at Rock district No. 59, and when eighteen years of age began
life for himself as a farm hand for $15 a month and proved himself a
capable worker and later was given $20 a month, which was more than the
average farm hand was paid at that time. He worked three years as a
hired hand and then rented his father’s farm for five years, and later
bought it. The farm consisted of 160 acres in section 20, Lancaster
township. He improved it considerably after he took charge of it in
1899, erecting a house at a cost of $1,000, and he also built a barn
which cost $500. He has built sheds and other improvements since and did
most of this work with his own hands. He has always been a hard worker
and obtained all that he now owns by hard labor. He has a fine little
orchard which is in a thrifty condition. He keeps graded stock and takes
great care to keep his animals up to the standard.
On October 8, 1890, he married Emma Kammer, a native of Lancaster
township, who was born April 18, 1868. She attended school at Rock
district and is a daughter of Karl and Johanna Kammer. She has a
brother, Karl, who is a farmer in Atchison county. Mr. and Mrs. Fuhrman
are the parents of three children, as follows: Mrs. Laura August Poos,
Lee’s Summit, Mo.; Edna and Karl, both living at home. Mr. Fuhrman is a
Republican and he and his wife are members of the Evangelical church. He
is a conscientious, hard working farmer who has deservedly attained
success. In March, 1916, Mr. and Mrs. Fuhrman left the farm and retired
to a home in Lancaster, where Mr. Fuhrman purchased a residence. He has
rented his farm after accumulating a competence which will enable him to
live in comfort the remainder of his days.
JOHN E. REMSBURG.
The past half century has witnessed the transformation of the section of
Kansas known to the world as Atchison county from wilderness to a
smiling and peaceful land of thriving towns and cities and checkered
with fertile farms, a development which has been duplicated many times
over in the great State of Kansas. While this wonderful transformation
was going on as the handiwork of man—particular individuals from out of
the mass of men who were working wonders in giving to this Nation a new
commonwealth, were likewise developing mental attributes with which they
had been gifted—statesmen, soldiers, and men of letters were in the
making. Atchison county, Kansas, has been made famous by several
illustrious sons who have achieved more than ordinary renown in the
world of letters, as well as in other lines of endeavor. John E.
Remsburg, editor and publisher of the _Potter Kansan_, educator, author
and lecturer, during nearly a half century of residence in the county,
has become as widely known in the realm of literature as any Kansan
citizen. He has achieved a reputation as a writer and lecturer of force
which is world-wide and deserved by the recipient. Mr. Remsburg came to
Kansas from his native State of Ohio in 1868. Two years after his
arrival in Atchison county he was married to Miss Nora M. Eiler, of
Walnut township, this county, who came with her parents from Missouri to
Kansas in 1855. Seven children were born to this marriage: George J.,
John J., Reullura R., Wirt A., Charles B., and Claude A., all of whom
are living, and Eugene, deceased.
“The International Who’s Who,” printed in English, German, French and
Italian, and published in London, Paris and New York, contains the
following biographical sketch of Mr. Remsburg:
“John E. Remsburg. Teacher, lecturer, author; born near Fremont, Ohio,
U. S. A., January 7, 1848. Of German-English descent, his paternal
ancestors emigrating from Germany to Maryland about 1760; his maternal
ancestors emigrating from England to Boston in 1640. His father was
George J. Remsburg, son of John P. Remsburg, who removed from Maryland
to Ohio in 1831; his mother was Sarah A. (Willey) Remsburg, daughter of
Eleazer Willey, who removed from New York to Ohio about the same time.
Educated in the public schools of Ohio and at Fort Edward Collegiate
Institute, New York, continuing his studies after leaving school.
Entered Union army at 16, serving until close of Civil war. For fifteen
years engaged in educational work in Ohio and Kansas, serving as
superintendent of public instruction of Atchison county, Kansas, four
years (1872 to 1876). Married in 1870 Nora M. Eiler, daughter of Jacob
Eiler, a Free State pioneer of Kansas. In 1880 became a lecturer and
writer in support of free thought and State secularization. Delivered
over 3,000 lectures, speaking in fifty-two States, Territories and
Provinces, and in 1,250 different cities and towns, including every
large city of United States and Canada. In the performance of this work
traveled over 360,000 miles. Author: ‘Life of Thomas Paine,’ 1880; ‘The
Image Breaker,’ 1882; ‘False Claims,’ 1883; ‘Bible Morals,’ 1884;
‘Sabbath Breaking,’ 1885; ‘The Fathers of Our Republic,’ 1887; ‘Abraham
Lincoln,’ 1893; ‘The Bible,’ 1903; ‘Six Historic Americans,’ 1906.
Portions of his writings have been translated into French, Italian,
German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Bohemian, Bengali, Singalese and
Japanese.”
[Illustration:
_John E. Remsburg._
]
[Illustration:
_Geo. Remsburg._
]
It may interest Mr. Remsburg’s Atchison county friends to know in what
esteem he is held as a speaker and writer by the world at large. From
the hundreds of reviews and commendatory notices of his lectures and
books which have appeared a volume of testimonials like the following
could be compiled:
“One of the best speakers and writers to be found in the West, if not in
the whole country.”—Charles Robinson, first governor of Kansas.
“His lectures are models of logic and good sense.”—Arnold Krekel, LL.
D., Judge United States District Court, Missouri.
“Mr. Remsburg’s address was given with great eloquence and power.”—E. W.
Howe.
“A brilliant lecture.”—_San Francisco Chronicle._
“Most eloquent words.”—_Boston Globe._
“An interesting and eloquent address.”—Rev. J. F. Wilcox, Chicago.
“It is lit up with such flashes of genius, it is so poetical and
picturesque that one never wearies of hearing it.”—E. M. Macdonald, New
York, President American Secular Union.
“He retired with the reward of loud and long continued applause.”—
_Kansas City Star._
“Came in for his full meed of praise today.”—_New York Herald._
“J. E. Remsburg was paid at the rate of two dollars a minute for his New
York address; probably the highest price yet paid for a Kansas talk.”—
Noble L. Prentiss, 1882.
“A noble lecture.”—Ernestine L. Rose, noted reformer, London.
“He has given to the world several volumes of priceless worth.”—L. K.
Washburn, editor _Boston Investigator_.
“This volume of 600 pages is a digest of all that is known on the
subject.”—Franklin Steiner, author, New York.
“Nothing equal to it has been published within my recollection either in
America or Great Britain.”—Charles Watts, President British Secular
Union.
“It is indeed excellent—nothing could be better.”—Sir Hiram Maxim,
London.
“In many respects the most important volume on the subject that has yet
appeared.”—Le Pensee, Brussels.
“Excellent, bold, direct, unanswerable.”—James Parton.
“Mr. Remsburg is an orator of high and wide reputation.”—_Washington
Post._
“One of America’s noted orators.”—_Montreal Times._
“A most able lecturer and writer.”—Charles Bradlaugh, M. P., noted
orator and statesman of England.
“My translations of Bradlaugh’s and Remsburg’s writings have an enormous
circulation in this country.”—Kedarnath Basu, India.
“His [Remsburg’s] lectures have an immense circulation in India.”—
_Calcutta Gazette._
“One of the most promising orators in America.”—_Secular Review_,
London.
“His style is simple, earnest and attractive, and in these qualities he
is eloquent.”—W. H. Herndon, law partner of Abraham Lincoln.
“I have listened to all of our great orators from Clay to Ingersoll, but
I have never heard a more polished oration than Remsburg delivered last
night.”—Hon. William Perkins, associate counsel of Lincoln in several
important cases.
“A graphic, yet concise sketch.”—Rev. S. Fletcher Williams, Liverpool,
England.
“Imparted in language clear and forcible and not seldom with grace and
beauty.”—Thomas Gray, author, Edinburgh, Scotland.
“I have never heard the case so fairly and so ably stated as he has
stated it tonight.”—Richard B. Westbrook, D. D., LL. D., Philadelphia.
“I have asked a bookseller to order twenty copies of Remsburg’s work.”—
U. Dhammaloka, President Buddhist Tract Society of Burmah.
“Such an admirable book is always welcome.”—Rev. J. Lloyd Jones, LL. D.,
Chicago.
“This effort to right the wrongs of Thomas Paine is, in my opinion, a
service to mankind.”—Andrew D. White, LL. D., first president of Cornell
University, minister to Russia and ambassador to Germany.
“The most fair and honest of all the biographies which have yet appeared
of the great iconoclast.”—_Boston Herald._
“It will help restore to honor a much abused name and forward the cause
of human rights the country over.”—Rev. Charles Wendt, D. D., Ex-
President Taft’s pastor at Cincinnati.
“May this brilliant work bring its author the praise of posterity.”—_Der
Freidenker._
“A very strong case.”—_Public Opinion._
“A valuable contribution to literature.”—Wm. McDonald, author, Canada.
“His lectures have as large a circulation in Europe, India and Australia
as in this country.”—S. P. Putnam, author, New York.
“A most interesting lecture.”—_New Orleans Delta._
“A large audience and frequent applause.”—_Baltimore Sun._
“Skillfully and vigorously written.”—_Unitarian Herald_, Manchester,
England.
“His style is pleasing and his arguments incontrovertible.”—_The
Universe_, Berhampur, India.
“A noble and eloquent work.”—Charles Bright, lecturer, Australia.
“It is really a remarkable work.”—Yoshira Oyama, President Japanese
Rationalist Association, Japan.
“Clearly, Mr. Remsburg has done his duty as he sees it, and has had the
fairness to present at the outset the opposite view of the question.”—
_New York World._
“Given in evident fairness and remarkable completeness.”—_Chicago
Times._
“J. E. Remsburg, of Kansas, who addressed the Congressional Committee on
the Sunday question at the Capitol yesterday, made a good impression.
Every member heartily applauded him.”—_Washington Star._
“My views are well expressed by him.”—Hon. George W. Julian, one of the
founders of the Republican party and a prominent leader in Congress.
“I will gladly contribute to his work.”—Rear Admiral George W. Melville.
“I have the pleasure to inform you that at the meeting of the Committee
held this day (January 5, 1910) you were elected an ‘Oversea’ member of
the Authors’ Club.”—Reginald H. B. Giller, Secretary Authors’ Club,
London.
“Member Authors’ Club, London; National Geographic Society (Washington);
life member American Secular Union (president three years).—_Who’s Who
In America._
“I have watched with interest his growing influence.”—Hon. John J.
Ingalls, president pro-tem United States Senate.
“Ably and well have you done your work.”—Parker Pillsbury, noted Anti-
Slavery leader.
“When truth and freedom triumph at last your name will be known and
honored by all men.”—Eugene V. Debs, four times the nominee of his party
for President of the United States.
GEORGE J. REMSBURG.
George J. Remsburg was born in Atchison county, Kansas, September 22,
1871. His life has been devoted mainly to horticultural, journalistic,
archaeological and historical work. He spent many years on a fruit farm,
removing to Atchison in 1892, where he engaged in newspaper work on the
_Daily Champion_, the oldest newspaper in Kansas; he was a reporter,
city editor, and even did editorial work on that paper up to 1900, when
he returned to the farm on account of ill health. In 1894–95 he was
editor of the _Missouri Valley Farmer_, now the leading agricultural
journal west of the Mississippi. During the winter of 1905–6 he was on
the reportorial staff of the _Leavenworth Daily Post_, and editor of
_Western Life_, published in that city. He has also acted as special
correspondent of the _Leavenworth Times_, _St. Joseph Gazette_, _Kansas
City Journal_, _Topeka Mail and Breeze_, _Topeka Capital_, _Atchison
Globe_, and other well known western newspapers, besides having been an
editorial contributor to many different magazines and other
publications.
He has spent many years in archaeological explorations, principally in
northeastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri, has opened a number of
ancient mounds and identified and explored old village sites of the
Kansa Indians, visited by Bourgmont in 1724, and Lewis and Clark in
1804, on the Missouri river. He has published a pamphlet describing one
of the more important of these old villages, entitled, “An Old Kansas
Indian Town on the Missouri.” In all, he has discovered and examined
more than 100 old Indian village, camp, workshop and grave sites in the
region mentioned and gathered one of the most extensive private
archaeological collections ever assembled in Kansas.
In 1897 he was elected a corresponding member of the Western Historical
Society upon the unsolicited recommendation of United States Senator
George G. Vest, of Missouri. In 1901 he became associated with Hon. J.
V. Brower, of St. Paul, Minn., in important archaeological
investigations relative to the ancient Indian province of Quivira,
visited by Coronado in 1541, and upon the organization of the Quivira
Historical Society by Mr. Brower, he was made a life member. In 1905 he
was elected president of this society to succeed Mr. Brower, deceased.
The Quivira Historical Society erected a number of costly monuments to
commemorate historical events of Coronado’s time in Kansas.
At the annual meeting of the McLean Historical Society of Illinois at
Bloomington in 1909 he was elected an honorary member in recognition of
his researches regarding the Kickapoo Indians, of which tribe the McLean
society is making a special study. He has thoroughly explored the old
village of the Kickapoos near Ft. Leavenworth, occupied from 1832 to
1854, and visited these Indians on their reservation in Brown county,
Kansas, on several occasions, gathering a vast amount of ethnologic and
historic material pertaining to the tribe. He is also a member of the
Kickapoo Club, of Bloomington, Ill.
Mr. Remsburg is a member of the National Geographical Society, having
been elected at the annual meeting of the society in Washington in 1911.
He has been a member of the International Society of Archaeologists
since its organization in 1909; was appointed an associate editor of the
_Archaeological Bulletin_, official organ of this society, in 1910, and
elected vice-president of the same society in the same year. In 1901 he
was elected a member of the American Society of Curio Collectors; was
elected vice-president of the same in 1902, and appointed a contributing
editor of the society’s official organ in 1906. He is also an active
member of and contributor to the Kansas State Historical Society, and is
a member of its committees on archaeology and Indian history.
Brower’s “Memoirs of Explorations in the Basin of the Mississippi,”
Volume VII, contains a summary account of Mr. Remsburg’s archaeological
work, and says of him: “He has long been a capable and painstaking
archaeological explorer in the Missouri Valley.” Chappell’s “History of
the Missouri River” says he is an acknowledged authority on early
western history and the archaeology of the Missouri valley.
He has held a number of local offices, such as justice of the peace,
member of school board, and secretary of various clubs and societies. He
was at one time a member of the Kansas National Guards. He is now
connected with the staff of the _Potter Weekly Kansan_ and doing special
correspondence for several newspapers. His home is at Potter, in this
county. He is a son of John E. Remsburg, whose sketch appears elsewhere.
WIRT HETHERINGTON.
Heredity, undoubtedly has an important bearing upon the choice of a life
vocation for the individual citizen, and it is evident that this maxim
governing the destiny of man himself holds good in the life of Wirt
Hetherington, cashier of the Exchange National Bank of Atchison. In the
city of Atchison, three generations of bankers from the Hetherington
family have toiled in the financial activities of the city, the first of
whom was William Hetherington, grandfather of W. Wirt, the present scion
of the family, engaged in banking. Following William, the pioneer banker
of Atchison, and who established the first banking concern in the city,
came Webster Wirt Hetherington, father of him whose name heads this
review.
William Hetherington, the first of the line in Kansas, was born in the
town of Milton, Penn., May 10, 1821, and was there reared and received
his education. When he became of age he was married, at Pine Grove,
Penn., to Miss Annie M. Strimphfler, who was born in Womelsdorf, Berks
county, Pennsylvania, September 24, 1827. This marriage occurred May 9,
1848, and William and his bride, shortly afterwards, became residents of
Pottsville, Penn., where he engaged in the operating of a flouring mill.
Three children were born to them in this city, namely: Mrs. Balie P.
Waggener, of Atchison; Webster Wirt and C. S. Hetherington. In 1859 they
removed to Atchison and the youngest child of the family, Mrs. William
A. Otis, was born here. Mr. Hetherington first located in St. Louis,
when he came west, later going to Kansas City, and from there to
Leavenworth, Kan., where he purchased a bankrupt stock of goods, which
he hauled by wagon to Atchison in 1859. He at once established the
Exchange Bank, which absorbed the Kansas Valley Bank, at that time owned
by Robert L. Pease. When Mr. Hetherington came into possession of the
bank it was located in a basement at the corner of Third and Commercial
streets. A short time later he moved it to the building now occupied by
the water works company, and it was here that an attempt was made by the
outlaw Cleveland to rob the bank, but the attempt was unsuccessful,
Cleveland being frightened away by some freighters who were working
nearby. Some years later, Mr. Hetherington erected a bank building at
the northwest corner of Fourth and Commercial streets, which was the
home of the bank until the erection of the handsome Exchange National
Bank Building, two blocks further west, in 1885. In 1882 the
Hetherington bank was merged into a national bank, and it was known as
the Exchange National Bank, one of the successful banking concerns of
the State of Kansas. Mr. Hetherington was a man of considerable ability,
whose efforts to advance the growing city of Atchison were worth a great
deal, and he became a leading factor in the material advancement of the
city. His influence on public thought and movement was marked and it was
the more powerful, for he was largely unbiased in his judgments. He died
in 1890.
Webster Wirt Hetherington, father of the subject of this review, was
born in Pottsville, Penn., December 19, 1850. He was educated in Gambier
College in Ohio, and came directly from his studies in that institution
to enter the Exchange National Bank of Atchison, of which his father was
the founder and president. He became cashier of the bank, and upon his
father’s demise, in 1890, he became the president of the bank, remaining
in this position until his death, January 28, 1892. Mr. Hetherington,
during his financial career, became widely known in banking circles, and
had many valuable acquaintances among New York financial men, with whom
he had many transactions in western securities. When the Rock Island
road was building in Kansas and Nebraska, Mr. Hetherington made
arrangements to purchase all the municipal bonds the road received from
the counties and townships through which it passed. The deal was
successful, and won him the confidence of the New York brokers through
whom he sold the bonds. In 1889 he received, as a reward from W. P.
Rice, of New York City, $10,000 in cash and also traveling expenses for
himself and wife on a tour in Europe, in payment for his services in
going to London and assisting Mr. Rice in interesting English
capitalists in investing in American enterprises. Mr. Hetherington was
married November 18, 1875, to Miss Lillie Miller, the oldest daughter of
Dr. John G. and Anna B. (Bennett) Miller, both natives of Pennsylvania.
This marriage was blessed with five children as follows: Ruthanna, wife
of Dr. L. A. Todd, of St. Joseph; Mary Louise, wife of Lieut. J. G.
Pillow, U. S. A., of Honolulu; Webster Wirt, cashier of the Exchange
National Bank of Atchison; Gail, wife of B. R. Allen, of Atchison; Harry
Hale, Seattle, Wash.
Wirt Hetherington, third in line of the bankers of this estimable
family, was born in Atchison, February 21, 1881, and received his
education in the public schools of the city, after which he became a
student in the Military School at Orchard Lake, Mich., from which
institution he was graduated in 1900. Soon after his graduation, he
entered the Exchange National Bank in the capacity of receiving teller
and bookkeeper, and since that time he has advanced to higher positions
of trust and responsibility in this important banking institution,
learning the banking business in a thorough and painstaking manner as he
passed from one position to a higher one. In 1905 he became assistant
cashier, a position which he held until February, 1914, when he became
cashier of the bank, of which he is also a director. Mr. Hetherington is
unmarried and makes his home with his widowed mother.
Politically, Wirt Hetherington is a Democrat as were his father and
grandfather before him. He is a communicant of the Episcopalian church,
which is the church of his forefathers, who were of English origin. He
is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Hetherington is destined to
follow in the footsteps of his able and distinguished father and
grandfather, and has already given decided evidence that he has
inherited and is developing marked financial ability of a high order.
His demeanor in the conduct of the duties of his important position is
commendatory and his pleasant and courteous manner of greeting those
with whom his duties bring him in daily contact betokens the innate
gentlemanly attributes which he possesses to a considerable degree.
HARRY L. SHARP.
Harry L. Sharp, secretary of the Atchison Commercial Club, is one of the
“live wires” of the city and has given evidence of great ability in his
chosen profession. He is industrious, frugal, sincere and unpretending.
His accurate knowledge as to the departmental matters is a constant
surprise to those who have occasion to consult him with reference to any
branch of public service. He realizes that facts, and not theories, must
be the working forces in this organization. He is not only able,
intelligent and practical in the discharge of his duties as secretary of
the Commercial Club, but is thoroughly conscientious and always shows
the courage of his convictions.
[Illustration:
_Harry Sharp_,
_Sec’y Atchison Commercial Club._
]
Harry L. Sharp was born in Moravia, Iowa, January 14, 1883, a son of
John Wilson and Cora Wright Sharp, who trace their ancestry to Thomas
Brown and Col. William Crawford, of Pennsylvania. Thomas Brown was one
of the early pioneers in western Pennsylvania and founded the town of
Brownsville, that State, in the year 1776. Col. William Crawford was a
confrere of George Washington. Colonel Crawford married a daughter of
Thomas Brown, which closely related both sides of Mr. Sharp’s family,
his father’s people being the Crawfords and his mother’s the Browns. He
was graduated from the Moravia High School, after which he entered the
restaurant and bakery business for himself, conducting the same for a
period of three years. Disposing of this business, he came to Atchison
and was for a time associated with Sawin & Douglass in the undertaking
business, qualifying and obtaining a license to do embalming in the
State of Kansas. Following this, he was clerk at the Byram Hotel for a
period of three years. During the following year he wrote life insurance
and resided in Hiawatha, Kan. Returning from Hiawatha, he took a
position as yard clerk in the Missouri Pacific railroad yards. From this
position he worked up to that of claim clerk for that company, which
position he resigned to become traffic manager for A. J. Harwi Hardware
Company. Upon the death of A. J. Harwi, Mr. Sharp succeeded F. E. Harwi,
as buyer of the house furnishings goods department of this concern,
continuing his traffic work. He held this position until he was tendered
and accepted the secretaryship of the Atchison Commercial Club. While
Mr. Sharp is a Democrat, he has always been inclined to be independent
in his views of things political. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a member
of the Elks and Eagles and other fraternal societies. In December, 1906,
Mr. Sharp was married to Mary, daughter of Edward C. Wolters, a native
of Germany, and a resident of Atchison, where Mr. Wolters was a
contractor for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Sharp have one child, LeRoy
Edward, born May 31, 1909.
Mr. Sharp is one of the most capable and efficient experts in his
particular vocation that can be found in the West. He seems to be
naturally adapted for the difficult and exacting position which he
holds, and is gifted with rare tact and diplomacy which is so necessary
in handling the various affairs which are placed in his hands in the
interest of Atchison and the Commercial Club. He is possessed also of
decided literary ability, evidence of which talent will be readily seen
in the perusal of the chapter on Atchison Industries which was written
and compiled for this volume by Mr. Sharp.
HENRY KUEHNHOFF.
Henry Kuehnhoff, farmer and stockman, of Lancaster township, Atchison
county, was born August 3, 1869, in Lancaster township. He is a son of
Charles and Caroline Kuehnhoff, who were the parents of nine children,
six of whom are living. The father was born in Germany in 1841 and left
there when a boy of sixteen years, sailing for New York. He remained
there a short time and then went west, arriving at St. Joseph, Mo.,
where he enlisted in Company B of the Volunteer infantry, serving in the
Civil war. He was discharged at Lexington, Mo., at the close of the war,
having made a good military record.
He returned to civil life and worked at St. Joseph, Mo., as a laborer
for $8 a month. Shortly afterward he came to Atchison county, Kansas,
and bought eighty acres of land in section 10, Lancaster township. Using
oxen, he broke the ground on his newly acquired farm and began to
improve it as far as his resources would permit. In 1894 he retired and
went to the National Soldiers’ Home at Leavenworth, where he died in
1903. The mother was born in Germany, in 1845, and died in 1899. Henry
Kuehnhoff grew to manhood on his father’s farm and attended the Eden
district school No. 37, and also attended No. 3 school for one term. He
worked on the farm until he was twenty-one, and, then with his brother,
William, rented the old home place. At the death of his father he became
heir to a share of the place, and in 1905 bought the farm where he now
lives in section 9, Lancaster township, Atchison county. He now owns 157
acres of well improved land and has a large amount of graded stock, and
is a stockholder in a telephone company.
In 1901 he was married to Caroline Kloepper, who was born July 20, 1882,
in Atchison county. She is a daughter of Crist and Caroline (Dorssom)
Kloepper, natives of Germany and Atchison county, respectively. The
mother is now dead, but her father resides at DeKalb, Mo. Mr. and Mrs.
Kuehnhoff have one child, John, who lives at home. Mr. Kuehnhoff is a
Republican and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge.
He is a member of the school board of district No. 3, Lancaster
township.
MRS. D. N. WHEELER.
The average woman, left penniless, destitute, and even burdened with
debt at the hour of her greatest sorrow in life, the demise of a loved
husband, is very likely to throw herself upon the more or less doubtful
mercies of friends or relatives, and make no attempt to take up the
burden of gaining a livelihood by her own exertions. However, this may
be the case in many instances, but the exact opposite has been the
career of Mrs. D. N. Wheeler, one of the wealthiest real estate
proprietors in Atchison, who, during the thirty-four years that have
elapsed since the demise of her husband which left her with a small home
burdened with debt, and otherwise penniless, has amassed a competence
which has placed her in the ranks of the largest individual taxpayers in
the city of Atchison.
She was born in Chautauqua county, New York, a daughter of Ezekiel and
Almirah (Trowbridge) Rooks, both of whom were natives of New York. Her
father died when she was four years of age, and she was reared in Erie
county, Pennsylvania, where her mother removed after her father’s death.
Rooks county, Kansas, is named in honor of the Rooks family of New York,
who formed one of the first settlements in Rooks county, during the
pioneer days of the early sixties in Kansas. While a student in the
academy at Erie, Penn., she met her future husband, who was then
traveling passenger agent for the Chicago & Northwestern railway. After
their marriage in Erie in 1869, they went to Omaha, Neb., where Mr.
Wheeler was connected with the Union Pacific railway. They had the honor
of being the guests of George Pullman of the Pullman Car Manufacturing
Company, as passengers on the first Pullman train run over the Union
Pacific tracks, en route from Omaha to San Francisco. Upon their arrival
in San Francisco they attended a reception at the Occidental Hotel,
after which Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler traveled in California visiting points
of interest. They had some interesting experiences during their travels
over the country while Mr. Wheeler was engaged in his duties in
connection with the Union Pacific railroad. S. H. H. Clark, president of
the Union Pacific railroad, was a very dear and warm friend of the
Wheelers, and after Mr. Wheeler’s death, she accompanied the Clark
family to San Francisco and was domiciled at the Palace Hotel as their
guest. She was with the Clarks at St. Louis when the Union Pacific
railroad was sold for $60,000,000, and she was in New York when Mr.
Clark signed this transfer. Mrs. Wheeler still retains the friendship of
the Clark family and frequently visits them.
Mr. Wheeler had charge of the expedition to North Platte when Generals
Grant and Sherman made the treaty with the Indians, and Mr. and Mrs.
Wheeler became personally acquainted with the famous generals. A
souvenir of this experience is a pack of playing cards which General
Sherman gave Mrs. Wheeler when the party was on the return trip, and
which was used in playing Bezique by the two generals to while away the
time. Mr. Wheeler was the conductor of the train which brought in the
survivors of the Plum Creek, Neb., Indian massacre, in which many of the
settlers were killed and scalped by Indians. Mr. Wheeler died in 1881,
leaving his young wife practically destitute, in the little three room
house which they had undertaken to buy in Atchison for $600. At the time
of his death there was an incumbrance of $400 on this house, and Mrs.
Wheeler was so poor that a load of coal which she had ordered for
delivery at the home was returned because it was thought she would be
unable to pay for it. She at once began to display the spirit which has
enabled her to triumph over all difficulties, and earned her living by
teaching drawing and painting in the old Monroe Institute, supplementing
her salary by giving private lessons at her home on Saturdays. She
managed by dint of the strictest economy to pay off the mortgage on her
little home, and has since remodeled it into one of the most attractive
places in Atchison. This beautiful home is situated high up on the
bluffs, bordering the Missouri river, and offers a view from the east
windows over broad reaches of the Missouri which is unsurpassed for
beauty and distance anywhere in the West. Mrs. Wheeler, while without
business experience of any kind whatever, at the time of her husband’s
demise, embarked upon a career of investing her savings in residence
properties until she is now the owner of twenty fairly valuable pieces
of real estate in Atchison. She followed the time tried plan of the
cumulative method of buying houses, which she would place in good repair
for rental purposes, going in debt for a house and then gradually paying
out, and eventually buying another and so on, until she is now paying
taxes on a property valuation of over $40,000, her taxes alone amounting
to $2.00 per day, or over $730 yearly. At the same time she has gained a
valuable knowledge of real estate, she has learned to know and
accurately judge human nature, a combination of wisdom which is
irresistible in achieving success. She is a saleswoman of great ability,
and has frequently been pitted against some of the shrewdest traders in
Atchison, and has never been worsted in an encounter. Endowed with a
keen observant mind and a remarkable memory, she has made many prominent
friends during her career, and has often been called upon to assist them
in various capacities, an instance of which is found in the aid which
she gave Bishop Tuttle in the preparation of his reminiscences of the
Old Santa Fe Trail. To quote the words of a prominent friend of hers,
who has known her for many years and witnessed her struggles to attain
affluence, “Mrs. Wheeler is a very remarkable woman.”
NAPOLEON B. PIKE.
Napoleon B. Pike, farmer and stockman, was born May 10, 1856, in
Washington county, Iowa, and is a son of Charles and Maria (Salers)
Pike, and was one of eleven children, seven of whom are living. The
father of Napoleon Pike was born in New York State, November 13, 1826.
He came to Ohio with his parents and after his marriage went to Iowa.
For a time he was engaged in a small mercantile business in Iowa, but
later engaged in farming. He also farmed a place of his own near
Atchison, Kan., where he removed in 1882, but his larger holdings were
in Iowa. He died in 1903. The mother was born in New Jersey in 1836, and
died in Atchison county, Kansas, in 1898. Both were members of the
Methodist church.
Napoleon Pike grew up on his father’s Iowa farm. He was married there
and came to Kansas with his father in 1882. For a year he rented land in
Doniphan county, Kansas, when he came to Atchison county, and rented a
farm in Lancaster township. In 1907 he bought the forty-acre farm which
he now works. When he took the place it had few improvements, but he has
invested $8,000 since then, and made a modern farm and keeps graded
stock.
In 1878 he married Julia Utterback, who was born in Lancaster, Iowa,
July 17, 1856. She is a daughter of Nels and Matilda Utterback, both
natives of Indiana. To Mr. and Mrs. Pike have been born five children,
as follows: Charles, Center township; Alta (Higley) Lancaster township;
Walter, farmer, Lancaster township; Willard, farmer, Center township,
and Warren, deceased. Mr. Pike is a Republican and a member of the
Christian church of Atchison. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of
America at Atchison.
JOHN A. SCHOLZ.
During the thirty-seven years in which the Scholz family has resided in
Atchison county, its members have made a record for each and every one
which is a credit to their parents and themselves, individually and
collectively. John and August Scholz, farmers and live stock breeders of
Lancaster township, take high rank in the county as enterprising and
successful agriculturists, and have both achieved success, and attained
a reputation as specialists, being well known breeders of Shorthorn
cattle. Their father, the late August Schulz, was wise in his day and
generation, in that when he came to Atchison county, a comparatively
poor man, he secured enough land which would require that his sons
remain at home and become farmers. He was successful in his plan, and
the result is seen in the enterprising sons whom he trained to till the
soil in the best manner possible, and who have been successful, as their
father had wished. John Scholz is a native son of Kansas, and was born
and brought up on the farm where he now resides. He has one of the
attractive country places in the county, nicely located, with a well
built farm residence, good barns and out-buildings for housing his live
stock and storing the harvests of the Scholz fields. He and his brother,
August, have long held their land in common, and worked together on a
partnership basis in a manner satisfactory to both and productive of
good results.
John A. Scholz was born November 27, 1879, in Atchison county, and is a
son of August and Johanna (Seidel) Scholz, who were the parents of the
following children: Mrs. Pauline McCowin, Renton, Wash.; Herman,
Doniphan county, Kansas; Charles, Lancaster township; Mrs. Louise
Thoren, Los Angeles, Cal.; Caroline, wife of J. W. Louthian, Lancaster
township, Atchison county; George, Lancaster township; Paul, living near
Lancaster, Kan; Mrs. Anna Stockebrand, Yates Center, Kan.; August,
farming in partnership with his brother, John, in Lancaster township;
John A., farmer, Lancaster township; Robert, Lancaster township. The
family was reared on the father’s farm and the sons were all taught
farming. The father was born in Schlesien, Germany, November 25, 1835.
He learned the blacksmith trade from his father, and worked at the trade
until he left Germany in 1870. He was a son of George Frederick Scholz.
His mother died when he was an infant. Coming to America with his family
of six children, August Scholz resided in St. Joseph, Mo., for a time
when he bought a farm of 160 acres in Doniphan county, Kansas, which he
operated about six years. He broke the soil on this place with oxen and
made all necessary improvements himself. After leaving Doniphan county
he rented a farm in Atchison county, and then bought 480 acres of
prairie and timber land in Lancaster township, Atchison county, in 1882.
He bought the farm of Morgan Osborne, and paid $15,000 for it. The place
is known as the “Three Springs Farm” and is located on the northwest
quarter of section 9. This name comes from the fact that the farm has a
fine natural water supply coming from springs located on it. The springs
furnish water enough for the stock on the farm even in the longest
drought and supplies the neighborhood when necessary. The father bought
an unusually large farm for a special purpose. He wanted his boys to
grow up with him, and did not want to see them go out as hired hands for
other farmers, so he went into debt to buy enough land so that the boys
could work it themselves and make a living on it. He had very little
capital, but he was industrious and his family was also industrious.
This enabled them to go in debt for the farm without fear of not being
able to pay for it. The farm was paid for in due time and improvements
were made constantly. The father farmed until his death, in 1901. The
mother of John Scholz was a daughter of Godfred and Rosanna (Schwartzer)
Seidel. She was born in Schlesien, Germany, April 10, 1840. The father
was a farmer in his native land. The mother lives with John Scholz. John
Scholz attended the Atchison County High School at Effingham, Kan.,
having previously gone to school in District No. 3, of Lancaster
township. He remained at home after leaving high school, and helped his
father on the farm. When the father died John was married and began life
for himself. He and his brother, August, bought 160 acres each from the
heirs, and engaged in farming. They bought 320 acres comprising the old
home. March 1, 1915, they bought eighty acres additional in Lancaster
township, making 400 acres in all. John and his brother began to take a
fancy to high grade stock and they are now breeding fine Shorthorn
cattle. They have a herd of twelve head of thoroughbreds. They have a
graded stock of horses and breed Poland China hogs also. John A.
especially takes great interest in mules, and at one time had the
largest span in the county. These sold for $600. They were five years
old and weighed 3,300 pounds.
John Scholz married Ida R. Meyer, October 1, 1913. She was born March 3,
1882, in Center township, Atchison county, and is a daughter of John and
Caroline (Schroeder) Meyer. John Meyer was born in Switzerland, and came
to Atchison county when he was four years old, with his parents, John
and Verena (Slaughter) Meyer, natives of Switzerland. They were early
settlers in Center township where they died. John Meyer was born May 8,
1854, and his wife, Caroline (Schroeder) Meyer, was born in Elgin, Ill.,
April 2, 1859. Mrs. Meyer was the daughter of Nicholas and Katherine
Schroeder, natives of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Scholz have one child, Ralph
Edward, born August 17, 1914. Mr. Scholz is a Democrat, and he and his
wife belong to the Evangelical church.
WALTER E. BROWN.
Walter E. Brown, of the law firm of Waggener, Challiss & Crane, and the
present city attorney of Atchison, is a native son of Kansas. He was
born at Whiting, Jackson county, Kansas, November 17, 1887, and is a son
of William E. and Martha W. (Gilmore) Brown, natives of Pennsylvania.
William E. Brown, the father, came to Kansas with his parents in 1872 at
the age of sixteen. He is a son of Michael Brown, a native of Ireland.
The Brown family settled in Brown county, Kansas, where the parents
spent their lives.
In 1879 William E. Brown removed to Jackson county and engaged in the
lumber business at Holton, where he is still an extensive lumber dealer
and one of the substantial business men. To William E. and Martha W.
(Gilmore) Brown were born three children, as follows: Walter E., the
subject of this sketch; Bernice and Harold.
Walter E. Brown was reared in Holton and educated in the public schools,
graduating from the high school there. He then entered Kansas
University, Lawrence, Kan., and was graduated in the class of 1909 with
the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He then came to Atchison and became
associated with the law firm of which he is now a member. Some few
changes have taken place in the personnel of the firm of Waggener,
Challiss & Crane within the last few years, but it substantially remains
the same.
Mr. Brown is a Republican and since coming to Atchison has taken an
active part in political matters. He was elected city attorney in 1913
and reëlected to succeed himself in 1915. He is a Knights Templar and
Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks, Loyal Order of Moose, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Mr. Brown
is a very capable attorney and has a wide acquaintance in northeastern
Kansas.
E. G. BURBANK.
E. G. Burbank, proprietor of the Burbank printshop, is a native son of
Atchison county. In 1905 Mr. Burbank founded this printing establishment
in a very humble way, which within ten years has developed into one of
the leading printing plants of eastern Kansas. The phenomenal success of
this enterprise is, no doubt, due to the fact that Mr. Burbank was an
expert job and edition printer when he embarked in the business for
himself. Burbank’s printshop catered to high class printing from the
start, which has been its specialty and in which it has made a clean
record. They do a large amount of high class catalog printing and other
high grade work of a kindred nature. They are also well known as book
printers and binders and printers of high class stationery. The plant
has a floor space, 30×50 feet and is equipped with all modern machinery
and methods for up-to-date printing.
When Mr. Burbank started in business for himself he was able to do most
of his work alone, but he now has ten people on his payroll, and the
plant is now one of the most prosperous concerns of Atchison.
[Illustration:
S. W. ADAMS,
Aetnea Life Insurance Co.
]
[Illustration:
H. C. HANSEN,
Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co.
]
[Illustration:
JULIUS DEUTSCH
]
[Illustration:
E. G. BURBANK.
]
E. G. Burbank was born at Muscotah, Kan., January 17, 1881, and is a son
of Henry N. and Mina S. (Hazlett) Burbank. Henry N. Burbank, his father,
was a native of Vermont and came to Atchison county with his father,
George S. Burbank, in the pioneer days of Atchison county. He died in
1913, and his wife now resides at Billings, Mont. E. G. Burbank was
reared in Muscotah, and after receiving a high school education began
his printing career as “devil” in the office of the _Muscotah Record_.
Shortly afterwards, he entered the office of the _Atchison Globe_ and
was connected with that paper as a printer for four years, when he
organized the plant which now bears his name.
Mr. Burbank was married in 1908 to Miss Millie Anderson, and they have
two children: Millie Ervin, born in December, 1910, and John Maxwell,
born in July, 1912. Mr. Burbank is of the type of business men who are
making Atchison the commercial and center that it is. He is a member of
Washington Lodge, No. 5, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
H. C. HANSEN.
The story of a young man who has been successful in his chosen field
through sheer force and energy and aptitude is always interesting.
Consequently, it is fitting that the biography of one of the most
successful life insurance men of northeast Kansas have a proper place in
the pages of the history of Atchison county. The rise of H. C. Hansen in
the insurance field has been rapid and substantial until his high place
among the business men of his home city is assured. Born in the little
kingdom of Denmark and reared on American soil, he has given evidence of
possessing the sturdy qualities peculiar to the Danish people which have
led them to the forefront in America wherever they have settled. It is
probable that no people coming here from foreign shores and speaking an
alien tongue have shown greater adaptability and more acumen in being
assimilated into the great American body of citizens than those who have
come from Denmark.
H. C. Hansen was born in Denmark January 17, 1867. His parents were Hans
and Anna Hansen, who left their native land to seek their fortunes in
America in 1869. Hans Hansen was a blacksmith, and the family first
located in Atchison. From here they went to Brown county, and a few
years afterward settled in Doniphan county. Mr. Hansen operated a
blacksmith and wagon-shop at Severance, Kan., until 1890. He then
removed to Graham county and settled on a farm where he still resides.
His first wife, Anna, died in 1875, leaving four children, as follows:
Mrs. Mary Kellenberg, of Brown county; Mrs. Minnie Knoop, of Canton,
Okla.; Mrs. Ellen Moore, of Cottonwood Falls, Chase county, Kansas, and
Hans Christian.
H. C. Hansen was reared in Doniphan county and was forced by
circumstances to look after his own education. When still a boy he
learned the blacksmith’s trade and also worked as a farm hand. He had
little opportunity to secure an education and received no encouragement
from his parents to acquire knowledge. It was necessary for him to earn
money to support himself while attending school. He studied for two
years in the Christian Brothers College of St. Joseph after he became of
age. Beginning with December 20, 1892, he served twelve years as
salesman for the Edward Heeney Hardware Company, of Severance, Kan. He
then became local agent for the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company at
Severance. So successful was Mr. Hansen in his new vocation that in a
short period of eighteen months he was tendered the position of general
agent of the company, with headquarters in Atchison. He has written as
high as $200,000 in life insurance policies yearly and his success still
continues. A strong and amiable personality combined with energy and
persistence have been factors in enabling him to advance with such rapid
strides in a field which is full of able competitors. In addition to his
duties as general agent of the Penn Mutual Insurance Company, he looks
after his farm of 120 acres, located five and one-half miles east of
Potter. Mr. Hansen has purchased this farm with money earned in selling
life insurance, and he is displaying the same energy in developing his
farm acreage that placed him to the forefront in the life insurance
field. An old, rundown orchard of about ten acres was located on his
farm. He had this orchard placed in shape for fruit bearing by trimming
the trees and spraying with a power sprayer. The results are seen in the
fine quality of fruit which the trees have yielded. He has been awarded
three first prizes at the Atchison county horticultural display.
Mr. Hansen was married August 20, 1891, to Katie Browning, a daughter of
Frank Browning, an early pioneer settler of Doniphan county. To them
have been born the following children: Anna, a graduate of the public
school and high school, and now a teacher in the schools of Sparks,
Kan.; Bettie, a trained nurse, who graduated from the Sisters of Charity
Hospital, at St. Joseph, in October of 1915; Crystelle, a milliner in
the Ramsey store; and William Penn or “Pat,” the youngest of the family.
Politically, Mr. Hansen is an independent Republican, inclined to be
progressive in his ideas of government by the people, and favoring those
candidates for office who seem to be capable of serving the people to
the best advantage of all. He is a member of St. Benedict’s Catholic
Church, and is fraternally connected with the Knights of Columbus.
JULIUS DEUTSCH.
Julius Deutsch, retired merchant and capitalist, of Atchison, is a
citizen who has made his own way in the world, and achieved a
satisfactory measure of success in the mercantile field. He was born in
Lorraine, the French province of Germany, November 27, 1858, a son of
Molling and Melanie Deutsch, who were born and reared in Lorraine.
Molling Deutsch was a wholesale grain and flour merchant in his native
town. Melanie Deutsch was a daughter of M. Friend, a soldier in the
Napoleonic wars, and who was awarded the Medal of St. Helena for bravery
on the field of battle. Both parents lived their lives and died in the
land of their nativity.
When Julius Deutsch had completed his education at the age of fourteen
years, in 1872, he immigrated to America, coming direct to Atchison,
where he made his home for a short time with an uncle, L. Friend. Later,
he entered the employ of another uncle, I. Friend, a merchant, doing
business in Seneca. He worked in the store at Seneca for two years, sold
goods in Atchison for another year, spent one year in a mercantile
establishment at Topeka, and then embarked in business for himself. Mr.
Deutsch established a general store at Muscotah in 1878, which was a
successful venture. Prosperity attended his efforts, and it was not long
until he and his brothers embarked in the mercantile business at Horton,
Kan., and established a store which they still own. He was associated in
his business ventures with his brothers, Sylvain, Maurice, Simon, and
Isaac. Simon is now a resident of Cleveland, Ohio. Isaac is deceased.
The brothers established a chain of stores and operated them at Beloit,
Atchison, Valley Falls, Muscotah, and Concordia, which were generally
successful, and made money on the investments. Mr. Deutsch continued in
active mercantile pursuits until his retirement to Atchison in 1902. He
first came to Atchison from Muscotah in 1885, turned over the business
at Muscotah to his brother, and then engaged in business in this city.
His brother, Maurice, now operates the store at Horton, Kan. Sylvain
Deutsch makes his home principally in Kansas City. During later years
the Deutsch brothers have disposed of a number of their various stores,
and now operate the Horton concern only. Their capital is mainly
invested in real estate, consisting of city property and farm lands in
Kansas and the West. Isaac Deutsch was the first of the family to come
to America to seek his fortune, and his brothers followed, and a
community of interests which held them together at all times, resulted
in all becoming well-to-do.
Mr. Deutsch and his brothers are interested in a number of financial
institutions, and he has many friends among the substantial citizens of
his home city. He took an active part in the incorporation of the town
of Muscotah, serving as city councilman. He is of the Jewish faith, and
is prone to assist all religious denominations to the extent of his
ability, being tolerant and broad-minded in this respect. He is
fraternally allied with the Odd Fellows and the Elks. Mr. Deutsch
possesses a likable personality, which, coupled with a kindly and
courteous demeanor at all times, makes him well liked by his associates
and esteemed for his many excellent qualities.
STARK WILBOR ADAMS.
Stark Wilbor Adams, general manager for the Aetna Life Insurance
Company, with offices in the new Masonic Temple, and secretary of the
Atchison County High School board, is a native of the Buckeye State,
born in May, 1866, at Huron, Ohio, and a scion of an old American family
which traces its lineage back to the colonial days of New England. His
father, Stark Adams, and his mother, Mary (Chandler) Adams, were born in
Milan, Ohio, and Birmingham, Ohio, respectively. Stark Adams was a son
of Philo, a son of Daniel Adams, of Vermont, who was a soldier in the
Continental army during the American war of independence, and was a
brother-in-law of Ethan Allen, of Vermont. Daniel was second in command
of the “Green Mountain Boys” at the capture of Crown Point and
Ticonderoga. In recognition of his services in behalf of the new nation,
he was given a grant of land in the Western Reserve. His son, Philo,
rode horseback from Middlebury, Vt., to the Huron river valley in 1816
and took possession of the tract which had been granted to the family by
the Government. He also traded a horse for an eighty-acre tract in
addition to his own grant. He and three brothers settled on the land
lying along the course of the Huron river, Philo locating at the mouth
of the river where it flows into Lake Erie, and upon which the town of
Huron was eventually built. The brothers became the owners of about 600
acres of land in the neighborhood. They cleared the land of standing
timber, planted corn, harvested and shelled it during the first season,
then crossed the lake to Buffalo to trade grain for supplies, which they
again traded with the Indians for furs. They conducted a general trading
business and the settlement grew from this beginning, in course of time
to be of considerable importance. Philo Adams was a first cousin of John
Quincy Adams, and was appointed the first collector of the Port of
Huron. The first of the family to come to America was Henry Adams, who
came to Plymouth on the “Mayflower,” when the good ship made its second
voyage to bring over the Puritans, and he settled at Mt. Wolaston, (now
Quincy, Mass.) in 1638. Joseph Adams II was the son of Henry, the
founder of the family in America; Joseph III, son of Joseph Adams, was
next in line, and was the father of Daniel and President John Adams,
second President of the United States. Daniel Adams was the father of
Philo Adams, and direct ancestor of the Adams family.
Stark Adams, accompanied by his family, left the old home in Ohio in
1878, crossed the country to Hays City, Kan., and there homesteaded on
160 acres of land, taking up a timber claim of the same number of acres
at the same time. Settlers were few and far between in that part of
Kansas in those days, and the country was settling up slowly because of
the droughts and other vicissitudes with which the farmers had to
contend. Ten years after locating near Hays City, Mr. Adams came to
Atchison and eventually bought a farm four miles south of the city, on
which he lived until his retirement to a residence on the corner of Q
and Sixth streets in Atchison. He was born October 14, 1827, and died
August 30, 1909. His children are: Augusta J., at home; C. B., of 714
Park street; James Otis, on a farm, eight miles southwest of the city;
Stark Wilbor; Margaretta L., at home, associated with S. W. in the
office located on the second floor of the new Masonic Temple; J. D., at
the family home in Atchison at 517 South Seventh street.
S. W. Adams and family came to Atchison from the farm in February, 1908,
and engaged in the insurance business, the mother and father and family
coming to the city in December of the same year. He opened his present
office May 1, 1914, when Mr. Adams was appointed manager of the Aetna
Life Insurance Company for northeast Kansas. His career as an insurance
solicitor and manager has been very successful. The real estate and loan
business conducted in the same office is in charge of Jay D. Adams.
Mr. Adams was married December 25, 1899, to Miss Mary Speck, who was
born on a pioneer farm in Atchison county on Stranger creek in Mt.
Pleasant township. She was a daughter of Archimides S. and Sarah E.
Speck, natives of Kentucky and North Carolina, respectively, who
emigrated from Indiana to Kansas, driving a team the entire distance,
during the year 1855. (Further data concerning Mr. and Mrs. Speck will
be found elsewhere in this volume.) To this union have been born,
Dorothy M., Sarah E., Mildred J., Lorena Wilberta, Wilbor Speck.
Mr. Adams is a Republican in politics and has taken a more or less
active part in political and civic affairs. For the past five years he
has served the county as secretary of the Atchison County High School
board. He and the members of his family are affiliated with the
Presbyterian church. Fraternally he is allied with the Odd Fellows,
Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
GEORGE SCHOLZ.
George Scholz, farmer and stockman of Lancaster township, Atchison
county, Kansas, was born in Germany, April 22, 1870, and is a son of
August and Johanna (Seidel) Scholz, who were the parents of seven
children: Mrs. Pauline (McCowin), Renton, Wash.; Herman, Doniphan
county, Kansas; Charles, Lancaster township, farmer; Louise, wife of C.
Thoren, Los Angeles, Cal.; Caroline, wife of J. W. Louthian, Lancaster
township; Paul, living near Lancaster, Kansas; Mrs. Anna Stockebrand,
Yates Center, Kan.; August, farming with his brother, John, in Lancaster
township, and John, farmer, Lancaster township; Robert, Lancaster
township. The family was reared on the father’s farm where all the sons
were taught farming. The father was born November 25, 1835, in
Schlesien, Germany, and learned the blacksmith trade from his father,
and worked at that trade until he left Germany in 1870. He was a son of
George Frederick Scholz. His mother died when he was an infant. Coming
to America with his family of six children, August Scholz resided in St.
Joseph, Mo., for a time and then bought a farm of 160 acres in Doniphan
county, Kansas, which he worked about six years. He broke this place
with oxen and made all necessary improvements himself. After leaving
Doniphan county he bought 480 acres of prairie and timber land in
Atchison county, Kansas. This was in 1882. He bought the farm of Morgan
Osborne and paid $15,000 for it. The place is known as the “Three
Springs Farm.” It is located on the northwest quarter of section 9. The
name comes from the fact that the farm has a fine natural water supply
from springs located on it. The springs supply water for the stock on
the farm even in the longest drought.
The father bought an unusually large farm for the reason that he wanted
his boys to grow up on his own farm. He did not want to see them go out
and work for strangers. His capital was limited but he and his sons were
industrious, and they were able to go into debt to acquire more land,
and the farm was paid for in due time and improvements were made as
rapidly as possible. The father farmed his place until his death, in
1901. The mother of George Scholz was a daughter of Godfred and Rosanna
(Schwartzer) Seidel, and was born in Schlesien, Germany, April 10, 1840,
and is now living with her son, John. The father was a farmer in his
native land.
George Scholz attended the Atchison county schools, finishing at the
Rock district school. He remained at home until he was twenty-six years
old, when he rented a farm which he operated in partnership with his
brother, Charles A. In 1905, George bought the farm which he now owns,
and which consists of 120 acres in section 24, Lancaster township. The
place was comparatively unimproved, having only an old house and barn.
Since then he has built a modern eight-room house, electric lighted and
modern in all respects. In addition, he has erected a fine barn, 40×36
feet in size. It is electric lighted and equipped with up-to-date
conveniences. Mr. Scholz keeps graded stock on his farm and is a
progressive farmer and conducts his farm in an efficient manner. When he
and his brother were farming together, ten or more years ago, they sold
corn from the field as low as fourteen cents per bushel.
Mr. Scholz was married to Anna Buttron, February 10, 1909. She was born
October 20, 1877, and is the daughter of Henry and Rosanna Buttron. Mr.
and Mrs. Scholz have two children: Gilbert, born December 31, 1909, and
Karl, born January 16, 1914. Mr. Scholz is an independent voter. He is a
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge, of Lancaster, No.
355, and attends the Lutheran church, of which his wife is a member. Mr.
Scholz made his first investment in 160 acres in Sheridan county,
Kansas, for $1,100 in 1902, and sold it three years later for $2,400.
THOMAS E. HORNER, M. D.
Diligence in the pursuit of success is inevitably rewarded, be it in the
marts of finance or in the ranks of the learned professions. The
profession of medicine has from earliest times offered opportunity for
honor and social prominence, as well as giving its members a chance for
bettering the condition of mankind in general as well as physical. The
physician is at once the friend in need who alleviates our ills and is
often the family adviser. To him very frequently are intrusted the
secret troubles which beset his patients many times and he thus becomes
a benefactor to mankind in more ways than one. Thus, the needs of this
noble profession require a high type of individual who is at once a
learned and skilled practitioner and gentleman in whom the people can
place their trust. Dr. Thomas E. Horner is of the type of physician in
whom one can have confidence and whose ability in his life work is
marked, the best evidence of which is his large practice in and near the
city of Atchison.
He is a native born Kansan, born on a farm on Independence creek in
Doniphan county August 8, 1875, a son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Farrell)
Horner, natives of Ireland. His father was born in 1836 in the town of
Coleriyne, Ireland, and his mother is a native of County Cavan, North
Ireland, born in 1842. Isaac died in Atchison county in 1911. He
immigrated to America with his father, James Horner, who bought a farm
near New York City, returning to Ireland where he resided for twelve
years, after which he located in western Pennsylvania. From there Isaac
removed to Kansas in 1859 and became a freighter across the plains,
operating his own outfit. He married in 1866 and settled on Independence
creek. Isaac left the farm in 1880 and removed to Atchison where he
engaged in buying and shipping live stock until his death. He became
well-to-do and was the owner of over 1,000 acres of land in Doniphan and
Atchison counties. He was an excellent business man and a keen trader
who was honest in his dealings and enjoyed the respect and esteem of
those with whom he came in contact during his long life. Coming of an
excellent Irish family, he was a younger son and had a brother named
Samuel who was educated in Oxford University, and was an early settler
in Atchison county, dying in Jackson county, Kansas, in 1886. The
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Horner are as follows: Mrs.
Elizabeth McGurk, Frankfort, Kan.; Mrs. Ella St. Peters, Denver, Colo.;
James, who married Nellie Deigan and resides in Parnell, Kan.; Rose, at
home with her mother, and Dr. Thomas E. Horner, with whom this review is
directly concerned; Mrs. Marie Farrell, widow of James Farrell, of
Atchison; and Samuel, who married Mollie Butler, and resides at Jarbalo,
Leavenworth county.
Dr. Horner was educated in the parochial schools and Christian Brothers
College at St. Joseph, Mo., from which academic institution he graduated
in 1893 with the highest honors of his class. He then pursued the study
of medicine and graduated from the Kentucky College of Medicine in 1897.
For two years he practiced medicine at Vliets, Marshall county; then at
Severance, Doniphan county, for a period which ended in 1911, prior to
his location in Atchison. He has built up an excellent practice and has
a beautiful home at 1114 Santa Fe street.
In politics Dr. Horner is a Democrat; he is a member of the Catholic
church, and is affiliated with the Knights and Ladies of Security, the
Fraternal Aid Societies, the Mystic Workers, and the Knights of
Columbus. He is likewise associated with the Atchison County, the Kansas
State and the American Medical associations. He served as police surgeon
of the city of Atchison.
Dr. Horner was married January 11, 1898, to Sadie E. Armstrong, and to
them have been born three children: Elizabeth, aged fifteen years; Mary,
fourteen years of age, and Thomas, aged seven years. The mother of these
children is a daughter of Thomas T. and Mary J. (White) Armstrong.
Thomas T. Armstrong was born in 1846 in Canada and came to Kansas when a
young man and entered the employ of the Missouri Pacific railroad. He is
now living a retired life in Atchison. His wife, Mary J., died January
9, 1902, leaving one son, Fred, a resident of Seattle, Wash.
JOSEPH E. GIBSON.
Joseph E. Gibson, farmer, of Center township, Atchison county, Kansas,
and a widely known breeder of Shorthorn cattle, has one of the
attractive and well kept farm homes in Atchison county, located directly
on the White Way, a much traveled and fairly well kept highway, crossing
Atchison county from east to west. Mr. Gibson was born August 22, 1861,
in Union county, Ohio, and is a descendant of good old Virginia stock.
His parents were John and Susannah (Westlake) Gibson, the former a
native of Virginia and the latter of the Buckeye State. John Gibson, the
father, was born in Westmoreland county, Virginia, June 17, 1824, and
was the son of Leven and Mary (McClure) Gibson, who were among the early
settlers of the State of Ohio, migrating from their old homestead in
Virginia in 1833 and settling in Ohio, where they lived on a pioneer
farm the remainder of their days. John Gibson was reared to young
manhood on his father’s farm, and after his marriage settled on a farm
of his own in Union county, Ohio, where Joseph was born and reared. John
Gibson was the father of seven children, namely: Arthur, a farmer living
in Union county, Ohio; Joseph E.; Mattie, deceased; Mrs. Rosa F. Staley,
of Union county, Ohio; Thomas, a farmer and sawmill operator in
Louisiana; Mrs. Lizzie Schuler, residing in New Dover, Ohio; and Asa, a
farmer, of New Dover, Ohio. The father of these children died in 1899.
The mother was born in Belmont county, Ohio, in 1829 and departed this
life in 1907. She was a daughter of Josiah and Christena (Knughouf)
Westlake.
Joseph E. Gibson, of whom this review directly treats, was brought up on
his father’s farm in Union county, Ohio, and there attended the district
school. He remained with his parents until 1891 and then migrated to
Kansas, to become a foreman in the fruit orchards owned by J. W. Parker
in Atchison county. Eight years later he rented a farm three miles north
of Shannon, Kan., and in 1901 purchased the farm of eighty acres which
he is now cultivating in Center township. This tract of eighty acres
lies in sections 10, 6 and 19 of this township and is well improved. The
improvements which Mr. Gibson has placed on his farm since buying it
will exceed $1,400. For some years he has been a breeder of pure bred
Shorthorn cattle and ships the product of his farm to all parts of the
country. He has a herd of high grade Shorthorn cattle to the number of
twenty-eight head. The cattle bring good prices at private sale, the
buyers visiting the farm for the purpose of purchase. He also is a
breeder of Big Type Poland China hogs of the best breed obtainable.
Mr. Gibson was married November 8, 1888, to Miss Virginia I. Weaver, and
to this union the following children have been born: Imogene, a graduate
of the Atchison County High School; Walter S., at home, attending
business college at Atchison; one child died in infancy. The mother of
these children was born on April 17, 1864, near Lockburn, Franklin
county, Ohio, a daughter of Samuel and Isabella (Gavel) Weaver, the
former a native of Ohio, and the latter a daughter of German parents.
The mother of Mrs. Gibson is aged eighty-one years and makes her home
with her daughter.
Samuel M. Weaver was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, May 20, 1826, a son
of George and Isabel (McConnell) Weaver, who were the parents of six
children. The father, George, was a native of Berks county,
Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1806, when he came west and
located in Pickaway county, Ohio, near where the city of Circleville is
now located. He was a tailor by trade, and for many years held the
office of deputy sheriff of that county. He was a soldier in the War of
1812. He died in 1848. Samuel Weaver was well educated. When twenty
years of age he went west and traveled in different states for ten
years. When thirty years old, while traveling in Iowa he met Isabel
Gavel, to whom he was married December 16, 1856. She was born in Germany
and immigrated with her parents to America when one year old and was
reared in Franklin county, Ohio. She was born April 3, 1835. Samuel and
Isabel Weaver were the parents of five children: Mrs. Catharine E.
Cunningham. She died at Cleveland, Ohio, in 1911; Mrs. Virginia I.
Gibson; Mrs. Mary F. Southern died at Marysville, Ohio, in 1900; George
H. and Samuel, deceased. Samuel, after a residence in Franklin county,
located in Delaware county, Ohio, in 1869 and farmed until his death,
July 26, 1904.
Mr. Gibson is a Democrat who has taken an active interest in political
and civic affairs in the county, and is now serving his third term as
trustee of Center township. It is needless to remark that he is
satisfying the people of the township and is an efficient and capable
official who looks after the township affairs as carefully as he does
his own personal affairs, he is fraternally affiliated with the Odd
Fellows lodge, the Modern Woodmen, and the Central Protective
Association.
Mrs. Gibson takes a just pride in keeping the place in spick and span
condition and she has a beautiful lawn fronting the White Way road which
attracts the attention of travelers.
BENJAMIN PATTON CURTIS.
Benjamin Patton Curtis has been for sixty-one years a Kansan. Looking
back what wonderful changes do these years present to the onlooker! The
privations, vicissitudes and perils of those days in which the State was
born; the beginning of her commerce when the ox team and flat-boat were
the principal means of transportation; the five long drawn-out years of
civil strife in which the Union was preserved; the era of agricultural
development, when the wild prairies were transformed into fruitful
fields of golden grain; the epoch in which railways were keeping pace
with the settler, the merchant, the manufacturer, and steam and
electricity displaced the ox team and stage coach. Sixty-one years in
Kansas, from the days of the prairie schooner, flat-boat and pony
express, to the days of the automobile, air-ship and telephone; to have
done his share in connection with these great developments; to have
through his unaided efforts and with determination and energy achieved
success to have so lived that he is honored by his friends and
neighbors, entitles the man whose name initiates this review to a
prominent place in this publication, the history of the county in which
he is passing the sunset years of his life.
Benjamin Patton Curtis, pioneer, successful farmer and Civil war
veteran, since 1904 a resident of the city of Atchison, was born on the
twenty-seventh day of March, 1839, while his parents were encamped in
the wilderness of Missouri, a terrific snow storm having interrupted
their journey to Illinois. His father, John M. Curtis, was a native of
southern Tennessee. He had married when a young man, Mary Ann Warren,
also of that State, and with his young wife had settled in Missouri.
They were both of Scotch-Irish ancestry and came from a remarkably long-
lived line of forebears, one of whom lived to the age of 104 years. In
1839 the family removed from Missouri and settled in Adams county,
Illinois, where they remained until 1854, when they came to Kansas
Territory, settling just across the Missouri river from St. Joe. John M.
Curtis became a stanch Republican after seeing the abuse of slaves while
in Missouri, and he was one of the fearless men who came to Kansas for
the purpose of making her a free State. He preëmpted a quarter section
of land and then engaged in “following the river,” as it was then
termed, flat-boating, rafting and steam-boating. His three sons, among
whom was our subject, also followed that occupation for a time.
Ben P. Curtis spent the first fifteen years of his life in Adams county,
Illinois. His schooling was scant and that little was acquired in the
country schools. In his fifteenth year he came to Kansas Territory with
his parents, as has been previously stated, and within a short time was
employed on the Missouri river. The free life of the plains called him,
but as his two brothers had run away from home, and he was the only son
left, his longing to become a freighter was unsatisfied, as he preferred
to remain with his father. He was one of the first in his section of the
State to heed President Lincoln’s call for volunteers, and in May, 1861.
he enlisted in Company A, First Kansas Volunteer infantry, under Capt.
B. P. Chenowith. He was with his regiment in all its engagements, and is
Atchison’s only survivor of the battle of Wilson’s Creek. After the
burning of Holly Springs with $2,000,000 worth of supplies; the First
Kansas was compelled to live off the country. During the march to
Memphis, and while out foraging, Ben Curtis was captured and taken to
Ripley, Miss. He was paroled, and while waiting to be exchanged he and a
companion, Alverton Abbey, decided to exchange their uniforms for the
rebel grey and join the Union lines as deserters and reënlist in some
regiment other than their own, knowing full well they would be shot if
they were again captured while serving with the First Kansas. They were
successful in securing the rebel uniforms and gained the Union lines,
Curtis taking the name of C. F. Barker and his comrade, Abbey, that of
William Payne. He enlisted in the Fifth Illinois cavalry, and Ben
Curtis, under the name of C. F. Barker. At the time of his capture he
was serving as sergeant, and when enlisting under Captain Chandler he
showed him his parole as Sergeant B. P. Curtis. The captain assured him
he would not lose his rank and he was accordingly made a sergeant and
served as such until mustered out in February, 1864.
On conclusion of his military service he returned to Doniphan county and
resumed his old employment of “following the river,” remaining in this
field of occupation until 1867, when he bought a quarter section of land
in Doniphan county and engaged in farming. He made a success as an
agriculturist, was an active and influential factor in the life of his
section and reared a family of six daughters, all of whom are women of
education, intellectuality and refinement. In 1901 Mr. Curtis’ health
failed and he disposed of his farming interests and became a resident of
Troy, and in 1904 came to Atchison, where he has since resided.
On July 23, 1865, Mr. Curtis married Mary Eliza Ashcraft, a daughter of
Jeddiah Ashcraft. She was born July 23, 1844, in Larue county, Kentucky,
her marriage being on the twenty-first anniversary of her birth. The
first eight years of her life were spent in her native State, the
following three in Missouri, and in 1855 her father brought his family
to Kansas and took up a claim near Mt. Pleasant, where she lived until
her marriage with Mr. Curtis. She was for a time a teacher in the
Doniphan school. They are the parents of the following children: Bird,
the wife of Judson F. Thayer, of Stormsburg, Neb.; Anna, the wife of
Julian Tait, of St. Joseph, Mo.; Mable, the wife of William Maynard, of
Cologne, S. D.; Maude, the wife of A. W. Toole, of St. Joseph, Mo.;
Jessie, the wife of C. H. Allison, of Chicago, Ill.; and Frances, the
wife of A. E. Williamson, of Troy, Kan.
On July 23, 1915, their children, sons-in-law, grandchildren, friends
and acquaintances gave them signal honor in a fitting observance of
their golden wedding anniversary. The _Atchison Globe_ of that date says
in part: “Fifty years ago today Miss Mary Eliza Ashcraft and Benjamin
Patton Curtis were married in Doniphan.” Of their first meeting it
states: “The Ashcraft home was on the old Military road, and when Ben
Curtis, a soldier in the Civil war, passed there Mary Ashcraft handed
him a cup of water which he drew up from the well. However, that was not
the beginning of the love affair which culminated in the marriage of
Mary Ashcraft and Ben Curtis. They fell in love with each other in
Doniphan, where Miss Mary Ashcraft went to teach school, and Mr. Curtis
does not accuse his wife of ‘chasing’ him. He asked for an introduction
to the pretty school teacher. After he received it he never took another
girl.” Mrs. Curtis is the type of woman everyone admires. Her home is
her kingdom and she rules it wisely and well. She has never belonged to
a woman’s club, but when there is sickness or trouble at her own home,
or in the neighborhood, Mrs. Curtis is on hand, capable, gentle and
sympathetic. She rules her home with a velvet hand, and her husband says
that he notices as the years glide by he gets off at the stations for
which she has bought the tickets, not because he has to, but because he
wants to.
Of Mr. Curtis it states: “If you don’t know Ben Curtis there is missing
from your acquaintance one of the most companionable of men. Friends who
have hunted and fished with him say that he is a seventy-seven year old
prince. A lover of wild life, he has thoroughly enjoyed his retired
life, which has now covered a period of fourteen years. In the summer he
hunts the best game and fishing resorts of the North, and the winter is
liable to find him down around Corpus Christi, Texas, or some other
locality that is attractive when this climate isn’t. At Leach Lake,
Minn., a famous resort on Leach Lake, if you tell the people that you
are from Atchison and a friend of Ben Curtis, the place instantly
belongs to you.” Without sons of his own, he has naturally taken a great
interest in his nephews and is justly proud of the position attained by
the following, all of whom are Doniphan county boys: Edward Franklin,
formerly of the Smithsonian Institute at Washington, now professor of
chemistry at Leland Stanford University; Thomas Franklin, a prominent
insurance underwriter, of Chicago; and Professor Will Franklin, of
Lehigh University. The latter is also the author of several text books
which are in general use.
Mr. Curtis has been a life-long Republican, and during his residence in
Doniphan county took an active part in its political affairs. Political
office has never appealed to him, and, although often urged by his
friends to accept nomination, he refused. He is a member of Severance
Post, No. 391, Grand Army of the Republic, and is prominent in Masonic
circles. He has attained the Knights Templar degree and is affiliated
with Abdallah Temple, Mystic Shrine.
JOHN W. ABNER, M. D.
John W. Abner, M. D., although recently locating in Atchison, his skill
and ability as a capable and painstaking physician has met with ready
recognition and he has a large and growing practice. Dr. Abner is a
native of Kentucky. He was born in Clay county, in 1867, a son of John
and Matilda (Robinson) Abner, both natives of Kentucky. Dr. John W.
Abner was one of a family of three children whose parents died when they
were very young and the children were reared by friends and neighbors.
When Dr. Abner was fifteen years old he started out to make his own way
in life. He was always of a studious turn of mind and by his own efforts
obtained a very good education. At an early age he determined to be a
physician and bent his every effort in that direction. He learned the
carpenter and cabinet maker’s trade, and after working at his trade for
some time he entered the Eclectic Medical College of Kansas City, where
he was graduated in the class of 1912 with the degree of Doctor of
Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy. He engaged in the practice of his
profession in Kansas City. Mo., where he remained until February, 1915,
when he located in Atchison, Kan. He has a fine suite of offices at 712
1–2 Commercial street and is meeting with well merited success. Doctor
Abner was married in 1902 to Ada Pearl Wade, of Kansas City, Mo., and
they have one child, Dorothy, born January 6, 1905. Dr. Abner is a
member of the Christian church and takes an active part in the work of
his denomination and has served on the board of trustees. He is a member
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the World.
Dr. Abner is a past noble grand and senior warden of Subordinate Lodge,
No. 577, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and past chief patriarch of
Encampment, No. 27, of Kansas City, Mo., and is a member of the
Patriarchs Militant, No. 14, Kansas City, Mo.
Politically, he is an independent Republican and takes a keen interest
in political as well as current events generally. He is a close student
of the science of his profession and aims to keep himself thoroughly
posted in the rapid advances that are constantly being made in the world
of medicine and surgery.
WILLIAM HENDERSON.
William Henderson, one of the most industrious farmers of Benton
township, Atchison county, Kansas, was born December 29, 1872, in the
locality where he now lives. His parents, George and Amelia (Stockwell)
Henderson, had six children, of whom the subject is the oldest. The
others are James, Atchison, Kan., in the employ of the International
Harvester Company; Josie married Walter Kelsey, and now dead; Ella
married Clayton Davidson, of Effingham, Kan.; Etta, wife of Arthur
Olinger, Jefferson county, Kansas; Iva, married Elmer Grabiel, Garden
City, Kan.; George Henderson was born in Platte county, Missouri, in
1844, and came to Leavenworth county, Kansas, with his parents when
eleven years of age. Seven years later he came to Atchison county, where
he has since lived, and is now retired, making his home in Effingham.
The mother of William Henderson was born in Missouri in 1846.
William Henderson was reared on the farm and attended the district
school near the farm, and the Effingham high school one year. He worked
for his father until he was married to Nettie R. Jenkins September 5,
1900. His wife was born in Mitchell county, Kansas, in 1883, and is a
daughter of James Q. Jenkins, who came to Atchison county, Kansas, in
1894, from Nebraska, but was born in Illinois. Mr. Henderson owns 180
acres of land which is all well improved, the improvements costing
$5,000. Of four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Henderson, three died in
infancy. The living child, Floyd, was born May 28, 1904.
Mr. Henderson is a Democrat. He belongs to the Elks lodge of Atchison,
Kan., and the Masonic lodge at Effingham. Though not a church member, he
attends regularly. Mr. Henderson has made a success by hard work and
good management. He is always in favor of movements which benefit the
community and is a public-spirited citizen.
LUMAS M. JEWELL.
Potter is one of the coming and enterprising towns of Atchison county
and Kansas. During the past few years the town has taken wonderful
strides in the matter of public improvements and new buildings. A
considerable portion of this push and enterprise is directly due to the
energy and influence of Lumas M. Jewell, retired merchant and banker,
who can well be called the “father of the present day Potter.” Mr.
Jewell has been a consistent booster for the town ever since his advent
in the town, and has given of his time and money toward its development.
Mr. Jewell is a self-made Kansan, who has had an interesting career, and
whose rise from a poor boy to a position of comparative wealth and
affluence is well worth recording in the annals of Atchison county.
[Illustration:
_L. M. Jewell_,
_Potter, Kan._
]
L. M. Jewell was born on a farm in Wayne county, Kentucky, December 3,
1861, a son of Heman S. and Susan Mary (Weaver) Jewell. His father was a
native of Vermont, who immigrated to Kentucky when a young man, and
engaged in farming operations. He followed farming during his life,
until a few years before his demise, at the home of his son, G. W.
Jewell, at Kidder, Mo., in 1913. L. M. Jewell received a meager
education in the schools of his native State, and his later success in
life has been due entirely to his own efforts. His greatest education
has been received in the stern school of experience, which is the best
after all, and most useful, in developing the real attributes of a man.
When he was seventeen years of age, he left home and went to the home of
an uncle in Michigan, where he attended school for a time. When he had
attained his majority in 1882, he went to South Dakota and homesteaded a
tract of prairie land. He stayed in South Dakota for two years and
developed his homestead to such an extent that he was able to dispose of
it for a good round price, and he then moved to Caldwell county,
Missouri, and bought another farm, which he cultivated with a fair
degree of success. Later, he embarked in the mercantile business in
Marvel, Mo., for a period of three years, disposing of his business in
1892, and locating in Potter, Kan. His first employment in Potter was
with the general merchandise firm of Paxton & Kemper. Three years after
entering the employ of this firm, Mr. Jewell purchased Mr. Paxton’s
interest for $1,500, paying $400 cash, and borrowing the remaining
$1,100 with which to complete his purchase. It is remarkable that he
could have so established a reputation for business ability and
integrity in that time as to be able to command that amount of capital
to swing his first business deal in Kansas. His later successes date
from that time on, and in the short time of three years he was out of
debt, and the business had taken on larger proportions. W. T. Kemper,
his partner, then sold his interest in the store to a cousin, Madison
Kemper, from whom Mr. Jewell purchased the remainder of the business and
became the sole owner. During this time the stock of the store had been
increased, and the business had taken on a wider and a more general
scope through Mr. Jewell’s enterprise and the exercise of his decided
business ability. He became sole owner of the store in 1897, and during
the next three years the business was placed upon a permanent and stable
footing, which yielded large profits for its owner. In 1900 Mr. Jewell
conceived the idea of engaging in the real estate business, primarily
for the purpose of building up the town of Potter and attracting more
residents to the place. He acquired several business lots and began to
erect buildings to such an extent that Potter soon began to take on the
airs of a growing city. Where there was but one store building on the
side of the street occupied by the Jewell store, he erected five new
store buildings, which are occupied by merchants who have moved into the
town in the past fifteen years. It is due to Mr. Jewell’s enterprise in
this regard that the business part of Potter has been developed.
Whereas, when he first came to Potter the town boasted but three stores—
his own store, a small hardware shop, and a grocery. All the stores were
small and the town did not have a bank. At the present time Potter has
two banks and every line of business is represented. As Mr. Jewell’s
business expanded his enterprises included a lumber yard, furniture
stock and a grain elevator. Seeing the need of a bank, he started a plan
of organizing the Potter State Bank in 1899, and after almost a year’s
effort, he received the assistance of O. A. Simmons in effecting the
organization, and Mr. Simmons was the first cashier of the bank. Mr.
Jewell later served as cashier, and is now the president of this bank.
In 1910 Mr. Jewell disposed of his mercantile interests, and is
interested mainly in real estate and farm lands in Jackson county,
Missouri, and Atchison county, Kansas. He has also made a number of
large trades in merchandise stocks.
Mr. Jewell was married in 1897 to Sinnie M. Shaw, a daughter of Henry
Shaw, who was an early settler of Kansas. One child was born to them,
Edna Fern Jewell, born in 1901. Mr. Jewell is a Democrat in politics,
and Mrs. Jewell is a member of the Methodist church.
Mr. Jewell’s efforts to advance Potter among the Kansas municipalities
have not been confined to commercial activities alone, but he has always
had in mind the welfare of the people along other lines. He had not been
a citizen of the town but a few years when he conceived the idea that a
newspaper would be of great benefit to the community in more ways than
one. Consequently, he used every effort to have a paper established in
the town, and the _Potter Kansan_, one of the best edited small
weeklies, and one of the most prosperous newspaper enterprises in the
State, is the result of his dream. He has been foremost in the cause of
education, and he worked unremittingly toward the erecting of the
present modern school building and the establishment of a graded school
system in the town. Such men as Mr. Jewell are the kind of citizens
every town needs, and Potter has been the gainer for his civic
enterprise and the fostering of the growth of his adopted city.
WILLIAM R. DONNELLAN.
William R. Donnellan, hardware merchant and postmaster of Lancaster,
Atchison county, Kansas, was born June 25, 1868, at Lancaster. He is one
of six children of John and Mary J. (Davidson) Donnellan, as follows:
Anna A. (Ostertag), of Atchison; Thomas E., Parsons, Kan.; William R.,
the subject of this sketch, Lancaster, Atchison county, Kansas; Emma B.,
Atchison, Kan.; Margaret (A. Manglesdorf), Atchison, Kan.; Junia (J.
Cleary), Shannon township farmer. John Donnellan, the father, was born
in Ireland in 1827. When twenty years of age he left the Emerald Isle to
trust his fortunes in America. Landing at Ellis Island, N. Y., he set
out for the interior of New York State and found employment on a dairy
farm. After a few years of hard labor there he went to Crawfordsville,
Ind., and worked in a hardware store. In 1856 he left Crawfordsville and
came to Kansas, where he preëmpted 160 acres of land in Lancaster
township, Atchison county, and built a small, four room house and lived
in the most primitive way. When he first broke the soil on his farm he
used oxen, but later, as he prospered, he used improved methods of
farming. He died on his farm in 1893. The mother of the subject of this
sketch was born in Harrisburg, Pa., and died in 1892, a year preceding
the death of her husband.
William R. Donnellan was born and reared on his father’s farm in
Lancaster township. He attended the public schools of Lancaster, and at
the age of twenty-one went to Kansas City, Mo., and secured employment
as a motorman and conductor in the service of the Street Railway Company
there. Three years later he became shipping clerk for the A. J. Harwi
Hardware Company of Atchison, Kan., and a year later returned to his
home and engaged in farming on the home place. He remained on the farm
until 1903 when he moved to Lancaster and purchased the hardware stock
of H. O. Whittaker. This is a large store, carrying $8,000 worth of
stock. In politics Mr. Donnellan is a Republican. He was elected mayor
of Lancaster in 1907 and served until 1911. In 1903 he was appointed
postmaster.
Mr. Donnellan was married in 1893 to Lillian M. Sanders, who was born
February 12, 1870, at Lewisburg, Pa. She is a daughter of George L. and
Elizabeth (Harrison) Sanders, both natives of Pennsylvania. They have
one child, Eva M. (Carson), living in Lancaster. She is a graduate of
the high school and business college. Mr. Donnellan is a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Modern Woodmen of America, and the
Knights and Ladies of Security lodges.
LAFAYETTE T. HAWK.
The biographical annals and the history of Atchison county, Kansas,
record three distinct periods of settlement in Kansas and Atchison
county. The first was the real pioneer era, when an influx of settlers
came, who were the first to break the prairie and lay the foundation for
future development. The second was directly after the Civil war, when
many people came from all parts of the East and European countries. The
later period was in the eighties, when there came from Ohio and
Pennsylvania many excellent American families who have prospered and
taken leading places in the civic and agricultural development of the
county. The Hawk family, of old Pennsylvania German stock, came to this
county in the latter era. Lafayette T. Hawk, substantial and well
respected, and prominent farmer of Benton township, was among this
number, who can be reckoned among the latter-day old settlers of the
county, and who has resided here for over thirty-four years, and has
worked his way upward from the station of comparatively a poor man to a
position of affluence in the county.
L. T. Hawk was born August 22, 1849, in Coshocton county, Ohio, a son of
Jonathan and Margaret (Neede) Hawk, both of whom were born and reared in
the Buckeye State. Jonathan Hawk was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, in
1822, and was a son of Leonard Hawk, born in Pennsylvania, of German
parents. Leonard Hawk was an early immigrant in Coshocton county, Ohio,
and settled in that county when the whole region was a wilderness and
carved a farm from the dense woods which covered that part of the
Buckeye State in the early part of the nineteenth century. He first came
to Ohio in 1814. Jonathan Hawk came into possession of the old home
place of his parents’ in Coshocton county, but sold out in 1883, and
came to Kansas, to join his son, Lafayette T., who had preceded him to
Atchison county by one year. During the first year of his residence
here, he made his home on his son’s farm, and then purchased the Shell
property in Effingham, where he made his home until his demise in
December, 1889. He was the owner of eighty acres of land which he
farmed. Jonathan Hawk was the father of eight children, namely: Sarah
died in Ohio; Lafayette T., of whom this review is written; Mary Jane
Roll, widow of Samuel Roll, and residing in Effingham; Samuel, living in
Oklahoma; Mrs. Margaret Denbow, of Great Bend, Kan.; George Leonard, of
Oklahoma; Edith Elzina died at the age of four years; John, deceased.
The mother died in January, 1891, at the age of sixty-six.
Lafayette T. was reared on the ancestral farm in Coshocton county, Ohio,
and received his education in the district schools of his neighborhood.
He learned in his youth to do the hardest kind of farm work and was
taught by his parents the best methods of tilling the soil. When a young
man he became imbued with the desire to locate in the West where
opportunities seemed to be greater than in his home State, and he saved
his earnings toward this purpose. Not long after his marriage he came to
Kansas, in 1882, and located in Benton township, Atchison county. His
cash capital being limited to the sum of $300, he deemed it advisable to
rent land for the first year, then bought his first farm of 160 acres at
the purchase price of $25 per acre. This farm was necessarily bought on
time, but with good management and industry, Mr. Hawk was enabled to pay
out and add considerably to the improvements of his place, which is one
of the most attractive in the county and one of the most fertile and
productive. Mr. Hawk also added ninety acres to his land holdings in
later years, and invested his surplus in western land which he traded
for the Effingham Hotel property which he now owns. He is a stockholder
and director of the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Effingham, he is also
a stockholder in the Midnight Oil Company, a producing concern with
headquarters at Morris, Okla.
Mr. Hawk was married March 21, 1874, to Miss Harriet Pitt, of Coshocton
county, Ohio, and who was born in Kentucky. To this union have been born
the following children: Charles, who served in the Twenty-second
regiment, United States infantry, during the Spanish-American war, and
is at present chief of police at Shawnee, Okla.; John D., a prosperous
and progressive farmer in Benton township; Margaret, wife of Clem
Higley, a farmer living in Center township, near Pardee; Homer, who was
killed in a railway accident in October, 1913; Fred, died in April,
1913, and who had held the position of cashier of the Farmers and
Merchants Bank of Effingham prior to his death; Wilbur D. Hawk, business
manager of the _Atchison Daily Champion_, and former deputy warden of
the Federal penitentiary, Atlanta, Ga.; Mrs. Mary Foster, of Trenton,
Mo.; Robert, a farmer in Benton township; Clifford, a farmer and
auctioneer in Benton township, and Vera, at home with her parents. The
mother of these children was born, November 8, 1851, in Kentucky, a
daughter of William and Frances (Phillips) Pitt, the former a native of
New Jersey and the latter of Vermont. In 1853 Mrs. Pitt and their
children removed to Coshocton county, Ohio, Mr. Pitt having died when
Mrs. Hawk was an infant. Two of the three children were reared: Mrs.
Hawk and Mrs. Lenore (Miller), who died in September, 1915, at Carlton,
Ohio. Mrs. Pitt’s second marriage was with Dr. Ephraim P. Stewart, of
Coshocton county, Ohio, where he practiced after moving from Carroll
county, Ohio, his birthplace.
With the exception of a few years spent in Atlanta, Ga., with his son,
Wilbur D., when on duty as deputy warden of the Federal Penitentiary,
Mr. Hawk has lived continuously in Atchison county, since 1882, and has
taken an active and influential part in the affairs of the county. He is
a stanch Republican in his political affiliations, but has never sought
political preferment. He and the members of his family are affiliated
religiously with the Lutheran denomination, which was the faith of his
father. He is prominent in lodge circles and is a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Knights and Ladies of
Security. He is one of the original Central Protective Association
members and is a charter member of Sunny Hill Lodge, No. 158, of
Effingham, and is prominently connected in Central Protective
Association circles throughout the State of Kansas, having organized
seven lodges in this State.
JAMES R. GRAGG.
For nearly fifty-nine years James R. Gragg, wealthy farmer and stockman,
of Lancaster township, Atchison county, Kansas, and the present township
treasurer, has lived in Kansas, and is one of the real pioneers of the
State. Since a lad six years of age he has been a resident of Atchison
county, and has lived to see the once wild and barren prairie become one
of the garden spots in America, and has seen the towns and cities grow
within the borders of the county where once was a wild, unbroken waste.
When a boy he was taught by his father that the greatest returns from
the pursuit of agriculture could be obtained by the raising and feeding
of live stock, and he has endeavored to follow his father’s teachings in
this respect and has met with success, resulting from following a
definite plan of getting the best results from his efforts. He is a
descendant of a southern pioneer family, who were among the original
settlers of eastern Tennessee, and again were pioneers in Clay county,
Missouri, early in the nineteenth century. It is a topic of interest to
compare the comfortable residence and farm buildings of Mr. Gragg, at
this day, to the log cabin in which he was reared, and the stock shed
made of poles and slough grass, which his father was forced by necessity
to erect in the early days of the settlement of Kansas. Few families
settled in Lancaster township as early as the Graggs, and in point of
years of residence, James R. is probably the third oldest living settler
of the township.
James R. Gragg was born February 5, 1851, in Clinton county, Missouri.
He is a son of Jefferson and Mary (White) Gragg, to whom fifteen
children were born. Four children, two sons and two daughters, are still
living, as follows: Mrs. Mahala Martin, Gower, Mo.; James R.; Mrs. Alice
Muks, near Oklahoma City, Okla.; and Bishop or Bascomb Gragg, Stafford,
Kan. The Graggs are of Irish descent. The father of James Gragg was born
in 1814 in eastern Tennessee. When he was a child his parents removed to
Clay county, Missouri, where he grew up as a farmer. In the spring of
1856 Jefferson Gragg came to Kansas and settled in Leavenworth, where he
had taken a claim. He sold this a year later and came to Atchison
county, and preëmpted 160 acres in section 24, Lancaster township, on
which James R. is now living. He paid $1.25 an acre. As soon as he took
charge of the land he built a log house, twelve feet square and also
erected a hay barn with a slough-grass roof. He brought a covered wagon
to Kansas and lived in it until the log house was ready for occupancy.
During the border war he was forced to return to Missouri for three
months, but at the end of that time came back to Kansas and continued to
improve his farm. It was slow work, as he did most of the plowing with
oxen and this took a great deal of time, but he was able to accumulate a
little money slowly, and in ten years erected a better house on his
place. He had a hard fight for existence the first few years in the face
of crop failures, droughts and grasshoppers, but when he retired, about
1890, he owned 640 acres of land which he divided among his children,
and lived with them until his death, April 10, 1910. His wife, the
mother of James R. Gragg, was born in Clinton county, Missouri, in 1816,
and died in 1912. She was the daughter of Robert White, and her mother
bore the maiden name of Cooley. Both parents were members of the South
Methodist church, and helped to organize and build the Bethel church in
Grasshopper township, which was one of the early Methodist churches in
Kansas. Both parents are buried in old Huron cemetery.
James R. Gragg, the subject of this sketch, was reared on the farm where
he now lives, and attended school in Lancaster and Huron, Kan., although
his early educational opportunities were limited. In early days the
father and his son were stock buyers on a large scale. The father did
the actual buying, and the son had charge of the herds on the prairie.
They did a large business in trading and buying and selling stock, and
the son has continued this until the present time. James has always
lived on the Gragg land and was with his father until the latter retired
in 1890 and the land was divided. James later bought out the other heirs
and now owns 1,040 acres in Atchison and Wabaunsee counties, 560 acres
of this land being located in Atchison county, with three sets of farm
buildings. He gives a great deal of attention to the stock selling part
of his business, and feeds and winters 150 head each winter. On December
25, 1872, Mr. Gragg married Mrs. Viola A. Norris, who was born May 26,
1855, in Buchanan county, Missouri. She is a daughter of David and
Martha (Cook) Norris. The father’s family came from Kentucky and the
mother’s from Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Gragg have two children: Jefferson
K., born February 23, 1875, in Atchison county, Kansas; married in
October, 1894, to Ella Walls, and has two children, Paul, aged twenty
years, and George, aged twelve years. He is now engaged in the live
stock commission business in Kansas City, Mo., and Arch, born May 3,
1889, who is farming on the home place, married March 11, 1914, to Edna
Wilson, of Lancaster township, a daughter of J. E. Wilson. Jefferson,
the older son, completed a course in the Atchison Business College. Mr.
Gragg is a Democrat, and has been a member of the school board, and is
now treasurer of Lancaster township. He is a member of the Methodist
church and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen of
America.
URI SEELEY KEITH.
Uri Seeley Keith is one of the grand old men of Atchison. His career has
been interesting, and borders upon the romantic, when many incidents in
which he has figured are recounted. A valiant soldier of the Union
during the Civil war, it fell to him to perform the arrest of
Vallandingham in Ohio when his activities in favor of the Confederacy
had rendered him obnoxious to the State and Federal governments. Few men
in Atchison have had a more varied or active life than Mr. Keith. He was
born June 27, 1841, in Massillon, Ohio, the son of Fordyce M. and
Parthena J. (Seeley) Keith, natives of New York and the Western Reserve
of Ohio, respectively. Mrs. Keith was a daughter of Uri Seeley. Fordyce
M. Keith was born in 1816 and died May 14, 1906. He was a son of Ansell
Keith, a native of New York. The Keith family is descended from two
brothers who were sons of General Keith, at one time a field marshal in
the Russian army. He was a Scotch-Englishman, who quarreled with Queen
Elizabeth and left England to take service under Peter the Great of
Russia. His two sons immigrated to America in 1690, one settling in New
York and the other going to the Southland. Two branches of the family
thus sprang from these sons of Marshal Keith. Brigadier General Keith
served under General Washington during the Revolution and the General
lived at the Keith home in New York for a time. Ansell Keith served in
the War of 1812. The Seeley family originally settled in Connecticut.
Uri Seeley was born in 1791 and settled in the Western Reserve on a land
grant of 100 acres where he died. Ansell, the father of Fordyce M., and
grandfather of the subject of this sketch, settled in Lorain county,
Ohio, in 1832, near Elyria and was a contractor and builder. Data
regarding the members of the family is as follows: Ansell Keith was born
June 24, 1786, and Betsy M., his wife, was born January 2, 1794; Uri
Seeley was born May 25, 1791, and died August 10, 1877, and his wife,
Abbey, was born October 23, 1792.
[Illustration:
U. S. KEITH
]
[Illustration:
C. H. BURROWS.
Commander G. A. R. Post No. 93.
]
[Illustration:
CHARLES WILSON
]
[Illustration:
MARY K. WILSON
]
Fordyce M. Keith was born April 27, 1816, and died May 12, 1906. His
wife, Parthena, was born August 4, 1816, and died at Seneca, Kan.,
February 18, 1893. He received an excellent education and was admitted
to the practice of law in Ohio, practicing for some years at Massillon.
He served in the Union army, enlisting in the One Hundred and
Seventeenth regiment, Ohio infantry, and later the First Ohio heavy
artillery. His service extended throughout the war from August 30, 1862,
to August 1, 1865. He was a major in the One Hundred and Seventeenth
regiment, Ohio infantry, and was created a lieutenant colonel in the
heavy artillery August 1, 1863. He came to Kansas in 1866 and practiced
law in Brown county where he served as county attorney. In old age he
resided with his granddaughter in Oklahoma. He was the father of the
following children: Uri Seeley; Fordyce M., Jr., who died in Pueblo,
Colo., August 1, 1900; Clarence M., and Herbert Brewster died in
infancy; Lamar Burrett, born February 22, 1847, and lives at Seneca,
Kan.
Uri Seeley Keith was educated in the common schools of his native State.
He enlisted April 20, 1861, when Lincoln issued his first call for
troops. His first enlistment was in Company I, Eighteenth regiment, Ohio
infantry, for a period of three months, which was extended to five
months. He again enlisted in Company E, Eighty-seventh regiment, Ohio
infantry, June 2, 1862, for four months. November 4, 1862, he enlisted
in Company K, One Hundred and Seventeenth regiment, Ohio infantry, for a
period of three years, or until the close of the war. He was promoted to
the second lieutenancy of Company C, First Ohio heavy artillery,
December 23, 1863. The One Hundred and Seventeenth regiment was
transferred to the heavy artillery organization May 2, 1863 with Mr.
Keith as second lieutenant and later as first lieutenant of his company.
He was regimental quartermaster sergeant of the One Hundred and
Seventeenth regiment, Ohio infantry, and received his final discharge at
Knoxville, Tenn., July 25, 1865, and was mustered out at Camp Denison,
Ohio, August 1, 1865. This valiant soldier participated in the following
engagements: Chickamauga, September 10–20, 1863; Knoxville, November 16
to December 9, 1863; Campbell Station, October 16; Carter Station,
December 21; Lowden, October 15, 1863; Rogersville, December 19;
Taylorsville, December 19, 1863; Seaversville, October 9, 1864;
Charleston, October 19, 1864; Cleveland, October 24; Columbus, October
27; Franklin, November 30; Nashville, December 12 to 16, and Duck River,
December 18, 1864. He served as quartermaster of the Second battalion of
the First Ohio heavy artillery from April 1, 1864, to the close of the
war. Other engagements in which he fought were: Rich Mountain, July 7,
1861; Gainesville, July 24, 1861; Red House, July 29, 1861 (Eighteenth
Ohio volunteer infantry) and Harper’s Ferry, September 14 and 15, 1862;
South Mountain, September 13, 1862; Antietam, September 17, 1862
(Eighty-seventh Ohio volunteer infantry) Paintville, January 11, 1863;
Peach Orchard, January 27, 1863 (One Hundred and Seventeenth Ohio
volunteer infantry). An interesting episode in Mr. Keith’s career which
has been published in various newspapers is worth recording. He was the
man who arrested Vallandingham at Dayton, Ohio, May 1, 1863. Early in
1863 while he was an officer in the heavy artillery, General Burnside,
then in command of the Department of the Ohio, issued general order
Number 38, which was especially obnoxious to southern sympathizers, the
Knights of the Golden Circle, and Associated Sons of America, and
kindred organizations which had for their object the placing of every
obstacle in the path of the Federal Government and the overthrow of the
Union. Vallandingham made an incendiary speech at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, on
May 1. Captain Hutton of General Burnside’s staff was detailed to effect
the arrest of Vallandingham, who was to be transported to the rebel
lines. Lieutenant Keith was second in command of the expedition. They
reached Vallandingham’s home at midnight, and knocked at the door, but
the woman of the house stated that the object of their capture was not
at home. Lieutenant Keith did not believe her and pushed open the door
and rushed up stairs to find Vallandingham, who was in bed. When Keith
broke open the bed room door his prisoner rushed to the window and
called “Asa,” presumably in search of assistance, but no one came to his
aid. He was then taken to Cincinnati and sent through the Union lines to
the Confederate general, Bragg, for safe keeping.
Mr. Keith came west to Doniphan county September 8, 1865, and located in
the town of White Cloud for a time and then came to Atchison. He bought
a farm a few miles west of White Cloud which he cultivated until 1872,
and then followed railroading for a time. In 1872 he was in the employ
of the United States Government on the Great Nemaha Indian reservation.
In 1875 he again returned to White Cloud and from there went to his
farm, remaining until 1885 when he engaged in the hotel business at
Hiawatha until 1890. He removed to Atchison in 1890, and was employed
for a number of years as inspector of city contract work. He has
superintended practically all of the paving and contract work which has
been done in the city except during the past few years since his
retirement. Many miles of paving have been honestly done under Mr.
Keith’s supervision and he has had charge of the building of practically
all of the concrete culverts erected in the city. For four years he
served as deputy sheriff of Atchison county.
Mr. Keith was married September 11, 1866, to Mary Frances Grossman, who
was born in Massillon, Ohio, August 24, 1842, the daughter of Daniel and
Martha Grossman, natives of Pennsylvania, and pioneer settlers in Ohio.
The Grossmans moved to Ohio in 1836 and both died in Massillon. To Mr.
and Mrs. Keith have been born the following children: Minnie L. born
July 24, 1867, wife of J. R. Bailey, of Enid, Okla., and the mother of
one child, Mildred, wife of Dr. Lee J. Render, of Falls Valley, Okla.,
and who also has one child, Bailey Adrian; Mrs. Ruby V. Doyle, born
April 1, 1870, and residing in Lincoln, Neb., the mother of one child,
Halbert K.; Edward C., and Charles R., born June 6, 1875, of whom
Charles R. died May 24, 1898, and Edward C. married Elsie Schmitt,
engaged in United States mail service. Mr. Keith’s daughter, Mrs.
Bailey, is a talented writer and has issued a volume of poems which has
decided literary merit. She is counted among the leading authors of the
“New State” and is fast gaining a place in the world of letters.
Mr. Keith has always been aligned with the Republican party and has been
active in its councils during his long and busy life. He is a Mason and
a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Post No. 93, having been
quartermaster of the local post for the past eight years. He served as
post commander at White Cloud, Hiawatha, and of E. C. Johnson post, of
Atchison, which was later consolidated with Post No. 93. Few men can
look back over long years crowded with incidents and with such activity
as has fallen to the lot of Uri S. Keith, one of the last of the Old
Guard who offered their lives that the Union might be forever preserved.
As the years pass and time rolls on the ranks of those brave men who
wore the blue are becoming thinner and their steps more feeble. It is
only the more vigorous who have survived thus far and Mr. Keith is one
of them.
CHARLES H. BURROWS.
Charles H. Burrows, Union veteran and clerk in the Missouri Pacific
railroad offices at Atchison, has had a long and varied career in the
railway service of the country. He is a native of the Buckeye State and
was born at Cincinnati, November 19, 1843, a son of James H. and Nancy
A. (Lynchard) Burrows, both of whom were descended from old American
families. James H. Burrows was born in Maryland and his wife was a
native of Kentucky. The Burrows family settled in America in about the
year 1647. There were at first two branches of the family, one of whom
settled in Maine and the other on the south shore of Maryland. The
great-grandfather of Charles H. settled first in Maryland and here his
grandfather, William Burrows, was born and reared. The sons of the
family were sea-faring men and several of the descendants of the first
Burrows have been officers in the United States navy. Nancy A., wife of
James H., was a daughter of Mr. Lynchard of Virginia, who became a
pioneer settler of Kentucky, and married a member of the Talbot family,
of Virginia. He had two sons and four daughters and came from Kentucky
to Hamilton county, Ohio, in 1838. In 1845 James H. Burrows was married
in Cincinnati where he made his residence. Upon the outbreak of the
Civil war both father and son, C. H., enlisted. The family removed to
Springfield, Ill., in 1858 and here James H. operated a cooperage shop.
As before stated, father and son enlisted in the same regiment, the One
Hundred and Twenty-fourth Illinois volunteer infantry, on September 10,
1862, for a period of three years. The father died in the Union hospital
at Cairo, Ill., after his honorable discharge on account of sick
disability, in February, 1863. Charles H. fought in the battles of
Champion Hills, Vicksburg, Spanish Fort, Blakely, and took part in many
other engagements until the close of the war. He was also engaged in the
Mobile campaign. Charles H. was the eldest of a family of five children,
namely: Charles H., James died in 1856; Mrs. Alice A. Direen, of
Jacksonville, Ill.; William C., deceased; Emma D., wife of Judge Henry
Phillips, of Beardstown, Ill.
In 1873 he, with whom this review is directly concerned, left the old
home in Illinois and began his railroading career which was eventually
to end with his present berth in Atchison. Forty-two years of
railroading, or rather fifty years of railway service with the exception
of two years in the practice of law at Mondamin, Ill., is the proud
record of this sturdy patriot. During this long period he has served as
telegraph operator, superintendent of telegraph, engineer, brakeman,
conductor, etc. He was in the employ of the Chicago & Alton railroad,
the Wabash, the Gilman, Clinton & Springfield railroads, while located
at Springfield, Ill., and was in the employ of the Vandalia when it was
building out of St. Louis. As early as 1868 he was in the employ of the
Missouri Pacific railroad and was with the Denver and Rio Grande in the
early days of its operation; was with the Ft. Scott & Memphis railroad
one year; the St. Louis & St. Joseph road; was station agent on the old
Hannibal & St. Joe road; served on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
railroad in Missouri and Iowa; the Chicago & Northwestern; the Sioux
City & Pacific; the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley roads. After a
railroad experience in the states of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska,
Kansas and Colorado, he came to Atchison in September of 1890, as a
clerk in the offices of the Missouri Pacific railroad system.
He was married August 10, 1871, at Lawson, Mo., to Susan E. Morrow, a
native of Missouri, and daughter of Vincent Morrow. To this union has
been born one child, Pearl, wife of Adolph Frailey. By a former marriage
with B. F. Shumalt, Mrs. Frailey had two children, Ruth E. and Frances
Shumalt. Mr. Burrows has been and is now an independent voter, not
allied with any particular political party or creed. He is fraternally
connected with the Sons and Daughters of Justice, the Fraternal Order of
Eagles, and the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and has served as
commander of the Grand Army Post, No. 93, of Atchison, for the past two
years. Commander Burrows has the great distinction of having been one of
the original organizers of the Grand Army of the Republic and has been
prominent in the affairs of this great organization since 1866. In
February of 1866, he assisted in the organization of Springfield, Ill.,
Grand Army Post, No. 2. He served as officer of the day when this noted
post (the second in America) was organized.
JAMES EDWARD WILSON.
James Edward Wilson, farmer, of Lancaster township, Atchison county, was
born December 14, 1865, on the farm which he now manages. He is a son of
Charles and Mary K. (Brown) Wilson, who were the parents of eleven
children, as follows: Sarah E. died in infancy; Louise C. died when two
years old; William M., deceased; Andrew J., Hill City, Kan.; Martha E.,
deceased; Nancy J., deceased; James E., subject of this sketch; Julia A.
Martin, Wabaunsee county, Kansas; Charles T., Atchison county, and
Samuel H., deceased. The father, Charles Wilson, was born February 7,
1827, in Bartholomew county, Indiana, a son of Martin and Elizabeth
(Mitchell) Wilson, who migrated to Missouri. Charles Wilson left the
farm in Buchanan county, was married and came to Kansas. In 1855 he
settled on the farm which his son now owns in section 14, Lancaster
township, Atchison county. The father with his wife and infant child
went through many hardships in their pioneering days.
The family came from Buchanan county, Missouri, in a covered wagon,
driving a yoke of oxen. He preëmpted 160 acres, the site of his son’s
present farm. He built a small log cabin to shelter his family, and,
with the aid of two other men, he began to break the prairie. This was
slow work with oxen, and during the first year they cleared but ten
acres each. Fifty acres of the farm was in fine wooded land along the
creek. This furnished them plenty of lumber with which to build their
cabin and other buildings. They planted the land, which was in tillable
condition, in corn, and were soon able to live in some degree of
comfort, but it was still a wild country. An old trail ran near the
farm, now known as the “Military trail,” and the Indians following this
frequently camped along the trail near the farm. They prowled around the
house frequently, and the father always kept close to his house to
protect his family from possible danger. Those were the true pioneer
days, and they had to go to Atchison for their provisions. It was a
lonely trip, only one house being between the Wilson cabin and Atchison.
But in those days people only bought the barest necessities of life
which were all that they could afford. They paid two dollars a bushel
for corn meal during the second spring there. Wild game was plentiful
and furnished much of the food. Badgers and wolves were numerous and
gave danger to the sheep of the pioneers. Many nights were spent with
loaded gun within reach in preparedness for the wolves which could be
heard howling about. On the trips to Atchison to trade travelers and
pioneers often stopped at Mormon Grove for a rest. The place was about
seven miles west of Atchison, and took its name from the fact that the
Mormons, on their way to Utah, frequently camped in this grove over
night. Travelers along this road always watered their horses from the
pond there.
After two years the settlers began to feel the need of educational
advantages for their children, as there was no school near enough for
the children of the pioneers to attend. For the two years they had lived
here they had no school advantages, and the men of the neighborhood
joined together and built a log school house. It was in the district now
known as old Huron school district No. 24. A postoffice also was
established near the school house, but when the railroad was built
through that section of the county, the postoffice was moved to Huron,
where the station was located.
Charles Wilson died in 1897, at the age of seventy years. His wife, Mary
K. Wilson, was born October 31, 1831, in eastern Tennessee. She was a
daughter of Joseph and Polly (McCurry) Brown. They were natives of
Tennessee. The mother is now living with her son, James, the subject of
this sketch. She had a great deal to do with the success of her husband.
When she came into the wild country with her young husband she was
facing a new life, and one which was to test her courage and strength,
but she was equal to the occasion. She toiled early and late on the new
farm and helped shear sheep and spun wool. The paternal grandparents of
James Wilson were Martin and Elizabeth (Mitchell) Wilson, both natives
of Indiana.
James Wilson was reared on the farm where he now resides. He was
educated in the district school and went to work on his father’s farm,
and is now farming the place, renting it from his mother. He operates
about 115 acres of it.
Mr. Wilson was married in 1880 to Martha Louisa Culpepper, who was born
in Dallas county, Iowa, September 5, 1867. She is a daughter of Benjamin
and Amanda (Lowery) Culpepper, natives of Alabama. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson
are the parents of eleven children: Charlie, deceased; Anna Edwards,
Dardanelle, Ark.; Archibald, living at home; Edna Gragg, Lancaster
township, Atchison county, Kansas; Frank, living at home; Marie, at
home; Eva, Thelma, Leslie and Vera, all living with their parents, and
one child died in infancy. Mr. Wilson is a Republican and is now a
member of the school board for his district. He attends church, although
he is not a member of any denomination. Mrs. Wilson, mother of James E.,
is the oldest living pioneer settler of Lancaster township.
FREDERICK W. KOESTER.
Frederick W. Koester is a native of Atchison, born April 6, 1860. He is
a son of Fred and Anna (Bertha) Koester, the former a native of Germany
and the latter of Zurich, Switzerland. The mother immigrated to America
when she was a young girl, coming to this country with her mother. Fred
Koester, the father, was born in Minden, Germany, January 18, 1835, and
came to America when he was about twenty-one years of age. He landed in
New Orleans, but remained there only a short time when he came up the
Mississippi river by boat, and located at St. Louis. He remained there
but a short time, however, when he went to St. Joseph, Mo. While there
he learned the barber’s trade, and in 1857 came to Atchison, Kan., and
established one of the first barber shops in the city. He was an
industrious and thrifty man and although not highly educated, he was a
man of unusual foresight and good judgment. Soon after coming to
Atchison he began to invest his savings in real estate and became one of
the extensive property owners of the city in the early days. He built
several residences which he sold at a good profit and he built one of
the first brick houses in Atchison. He also built the first pressed
brick house in the city. The building is still standing and is known as
the Koester house situated on Second street, between Commercial and
Kansas streets. This was considered one of the magnificent residences of
Atchison in the early seventies. Fred Koester owned a number of business
places in Atchison as well as several residences. Frederick W. Koester
is the older of a family of two. His sister, Susie Bertha, is now the
wife of Carl Hachette, and resides in San Francisco, Cal.
Frederick W. Koester attended the public schools of Atchison, and later
was a student in St. Benedict’s College, and also attended the Jesuits’
College, St. Louis, Mo. His father had advanced ideas in regard to
education, and endeavored to give his children the best that could be
obtained. After completing school F. W. Koester began life as a clerk in
D. C. Newcomb’s dry goods store at Atchison. He remained there but a
short time, however, when he went to work in his father’s barber shop
and later opened a six chair shop of his own. He then went on the road
as traveling salesman for a barber supply house, and was thus engaged
for seven years. He went to California in 1886 where he was employed as
timekeeper for a railroad contractor.
Mr. Koester was married in 1883 to Miss Bertha Bracke, a daughter of
Albert Bracke, an Atchison county pioneer, who was engaged in freighting
across the plains in the early days. Later, he was engaged in a cattle
and butchering business in Atchison and was a very extensive dealer.
Mr. and Mrs. Koester are the parents of two children, Albert, born on
January 21, 1885, is in the employ of the Seaton Foundry, Atchison, and
Frederick William, Jr., born July 25, 1895, in San Francisco, is a
student in Kansas University, department of journalism, and during his
vacations is connected with the _Atchison Champion_ as a reporter. Mr.
Koester was appointed by Governor Hodges secretary of the Kansas State
Barbers’ Board in April, 1913, serving two years. He is a member of the
Knights of Pythias, the Red Men, and secretary of the insurance
department of Golden Cross. He and his family are members of the
Christian Science church. Mrs. Koester died October 13, 1904, and on
October 23, 1915, Mr. Koester was united in marriage with Miss Lillie
Barth Hood, a native of Kentucky, and daughter of J. H. Hood, of
McCloud, Okla.
CHARLES MYERS.
Charles Myers, farmer, stockman and contractor, of Lancaster township,
Atchison county, Kansas, was born May 13, 1864, in Buchanan county
Missouri. He is a son of Augusta and Hulcia (Snyder) Myers, and one of
nine children, seven of whom are living. The father was born in Germany
in 1818 and left there with his parents when a young man, the family
settling in Cincinnati, Ohio. At the age of twenty-two he came to St.
Joseph, Mo., and learned the carpenter’s trade. Later he engaged in
farming in Missouri, and came to Atchison county, Kansas, and bought the
old Captain Evans farm in Shannon township. He improved it considerably
and then sold it, and moved to Atchison, where he resided until his
death in 1905. The mother was born in Indiana. She died in 1903, at the
age of seventy-four years.
Charles Myers, the subject of this sketch, was reared on his father’s
farm in Shannon township and attended the district school. He worked for
his father until he was twenty years old, and then rented land in
Doniphan county, Kansas, and farmed for himself, and later came to
Atchison county, where he rented a farm for two years. Having
accumulated some capital, he bought 120 acres in section 13, Lancaster
township, and farmed this for sixteen years, meanwhile making extensive
improvements. He sold this land and bought 160 acres in section 23,
Lancaster township, in 1904. The farm was comparatively unimproved and
he set to work building the place up. He erected a large, modern, nine
room, brick house, superintending the work himself. He also built an
excellent barn and a commodious ice house. These buildings were planned
by Mr. Myers, who had learned the carpenter’s trade at odd times. He
selected the materials used in the construction and by his careful
supervision thus insured the best of buildings. This work comes natural
to Mr. Myers, although he has never spent much time at the work, but it
was so easy for him that he just naturally drifted into it. Whenever he
had any work to be done he personally took it in hand. Other important
improvements were made by Mr. Myers. Several additions to his farm land
were made, and he now owns 240 acres of good tillable farm land. Mr.
Myers also keeps graded stock and takes pride in keeping up his breeds.
Besides these activities Mr. Myers holds stock in the Independent
Harvester Company of Plano, Ill.
He was married to Eva Kenbal in 1897. Mrs. Myers was born August 19,
1867, in Ohio, and is a daughter of Nelson Kenbal. Eight children have
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Myers: Ora (Snyder), Frazer, Mo.; Edna
(Taylor), Lancaster township, Atchison county, Kansas; Merrel, Augusta,
Glen, Hubert, Irene, Lafayette, all living at home. Mr. Myers is a
Republican in politics and has served on the school board of his
district. He belongs to the Baptist church, and is a member of the
Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Myers, in addition to his occupation as a
farmer and stockman, has found time for constructing several buildings
in Atchison county, and has been remarkably successful in his
construction work.
GEORGE H. T. SCHAEFER.
George H. T. Schaefer, contractor and builder, has achieved such a
reputation in his avocation during his more than thirty years of
residence in Atchison, as to place him in the front rank of artisans in
his adopted city. History is constantly repeating itself, when we
chronicle the fact that “from small beginnings, great things have
grown.” Mr. Schaefer began contracting in a small way, after quitting
the first job which he held in Atchison. The results of his handiwork
are now seen on every hand, and include the most stately and costly
buildings of the city and structures throughout Kansas and Nebraska.
Through all of his success Mr. Schaefer has remained the same,
unassuming, plain citizen, whose motto has been, “honest work for honest
money.” There are few men in his profession who can point to a more
successful career, and who can look back over long years spent in
erecting abiding places for mankind, and realize that every contract was
fulfilled faithfully and the work well and consistently done to the
satisfaction of the owners.
G. H. T. Schaefer was born November 11, 1857, in Indianapolis, Ind., and
is a son of Rev. J. George and Minnie Schaefer. His father was a native
of Stuttgart, Germany, and his mother of Hamburg, Germany. Both came to
this country in youth with their respective parents. The father was
educated for the Lutheran ministry, and in 1863 left Indianapolis and
took charge of a church at Lanesville, Ind., twelve miles from New
Albany, on the stage route in Indiana. From that time on he filled
various charges and died in the midst of his pastoral labors in New
Boston, Ind. The mother now resides in Atchison. He, with whom this
review directly concerns, left the parental roof when thirteen years of
age and went to Indianapolis, where he learned the trade of carpenter.
After serving his apprenticeship he spent two years in the vicinity of
his father’s home at New Boston, working for an old German contractor.
This experience was invaluable, inasmuch as his employer took contracts
for erecting barns, churches and bridges from the standing timber. The
future contractor here learned to create buildings from the virgin
timber of the forests. Desiring to gain a wider experience in his
calling, in 1876 he went to Evansville, Ind., then, as now, an important
river city. He spent one year in this city, and during that time
witnessed the great cyclone which swept this section of the country and
destroyed lives and many buildings. Mt. Carmel, Ill., was badly wrecked,
and he arrived on the scene of the disaster in time to help bury the
dead and assist in the rebuilding of the city. In 1879 he went to
Greenville, Miss., and during the winter the yellow fever, which had
been epidemic in New Orleans, broke out in Greenville, and he managed to
catch the last boat leaving the wharf for St. Louis. From here he went
to Kansas City, but no sooner did he set foot on the streets of this
growing metropolis than he was besieged by real estate men who wanted to
sell him property. He became disgusted with Kansas City and took a train
for Atchison. Here he purchased a ticket for a point 200 miles west on
the Central Branch railroad and landed at Cawker City. Upon alighting
from the train and making inquiries about work he was informed that,
inasmuch as he did not belong to any lodges, and had no connections in
the western town, he could get no work. However, he got a job and was
kept busily employed for two years, building in the surrounding country.
He erected dwellings and business houses in Jewell and Mitchell
counties, at a time when the country was in the initial stage of its
development. He invested his savings in property, only to see his hopes
of gaining a permanent competence swept away, when the hot winds came
and ruined the corn crop and scorching everything in its path. Mr.
Schaefer promptly left and decided to locate in Omaha. On his way
eastward he drew matches to decide upon his stopping place and the
choice fell to Atchison. This was in 1882. On reaching this city he saw
in the _Atchison Globe_ an advertisement, reading: “Competent man wanted
to take charge of building,” etc. The following morning he applied for
the job, and was given the post of foreman by Mr. Jones, a contractor,
who had undertaken to erect the Presbyterian church, a stone structure.
He received two dollars per day for his services as foreman, with the
understanding that his employer was to advance his wages according to
his worth as a foreman. As foreman he did not receive any more pay than
the men who were working under him; consequently, when he had supervised
the erection of the stone structure as far as the roof, he quit the job,
despite the fact that his boss offered him three dollars per day to
continue working for him. Mr. Schaefer’s first contract in Atchison was
the erection of a barn on south Third street. Since his first job he has
not lacked for contracts, and he has been employed repeatedly by the
same patrons who were well satisfied with the work done. His most
notable building operations included the magnificent Ingalls high school
building, erected at a cost of $125,000; the G. C. Wattles residence,
the Bradley residence, the Blish, Mize Silliman building, costing
$125,000; three double officers’ quarters at Ft. Leavenworth; thirty
church edifices in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska; the Presbyterian
church in Ottawa, Kan., and the Masonic Temple in Atchison, built at a
cost of $65,000, and completed in December of 1915. He employs from ten
to seventy-five skilled men, as occasion requires. He formerly operated
a large planing mill on Eighth street, which was destroyed by fire in
1913. Mr. Schaefer was married in 1884 to Lizzie Jacobs, of Atchison,
Kan. To them have been born the following children: Clara, wife of John
Frommer, Oak street, Atchison; Minnie, wife of John Krusemark, 915 North
Eleventh street; Etta, wife of Albert Frommer, St. Paul, Minn.; Corrine,
wife of Paul Smith, merchant, of Atchison; Julia, Edwin, Laura, and
Ruth, at home with their parents. Edwin is a machinist in the employ of
the Railway Specialty Company. Mrs. Schaefer was a daughter of J. H. and
Catharine Jacobs, who came from Germany in 1860, accompanied by their
three children: Henry, deceased; Mrs. Schaefer, and John E., and a son,
Conrad V., was born here. The Jacobs first located in Pennsylvania, and
then in Ft. Wayne, Ind., removing from there to Illinois in 1865, and
coming to Atchison in 1867. J. H. Jacobs was employed by the Hixon
Lumber Company, and died February 8, 1896, at the age of seventy-two
years. His wife died December 26, 1895, aged seventy-three years.
Politically. Mr. Schaefer is an independent Republican, and served one
term as city councilman from the Fifth ward. He is a member of the
Lutheran church, belongs to no lodges, and is essentially a home man
when he is not engaged in building. His investments are principally in
Atchison real estate and Texas farm lands. His handsome residence at 911
North Eleventh street was remodeled after his own ideas and presents an
attractive appearance.
AMEL MARKWALT.
Amel Markwalt, farmer, of Lancaster township, Atchison county, Kansas,
was born in Germany July 14, 1864. He is a son of Gottlieb and Minnie
(Schraum) Markwalt, and was one of five children, as follows: Gustave,
Manistee, Mich.; Augusta, address unknown; Amelia (Lidkye), widow,
Manistee, Mich.; William, Manistee, Mich.; and Amel, the subject of this
sketch. The parents were both German, and died when Amel was but five
years of age. He knows nothing of his parents, except that his father
was in the German war of 1866, when the Prussians were fighting the
Austrians.
The schooling of Amel was neglected, owing to the death of his parents,
and he spent his youth working on a farm in Germany. In 1882 he sailed
for America, and upon arriving in this country he went to work in the
lumber mills at Manistee, Mich., remaining there three years. He then
came to Atchison, Kan., and worked in the Central Branch railroad shops
as a laborer. He did various kinds of work of a mechanical nature during
his six years of employment there. He then engaged in the retail oil
business for himself, and finding this profitable he enlarged his
business to include the selling of ice. A few years later he sold his
business, and in 1903 bought 160 acres of land in Lancaster township and
moved there the following year, where he has since resided. He has built
a fine residence and a barn since buying the land, and has a two-acre
orchard. His barn is an excellent one, with a capacity of fifty tons of
hay.
Amel Markwalt was married in 1885 to Augusta Stolp, who was born in
Germany August 2, 1865, and left her native land in 1883 and came to
Atchison, Kan. She is a daughter of August and Charlotte (Weisgean)
Stolp, both now deceased. Her father came to Atchison, Kan., in 1884.
Mr. and Mrs. Markwalt have six children: Ida, wife of J. Ziegler,
Nortonville, Kan.; William, living at home; Henry, deceased; Charlotte,
Elsie, and Otto, living at home. Mr. Markwalt does not affiliate himself
with any political party, believing that he can vote more
conscientiously by voting independently. He is a member of the German
Lutheran church.
RUFUS BENTON PEERY.
Dr. Rufus Benton Peery, president of Midland College, Atchison, is a
true type of scholarly and progressive educator, one of that class of
men who seem fitted or destined for the high places, and are adapted by
profound learning and natural endowments to be instructors and leaders
of the youth of the land. His work as the head of Midland College is
attracting favorable attention. He has won fame as a lecturer and
achieved a measure of renown as an author. Endowed with inherent powers
of leadership, he occupies a place among the educators of the nation
which is unquestioned, and he is universally recognized as a man of
brilliant attainments and a strong personality. Although he has occupied
his present position but a few years, during that time Dr. Perry has
done much toward advancing the interests of Midland College and pushing
this institution forward to its rightful place among the seats of
learning in the Middle West.
Dr. Perry is a native of Virginia, born April 9, 1868, at Burke’s
Garden, and is a son of Thomas and Sarah Henrietta (Repass) Peery. His
father was a farmer and stockman, who eventually became an extensive
buyer and shipper of live stock in Virginia and Tennessee. He traveled
over the region in quest of cattle and other live stock, buying it up
and shipping train loads to the New York City markets. Rufus B. early
learned to do farm work and assisted his father as other boys have been
wont to do on the farm. After he had entered college he became his
father’s assistant in the live stock business during his vacations, and
thus earned the money to continue with his studies. During his boyhood
on the farm he raised a fine mare named “Gypsy” which was the apple of
his eye. He became ambitious to enter college, but had not the means to
make the start. His only recourse seemed to be to part with “Gypsy,” and
thus get the funds to realize his ambition. He sold his favorite for the
sum of $125, and was enabled to matriculate in Roanoke College, Salem,
Va., from which institution he was graduated with the degree of A. B. in
1890. He received his Master’s degree from Roanoke in 1895.
Imbued with a desire to enter the ministry, he continued his studies in
the theological seminary at Greensburg, Pa., for the next two years, and
was ordained in the English Lutheran ministry in 1892. Actuated by a
desire to assist the Japanese people, he became a missionary and
remained in the Orient from 1892 to 1903. For four years he was
professor of theology in Japan, and traveled extensively in the Orient,
including the Chinese Empire. Being a close student and observer of
condition in the lands which he visited while pursuing his missionary
tasks, he was enabled to write entertainingly, the results of his
observations, and embody them in an interesting volume “Gist of Japan,”
in 1897, which has run through eight editions. He has also written and
published a volume entitled “Lutherans in Japan,” issued in 1900. His
“Lectures to Young Men” (Japanese) was issued in 1902. Dr. Peery is a
regular contributor to religious and secular journals. His work has
decided literary merit, and he has attained high rank as a writer on
religious subjects. In the year 1895 he received the degree of Ph. D.
from the Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg. He took the non-resident
course in theology and homiletics in Chicago University from 1898 to
1901. In 1909 Dr. Peery received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from
Midland College. Upon his return from the far East he lectured in
America on Oriental and missionary subjects from 1903 to 1905. In 1905
he received a call and accepted the pastorate of St. Paul’s Lutheran
Church at Denver. He had charge of the Denver church until 1912 when he
came to Atchison and became president of Midland College. While in
Denver he served as president of the Denver Ministerial Association from
1909 to 1910, inclusive. Dr. Peery is a trustee of the Tabitha Home at
Lincoln, Neb.; a member of the Red Cross Society of Japan; member of the
Sons of the American Revolution Society, and the Phi Gamma Delta.
He was married to Letita Rich, of Wytheville, Va., August 21, 1905. To
Mr. and Mrs. Peery have been born six sons, namely: Harold Rich, Thomas
Benton and Rob Roy, born in Japan; Paul Denver, and William Wallace,
born in Denver, Colo.; Donald Lee, born in Atchison. Dr. Perry, like
many other college heads, began at the bottom rung of the ladder, and is
essentially self-made. His first teaching experience was in the district
schools of his native State. While a student at college he served as
private tutor to the student son of a wealthy man and thus earned
sufficient funds to continue his studies. His father gave him a share of
the proceeds of the live stock business which he earned in New York
City, during his vacations. Nothing develops the individual more than
the necessity of striving for himself, and thus developing his own
powers by combining the gaining of a livelihood with the attaining of a
higher education. Dr. Peery’s aspirations have been noble, and he has
been actuated by the high and unselfish purpose of being of service to
his fellow men. Atchison is proud of Midland College and the great work
being done within its walls, and the reputation of the college is
growing under Dr. Peery’s management.
JOHN L. RATERMAN.
From office boy to manager for one of the most widely known concerns in
the United States, or the civilized world, is the story of the life of
him of whom this review is written. The history of J. L. Raterman,
manager for R. G. Dun & Company, Mercantile Agency, shows what can be
accomplished by beginning at the lowest rung of the ladder, learning
every detail of the business, and eventually fitting himself for the
important and responsible position of manager.
The business of R. G. Dun & Company was first established in Atchison in
1886, with G. T. Bolman as manager. Other managers succeeded Mr. Bolman
in the course of time, but Mr. Raterman has held the position longer
than any of his predecessors. He began as office boy in 1890, when but
fourteen years of age, it being necessary for him to leave his school
studies when a pupil of the sixth grade. During his idle moments around
the office, young Raterman practiced on the typewriter, and it was not
long until he was able to do typist’s work efficiently and
satisfactorily. He was soon promoted and became a regular typist, and
mastered shorthand at the end of three years of study. Seven years later
he was advanced to the post of chief clerk, and in 1900 was promoted to
the important post of manager of the Atchison branch of R. G. Dun &
Company. As manager, Mr. Raterman travels over seven counties,
collecting necessary data regarding the business concerns of his
territory, including the six counties of northeast Kansas and DeKalb
county, Missouri. He is personally acquainted with practically every
business man in his district.
J. L. Raterman was born in Atchison, Kan., October 25, 1876, a son of
John and Elizabeth (Myers) Raterman, both of whom were born in Germany,
immigrated to this country in youth and were married in Cincinnati,
Ohio. John Raterman came to Atchison in 1857, and was one of the well
known pioneer merchants of the city, operating a grocery store here in
the early days. He conducted his grocery store for twenty-five years,
and died December 21, 1902. Mrs. Raterman is living in Atchison at the
advanced age of eighty years. Mr. and Mrs. Raterman left a family of
seven children.
ULYSSES B. SHARPLESS.
Ulysses B. Sharpless, treasurer of Atchison county, is one of the most
successful citizens and business men of the county. He is the son of
pioneer parents. Reared on a pioneer farm, successful as a merchant and
public official, he is universally recognized as one of the most
influential men of Atchison county today. Mr. Sharpless is a descendant
of old American stock, his ancestors having been among the original 100
Quaker families brought over from England by William Penn, and colonized
near and within the city of Philadelphia, in 1682. Joseph Sharpless, the
direct ancestor of U. B. Sharpless, erected a stone house on the
ancestral farm of the family in 1700, near the city of Chester, Pa.,
which is still standing in an excellent state of preservation. One room
of this old and stanch dwelling is still in exactly the same condition
as the original builder left it. The timbers and boards of this house
were drawn together by means of wooden pins instead of nails.
U. B. Sharpless was born January 18, 1870, in Delaware, a son of
Benjamin T. and Susan (Green) Sharpless, the former of whom was a native
of Delaware, and the latter a native of Pennsylvania. The family resided
in Delaware until 1878 and then migrated to the West, settling on a farm
near Pardee in Atchison county, Kansas. Here Benjamin T. lived and
reared his family of six children, as follows: Mrs. Cora E. (Burdick),
deceased; Mrs. Olivia R. (Pfouts), deceased; Mrs. Susan Ella (Shifflet),
of Atchison; Ulysses B., with whom this narrative is directly concerned;
Carrie died in infancy; Mrs. Emma M. Hulings, Center township, Atchison
county. Benjamin Sharpless died in 1894, and the mother of the foregoing
children departed this life in 1908.
[Illustration:
C. M. VOELKER,
County Clerk.
]
[Illustration:
U. B. SHARPLESS,
County Treasurer.
]
[Illustration:
S. S. KING,
County Commissioner.
]
[Illustration:
CHAS. T. GUNDY,
City Judge.
]
He of whom this review is written was eight years of age when the
Sharpless family came to Atchison county. He was reared to young manhood
on his father’s farm and learned to cultivate the soil under the
tutelage of his father, who was a successful farmer. He was educated in
the common schools and early learned to apply his education to the best
advantage for himself. When twenty-one years of age he obtained his
first position as manager of a general store at Monrovia, Kan. This
position entailed a number of duties which kept him busily employed for
a number of years. From 1891 to 1903 Mr. Sharpless managed the Monrovia
store, served as postmaster, and performed the duties of station agent
for the railroad company. However, he found time to take an interest in
politics and became active in the affairs of the Republican party when
yet a young man. In 1903 he removed to Effingham, Kan., and engaged in
the hardware and implement and grain business with considerable success.
He still retains his interest in this business, although now a resident
of Atchison. Mr. Sharpless has also become a land owner in the county
and has farm lands near Effingham.
He was married in 1892 to Sadie A. Cook, born and reared in Atchison
county, and a daughter of Thomas F. and Margaret Cook, who were pioneer
settlers of this county, coming here from Missouri in 1860. To Mr. and
Mrs. Sharpless have been born five children: Gladys A., Margaret S.,
Edith Aubine died at the age of seven years; Lois A., and Alice Marie.
All of the living children are attending the Atchison public schools.
The civic and political career of Mr. Sharpless has been an interesting
one and he has risen from the rank and file of the Republican party to
become one of the recognized leaders of his party in Atchison county and
Kansas. His first civic office was as police judge of Effingham. He also
served a term as mayor of that city. He was elected a member of the
State legislature from legislative district No. 3, in Atchison county in
1910 and again elected to succeed himself in 1912. He was also a member
of the Atchison County High School board and served as treasurer of this
organization. In the fall election of 1914 he was elected to the office
of county treasurer by a large and handsome majority—evidence of his
great personal popularity among all classes of citizens. He assumed the
duties of the treasurer’s office in October of 1915, and is bestowing
the same care and application in the discharge of his public duties in
this capacity as he has always taken in the conduct of his personal
business affairs.
Mr. Sharpless is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons,
Blue Lodge, No. 48, and is a Knights Templar and Royal Arch Mason. He is
past noble grand of Spartan Lodge, No. 250, Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, of Effingham, Kan., and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of
America, of the latter city. He is also fraternally allied with the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles,
and the Fraternal Aid Union of Atchison.
CONRAD M. VOELKER.
It is certainly a distinction to be known as the youngest county clerk,
and in all probability the youngest county official ever elected in the
State of Kansas. Such is C. M. Voelker, the efficient and justly popular
county clerk of Atchison county. Political honors and preferment rarely
come to a really young man, unless he is especially qualified for the
work, and has a host of friends who are willing and able to support him
and his candidacy. Although young in years, Mr. Voelker is performing
his duties in a manner which would reflect distinct credit upon an older
individual.
Conrad M. Voelker is a native of Atchison county, having been born May
20, 1889, on a farm, four miles north of Atchison, in Shannon township.
His father is Conrad Walker, who was born in Germany November 20, 1856,
a son of Karl and Christiana Voelker, who immigrated to America in 1861,
and settled on a farm, two miles north of the city, where he operated a
dairy and truck farm until his demise. To Karl and Christiana Voelker
were born the following children: Conrad; Mrs. Joseph Biddle, of
Atchison; Henry, residing in New Orleans; Karl Voelker was twice
married, Mrs. S. L. Loyd, of Shannon township, being a daughter of the
second marriage. Conrad, father of C. M. Voelker, was reared to manhood
in Atchison county, and when he became of age, settled on a 160 acre
farm, four miles north of Atchison, which is now one of the best
improved farms in the State of Kansas. For a number of years he
specialized in the cultivation of cabbage, making a success of the
venture, and accumulated considerable money. He became known far and
wide as the “Cabbage King” of Kansas, always having the first cabbage on
the market, and shipped the product of his fields to points in Kansas
and Nebraska in carload lots. The Voelkers have a beautiful, well
appointed home, with excellent out buildings. Conrad Voelker married
Jennie Mueller, who was born in Cooper county, Missouri, November 15,
1862, a daughter of German parents. To Conrad Voelker and wife were born
the following children: Fred C. W., a farmer, living north of Atchison;
Conrad M. The Voelkers are members of the Lutheran church.
Conrad M., with whom this narrative is directly concerned, was educated
primarily in the district schools, his education being supplemented with
one year’s study in the German school in Atchison, and a course in
Midland College, where he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of
Science in 1909. He then completed a course in commerce and bookkeeping
in the Atchison Business College. While a sophomore of Midland College
he won first honors in the oratorical contest, and represented his alma
mater at the State oratorical contest, held in Salina, Kan. While yet a
student he received the appointment of deputy county clerk under Edward
Iverson, March 13, 1910. He was elected to the office on the Republican
ticket in November, 1912, and again elected without any opposition in
the fall of 1914.
A more intimate personal view of this rising young man was published in
the _Atchison Champion_ just previous to assuming the duties of his
office after his election:
“Conrad M. Voelker, county clerk elect, when he takes office January 1,
1913, will have the distinction of being the youngest man ever elected
to the office of county clerk in Kansas. Mr. Voelker, while he appears
to be much older, is but twenty-three years old. He is popular; this was
proven by the fact that he was elected by a majority of 955 votes.
“Mr. Voelker is the son of Conrad Voelker. He was born four miles north
of Atchison. He never passes up an opportunity to learn something. When
four years old Mr. Voelker started to school. He was graduated from the
eighth grade at ten years of age, and in 1909 he was graduated from
Midland College. When he finished the common schools he studied in a
German school for one year; so he both reads and writes German. He
completed a double course at the Atchison Business College in five
months, graduating in March, 1910, and a few days later he was appointed
deputy county clerk. When Mr. Voelker was eighteen years of age he took
part in the Kansas intercollegiate oratorical contest, which was held at
Salina. There were nineteen other contestants, several of them being men
twice the age of Voelker, who were going through college for the second
time. Voelker won fourth place in the contest, which in addition to
being quite an honor, demonstrated that he has great ability as a public
speaker.
“There is no doubt that he will be re-elected two years hence. He
undoubtedly will prove to be one of the most efficient county clerks in
the history of the county.”
The last paragraph was prophetic, as Mr. Voelker’s second election to
the office in 1914 will testify. His re-election was the best evidence
of his success and strong personal popularity. Mr. Voelker is affiliated
with several fraternal societies, an active party worker, what is known
as a good mixer, and a rising young citizen of the county, whose future
career will be well worth watching, inasmuch as he is bound to gain
greater honors in the years to come, and to climb to a still higher
place in the civic life of his home county and State.
SAMUEL S. KING.
Samuel S. King, a member of the board of county commissioners of
Atchison county, was born in Moorestown, N. J., May 16, 1856. One year
later, in 1857, he came to Atchison with his parents, John and Violet
King, on a boat owned by Dr. Challiss. The King family arrived at
Atchison in April of 1857. John King soon afterward settled on a farm
six miles southwest of Atchison, where Samuel S. lived until he was
fifteen years of age. He then came to Atchison for the purpose of
attending the city schools. During vacations he worked for McPike &
Allen (later McPike & Fox). After finishing his public school education
Mr. King was employed as bookkeeper for some time by White, Washer &
King, now the S. R. Washer Grain Company. He was also employed as
bookkeeper by McPike & Fox, W. F. Dolan and others until 1881. In that
year he was appointed by Senator John J. Ingalls to a position in the
United States railway mail service and was sent to New Mexico and
Arizona as railway mail agent. Here he remained in the United States
Government service for about two years and then resigned to enter the
employ of P. B. Brannen & Company as bookkeeper and manager at
Flagstaff, Ariz. This firm conducted a jobbing house at Flagstaff which
was then the largest town on the railroad between Albuquerque, N. M.,
and Los Angeles, Cal. In June, 1886, he and his family returned to
Atchison and Mr. King became the confidential bookkeeper of McPike &
Fox, wholesale druggists, and remained with this concern until the fall
of 1897, when he resigned to take up his duties as county clerk.
Mr. King had always been more or less interested in politics and he was
elected to the office of county clerk on the Republican ticket in the
fall of 1897. He was subsequently reëlected and held the office for nine
years, or until January, 1907. He then engaged in the real estate and
insurance business which he still follows with offices at 106 North
Fifth street. Mr. King was elected mayor of the city of Atchison in
April, 1907, and served as the city executive for two years, and later
was appointed city clerk to fill out the unexpired term of C. A. Hawk,
who resigned. In the fall of 1914 he was elected county commissioner, an
office which he is at present filling in a capable and efficient manner.
Mr. King was married April 14, 1885, at Flagstaff, Ariz., to Miss Sarah
Hawks, of Newton, Kan. Two children have been born of this marriage,
namely, Grace and Victor. Mr. King is affiliated with the Ancient Free
and Accepted Masons, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the
Fraternal Order of Eagles, of which lodge he is a trustee, the Modern
Woodmen of America, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Mystic
Workers, and the Central Protective Association. There are few citizens
who are more highly esteemed, and Atchison county has not a more popular
public official than S. S. King.
CHARLES T. GUNDY.
This history of Atchison county is issued not only for the purpose of
inscribing a record of those who have built up the county and were here
during the pioneer days and endured the hardships of the pioneer life,
but for recording as well the life stories of those who came later and
have won places of merit and distinction in the affairs of the city and
county of Atchison. It is probable that few men have attained such
eminence as Judge Charles T. Gundy of the city court of Atchison during
his brief residence here. The esteem in which he is held and the
successful manner in which he has performed the duties of his judicial
position are decided evidences of his ability. His standing among the
members of the legal fraternity is high and he well merits the
confidence of his fellow citizens. The conduct of his court is marked
for the fairness of his decisions in suits of equity and the settlement
of such cases as come under his jurisdiction have been accomplished to
the satisfaction of the parties concerned.
Judge Charles T. Gundy is a native of Scotland county, Missouri, and he
was born and reared on his father’s farm, eight miles northwest of the
thriving and progressive city of Memphis. He evinces much of the
characteristics of the good people of Scotland county, who are noted for
their hospitality and kindliness. He was born February 10, 1878, and is
a son of George M. and Margaret M. (Needham) Gundy, natives of Illinois
and Missouri, respectively. George M. Gundy was born in 1845 and is a
son of Jacob Gundy, a native of Holland, who settled in Scotland County,
Missouri, as early as 1846. George M. still resides on the old home
place of the Gundy family. This farm consists of 160 acres of well
tilled land on which have been reared six children out of a family of
seven, as follows: Charles T., with whom this review is directly
concerned; Louis W. and Jacob R., farmers of Scotland county, Missouri;
Mrs. Corda Crawford, of Scotland county; Gladys, deceased; Pearl and
Merl at home with their parents. The mother of these children is a
native of Scotland county, and was born in 1858, a daughter of David
Needham, a veteran of the Civil war and a scion of an old Kentucky
family. He served three years as a soldier in the late rebellion, and
after returning home met an accidental death by a falling tree. The
ancestral home of the Needhams is near Frankfort, Ky. The Gundy family
is held in high esteem in their home county and the members of the
family are well respected by their friends and acquaintances.
Charles T. Gundy was educated in the rural schools and attended the
Memphis Academy for one year. Circumstances were such that he found it
necessary to do considerable studying at home and “burned the midnight
oil” in the pursuit of an education. He fitted himself for teaching and
taught for four years in the schools of his native county. In the
meantime he read law and was successful in being admitted to the bar in
1902. For three years thereafter he practiced his profession in Memphis.
He then secured a Government position in the postoffice department at
Washington, D. C., and pursued his law studies in the National
University at Washington. He graduated from that institution May 30,
1908. Having small desire to become a mere cog in a great machine, as
seemed to be the lot of thousands of Government employes, he resigned
his position in October of the same year and located in Keokuk, Iowa,
and had charge of the farm loan department of the State Central Savings
Bank. He resigned this position in March of 1910 and came to Atchison,
opening an office in the Auld building on Commercial street. Since this
time he has built up an excellent practice. He was appointed city judge
in December of 1910 to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge
J. P. Adams. He was elected to the office in 1912 and again elected in
1914.
Judge Gundy was united in marriage with Eleanor M. McCormick on August
12, 1909. Mrs. Gundy was a resident of Washington, D. C., and is a
daughter of John McCormick, who died in 1905. Judge Gundy is a member of
the Baptist church and he and Mrs. Gundy have a wide circle of friends
who esteem them for their many likable qualities.
The Republican party has always claimed the allegiance of Judge Gundy
and he takes an active and influential interest in political affairs.
LOUIS R. KUEHNHOFF.
Louis R. Kuehnhoff, farmer and stockman, of Lancaster township, Atchison
county, Kansas, was born January 1, 1880, on the farm where he now
resides. He is a son of Charles and Caroline Kuehnhoff, and is one of
nine children, six of whom are living. The father was born in Germany in
1841, and left there when a boy of sixteen years and sailed for New
York. He remained there a short time when he went west, arriving at St.
Joseph, Mo. He had not been there very long when the Civil war broke out
and he enlisted at St. Joseph in Company B of the Volunteer infantry.
After the war was over he was mustered out at Lexington, Mo., having won
a praiseworthy military record in his country’s service. He then
returned to civil life in St. Joseph, Mo., where he worked for a time as
a laborer, receiving eight dollars a month. Shortly afterward he came to
Atchison county, Kansas, and bought eighty acres of land in section 10,
Lancaster township. Using oxen, he broke the ground on his newly
acquired farm and began to improve it as rapidly as his resources would
permit. In 1894 he retired and went to live at the National Soldiers’
Home at Leavenworth, Kan., where he died in 1903. The mother was born in
Germany in 1845, and died in 1899.
Louis R. Kuehnhoff grew up on his father’s farm, and attended Eden
district school, and also District No. 3, Lancaster township. He
remained at home until he was nineteen years of age, and the next five
years worked as a farm hand, and then he bought the old home place of
200 acres. Louis Kuehnhoff is an industrious worker. He keeps graded
stock of all kinds and takes a special interest in fine mules. He always
attends the county fairs in Atchison county and occasionally makes
entries. On April 26, 1905, he was married to Lena Werner, who was born
in Germany November 2, 1881. Her parents were John and Marie (Earhart)
Werner. The father was born in Germany in 1815. He belonged to the
Masonic lodge in Germany. In 1889, when he was quite an old man, he came
to America and settled at Leavenworth, where he died in 1891. The mother
was born in Germany January 17, 1843, and is now living with her
children, of whom there are six, as follows: Adam, teamster,
Leavenworth, Kan.; Martha Nolan, deceased; Lizzie Loman, Bowling, Kan.;
Katherine Weimer, Wallula, Wyandotte county, Kansas; Lena, wife of Mr.
Kuehnhoff, of this review. Mrs. Kuehnhoff attended the Pleasant Ridge
school and the German school, north of Potter, Kan. She is a good,
loyal, hard-working mother, and has three children: Marie, Edna and
Edwin. The last two are twins and are three years old. In politics Mr.
Kuehnhoff is independent. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows. He is a progressive farmer and is constantly on the lookout for
improvements in agricultural methods. He has a fine eight-room house and
a large barn equipped with modern conveniences. He also has a stone
milk-house which was built by his father years ago. He has a small but
thriving orchard and has twelve head of fine cattle. Besides these, he
has four horses and a span of excellent mules. Mr. Kuehnhoff takes a
lively interest in his stock and in his farm generally.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN SANDERS.
All honor to the pioneer settlers of Kansas. It was they who broke the
way in the unpeopled wilderness and endured the hardships and privations
on the frontier of advancing civilization in order that the path of
empire might be pushed steadily westward, ever onward toward the setting
sun. Their work is done; the halcyon pioneer days when this broad land
was but a vast unbroken wilderness of waving prairie grass, dotted here
and there with belts of timber along the streams, is no more; towns and
cities have sprung up; the locomotive shrieks its way over the ribbon-
like rails, hauling the products of the land to the millions in need of
sustenance, where once the hardy freighters drove their mule teams and
guarded the precious freight overland to the homes of the settlers in
the West. Benjamin Franklin Sanders is one of the few remaining members
of the “old guard,” who sixty years ago began the task of reclaiming a
wilderness. He is one of the ranking old pioneer settlers of Atchison
county and has lived a record which is thrilling and interesting to a
high degree. He is the only living “ye old time fiddler” in Atchison
county, who with his comrade was wont to play at the old-time dances and
“hoe downs” in northeast Kansas fifty years and more ago.
Benjamin Franklin Sanders is now living retired in Center township,
Atchison county. He was born August 8, 1833, in Franklin county,
Missouri, and is a son of George and Elizabeth (Graham) Sanders, who
were the parents of the following children: Nancy married William
McQuillan, and by her second marriage became Mrs. William Burns, and
died in Benton county, Missouri; Robert, deceased; Oliver died in Jewell
county, Kansas; Lydia married Fred Wilming, and died in Shannon
township, Atchison county; William died in Franklin county, Missouri;
and Benjamin, the subject of this sketch. Benjamin F. Sanders was sent
to the country school in Franklin county, Missouri, but the school was
poor and the roads were bad in the winter time, and, altogether, he had
little opportunity to learn. His whole time in school, he estimates, did
not amount to more than three months. His father was a Kentuckian and
followed farming all of his life, and died in 1856, at the age of fifty-
five years. The mother was a native of Missouri and of Scotch descent.
She died in Kansas, in 1872, at the age of seventy-six years.
[Illustration:
_B. F. Sanders_
B. F. Sanders and His Great-Granddaughter, Gail Maxine Keirns,
Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Art Keirns.
]
At the age of twelve Benjamin F. Sanders was apprenticed to a carriage
and wagon-maker in St. Louis, Mo. He remained there twelve years, coming
to Kansas in 1856. He returned to Missouri for a short time and then
came back to Kansas the following year. He opened a wagon-maker’s shop
at Monrovia, Atchison county, which he operated for two years. He then
engaged in farming, taking up a claim near where Effingham now stands.
This was ten miles from any settlement then and Mr. Sanders, fearing
that the district would not be settled, gave up his claim and preëmpted
eighty acres one and one-half miles north of where he now lives, in
Center township, and began his life as a real farmer. He hired a man
from Iowa who had six yoke of oxen to break up his land. He lived in the
most primitive way during the first years on this place. Coffee, for one
thing, was very high in price at that time, and there also was very
little money in the territory, so a substitute for coffee was used. They
mixed wheat and rye, calling it essence of coffee, and used this as a
beverage in place of the regular coffee. It was the same way with flour.
When he needed flour he would take a quantity of wheat to the gristmill
where it would be ground into coarse flour, nearest mills being at
Valley Falls and Kickapoo. His nearest postoffice was at Oceana, just
north of Pardee, where the postoffice was located later. In 1860 Mr.
Sanders bought more land. At one time he owned as high as 400 acres of
land in Center township, Atchison county, Kansas. He went through the
whole evolution of civilization, beginning in a little log house on his
first eighty acres of land and passed through the wild days of the
border war. In 1863 he was a member of Captain Whittaker’s company of
Colonel McQuigg’s regiment of the Kansas State militia. He participated
in several skirmishes and was honorably discharged at Ft. Leavenworth in
1864.
In 1859 Mr. Sanders married Margaret Ramsey in Putnam county, Ohio, who
was born in 1840. She was a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Dorothy)
Ramsey, natives of Ohio. She died in 1868, leaving the following
children: Ira, farmer, Whiting, Kan.; Bertha (Mrs. C. G. Moore),
deceased; William and Little Joy, both deceased. Mr. Sanders was married
a second time in 1870 to Mrs. Elizabeth (Ramsey) Keirns, a sister of his
first wife. She died in May, 1904. She was the widow of Rufus Keirns,
and by her last marriage three children were born: Henry R., farmer,
Pardee, Kan.; Mrs. Etta C. Browne, Pardee, Kan.; Benjamin, Jr., died
when seventeen years of age.
Mr. Sanders is a Republican and a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church. He is now living with Arthur Keirns, a son of his step-son. In
these days his life is rather quiet compared with the early-day
existence which he passed through. Indians camped near his farm when he
first came to Kansas. The trail to the Kickapoo reservation passed near
his farm and the Indians were constantly traveling back and forth along
it. He has a hobby of “fiddling.” He calls himself a “fiddler” in
distinction from a violinist. He played at the first corn carnival held
in Atchison and won a prize. He used to play with Samuel King, a well
known “fiddler,” and they played for all the old “hoe down” or “break
down” dances. Although he is eighty-three years old, he still plays his
“fiddle” with as much vim as ever and his ear is just as ready as it was
when he was a young man. In addition to being a farmer, Mr. Sanders has
done a large amount of carpenter work in Kansas. He has built a number
of barns and other buildings. Mr. Sanders was elected to the office of
township trustee and held the office two terms, having been reëlected at
the close of his first term.
KARL AUGUST KAMMER.
Karl August Kammer, farmer and stockman, Lancaster township, Atchison
county, Kansas, was born on the farm where he now lives, October 12,
1869, and is a son of Karl and Joehanna (Hida) Kammer. He is one of six
children: Joehanna (Gutzman), deceased; Emma (Fuhrman), Lancaster
township; Karl, subject of this sketch; Julius, Lancaster township;
Bertha H. (Buttron), Lancaster township; one child who died in infancy.
The father was born in Germany in 1840. Leaving there in 1862, he came
to Atchison county, Kansas, where he worked in a vineyard for two years.
The following four years he was employed in a brewery at Atchison, and
then farmed two years in Lancaster township. At that time he had a
chance to buy 160 acres in section 16 of Lancaster township, and with
the aid of a partner, the land was bought. He built a one-room shanty
and a thatched barn, and broke prairie with the oxen and planted the
first crop. Later a better house and barn were built, and gradually,
other improvements were added and a fine orchard planted. At the time of
his death, in October, 1910, Mr. Kammer owned 240 acres of land. The
mother was born in Germany, February 20, 1840, and married in her native
land just before coming to America. She died in 1904.
Karl Kammer, the subject of this sketch, was reared on his father’s farm
in Lancaster township. He attended High Prairie district school, No. 3,
and remained on the home farm until he was twenty-six years old, when he
rented some land from his father, and six years later he was able to buy
the land he had been renting. He improved the farm considerably and
stocked it with graded cattle, and now has an excellent farm, modern in
every respect, consisting of 160 acres of land, and also has a fine
orchard of two acres.
Mr. Kammer was married October 23, 1895, to Emma Buttron, a native of
Lancaster township, Atchison county, born August 14, 1870. She is a
daughter of Henry and Rosa (Scheu) Buttron, the father a native of
Germany, born in 1833. When a young man he left his native land and came
to America, locating in Pennsylvania where he worked as a blacksmith.
From there he went to Elgin, Ill., and continued at his trade, and in
1857, he moved to Atchison, Kan., following blacksmithing for a short
time. He then preëmpted 160 acres of land in Lancaster township, where
he built a house. The first crop was destroyed by grasshoppers, and he
was forced to return to his trade during the following winter. When
spring came, he went back to his farm and that year was successful and
his start was assured. Mr. Buttron bought more land and continued to
make improvements, and after a long and prosperous career he died in
1914. Mr. and Mrs. Kammer are the parents of three children: Katherine,
Rosa and Henrietta, all living at home with their parents. Mr. Kammer is
a Republican, and is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Mr. and Mrs. Kammer and family are members of the Evangelical Lutheran
church of High Prairie neighborhood.
MARSHALL J. CLOYES.
The demise of Marshall J. Cloyes May 5, 1915, marked the passing of one
of the sturdy figures who assisted in developing Atchison county, and
was one of the grand old men of the city. At the time of his death he
was probably the oldest living pioneer settler of Atchison county, in
point of age and years of residence in the county. For over half a
century he had been one of the well known and distinguished characters
whom people trusted and respected. In the days when strong men were
required to redeem a wilderness and make it habitable for men and their
progeny, Marshall Cloyes was one of those who never gave up the fight.
During the terrible drought of 1860, when scores of families deserted
their homes and left the State, he and his family were among those who
decided to remain and win out over the vagaries of nature. His faith in
the future of Kansas was amply justified as the years rolled on and ever
increasing prosperity came to him and his, as a just and equitable
reward for a faith and confidence bestowed upon the new country during a
time which tried men’s souls and caused weaker mortals to give up the
fight.
He was born at Salisbury, Vt., October 24, 1826, and descended from
sturdy New England ancestry. His parents were Elijah and Mary (Beach)
Cloyes. On his father’s side his ancestry can be traced back in the
centuries to two brothers who settled in New England in the seventeenth
century. His grandfather was William Cloyes, who fought for his country
in the War of 1812. The boyhood days of Marshall were spent in the town
of Salisbury, where he attended the public schools and later pursued his
education in a private school. He learned the trade of shoemaker but did
not follow it to any great extent. In 1847 he engaged in the lumber
business at Ripton, Vt., and was there for twelve years prior to coming
to Kansas. From the town in which he was born he came to Kansas,
arriving here in Atchison June 2, 1859. The following autumn his wife
and sons followed him and during the ensuing winter the family lived in
a two room hut, on the rear of the lots where Mrs. Jacob Leu’s residence
now stands. On February 21, 1860, they loaded all their goods in a
wagon, and with an ox team moved to a farm north of Lancaster. During
the night an old-time Kansas blizzard gave them a cold reception in
their new home. When Mr. Cloyes had agreed to pay $650 for his first
quarter section of land he was still shy $2.50 of the necessary amount,
and was forced to borrow this small sum from a kind neighbor. During the
following summer he worked in Oliver Davis’ sawmill and got enough
lumber to build a shanty on his farm. While this was building the family
lived in two rooms in the home of John S. Rust. In the fall of the bad
year of 1860, Mr. Cloyes decided to try to cash in on the reputation he
had left behind him in Vermont, and applied to an uncle for a loan of
$400. The uncle readily responded with the statement in his letter, “If
you are ever able, I know you will pay it back; if you are never able to
pay it back I can get along without it.” During the summer Mr. Cloyes
put in his spare time cutting prairie hay and stacking it. When fall and
winter came on, the returning freighters from Pike’s Peak were willing
to sell their oxen and wagons for almost any price. Mr. Cloyes invested
a part of his $400 capital in these outfits, wintered the cattle on the
hay, and in the spring was able to dispose of the oxen for more than
double the purchase prices. During the next two years he was enabled to
pay off all of his debts, and prosperity attended his efforts from that
time on. By the hard work and good management of himself and his two
sons he increased his holdings to an entire section of land. He remained
on the farm until 1872, then gave the farm to his sons and removed to a
home at 417 North Seventh street in Atchison.
On July 5, 1848, Mr. Cloyes was married to Miss Betsy Henderson, of
Middlebury, Vt., who died in Atchison in 1893, leaving two sons, Frank
E. and Mark S. On September 15, 1909, he took a second wife, the bride
being this time Mrs. Matilda Franke, of Atchison. She was born at
Thuringen, Germany, November 16, 1855, a daughter of John and Christiana
(Temme) Franke, who immigrated to America in 1858, making the long sea
voyage in a sailing vessel which took six long weeks to make a trip,
which is now made in six days. From New York City the Frankes came
directly to St. Louis, and there made their home until their removal to
Atchison. At the outbreak of the Civil war, John Franke volunteered his
services in defense of the Union which had given him a home. He served
in a Missouri regiment of volunteers for one year, and was then
discharged on account of serious disability, caused by the hardships
which he had undergone. He was never the same man afterwards, and died
in 1865 as a direct result of his disabilities incurred in behalf of his
adopted country. The mother and family lived in St. Louis until 1883
when they removed to Atchison. Mrs. Franke died some years later at the
home of her daughter, Mrs. Cloyes. Matilda Franke was first married to
Theo A. Franke, a native of Saxony, Germany, in 1879, and who came to
America when a youth of eighteen years of age, and settled in
Pittsburgh, Penn. Theo A. Franke was also a veteran of the Civil war,
having enlisted in 1861 in Company D, Seventy-fourth regiment,
Pennsylvania infantry. He served throughout the great conflict and was
wounded several times while participating in the battles fought by the
Army of the Potomac. He enlisted again, after being discharged on
account of a serious wound, and was a brave and valiant soldier who
fought for sheer love of his adopted country. Mr. Franke’s first trip to
Atchison was made in 1859, but he returned to Pittsburg upon the
outbreak of the Civil war and there proffered his services as stated
above. He returned to Atchison after the close of the war and here met,
in the course of years, Matilda, who was visiting friends in Atchison.
Their acquaintance ripened into a warm friendship which gave place to
love and they were married March 10, 1879. A happy wedded life endured
until Mr. Franke’s death in 1882. Children blessed this union as
follows: Rose M., wife of Bert Gilmore, an electrician of Atchison;
Elsa, wife of Fred Moore, a railway engineer of Falls City, Neb.; Theo
Franke, of Pierce, Ariz. During Mr. Franke’s first year of residence in
Atchison he was a freighter across the plains. Upon his return in 1865
he entered the grocery business and prospered, accumulating considerable
property interests. He was well known in Atchison and was considered to
be one of the city’s most substantial men.
Mr. Cloyes was prominently identified with the political affairs of the
county and was an influential leader of the Republican party for many
years. Even before coming to Atchison from the farm he had taken an
active interest in politics in his home township and county. He was
elected to represent his district in the State legislature in 1867,
leaving the impress of his individuality upon laws passed in the
following session. For eight years he served in the Atchison city
council and in 1891 was elected mayor. Two years later he was reëlected.
Honorable and thoroughly upright in all his dealings, his
administrations were characterized by integrity, sound judgment and an
unusual amount of good sense. He was a member of Washington Lodge, No.
5, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and all who knew him respected him
for his sterling worth.
MARK D. SNYDER.
Mark D. Snyder, retired farmer, living in Monrovia, Atchison county,
Kansas, is a native son of Kansas, having been born in Atchison county
November 2, 1858. He is a son of Hon. Solomon J. H. Snyder, one of the
influential figures of the early pioneer days of Kansas, and who was a
stanch and uncompromising adherent of the Free State principles. The
father of Mark D. was born in Washington county, Maryland, February 7,
1812, and died at Monrovia, Atchison county, November 28, 1873. When
eight years of age he accompanied his father to Tuscarawas county, Ohio,
where he was educated in the district schools and a graded school at
Canton, Ohio. Between 1830 and 1833 he cleared a farm of 160 acres of
heavily timbered land. In 1838 he married Susan Winklepleck and then
cleared and cultivated a tract of timber land which he purchased until
1848. His wife died in that year, leaving him with three small children.
He sold all of his holdings, placed his children with neighborhood
families and then traveled 4,000 miles in an endeavor to forget his
great loss and overcome his grief over the death of his wife. Later, he
married Eliza Fisher, and in 1852 removed to Indiana, and then came west
to Ft. Leavenworth in 1854. On the morning of May 4, 1854, he made the
first legal homestead claim ever entered in the State of Kansas,
comprising the land upon which the southern part of the city of
Leavenworth now stands, and then returned to Indiana for his family. On
his return to his homestead he found his claim “jumped” and the country
in the hands of border ruffians. He was driven from the polls at the
first election held in the Territory on account of his Free Soil
principles. Two other claims which he bought were wrested from him by a
pro-slavery “squatter court,” his life threatened, and he sought refuge
in an unsettled part of the State where Monrovia now stands. Here he
made his home and became prominently identified with the politics of the
new State of Kansas. In 1862 Mr. Snyder was elected to the State
legislature and served for two terms in the house of representatives,
and one in the senate, where he did faithful and conscientious work in
behalf of the people of Kansas.
Solomon J. H. Snyder was a devoted Christian, and was one of the
organizers of the first Lutheran church organization in the State, at
Monrovia, of which he remained a member until his demise. He was a great
Sunday school worker and wrote two very interesting and valuable Sunday
school books, “The Lost Children” and “Scenes in the Far West,” and at
the time of his death was engaged in the preparation of a work entitled,
“The Evidences of Christianity.” His influence was ever in behalf of the
betterment of mankind and his Christianity was of the practical kind
which introduces helpfulness, kindness and forbearance into our daily
lives. The children of S. J. H. and Eliza (Fisher) Snyder were as
follows: Angeline (Conley), deceased; Mrs. Sarah Dunn, of Anadarko,
Okla.; Mrs. Cora Shifflet, deceased; and Mark D. The three children by
his first wife were: Mrs. Susan Reck, deceased; Mrs. Anna Berndt, of
Mexico City; and J. H., San Diego, Cal. The mother of these children was
born in Ohio in 1838, and died at her home near Monrovia, in 1896.
Mark D. Snyder, with whom this review is directly concerned, was born,
reared, and reared his own family in Atchison county. He is one of the
real native born citizens of the county. Upon the death of his father he
took charge of the old home place, and when his mother died he purchased
the family estate. By the exercise of industry and economy, aided by
good financial judgment, he has become the owner of 240 acres of
excellent land which is well improved and one of the most productive
tracts of land in northeast Kansas. He cultivated his broad acres
assiduously until 1909, when he turned over the management of his farm
to his son, and retired to Monrovia, where he now resides.
Mr. Snyder was married November 30, 1881, to Helen M. Maxfield, and this
union has been blessed with eight children, namely: Elsie and Minnie,
deceased; John, who is farming the home place; Mark, living in Omaha,
Neb.; Mildred, deceased; Margaret and Marguerette, twins, deceased;
James, a boy twelve years old, living with John on the home farm. The
mother of these children was born in Henry county, Illinois, a daughter
of David and Anna (Freeze) Maxfield, who first emigrated from Illinois
to Sedgwick county, Kansas, and in 1873 came to Atchison county. Mrs.
Snyder died in 1909. Mr. Snyder has always been a loyal supporter of the
Republican party, is an attendant of the Lutheran church, and is a
member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, of Effingham, Kan.
EDWARD PERDUE.
Edward Perdue, president of the First National Bank of Atchison, and
extensive farmer, of Huron, Kan., has been a resident of Atchison county
for the past forty-five years. Like other successful men who were
pioneers in Kansas, he arrived here from Canada when a young man of
twenty years of age without money, but possessed of strength, a
willingness to work at honest labor and an ambition to succeed. How well
he has succeeded is seen in the substantial fortune which he has
accumulated and the honors which have been conferred upon him by his
fellow citizens.
Mr. Perdue was born on a farm in Peterboro county, Ontario, Canada, June
27, 1850, a son of Thomas and Catharine Perdue, natives of Ireland, who
left the Emerald Isle in their youth and settled in Canada. Edward
Perdue was reared to sturdy young manhood on the parental farm and
attended the country school in the vicinity of his home as opportunity
afforded. In March of 1870 he arrived in Atchison, and during his first
year worked at any odd jobs which were presented, including labor on the
streets and harvesting on the nearby farms. During the following five
years he was employed as a construction foreman on the grading and
building of the Santa Fe railroad from Atchison to the Colorado-Kansas
State line. He saved his money and by the exercise of strict economy,
which meant the denial to himself of all but the actual necessities of
life, he was enabled to accumulate sufficient funds to invest in a farm
near the town of Huron, on which he resided for the next five years. He
then sold this farm and bought another one about one and one-half miles
east from Huron, which remains his home to the present time. Mr. Perdue
has given his attention mostly to the raising and feeding of live stock
in his farming operations and has succeeded in amassing a comfortable
fortune during the forty years he has been an agriculturist. He has
increased his land holdings until at the present time he is the owner of
1,040 acres of splendid farm lands in Lancaster township. His home farm
is one of the best improved tracts of farm land in the county and all of
his farms show the results obtained from soil conservation and advanced
methods of farming.
[Illustration:
_Edward Perdue_
]
While Mr. Perdue has been primarily a farmer, he has given his attention
to other matters as betokens a man of influence and substance. In the
year 1891 he assisted in the organization of the Huron State Bank and is
president of this thriving concern. In 1906 he took part in the
organization of the Commercial State Bank of Atchison, which was
succeeded later by the First National Bank, of which banking institution
he has served as president since 1900. He is also a stockholder of the
State Savings Bank of Leavenworth, Kansas.
Mr. Perdue was married in 1878 to Mary Viola Davey, of Brown county,
Kansas, a daughter of Charles Davey, which marriage has resulted in the
birth of seven children, as follows: Mrs. Maria Walters, living on a
farm near Huron; Edna, wife of J. M. Delaney, merchant, of Huron, Kan.;
Mrs. Mabel Schmidt, wife of the assistant cashier of the Huron State
Bank; Charles, who is cultivating the home farm; Thomas Hendricks, at
home; George, a farmer in North Dakota; and Edward, Jr.
Mr. Perdue has been a life-long Democrat, who has always taken a more or
less active part in the political affairs of the county. He was elected
county commissioner in 1897 and served one term. In 1904 he served one
term as a member of the State legislature, representing this district,
declining reëlection when his term of office expired. While he was
reared in the Catholic belief, Mr. Perdue is tolerant of all creeds and
takes a broad-minded view of religious matters. He belongs to the
Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen.
DR. CHARLES L. HIXON.
Dr. Charles L. Hixon, a leading dental practitioner of Atchison is a
native son of Kansas and comes of a pioneer family of the State. He was
born on a farm in Jackson county, Kansas, January 14, 1872, and is a son
of John S. and Alice (Clark) Hixon. His father, John S. Hixon, was born
in Ohio in 1850, a son of Jacob and Cassandra (Stonebraker) Hixon, who
resided in Ashland county, Ohio, until their removal to Putnam county,
Indiana, in the early pioneer days when that part of the Hoosier State
was being settled by large numbers of Ohio people. Alice Clark Hixon,
mother of Dr. Hixon, was likewise born in 1850 in Putnam county,
Indiana, a daughter of Andrew Jackson and Harriet (Mann) Clark, natives
of New York State, and also pioneer settlers of Putnam county, Indiana.
While John S. Hixon and Alice Clark were attending the district school
in the neighborhood of their respective homes, they became great
friends, and the warm friendship ripening into love which culminated in
their marriage several years later in Jackson county, Kansas.
The Hixons and Clarks were essentially pioneers, and the history of the
family for generations shows that some member of the family, or several
of them, have been continually pushing westward and settling in the
newer countries. Jacob Hixon was one of the first men in his
neighborhood to hearken to the call of the West, and, after disposing of
his land holdings in Putnam county, Indiana, he with all of his family
migrated to Kansas, settling in Jackson county. They arrived in Atchison
during the stormy days of the Civil war, and at a time when the local
vigilance committee was in control of community affairs and were
naturally very suspicious of all strangers. There had been considerable
lawlessness in Atchison and neighboring towns and many outrages had been
perpetrated by border ruffians and outlaws. The vigilance committee had
taken charge of the affairs and had summarily lynched three men on the
banks of White Clay creek just previous to the arrival of the Hixon
family. Mr. Hixon was interrogated as to his loyalty to the Union and
asked his intentions. His replies being satisfactory to the members of
the committee, he was allowed to proceed on his way to Jackson county
and arrived at Holton, Kansas, without further delay. Jacob Hixon
settled on a fine farm near Holton, developed it and prospered as the
years rolled on and the country became more and more settled. He died in
1905, at the advanced age of eighty-four years, his wife, Cassandra,
departing this life in 1885.
The Clark family came to Kansas from Indiana in 1868, and Andrew Jackson
Clark naturally settled in that part of Jackson county where his old
friend and neighbor had chosen his place of residence. The intimacy
which had existed between the two families in Putnam county, Indiana,
was renewed, and as time went on, John S. Hixon and Alice Clark grew to
maturity and were united in marriage. Their married life has been a
happy and prosperous one, and five children have blessed this union: Dr.
Charles L. Hixon, with whom this review is directly concerned; Mrs. J.
C. Neeley, of Weiser, Idaho; Ernest H. Hixon, of Kansas City, Mo.; one
child died in infancy. John S. Hixon became prominently identified with
the civic life of Jackson county and is serving his county well and
faithfully as treasurer for two terms, having been elected on the
Republican ticket in 1912 and again in 1914. Mr. and Mrs. John S. Hixon
reside in Holton, in Jackson county, and are prosperous and well
respected in the neighborhood.
Dr. C. L. Hixon spent his boyhood days on the farm and early learned to
assist in the farm work. He received his elementary education in the
district schools, and was ambitious to secure a higher education. He has
practically educated himself, and after learning all that was possible
for him to learn in the country school, he attended Campbell College, at
Holton, Kan., for two years. His ambition was to become a dentist, and
with this end in view he matriculated in the University of Iowa in 1895.
After spending two profitable years in this institution in the study of
dentistry he returned home, and a short time later opened an office in
Atchison, where he has practiced continuously for the past eighteen
years. After seven years of practice in his first location, he opened
well equipped offices at 519 Commercial street, and remained there until
his removal to his present location at 613 Commercial street, where he
has offices equipped with all the latest appliances for facilitating his
work. Dr. Hixon is kept very busy attending to the calls made upon him
in the practice of his profession, and during the many years he has been
located in Atchison, he has built up an extensive and lucrative
practice. He finds time, however, to keep abreast of the latest
developments made in his profession, and is ever seeking to better his
skill and knowledge of dentistry. He has been distinctly honored by the
members of his profession, having served as president of the Northeast
Kansas Dental Association, and is at present an active member of this
association. He is a leading member of the Atchison Dental Association,
and ranks high in his profession, not only as a successful practitioner,
but as a citizen who has the best interests of his home city at heart.
He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Washington
Lodge, No. 5, and is fraternally affiliated with the Odd Fellows, the
Modern Woodmen of America, the Rebekah and Eastern Star lodges.
Dr. Hixon was united in marriage with Miss Inez B. Horn in 1902, and one
child has been born to this union, Charles Horn Hixon, born May 25,
1907. Mrs. Inez B. Hixon was born in Atchison county, a daughter of J.
H. and Catharine (Wallick) Horn, who reside at 1126 North Third street,
Atchison. Mrs. Horn is a daughter of Benjamin Wallick, who served as
sheriff of the county during the time of the Civil war.
LOUIS KLOEPPER.
Louis Kloepper, farmer and stockman of Lancaster township, Atchison
county, was born January 18, 1888, on the farm where he now lives. He is
a son of William and Fredericka (Von Derahe) Kloepper, who were the
parents of four children as follows: Louis, subject of this sketch;
Emma, deceased; William, deceased; Pauline, living at home. The father
was born in Germany, December 14, 1853. He left there in 1883 and came
directly to Atchison county, Kansas, where he bought eighty acres of
land in section 27, Lancaster township. He farmed this one year, and in
1885 returned to Germany to be married. In 1886 he returned to his farm
and began to improve it, building a large eight-room house in 1899 in
place of the little three-room affair which stood on the place. In 1903
he built a fine 32×40 feet granary, and in 1904 he erected a large barn,
40×48 feet. The following year he bought more land and put up additional
buildings, building in 1908 another barn, 32×40 feet. At the time of his
death, February 7, 1913, he owned 240 acres of well improved land under
cultivation, and thirteen acres of fine timber land. This achievement is
the more remarkable in view of the fact that he landed with only $1,200.
But he was industrious, and worked faithfully to improve his farm. He
was a member, trustee and steward of the German Lutheran church. His
wife was born in Germany, February 15, 1858, and is a daughter of Henry
and Fredericka (Von Behren) Von Derahe, natives of Germany. The mother
is now living with her son, Louis.
Louis Kloepper attended the old Huron school of Lancaster township, and
grew to manhood on the farm which he now operates. Since the death of
his father he has had charge of the farm and has worked to the extent of
his ability in installing modern improvements on his place. He owns 160
acres in section 27, Lancaster township, in addition to the home place,
and has three acres of orchard and grove. He also has a vineyard which
was the feature of the place which Louis, and his father before him,
always loved most. Special attention has been given to the vineyard when
other things had to be neglected, perhaps. It is the pride of Mr.
Kloepper’s place. He keeps graded stock and is a practical farmer. He
now is operating 400 acres of land, 114 acres of which are in corn, and
ninety-three acres are in cloves, the latter having been unusually
successful. He owns a threshing outfit and two clover hullers, a corn
shredder, and three gas engines. He utilizes these engines in numerous
ways, including pumping and threshing and plowing. Mr. Kloepper has a
modern farm in every way and has all up-to-date improvements of a labor
and time saving kind, as well as an automobile. He is a stockholder in
the Farmers’ Mercantile Association of Effingham, Kan. He is a practical
farmer, of the progressive type.
In 1911 he married Marie Meier, a native of Germany, born July 3, 1888.
She is a daughter of Henry and Fredericka (Finke) Meier, and was
educated in Germany and left her native land at the age of seventeen.
Mr. and Mrs. Kloepper have two children, Fredia, born November 13, 1911,
and Emma, born April 21, 1913. Mr. Kloepper is an independent voter. He
belongs to the German Lutheran church.
CHARLES W. FERGUSON.
Charles W. Ferguson, vice-president of the Atchison Savings Bank, is one
of the best known men in financial circles of northeastern Kansas, and
he is equally as well known over a large section of western Missouri.
Mr. Ferguson was born at Plattsburg, Mo., December 29, 1862, and is a
son of William L. and Fannie A. (Carpenter) Ferguson, both natives of
Kentucky, whose parents were Virginians and very early settlers of the
Blue Grass State. The Ferguson family removed from Kentucky to Missouri
about 1851. They came up the Missouri river by boat as far as Liberty
Landing, and later located in Clinton county, Missouri. The father was a
merchant and also engaged in the grain business, and was an all around
progressive business man. He was a Republican, and in 1862 was elected
sheriff of Clinton county, being the first Republican elected to office
in that county within a period of twenty-five years. During the Civil
war he was captain of the Home Guards. He died in 1893, age 64 years.
Charles W. Ferguson is one of a family of six children, as follows: John
L., assistant general passenger agent of the Chicago & Northwestern
railroad, Chicago, Ill.; Mary F., widow of M. B. Riley, and resides in
St. Joseph, Mo.; Adelia M., Plattsburg, Mo.; Katherine, Plattsburg, Mo.;
Charles W., the subject of this sketch, and Louis, a conductor on the
Chicago & Northwestern railroad, resides at Highland Park, Ill. Charles
W. Ferguson attended the public schools in Plattsburg until he was
thirteen years old, and at that early age went to work in the express
office at Plattsburg, where he remained about five years. He then
entered the employ of Stonum Brothers, remaining with that company two
years. He then accepted a position in the Plattsburg Bank, as bookkeeper
and assistant cashier, remaining with that institution for seven years.
He then went with the Schuster-Hax National Bank, St. Joseph, Mo., as
receiving teller, and served in that capacity for four years. He
resigned that position in June, 1894, to become bookkeeper of the
Exchange National Bank of Atchison. He served with that institution in
the capacity of paying teller, assistant cashier and cashier, resigning
the latter position February 1, 1914. In November, 1914, he accepted a
position with the Federal Reserve Bank, of Kansas City, Mo., and was
with that institution for eight months, and in July, 1915, became vice-
president of the Atchison Savings Bank. Mr. Ferguson has had a vast
experience in the field of banking, and is well posted on the intricate
problems of finance, and possesses the keen discriminating qualities of
the successful banker. Mr. Ferguson was married April 28, 1892, to Miss
Sallie Clay, of Plattsburg, Mo. She is a daughter of James M. Clay, a
member of the Kentucky branch of the Clay family. Mr. Ferguson is a
member of the Masonic lodge, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
and the Modern Woodmen of America.
EARL V. JONES.
Signal success in any one field of endeavor is worthy of recognition by
the public, whether it be professional, inventive, mercantile or of an
industrial nature. Some men are naturally gifted with the ability to
become successful in the industrial and manufacturing field, and are
mentally equipped with a certain amount of mechanical genius, along with
decided business ability to take hold of a proposition, and makes it
succeed, despite difficulties. E. V. Jones, treasurer and manager of the
Bailor Plow Company, of Atchison, is one of the latter type who is fast
climbing to a place of eminence in his chosen field of endeavor, and
holds a high place among the manufacturing and mercantile interests of
Atchison and the Middle West.
Mr. Jones was born in Livingston county, Missouri, January 21, 1878, a
son of Charles Jones, a building contractor, who was a native of
Kentucky and a son of William Jones, owner of a large plantation in
Kentucky, which was lost as one of the misfortunes which befell the
family as a result of the Civil war’s ravages in Kentucky. Desirous of
making a new start in a land further removed from internecine strife,
and where opportunities for success seemed greater, William Jones
removed to Missouri, and here Charles, the father of E. V., was reared
and became successful in agricultural pursuits, the son, Earl V., being
reared on the family estate in Livingston county, Missouri. The Jones
family is originally of Scotch-Irish stock, the founder of the family
emigrating from the north of Ireland to this country several generations
ago. Charles Jones married Miss Jennie Wills, a daughter of John Wills,
native of the east coast of England, and who immigrated to this country
with his brother, George, and followed his trade of wagon maker
successfully. John Wills owned and operated an extensive blacksmith and
wagon maker’s shop at Chillicothe, Mo., which did a large business and
made moderate wealth for its proprietor.
Earl V. Jones, with whom this review is directly concerned, was educated
in the common and high schools of his native county, and attended the
military school at Palmyra, Mo., supplementing his academic education
with one year’s study in business college at Atchison, Kan. For some
years before the outbreak of the Spanish-American war, he had been a
member of the Missouri State militia, Company H, Fourth infantry
regiment. When the war broke out and troops were called for to fight the
Spaniards in Cuba and the Philippines, he responded with his company and
regiment, and went to the front immediately, serving at Camp Alger, near
Washington, D. C., on the Potomac river, and Camp Meade, at Harrisburg,
Pa., and at Greenville, S. C. After the close of the war, and receiving
his honorable discharge at Greenville, S. C., and being mustered out of
the service, he returned to his home city, Chillicothe, and entered the
employ of the Jackson Woodenware Company as a workman in 1899. His
capacity for work and an inherent genius for detail and management here
asserted itself and his rise in this concern was rapid and substantial.
It was not long until his faithfulness and decided ability was
recognized by his employers and he was promoted to the post of
superintendent of the factory. When the Jackson Woodenware Company was
removed to Atchison in 1902, Mr. Jones came along in the capacity of
shipping clerk, and later served as superintendent of the company until
its dissolution in 1910. During this time Mr. Jones had made a
reputation as a manufacturer and organizer, which had become generally
recognized throughout this section of the country, and, although many
flattering offers came to him to accept executive positions of
importance, he decided to cast his lot with the Bailor Plow Company as
treasurer and manager in 1910, when a company was organized for the
purpose of locating the factory in Atchison. His judgment in this
respect was essentially sound, inasmuch as the Bailor Plow Company,
under his management, is one of the flourishing manufacturing concerns
of the city. The company and Mr. Jones, the manager, have made good, the
large payroll, and the constantly increasing output of the plant having
fully justified the decision of the Atchison men who were instrumental
in locating the plant in this city. A great future is decidedly in store
for the Bailor Plow Company and its manager.
Mr. Jones was united in marriage with Katherine Barton, of Livingston
county, in 1901. To this union have been born two sons: Raymond and
Earl. Mrs. Jones is a daughter of Prof. John W. Barton, widely known
educator of Missouri, who formerly served as city superintendent of
various schools, and was formerly a member of the faculty of the
University of Missouri.
Mr. Jones finds time, aside from his duties as manager of the factory,
to take an active part in the social and civic life of Atchison, and has
identified himself with the city’s institutions in a substantial manner,
as befitting a man of his position and attainments. He is a member of
the Masonic lodge, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the
Knights of the Maccabees, and is affiliated with the United Commercial
Travelers.
MRS. JULIA E. ADAMS BOYINGTON.
Mrs. Julia E. Adams Boyington comes of parents who were important
factors in the early history of Atchison county. Her father, William
Adams, came to Kansas in the fifties for the purpose of helping make
Kansas a free State. He was a leader of the Cayuga settlement and he was
intimately connected with the making of Kansas history for many years.
Mrs. Boyington was born May 15, 1849, in Skaneateles, Onondaga county,
New York. Her parents, William and Mary Ann (Ellsbury) Adams, were both
born in England. The father was born October 6, 1820, in Summersetshire,
England, and was a son of George Adams, who married Miss Thayer, also a
native of England.
[Illustration:
_Home of_
_Frank W. and Julia (Adams) Boyington_
Extreme Left—SAMUEL ADAMS
Right—MRS JULIA E. BOYINGTON
FRANK W. BOYINGTON
]
[Illustration:
WILLIAM ADAMS.
]
[Illustration:
MARY ANN ADAMS.
]
At the age of seventeen, William Adams left his native country and came
to New York. He farmed there until 1856, when he came to Kansas and
settled in Atchison county for the express purpose of helping John Brown
in his fight along the border, and assisting the Free State party. He
passed through many thrilling experiences during these troubled years
and though he was often subjected to great bodily danger, he never
wavered in his convictions and was always ready to fight for his
convictions. He preëmpted eighty acres of land which he increased to 800
acres during his life time. When he took his first land the country was
wild and undeveloped, and he built a log cabin on his place and used a
yoke of oxen in breaking the land. He was a great stockman and kept a
large number of animals and farmed until his death in 1889, remaining in
active life until within a short time of his death. Mr. Adams was a
Republican and was loyally devoted to the welfare of his party. He
always took a great deal of interest in the activities of his party and
helped it at every opportunity, though he never desired an office as a
reward for his work, and never held a political job.
On July 4, 1848, Mr. Adams was married to Mary A. Ellsbury, also a
native of Summersetshire, England. She was born October 19, 1825, and
died December 15, 1895. Mrs. Boyington, though a small girl when she
came to Kansas, remembers many incidents of that early life with
remarkable vividness. She still keeps a rifle and an old shot gun which
her father brought from New York, and prizes them very highly. They were
the means of protecting her and her mother many times from the
depredations of the Indians, who were numerous in that section then, and
lived on a reservation only four miles from the Adams home. They passed
the little Adams cabin when they went after whiskey. As they would
return completely intoxicated, they would quarrel and disturb the
neighborhood, often frightening the women whose husbands were working
out in the fields. The Cayuga settlement numbered about forty people
during the early days. The township elections in Grasshopper township
were always held in the Adams house, and Mr. Adams was always generous
in helping public affairs along.
Mr. and Mrs. Adams were parents of five children: Julia, the subject of
this sketch; Georgia Anna, deceased; Samuel, of Grasshopper township;
Millicent, who died in infancy; Julia, born a twin, but the other child
died in infancy. Samuel, married Mrs. Ida Hitchcock, a native of
Scranton, Penn., in California, May 31, 1887. By her marriage to Mr.
Adams she was the mother of two children: William J., who was born March
19, 1890, and Earl, who was born October 10, 1891. These two children
were partly reared by their aunt, Mrs. Boyington, and she is very fond
of them. Though she has no children of her own, she has made these two
nephews her favorites and has treated them as though they were her own
children. Frank W. Boyington, the husband of Julia E. Adams Boyington,
was born February 15, 1845, in Pennsylvania, and was a son of Edwin C.
and Susan (Smith) Boyington, the former a native of Litchfield, Conn.,
and the latter a native of Pennsylvania. In their old age they came to
Kansas and lived with their son, Frank W., and died here. The father
died 1872, and the mother died in 1875. He left there in 1867 and
settled in Grasshopper township, Atchison county, where Samuel Adams was
reared to manhood in Grasshopper township; lived for ten years in
California and returned to his farm in Grasshopper township in 1913. He
was married to Mrs. Julia Bartlet before his marriage to Miss Adams. His
first wife was a school teacher in Grasshopper township before her
marriage. Three children were born to them. Edward, of Atchison, United
States mail clerk, Alice Spangler, Marion county, Kansas, and one
deceased. After her death in 1899, he was married to Miss Julia E.
Adams, the subject of this sketch.
Mr. Boyington was an early settler in Kansas and has been a successful
farmer. His wife owns 480 acres of land which once was a part of the old
home place. Mr. Boyington owns 160 acres in Marion county, Kansas. He
has lived in Kansas since 1867 and has seen much history made during
that time. Mr. Boyington is a Republican and is a member of the Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons. Although he is not a church member, he attends
services. Mr. Boyington is one of the most successful farmers of
Atchison county, and with his wife, who is also a good manager, has made
a financial success of farming.
JOHN L. BLAIR.
The historian must ever take cognizance of the facts concerning the
lives of those who have contributed most to the upbuilding and the
welfare of their community. In looking backward over the half century,
and more, which has elapsed since the Kansas Territory was thrown open
to settlement, it is found that there are quite a number of men and
women who are deserving of more than mere casual mention in the history
of Atchison county. Among these are John L. and Amanda (Meeker) Blair,
whose names will go down in history as having taken a very prominent
part in the social, political and intellectual development of Doniphan
and Atchison counties. Mrs. Blair has the honored distinction of having
been the first public school teacher in Atchison and she and her husband
were prominently identified with the historical course of events in
northeast Kansas for a long period of years.
John L. Blair, deceased, was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, April
25, 1833, a son of Alexander and Rachel (Lynch) Blair. The family is of
Irish origin. Alexander Blair was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal
church in Pennsylvania. He died in Pennsylvania, and in 1860 the widow
joined John L., who had come to Kansas in 1858. They settled in Doniphan
county, near the Atchison-Doniphan line. Mr. Blair developed a fine farm
and made quite a reputation as a breeder of fine live stock, being one
of the pioneer stock breeders of Kansas. In 1863 he was united in
marriage with Amanda Meeker. This was after he had served some time in
the Civil war as a member of Company D, Seventh regiment, Kansas
cavalry, as a sergeant, enlisting at the beginning of the war and
serving for two years. After being mustered out, he returned home and
was married in June of 1863. Mr. and Mrs. Blair immediately moved to a
farm in Doniphan county, Kansas, and were successful from the start.
Both being endowed with more than ordinary intelligence and thrift, they
foresaw the inevitable rise in land values and invested all of their
earnings in land, accumulating over 600 acres of land which was located
in Doniphan county and since Mr. Blair’s demise Mrs. Blair has purchased
320 acres in Lyon county, Kansas. Mr. Blair was an active and
influential figure in the civic and political life of Doniphan county,
and frequently stumped the county in the interest of the Republican
party candidates. He was a public speaker of power and ability, and was
a warm adherent of the cause of women suffrage, stumping Atchison and
Doniphan counties in 1884 in the interest of the suffrage movement in
Kansas. He filled the office of county commissioner of Doniphan county
for two terms, and was at one time a candidate for State senator. During
the years 1873 and 1874, when the Grange movement was spreading over
Kansas, Mr. Blair was the official organizer for Atchison and Doniphan
counties. He had a good knowledge of parliamentary law and this came in
very useful in his work among the different granges. It was in the
Grange meetings that the movement for woman suffrage first gained
headway in Kansas, and the women learned how to vote. Mr. Blair died in
1891, February 4. To Mr. and Mrs. Blair were born the following
children: Mamie, widow of James Hunter, of Doniphan county, and mother
of two children; Alexander, a farmer in Doniphan county and father of
seven children; Kate, wife of Thomas Evans, a breeder of fine Hereford
cattle, hackney horses and pure bred hogs, in Lyon county, and who is
the owner of the famous hackney mare formerly owned by Jay Gould. Mrs.
Evans was educated in the schools of Doniphan county, and the old Monroe
Institute of Atchison, and is a graduate of Holton University, at
Holton, Kan., and graduated from the Kansas State University at Lawrence
in 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Evans have one daughter, Mary Frances. Mrs. Blair
has ten grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Mr. and Mrs. Blair
belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church and he was an Odd Fellow.
Mrs. Amanda (Meeker) Blair was born in Franklin county, Ohio, near the
city of Columbus, June 24, 1837. She was a daughter of Caleb and Mary
(Grant) Meeker, her mother being a relative of Gen. U. S. Grant, and her
father being a member of the famous Meeker family of America. Ezra
Meeker, who crossed the continent en route to Oregon with an ox team,
was a second cousin of Caleb Meeker. Caleb Meeker was born in New
Jersey, a son of Aaron, who was born in New Jersey, of German origin.
Caleb Meeker was born in Essex county, New Jersey, August 9, 1807, a son
of Aaron Meeker, also of New Jersey, who had eight sons and four sons-
in-law in the Meeker, also of New Jersey. Aaron was a brother of Timothy
Meeker, who had eight sons and four sons-in-law in the American army
during the Revolutionary war. Mary Grant Meeker was born in
Pennsylvania. In 1808 the Meeker family migrated from New Jersey to Ohio
and resided there until 1857, when they went to Fulton county, Illinois,
stopping for one year. In November of 1858 Amanda Meeker came to
Atchison to take a position as teacher in the first public school in
Atchison. Caleb came in January of 1859 to visit his daughter and
invested in a tract of land near Huron, Kan., moving his family in
March, 1859. He lived on his farm all the rest of his life, dying in
September, 1886. Amanda was educated in the district schools of her
native county in Ohio and received a certificate to teach school when
but fifteen years of age. She taught three months in 1852 for $9.00 per
month and then attended school for the remainder of the season. The
following year she taught six months for $20 per month, after which she
studied for two years in the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware,
Ohio. Her teaching experience embraced six years in Ohio, five months in
Illinois and three years in Atchison and six months in Hiawatha, Kan.
Mrs. Blair was a very successful teacher, and had the faculty of
exercising great control over her pupils.
A brother, Jeptha Meeker, served in the Union army during the Civil war.
Mrs. Blair kept the postoffice at Huron, Atchison county, when the
village was one of the stations on the old Military road, from Ft.
Leavenworth to Denver and Pike’s Peak, Colo.
Mrs. Blair is distinguished among the pioneer women of Atchison county
as having been the first public school teacher in the county appointed
by a board of education, duly organized and elected. During the summer
of 1858, this board was organized in the office of F. G. Adams in
Atchison, and the members of the board were Dr. William Grimes,
treasurer; F. G. Adams, clerk; James A. Coulter, director; Philip D.
Plattenburg, principal of the schools at Lewistown, Ill., had been
engaged as superintendent of the Atchison schools and this board elected
Amanda Meeker as his assistant. This was the first public school in the
city of Atchison, and was located over a grocery store in a frame
building, where the Y. M. C. A. edifice now stands at the corner of
Fourth and Commercial streets. The school term began on November 1,
1858, and lasted for seven month, ending July 1, 1859. The following
year the school term was extended to nine months. Miss Meeker taught for
three years without a certificate. The first teacher’s certificate in
Atchison county was issued to W. D. Rippey, a young man who came from
Valparaiso, Ind. Mrs. Blair recalls that Mr. Rippey had no intention of
teaching when he came to Atchison, and remained here for about five
months and then went to Doniphan county, where he became quite wealthy
in the course of years. Applicants for teacher’s certificates had little
or no trouble in passing, the whole procedure of examining being
conducted verbally and the chief requisite apparently being the one
dollar fee which was required from the applicant.
Few Kansas pioneer women at this day occupy the honored position in
history which is held by Mrs. Blair. To have taught the first public
school in Atchison is a great honor, and to have been one of the
pioneers of a great State in such a capacity is a great honor which is
claimed by very few people. Mrs. Blair, despite her age, is possessed of
a keen mentality and is remarkably well preserved, her long life being
best attributed to her mental vigor and student powers which she has
kept nourished these many years.
ALFRED SHORTRIDGE.
Alfred Shortridge, deceased pioneer of Atchison, was born in Milton,
Ind., February 27, 1834. When twenty-three years of age he listened to
the admonition of his elders to come to the great West, where
opportunities for amassing a competence were much better for a young man
than in his home community. He came by train to St. Louis and after
stopping a few days at the Planter’s Hotel, he boarded a Missouri river
steamer which brought him to Atchison. His intention was to get a farm
from the Government, and he accordingly took up a claim one-half mile
south of Monrovia. He developed his homestead, sold it and later bought
a farm, ten miles south of Atchison, in Walnut township, near Potter. He
added to this first farm of 120 acres until he became the owner of a
finely developed farm of 200 acres, which he still owned at the time of
his demise.
Mr. Shortridge was one of the early day freighters and during the years
of 1862 and 1863 he freighted from Atchison to Denver, and in 1863 made
two trips overland to Denver and return with Pardee Butler, with whom he
was on intimate terms. He enlisted in the company of soldiers which was
formed in his neighborhood for the purpose of repelling Price’s invasion
of Kansas in 1864 and was present at Westport when Price’s army of
invasion was driven southward. After he had made his last trip to Denver
in 1863, he sold his wagon and four mules for $1,500, and then engaged
in farming. He resided on his farm near Potter until the year 1912, and
then removed to a home in Atchison.
He was married February 23, 1867, to Miss Catherine Elizabeth Clasby, of
DeKalb, Buchanan county, Missouri, and to this union five children were
born as follows: Mrs. J. A. Edwards, Fairmount. Kan.; J. T. Shortridge,
W. O. Shortridge, and Mrs. C. N. Faulkner, of Potter, Kan., and Miss
Florence Shortridge, at home. The mother of these children was born
March 20, 1843, a daughter of John D. and Sarah Ann (Ellison) Clasby.
John D. Clasby was a native of Virginia, whose mother was a member of
the Dunlap family of Virginia, one of the old colonial families of
America. One of the Dunlaps, a direct ancestor of Mrs. Shortridge,
served in the Continental army in the Revolutionary war. He was a
pioneer settler of Buchanan county, Missouri, and is buried on a hill
within sight of Atchison.
Mrs. Shortridge’s mother, Sarah Ann (Ellison) Clasby, was born in
Missouri, a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Dunlap) Ellison, who were
residents of Kentucky, and who were among the pioneer settlers in
Buchanan county, Missouri. There were nine children in the Clasby
family, as follows: James T., Robert, Orlando, Joseph, Franklin, Julian,
deceased; Mrs. Ann Eliza (Stewart), and Mrs. Alfred Shortridge.
Alfred Shortridge departed this life on July 17, 1915, and was sincerely
mourned by a host of friends and acquaintances who had known him for
many years in Atchison county. During his life, after attaining his
majority he was affiliated with the Republican party, and was always
active in the affairs of his party, although he was never a seeker after
political preferment. He was a member of the Christian church, and lived
according to the precepts of his religious belief, as nearly as mortal
man could. He carried his religion into his daily life and believed
implicitly in the golden rule, which admonishes mankind to treat his
neighbor as he would have his neighbor do unto him.
On February 23, 1911, Mr. and Mrs. Shortridge celebrated their forty-
fourth wedding anniversary at the old Shortridge homestead, and it was a
fitting culmination of one of the happiest life unions on record. Mr.
Shortridge was deeply devoted to his noble wife and family and was
always kind and considerate, not only with the members of his immediate
family, but with his many friends and acquaintances. He was never known
to complain or find fault but took things as he found them and made the
best of every occasion. One of the last of the old guard of Atchison
pioneers, he was a fitting example of the type which did so much to
develop the Sunflower State and make Atchison county one of the garden
spots of the country. One by one the old pioneers are passing to the
great beyond from which no man returneth; it is fitting that we record
in imperishable print the record of their lives and their deeds and
accomplishments while on earth in order that it all may live after them
forever and their memories be kept continually green and fresh in the
minds of succeeding generations which will know them not except through
the pages of these Atchison county historical annals.
O. M. BABCOCK.
O. M. Babcock, of the Babcock-Avensberg Shoe Company, is one of the most
progressive merchants of Atchison. He is a native of the Empire State,
and was born at Adams Center, Jefferson county, New York, in November,
1872, and is a son of M. S. and Amy (Green) Babcock, both natives of New
York and of English descent.
The Babcock family was founded in America by Capt. James Babcock, who
settled in Rhode Island during the seventeenth century. M. S. Babcock
came to Kansas with his family in 1883 and settled on a farm in Benton
township, one mile north of Nortonville in Atchison county. Here he
bought 160 acres of unimproved land, which he developed to a high state
of cultivation and followed farming there successfully until he and his
wife removed to Battle Creek, Mich., where they now reside. O. M.
Babcock, the subject of this sketch, was eleven years old when he came
to Atchison county with his parents. He was educated in the district
schools and the Atchison County High School at Effingham. After
completing school he taught in Atchison county about two years when he
accepted a position in a general merchandise store at Nortonville and
later at Effingham. He remained at Effingham one year and then came to
Atchison and entered the shoe department of D. C. Newcomb’s general
store, where he remained about three years. He then accepted a position
as traveling salesman for a wholesale shoe house, and for three years
was a successful knight of the grip with St. Joseph, Mo., as his
headquarters. He then came to Atchison as general sales manager for a
retail shoe establishment, and four years later, in 1902, organized the
Babcock Shoe Company, which he still conducts. This is Atchison’s
leading shoe store.
Mr. Babcock was united in marriage in 1903 to Miss Edith L. Hooper, a
daughter of George R. Hooper, of Atchison, a personal sketch of whom
appears in this volume. Mr. Babcock takes a keen interest and an active
part in the welfare and development of Atchison and is one of its
booster citizens. He is a member of the Masonic lodge and active in the
work of that organization. He is also a member of the Elks and belongs
to the Commercial Club. He is president of the Kansas Retail Shoe
Dealers’ Association, and politically, is a supporter of the policies
and principles of the Republican party.
JULIUS KUHN.
Julius Kuhn, deceased pioneer merchant of Atchison, was a man of
sterling worth, industry and purpose who achieved a success in the
commercial life of his adopted city which ranked with the greatest
accomplishments of those who figured most prominently in the early civic
life of Atchison. He was born in Bavaria, Germany, May 10, 1831, and
received an excellent education in the famous university at Munich,
where he fitted himself to become an architect. He was gifted with more
than ordinary talent as a draughtsman and architect and to this day many
of his best drawings and designs are hanging on the walls of the art
room in St. Benedict’s College. When twenty years of age he took passage
on a sailing vessel for America, then as now, the land of promise for
the poor and ambitious youth of the old world. After a stay of a few
years in New York City and points in Connecticut, he journeyed to St.
Louis where he was married, his wife, Lucetta, dying in Atchison in the
spring of 1881. To this union one son was born, Gustave, who died July
15, 1883. While in St. Louis Mr. Kuhn heard tales of the opportunities
waiting for industrious young men in the new State of Kansas and came
hither to seek his fortune in the year 1859. He had some means which he
had saved and at once invested in a lot on the corner of Eighth and
Commercial streets, upon which he built a story and a half frame
building, which for many years was a well known landmark in Atchison. He
installed a stock of groceries in his new building, and from the start
met with success. His store soon became the outfitting point for the
freighters who were crossing the plains to the far western points and he
prospered in excess even of his expectations. Mr. Kuhn’s store was
rarely closed in those early days and it was his wont to retire at 1
o’clock a. m. and was often called out of bed at 3 o’clock in the
morning to assist some freighter just arriving from the trail half
frozen, or, perchance, to trade with some farmer who had traveled a long
distance to transact business with him and exchange his produce for
groceries and necessities.
[Illustration:
_Julius Kuhn_
]
During the Civil war he served in the commissary department of the Union
army, called out to repel the invasion of Kansas, threatened by General
Price. He established himself in the wholesale business in 1870 as he
foresaw that Atchison was to become an important distributing point for
the northeastern part of the State as the country grew more and more
settled with the influx of immigrants from all parts of the compass. In
time the little frame store, which he had erected when he first came to
Atchison, was replaced by the pretentious brick structure which bears
his name. He invested his surplus profits in real estate in Atchison and
Kansas points and left a substantial fortune on his demise. In the early
sixties he purchased for his family residence the old Judge Gilham
house, at that time the only house on the hill, from his store
northwestward. For a number of years the Kuhn store was the only
business house west of Third street, but in time the business center
gradually moved westward from the river, and encompassed his business
place. Speaking reminiscently of those early days a few incidents
showing conditions at that time are worth recording. When Mr. Bartholow
first came to Atchison, at the outbreak of the Civil war when business
was in a state of paralysis, he had on hand over $2,000 worth of
tobacco, for which he could not find storage. He approached Mr. Kuhn and
asked him to either buy the stock or store it until such a time as it
would be marketable. Mr. Kuhn took a chance and when tobacco soared to
an extremely high price toward the last days of the war, he disposed of
it at a profit of $1.00 per pound. Flour rose to the high price of $7.00
per sack during those troublous days, while beef was very cheap, a “half
of beef” often selling for ten cents.
Mr. Kuhn was married the second time, September 30, 1883, to Anna
Glattfelter, and to this union were born two sons, Julius Otto, at home
with his mother, and Gustave Adolphus, living in Kansas City, married
Irene King, and is the father of one child, Ruth Kuhn. Mrs. Anna
Glattfelter Kuhn was born in Glattfelter, Switzerland, a daughter of
Henry and Margaret Glattfelter, who immigrated to America in 1864, and
located on a farm in Atchison county. Henry Glattfelter died in 1867,
and his wife died in Atchison in 1903. They were the parents of Mrs. W.
A. Dilgert, living on a farm in Walnut township; Mrs. Martin Dilgert,
residing on Ninth street; Margaret, wife of Mr. John Meyer, living on
Seventh street; Fannie, wife of Dr. Sievers, of Manning, Iowa; Henry, on
the old home farm, near Cummings. Mrs. Kuhn resides in the family
residence at 1029 Atchison street, and looks after the interest of the
Kuhn estate. She is a keen, intelligent lady, who has shown marked
business ability in caring for the property interests left in her
charge. Mr. Kuhn retired from active mercantile pursuits in 1889, and
died October 30, 1902, universally respected and loved by all who knew
him. He was a Republican in politics and took an active part in the
civic and political affairs of Atchison, serving as a member of the city
council, and filling several important city offices of trust during his
long residence here. He was always a consistent and unremitting booster
for Atchison, and had a deep love for the city and his home life. He was
a member of the Elks and a social member of the Turner Society. Mr. Kuhn
was not a member of any religious denomination but was a friend and
liberal supporter of all denominations which sought his aid. While not a
professed Christian he lived a blameless and upright life, and was ever
ready to assist a needy acquaintance when his aid would do the most
good.
PETER WEBER.
Peter Weber, retired farmer, residing at 921 North Sixth street,
Atchison, Kan., is one of the real pioneer residents of the county. He
has lived in the county for over fifty-six years, and recalls many of
the incidents of the old days when the settlement of the county was in
the embryo stage. Like most of the prosperous and successful men in the
county he has worked his way upward from a small beginning to a state of
affluence, which reflects credit upon his industry and his capabilities.
Times, fifty years ago, and the present, give opportunity for making
contrasts which are striking and very interesting. When Mr. Weber was a
boy it was the family custom to go to church on Sundays via the ox wagon
route, father, mother and all of the children seating themselves in a
big farm wagon, and going to church at the rate of two miles per hour,
the trip requiring almost the entire day to go and return. Now, Mr.
Weber cranks the engine of his fine automobile, and in an incredibly
short space of time he travels from his city home to his country estate,
can spend hours in looking over the farming operations, and return to
his own home in time for the next meal.
Peter Weber was born in Kenosha, Wis., March 8, 1859, and came to
Atchison county with his parents a few weeks later. His father, John
Weber, was a native of Luxemburg, Germany, and his mother was Mary
(Penning) Weber, also a native of Luxemburg, and a daughter of Nicholas
Penning, who emigrated from his native country to Wisconsin. John Weber
was married in Wisconsin, after coming to this country. He migrated to
Atchison county, Kansas, from Wisconsin in 1859, and was equipped with a
cash capital of nearly $300. He attended a lot sale in the boom days of
Old Sumner, and invested nearly all of his savings in lots, purchasing
275 lots in all, at prices varying from $5 for the first one bought, to
a price as low as twenty-five cents. This was more or less a speculation
on his part, and the price of lots in Sumner fell rapidly after the
county seat election which selected Atchison as the seat of government
for the county. Real estate values naturally deteriorated in Sumner, and
John Weber later sold seventy-five of his lots for $15 and allowed the
greater part of his initial Kansas investment to be sold for taxes,
inasmuch as the property had no real value. His next investment was a
much better one, however, and he purchased 160 acres of land in Walnut
township for $360, on which he erected a home and proceeded to develop
it into a fine farm. He became well to do, and was highly respected
throughout the neighborhood in which he resided. Originally John Weber
had been a wheelwright by trade, and his skill as a wood worker and
wagon maker stood him in good stead when he took up agricultural
pursuits in Atchison county. During the Civil war John Weber was
enrolled in the State militia and was called away to serve his country
at Independence, Mo., leaving his wife and young children at home in
mortal fear of their lives while the father and his comrades were in
battle array to repel the Price invasion of Kansas. The movable property
of the family was kept hidden in the drawers. Mr. Weber had over $800 in
gold buried in the cellar in an empty peach can. He reared a fine family
of sons and daughters as follows: Peter, the eldest of the family and
with whom this review is directly concerned; Mathias, who is cultivating
the old home place in Mt. Pleasant township, and Mrs. Katherine Keefer,
a widow residing near Nortonville, Kan., are the surviving children of a
family of six born, three of whom died in infancy. John Weber died in
1905, his wife preceding him to the great beyond in 1901.
Peter Weber, when a boy, attended the district school of his
neighborhood in Mt. Pleasant township, and was reared to become an
agriculturist. He was married in 1881 and then began doing for himself,
renting land in Mt. Pleasant township for a time and carefully
husbanding his resources and saving his money with a view to eventually
owning a farm of his own. He was enabled to purchase his first farm of
160 acres in 1895 in Walnut township. He still owns this fine farm,
which is one of the best in Atchison county, and is now being cultivated
by his son. Mr. Weber retired from active agricultural pursuits in May,
1912, and removed to Atchison, where he owns real estate and lives
comfortably, as befitting a man who has earned the right to enjoy home
comforts. He was married in 1881 to Mary Weinmann, and to this union
have been born the following children: Mary, wife of Theo Vanderweide,
of Atchison county; Katherine, wife of John Wagner, residing in Walnut
township, Atchison county; Jacob, living on the home farm; Ida, wife of
Charles Harrison, a foreman in the A. J. Harwi Hardware Store, in
Atchison; Annie, wife of Gustave Boehme, Rulo, Neb., where Mr. Boehme
conducts a bakery. The mother of these children was born August 9, 1860,
in Salt Creek Valley, Leavenworth county, Kansas, a daughter of Jacob
and Katherine Weinmann, natives of Germany, who came to Leavenworth
county, Kansas, as early as 1858. She was one of sixteen children born
to these parents, thirteen of whom were reared, and five came to America
and died here.
Mr. Weber has always been a Democrat, but is more or less independent in
his political views and believes in voting for the candidate who seems
best fitted to perform the duties of the office, regardless of his
political affiliations. While a resident of Mt. Pleasant township he
took an active part in the civic affairs of the township and served nine
years as treasurer and then served as trustee in 1895. Later when he
took up a permanent residence in Walnut township, in 1896, he was
selected as township treasurer by the people in 1906 and filled the
office to the satisfaction of everybody for six years. He and the
members of his family are members of the St. Benedict’s Catholic Church,
and have always been liberal contributors to the support of this
institution. He is also affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, and
takes a keen interest in city and county affairs as befitting a man of
broad general attainments, who has lived in Atchison county for over
half a century and watched its evolution from a wilderness to become one
of the fairest divisions of the great State of Kansas.
ROBERT F. BISHOP.
Robert F. Bishop, farmer, residing in Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison
county, Kansas, and whose farm is located two and one-half miles west of
Potter, is one of the most substantial and progressive agriculturists of
his neighborhood. He was born August 16, 1861, in the town of Watkins,
in Schuyler county, New York, at the foot of Watkins Glen, which is now
a noted summer resort, and one of the most beautiful spots in all New
York. He is a son of Freeman and Annie (Sims) Bishop, both of whom were
born and reared in New York State and descendants of old eastern
families. The Bishop family is of English origin and is descended from
old colonial stock, members of which figured in the early wars in which
America has been engaged. The Sims family is of Scotch and Irish
extraction. The Bishops were early settlers in the section of New York
where Robert F. Bishop was born. Freeman was a ship carpenter by trade
who followed his trade in New York, and in 1872 came to Kansas, settling
in Jefferson county on a farm, where he prospered and reared his family
of four children, Robert F. being the eldest.
He of whom this review is written was a boy ten years of age when the
family came to Kansas to make a permanent home. He lived on the home
place and assisted his father in the cultivation of his farm until he
was twenty-four years of age, then married, and two years later, in
1885, came to Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison county, and purchased the
old Miller farm consisting of 180 acres of good, tillable land. Mr.
Bishop has added to his original farm as he was able and now owns 261
1–2 acres all in one body and well improved. Besides his home farm he is
also the owner of another tract of 208 acres, which makes his total
acreage 469 1–2 acres in all. The accumulation of this amount of land in
about thirty years is a considerable undertaking, in Kansas especially,
when the possessor had very little of this world’s goods at the start of
his career. Mr. Bishop began with very little capital but imbued with a
determination to succeed and the willingness to work hard and deny
himself the luxuries of life until he was well able to afford them. When
he purchased his first farm his cash capital was so limited that he was
forced to go in debt for two-thirds of the purchase price of the land.
Since then he has risen to become one of the wealthy farmers of Atchison
county, and has one of the finest and best improved places in Kansas,
equipped with excellent buildings and a modern silo. His farm is
considered a model one in the county and was one of the first to be
visited by the county farm visitors for the purpose of ascertaining the
progress made and using it as a model for others in the county. Mr.
Bishop is a natural born agriculturist who has kept pace with the
advancement made in the science of agriculture, and is blessed with an
intuitive knowledge of the best methods of tilling the soil.
Mr. Bishop was married in 1883 to Elizabeth Shaw, a daughter of Henry
Shaw, well-to-do farmer of Leavenworth county. To this union have been
born seven children, namely: Caude, a farmer, in Atchison county;
Curtis, a farmer; Robert, living at home and assisting his father in the
farm operations; Myrtle S., Mable, Maude, and Irene, at home with their
parents. The father of Mrs. Bishop is the owner of the old Penseneau
farm, which is the first piece of land ever tilled in Atchison county.
The Republican party has generally had the allegiance of Mr. Bishop, and
while he has not taken an active part in political matters, he was one
of the stanch supporters of the movement which resulted in the
establishment of the high school at Potter. It is only natural to learn
that he, like others who have succeeded in Kansas, has always been a
live stock man and believes in feeding the grains and grasses raised on
his land to the live stock on his place, in order to preserve the
fertility of the land and make marketing the output much more
convenient. He maintains a dairy herd of thirty well bred Holstein milch
cows and is a well known breeder of Duroc Jersey hogs, having 200 head
or more on his farm.
HARRISON W. RUDOLPH.
Harrison W. Rudolph is not only a leading photographer of Atchison, but
ranks among the best in his profession of the entire country. Mr.
Rudolph is a native of the Keystone State, born at Allentown, Pa., May
30, 1866. He is a son of John and Levina (Messer) Rudolph. The Rudolphs
are of old American stock of German descent. Sometime during the
seventeenth century, two Rudolph brothers immigrated to America. One
settled in Pennsylvania, and the other went farther West, locating in
Ohio, and Harrison W. Rudolph, whose name introduces this review, is a
descendant of the one who settled in Pennsylvania. Mrs. James A.
Garfield bore the maiden name of Rudolph, and was a member of the Ohio
branch of the Rudolph family, and James Rudolph Garfield, son of the
former President, retains his mother’s maiden name as his middle name.
John Rudolph, the father of H. W., is now living and has reached the
ripe old age of eighty. He resides in Allentown, Pa.
Harrison W. Rudolph was reared in Allentown, and after receiving a good
common school education served an apprenticeship at photography in his
native city, and later completed a course in the Atchison Business
College. About the time he was twenty years old he obtained a position
from an Atchison photographer through correspondence. He came here and
worked at his profession for M. A. Kleckner about nine years, when he
opened a studio of his own at 509 1–2 Commercial street, where he has
been located for twenty years. Mr. Rudolph is recognized as an artist
and has a large patronage from all over northeastern Kansas, and he even
gets work from Kansas City. The excellency of his work is readily
recognized by particular people who know and appreciate art. Mr. Rudolph
has been awarded five prizes and medals for his work by the Kansas State
Photographers’ Association, and his work is always in great demand. He
is a member of the Kansas Photographers’ Association, the National
Photographers’ Association of America, the Missouri Valley
Photographers’ Association, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the
Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Rudolph was married in Denver April 9, 1889, to Miss Martha Hausser,
of New York City, and two children have been born to this union, as
follows: Rodney, born January 21, 1892, is a traveling representative
for the Standard Oil Company, and Fred, born June 2, 1894, a clerk in
the Atchison office of the Standard Oil Company. Mr. Rudolph is not only
a successful artist, but has made good in a financial way and is one of
the substantial business men of Atchison county. He is a member of the
Atchison Commercial Club and the Young Men’s Christian Association.
EDWARD B. McCULLOUGH.
Edward B. McCullough, deputy sheriff of Atchison county, was born on a
farm in Atchison county in 1880, and is a son of Hugh Elden and Sarah J.
(Rankin) McCullough, both of whom were born and reared to maturity in
Pennsylvania, married there and shortly afterward set out for the West,
settling in Atchison county. Mr. McCullough bought a farm in Lancaster
township, and improved it, but did not live long after settling here. He
died at the age of twenty-eight years, leaving one son, Edward B. At the
time of his father’s death, Edward B. was but fifteen months old, and
soon afterward his mother moved to the village of Lancaster where she
has since made her home, with the exception of some years spent on her
cousin’s farm near Lancaster. Edward B. was reared to young manhood in
Lancaster and attended the public school. When still a youth he learned
to hustle for himself and became self-reliant and self-supporting at a
time when most boys are still in the coddling stage. When but sixteen
years of age he bought a team and outfit and engaged in business for
himself. He continued as a teamster and in draying until 1914 when he
removed to Atchison to enter upon his duties as deputy sheriff under
Sheriff Roy Trimble. During the course of his teaming experience he
became the proprietor of a livery barn in Lancaster.
On October 28, 1903, he married Mildred May Lowe, a daughter of Austin
and Anna Lowe, of Atchison county. They have one child, Gayle Mateel,
born September 23, 1904. Mr. McCullough is a member of the Modern
Woodmen, and is a Republican. Since early young manhood he has taken an
active part in political affairs, and loves the game for its own sake,
as well as he loves baseball and kindred sports, for he is and has been
quite an athlete, being a proficient baseball player.
For the past eight years he has been one of the wheel horses of the
Republican party in Atchison county and has naturally attained a wide
acquaintance among the voters of both parties. He assiduously campaigned
for his favorite candidates during the campaigns of 1912 and 1914, but
has never been a candidate for office. He was appointed to the post of
deputy sheriff in November, 1914, and took up the duties of his office
January 11, of the following year. It is needless to state that he is
faithfully performing the duties of his position and is gaining more
friends as his general worth is becoming more widely known.
THOMAS E. BALLINGER.
Thomas E. Ballinger is one of the substantial and well respected
residents of Atchison who has accomplished much in a material and civic
way since first coming to the county in 1869. He has acquired and
improved one of the finest farms of the county, served the people well
and faithfully in an official capacity, and, best of all, has reared a
fine family, every member of whom is a useful addition to society, and a
credit to their parents and the communities in which they reside. What
more could any man expect to accomplish during a long and busy life? A
man who accomplishes so much with the assistance of an intelligent and
faithful wife can well be content to retire to a pleasant home, imbued
with the satisfaction of knowing that the future of himself and his is
well provided for during the declining years which can be likened to a
beautiful sunset at the end of a long and glorious day spent in gleaning
from mother earth her treasures.
[Illustration:
_Thos. E. Ballinger_
]
[Illustration:
_Julia H. Ballinger_
]
Mr. Ballinger is a native of New Jersey and comes of good, old English
stock. He was born in Salem county, that State, November 21, 1845. His
parents were John G. and Sarah Ann (Reeves) Ballinger, also natives of
New Jersey. His paternal grandfather was John G. Ballinger, who married
a Quaker woman and died when Thomas E. was but a boy. His mother was a
daughter of Stephen Reeves, a scion of an old eastern family and a
leading shipbuilder of New Jersey. The Reeves family settled in Alloway
township, Salem county, New Jersey. John G. Ballinger, the father, was
born in 1827, and died in 1906. He was a miller, and operated a mill
during the active years of his long life. His wife, Sarah Ann, died in
1850, leaving three children: Stephen R., a miller, who resided in New
Jersey, and died October 15, 1915; Samuel E., a retired farmer, living
in the suburbs of Atchison, and Thomas E., with whose career this review
is directly concerned. John G. Ballinger married a second time, to Sarah
Austin, who bore him the following children: John, Charles, Walter,
Ellen, Sadie, Emma and Minnie.
The elder Ballinger had both the means and the incentive to give his
children an education. Accordingly, Thomas E. had the advantages of
thorough schooling and, after attending the district school of his home
neighborhood, he studied in the Cumberland County Academy at Bridgetown.
N. J., the Crittendon School in Philadelphia and the Eastman Business
College at Poughkeepsie, New York, completing his course in the latter
institution in 1865. He then became a clerk in a grocery store at
Glouster, N. J., and was later employed in a drug store. All the while,
however, he was hearkening to the call of the West, which had reached
the ears of thousands of young men in the East. The call proved so
strong that in 1869 he made the long journey to Kansas to become one of
the pioneers of the new State. For the first two years he worked out as
a farm hand in Shannon township, Atchison county, saving his funds in
order that he might begin farming for himself. In 1871 he made his first
purchase of eighty acres of unimproved land in Lancaster township,
Atchison county, at a cost of $15 per acre. On this tract he built a two
room house in which he lived for two years, and was there joined by his
brother, Samuel E. He then married, and the first five years of a happy
wedded life were spent on this farm. He traded this farm for eighty
acres of land in Shannon township, which served as the family home until
1888. He then exchanged the Shannon township farm for 240 acres, near
Huron, Atchison county, which he retained for two years, and then made
his last trade for 160 acres in the east central part of Lancaster
township. For seventeen years, until his retirement to Atchison in 1907,
this fine farm was the family home. Mr. Ballinger greatly improved this
farm, added to it another forty acres, and with its two sets of
buildings and well kept fields, is one of the finest and most productive
agricultural plants in the county.
He was married on Saturday, March 21, 1874, to Julia H. Holland, and to
this union have been born the following children: Ralph, a talented
physician of Chicago, married Flora Groom, of Indiana; Mrs. Marie
Shuffleberger, Doniphan county, Kansas, mother of three children,
Dorothy, Reeves and Wayne; Adel, at home; Grace, wife of J. W. Coleman,
of Atchison, having two children, John Ballinger, born June 14, 1911,
and James Henry, born November 3, 1915; Thomas Edward, Jr., on the home
farm, married Nellie Colgan and is the father of one child, John Edward;
Julia Gladys resides at home with her parents. Father, mother and
daughters reside in a handsome brick residence, erected by Mr. Ballinger
at 210 North Eleventh street. Mrs. Ballinger was born December 29, 1853,
in England, and is a daughter of Joshua and Maria (Relph) Holland, who
immigrated to America in 1856, and first settled on an Illinois farm.
The family came to Kansas in 1860, settling in Nemaha county, going from
there to Ft. Leavenworth, where Joshua Holland followed his trade of
stone mason. During the Civil war Mr. Holland served in the commissary
department at Ft. Leavenworth. In 1870 he came to Atchison county and
cultivated a farm of 120 acres near Lane until his death. Mr. Holland
was born in April, 1822, and died in September, 1884. Mrs. Holland was
born in November, 1824, and died in April, 1894. They were the parents
of the following children: Emma, deceased; Misses Mary and Harriet
Holland on a farm near Lancaster; Mrs. Julia Ballinger, and William, a
retired farmer in Lancaster.
Thomas E. Ballinger has always been a Republican in politics and took an
active part in political and civic affairs in his home township, serving
as township clerk for a number of years. He was elected to the office of
county commissioner in 1910, and served from January, 1911, to January,
1915. While a member of the board of county commissioners the best
interests of the county were paramount with him, and he was an honest
and capable public official. He and his family are members of the
Presbyterian church.
ROGER PATRICK SULLIVAN.
The accounts of many of the prosperous and substantial families who are
the backbone and substance of the rural population in Atchison county
are very similar, beginning far away, across the ocean, in one of the
older countries from whence the parents came to seek fortune in America.
The Sullivan family had its origin in Ireland and it was from the
Emerald Isle that the father of the family came when twelve years of
age, struggled from poverty to comparative wealth and left his sons well
provided for, as a reward for their filial devotion to the parents when
old age came upon them. Roger Sullivan, a progressive farmer of Benton
township, is one of the best known men in his section of the county. The
Sullivan home is an attractive one, and the home farm of Mr. Sullivan is
one of the most fertile and best kept in Atchison county.
Roger Patrick Sullivan was born December 4, 1862, in Atchison, a son of
Michael and Bridget (Tobin) Sullivan, natives of Ireland. Michael
Sullivan was born in 1826 and lived in his native land until he was
twelve years of age when he made his way to America. His travels while
seeking fortune in the new country took him ever westward and he was
married in Keokuk, Iowa, to Bridget Tobin, who was his faithful helpmate
during the years when he was rising from poverty to affluence. In 1860
they came to Atchison, Kan., where Mr. Sullivan engaged in railroad
contract work and assisted in the grading of the Central Branch
railroad. He made money in his railroad contract work and was enabled to
purchase a farm in Grasshopper township, or rather traded for it. While
living in Atchison, with true Irish thrift, he and his wife managed to
become owners of a home which they exchanged for eighty acres of land in
Grasshopper township, upon which they moved and developed it into a fine
farm. Mr. Sullivan in the course of time bought an additional quarter
section and with the help of his sturdy sons he increased his acreage to
320 acres of well improved farm land. When old age crept upon Michael
and his wife they turned over the farms to their two sons, who cared for
them in their declining years, which were spent in peace and comfort.
Mr. Sullivan died at the home of his son. John Edward, December 24,
1906, and his wife followed him to the great beyond two years later,
February, 1908. Three children were born to this worthy couple, namely:
John Edward, a farmer residing in Grasshopper township; Roger Patrick,
the subject of this review, and Mary, deceased.
Roger P. learned when a youth the art of cultivating the soil, and
diligently applied himself to the task of helping to build up the family
estate, and received as his share of the farm lands owned by his father
a fine quarter section of land upon which he resided until his removal
to his present location in the spring of 1908. Prosperity has smiled
upon his efforts, and he is now the owner of 360 acres of land, 160
acres of which are comprised in his home farm, eighty acres is located
five miles west of his home in Kapioma township, and he still retains
120 acres of the original Sullivan farm, which is entirely devoted to
pasture. If one should ask Mr. Sullivan how he had managed to attain the
considerable acreage which he now possesses, his answer would probably
be, “By hard work,” which would be true, but the reviewer is also of the
opinion that the “hard work” was also supplemented by intelligent
effort, self-denial at times, sobriety, and good financial judgment.
Mr. Sullivan was married January 11, 1892, to Miss Mary Linehan, who was
born in Atchison county, Kansas, in 1865, a daughter of James and
Kathryn Linehan, natives of Ireland, and who were pioneer settlers in
Atchison county. To this union four children have been born, namely:
Catharine, aged seventeen years, and a student in the Atchison County
High School, class of ’17; Daniel, fifteen years old, a freshman in the
county high school; Mary, aged twelve years, and Helen, aged nine,
pupils in the parochial school at Effingham.
The Democratic party has always claimed the allegiance of Mr. Sullivan
and his father before him was a Democrat. He and his family are members
of the Catholic church which was the faith of their fathers. He finds
time to give attention to the social side of life, and is fraternally
affiliated with the Knights of Columbus and the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks, of Atchison. Mr. Sullivan is a thorough
Kansan, and is proud to be numbered among the real pioneers of Atchison
county, and in his opinion there is no better spot than the county which
has always been his home.
JOHN FLEMING.
John Fleming, a successful merchant of Atchison, was born October 29,
1864, in Holland. When four years old his parents left the land of their
birth and came to America in 1868. He was one of twins, the other twin
brother dying during the ocean voyage to America. His parents were
Lambert and Rosena (Johnson) Fleming, who set out from their native land
imbued with the desire to better their condition in America and finally
located in Atchison. The elder Fleming had been a skilled wooden-shoe
maker in his native land, and he plied his trade in Atchison, being able
to market the product of his skilled workmanship through the kindly
assistance of John Ratterman, who exchanged groceries and the
necessities of life for the shoes which Mr. Fleming made. The family
finally located on a farm south of Atchison, and resided there until the
death of the father in 1882, at which time John, his mother and two
sisters, Bertha, now widow of Henry Nass, deceased: Ida Van Benthen,
residing at Seventeenth and Atchison streets, removed to Atchison.
John Fleming was four years old when his parents took up their residence
in Atchison county, and he was reared on the farm, south of the city,
attending the district schools, and was able to secure a limited
education in this manner. Upon coming to the city to reside he worked in
various grocery stores for several years. With true thrift, for which
those of Holland birth are noted the world over, he carefully saved his
money over and above actual living expenses, and in 1898, equipped with
a capital of $500, he started in business with this amount and some
borrowed money. For over seventeen years he has been conducting a
grocery business at 321 North Seventh street and his business has been
constantly on the increase. The demands of his growing trade and the
expansion of his business became such that in 1907 it became necessary
for him to erect the modern brick buildings which now houses his
excellent stock of goods at 321 North Seventh street. It is one of the
most attractive and best kept establishments of the kind in the city,
and is noted for the tasteful manner in which the goods of the very best
quality are displayed and the unvarying courtesy with which the patrons
are treated. Prosperity has come to Mr. Fleming, and in 1908 he invested
his surplus in the erection of a four-suite apartment house, each
apartment of which contains six rooms. He is also the owner of other
real estate in north Atchison, and is rated as one of the city’s
enterprising and progressive business men.
Mr. Fleming was married in 1889 to Emma C. Hilligoss, a daughter of
Alfred and Anna Eliza (McLain) Hilligoss, who located in Atchison when
she was twelve years of age. Seven children have been born to Mr. and
Mrs. Fleming, four living: William J., associated with his father in the
grocery business; Henry A., also his father’s assistant; Agnes R., John
Edwin; Bertha died at the age of four years; Ruth died in infancy, and
Theodore died at the age of four months.
Mr. Fleming is a member of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, and is
fraternally connected with the Modern Woodmen of America.
MARK H. HULINGS.
For an Atchison county man to start out in life with a capital of
fifteen dollars, which was given to him by a loving mother, with the
injunction that he purchase an article for personal adornment, and then
to invest said fifteen dollars in a span of mules, which became the
nucleus to a fortune, and for this citizen to rise to the position of
being one of the large landed proprietors of Kansas, sounds like a tale
from modern fiction. But the tale is true, and the incident which marked
the starting point of the career of Mark H. Hulings, of Center township,
is the keystone of the man’s character, and shows wherein lies the
material from which he was created. Mr. Hulings decided that a pair of
mules would do him more material good than adorning his person, and
therein used rare and capable judgment. Mr. Hulings is a Kansas man, who
during a career in agricultural pursuits embracing but little more than
thirty years, has achieved a success which is truly remarkable. Not
content with just common every-day farming, as has been practiced with
indifferent success by others, Mr. Hulings became a specialist and has
taken his rightful place among the many skilled cattle breeders of this
county, who in time to come will receive the credit and honors which are
theirs by right. By industry, persistence, intelligence, and keen
financial judgment he has risen to become one of the leading farmers of
Atchison county and Kansas. Born in the old Buckeye State, of Virginia
parents, he is a loyal and steadfast Kansan, and takes pride in the fact
that he is one of the real pioneers of this section of a great State.
Mark H. Hulings, farmer and stockman, of Center township, was born
February 14, 1862, at Walnut Hill, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a
son of Samuel and Louise (Brown) Hulings. They had four children, as
follows: Mrs. Lillie High, widow, Atchison, Kan.; Cincinnatus, deceased;
Mark, the subject of this sketch, and Ruth J., twins, the latter
deceased. The father was born in what is now West Virginia in 1832. He
was a baker by trade, and his early days were spent on a steamboat,
where he was employed as a cook and baker. When a young man he came to
Cincinnati, where he worked for some time, and then he began farming. In
1867 he came to Atchison county, Kansas, where he bought 160 acres of
land, and built a seven-room house of brick, which was considered a fine
residence in that day. He was a successful farmer and his crops were
always good, with the exception of one year when they were destroyed by
the grasshoppers. The father conducted his farm until his death in 1898.
The mother was born in New York and died about 1905, aged about seventy
years. An accident in an Atchison hardware store elevator which injured
her leg led to her death.
Mark Hulings attended the school in District No. 28, Center township,
and later the Pardee Seminary. When he started out in life for himself
he had only fifteen dollars which his mother gave him to buy a ring for
himself. But caring little for personal jewelry, bought a span of mules
instead, for which he paid the fifteen dollars as the first payment.
This was his first investment, but it was a profitable one, and he has
continued to invest until he is now an extensive land owner. He and his
brother, Cincinnatus, bought land of their own after their parents died,
and farmed together about eight years when each bought a farm of his
own. Mark bought land in Center township and now owns 810 acres, a large
part of which is well improved. He was a breeder of registered Hereford
cattle for a time, but now devotes his attention to Shorthorns. He has
worked his way to the first rank of Atchison county farmers, and now
holds land that makes him one of the largest land owners of the county.
On April 27, 1890, he married Emma Sharpless, who was born September 22,
1871, in Delaware. (See sketch of U. B. Sharpless for a sketch of the
Sharpless family history.) To Mr. and Mrs. Hulings have been born two
children: Mark S. and Susie E., living at home. Mr. Hulings is a
Republican. He and his wife and children are members of the Christian
church at Farmington.
FRANK SUTTER.
Frank Sutter, owner of “Highlington,” a splendid farm of 245 acres, in
Benton township, Atchison county, located one-half mile west of
Effingham, is a native of Atchison county, and is one of its most
successful and progressive farmers. A beautiful, modern farm home of
eight rooms occupies a rise of land fronting the main highway, running
east and west from Effingham, and is fully equipped with a water system
and private gas plant installed by Mr. Sutter. A large red barn stands
in the rear of the home. This farm is operated as a dairying plant, and
Mr. Sutter maintains a herd of fifteen milch cows of the Jersey and
Shorthorn breeds.
Frank Sutter was born January 8, 1871, on a pioneer farm in Walnut
township, Atchison county, and is a son of Frederick Sutter, deceased,
of whom a complete biography is written in this volume. Frank Sutter
came with the family to Benton township in 1880 and lived on the home
place, two miles west of Effingham, and after his father’s death he and
his brothers, Fred and William, became the owners of the section of land
which has since been divided, Frank taking a quarter section as his
share when the division of land was made. The sons of Frederick Sutter
farmed the family estate in common until 1902, and, after various
changes following the division of the estate Frank became the proprietor
of 245 acres in one tract, which he is now cultivating.
Mr. Sutter was married in 1909 to Mrs. Kate (Cook) Pitman, a widow, who
is the mother of eight children by her first marriage, as follows:
George, now in Montana; Ralph, living in Iowa; Mrs. Elsie Mann, of
Nebraska; Mrs. Vera Blair, a resident of Effingham; Margaret, at home;
Mrs. Geneva Perdue, of Huron, Kan.; Helen and Thomas reside at home.
Mrs. Sutter was a daughter of E. F. Cook.
While Mr. Sutter is a Republican in politics, he votes independently in
county and local matters, and supports the candidate who seems best
fitted for the office, in his judgment. He is a member of the Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons, and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Mr.
Sutter is of a high type of the successful farmer who has made good in
his inherited vocation. The success of each individual member of the
Sutter family is due, to a great extent, to their coöperation and
ability to work together for the common good of the whole family,
collectively and individually, while the family fortunes were in process
of building.
BISHOP K. HAM.
Bishop K. Ham, one of the younger successful farmers and stockmen of
Grasshopper township, Atchison county, is the last surviving
representative of one of the oldest pioneer families of the western part
of the county. He resides on the old homestead of the Ham family,
consisting of 170 acres of land, upon which his father homesteaded in
1861. B. K. Ham was born on this farm July 23, 1882, a son of Martin W.,
and Margarette (Black) Ham, natives of Fleming county, Kentucky.
Martin W. Ham was born near the town of Flemingsburg, Ky., April 13,
1834, and was a son of George and Ruth Ham, also reared in Kentucky. The
grandfather of Martin W. was John or “Jackie,” a native of Greenbrier
county, Virginia, and was of Scotch-Irish lineage. The Ham family is a
very old one in this country, and the great-grandfather of B. K. Ham was
John, better known as “Jackie” Ham, who was one among the earliest
pioneer settlers of Kentucky. Martin W. was reared to young manhood in
Fleming county, Kentucky, and there married Jane Humphreys. In 1861 the
Ham family left Kentucky in search of a home in the West, making the
long trip overland to Missouri by wagon. After a short stay in Missouri
they came to Atchison county, Kansas, and settled on the farm now owned
by Mrs. Margarette Ham. All of Martin W. Ham’s worldly possessions when
he landed in Kansas was his team and wagon and a few household
necessities. The land was wild and there were few settlers on the
prairies in Grasshopper township, where he made his settlement and
eventually developed a fine farm. He became an extensive cattle and hog
raiser and made considerable money in this manner.
[Illustration:
_Hon. Martin W. Ham_
]
[Illustration:
_Mrs. Martin W. Ham_
]
Martin W. Ham was twice married, his first wife, Jane Humphreys Ham,
dying May 18, 1879. He married his second wife, Margarette Black, June
28, 1880. One son was born of this second marriage, Bishop K. Mrs.
Margarette (Black) Ham was born March 29, 1854, a daughter of M. M. and
Rebecca (Simms) Black, the former a native of Virginia, and of Irish
lineage. He was one of the early pioneer settlers of Kansas. Martin W.
Ham died in 1908. From the start of his career in Kansas M. W. Ham took
an active and influential part in civic and political affairs of his
county and State. During the border ruffian days he was active in
affairs and was a Free State man. He was captain of Company G, Kansas
Home Guards, during the Civil war. He held various township offices and
was elected a member of the Kansas State legislature in 1869, serving
one term. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was
affiliated with the Masonic and Odd Fellows lodges.
Bishop K. Ham, with whom this review is directly concerned, received his
education in the district school of his neighborhood and also studied in
the college at Hiawatha, Kan., for one year. He then took up farming,
and after his marriage lived on a neighboring farm until his father’s
demise. He then came to the home farm which he has since been
cultivating with considerable success. Mr. Ham has made a record as a
breeder of horses and mules second to none in Atchison county. He is the
owner of a magnificent, imported black stallion, “Illico,” six years
old, which he purchased from the well known importer, Charles Kirk, of
St. Joseph, Mo. He is the owner of a high class jack and is a successful
breeder of mules. The pride of his farm is his fine herd of thirty
thoroughbred Jerseys, headed by the pedigreed bull “Loren’s Lad,” both
the sire and dam of which were imported. By means of holding annual
sales Mr. Ham will dispose of the surplus stock of his herds of cattle
and horses. The Ham farm is well improved in every way with good
commodious buildings, silo, etc., a fine modern home, all grouped
together on a beautiful location.
Mr. Ham was married October 19, 1905, to Miss Carrie B. McCubbins, and
to this union has been born: Marguerite Ham, born April 17, 1907. Mrs.
Carrie B. Ham is a daughter of Robert D. and Elizabeth (Tenry)
McCubbins, who were early settlers in Atchison county. The McCubbins
family first settled near the city of Atchison, and later came to
Grasshopper township.
Mr. Ham is a Republican in politics, and is a member of the Ancient Free
and Accepted Masons of Muscotah, the Modern Woodmen of America and the
Fraternal Aid societies. He is one of the best known and rising young
agriculturists of the county and will undoubtedly make a name for
himself among the breeders of the State of Kansas and middle West.
CHARLES H. LINLEY.
Charles H. Linley, a prominent physician and surgeon, of Atchison, may
very appropriately be called the dean of the Atchison county medical
profession. Dr. Linley is a Kentuckian. He was born in Livingston
county, Kentucky, June 19, 1847, and is a son of Dr. Thomas and Maria
(Barker) Linley, natives of Lewis county, Kentucky. Maria Barker, the
mother, was a daughter of Admiral Barker of the United States navy. Dr.
Thomas Linley, the father, was born in 1806. He was a son of Thomas
Linley, a native of England, who settled in Virginia at an early date
and later removed to Kentucky, and was a pioneer of this State. Thomas
Linley, the father of Dr. Charles H. Linley, was a large plantation
owner and owned many slaves in Kentucky prior to the Civil war, but was
a strong Union man and believed that slavery was wrong, and when the
Civil war came on he was pronounced in his anti-slavery views, and
notwithstanding the position of many of his neighbors and friends and
life-long associates, he stood firmly by the Union. He was a graduate of
the old Transylvania Medical College, at Lexington, Ky. He began the
practice of his profession at the early age of nineteen years, and for
forty-five years practiced most of the time in the vicinity of Salem,
Ky. He came to Atchison, Kan., in 1866, but remained a short time, when
he returned to Kentucky, where he died March 31, 1880. Dr. Thomas and
Maria (Barker) Linley were the parents of thirteen children, three of
whom died in infancy, and four are now living, as follows: Dr. Charles
H., the subject of this sketch; Isaac resides on the old homestead in
Salem, Ky.; Mrs. Laura Hill resides at Liberty, Mo., and Joseph W., now
living retired in Atchison, Kan. After receiving a good academic and
classical education, Dr. Charles H. Linley entered Miami Medical
College, now known as the Ohio Medical College, at Cincinnati, and was
graduated from that institution in 1877 with the degree of Doctor of
Medicine. In 1880 he located in the city of Atchison where he has
practiced his profession with uniform success for the past thirty-five
years. He is one of the oldest physicians in the number of years in
practice in Atchison.
Dr. Linley was married in 1879 to Miss Fannie W. Gregory, a native of
Kentucky. She was born in 1854 and is a daughter of James Gregory and a
member of a prominent Kentucky family. Her father died when Mrs. Linley
was fourteen years of age. Dr. and Mrs. Linley are the parents of the
following children: Maria, born in 1880, and died in 1909; Corinne, a
teacher in the Atchison high school, and a graduate of Midland College
and the State Normal school at Emporia; Ray G., traveling salesman for
Blish, Mize & Silliman; Nora B., a graduate of Midland College, now a
teacher in Colorado; Alice, a graduate of Midland College, now a teacher
in the grades at Atchison, and Louis D., traveling salesman for Blish,
Mize & Silliman.
Dr. Linley is a Democrat and has taken an active part in the welfare of
his city and county. He has served as city health officer for several
terms and was police commissioner for Atchison for one year. He served
on the board of United States pension examiners for eight years during
Cleveland’s administrations. He is a member of the Knights of the
Maccabees, the Fraternal Aid, and the Foresters of America. The Linley
family are members of the Christian church.
L. C. ARENSBERG.
L. C. Arensberg, one of the younger business men of Atchison, and member
of the enterprising and successful firm of Babcock & Arensberg, shoe
merchants, is a Hollander by birth, and a hustling American in every
sense the word implies. It has long been a matter of note that the
natives of Holland who became American citizens are more apt and take
more kindly and quickly to the ways of this nation than the people of
any other European country. This country seems to become their natural
habitat, and they become citizens in both deed and word after a few
years’ residence here. Mr. Arensberg was born in Holland, September 17,
1880, and is a son of William and Alegunde (Muskens) Arensberg, who
immigrated to this country in 1885, actuated by a desire to locate in a
land where their children would have more and better opportunities for
success than their own little, crowded, native country afforded. They
believed rightly and were successful in establishing a home in Atchison
where they had relatives who had preceded them to the newer country. The
Arensberg family established themselves in reasonably comfortable
circumstances in Atchison in a short time. There were nine children in
the family of William and Alegunde Arensberg.
L. C. Arensberg was educated in the parochial and high schools of
Atchison. Then he obtained a position as all round man in Bradley &
Ostertag’s shoe store. Here he was employed for ten years and thoroughly
learned the ins and outs of the shoe business, becoming a very
proficient salesman. In the meantime he carefully saved his money, with
a view to eventually engaging in business for himself. His ambition was
at last realized, and in 1906 he purchased an interest in the Babcock &
Stallons shoe store, buying out the interest of Mr. Stallons. He is a
full partner in the business and has won a place of merit and honor
among the leading merchants of Atchison.
Politically, Mr. Arensberg is a Democrat, and is inclined to be liberal
in his views and independent in his voting. He is a member of the
Knights of Columbus and the Loyal Order of Moose, and is a member of St.
Benedict’s Catholic Church. He is active in the affairs of the Atchison
Commercial Club, and is recognized as one of the real “live wires” of
the business and civic life of his home city.
W. B. COLLETT.
W. B. Collett, district agent for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance
Company of Milwaukee, Wis., is one of the progressive business men of
Atchison. He was born in Liverpool, England, in 1860, and is a son of
John and Mary (Henston) Collett, the former a native of Wolverhampton,
Staffordshire, England, and the latter of Tipperary, Ireland. John
Collett was a prosperous importing provision merchant when the Civil war
broke out in this country. The importing business fell off to such an
extent in European ports that business was injured to such an extent
that he failed, and came to the United States, and in 1862 sent for his
family, consisting of his wife and three children. During his youth he
served a seven-year apprenticeship in the provision trade. In 1879 he
came to Atchison as head salesman for the Fowler Brothers Packing
Company, and remained with that company until 1883. He then went with
the Armour Packing Company, of Kansas City, in the same capacity, and
was with that company for fourteen years, when he was made manager of
their branch at St. Paul, Minn., and later he was the European
representative for Jacob Dold Packing Company, of Buffalo, N. Y. In 1908
he retired from active business and took up his residence on a farm near
Richards, Mo., where he died, in 1911, at the age of seventy-nine years.
His wife survives him and resides on the farm where he died.
John Collett was a man of unusual ability, and had few equals as a
salesman. He was a capable executive and thoroughly understood handling
large commercial enterprises. He was a master salesman and always
commanded a large salary. He was a money maker, although he died
possessed of but a small amount of this world’s goods; he was a money
maker rather than a hoarder of dimes.
W. B. Collett, whose name introduces this sketch, was educated in the
public schools, and when a young man went to work in the Elgin watch
works, at Elgin, Ill., and in 1879, when the family came to Kansas, he
went to work for the Fowler Brothers Packing Company, where he remained
about a year. He then entered the employ of Bowman & Kellogg, millers,
as bookkeeper, and later became a buyer and salesman for that company.
In 1888 he engaged in the general insurance business, and three years
later entered the employ of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance
Company, and has been with that company ever since with headquarters at
Atchison. Mr. Collett was married in December, 1886, to Miss Annie
Heermance, who came to Atchison with her mother in 1883 from Hudson, N.
Y. She was one of the old Holland families of New York and taught in the
Atchison High School prior to her marriage.
Mr. and Mrs. Collett have two children as follows; Mary E., educated at
Wellesley College, took her master degree at the University of
Pennsylvania, then one year of post-graduate work at Brown University,
at Providence, R. I., when she became instructor of biology at the
Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pa., and W. B., Jr., who was educated in
the Atchison public schools. Culver Military Academy, Culver, Ind., and
the State Agriculture College at Manhattan, Kan.
Mr. Collett is an Episcopalian, a York Rite Mason and a member of the
Young Men’s Christian Association, and has been active in the work of
these organizations for years.
JAMES DOOLEY.
The late James Dooley, of Shannon township, left behind him a life’s
record that is well worth recounting, and deserved an honored place in
the memoirs of the county, in which he was for over forty years a
prominent and well known figure. As a pioneer he did his part well in
building up Atchison county. The story of his life is romantic in many
ways, and he was always imbued with the idea of providing well for his
beloved family, and leaving his affairs in such a stable condition that
his descendants could earn on the great work which the father and
founder of the family had so well begun and brought to such a
substantial culmination.
James Dooley, deceased, was born January 6, 1835, in Ireland, a son of
Irish parents, James and Catharine Dooley, who left their native land in
1847, and located in Canada, where the father, James Dooley, the elder,
became ill and died in the city of Hamilton. Although the young Irish
lad was but twelve years of age and immature, it was necessary for him
to go to work and gain a livelihood the best way he could. He managed to
get a job which paid him one dollar and a half per month with his board.
He was knocked about from pillar to post while a youth, and managed to
make his way. His adventures in making a struggle for an honest
livelihood were similar to those of other poor orphan boys left in a
strange land without friends or relatives, other than those who were as
poor as himself. One bright rift in the lonely life of this orphan boy
is to be noticed when he became a boarder in the Hurley home at
Harrisburg, Canada. It was here that he met with a genuine kindness and
formed an attachment for the noble-hearted girl who later became his
inspiration, and was his faithful wife during the years in Kansas when
he was working his way upward to wealth and affluence, aided and abetted
by her wise counsel and assistance. Imbued with a desire to secure
capital so that he could come to this new country and realize an
inherent ambition to own a farm, he set out for the gold fields of
Colorado during the Civil war years, and there amassed a small fortune
of $500 in gold, saved during the months of his hard and unremitting
labor in the gold mines of the western State. With this capital he felt
able to make the venture which he and his sweetheart had planned, and,
accordingly, after his marriage at Paris, Canada, with Catharine Hurley,
he and his wife set out for Atchison in March of 1866. During the first
few months of their residence in Atchison county they lived with a
sister of Mr. Dooley, Mrs. Slattery, in Shannon township, and James
worked in the city at any honest labor he could get. Their first
investment was for eighty acres of school land in Shannon township, for
which they paid cash, and it then became necessary for Mr. Dooley to
borrow forty dollars in order to get the deed for the land. During the
whole course of Mr. Dooley’s career in Atchison county, while the modest
eighty acres were growing to the large total of 600 acres of some of the
best agricultural land in the county, they never undertook a debt, but
each time an additional tract of farm land was purchased, the savings
were drawn upon and cash paid for the land. Each of three sons now has a
fine farm of 200 acres. The home place upon which Mrs. Dooley now
resides, which consists of 200 acres, cost an even $10,000. This farm is
one of the oldest in the county and was originally preëmpted by a Mr.
Collins, who set out a large grove of forty acres or more in walnut and
cottonwood trees which have become very valuable, having grown to
considerable size.
Catharine (Hurley) Dooley, widow of James Dooley, was born April 28,
1847, in Ireland, a daughter of James and Bridget Hurley, who left their
native land in 1847 while Katharine was but an infant, and located in
Hamilton, Canada, later residing in Harrisburg, Canada. A brother of
Mrs. Dooley, James Hurley, served three years and three months in the
Union army. He was a member of a Pennsylvania reserve regiment of
sharpshooters and was wounded during the battle of Richmond, Va. For six
months, while the wound in his wrist was healing, he served as sergeant
in the quartermaster’s department. Some years after the war he became an
inmate of the National Soldiers’ Home at Dayton, Ohio, and lost his life
while aboard an excursion boat which sank in Lake Michigan, near
Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Dooley were the parents of fourteen children: Mrs.
James Baker, Huron, Kan., and mother of eight children, Celia Baker, a
trained nurse in Chicago, Mary, wife of George Perdue, Joseph, William,
Bertha, Ruth, Rita and James; Catharine, James and Mary, deceased;
Sister Lucy, of Mt. St. Scholastica Academy; Lucy, wife of David
Lawless, and mother of two sons, Harold and Clevett; Mrs. Celia
Finnegan, wife of Thomas Finnegan, of Houston, Texas, who had two
children, Thomas Lillis and Mary; Bertha, Sister Dorothy, of the Order
of St. Benedict’s in Mt. St. Scholastica Academy; Nora, wife of Roger
Finnegan; William, managing the home farm; John, deceased; James married
Bertha Kistler, and has three children: Florence, Bernice, and Francis;
Edward married Henrietta Kramer, and has two children, John and Gerard;
Joseph, deceased; Irene, at home with her mother.
It is well to add here that James Dooley was one of the notable army of
hardy freighters who crossed the plains with the long mule trains in the
late sixties. This was in April of 1866, when he convoyed a train load
of goods to Denver, Colo., in company with William Slattery. During his
whole life, after attaining his majority, Mr. Dooley was a stanch
Democrat and was ever loyal to Democratic principles. While a member of
the Catholic church, he was a liberal supporter of all denominations,
and took a broad and tolerant view of all religious matters as becoming
a widely traveled and experienced man. His life-long wish to perpetuate
his name and keep the family estate in the family was expressed while
lying on his death bed. Calling his faithful helpmeet to his bedside, he
said: “Mother, I am leaving you without having my dearest wish come
true.” On being asked what it was, he said: “I have always longed for
the time to come when I could see my sons settled on this farm of ours,
with a Dooley here with his family, a Dooley there, and another son on
that part of the farm.” He was at once assured by his wife that his
wishes would be respected, and after his demise Mrs. Dooley at once took
steps to carry out the plans of her husband with the result that within
sight of her home the other two sons are comfortably located on 200
acres of land each and have attractive homes of their own.
ABRAHAM HOOPER.
Abraham Hooper, deceased, was one of the pioneer settlers of Atchison
county. He was one of the well known and sturdy figures in the early
days of the settlement of Kansas when strong and brave men were
required, who were able to face the vicissitudes and hardships incident
to the settlement of a new country and perform their tasks without
succumbing, as weaker mortals were wont to do. Mr. Hooper was born in
Platte county, Missouri, November 23, 1839, on a farm, near Parkville.
His father was Abraham Hooper, a native of Tennessee and early settler
of Missouri, who died in Mexico. Abraham Hooper, the subject of this
review, was reared in Platte county and came to Atchison county in 1858,
settling on a farm near Pardee. While engaged in farming he followed his
trade of plasterer in the neighborhood of Pardee. For a distance of ten
miles around his own residence he plastered all of the houses then
building by the incoming settlers. During the Civil war he was enrolled
in the State militia. In his younger days Mr. Hooper was a freighter and
crossed the plains in charge of great trains on three different
occasions. On one of his trips to Colorado he was placed in charge of a
train load of twenty-five wagons, and one of his other trips was to Ft.
Union, N. M. His affiliations were with the Christian church, the
Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Knights of Pythias lodges.
[Illustration:
_Daniel E. Hooper_
]
Mr. Hooper was married in 1863 to Louisa Campbell, born in Tennessee in
1842, a daughter of Daniel and Nancy Campbell. The Campbell family left
Tennessee in 1854, and in 1855 removed to a farm which they preëmpted
near Farmington in Atchison county. This was in a day when things were
in a primitive state in Kansas. The Campbells lived in a cabin which was
one of the first dwellings built in that section of the county. The
mother of Mrs. Hooper lived and died on their farm, and her father died
on the western plains while on a trip to the Black Hills. Mr. and Mrs.
Hooper removed from the farm to Atchison in 1887, and here Mr. Hooper
died February 18, 1914, at the advanced age of seventy-four years,
having been born November 3, 1839. Three children were born to this well
respected couple: Addie B. died at the age of six years; Daniel,
deceased, and Nellie died at the age of one year. Mrs. Hooper lives all
alone in her home, but remembers fondly the days of old and has many
sweet memories of her husband and children to solace and comfort her
during her declining years. Despite her age she is physically and
mentally vigorous and is distinguished in being one of the oldest
pioneer women now living in the county.
Her well beloved son, Daniel Hooper, was born in 1868, and died January
22, 1912. He was one of the most talented and best liked men in
Atchison, and was far on the road to fame and prosperity when he was cut
off in the prime of his vigorous and virile manhood. He received the
rudiments of an elementary education in the district school near his
country home and early developed ambitions which were partly realized
during his life. After leaving school he studied shorthand and
typewriting, and while holding a position in the law office of C. D.
Walker he studied law and was admitted to the bar. A winning personality
and his pronounced ability won him clients from the start of his legal
career. His personal popularity and ambitious tendencies led him to
enter politics, and he was elected to the office of probate judge of the
county, serving the people well and faithfully for a period of six
years, and then served two terms as city attorney. Just in the prime of
his manhood and at the zenith of a career his health failed, and he died
at Excelsior Springs, Mo., where he had gone in the hope of regaining
his health. Judge Hooper was sincerely mourned by a large circle of
friends and acquaintances and it is probable that there was not a man in
his class better liked or more highly respected in Atchison county at
the time of his demise. He was a Republican in politics and was
fraternally connected with the Modern Woodmen, the Knights of Pythias,
in whose councils he was very prominent, and an attendant at the
Christian church. The most notable trait in Judge Hooper’s character was
his sincere devotion to his parents. Because of the love he bore his
mother he never married and cared for no woman but her. His constant
thought was to make provision for her in the event of his own demise,
and he carefully looked after her immediate and future wants. Such men
as he are deserving of a greater tribute than that embodied in this
brief review. A memorial window with his and the name of his father
thereon was placed in the Christian church in his memory. Printed on
this window are Judge Hooper’s words of faith often expressed: “I
believe in a great and a good God.”
Mrs. Hooper is rearing and educating a girl, Ruth Jones, who serves as
company for her in the home.
ALBERT J. SMITH.
Albert J. Smith, the efficient cashier of the State Bank of Lancaster,
Kan., is a native son of Kansas, and has grown up with Atchison county.
He is a son of one of the prominent early pioneer settlers of the
county, and while yet, comparatively, a young man, he has made good at
his chosen avocation and is considered one of the really successful
banking men of this section of the State, his talents and ability
seeming to be especially adapted to the profession of banking.
Mr. Smith was born on a farm in Brown county, Kansas, January 13, 1879,
a son of Thomas B. and Mary E. (Woodruff) Smith. The father of Albert J.
Smith was born August 16, 1843, in Grant county, Indiana, a son of
William J. and Lucinda (Barkley) Smith, who were born and reared in
Pennsylvania. The father of Lucinda Barkley Smith was a soldier in the
War of 1812. William J. Smith removed with his family to Grant county,
Indiana, and in 1851 migrated further westward to Bureau county,
Illinois, where he made a permanent settlement, and died in that county
in 1869. Lucinda (Barkley) Smith died in Illinois in 1862, at the age of
sixty-two years. They were the parents of the following children: Mrs.
Margaret Pugh; Alvah, a veteran of the Civil war; Mrs. Lucinda Spangler;
Isaac, Joseph, and William R. Thomas B. Smith, the father of Albert J.,
was eight years old when the family removed to Bureau county, Illinois,
where he spent his boyhood days and received a common school education,
finishing in the Dover (Illinois) Academy. On the second call for
volunteers issued by President Lincoln, he enlisted in Company B,
Ninety-third regiment, Illinois infantry. He took part in a number of
decisive and important battles and campaigns. Among them are, Jackson,
Miss., and Dalton, Ga. On May 16, 1863, while serving in General
McPherson’s corps, he fought at the battle of Champion Hill and was
severely wounded in the left shoulder. He was forced to remain in the
hospital for some time and after his recovery he was placed on guard
duty for the purpose of guarding the railroad bridges. At the close of
the war he was honorably discharged and returned to his home in Bureau
county, Illinois. After his marriage in 1866, he continued to farm in
Illinois until 1874, when he removed to Kansas, locating first in Brown
county, where he and his family lived for six years, and then came to
Atchison county, where Mr. Smith purchased a farm of 160 acres in
Grasshopper township, northeast of the town of Muscotah. He resided on
this farm for twenty years and then moved to Effingham in 1900. He died
in Effingham, November 29, 1914. Mrs. Mary E. (Woodruff) Smith, his
wife, was a native of New Jersey, and a daughter of Nathan and Delia
Woodruff.
Thomas B. Smith was married January 24, 1866, to Mary E. Woodruff, at
Princeton, Ill. They were the parents of nine children, six of whom are
living: Mrs. M. E. Beven, of Muscotah. Kan.; Mrs. H. T. Reece, of
Muscotah; Mrs. J. C. Harman, of Auburn, Neb.; Albert J., the subject of
this review; C. E., cashier of the Huron Bank, and T. B., of the
Exchange National Bank of Atchison. Three daughters are deceased:
Lettie, Gracie and Goldie. Mr. Smith was an enterprising and progressive
citizen who did his duty in whatever community he was located, during
his long and useful life. While a resident of Grasshopper township he
served as township trustee for four years. He was a member of the city
council of Effingham one term, and filled the office of mayor for one
term, and also proved his efficiency as a member of the Atchison County
High School board for two terms. He was an honored member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Ancient Order of United Workmen and
the Grand Army of the Republic, at Effingham. He was a stockholder and
director of the banks at Lancaster and Huron, Kan. Mr. Smith was a
member of the Presbyterian church for over fifty years. Mrs. Smith, the
widowed mother, was born in New Jersey, in November, 1845, and now
resides in Atchison.
Albert J. Smith was reared on the farm of his father and attended the
district school in District No. 23, Grasshopper township, and later
entered the Atchison County High School, Effingham, and was graduated in
1897. After his graduation he taught school in his home district for two
terms, and in 1900 he received an appointment as clerk in the census
bureau at Washington, D. C., and served for two years in that capacity.
He then returned to Effingham and entered the State Bank of Effingham,
as assistant cashier and bookkeeper. He made a fine record for himself
in this bank and in July, 1905, was one of the organizers of the Farmers
and Merchants State Bank of Effingham, and held the office of cashier
from the time of its opening until 1909, when he resigned his position
and removed to Lancaster, where he became cashier of the Lancaster State
Bank. Mr. Smith, in addition to his banking interests, is the owner of
eighty acres of good land in Kapioma township, Atchison county.
Albert J. Smith was married in 1899 to Elizabeth R. Smith, and to this
union have been born the following children: Dorothy, deceased; Gladys,
Elizabeth and Albert, all living at home. Mrs. Elizabeth (Smith) Smith,
was born on a farm in Grasshopper township, February 26, 1879, and, like
her husband, is a graduate of the Atchison County High School. She also
taught school for two years. She is a daughter of James K. and Elizabeth
(Asquith) Smith, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the mother a
native of England, and early settlers of Atchison county. Both are now
deceased.
Mr. Smith has identified himself with the civic affairs of Lancaster and
is recognized as one of the town’s leading and enterprising citizens. He
is a Republican and has served four years, from 1911 to 1915, inclusive,
as mayor of Lancaster. His administration was successful and the affairs
of the city were conducted with efficiency. He is a regular attendant of
the Presbyterian church, and is affiliated with the Anti-Horse Thief
Association, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of
America, and the Knights and Ladies of Security.
JOHN E. DUNCAN.
There is a proverbial saying that opportunity knocks once at every man’s
door, and a classic has been written by a great Kansas statesman, since
departed from among us, which tells in musical language that Kansas
spells opportunity for the young man. Opportunity presented itself to
John E. Duncan, Missouri Pacific agent, at Shannon, Kan., and Mr. Duncan
seized it, and held on for all he was worth, and made a success of his
venture. His ambition first was to become a railroad man and telegraph
operator, and probably in the early stages of his career the post of
telegraph operator seemed to him to be the great height of attainment.
He realized his first dream, and when he came to Shannon, Kan., to take
charge of the Missouri Pacific business at that place, he conceived the
idea of engaging in the buying and shipping of grain. This idea grew and
he became a grain buyer and shipper, built an elevator, established a
general store, opened an implement establishment, and became a
prosperous and trusted business man of his adopted county. It is a fact
that more grain is shipped from the little village of Shannon through
the agency of Mr. Duncan than any other point in Atchison county,
outside of the city of Atchison. Mr. Duncan enjoys the respect, esteem
and confidence of the prosperous farmers of the section tributary to
Shannon, and they trade with him because of this confidence in his
squareness. A few years ago, when real hard times struck Kansas as a
result of the droughts, Mr. Duncan showed his hearty good will and
confidence in the eventual betterment of conditions by placing his trust
in his farmer friends, and supplying such of those who were not blessed
with ready cash, with credit for supplies at his store, and carried them
until they were able to pay. This kindness has been appreciated, and the
most cordial relations exist between Mr. Duncan and his patrons.
John E. Duncan was born March 21, 1863, in Moro, Madison county,
Illinois. He is a son of John and Mary (Hooley) Duncan, who had eight
children, three of whom are now dead. The father was born in December,
1818, in Ireland. He left his native land in 1846 and sailed for New
York. He engaged in farming in New York State, and was married two years
later. In 1851 he came to Illinois and remained there until 1891. The
mother of John Duncan was born in Ireland, also, in 1827. In 1848 she
left there with a brother, William, and came to America. She died in
1907. Both parents were members of the Catholic church. The subject of
this sketch was reared on the farm of his father and attended the
grammar schools of Madison county, Illinois. When he grew to be a young
man the long days of labor on the farm palled on him and he longed to
get into different work. He had always had an ambition to become a
telegrapher and when he was twenty-one years old he had a chance to
learn that work. He worked as telegrapher for the Chicago & Alton
Railroad Company until 1887, when he went to Everest, Brown county,
Kansas, to become night operator for the Missouri Pacific Railroad
Company. In the fall of 1887 he was sent by the same company to Shannon,
Atchison county, Kansas, to become the agent for the Missouri Pacific
there. In 1892 he went into the grain business. He bought and sold grain
for eight years, and at the end of a successful business period he
erected the grain elevator at Shannon. This proved a profitable
investment, and in 1907 he invested in a general merchandise store which
he conducted until August, 1915, when his store building and stock were
destroyed by fire, which was caused by lightning. Mr. Duncan has
recently completed a handsome new store building of cement blocks, 36×56
feet in size, which is attractively finished throughout and is well
stocked with goods. In the fall of 1915 Mr. Duncan installed a line of
agricultural implements and is the real merchant prince of his section
of the county. Besides his business interests he is the owner of 200
acres of land in Macoupin county, Illinois, a nice residence in Shannon,
and several town lots.
Mr. Duncan was married in 1890 to Margaret V. Clark, and to this union
the following children have been born: John, associated with his father
in business; Kathrine, aged sixteen years; Margaret, eleven years old;
Bernadette, aged nine; and Dorothy, four years of age, all of whom are
living at home with their parents. Mrs. Duncan is a daughter of Mathias
and Katherine (O’Grady) Clark, both of whom were born and reared in
Ireland, and emigrated from their native land to America. She was
graduated from the school of telegraphy at St. Louis, Mo., in 1889, and
assisted her husband in his work at Shannon. Mr. Duncan is a Democrat
and he and his family are members of the Catholic church. He is a member
of the Knights of Columbus, of Atchison, Kan.
WILLIAM SCHAPP.
William Schapp, a Civil war veteran and an Atchison county pioneer, is a
native of Germany. He was born in Wyler, Germany, January 26, 1840, and
is a son of Peter and Margaret (Bonns) Schapp. The Schapp family
immigrated to America in 1854, landing at New Orleans, La. They remained
there but a short time, however, when they came up the Mississippi and
Missouri rivers by boat and located at Weston, Platte county, Missouri,
where a brother of Mrs. Schapp had located some time previously. Here
the father entered the dairy business and prospered and the parents
moved to Atchison, Kan., in 1868 and died in Atchison.
William Schapp received a common school education and grew to manhood in
Platte county. He entered the employ of James Steele, an extensive land
owner, as overseer of his estate, and was thus employed when the Civil
war broke out and soon after the beginning of hostilities, Mr. Schapp
was drafted into the Confederate service. Four days after he became a
Confederate soldier, his company was encamped on the banks of the
Missouri river near Iatam, Mo. Young Schapp began to lay plans to
escape, as he was a Union man at heart, and he had made up his mind that
if he was going to serve in the army that he would serve under the stars
and stripes. On the night he escaped the lieutenant of the company was
killed accidentally while showing the men how to use a gun, and during
the excitement incident to the killing, Mr. Schapp made his escape.
During the night he secured a boat with one oar and drifted down the
river, landing at Ft. Leavenworth. Here he lost no time in enlisting in
Captain Black’s company which afterwards became a part of Company B,
Eighth Kansas regiment. The following night he piloted this company
across the river to Iatum where they surprised and captured the
Confederate company of which he had been a member the day before. This
act won from him the intense hatred of the members of the Confederate
company, and even after the close of the war members of that company
attempted to take his life. After serving about a month in Captain
Black’s company, he joined Company H, Eighteenth Missouri regiment and
participated in a number of important engagements. After the battle of
Shiloh he was promoted to sergeant major. He was with Sherman on his
march to the sea, and during that campaign, while at Decatur, Ala., his
term of enlistment expired and he received special permission to
accompany General Sherman’s army through the campaign. On arriving at
Savannah, Ga., he was placed in charge of fourteen soldiers whose term
of enlistment had expired and was the first to arrive in New York City,
where they were met by bands of music and were treated royally by the
people. He then returned to his former home in Platte county, but the
secession spirit was so strong and so much antipathy was shown him on
account of his loyalty to the Union that he decided not to remain, and
accordingly, came to Atchison. The second night after arriving home he
was warned by a friendly member of the Confederate company he had
deserted to leave at once, as plans had been made to hang him. He left
at once on the next train. He had saved about $800 during the war and
loaned it to his uncle, John Bonns, who was engaged in the brewery
business, and through a failure, Mr. Schapp lost every dollar of his
savings. He then entered the employ of Julius Holthaus, who conducted a
saloon and a grocery store. About a year later he engaged in the
manufacture of brick in partnership with Jacob Nash. About five years
later he engaged in the ice business, which he conducted about six
years. He then bought a farm north of where the orphans’ home is
located, where he remained for twelve years, when he sold his farm and
removed to Atchison, and engaged in the real estate business and has
since been engaged in that business. Mr. Schapp has been very successful
and has accumulated considerable property.
He was married in February, 1865, to Miss Margaret, a daughter of
Gearhardt Kunders, a pioneer settler of Weston, Mo. Eight children have
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Schapp, as follows: Peter P. resides in
California; Dora F. resides at home; Mrs. Theodore Geritz, Atchison
county; Mrs. Theodora Arensberg, Atchison; Mrs. Henry Wersling, Atchison
county, and Albert A.; William H., deceased; Maggie, deceased.
Mr. Schapp is one of the old timers of Atchison, and has seen that town
develop from a little settlement on the bank of the Missouri river to
the great prosperous commercial center that it is today. He has taken an
active part in the political life of Atchison, and for seven years was a
member of the city council, and served two years on the Atchison school
board. Mr. Schapp cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln for President,
and has been a stanch adherent to the policies and principles of the
Republican party since that day. He is a member of the Grand Army of the
Republic.
THOMAS LINCOLN BLODGETT.
The passing of a good, industrious citizen from this mundane sphere to
the realms of a higher and better life beyond the grave is always
saddening, especially if his demise occurs while yet in the prime of his
vigorous manhood. Such a one was Thomas Lincoln Blodgett, late of Mt.
Pleasant township, who, though not permitted to dwell upon this earth
the allotted time decreed for mankind, accomplished in the brief time he
was actively engaged in agricultural pursuits more than the average man,
and will long be remembered for his many excellent qualities by those
who knew him best.
Thomas Lincoln Blodgett, late of Mt. Pleasant township, was born July
27, 1860, and lived and died in the township in which he was born in
Atchison county, his demise occurring May 4, 1905. He was a son of
George M. and Mary (Cline) Blodgett, his father having been born and
reared in Michigan and came to Kansas when the State was created in the
late fifties.
George M. Blodgett, the father of Thomas Lincoln Blodgett, was born in
Livingston county, New York, October 6, 1834, a son of George W. and
Lucinda (Garfield) Blodgett, and was a grandson of Thomas Blodgett.
Thomas Blodgett, who was a soldier under Washington and fought for the
independence of the American colonies, lived in Vermont, where he was a
blacksmith and a farmer. He went to Michigan in 1856 and remained there
to be near his son, George W., who had settled at Kalamazoo about 1846.
Mr. Rowel, the father of Thomas Blodgett’s wife, was also a
Revolutionary soldier. The children of Thomas Blodgett were named George
W., Riley and Jared. Riley went to Rhode Island and became connected
with shipping interests, navigating waters in the vicinity of Newport.
Thomas died in Michigan in 1850, aged ninety years.
[Illustration:
_T L Blodgett_
]
George W. Blodgett, the father of George M., was born in Vermont in
1800, and died in 1880, aged eighty years. His wife, Lucinda, was a
daughter of Solomon Garfield, of Ontario county, New York. She died in
1840, leaving the following named children: Orinda, who married Thomas
Sanders; George M.; Emma, who was Mrs. Nathan Allen, of Michigan, and
John, deceased.
The education of George M. Blodgett was limited and he became used to
hard work at an early age. He worked as hired hand and at logging in the
pine woods of Michigan. When twenty-one years of age he left home and
went to Winnebago county, Illinois, and took charge of a quarter section
of land for which he had traded. Not liking his prairie surroundings he
traded his farm for a small tract now within the limits of the city of
Moline, Ill. He remained here for four years; then he traded this farm
for a farm in Iowa which he sold. With his small means he came to
Kansas, arriving in Atchison April 5, 1855. He took up a claim and
bought land from the Delaware Indian lands and began developing his
farm.
When volunteers were called for at the outbreak of the Civil war, Mr.
Blodgett offered himself for the defense of his country’s honor and was
accepted as a member of Company F, Thirteenth regiment, Kansas infantry,
(Colonel Bowen’s regiment), of the Seventh army corps, which was
mustered into service at Leavenworth, Kan., and was in the military
department of the West. Mr. Blodgett was a sergeant of his company and
participated in many battles fought by his regiment in Missouri and
eastern Arkansas and was once wounded by a bursting shell.
George M. Blodgett was married in 1857 to Mary E. Cline, a daughter of
Henry Cline, an early settler of Atchison county. The children born to
this union were: Thomas Lincoln, Frank F., Frederick, Luther, Mrs.
Lavina Lawler, Mrs. Jessie Ellerman, and Lulu. The father of Thomas
Lincoln Blodgett became quite wealthy and accumulated 500 acres of land.
He served as deputy sheriff of the county in 1856 and filled many
offices of trust in Mt. Pleasant township.
George M. settled on a pioneer farm in Mt. Pleasant township which he
developed, reared a family, and died in the home which he built to house
his family. He was the father of seven children, of whom Lincoln was the
eldest.
Thomas Lincoln Blodgett was named in honor of Abraham Lincoln, who was
greatly admired by the elder Blodgett. He was reared to young manhood on
his father’s farm and learned to become an excellent farmer and
stockman. After his marriage in 1881 he and his young wife lived on a
farm owned by his father for four years, when they purchased 120 acres
of land which formed the nucleus for a large farm which was later
increased to 400 acres, now owned by Mrs. Blodgett. The first tract was
bought on time, but by industry, economy and self-denial on the part of
the ambitious couple, the debt was soon paid off and additional acreage
was gradually added as the years went on. Mr. Blodgett was a successful
live stock feeder and frequently fed one or two carloads of cattle on
his farm each year. He was noted as a good judge of cattle and made
money in his operations. The Blodgett farm is well improved and is
considered to be one of the best in Atchison county.
He was married August 18, 1881, to Miss Ella Hudson, and to this
marriage have been born five children, as follows: Robert, a farmer,
near Cummings, Atchison county, Kansas; George, managing the home farm;
Elmer, Mabel and Stella, at home with their mother. Stella is attending
the high school at Potter. Mrs. Blodgett was born May 20, 1862, in
Illinois, and is a daughter of Cyrenus and Elizabeth (Shaw) Hudson, the
former of whom came to Kansas in 1867 with his family. Cyrenus Hudson
was a native of Illinois who made good in Kansas, and at one time was
the owner of 900 acres of land in Atchison and Jefferson counties,
Kansas. In 1901 he removed to a home in Potter, where he is living
retired. With other live citizens of the thriving town he has taken an
active part in the upbuilding of his adopted city.
During his life and ever since he attained his majority, Thomas Lincoln
Blodgett was allied with the Republican party and took a prominent part
in political and civic affairs in his home township and county. He was a
progressive citizen as well as a successful and progressive farmer who
was always in favor of matters which had for their intent the betterment
of the public welfare and the advancement of the citizenship of Atchison
county. He was ever ready to do his part in educational matters and was
a member of the local school board. He was fraternally allied with the
Modern Woodmen lodge, and was blessed with many warm friends and well
wishers who esteemed him as a man and citizen. He was a kind parent who
loved his wife and children and highly prized his home life and
surroundings, and was ever striving to make his family happy and
comfortable.
JOHN R. OLIVER.
John R. Oliver, deceased pioneer of Atchison county, was born in Cayuga
county, New York, April 5, 1825, and was a son of William Oliver, a
native of Scotland, who emigrated from his native land when a youth.
John R. was educated in the schools of his native county and State and
learned the carpenter’s trade. He was married January 3, 1850, to Helen
M. Packard, who was born in New York State February 17, 1832, a daughter
of Thaxton Packard, of English extraction, who married a lady of Holland
descent. After John R. and Helen Oliver were married they settled at
Sterling Center, Cayuga county, New York, where Mr. Oliver worked at his
trade of contractor and builder until 1856, when he and his wife and two
children came west and settled on a farm near the western border of
Atchison county, in Grasshopper township. They became a part of the
Cayuga settlement, made up of several families who had migrated from
their native county in New York State. There are only four of the
original Cayuga colony living, as far as known: Fred L. Oliver, Frances
Josephine Anderson, of Atchison; Mrs. Frank Boyington, of Atchison
county, and brother, Samuel Adams. John R. Oliver came first, and in the
fall of 1857 he sent back for his wife and two children to join him.
Mrs. Oliver and the children boarded a steamboat on Lake Erie and made
the voyage by way of the Great Lakes to Chicago, going from Chicago to
Leavenworth, Kan., and thence by steamer to Atchison, from which place
they were taken across the county to the new home in the Cayuga
settlement, by a man named Sandy Coburn. The family lived in the
settlement for about six years and then moved to Leavenworth, Kan.,
where they resided until Mr. Oliver’s death, in 1906; the wife and
mother died in 1911. John R. Oliver served in the Kansas State militia
during the Price invasion, but was unable physically to withstand the
rigors of the campaign which resulted in Price’s army of invasion being
driven southward. He was an ardent Republican in politics and was a
follower and supporter of Abraham Lincoln, to whom he was related by
marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Oliver were the parents of the following
children: Fred L., born in Sterling Center, N. Y., November 8, 1851, now
residing in Atchison with his sister, Mrs. Anderson; Parthenia K., widow
of Wesley Chaffee, a nephew of General Chaffee, was born August 8, 1861,
and now resides in Leavenworth, Kan.
Frances Josephine Oliver Anderson was born March 1, 1855, and was six
years of age when the family moved to Leavenworth. She received her
education in the public schools of Leavenworth and was married there on
May 8, 1873, to James A. Anderson, who was born March 16, 1849, in
Loudon county, Virginia, about twenty miles south of Washington, D. C.
An anecdote which tells of the stirring and troublesome times in the
beginning of the Civil war is here worth recording. When a child on the
farm in Atchison county, Mrs. Anderson and her teacher, Miss Missouri
Batsell stayed all night at the home of the Reece family, as it was
unsafe to be abroad after dark. This was in the fall of 1861. Mr. Reece,
the head of the family, was very ill. Along about dark the people of the
Reece home heard a furious noise of yelling and shooting outside. The
noise makers rapped on the door with the butts of their guns, and when
Mrs. Reece opened the door it was ascertained that the night prowlers
were a band of Bushwhackers who demanded a meal. She told them that her
husband was very ill, and that she had nothing cooked which would
suffice for a meal. They swore at her, and after talking the matter over
decided to go to the barn and steal the horses for their own use. The
gang went toward the barn, and another altercation arose among them
which resulted in the killing of one of the men who had counseled them
not to steal the horses. A dead body was thrust through the doorway and
slid part way across the floor after a shot was fired. Mrs. Anderson has
never forgotten the horrors of that night.
James A. Anderson was a son of Charles W. and Mary Francis (Hough)
Anderson, both of whom were members of very old and prominent families
in Virginia, the Hough family being large plantation and slave holders.
Charles W. Anderson was profoundly opposed to the institution of
slavery, and was high in the councils of the Democratic party. He was a
thirty-second degree Mason and was a personal friend of men high in the
Government affairs at Washington, D. C. A son, Fleming Anderson, was
killed by Mosby’s guerrillas while at home from the war on a furlough,
and was shot as he ran out of the door of his home. Charles W. Anderson
was a paymaster in the Union army and was killed by robbers while on
official duty. After the death of the father of the family, James A.,
with his widowed mother and sister. Mrs. Captain Spence, Charles W., and
C. C. Anderson of the transfer company, of Atchison, came to Kansas,
first residing at Topeka, then at Lawrence shortly after Quantrell’s
raid. James was but seventeen years old at this time, and being the
eldest son was the actual head of the family. When still a young man he
engaged in the transfer business and took a contract from the Government
to supply Ft. Leavenworth with fuel, and while fulfilling his contract
with the Government, and transporting goods to and from the fort, he met
and fell in love with his future wife, Frances Josephine Oliver, and the
marriage took place as stated in the preceding paragraph. After the
marriage Mr. and Mrs. Anderson lived in Lawrence, Kan., until their
removal to Atchison, in July of 1873. Mr. Anderson continued in the
transfer business and established the Anderson Transfer Company. He had
associates at various times, but was always at the head of the company.
He died July 12, 1906. His widow, Mrs. Frances Josephine Anderson, is
one of the best known ladies of Atchison and is prominent in social and
religious circles. When thirteen years of age she became a Christian and
became a member of the Atchison Methodist Episcopal Church in 1883. She
has been actively and prominently identified with the church work for
many years, and has been especially successful as a teacher of boys. She
is a class leader of the church and a member of the official board, and
was captain of one of the teams which raised a $43,000 fund to provide
for the erection of the new Methodist Episcopal church building. She is
a charter member of the Epworth League and is a singer of ability,
having sung in the Methodist Episcopal church choir for thirty years. In
1911 she began her evangelical career, in which chosen field she is
achieving marked success. Mrs. Anderson is a member of the Knights and
Ladies of Security and is affiliated with the home and foreign
missionary societies of the Methodist Episcopal church.
LEO NUSBAUM.
Faithfulness to duty and perseverance invariably bring their reward.
Give a truly ambitious young man an opportunity to advance himself, and
he will succeed. The opportunity was given to Leo Nusbaum, vice-
president of the Dolan Mercantile Company of Atchison, and he has made a
success of the business in which he began at the lowest rung of the
ladder. Entering the employ of the firm of which he is now one of the
important heads, he worked his way steadily upward until he is now one
of the recognized business factors in the city of Atchison.
Leo Nusbaum was born in Poweshiek county, Iowa, December 6, 1877, and is
the son of Frederick and Eva (Link) Nusbaum, both natives of Germany.
Frederick Nusbaum was born in the Fatherland in 1855, and came to
America in 1869, when a boy fourteen years of age. He worked as a farm
hand in Iowa, and eventually owned a farm of his own. From Iowa he moved
to Nebraska where he purchased and operated a farm. From Nebraska he
removed to St. Joseph, Mo., where he was employed in a grain elevator.
He died in St. Joseph in 1903.
He, with whom this review is directly concerned, was educated in the
schools of Council Bluffs, and St. Peter’s parochial school, and came to
Atchison in 1898. On coming here he entered the employ of the Dolan
Mercantile Company as office boy and packer. His first work consisted of
preparing orders for shipment. After attaining proficiency in this
department, he was promoted to the position of billing clerk and made a
success in this department. being next advanced to the position of city
salesman for the concern. All the while he was studying the wholesale
business, and gaining such a knowledge as would best fit him to take a
more responsible position in the affairs of the company. His next
important service was as the secretary of the company. From this place
it was but a step to the sales managership. Upon the demise of William
F. Dolan, the founder of the wholesale business, in the year 1913, Mr.
Nusbaum became vice-president and one of the managers. He and his
associates, in charge of the Dolan Mercantile Company’s affairs, are
capable and energetic men who are building up a more extensive business
upon the broad and stable foundation erected by its late founder, whose
example has been an inspiration and guide to the young men whom he took
into his employ and educated in the details of his extensive business.
Mr. Nusbaum has justified the confidence and faith held in his ability
by his employer, and is an able and dignified executive.
Mr. Nusbaum was united in marriage with Gertrude Delaney, at Atchison,
Kan., in 1900. She is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Delaney. To this
union four children have been born, who are the pride of their parents,
namely: Leo, Mary Clare, Robert, and Frances. Mr. and Mrs. Nusbaum are
members of the Catholic church and have a host of friends who esteem
them for their many excellent qualities. Mr. Nusbaum is a director of
the First National Bank of Atchison and a vice-president of the Atchison
Commercial Club and the Atchison Hospital. He is politically allied with
the Democratic party. His primary interests, however, are mainly
concerned with the growing success of his firm, and the welfare and
growth of his home city, and he is universally recognized as a citizen
of worth and standing in the community. He was the most active force in
the organization of the Atchison Commercial Club, called its first
meeting and has been continuously one of its most aggressive members.
CHARLES J. KEITHLINE.
Charles J. Keithline, a prosperous farmer and stockman of Lancaster
township, Atchison county, Kansas, is a native of the Keystone State,
and is a descendant of an old American family which traces its ancestry
back to the Revolutionary days, when the founder of the family in
America, Colonel Keithline, came from Germany, his native land, to
America with Baron De Kalb, and assisted the colonial army to achieve
American independence. Charles J. was born in Luzerne county,
Pennsylvania, July 9, 1857, a son of Samuel and Eliza (Hoover)
Keithline, both of whom were born and reared in Pennsylvania and there
married. Samuel Keithline was a son of John and Mary (Neyhart)
Keithline, who also lived in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania. The great
grandfather of Charles J. was Joseph Keithline, who served in the War of
1812, and made buckskin breeches for the United States Government, which
were worn by the United States soldiers. He was a tailor by trade.
Samuel Keithline learned the trade of wagon maker in his younger days
and operated a wagon shop at Hanover, Penn. He lived in his native State
until 1884, when he migrated to Kansas and invested his capital in land
in Shannon township upon which he lived in retirement until his demise
in 1900, at the advanced age of eighty-two years. Samuel and Eliza
Keithline were the parents of the following children: John A. died May
17, 1915, in Atchison, Kan.; Samuel died in infancy; Joseph died at the
age of three years; Charles J.; Augustus L., Lancaster township; Sarah
E., in Shannon township; Emma Carlton, Franklin county, Kansas, and Mrs.
Cora Riley, Atchison, Kan. The mother of Charles died in 1910, at the
age of seventy-nine years.
Charles J. Keithline, with whom this narrative is directly concerned,
was educated in the graded schools of Nanticoke, Penn., and worked as
farm hand in Pennsylvania. In 1883, five years after his marriage in
1879, he migrated westward with his family to Kansas, and located on a
farm in Shannon township on the old home place. He rented land for
twenty-eight years and finally became the owner of the fine farm which
he is now cultivating. This farm is fitted with excellent improvements
consisting of an attractive farm residence and excellent out-buildings,
much of which has been erected or remodeled by the proprietor. The 187
acres comprised in this farm are well and closely cultivated so as to
yield the maximum of results. The farm is nicely located six miles west
of Atchison on the Parallel road. Mr. Keithline has been a breeder of
Poland China hogs for several years and takes pride in the animals bred
and raised on his place.
He was married in 1879 to Frances Goss at Wilkes-Barre, Penn., and this
union has been blessed with the following children: Ira, a hardware
dealer in Atchison, Kan.; Samuel, a farmer, living at home with his
parents; Amy, deceased; Mrs. Elsie Vollmer, Bronson, Kan.; Frances,
living at home; Grant, deceased; Charles died in infancy. The mother of
these children was born in Pennsylvania in 1856, and was a daughter of
Floren and Maria (Keyser) Goss, the former a native of Germany and the
latter a native of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Keithline is identified with the Republican party, but has never
been an aspirant for political preferment. He and the members of his
family are affiliated religiously with the Methodist Episcopal church
and contribute of their means to its support. He is fraternally allied
with the Modern Woodmen lodge, and during his residence in this county
has taken an active and influential part in affairs which concern the
welfare of the people in general.
SHEFFIELD INGALLS.
Sheffield Ingalls is a resident and a native son of Atchison, having
been born in that city March 28, 1875. He is a son of the late United
States Senator John James Ingalls. Mr. Ingalls’ ancestors, both paternal
and maternal, were representative New England pioneers. The Ingalls
family in America originated with Edmond Ingalls, who with his brother,
Francis, founded Lynn, Mass., in 1628. The mother of our subject was
Anna Louisa Chesebrough, a direct descendant of William Chesebrough, who
emigrated to America with John Winthrop in 1630. The paternal
grandparents of our subject were Elias T. and Eliza (Chase) Ingalls, the
former of whom was a first cousin of Mehitable Ingalls, the grandmother
of President Garfield, while the latter, Eliza Chase, was descended from
Aquilla Chase, who settled in New Hampshire, in 1630, and who was also
the ancestor of the late Chief Justice Chase.
Sheffield Ingalls was reared principally in his native town and received
his public school education at Atchison and at Washington, D. C. After
attending Midland College at Atchison for four years he entered the
University of Kansas and was graduated in that institution in June,
1895, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then studied law and was
admitted to the bar in 1897, but as the profession did not appeal to him
he practiced but little and turned his attention to more genial
pursuits. He early developed a predilection for politics and became
actively identified with the Republican party in both the city and
county of Atchison at an early age. In July, 1898, he was appointed
police judge of Atchison by Mayor Donald and, in April, 1899, was
elected to the same office for a term of two years, serving until April,
1901. In the spring of 1904 he was a prominent candidate for the
Republican nomination for probate judge, but through the exigencies of
politics, instead of receiving the nomination sought for, he was
nominated by the same convention for the legislature from the third
representative district. However, at the election his opponent, Edward
Perdue, defeated him by thirty-two votes. Two years later he was
nominated again for the legislature from the same district and received
a tie vote with Alonzo Wilcox. The contest was decided by lot in Topeka
and Mr. Ingalls won. He served as a member of several important
committees and was made chairman of the committee on education. He cast
his vote for Charles Curtis for United States senator, and in the work
of that session became actively identified with that progressive element
in the legislature which was known at that time as “the boss busters.”
He is in sympathy with all efforts to purify politics and to raise the
tone of public life and during that session he voted for all reform
legislation. He is a man of deep convictions, a political and social
reformer of exceptional ability and courage, and has always opposed
machine politics. It was due to an obnoxious political machine’s
influence in local Republican circles at Atchison that Mr. Ingalls
entered the arena of political strife in order to assist in effectively
opposing said machine and to secure needed reform in political methods.
Shortly after the adjournment of the legislature Mr. Ingalls assumed the
editorial management of the _Atchison Champion_, and for the following
two years exposed through its columns the corruption in city affairs and
fought against the domination of the city by a political ring. He then
endeavored to purchase a controlling interest in the _Champion_ to
enable him to be more aggressive in fighting corruption though its
columns, but through various influences operating against him he was
unsuccessful. In the fall of 1907 he originated and organized the
Commercial State Bank and served as its vice-president until its
consolidation with the First National Bank, in the spring of 1910. He
then organized the Commerce Investment Company, of which he was made
president and continuously served as such until March 2, 1916, when he
became the president of the Commerce Trust Company of Atchison, a
company which is a development of the Commerce Investment Company.
Besides the interests mentioned he is a director of the First National
Bank and also of the Railway Specialty Company of Atchison. He was
appointed a member of the board of regents of the Kansas State normal
schools by Governor Stubbs in April, 1908. He is a member of the State
Historical Society, and is a member of the Sons of the Revolution.
Fraternally he is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks.
On January 9, 1901, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ingalls and Miss
Lucy Cornell Van Hoesen, of Lawrence, Kan. To their union five children
have been born: Robert Chesebrough, who died in infancy; Ruth Constance,
Sarah Sheffield, John James, and David Bagle.
In 1912 Mr. Ingalls received the Republican nomination for lieutenant-
governor of Kansas and was elected, although the head of the State
ticket was defeated. It fell to Mr. Ingalls’ lot to preside over a
Democratic senate, which he did in such a fair and impartial manner as
to win the commendation of both Democrats and Republicans. (_Copied from
Blackmar’s History of Kansas and revised by R. M. Gibson._)
E. P. PITTS, M. D.
E. P. Pitts, M. D., a prominent Atchison physician and surgeon, and well
known specialist in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, is a
native of Virginia. Dr. Pitts was born in Northampton county, Virginia,
October 13, 1880, and is a son of E. D. and Emory (West) Pitts, both
natives of the Old Dominion. E. D. Pitts, the father, was a prominent
lawyer and was successfully engaged in the practice of his profession
for a number of years at Norfolk, Va. He was a son of Edward P. Pitts,
who was also a prominent Virginia lawyer of Northampton county, and for
a number of years served as United States district judge in Virginia. He
was a graduate of William and Mary’s College, and Dr. Pitts still has in
his possession the diploma which his grandfather received from that
institution. The Pitts family is of English descent and traces its
ancestry back to the Hon. William Pitt, Earl of Chatham. Dr. Pitt’s
mother belongs to an old Virginia family, and is also of English
descent.
Dr. Pitts was reared to manhood in his native State and received a good
education. When he was eighteen years of age he went to St. Joseph, Mo.,
where two of his uncles, brothers of his father, were practicing
physicians. Here, Dr. Pitts entered the Ensworth Medical College in
1898, and was graduated in the class of 1902 with the degree of Doctor
of Medicine. He then studied under, and practiced in conjunction, with
Dr. Barton Pitts, his uncle, who is a noted specialist in diseases of
the eye, ear, nose and throat. Dr. Pitts then went to New York, and
after spending six months in an eye and ear infirmary, he came to
Atchison in the summer of 1902 and engaged in the practice of his
profession, specializing in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat.
Dr. Pitts has met with a marked degree of success in his chosen field of
special professional work. He is a close student of the wonderful
advances made in his profession and ranks as a leader.
Dr. Pitts was united in marriage to Miss Beulah Judah, a daughter of
Samuel Judah, of Buchanan county, Missouri, and Dr. and Mrs. Pitts have
one child, Spencer, born in 1907. Dr. Pitts is a member of the Masonic
lodge and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
JOHN FANKHANEL.
John Fankhanel, deceased, was born June 11, 1822, in Saxony, Germany.
When a youth he learned the blacksmith’s trade which he plied in his
native village until 1862, when he immigrated to America, first settling
in Weston, Mo., and later going to Ft. Leavenworth, where he was
employed as a blacksmith by the United States Government. He saved his
money, and in 1879 came to Atchison county and invested in 160 acres of
land in Benton township, located four miles northeast of Effingham. He
improved this farm and cultivated it successfully for a number of years,
and about the year 1900 he turned it over to his son, Henry, and
purchased the farm now owned by Gus Stutz. He resided on this place
until his retirement to a comfortable home in Lancaster in 1901, where
he died December 24, 1914, leaving a reputation for honesty and industry
second to none in his neighborhood. Mr. Fankhanel was a member of the
German Lutheran church. He was twice married, his first wife having been
born in Germany, and died in Leavenworth, Kan., leaving one son, Henry,
now a farmer in Benton township.
Mr. Fankhanel was again married in 1882, to Mrs. Emma Lindel, widow of
Frederick Lindel. She was born in Bavaria, Germany, August 20, 1841, and
lived in her native country until she was eighteen years of age, and
then came to Illinois. Shortly after her arrival she married Frederick
Lindel, also a native of Germany, and a farmer in Illinois. To this
union were born five children, two of whom are living, namely: Mrs.
Minnie Dorety, of Garfield, Okla.; and Herman, a farmer, residing near
Leavenworth, Kan. The marriage of John and Emma Fankhanel was without
issue.
Mrs. Fankhanel is a capable and worthy lady, who enjoys the respect and
esteem of her neighbors and friends. She is kind and neighborly, and is
ever ready to assist those of her acquaintances who are in need. She is
living in Lancaster in comfortable circumstances, where she owns a good
home and village property, and also a farm of sixty-five acres in
Leavenworth county. She is a member of the German Lutheran church.
EDWARD J. KELLY.
Edward J. Kelly, cashier of the Farmers and Merchants State Bank, of
Effingham, was born June 14, 1868, at New Brunswick, N. J., a son of
James and Alice (Tobin) Kelly, both natives of Ireland. Upon immigrating
to this country in 1844 they made their first home in New Jersey, and
from there came to Kansas in 1869, locating in Grasshopper township,
where James met with wonderful success as an agriculturist. His first
investment was for eighty acres of prairie land which he improved and
gradually added to his holdings until he was the owner of 500 acres of
good land. James Kelly accumulated his estate by the exercise of good
judgment in his farming operations, hard labor, and the exercise of the
strictest economy. At first he did not like the new country. Becoming
discouraged, as many others did, after the bad years during the
seventies, he sold out, but fortunately, as it later proved for him, he
was compelled to take back his land from the purchaser. He later changed
his opinion concerning the future of Kansas and invested heavily in land
at every opportunity. James Kelly was born in 1828, and died in 1894.
His wife was born in 1830, and died in 1912. He first came to America in
1844 when but sixteen years of age, and was married in New Jersey. The
children of this estimable pioneer couple were: James, who died at the
age of seven years; Lawrence P., a resident of Colorado Springs, Colo.;
Edward J., and Mary E., residing in Effingham.
Edward J. Kelly was educated in the district schools and spent two years
as a student in St. Benedict’s College in Atchison. He lived on the old
home place of his parents until 1885, in the meantime improving one of
his father’s farms in Benton township, upon which he moved and resided
thereon until 1894, at which time he married and moved on another farm
which he owned in the same township. Mr. Kelly followed farming until
1903, and then removed to Effingham and engaged in the hardware and
grain business for a period of five years. In 1909 he entered the State
Bank of Effingham as bookkeeper and remained one year, when he became
financially interested in the Farmers and Merchants State Bank, of which
he is the present efficient cashier.
Mr. Kelly was married February 16, 1898, to Mary Gerety, of Monrovia,
Kan., a daughter of Richard and Sarah Rooney Gerety, natives of Ireland,
who first immigrated to Indiana, and from there came to Kansas as early
as 1856. Both are now deceased. The Gerety’s settled on the prairie
south of Monrovia, when Indians were camping in the neighborhood. They
lived there all of their days and prospered. Richard Gerety died in
1906, and his widow removed to Effingham, where she died in 1910. They
were the parents of the following living children: Mrs. Elizabeth
(Berney), Horton, Kan.; Thomas Gerety, near Nortonville, Kan.; James,
Everest, Kan.; John, Wichita, Kan.; Margaret, Independence, Kan.;
Richard, Wichita, Kan.; Sarah, Colorado Springs, Colo. During the Civil
war Mr. Gerety purchased horses for the United States Government.
It is not alone as a farmer, merchant and banker that Mr. Kelly has
achieved a certain amount of prominence, but he has taken an active part
in political affairs during his life and stands high in the councils of
the Democratic party. He was elected to represent Atchison county in the
State legislature in the session of 1909, and during that session
acquitted himself creditably as an honest and fearless legislator. He
was a member of the committees on roads and highways, mines and mining,
and judicial apportionments, etc., and has the unique record of never
missing a roll call of the house while attending the session. Mr. Kelly
has likewise shown his interest in his home city by serving on the city
council for four years. His religious affiliations are with the Catholic
church.
_Farmers and Merchants State Bank, Effingham, Kansas._
This bank was organized in 1905, with a capital stock of $12,000, and
officers as follows: President, U. B. Sharpless; secretary and cashier,
A. J. Smith; vice-president, Fred Sutter; directors, R. M. Thomas, J. W.
Davis, C. N. Snyder, U. B. Sharpless, A. J. Smith. Since this time there
have been some changes in the personnel of the official body governing
the bank’s affairs, and the present officers are as follows: President,
Fred Sutter; vice-president, L. T. Hawk; cashier, E. J. Kelly; assistant
cashier, D. R. Gerety; directors, Fred Sutter, L. T. Hawk, Alexander
McKay, U. B. Sharpless; E. J. Kelly. The capital and surplus now exceed
$15,000 and the bank averages in deposits over $120,000. In 1910 the
bank erected a handsome brick building on the corner of Main and Howard
streets, which is fitted up with handsome new fixtures and a new burglar
proof vault of the latest construction at a cost of over $4,000. This
bank is purely a local concern and is financed by local capital, all of
the stockholders residing in Effingham and vicinity, and comprising the
leading merchants and farmers of Effingham and the surrounding country.
BENTON L. BROCKETT.
Successful business man, upright citizen and Christian worker, are
characterizations which aptly describe Benton L. Brockett, who has been
established in the lumber business in Atchison for over thirty years. He
began as a poor man with little capital, and has built up a splendid
retail concern at 1019 Main street. Mr. Brockett first established a
small lumber yard at East Atchison in 1885, and six years later moved to
Atchison. His buildings and warerooms occupy space 175×150 feet, and he
employs six men and four teams to handle his extensive business. The
concern supplies Atchison and vicinity with lumber, lime, cement, and
builder’s material, including cement blocks, and practically all
materials used in building. The yard work includes the only cement
working plant in the city which turns out cement blocks for foundation
work and porches.
Benton L. Brockett was born in Ashtabula, Ohio, September 5, 1864. His
parents were Lewis B. and Lucy S. (Fisk) Brockett, natives of New York
and Ohio, respectively. The Brockett family is of English origin, and
the founder of the family in America first settled near New London,
Conn. His descendants afterward located in the state of New York. Lewis
B. was the son of Ambrose Brockett, who moved to Ashtabula county, and
was one of the first settlers of the Western Reserve. Here Lewis was
reared, and married Lucy S. Fisk, a daughter of an early settler of the
Western Reserve. He became a merchant at Saybrook, and served as
postmaster under President Cleveland’s administration. He died at the
advanced age of eighty-six years. The mother of Benton L. is still
living and is now over eighty-three years of age. To them were born
three sons and three daughters, namely: James D., of Lincoln, Neb.;
Haddie, the wife of Charles C. Parker, a resident of Portland. Ore.;
Ellen F., residing in Ashtabula; and Amy, the wife of Charles Simon, of
Ashtabula, Ohio; and two died in infancy.
Benton L. was educated in the Ashtabula schools, and came west in 1884,
where he engaged in business, as stated in a preceding paragraph.
Success has attended his efforts, and he is universally recognized as
one of the substantial men of the city. The account of the growth of Mr.
Brockett’s business is simply a narrative of his life work on the
material side. His prosperity is well deserved, and has been acquired by
close application to his affairs and square and honorable dealings with
his fellow men. Mr. Brockett was married on October 10, 1888, to Daisy
Denton, a daughter of Henry Denton, an attorney of Atchison; she died
July 15, 1898, leaving two sons, namely: Louis D., born August 14, 1889,
who is associated in the real estate and loan business with C. D.
Walker, and married Isabella, a daughter of Mr. Walker. The second son
is Wallace James Brockett, born February 14, 1895, and is a student at
Baker University, at Baldwin, Kan. On July 23, 1903, Mr. Brockett
married Margaret Schriver, a daughter of Peter P. Schriver, of Cedar
Point, Kan. To this union one child has been born, Helen Louise, born
November 12, 1907.
Mr. Brockett has always espoused the principles of the Republican party,
although his father was a Democrat. He has served his home city as a
member of the city council, and has been generally active in all
undertakings tending to advance the best interests of Atchison and make
the city a better and more attractive place in which to live. He is a
member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. It is in church work,
however, that Mr. Brockett is most active, aside from his business
affairs. Ever since coming to the West he has been identified with
church and Sunday school work, and is a prominent and active member of
the Methodist Episcopal church. He supplemented his work in behalf of
making better men and women of the growing boys and girls of this
locality in East Atchison, where he has conducted a mission school for
the past four years. He is a trustee of his church, and has taken part
in the work of the Sunday school for several years. The highest tribute
that can be paid to him is that he is universally known as an earnest
Christian, who has reared his family to be valuable members of the
community.
JOHN STUTZ.
John Stutz, one of the younger successful farmers of Center township,
Atchison county, was born November 5, 1870, on his father’s farm in
Lancaster township. His parents were Christian and Kathrine Stutz,
concerning whom a complete review is given in the biographies of Gustave
and Christian W. Stutz. The reader is referred to these sketches for the
history of this worthy pioneer couple, who were among the early settlers
of the county. John grew up on the home farm and attended the public
schools of Lancaster, remaining at home with his parents until 1898, at
which time his father died and John was employed by the Cain Milling
Company of Atchison for two months. He became heir to eighty acres of
land as his share of the family estate, and began farming for himself.
His farm was only partly improved by a small shack and granary. He at
once set about to remedy conditions on the land, and erected a
substantial home, a good barn and other out-buildings which are well
kept. He built a two-story five-room house, and in 1903 erected a fine
barn, 48×30 feet in dimension. He has also added to his acreage, and now
owns 160 acres of highly productive land.
Mr. Stutz was married October 8, 1895, to Nora Walz, and to this union
have been born three children, namely: Christian W., Grover J. and
Lester E. all at home with their parents. Mrs. Nora Stutz was born
August 24, 1876, on a farm in Shannon township, a daughter of Charles
and Margaret (Diehsback) Walz. Charles Walz, the father, was twice
married, his first wife being Kathrine Reidel, who bore him four
children: Mrs. Rosa Buff, of Shannon township; Charles, deceased; Mary
married Fred Stutz, a member of the Atchison police force, and Kathrine,
wife of Christian W. Stutz. By the second marriage of Charles Walz, that
with Margaret Diehsback, there were born eight children, as follows:
Margaret, wife of Gustave Stutz, of Lancaster township; Nora, wife of
John Stutz, the subject of this sketch; Frederick, deceased: Mrs. Anna
Hager, of Atchison; William, farmer, Shannon township; Mrs. Clara
Peterson, Atchison; Albert, Atchison; and Jerry resides on the old home
place, in Shannon township.
Mr. Stutz is a Democrat, and a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles.
Naturally he has a deep and abiding love for his home county, and thinks
there is no place on earth better than Atchison county. His labor and
interests have generally been given towards the welfare of his home
county, and his standing in his community is assured, as a well
respected and industrious citizen who has the respect and esteem of all
who know him.
A. S. SPECK.
The Speck family is one of the oldest of the pioneer families in Kansas
and the date of the settlement of A. S. Speck in Atchison county goes
back to sixty years ago, when in September 20, 1855, Mr. and Mrs. Speck
with their two children arrived at the banks of the Missouri river,
after a six weeks’ trip overland in a covered wagon from their old home
in an eastern State. They crossed the river by ferry to the Kansas side
and landed near old Sumner, traveled over the hills and finally stopped
at a little log cabin, not far from Stranger creek, which stream is said
to have received its name from an unknown man having been drowned in the
stream some years previous. The Specks made a settlement in the county
and experienced a great deal of trouble from the border ruffians and
pro-slavery advocates because of the fact that Mr. Speck was a
pronounced anti-slavery man. It was the aim of the border ruffians to
intimidate or “get rid” of all Free State people in order to gain their
ends and make Kansas a slave State. A story concerning these troublous
times is timely here. One afternoon Mrs. Speck glanced from her cabin
door and saw a cannon facing the house and planted on a little knoll
with about thirty men surrounding the sinister looking weapon. They sent
one of their number to the door of the cabin to ascertain if Mr. Speck
was at home. In reply to their question as to Mr. Speck’s whereabouts,
Mrs. Speck said, “If he were here he would never send his wife to talk
for him.” After a long conference the men went away, but returned that
night and demanded the privilege of searching the house. All the weapon
of defense Mrs. Speck had was an axe which she held in her hand when she
opened the door. As the door was opened she asked for the revolver held
by one of the men who entered. This he refused to do, but the leader of
the gang, a man named Adkins, called out with an oath, “Give it to her,
we will protect you.” The gang searched the house thoroughly and were
satisfied that the man they sought was not there. They then went away
leaving the children crying in fear, and the mother so fearful of her
life that she sat up the remainder of the night on the outside of the
cabin with her babe in her arms, thinking they would return. Not long
after this came the news of the Quantrell raid and the burning of
Lawrence, Kan., and Mr. Speck with others went to the relief of the
sufferers. The ruffians returned to the Speck cabin in the afternoon of
the day of Mr. Speck’s departure, but this time Mrs. Speck was armed
with a gun which Mr. Speck had left with her. She also had another gun
which had been given her by a neighbor named Martin, who had had similar
trouble with the ruffians, who searched through Martin’s cornfield for
him, and when the raiders would get near him he would slip away unseen
to the rows through which they had already searched and thus elude them.
When the men saw the gun one of them insisted that she give it up, and
wrenched it from her hands. She at once reached for the other gun which
she kept hidden behind her and fired at her assailant, frightening him
so that he dropped the gun he had seized and ran from the vicinity of
the home. The others who remained near the cannon saw on a high ridge
some distance away what they thought was a company of men coming to
capture them. They at once took flight and left hastily, leaving behind
them a long rope which was evidently intended to be used in hanging Mr.
Speck. The small army seen in the distance later proved to be neighbors
driving a herd of cattle. One little son of the family made a vow to
whip Adkins when he grew up and had the later satisfaction of fulfilling
his vow when still a boy. The old neighbor of “cornfield fame” still
lives in practically the same locality. Pardee Butler, the famous Free
State advocate, who was placed on a raft and set adrift on the Missouri
by border ruffians, was an intimate friend of the Speck family. When the
Civil war broke out and the call for volunteers was sent out by
President Lincoln, Mr. Speck enlisted as lieutenant of Company F,
Thirteenth regiment, Kansas infantry, in September, 1862, serving until
his resignation, and later being appointed recruiting officer in August,
1863.
Mr. and Mrs. Speck lived on their farm until death took them, the demise
of Mr. Speck occurring in February, 1901, and that of Mrs. Speck
occurring January, 1904. They are survived by eight children: William
A., of Kay See, Wyo.; Frank, James and Arthur, of Nortonville, Kan.;
Mrs. D. P. Barber, of Cummings, Kan.; Mrs. Joseph Hotchkiss, of Willow
Springs, Mo.; Mrs. S. W. Adams, of Atchison, Kan.
ROBERT L. GRIMES.
Robert L. Grimes, farmer and stockman, of Lancaster township, Atchison
county, Kansas, is one of the representative and enterprising citizens
of the county who have made good. He has been a resident of Kansas for
the past forty-four years, and during that time has worked his way
upward by his own unaided efforts and is now the owner of 350 acres of
good Kansas soil. Of late he has practically retired from active
farming, and has rented out his land, that he may be able to take a well
earned repose and enjoy a life of leisure.
Robert L. Grimes was born February 11, 1852, in Fayette county,
Pennsylvania, a son of James and Margaret (Laughlin) Grimes, both of
whom were born and reared in that county. The father was born May 1,
1824, and was the son of Henry and Sallie Grimes, who came of old
pioneer stock in the Keystone State, and were of Scotch and German
descent. Henry was a blacksmith and made a good living for his family.
James Grimes was reared in his native county, and when he grew up became
a farmer. He tilled the soil in Pennsylvania until 1871, and then
disposed of his holdings, and migrated westward, to Kansas, investing
his cash capital in Lancaster township, where he bought 160 acres,
located in sections 15, 5 and 18, Atchison county. There were little or
no improvements on his land when he bought it, but with characteristic
thrift, he improved the land and made it into a desirable place of
residence. Like others who came to the county in that early day he went
through the “grasshopper era,” and was discouraged for a time but held
on, and as a result became fairly well to do in the course of time, as
better years followed the lean era. He lived on his farm until his
demise in 1905, and at the time of his death was one of the well
respected and best known citizens of his township. Grimes, senior, was
married in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, to Margaret A. Laughlin, and
this marriage was blessed by the following children: Robert Laughlin,
subject of this sketch; William, a farmer of Lancaster township;
Elizabeth, deceased; John A., Huron, Kan.; Mrs. Sallie Hardin, Lancaster
township, and Hugh L., Lancaster township. The mother of the foregoing
children was born February 12, 1828, and departed this life in 1901. She
left the impress of a noble and womanly character upon the lives of her
children, who have all led exemplary lives and been a credit to their
parents. She was a daughter of Robert Laughlin, a farmer of
Pennsylvania.
Robert L., with whom this review is directly concerned, was reared to
young manhood on the family farm in Fayette county, Pennsylvania,
received his early education in the nearby district school, and at the
age of nineteen years accompanied his parents to the new home in this
county. His first schooling was obtained in the Mt. Vernon district in
his native county, and he also attended the school near his new home in
Lancaster township, when not assisting his father in developing their
Kansas farm. He remained on the home farm until he was twenty-seven
years of age, and after his marriage, he launched into agricultural
pursuits for himself by renting a tract of land for two years. His first
efforts in his own behalf were successful and he then used his savings
to purchase a tract of land in Lancaster township, south of Eden. His
first investment was in a farm of 160 acres, which he improved as his
prosperity continued to increase. By the exercise of industry, self-
denial and good financial management, he has become the owner of 350
acres of fine land. This land has twenty-five acres of standing timber,
which is a valuable asset when one considers that timber is almost a
rarity in the greater part of Kansas. Mr. Grimes cultivated his land
until 1914, when he decided to shift some of the burden which grew heavy
as he felt himself taking on added years, and he accordingly rented it,
but retains the supervision of the farm.
For several years Mr. Grimes has been a breeder of Shorthorn cattle, and
takes considerable interest in his fine stock. His success in farming is
due to the fact that he has not been content to just be an ordinary
farmer, but has endeavored to keep abreast of the latest developments in
agriculture and has aimed to keep the best of live stock on his place.
He has an excellent barn, 32×60 feet in dimension, with a capacity of
eighty tons of hay, and which cost over $1,500, despite the fact that
most of the lumber used in its construction was cut and sawed from the
timber on his place.
Mr. Grimes was married April 16, 1879, to Miss Viola Wilson, who has
borne him two children: Mrs. Edith Shufflebarger, living on a farm in
Lancaster township, and Mrs. Franketta Carson, whose husband is farming
the Grimes farm land. Mrs. Grimes was born in Lancaster township,
December 21, 1862, and is a daughter of Andrew and Nancy (Carpenter)
Wilson, who came to Atchison county from Kentucky in the early pioneer
days. Andrew Wilson was a Union veteran who saw valiant service during
the Civil war.
In political matters Mr. Grimes has always been identified with the
Democratic party, and has served as a member of the school board in his
township. He attends religious services at the Methodist Episcopal
church, and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
CHRIST KANNING.
The proverbial success of the members of the German race, who have left
the Fatherland in search of fortune in America, is well illustrated in
reviewing the career of Christ Kanning, of Lancaster township, Atchison
county, Kansas. In a little more than a score of years, beginning with
practically no capital, Mr. Kanning has accumulated 240 acres of the
best land in Atchison county. He is the owner of two well improved
farms, and it was necessary for him to build practically all of the
improvements on his home place since purchasing the land in 1893.
Christ Kanning was born in Westphalia, a province of Prussia in the
German Empire, May 20, 1854. He is a son of Henry and Christena (Poos)
Kanning, who were the parents of seven children, three of whom are
deceased. The parents spent their lives in the Fatherland. Christ
Kanning is the only member of the family living in Atchison county; two
of the children live in Germany, and the other resides in Illinois.
Christ received eight years of schooling in his native land, became a
farmer in Westphalia, and in 1889 left the old home and immigrated to
Madison county, Illinois, where he worked as a farm hand four years. In
1893 he migrated westward, to Atchison county, and with his savings
bought eighty acres of land in section 24, Lancaster township. This
tract was improved at the time of purchase, but Christ, in keeping with
the policy of his neighbors and the other enterprising farmers of this
noted township, was not satisfied with the buildings, and has
practically replaced all the original improvements with residence and
barns more in keeping with his ambition and prosperity. He has erected a
large, eight-room residence, and a barn 40×46 feet, a granary, and a
large windmill which pumps the water for his home and live stock. The
Harry Searls place, which he also owns, is a very well improved farm,
and is located just one-half mile east of the home farm of Mr. Kanning.
It is a well kept modern place. Mr. Kanning keeps graded stock on his
place.
Mr. Kanning was married February 29, 1888, to Caroline Stahlhut, and
this marriage has been blessed with seven children, namely: Henry,
deceased; Mrs. Christina Poos, Benton township; Mrs. Mary W. Poos,
Benton township; Bertha, Otto, William, and Ada, all of whom are at home
with their parents. Mrs. Kanning was born April 27, 1869, in Madison
county, Illinois, and is a daughter of Henry and Mary (Debtner)
Stahlhut, both of whom were natives of Germany, immigrating to America
and settling in Madison county, Illinois, where they died. Mr. Kanning
is one of those citizens who believe in doing their own thinking in
political affairs, and is not allied with any political party, voting
for the man, regardless of his politics, and making up his own mind as
to each candidate’s personal fitness to ably perform the duties of the
office sought. He and his family are members of the German Lutheran
church.
THEO INTFEN.
Theo Intfen has been a resident of Atchison county for over half a
century. He has seen the county transformed from a wilderness and
unbroken prairie to a land of fertile farms and thriving cities and
towns. Practically all of his life has been spent within sight of, or
within, Atchison, and he has witnessed and taken part in the wonderful
growth of his home city. Nearly thirty years of his life have been spent
in building up the immense furniture and house furnishing business now
located in his own building at 623–625 Commercial street. This business
had its initial beginning in 1887 in the old Municipal theater building,
under the firm name of Miller & Intfen. In 1890 the store was moved to
the west half of the Ramsey building, where it remained under Mr.
Intfen’s management until November 25, 1912, when it was removed to the
present quarters. Mr. Intfen purchased the building and thoroughly
remodeled it, erecting a new and modern front, and building an addition
on the rear, 50×150 feet. A stock worth over $40,000 is carried on three
floors and the basement. An immense credit business is handled in a
successful manner, and nine men are employed by Mr. Intfen in the caring
for the trade. Goods from the Intfen store are sold over a wide range of
territory, the store having patrons located in Tennessee, Iowa, Florida,
Philippine Islands, the Dakotas, Arkansas, Nebraska, Oregon, Illinois,
Michigan, Oklahoma, and other states. He does an extensive business in
Kansas and Missouri, and cares for a great many orders received from a
distance. During the year of 1913 he made over 757 shipments from
Atchison to distant railway points. Mr. Intfen is an extensive
advertiser and believes in publicity for a healthy, growing concern such
as he has built up.
Theo Intfen was born December 24, 1861, in Weston, Mo., and is a son of
William and Mary (Piekman) Intfen, of Prussia. The Intfen home was just
across the Holland-Prussian line. William Intfen and his wife immigrated
to America in 1853 and made their first home for a number of years at
Weston, Mo. In October, 1862, they crossed the Missouri river by means
of a ferry and located on a farm, two and one-half miles north of
Atchison. The elder Intfen developed his farm and reared a family. At
this time there were not many settlers in Atchison county, and the city
was but a village. The first store of the town was then doing business,
and Theo Intfen can recall its appearance. Large trees stood on the site
of many of the present business blocks. William Intfen became the owner
of 180 acres of land, and was a prosperous farmer for those days. Mrs.
Intfen died on the home farm in 1885. William Intfen came to Atchison
after her death and died in 1901, at a ripe old age. Five children were
born to them, namely: John J., a merchant of Atchison; Theo, the subject
of this sketch; Mrs. Minnie Miller, living at 714 Laramie street; Mrs.
Anna Falk, of Andale, Kan.; Henry died at the age of two years.
Theo Intfen was reared on the pioneer farm and attended the district
school in his neighborhood. He assisted his father on the home place
until he attained his majority, and then decided to do things for
himself. He went to Kanopolis, Eldridge county, Kansas, and opened the
first store in the town. He sold sixty-two dollars’ worth of merchandise
the first day he arrived from boxes in the street before getting into
the store. He placed the first stock of goods in Kanopolis, and made the
first sale of merchandise in the town. One year after establishing this
store he sold out at a nice profit and returned to Atchison, where he
engaged in the furniture business, as before stated. His success has
been due to pronounced ability as a salesman, and his excellent judgment
in financial affairs, and a knowledge of what the people will buy, and
the carrying out of his plan to supply patrons on the credit plan, which
is optional with the customer.
Mr. Intfen was married in 1893 to Miss Emma Zibold, and to this union
has been born a daughter, Louise, born September 29, 1894, educated in
Atchison and graduated from the Atchison Business College. From 1912
until her marriage she was her father’s bookkeeper. She was married on
October 17, 1915, to LeRoy A. Osterbog, in charge of cost department of
the Atchison Saddlery Company. Mrs. Intfen is a daughter of Merman
Zibold, a native of Germany, who first settled in St. Louis, then lived
in St. Joseph, and from there came to Atchison.
Mr. Intfen is an independent Democrat, politically, and does his own
thinking as to what candidates he will support for office, when it is
time for him to cast his ballots. While interested in good government,
he does not take an active part in political affairs. He is strictly a
business man, who has built up a monument to his own individual
enterprise and energy through the development of the large Intfen store.
He is likewise interested in his home city and takes a just pride in the
fact that he has done his share to assist the development of Atchison,
and is proud of the knowledge that he has witnessed the growth of a
beautiful and prosperous city from its very beginning. He is a member of
St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, and is affiliated with the Modern
Woodmen.
THOMAS FINNEGAN.
Thomas Finnegan, an Atchison county pioneer, who came to this county
forty-eight years ago, is a successful farmer of Shannon township, and
has resided on his present place for forty years. Thomas Finnegan is a
native of Ireland, born in 1842, and is a son of Patrick and Hanora
Finnegan. The father died when Thomas was less than a year old, and the
mother came to this country, and died in Atchison county, at the home of
her son, Thomas, in 1899, at the remarkably advanced age of 102 years.
When Thomas Finnegan immigrated to America, he first settled in
Connecticut, where he remained for five years. He then went to Iowa,
remaining in that State for fifteen years. While living in Iowa he
worked out by the month a great deal and often worked for as low as
eight dollars per month. In March, 1867, he came to Kansas, and after
spending a short time in Atchison county, removed to Doniphan county,
and for about two years worked at breaking prairie land with ox teams.
He followed farming about two years in Doniphan county, and was also
interested in a threshing outfit, which he operated for a time, and in
1870 he returned to Atchison county, and in 1871 bought 160 acres of
land in Shannon township, where he has since been engaged in farming and
has met with uniform success. He has one of the best farms in Atchison
county, under an excellent state of cultivation, with a large producing
orchard. Mr. Finnegan is a great lover of trees and timber, and in the
early days in Kansas planted a great many trees, and now has a fine
grove on his place, with many large maple, elm and walnut trees, as well
as cottonwood, which adds greatly to the appearance of his place.
During the war Mr. Finnegan was employed as a Government teamster, and
in 1863 he drove transfer teams in St. Louis. He was married in 1869 to
Miss Anne Morley, a native of Ireland, born in 1850. The following
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Finnegan: Nora married J. J.
Slattery, Shannon township; John resides in Atchison; Mary married
Joseph Schlesbaum, Atchison; Thomas, Houston, Tex.; James resides in
California; Margaret married Joseph Longan, Doniphan county; Agatha
resides at home, and Roger, farmer, Atchison county. Mr. Finnegan leans
to independence in politics, and the family are members of the Catholic
church.
SAMUEL E. BALLINGER.
Adjoining Atchison, to the westward there are many beautiful and well
kept suburban homes. Along the road which borders Forest park on the
west are some especially fine homes with well kept grounds, dotted with
flowers and shrubbery, in striking contrast to the unkempt condition of
the park upon which these suburban estates front. These homes make ideal
places for people who have spent the greater part of their lives in
farming pursuits, and, while wishing to be near the city, yet wish to
have a larger space for a home setting than the thickly settled parts of
the town would afford. In one of the beautiful homes fronting the
highway resides Samuel E. Ballinger and his faithful wife and helpmeet,
who have been residents of Atchison county for many years and are both
descendants of old eastern families.
Samuel E. Ballinger was born September 7, 1843, in Salem county, New
Jersey, a son of John G. and Sarah Ann (Reeves) Ballinger. His paternal
grandfather was also named John G., who married a Quaker lady. His
maternal grandfather was Stephen Reeves, a scion of an old eastern
family, and in his day a leading ship builder of New Jersey. The father
of Samuel E. was born in 1827 and died in 1906. During his life he was a
miller and farmer and prominent in the affairs of Salem county, New
Jersey. He was twice married, his first wife, Sarah Ann, dying in 1850,
leaving three children: Stephen R., a retired miller of New Jersey, now
deceased; Samuel E., and Thomas E., residing in Atchison. John G.
Ballinger’s second wife was Sarah Austin, who bore him the following
children: John, Charles, Walter, Ella, Gertrude, Emma, and Minnie.
[Illustration:
_S. E. Ballinger._
]
[Illustration:
_Mrs. S. E. Ballinger._
]
Samuel E. received his education in the public schools of his native
county and State and early learned to perform his share of the work
required in the operation of his father’s gristmill and farm. He hauled
grist from the mill to town and to the patrons of his father’s mill and
assisted in cultivating his father’s farm when yet a boy in years. When
he attained young manhood he was associated with his father in the
livery and feed business at Camden, N. J., for a period of three years.
He and his brother, Stephen, then bought the gristmill which they
operated in partnership until 1871, following which he farmed for one
year and then disposed of all of his holdings with the intention of
migrating to Kansas. He came to Atchison, Kan., with a capital of $350
which he invested in eighty acres of improved land, costing him $2,400.
This land was but partly improved, with a modest home of two rooms and a
lean-to at the rear. He and his good wife by dint of economy and
perseverance soon managed to pay off their indebtedness and to erect a
rather pretentious dwelling, at the same time increasing their land
holdings. Their first purchase was an eighty acre tract near the home
farm, and they later bought a tract of 160 acres near Huron in Lancaster
township, which they later traded for eighty acres near Shannon. Mr.
Ballinger was the possessor at one time of 240 acres of well improved
land. As age crept upon this worthy couple they gradually disposed of
their land holdings until they retained but forty acres of the home
place, and they moved to Atchison in September of 1907, where they
invested in a beautiful suburban estate of five acres. Later, when they
disposed of the forty acre farm they added ten acres to the suburban
tract which has since become very valuable on account of its nearness to
the city.
Mr. Ballinger was married September 7, 1870, to Janie Louise Paxson, and
to this union have been born children, as follows: Mrs. Evelina
Lancaster, of Severance, Kan., who is the mother of six children,
namely: Samuel E., Sarah Catharine, William Andrew, Fred, Harry and
Leonard: Mrs. Sarah Elizabeth Yaple, of Atchison, mother of children as
follows: Albert, Louise, Ruth, Esther (deceased), John, Edwin, Austin,
Raymond, and Ernest, and twin boys, Harold Paxson and Herbert Ballinger.
The mother of these children, Jane Louise (Paxson) Ballinger, was born
December 2, 1844, in the city of Philadelphia, daughter of Samuel W. and
Catharine (Speer) Paxson. Her father was the son of Irish parents and
her mother was born of German parentage. Samuel W. was a carpenter by
trade who was married in Camden, N. J., and plied his trade in that
vicinity for many years. He served in behalf of the Union during the
Civil war in a Pennsylvania regiment of volunteers. A brother, Henry,
served in the Tenth regiment of New Jersey volunteer infantry.
Mr. Ballinger has always been a Republican in politics, but has never
taken an active part in political matters. He is a member of the Central
Protective Association. He is essentially a home man and takes a pride
in keeping his attractive home in excellent condition, and can be seen
most any day working about the grounds surrounding the Ballinger home.
Mr. and Mrs. Ballinger are a worthy couple, kind and indulgent with
their children whom they have endeavored to rear so that they might lead
upright and worthy lives in the community.
CHARLES WILLIAM ROBINSON.
Charles William Robinson, county physician of Atchison county, assistant
surgeon for the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company, and one of the
prominent and successful members of the medical profession in
northeastern Kansas, is a native son of the Sunflower State and was born
on his father’s farm in Noble township, Marshall county, March 1, 1890,
a son of William F. and Mary (Critchfield) Robinson. His parents were
born in Buchanan county, Missouri, his father in 1853, and his mother in
1857. William F. Robinson became a resident of Kansas in the seventies,
locating in Marshall county, where he engaged in farming and stock
raising. He is one of the extensive land owners of that county, his
properties exceeding 1,200 acres. He has been actively identified with
the development of his section, is one of his county’s most influential
citizens, and has attained a secure position in its commercial, social
and political life. Mr. Robinson has been married twice. Two children,
James M. Robinson, M. D., of Hiawatha, Kan: and Lucille, now Mrs. Dr. A.
E. Ricks, of Atchison, were born of the first marriage. Our subject, Dr.
Charles W. Robinson, is the only child of the second marriage.
Dr. Robinson received his early educational discipline in the public
schools of his native county, supplemented by a course in the Hiawatha
Academy. He subsequently completed a course in Washburn College, Topeka,
and then entered the medical department of Kansas University, from which
he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, a member of the
class of 1913. Following his graduation, he located for practice in the
city of Atchison, where he formed a partnership with Dr. C. A. Lilly.
Shortly after engaging in the practice of his profession, he was
appointed county physician, an unusual honor for a practitioner to
receive during his first year of practice. That he has filled the office
with credit is attested by his having been re-appointed in 1914, and
again in 1915. Dr. Robinson has built up a very lucrative practice and
is recognized as one of the most able of the younger members of the
medical profession in his section of the State. The demands of his
practice have not caused him to forego his habit of study. He keeps
abreast of the advancement in medicine and surgery, and during the
winter of 1914–15 completed a post-graduate course in diseases of
children at the Nursery and Child’s Hospital, New York City. He is a
member of the Atchison County Medical Society, the Kansas State, and the
American Medical Associations. He is also a member of Orient Lodge, No.
57, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Topeka; Atchison Lodge, No.
647, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; Atchison Aerie, No. 173,
Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Royal
Arcanum, Fraternal Aid, Kansas Fraternal Citizens, Homesteaders, Yeoman
of America, and Ancient Order of United Workmen.
Since becoming a citizen of Atchison, Dr. Robinson has taken an active
interest in those measures and projects which have had for their object
the betterment and development of the city. He also finds time to take
an active part in its social life. Dr. Robinson is unmarried.
JOHN McINTEER.
John McInteer was a builder who had an abiding faith in the eventual
development of the West. He was a pioneer citizen of Atchison, and a
prominent figure in the city for over forty-five years, and had an
intimate acquaintance with the sturdy characters who had much to do with
the development of the Sunflower State. He came to Atchison in the days
when the great wagon trains left in a continuous, and often unbroken,
stream for the Far West with their valuable cargoes of freight. So great
was his confidence in the ultimate growth of his adopted city that he
invested his savings in real property, built of brick and stone, which
are still standing in the city. The handsome McInteer block on
Commercial street is a monument to his enterprise and faith in the
growth of the city. Mr. McInteer was well and favorably known among the
coterie of famous men who have cast luster upon Atchison and the State
of Kansas. He was a consistent and unremitting booster for his home city
and State, and the substantial fortune and good name which he left
behind prove his judgment and business acumen to have been sound and
essentially correct.
Mr. McInteer was born in Donegal, Ireland, in 1827, and immigrated to
America alone when a boy. He had heard of the wonders of the new land
across the ocean, and dreamed of one day sailing across the waters of
the broad Atlantic to the land of the free, there to seek his fortune.
How his dream came true is told in the succeeding paragraphs. His first
employment was in Philadelphia as a laborer. Opportunity did not seem to
beckon to him in the “City of Brotherly Love” sufficient to hold him,
however, and he turned his face still farther to the westward, going to
the newer State of Indiana, where he learned the trade of harness maker.
He first started a business of his own in Jeffersonville, Ind. While
busily engaged in this Ohio river town in plying his trade with a fair
modicum of success, he heard of the opening up of the vast stretches of
land west of the Missouri river. His Celtic imagination was still
working and he pictured to himself the possibilities of realizing his
ambitions in one of the new cities of Kansas. His decision was soon
made; he heeded the famous Greeley’s advice, “Go West, young man, go
West, and grow up with the country.” Accordingly, he sold out his little
shop and started for Omaha. On the way up the Missouri river his wife
was taken ill and he changed his plans to the extent of stopping in
Doniphan county, Kansas, and taking up a homestead. One year later he
traded his claim for a lot at Eighth and Commercial streets in Atchison.
Upon this lot he built a small shop, where he again began the
manufacture of harness and saddles. For several years he supplied the
great overland trains which passed to the Far West. His trade grew and
he was compelled to enlarge his quarters and engaged in the manufacture
of harness and saddles on an extensive scale. As he prospered and
accumulated capital he erected buildings and invested in real estate in
Atchison and the nearby city of St. Joseph. He also erected a modern
brick residence where his widow now lives. He died July 17, 1901.
He was twice married, his first wife being Alice Conley, who died in
1892 without issue. In 1895 he married Mrs. Anna (Conlon) Donovan, of
Montreal, Canada, whose parents, James and Anna Conlon, were well known
citizens of Atchison, and whose personal history will be found in the
biography of Charles J. Conlon, brother of Mrs. McInteer. Mrs. McInteer
was reared in Atchison, returned to New York with her parents, and was
there married to Peter Donovan, who was a customs officer under the
Canadian Government at Montreal. He died in Montreal in 1891. Three sons
were born of this marriage: Peter Donovan, a widely known journalist, of
Toronto, now a contributor to the _Toronto Saturday Night_; Fred, in the
insurance and real estate business in Atchison; Charles, a farmer and
stockman, residing with his mother.
Mr. McInteer was a member of the Catholic church, and a liberal
contributor to his own and other religious denominations. He was one of
those big-hearted, whole-souled gentlemen, who was a friend to all, and
who was highly regarded for his many excellent qualities of heart and
mind. He was independent in politics. The foregoing brief review is thus
contributed to the history of Atchison county in order that it be placed
on record for all time, and perchance, prove an inspiration for other
young men, poor in purse, whose destiny is yet to be worked out, and who
probably dream of accumulating wealth or a competence in their
generation.
HENRY HANSON LOUDENBACK.
A review of the educational institutions of Atchison county would be
incomplete without mention being made of the Loudenback School of Music.
It is probable that no institution within the borders of the State of
Kansas has had a more rapid, substantial and satisfactory growth than
has the school under the direct supervision and management of Professor
Loudenback. Established in 1912 as a school of piano and theory,
enlarged in 1913, and incorporated in 1914, it is now authorized by the
State to issue diplomas and certificates. It is rapidly building an
enviable reputation for thoroughness of instruction, having graduated
pupils who are conceded to be artists of recognized ability, and its
importance as an educational institution of the highest grade is
appreciated by the residents of its home city.
Henry Hanson Loudenback, founder and principal of the Loudenback School
of Music, was born in a log cabin on his father’s farm in Hancock
county, Indiana (the county seat, Greenfield, being the birthplace of
James Whitcomb Riley), March 17, 1879, a son of Daniel and Margaret
(McCray) Loudenback. His paternal grandparents were Henry Loudenback, a
native of Pennsylvania, who came to Hancock county, Indiana, in 1836,
one of the early pioneers of that section, and Elizabeth Brown, a native
of Virginia, of German ancestry. Daniel Loudenback was born in Hancock
county in 1846 and reared in a district which at that time was almost a
wilderness. Splitting rails was an occupation which took up a good
portion of his time. With his father, he settled on a farm about three
miles from Charlottesville. This property they developed into a highly
productive farm. Henry Loudenback died in 1905. Daniel engaged in
business in Charlottesville in 1882, and in 1883 established a store at
Wilkinson, which he conducted until his death, in 1888. He had married,
when a young man, Margaret McCray, now a resident of Wilkinson, who
survives him. They were the parents of two children: Henry Hanson, the
subject of this review, and Allie Almeda Cook, of Wilkinson, Ind.
Henry Hanson Loudenback received his educational discipline in the
public schools of his native State, and in 1898 came to Kansas and
joined relatives who resided near Centralia. He became a teacher in the
country schools, and later spent one year teaching music, going from
place to place on horseback. From early childhood he had given evidence
of remarkable musical ability, and had sung in public when only four
years of age. After learning harmonies from his sister, he began to
improvise his own melodies, and to harmonize them upon the reed organ.
His first real lessons were taken when thirteen years of age. In the
fall of 1901 he entered Campbell University at Holton, Kan., and was
graduated from that institution, in music, in 1902. Since receiving his
degree from Campbell College he has studied piano, harmony and
composition with the best teachers of these subjects in America, his
training being under such noted musicians as Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler,
of Chicago, the world’s greatest woman pianist; Mr. and Mrs. A. K.
Virgil, of New York City; Peter C. Lutkin and Arne Oldberg, of
Northwestern University, at Evanston; and Allen Spencer, of the American
Conservatory of Music, Chicago. From 1902 until 1906 he was director of
music in the Atchison County High School; from 1906 until 1910,
professor of music in South Dakota State College of Agriculture and
Mechanical Arts; from 1910 until 1912, director of piano, pipe organ,
and musical theory at the Dakota Wesleyan University. In 1912 he founded
the Loudenback School of Music at Atchison, and since its establishment
has devoted his entire time to its management and the teaching of piano
and musical theory. He is an accredited teacher of piano and theory by
the Kansas State Music Teachers’ Association, and was a member of the
executive committee of that organization which issued certificates to
accredited teachers in December, 1914, and was appointed a member of the
committee on piano standards for 1915, and in December, 1910, was
elected vice-president of that association, and was appointed a member
of the special accrediting committee. He has appeared twice as piano
soloist with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, and numbers among his
friends many of the great musicians of the present day.
Professor Loudenback married on June 28, 1900, Miss Flora Donald, a
daughter of George and Christy (Black) Donald, of Centralia, Kan. Her
father was an early settler and prominent farmer.
Professor and Mrs. Loudenback are the parents of the following children:
George Daniel, born November 23, 1901; Allie Mae, born March 12, 1904;
Ramona Lolita, born July 25, 1905; Henry, born August 17, 1907; and
Donald, born July 19, 1909. The children have inherited their father’s
love of music and show talent.
FRANK P. WERTZ.
Frank P. Wertz, deputy county clerk of Atchison county, is one of the
progressive young men of the county. He was born at Parnell, Atchison
county, September 2, 1888, and is a son of David M. and Elizabeth
Caroline Wertz, natives of Pennsylvania. They were married in their
native State and shortly afterwards came West, and located on a farm in
Atchison county, where they have been very successful. David M. Wertz
began life with nothing, and by industry and keen foresight has become
one of the substantial and well-to-do men of Atchison county. He has
always taken a commendable interest in the welfare of his community. To
David M. Wertz and wife have been born the following children: Frank P.,
the subject of this sketch; Eva married H. J. Barber, a banker, of
Cummings, Kan.; Abraham, a farmer and stockman, Mt. Pleasant, Atchison
county; Fredrick, a farmer in Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison county;
Rosetta, the wife of Fred C. Voelker, a farmer, of Shannon township,
Atchison county, and Bertha E., who resides at home.
Frank P. Wertz was reared on the home farm in Atchison county and
educated in the public schools, graduating from the Atchison County High
School. He then took a course in the Atchison Business College, and
graduated in 1909. He then became assistant cashier of the State Bank of
Cummings, and remained in that position for two years, when he resigned
to accept his present position. Frank P. Wertz takes a live interest in
the welfare of the community. He is a member of the Masonic lodge and
the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a popular county official,
and his genial manner and obliging nature, coupled with efficiency and
close application to the duties of his office, have won for him many
stanch friends and supporters.
THOMAS L. CLINE.
For sixty years Thomas L. Cline has lived in Mt. Pleasant township,
Atchison county, and he is one of the oldest of Kansas pioneers in point
of years of residence in the State. Coming to this county when he was
ten years of age with his parents he has lived to see Kansas become
prosperous and the vast prairie transformed by the hand of man into a
truly good place to live. He, himself, has risen in the course of time
to become one of the wealthy farmers of the county, and despite his
three score and ten years of age he still oversees the work on his large
farm of 320 acres.
Mr. Cline was born October 8, 1845, in Henry county, Iowa, a son of
Henry and Eleanor (Leanord) Cline, both natives of Ohio. The parents of
both Henry and Eleanor moved at a very early day from Ohio to Illinois,
where they were married. The parents of T. L. Cline lived but a short
time in Illinois and then removed to Henry county, Iowa, where four of
the children were born, of whom T. L. was the youngest. The family lived
in Iowa for sixteen years and came to Kansas as early as 1855. Henry
settled on a quarter section of land, which is still in the family, and
is owned by Thomas L., adjoining the quarter section upon which the home
of the subject is located. At the time the Clines located in Atchison
county the country was a vast reach of unpeopled prairie broken by belts
of timber along the streams. Prairie fires were very common in those
days. Henry Cline persuaded a neighbor to preëmpt the adjoining section
to his and eventually bought it and increased his acreage to 480 acres
in all. An interesting feature of the Cline farm is the stone fencing
which is built around a portion of the farm. Stone fences are a rarity
in Kansas and are found only in the occasional places where stone is
plentiful, and their building required time and plenty of it on the part
of men who in the early days made the building of stone fences a
vocation and followed it as their method of earning a living. While a
portion of the stone work on the farm has been replaced by wire fencing,
300 rods of this fence are in excellent condition despite the fact that
it was erected over forty-five years ago. T. L. Cline in speaking
reminiscently of the old days recalls that the “grasshopper” visitation
of 1866 was every whit as bad as in the years of 1874 and 1875, and he
also recalls seeing a company of “red shirts” or border ruffians
encamped near his father’s farm. Henry Cline died in 1875, his widow
dying in 1901 at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Mary E. Blodgett. Henry
and Eleanor Cline reared the following children: Julia Ann (Jay),
deceased, at Rock Creek, Kan.; Mary E. Blodgett, Walnut township;
Charles W. died in Union service at Drywood, Mo., and Thomas L., the
youngest.
T. L. Cline grew up on his father’s farm and has never lived anywhere
else since he was ten years of age. He was married in 1874 to Miss Susan
Vandiver. The following children were born of this marriage: Ora, wife
of Edward Bradley, of Atchison county; Nellie, wife of Martin Decker,
living in Leavenworth county, Kansas; Charles Cline, farming on the home
place; T. L., Jr., better known as Lloyd, at home with his parents and
assists in farm work. The mother of these children was born February 11,
1853, in Green county, Wisconsin, a daughter of Edward and Irene
(Holloway) Vandiver, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of
Providence, R. I. The respective parents of Edward and Irene Vandiver
removed from their native states to Illinois, and it was in that State
that they were married. Shortly after their marriage they moved to
Wisconsin and settled on a farm near Monroe, in Green county. They
resided in Wisconsin for sixteen years and then returned to Schuyler
county, Illinois. After a residence of ten years in Illinois they came
to Atchison county, Kansas, to make a permanent home. Edward Vandiver
was a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln and often rode with Lincoln to
and from political gatherings. His political beliefs were the same as
Mr. Lincoln’s. Mr. Vandiver was also acquainted with Stephen A. Douglas
and attended the famous Lincoln and Douglas debates.
For one year after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Cline lived at the home
of Mr. Cline’s parents, when T. L. built a home for himself on a part of
the family estate. After his father’s demise he bought his mother’s
interest in the estate and moved to the old home place where he still
resides. Mr. Cline has always been a stockman and a large feeder of
cattle and hogs. He is now raising sheep and has about 140 head of these
animals on his farm. He has always been a stanch Republican, as his
father was before him, and has usually taken an active part in political
and civic affairs. He served for many years as a member of the school
board and was succeeded by his son, Charles, as a member of the board
when T. L. refused to serve any longer. He was one of the organizers of
the Farmers State Bank of Potter, Kan., and is generally found in the
forefront of all good movements tending to promote the welfare of the
people in his neighborhood. Mr. Cline carries his years lightly and can
be seen almost any day directing the farm work and is very active for
his years. Thomas L. Cline is one of Atchison county’s grand old men and
is a true Kansas pioneer.
ROBERT FORBRIGER.
In the present incumbent of the county assessor’s office, the people of
Atchison county are extremely fortunate in having a painstaking,
faithful and conscientious public servant who believes in doing his duty
by the people, taxpayers, and for the people as the law provides. It is
probable that no other individual in the county has a wider or more
intimate knowledge of values and property ownership in Atchison county
than Mr. Forbriger. Born in Atchison county in the pioneer days when the
county was in process of early settlement, he has grown up with the city
and county and has a speaking acquaintance with almost every person
within the confines of his native heath. Kind and obliging to a high
degree, he has made himself invaluable as a citizen and able county
official, and is well liked and highly esteemed for his many excellent
qualities.
The father of the gentleman named in the foregoing paragraph was Robert
Forbriger, a native of Saxony, Germany, born in 1825, immigrated to
America in 1848 and died in the city of his adoption in 1886. The senior
Forbriger was a man of good education, and came of a family of scholars
and educators in his native land. Therefore, he was well equipped to
fight a winning battle for success in the land of his adoption. He first
located in Elgin, Ill., and after a residence of ten years in that city,
came to Atchison in 1858. This thriving and beautiful city was then in
its infancy, and Mr. Forbriger had the distinction of being one of its
foremost citizens and builders in the early days. He obtained a job in
the J. E. Wagner hardware store, which was situated on the southeast
corner of Fourth and Commercial streets. Not long afterward he engaged
in the insurance and real estate business and from that drifted into the
banking business. He, with George Storch and John Belz, established the
German Savings Bank, which was later reorganized as the United States
National Bank. This new organization erected the building at the corner
of Sixth and Commercial streets. Mr. Forbriger was connected with the
banking concern until his death, after which the institution was again
reorganized. He was active in civic and business affairs in Atchison
during his long residence here, and was always a booster for his adopted
city, liberal in his donations and support of public enterprises, and a
benefactor of churches and charitable enterprises. It is said of him
that he always generously responded to calls for assistance in the name
of charity, religion or civic betterment of the community. As a citizen
he did his duty in an official capacity, serving as a member of the city
council and as an active member of the city school board. During the
early sixties when Atchison was yet a village he served as a member of
the town council. In addition he served three terms as city assessor.
While a Democrat in politics, he was a great admirer and warm personal
friend of the late Senator Ingalls, and it was the Senator’s custom to
make his headquarters in Mr. Forbriger’s office while at home, on his
return from Washington. This pioneer citizen was a charter member and
officer of the Turner’s Society, a famous athletic organization in the
early days. He was reared in the Lutheran faith, but was broadly
tolerant of all creeds and religious beliefs. It was only natural that
he should have been a charter member of the Atchison Masonic lodge, and
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. During the Civil war he was
enrolled as a member of the State militia, and responded to the call for
volunteers to repel Price’s invasion and served in Colonel Quigg’s
command.
Robert Forbriger, the elder, was married in 1862 to Helen Geier, born in
Limbach, Baden, Germany, and died in Atchison. She came from her native
land to Philadelphia with a sister and cousin, and from there journeyed
to Atchison. To them were born three children as follows: Robert, of
this review; Emil, engaged in business in East Atchison; Bertha, wife of
M. Noll, druggist of Atchison.
Robert Forbriger, the son, was educated in the public schools and St.
Benedict’s College. He then entered his father’s bank and also engaged
in the insurance business. After his father’s death he continued in the
insurance business for a number of years, until he began his service as
postoffice clerk, during Cleveland’s administration. After four years in
the mercantile business he filled the office of deputy register of deeds
for four years; served three years as deputy county assessor, and was
elected to the office of county assessor in 1912, and again elected or
appointed to the office by the board of county commissioners in 1914. In
his younger days he served several years as a regular fireman under
three successive fire chiefs, and two terms as city councilman. While
originally a Democrat, he deserted the party in 1896, as many others
did, to follow the teachings of William McKinley, and now takes an
active part in Republican politics, and is sincere and active in his
work in behalf of the candidates of his party. Having been born in
Atchison, April 4, 1863, it is only natural that he should gather for
his sustenance some of the needful in the way of property, and is the
owner of a fine fruit farm of twenty-eight acres near the city, and in
addition has five residence properties in the city, with properties in
Oklahoma and Seattle, Wash.
Mr. Forbriger was married May 21, 1888, to Carrie Wagner, and to them
have been born two children: Helen, wife of Leo T. Markey, a banker of
Greeley, Kan.; Ralph, a student of electrical engineering in the
Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College, at Starkville, Miss.
The mother of these children was born at Port Washington, near
Milwaukee, and is a daughter of Henry and Rosa Wagner, natives of
Germany, who removed from Milwaukee to Atchison where Henry Wagner
became a bridge contractor and builder. Mr. Wagner for a long period of
years did practically all of the bridge construction work in Atchison
county.
Mr. Forbriger is a member of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, and is
broad and tolerant in his religious views, taking the staple ground that
the manner of life a man lives, regardless of his religious belief,
determines his salvation. He is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen, the
Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Fraternal Citizens, and the Modern
Brotherhood of America.
HIRAM H. HACKNEY.
The measure of a man’s real worth to a community determines his standing
and niche in the local hall of fame. While several things may be summed
up in the final reckoning as to what constitutes a really useful
citizen, his service to his fellow citizens in furthering institutions
which are of the greatest benefit to the greatest number takes
precedence over wealth, business ability, political success, or any
accomplishments which have a tendency to place the individual ahead of
his fellow men. No greater service to a city can be rendered than by the
building up of a modern, progressive public school system. He who
furthers the cause of education in a practical manner and takes a keen
interest in the success of the city’s educational systems, as an
unselfish task, befitting his citizenship, is entitled to an everlasting
place in the hearts and minds of his fellow citizens. The public school
system of Atchison is a monument to the labors of Hiram H. Hackney, and
his fellow members of the board of education during the eight years
while Mr. Hackney served as president of the board.
Hiram H. Hackney is a native of Fayette county, Pennsylvania, born near
Uniontown, November 30, 1859. He is a son of Hiram H. and Elizabeth
(Wyley) Hackney, both natives of Pennsylvania. The Hackney family in
America came originally from the town of Hackney, England, now a part of
the city of London, in the early part of the seventeenth century. Hiram
H., the elder, was born in 1822, and died in 1899. He was the son of
John Hackney, born in 1776, and lived on the original homestead of the
Hackneys, who were Quaker followers of William Penn. Elizabeth Wyley was
born in 1830, a daughter of Jacob and Hannah Way Wyley, members of an
old colonial family of Irish descent. Hiram H., Sr., was a resident of
Uniontown in his old age, and was the last surviving member of the board
of directors, chartering the First National Bank of Uniontown. He was
well to do and invested some of his funds in the West, becoming one of
the original stockholders of the First National Bank of Atchison. He was
also a “Forty Niner,” going overland to the gold fields of California in
1848, with a train of fortune hunters who outfitted at St. Louis and
fought continually with the Indians on the trip across the plains and
mountains. He engaged in the mercantile business at Sacramento and
Marysville, Cal., for a period of two years. He returned home by way of
Cape Horn, but made another trip before settling down to the pursuit of
farming and business in his native State. His brother, Samuel, died of
mountain fever while engaged in mining in the gold fields of California.
Mr. Hackney became an extensive farmer, stockman and banker, and
prospered exceedingly. He was known as a solid Quaker citizen “whose
word was as good as his note.” Of his five children, four are living as
follows: Mrs. Edward G. Hudson, of Newton, Kan.; Edgar S., of Uniontown:
Dr. Jacob S., a practitioner in Uniontown, and Francis, who died in
Pittsburgh.
Hiram H. Hackney, of Atchison, was educated in the State Normal School
at California, Penn., and Duff’s Mercantile College, Pittsburgh. He did
farm work while a youth, and taught school for two years. His father
having purchased an interest in the First National Bank of this city he
came here in 1881 and served as assistant cashier and director of the
bank until 1910. He then sold his holdings and retired from banking
pursuits on account of ill health, due to long years of close
confinement to his duties. He then established a real estate, insurance,
bond and loan business which he is now conducting with success. Mr.
Hackney is interested in Atchison real estate, and coal lands in
Pennsylvania, and is vice-president of the Blair Milling Company of
Atchison.
In politics he is a Republican, and the only office he has ever held has
been that of member of the board of education, from the presidency of
which body he has only recently retired. Of his services on behalf of
the public schools during his sixteen years’ membership on the board.
_The Atchison Globe_ said: “H. H. Hackney retired last night as a member
of the school board and that board has lost its most useful member for
at least two reasons: Mr. Hackney had the ability to handle the school
finances and the time necessary to accomplish the things the board laid
out. In addition he possessed an ambition to establish a system of
schools and equipment that would reflect credit on the city and on the
school board. He was a member of the board for sixteen years and its
president for eight years, and during the eight years he was president
he never had a disagreement with a member and there was never a question
came up which was not settled either by an unanimous vote or in a way
that left the members friendly. There never was a ‘row’ in the school
board and there never was a session where reporters were barred. In the
last eight years and under the management of Mr. Hackney, the school
board has spent $300,000 in school betterments and the total
indebtedness is but $25,000 greater than it was eight years ago. This
includes the new Ingalls Building, Washington Building, accepting the
plans and letting all contracts for the new Martin building, now under
course of construction, rebuilding Franklin and building the new Douglas
school. In these eight years manual training, mechanical drawing,
domestic art and science, a commercial department, normal training,
agriculture and physical training have been added to the high school, a
school nurse employed, music added to all grades and kindergartens
established in two buildings. Since Mr. Hackney became a member of the
board the high school enrollment has increased from 66 to 338 and the
faculty from three to twenty members.”...
During the time Mr. Hackney was a member of the school board he missed
but one regular meeting. He is president of the board of trustees of the
First Presbyterian Church and is a member of the board of directors of
the Young Men’s Christian Association.
He was married in September of 1888, to Frances Blair, a daughter of E.
K. Blair, deceased, formerly of Fayette county, Pennsylvania, founder of
the Blair Milling Company of Atchison. Mrs. Hackney’s mother was Barbara
(Allen) Blair. She was born and reared in Atchison, in the house located
on the same lot where the Hackneys now live, with the exception of their
first two years of married life, during which the new home was erected
at 1021 North Third street. To Mr. and Mrs. Hackney have been born two
children of whom they are justly proud, Helen Elizabeth, born 1890, a
graduate of the College Preparatory School of Atchison, and the Bennett
School for Girls, located on the Hudson, in New York, carrying honors at
both her graduations; Edward Blair Hackney, born in 1893, is a graduate
of the city high school and the Kansas University at Lawrence, where he
received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. While a student of the
university he managed the _Jay Hawker_, the college annual, and
performed his duties so ably and so thoroughly that Chancellor Strong
declared that the “Annual” issue under his management was the best ever
issued, the cost of which was $4,500, and managed so well that a nice
profit was earned. The young man is now a traveling salesman for the
Blair Milling Company.
GEORGE EDWIN WHITE.
George Edwin White, leading physician, of Effingham, Kan., was born at
Savanna, Andrew county, Missouri, April 18, 1867, a son of Willis and
Rachel (Hall) White, natives of Indiana. Willis was the son of Drury
White, who was born and reared in Virginia, and was a pioneer settler in
Grant county, Indiana, where he hewed a farm and home from the virgin
timber at a time when it required men of hardihood and the greatest
endurance to withstand the rigors of a life in the unbroken wilderness
of the Hoosier State. Willis White was born August 12, 1840, and when he
attained young manhood, hearkened to the call of President Lincoln for
troops to quell the rebellion of the Southern States, and enlisted at
the first call for “thirty thousand.” He served for ninety days in the
Tenth regiment, Indiana infantry. He migrated to Missouri in 1866 and
plied his trade of blacksmith in the town of Savanna until 1880, when he
moved to Greenleaf, Kan., and conducted a blacksmith shop, in addition
to cultivating his farm, which he purchased near Greenleaf. In the fall
of 1907 he moved to Effingham, Kan., and is living a retired life. Mrs.
White died in 1885, at the age of forty-three years. Twelve children
were born to Willis White and wife, four of whom are deceased: John,
Henry, and Mary, deceased; Frank, for several years a practicing
physician of note in Effingham, and who died in October, 1912, as a
result of an accident; Charles, of Kansas City; Dr. George Edwin, with
whom this narrative is directly concerned; Albert H., a farmer, in
Dickinson county; Mrs. Dora Hill, of Kansas City; William, living in
California; Mrs. Laura Shields, of California; Elmer, a farmer, of
Jackson county; Leroy, a farmer, of Effingham. Willis White was twice
married, his second wife being Elizabeth Heavenridge, of Indiana, who
bore him six children: Julia, employed in the Soldier’s Home at
Leavenworth, Kan.; Herman, a farmer in western Kansas; Earl, of
Effingham; Edith, at home; Ralph, also at home, and a child who died in
infancy.
George Edward White received his elementary education in the public
schools, studied three years in the Kansas Medical College at Topeka,
and graduated from the Medical University at Kansas City in 1905. For a
period of five and one-half years he practiced medicine in Dickinson
county, Kansas; practiced for two years in Brown county, Kansas, and
located in Effingham in the fall of 1912.
Dr. White was married in 1895 to Sadie A. Phillippi, who died in 1911,
leaving five children, namely: Willis, George, Lester, Birdie, and
Harold, all of whom are at home and attending the public and high
schools. One child, Ralph, died in infancy. Dr. White again married in
1912, to Ada M. Elliot, a capable and talented woman, who is a good and
kind mother to the doctor’s children.
Dr. White has achieved a reputation as a well read and capable
practitioner, and his practice in Effingham and the surrounding country
is constantly growing. He keeps abreast of the times and the latest
discoveries in the science of healing, and is associated with various
important medical societies, among them being the county, State, and
National societies, the Golden Belt, and the Northeast Kansas Medical
association, the Aesculapian Society, and the University Medical College
of Kansas City Alumni. He is a member of the Church of the Brethren, and
is fraternally connected with the Knights of Pythias, the Knights and
Ladies of Security, and the Mystic Workers. He is a Republican, but has
very little time for political affairs. Dr. White is a genial, whole-
souled gentleman, who loves his profession and his fellowmen.
GEORGE W. THOMPSON.
George W. Thompson is one of the oldest pioneers living in the State of
Kansas, and is all probability the oldest living pioneer in Atchison
county today. His career has been an interesting and even romantic one,
and reads like a tale from modern fiction. Homesteader, farmer,
statesman, politician and man of wide influence are terms which can well
be applied to this aged gentleman who has spent sixty-one years of his
four score and eight in assisting in the development of the Sunflower
State.
[Illustration:
_George W. Thompson and Wife_
One of the Oldest Pioneer Couples in Atchison County
]
George W. Thompson was born in Georgetown, Ky., October 18, 1827, a son
of Benjamin and Nancy (Baxter) Thompson, natives of Virginia and
Maryland, respectively, and descendants of old southern stock. Benjamin
Thompson was born in Virginia in 1799, the same year in which George
Washington died. He was a son of George Thompson, who removed from
Virginia to Kentucky in 1811, walking the entire distance over the Blue
Ridge mountains to the new home in the forests of Kentucky, where they
lived until 1843, and then joined the influx of settlers who were going
into Platte county, Missouri. The Thompsons loaded their entire effects
on wagons and drove as far as Frankfort, Ky., and then boarded an Ohio
river steamer which carried them to St. Louis. An interesting episode of
this trip concerns the passage of the boat over the falls at Louisville,
Ky., or five miles below that city. At that time the water was very high
in the river, and the captain of the steamer decided to take a chance
and go over the falls. During the passage the pilot’s steering gear
broke and the boat drifted over the falls without guidance in safety,
but not without expressions of fear on the part of the passengers. This
boat was the “Meridian,” one of the fast steamers of the river, and it
frequently raced with other river craft. The trip required about three
days from Louisville to St. Louis, which was at that time a city of
about 50,000 inhabitants. Mr. Thompson recalls that the boats were lined
up along the wharfs at St. Louis for over one and one-half miles, and he
has never forgotten the sight. About five days longer were required to
make the trip from St. Louis to Parkville, Mo., the trip ending on June
14, having commenced June 1, 1843. Benjamin plied his trade of
bricklayer in Platte county, and built the Green Hotel in Platte City,
which is still standing as a monument to his skill and handicraft as a
mason. He was the first brick mason in Platte City and he erected the
Green Hotel in 1844. Benjamin became prominent in the affairs of Platte
county and was a fine orator and public speaker.
For many years he was an active and influential figure in the political
life of Platte county, and he was a poet who left many evidences of
creative literary ability which are still prized among the archives of
the county. He resided in Missouri until 1860 and then came to Kansas
where he spent the remainder of his days, dying in Mt. Pleasant township
in 1862. His wife survived him and lived to an advanced age, dying in
1892, having been born in Rosamount county, Maryland, near Curlew. They
reared a fine family of nine children, of which George W. was the third
child.
George W. Thompson, with whom this review is directly concerned, grew to
sturdy manhood in old Kentucky, and was educated in the neighborhood
schools. Since boyhood, he has been a student and is at this day one of
the best read men of his generation. He learned the trade of bricklayer
under his father and followed the trade while living in Missouri. As
early as 1854 he came to Kansas, on the day following the passage of the
Kansas-Nebraska act which threw the Territory open to settlement. He
came up the Missouri river in a small boat and landed at the mouth of
Nine Mile creek in Leavenworth county. After investigating the
possibilities in this county, he filed upon a Government claim and went
back to his home in Platte county, returning in January of 1854 to erect
a log cabin. This erected, he again went home, returning in November and
roofed his cabin with clapboards made by him and his brother, and built
a stone chimney and daubed the chinks with mud. He located permanently
on his claim January 15, 1855, and on his way nearly lost his oxen in
the river. In the meantime a man named Dunham had jumped his claim, and
it became necessary for him and Dunham to compromise matters and divide
the land which was considered valuable because it had a very fine spring
of good, pure water available. Two years later Mr. Thompson sold his
claim and entered 160 acres of land in Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison
county. He moved to Atchison June 14, 1856. He developed this farm and
lived on it for forty-eight years, or until 1914, when he came to
Atchison to reside with his daughter, Mrs. Keats.
Mr. Thompson was married in Missouri in 1850, to Rebecca Stigers, a
native of Knox county, Ohio, born April 18, 1831, a daughter of Conrad
Stigers, a native of Germany. The mother of Mrs. Thompson was Mary Snell
Stigers, who was born in Virginia, of French parents, and whose father
was shipwrecked on the coast of Virginia. She was a direct descendant of
the famous French family of D’ Estang, and her father was a connection
of Count D’ Estang. To Mr. and Mrs. George W. Thompson were born nine
children: Benjamin T., born October 11, 1850, in Missouri, and died
March 12, 1902; Mary Katharine, born October 2, 1854, wife of Asa
Barnes, of Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison county; John Emmet, born
February 17, 1857, in Atchison county, and now residing in California;
Harriet M., born April 2, 1859, wife of T. M. Grant, Atchison county;
Louis T., born May 8, 1861, died May 1, 1864; Mrs. Dora T. Keats, born
March 21, 1864, wife of H. T. Keats, of Atchison; George McClelland,
born May 20, 1867, a farmer, Mt. Pleasant township; Clara Thompson, born
September 5, 1870, and Albert T., born October 5, 1873, died in infancy.
The Thompson family is one of the oldest in America and is of English
origin. The founder of the family came to Virginia with Capt. John Smith
in 1607, and through the marriage of John Rolfe with Pocahontas, the
princess daughter of old King Powhatan of the Indian tribes of Virginia,
the family and successive generations claim to have Indian blood in
their veins. They are or were connected with the famous Pickett family,
of whom General Pickett was a member. It will thus be seen that on one
side the present members of the family can lay claim to being descended
from the nobility and on another to being descended from an Indian
princess and one of the earliest of the old Virginia gentlemen. It is
not to be wondered that the founder of the family in Atchison county has
made such a fine record during his long residence here.
Mr. Thompson has always taken an active and influential part in the
political affairs of Kansas, and has been a life-long Democrat. He has
the unique distinction of having voted for but one candidate who was
elected President, and that was Franklin Pierce in 1852. This is
probably due to the fact that he has always been independent in his
voting, and acted upon his own convictions when it came time to cast his
ballot. His last vote was cast for Theodore Roosevelt. When Populism was
in vogue in Kansas he voted for the Populist candidate for President. It
was only natural that he himself become a candidate for office on
account of his education and the inherent gift for leadership. He served
as a member of the Kansas legislature at the sessions of 1867, 1868 and
1869, and has been a candidate a few times since. At another time, early
in his career, he was elected superintendent of public instruction in
Atchison county, but refused to serve, and sent in his resignation. His
last candidacy for the legislature was given him by the fusion of the
Populists and Democrats, but he was defeated by White by a very small
majority. During the campaign of 1866, he was asked to become a
candidate for the legislature by many Republican friends and upon the
advice of his many friends in the county, he cast his votes for both
Ross and Pomeroy for the positions in the United States Senate. It is a
matter of history that both Ross and Pomeroy were elected to represent
Kansas in the United States Senate, Ross subsequently making himself
very conspicuous by voting against the impeachment of Andrew Johnson.
This fine old pioneer was also a soldier in the Civil war, and served as
first lieutenant of the company commanded by Capt. Asa Barnes in the
battle of Westport. Mrs. H. T. Keats, daughter of Mr. Thompson, has in
her possession a number of interesting souvenirs of this battle, among
them being the belt buckle, and bayonet worn by her father in the
battle, and the company’s flag, Captain Barnes’ shoulder straps, and
James Binkley’s cap box, in addition to having some of the Government
scrip, with which the soldiers were paid. The colonel of the Twelfth
regiment was Colonel Louis L. Treat, another member of the company being
T. L. Cline. Very few of the members of this company or regiment are now
living.
On October 8, 1915, this noted old pioneer was eighty-eight years old
and still vigorous, mentally. His power of thinking is not much
diminished, and he is still a reader and student. Constant reading and
thinking, we are told, is conducive to longevity and Mr. Thompson has
always been a great reader and student of history and philosophy. He is
a man, self-made and self-taught, and is blessed with a keenness of
intellect far above the average. His life has been a well rounded and
useful one, and he has had a career of which he and his children and
grandchildren can well be proud. His long life has been clean and for
years he has been a stern advocate of temperance and has practiced his
own belief. In his younger days he was a noted and powerful orator who
had the ability to thrill and sway his hearers. Few men can look back
over a longer vista of years, well spent in honest pursuits, and in
behalf of his fellow men than George W. Thompson. All honor to him as
the oldest and most distinguished living pioneer of Atchison today.
B. F. TOMLINSON.
B. F. Tomlinson, deceased, was a pioneer merchant and meat packer of
Atchison, and left behind him an imperishable record for honesty and
fair dealing, which has never been surpassed in the mercantile history
of the city. He was born December 25, 1838, in Covington, Ky., a son of
Leroy Tomlinson, who was also a native of Kentucky. The mother of B. F.
Tomlinson died when he was a small boy, and as a consequence little is
known regarding her antecedents. The Tomlinsons are a very old American
family. Leroy Tomlinson was a commission merchant and meat packer, who
later removed from Covington to Louisville, Ky., and became prominently
identified with the business interests of that city. He conducted a
large packing establishment and handled as high as 100 beeves at one
time in his abattoirs, wholesaling the product of his packing houses to
meat merchants in the cities and towns bordering the Ohio river.
B. F. Tomlinson, with whose career this review is directly concerned,
was reared and educated in the city of Louisville, Ky., and when he was
but fifteen years of age his father died, his stepmother dying one year
later. Being an only child, he was left with the responsibility of his
father’s extensive business. The excellent training which his father had
given him, here came into good stead, and he carried on the packing
business successfully, paying, in the course of time, a considerable
indebtedness which his father had incurred. After his marriage in
Louisville in 1860, he continued to conduct his business in Louisville
until 1870, at which time he disposed of his possessions and came to
Atchison. Here he engaged in the butcher and packing business, and soon
held a prominent place in the mercantile life of the city.
B. F. Tomlinson was married September 11, 1860, to Miss Elizabeth
Alexander, who was born May 11, 1840, in Bedford, Ind. She was a
daughter of Robert M. and Emily (Legrant) Alexander. Her father was a
coach-maker by trade, and removed from Bedford, Ind., to Louisville,
Ky., where he died in 1900, at the age of eighty-nine years. Much
interesting history can be narrated concerning the mother of Mrs.
Tomlinson, who was born in New Orleans, and was one of three children
born to her parents, who were of French origin. The elder Legrant was a
drygoods merchant in the southern city, and the story goes, that on one
of his regular trips to Cincinnati, Ohio, to buy a stock of goods for
his store, he left two of the children at home, and on arriving in
Cincinnati he placed Emily in charge of a Scotch family by the name of
McDonald, and with whom he had been in the habit of stopping while on
business in Cincinnati. Emily at that time was twelve years of age, and
was a prime favorite with the McDonald’s who begged her parents to leave
her at their home during the time which would elapse until Mr. and Mrs.
Legrant made their next trip from New Orleans to Cincinnati. They did
so, but sad to relate, the little girl never saw nor heard from her
parents again, and what became of them she never learned, and she was
consequently reared to womanhood by the kind foster parents. In an
earlier year than this at New Orleans, and at a time when Emily’s father
was very sick with rheumatism, a band of over one hundred Indians was
encamped near the Legrant home at New Orleans. One of the other children
was also afflicted with cancer of the face. The medicine men of the
Indian tribe effected a cure of both the cancer and the father’s
rheumatism. The Indians were very affectionate toward Emily and called
her the “pretty squaw,” which was only natural, as she grew up to become
a very beautiful woman, eventually becoming the wife of Robert M.
Alexander, and after her husband’s demise, made her home with her
daughter at Atchison, where she died in November of 1904, at the
advanced age of eighty-nine years.
B. F. Tomlinson died in January, 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Tomlinson were the
parents of eight children: Martha J., wife of Louis Nelson, of St.
Joseph, Mo., and mother of one child, Frank B.; Emma T. Bosanko,
deceased, left one son, Harry; Lydia, wife of Frank Russell, of St.
Paul, Minn., and mother of one son, Clarence Russell; Alice, wife of W.
L. Johnson, of Atchison; Anna A., wife of Charles Robertson, of Chicago;
Robert, a resident of Columbia, Mo., and who has one daughter, Ecce
Tomlinson; Franklin, deceased; Birdie died in infancy. The mother of
these children is now three score and fifteen years of age, but does not
appear to be over fifty years old. She is remarkably well preserved and
has a keen mind, and is especially proud of her husband’s record and
fine family of children.
Mr. Tomlinson was a member of several fraternal societies, among them
being the Modern Woodmen, the Knights of Honor, and the Ancient Order of
United Workmen. He was politically allied with the Democratic party, but
never sought political preferment. He was well and favorably known and
highly respected in business circles in Atchison, his greatest and
kindliest trait being his generosity in giving assistance to the poor
and deserving of the city. He was always ready to listen to the call of
the suffering and improvident, and never turned away a supplicant in
dire need empty handed. It might be said of him that he was too generous
for his own financial welfare, but he sincerely believed in the
wholeness of his nature in giving of his sustenance to those whom he
deemed in need. The indulgence of this Christian trait of giving
naturally endeared his memory to a host of friends, who will long
remember him. Few men were more liberal or kinder than this upright
gentleman.
JOHN D. HAWK.
In the science of agriculture, as well as the learned professions, there
are always men who are naturally endowed with the powers of leadership,
and are so progressive and energetic that they lead in the van of better
and more productive farming where others follow. Atchison county has its
quota of these progressive agriculturists who are not content to be just
common, every-day farmers, but are ambitious to become specialists in
agricultural work. John D. Hawk, of Benton township, Atchison county,
holds a place in the front rank of successful and enterprising farmers
in Atchison county, and is the owner of one of the most productive and
best equipped agricultural plants in the county, or northeast Kansas.
His farm comprises 170 acres, located in section 2, range 618, Benton
township. A good farm home sets well back from the road, in the rear of
which is a large red barn. 86×46 feet, hip roofed and flanked by a
modern silo, built in 1910, and which is the first wood silo erected in
Atchison county. Mr. Hawk is beginning the breeding of thoroughbred
Jersey cattle, and at the present time has a fine dairy herd of twenty-
five head, among which is a number of pure breds. Leading this herd is
“Shawan Majesty,” a pure bred bull. He also specializes in Poland China
hogs, and is meeting with success in the breeding and raising of live
stock. Mrs. Hawk keeps a pure strain of Black Langshan poultry and
handles this end of the farm work with profit and satisfaction.
John D. Hawk was born November 19, 1875, on a farm in Coshocton county,
Ohio, a son of Lafayette T. Hawk, of Benton township, a sketch of whom
appears in this volume. He was seven years of age when his parents
removed to Atchison county, Kansas, from their Ohio home. Here he
attended the district school, and had the advantage of one year’s study
in the county high school. He worked on the home farm with his father
until 1898, when he began for himself in the spring of that year on the
McClennon farm which he rented for two years. After his marriage he
removed to his present place which is the old Law homestead. He erected
the present barn and the large poultry house on the place and made
various other improvements including the building of the silo.
Mr. Hawk was married March 15, 1899, to Miss Alice M. Law, who has borne
him eight children, of whom seven are living: Walter Gale, born January
12, and died February 1, 1900; Herbert, aged fifteen years; Kenneth,
born November 19, 1902; Dorothy, aged ten; Mateel, nine years old; John,
aged six years; and twins, Vera and Veda, born December 12, 1911. The
mother of these children was born in Toronto, Canada, a daughter of
Edwin and Mary Alice Law, both of whom were born in England. Edwin Law
comes of a family of singers, and it is a matter of record that his
mother sang before Queen Victoria on one occasion, and was noted
throughout England as a singer of note. The Laws immigrated from England
and first settled in Canada, going from there to Ohio, and after a short
residence in the Buckeye State, migrated to Doniphan county, Kansas,
from whence they came to Atchison county and purchased the farm where
Mr. and Mrs. Hawk now reside. There were five children in the family:
Alfred Law, Ella, Alice, Walter, and one died in infancy. Mrs. Law died
on the farm, and Mr. Law died in Canon City, Colo. After his first
wife’s death, Mr. Law again married, and had one daughter, Lillie, by
his second marriage.
Mr. Hawk is a Republican, but his activities do not tend to political
affairs. For several years he has been actively identified with
agricultural affairs in Atchison county, and his influence has ever been
exerted in behalf of better farming. He is president of the Atchison
County Farm Bureau, of which institution he is one of the organizers. In
connection with Fred Sutter, Alexander McClennon, he assisted in the
promotion of the Farm Bureau and its establishment, and the consequent
employment of County Agent Taylor as a skilled farm instructor. This is
now considered as one of the finest and most beneficial moves ever made
in the county in behalf of the farmers of the county, and even the most
incredulous who were unwilling to support the movement are now coming
into line and becoming enthusiastic over the possibilities for bettering
farm conditions in the county as the result of the efforts put forth by
its zealous supporters. This committee during the winter of 1914–1915
visited every part of the county, in the preliminary organization and
missionary work, and enrolled 200 farmers as supporters of the project.
Mr. Hawk is likewise president of the Atchison county Farmers’
Institute. He attends the Christian church, of which Mrs. Hawk is a
member, and is fraternally affiliated with the Central Protective
Association.
HERBERT J. BARBER.
A man’s standing in the community where he resides or transacts his
business affairs is usually gauged by his usefulness to society and his
activities in behalf of the general good of his fellows. If he be of the
class of citizens who are seeking to benefit the community in which he
is engaged in business, he is a decided benefit to that community. Such
an individual is Herbert J. Barber, banker of Cummings, Kan. Mr. Barber
is a native of the Sunflower State, and is a son of one of the early
pioneers. The story of Moses Barber, his father, Union veteran, Kansas
pioneer, and one of the first successful fruit growers of Atchison
county, is interesting and borders on the romantic to a considerable
degree. Over fifty years ago, directly after his honorable discharge
from the Union service at Leavenworth, Moses Barber set out on horseback
to find a place for a home in Atchison county. He found the homestead,
and at the same time found a sweetheart who later became his wife and
fought the good fight with him through the lean years and good ones
until he attained to the realization of his ambitions to obtain a
competence. He became widely known as the “Apple King” of Kansas as a
result of his remarkable success as a grower of apples, and cultivated
what was in all probability the largest apple orchard in existence in
the State of Kansas in his day. His son, Herbert, has followed in his
father’s footsteps and is fast making a name for himself in the field of
finance. Speaking in a biographical sense, Herbert J. Barber was born on
the old homestead of his father in Mt. Pleasant township, April 11,
1871, a son of Moses and Mary (Hubbard) Barber, the former a native of
Rhode Island, and the latter a native of Virginia.
[Illustration:
_Moses Barber_
]
[Illustration:
_Mrs. Mary (Hubbard) Barber_
]
Moses Barber was born in South Kingston, Rhode Island, April 22, 1833, a
son of James and Elizabeth Barber, natives of Rhode Island, of colonial
ancestry and English descent. A brother of James was Colonel Barber, who
served in the War of 1812, and the grandfather of Moses Barber was a
Revolutionary soldier. Moses was reared to young manhood on his father’s
farm in Rhode Island, and then migrated westward to Illinois. After a
residence of a few years in Illinois he came to Kansas and was a
resident of the State upon the outbreak of the rebellion of the Southern
States. He enlisted in Company I, Second regiment, Kansas cavalry, in
1861, and was soon promoted to ranking sergeant of his company. He
served his country well and faithfully and took part in several hard
fought engagements with his regiment, and received his honorable
discharge at the close of the war at Leavenworth, Kan. After receiving
his discharge from the service he set out on horseback in search of a
homestead, riding the faithful cavalry horse which had carried him
through the strenuous days of the Civil war. His route led him in a
northwesterly direction from Ft. Leavenworth through Atchison county. He
stopped for sustenance and rest at the home of a family named Hubbard at
Parnell, Kan. Mr. Hubbard was a pro-slavery and State rights man who had
removed from the Southland in 1855 after two years in Missouri, a State
rights advocate, and although Mr. Barber was his guest, they had
frequent clashes over the troubles of the South and war incidents. The
bitterness of the great conflict had not yet been obliterated, and it
was only natural that the Union veteran and State’s rights man should
have disagreements. This was not all of their troubles, as time soon
developed. Mr. Hubbard had an attractive daughter, and thereby hangs a
tale of romance. Mary Hubbard was the acme of beauty in the eyes of
young Barber and he purposely stayed around in the neighborhood that he
could be near Mary and do his courting despite the evident antipathy of
Father Hubbard. In fact, Moses often said later, “That was the reason I
stayed there.” The attraction between Mary and Moses grew into
friendship, friendship ripened into love, and the son of the North and
the daughter of the South were married. The parental opposition to this
natural outcome of the meeting of two young souls who were evidently
destined for each other was so great that a quiet marriage was
necessary. Moses and Mary quietly departed one day and returned to the
parental roof as man and wife. Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard soon afterwards
decided to accept the inevitable and become fond of their son-in-law.
Time and subsequent events proved that Moses and Mary were well mated
and the marriage, if a hasty one, proved to be very happy in the years
to come. Mr. Hubbard soon afterward went west to satisfy the gold fever
which obsessed him and Moses Barber settled down on his father-in-law’s
farm which he purchased, thus beginning a highly successful career as an
agriculturist. The first home of him and his young wife was a little log
cabin which formerly belonged to the Hubbards, but as prosperity came as
the reward of years of careful husbandry, he erected a handsome farm
residence of thirteen rooms which still stands on the place, built in
1882. Mr. Barber was one of the first men in Kansas to see the
possibilities in fruit growing and early began to develop that part of
the farming avocation. He planted four or five acres of apple trees as a
start in his horticultural experiments, and his success with his first
orchard was so gratifying that he increased his apple orchards to sixty
acres of bearing trees. He became widely known as the “Apple King of
Kansas.” While managing his immense fruit orchard he did not neglect the
other side of the farm work and cultivated assiduously and successfully
his large farm of 320 acres of land in Mt. Pleasant township. In the
early days he was a large cattle feeder and made large shipments to the
stock markets.
Moses Barber was married May 15, 1865, to Miss Mary Hubbard and this
union was blessed with two children: Mrs. Abigail Brayman, of Wickford.
R. I., and Herbert J., with whom this review is directly concerned. Mr.
Barber departed this life July 3, 1896, after having lived a long and
useful life which was profitable as well as happy. Mrs. Mary (Hubbard)
Barber, his surviving widow, was born May 7, 1845, in Roanoke county,
Virginia, and was a daughter of Clark and Rebecca Hubbard, both of whom
were born and reared in Virginia and came to Kansas in 1855. Mrs. Barber
resides with her son, Herbert J., in Atchison, Kan.
Herbert J. Barber attended the district school of his neighborhood in
Mt. Pleasant township and later pursued a course in the Atchison
Business College. After finishing his business course he returned to his
father’s farm and took charge of the fruit growing and general farming.
Later he spent three years in Colorado in the employ of a Denver
wholesale book and stationery house. In 1894 he returned to the home
farm and successfully managed it until 1908. He then removed to
Cummings, Kan., and assisted in the organization of the Cummings State
Bank. He became the cashier of this institution and has given evidence
of decided financial and business ability of a high order in his
vocation. Besides his banking interests Mr. Barber has land holdings in
Colorado and western Kansas. He makes his residence at 1020 Santa Fe
street in Atchison.
The marriage of H. J. Barber and Miss Eva Wertz was solemnized in
February 19, 1902. Mrs. Barber was born the twenty-sixth of May, 1878,
in Pennsylvania, a daughter of David and Eliza Wertz, both of whom were
born and reared in the Keystone State. David Wertz was for many years a
merchant at Parnell, Kan., and is now living in retirement at that
place. The mother of Mrs. Barber is now deceased. One child, Mary Reta,
born August 13, 1904, has blessed the marriage of Herbert J. and Eva
Barber.
Politically, Mr. Barber is a Republican, and has held the office of
trustee of Mt. Pleasant township for four years. He and his family are
religiously affiliated with the Baptist church. He is a member of the
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Washington lodge, No. 5, of Atchison,
and the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Barber is a booster and public-
spirited citizen by nature and is always ready and willing to support
anything for the good of the community and the people. Every civic
program which will have a tendency to benefit the whole of the people
finds him as one of its warmest supporters.
ROBERT PINDER.
Robert Pinder, the efficient and capable manager of the Effingham Lumber
Company, while having been a resident of Effingham but a few years, has
so identified himself with the life of the community and taken such an
active part in the city’s affairs, that his citizenship is an important
and component part of the body politic. He is a hustler in both thought
and deed, and strives to advance his city as well as managing his
business at profit, and so as to gain increasing prestige for the lumber
company’s business, which has been under the present management since
1912. The company conducts a general lumber business, and sells all
kinds of building material, such as farm gates, Crown and Tulsa silos,
of superior make, tiling, roofing and roof paints, etc. The sheds and
yards cover six lots, and Mr. Pinder employs two men to care for the
business. The president of the company is W. C. Alexander, of Atchison;
the vice president is T. B. Pinder, of Clifton, Kan., and the general
manager and secretary-treasurer is Robert Pinder, with whom this
narrative is directly concerned.
Robert Pinder was born September 5, 1872, in Timberland, England, a son
of John and Anna (Burton) Pinder, who were farmers in their native
country, and about 1894 immigrated to this country and settled on a farm
near Everest, Kan., where they died. In 1886 Robert was indentured at
Martindales, England, for three years and one and one-half years at
Horncastle, to grocery and provision merchants, with the understanding
that he was to receive his board and lodging, and his father was to
provide for other necessaries, such as wearing apparel, and medicine, in
case of sickness. His periods of indenture required both day and night
service and to play no games, or frequent taverns or dice tables, or
contract matrimony, or buy and sell. For an American boy to be required
to do anything of this sort would be considered the rankest injustice,
and he would rebel at being compelled seemingly to sacrifice his liberty
and become a bound employe for so long a time. But such is the custom in
England, and the training which Robert Pinder received during his four
and one-half years of indenture proved exceedingly valuable lo him in
later years. After serving his time as an apprentice he continued in the
provision business for three and one-half years longer, and then came to
America, journeying direct to Doniphan county in 1894. In the spring of
the following year he moved out on the farm owned by his father, who had
brought the entire family, with the exception of one brother, to this
country. He assisted his father in the cultivation of the farm for four
years, and then accepted a position in the lumber business of E. L.
Alexander, at Everest, Kan., in the spring of 1899. Three months later
he became manager of the Purcell Lumber Company, at Purcell, Kan., and
remained in this position for three years, following which employment he
was manager of the Alexander Lumber Company at Havensville, Kan., for
over ten years. In the spring of 1912 Mr. Pinder came to Effingham and
took charge of the Effingham Lumber Company. His success in the lumber
business has been marked and rapid, and is an indication of true and
tireless business ability of a high order. He is secretary and a
stockholder of the Alexander Lumber Company, a large concern: secretary
of the Harrison Lumber Company, of Garnett, Kan., and is interested in
this concern as a stockholder. Mr. Pinder also administered the family
estate after his father’s death in 1909, and his mother’s demise in the
year following. There were eight children in the family: Frederick died
in infancy; John W., living, in England; Edith Mary, wife of William
Pinder, of Huron, Kan.; Robert; Charles, a farmer living near Huron:
Henrietta died at Everest; Emma A., wife of Arthur Harris, of Everest;
Thomas Benton, in the lumber business at Clifton, Kan.
Mr. Pinder was married November 1, 1900, to Harriet M. Pinder, who was
born in Denton, a daughter of A. G. Pinder, a farmer, residing near
Huron, Kan. Four children have blessed this union: Ruth Mary, born in
November, 1901; Cecil Francis, born in 1903; Leslie Benton, born in
1906; John Sylvester, born in 1909.
Mr. Pinder is a progressive Republican, and has pronounced and decided
views upon independence in politics, and believes in “a government of
the people and by the people,” and not for the benefit of the favored
few. He is affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal church, and is
fraternally allied with the Knights and Ladies of Security, and the
Lumberman’s “Hoo-Hoo” society.
THOMAS J. POTTER.
For twenty-four years Thomas J. Potter has served the people well and
faithfully as postmaster of the town which was named in honor of his
father. Joseph Potter, one of the distinguished pioneer settlers of
Atchison county, Kansas. Thomas J. Potter was born January 29, 1856, on
a farm which later became the townsite of Potter, Kan., and was settled
upon by his father in 1854. Mr. Potter probably holds the record for
long and continuous residence in Atchison county as a native son of this
county. He was a son of Joseph and Minerva (Wiley) Potter, natives of
Kentucky and descendants of colonial ancestry. Thomas Potter, father of
Joseph, tracing his ancestry direct to a member of the colony founded at
Jamestown, Va., by Capt. John Smith, in 1607. Thomas Potter, grandfather
of T. J., was born in old Virginia, and was a pioneer settler in Lincoln
county, Kentucky.
Joseph Potter was born in 1819 in Kentucky, married there and reared a
family. When Kentucky began to take on a crowded condition, which was
inimical to a great many of the early settlers of the Daniel Boone
class, Thomas Potter conceived the idea of migrating westward, as Boone
had done. Accordingly, he sent his son, Joseph, to the wild country of
Saline county, Missouri, to find out about the fertility of the land,
and to determine whether or not the country was suitable for settlement.
Joseph made the trip in safety and made a favorable report on his
arrival home. The family, thereupon, disposed of their land holdings in
Kentucky and made the overland trip to Missouri, finally locating in
Buchanan county of that State, near the town of DeKalb, in 1846. Here
Joseph Potter was married in 1851 to Minerva Wiley, whose parents had
migrated from the old home in Kentucky to Buchanan county, Missouri,
about the same time the Potter family had settled there. Three years
later, in 1854, Joseph Potter and his wife removed to Atchison county
and filed upon an 160 acre claim, on part of which acreage the town of
Potter is now built. This was some years before Kansas became a State,
and about the time the great struggle between the pro- and anti-slavery
men was beginning for the control of Kansas. Joseph Potter was a strong
anti-slavery man, who was not afraid to voice his convictions in
unmistakable language at any and all times. He was firm in his belief
that slavery was an evil which should be abolished, and his
aggressiveness led him into frequent conflicts with the pro-slavery
advocates. He was one of the able and fearless leaders of the anti-
slavery contingent in Atchison county, and many times he was threatened
with physical violence. At the time of one of the territorial elections,
only three Free State votes were cast in Joseph Potter’s precinct. Four
thousand votes, a number far in excess of the actual number of voters in
the territory, were cast at this election, and pro-slavery men came from
Missouri, and even from Kentucky, and voted several times in favor of
making Kansas a slave State.
Joseph Potter was a Mexican war veteran. He enlisted in 1846 as a
private soldier in the regular army of the United States, and served
throughout the Mexican conflict under Col. Sterling Price. When the
Civil war broke out he was appointed recruiting officer for the Federal
Government, and later served as a captain in the Kansas State militia.
Joseph Potter served one term as a member of the State legislature. In
the year 1886 the town of Potter was established and named in his honor.
One of the most cherished of the friendships of this hardy pioneer was
that of the late Senator John J. Ingalls, a friendship which began in
the troublous days preceding the Civil war, and endured until death
parted them, long afterward. Mr. Potter’s first impression of John J.
Ingalls was obtained at an anti-slavery meeting held in Mount Pleasant
township, and he was fond of relating the occurrence after the Senator
became a Nation-wide character of prominence. Joseph Potter was the
political leader of the anti-slavery party in that section of the State
at the time, and Mr. Ingalls, then a young man of twenty-five, had
opened his law office a few weeks previously in the old town of Sumner,
Kan. Ingalls spoke at this meeting, and it is recalled, that as he arose
to speak, a tall young man, pale and slender, the impression that he
made upon his audience was small, and there were those present who even
sneered when he began to speak. It was not long, however, as the future
senator swung into his theme, until he convinced his auditors that he
had a thorough knowledge of Kansas conditions, and could speak with an
eloquence and honesty of delivery that was convincing. The listeners who
came to scoff, left the meeting as warm admirers of Mr. Ingalls, and Mr.
Potter was forever afterward his warm supporter.
Joseph Potter and his wife were the parents of eight children, as
follows: Celia J., wife of T. Lawler, of Cowles, Neb.; Francis, living
on the old home place in Walnut township; Alice P., residing on the home
farm; Josephine P., wife of J. W. Miller, of Atchison; Thomas J.; Samuel
L., a banker, living at Cutbank, Mont.; John J., also living on the old
homestead.
Thomas J. Potter was born and reared on the old home farm of the Potter
family, and followed the occupation of a tiller of the soil until he was
twenty-seven years of age. He was appointed postmaster of the town of
Potter, and was re-appointed in 1898, and has held the office
continuously ever since. He was married in 1882 to Fannie M. Brown, a
daughter of John Brown, of Missouri. Two children bless this union:
George Potter, in the United States mail service in Chicago, Ill., and
Garland J., wife of Charles Pruitt, of Sioux Falls, S. D. The mother of
these children died in February, 1906. In the year 1913 Mr. Potter took
for his second wife, Mrs. Estella Everhardt, widow of Charles Everhardt,
and a daughter of N. D. West, a native of New Jersey, who settled in
Kansas in the early territorial days.
Mr. Potter is politically allied with the Republican party and is a
supporter of Republican principles. He belongs to the Christian church,
and is fraternally affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America.
BENJAMIN F. SHAW.
Benjamin F. Shaw, hardware merchant, of Potter, Kan., is a native of
Atchison county, and is one of Potter’s younger successful business men.
He was born October 11, 1882, on a farm in this county. He is a son of
Henry and Martha (Nelson) Shaw, the former a native of Roodhouse, Ill.,
and the latter of Missouri. Both parents are of English ancestry. Henry
Shaw came to Kansas in 1867 when a young man twenty years of age. When
he came here he had a cash capital of about $100. He was of a saving
disposition, however, and it was not long until he became the owner of a
fine farm of 320 acres in Leavenworth county, Kansas. He is now residing
in Leavenworth, living on a small farm of twenty acres within the city
limits.
Benjamin F. is the fourth of six children born to Henry and Martha Shaw,
and is the only son. He spent his boyhood days on his father’s farm and
attended the district school in his neighborhood. When nineteen years of
age he came to Potter and entered the employ of L. M. Jewell, in his
general merchandise store. He began working for a salary of sixteen
dollars per month. When Mr. Jewell took charge of the Potter State Bank
as cashier, Mr. Shaw was placed in charge of the Jewell lumber yard and
furniture store. Shortly afterward he was enabled to purchase a half
interest in the furniture store. Within a year he sold his interest in
the furniture business and bought a half interest in the hardware store
of J. C. Helvey. Upon Mr. Helvey’s death, three years later, Mr. Shaw
purchased his former partner’s interest, and has since conducted the
business entirely in his own name, as the sole proprietor. Mr. Shaw has
met with signal success in his business venture, and has grown with the
town of Potter. He has increased the value of the hardware stock in his
establishment from $2,200 to over $7,000. In addition to his business he
is the owner of farm lands near the town of Potter. This is a
considerable accomplishment for a young man who began his career with
practically no capital, but a willingness to do the best he could, and
endowed with plenty of energy and intelligence.
Mr. Shaw was married in November of 1904 to Miss Louise Bessler, of
Leavenworth, Kan. His political affiliations are with the Democratic
party, and he is fraternally connected with the Modern Woodmen lodge.
LAWRENCE GRIFFIN.
A review of the life of the late Lawrence Griffin, of Effingham, Kan.,
is the story of a poor Irish lad who left his native land, served his
adopted country in the Civil war, became a pioneer in Kansas, and was a
railroad builder and successful farmer, and in the course of years
realized in full his boyhood dream of wealth and position in the great,
free land of America.
[Illustration:
_L. Griffin_
]
Lawrence Griffin was born in County Galway, Ireland, in 1838, a son of
poor Irish parents. When a boy in his teens he immigrated to America and
joined his brother, Michael, in Ohio, and there engaged in farm work for
a living. He worked his way westward, and at the outbreak of the Civil
war was driving a stage coach out of Springfield, Ill., where he
enlisted August 3, 1862, in Company C, Twenty-seventh regiment, Illinois
infantry, and served until his honorable discharge, September 20, 1864.
He fought in many important battles, among them being Belmont, Mo.,
Union City, siege and capture of Island No. 10, Farmington Mills, siege
and capture of Vicksburg, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, and the
battle of Chattanooga. After the war he went to St. Louis, Mo., and from
that city made his way to Atchison, where he took a contract under J. P.
Brown for building a portion of the grade of the Central Branch
railroad, at that time under course of construction. His first job was
the grading of one mile of road called section 20 in partnership with a
Mr. Keean. In partnership with James Brady he then graded two miles of
road near Wetmore, Kan. He saved his money which he made from his
grading operations and in 1867 was married and purchased a farm of
eighty acres near Arrington on the creek bottoms. He was compelled to
leave this place after one year on account of ague and invested in 160
acres of land north of Arrington, which he later sold and bought 160
acres of higher land four miles west of Effingham. This was prairie land
which he at once began to improve and made into a permanent home for his
family. He and his wife first lived in a small house and were often
discouraged and faced failure many times, but persistence and fortitude
finally won out and they became the possessors of 400 acres of well
improved land on which were erected two sets of farm buildings. Three
hundred and twenty acres yet remain intact of the original holdings,
which are rented to tenants. In 1908 Mr. and Mrs. Griffin left the farm
and purchased a handsome residence in Effingham where Mrs. Griffin now
resides.
Mr. Griffin was married November 25, 1865, in the old St. Benedict’s
Church in Atchison, to Miss Ellen Gallagher, the marriage ceremony being
performed by Father Timothy. Ten children have blessed this union, as
follows: Michael died in infancy; Martin Lawrence, a farmer at Wetmore,
Kan.; Ellen, wife of James Bergen, Graham county, Kansas; Elizabeth,
wife of Michael Murphy, Dallas, Texas; Anna, at home with her mother;
Patrick Henry, conducting a livery business at Effingham; John J.,
cultivating the home farm; Frank, agent for the Southern Life Insurance
Company, Wichita Falls, Texas; Walter L., a traveling salesman, Dallas,
Texas, and who graduated from the Atchison County High School, and
studied two years at St. Benedict’s College; James Ambrose, also a
graduate of the Atchison County High School, and now a stenographer in
the office with his brother at Dallas, Texas. The mother of these
children was born September 15, 1850, at La Salle, Ill., a daughter of
Martin and Anne (Corcoran) Gallagher, both of whom were born in County
Mayo, Ireland. They came to this country when young and Mr. Gallagher
took up a homestead in Illinois and also engaged in freighting from La
Salle to Chicago. He died in 1851, and the widow, accompanied by Ellen
and two sons, came to Atchison county in 1860 and made their home here.
Mrs. Gallagher married again, her second husband being Frank Cullen, who
preëmpted land near Muscotah, upon which the family moved from Atchison
in 1863. Mr. Cullen died in 1888. The mother of Mrs. Griffin died in
1890, at the age of sixty-six years.
Lawrence Griffin was a member of the Catholic church and was always a
liberal contributor to the support of that denomination, giving
substantially in aid of the building of the Catholic church in
Effingham. While he was a rough and ready type of man who took the world
as he found it, he was very moral and believed in living according to
the golden rule. He was very charitable to the poor and worthy and was a
kind husband, and a loving and indulgent father, whose sole aim in
amassing a comfortable fortune was to provide well for his wife and
children. In this aim he succeeded.
CHARLES E. BARKER.
The Nation owes a debt to the veterans of the Civil war, who gave the
best years of their young lives to the defense of the Union, and marched
under the star-spangled banner under the leadership of such heroes as
Grant, Sherman and Sheridan, which can never be fully repaid. The ranks
of the grand army of brave and true men who have worn the blue are
gradually thinning out, and where once they were numbered in hundreds
and thousands throughout this broad land, there are now but few in each
community. These veterans were of the salt of the earth, and no better
type of manhood ever trod the earth or marched to the strains of martial
music than the old guard, which saved the Union, at the call of Abraham
Lincoln. Living on a farm, in the northwest part of Benton township,
Atchison county, Kansas, is a survivor of General Sherman’s victorious
“march to the sea.” Comrade Charles E. Barker gave three years of his
life in the defense of the Union and flag, and has a war record which
has been equalled or surpassed by but few men who shouldered a musket to
save the Union from dissolution.
Charles E. Barker, well-to-do farmer, of Atchison county, Kansas, was
born in Fulton county, Illinois, April 4, 1842, a son of John and
Eleanor (Rutledge) Barker. The father of Charles was born in Virginia
July 20, 1786, and learned the blacksmith’s trade when yet a boy. He
migrated to Fulton county, Illinois, as early as 1826, and there
operated a blacksmith shop. He was twice married, his second wife being
Eleanor Rutledge, who bore him three children: George R., deceased;
James Lee, deceased: Charles E. The four children by the first marriage
were Joseph, John W., Sarah, and Elizabeth, deceased. The mother of
Charles E. was born in Greenbrier county, Virginia, November 28, 1801,
and died September 3, 1873. John Barker died in Fulton county, Illinois,
in September of 1861.
Charles E. Barker grew up on his father’s farm, and helped in the shop
and on the farm until his enlistment, at the age of twenty years. At the
outbreak of the war he harkened to Lincoln’s call for volunteers to
quell the rebellion of the Southern States, and went to Vermont, Ill.,
where he enlisted in Company F, One Hundred and third regiment, Illinois
infantry, August 14, 1862, under the command of General Sherman, and Mr.
Barker acted as commissary sergeant in Tennessee and the South. He
participated in the following engagements: Vicksburg, Mission Ridge,
Kenesaw Mountain, Resaca, Ga., Peachtree Creek, Ga., Dallas,
Gristleville, November 26, 1864, and many others, his regiment being in
twenty-seven battles in all. He marched under Sherman’s banner from
Atlanta to the sea, and then marched in the Grand Review at Washington,
D. C. He was honorably discharged at Chicago, Ill., July 7, 1865. He
returned home after his discharge, and remained in Fulton county,
Illinois, until 1883, when he disposed of his holdings there and went to
Dade county, Missouri, where he bought a farm. He remained in Dade
county for several years, living on various farms which he bought and
sold. In August, 1887, he went to Furnace county, Nebraska, and
purchased a half section of land, to which he added 160 acres later,
which he sold in 1903 to his son, Harry. On March 1, 1891, he went to
Brown county, Kansas, and lived there until his removal to Atchison
county. In 1894 he came to Atchison county, Kansas, and bought 160 acres
of land in the northwest corner of Benton township. He improved this
farm and cultivated it with profit to himself. He maintains good graded
live stock on his acreage and is considered one of the really successful
agriculturists of the county. Nearly all of his land is sown to alfalfa
and grasses.
On April 19, 1866, Mr. Barker was married to Mary E. Pontious, who has
borne him six children, as follows: Leonard, a farmer, of Norton county,
Kansas; Ira C., of Gooding, Idaho; Harry E., living in Brown county,
Kansas; William L., a farmer, of Kapioma township, Atchison county,
Kansas; Perry, residing in Stanford, Neb.; Nora, deceased. The mother of
these children was born in Ohio, a daughter of Andrew and Ann (Bear)
Pontious, natives of Germany.
Mr. Barker is a Democrat of the old school, and is a firm believer in
Democratic principles. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic,
Effingham Post, and numbers among the members of this organization many
warm friends and comrades. He has taken his place in the community as a
representative citizen, who enjoys the respect and esteem of all who
know him. He can look back over his three score and thirteen years of
life with satisfaction and realize with complacency that it has been
well spent, and he has accomplished all that any good American could
wish for on this earth.
JOHN E. SULLIVAN.
If a man has the inherent ability and energy in his makeup to enable him
to succeed, he is going to do it. The life stories of all successful,
self-made men bear out this contention, and there are numberless
instances of success among the younger generation in the West which are
well worth recounting. John E. Sullivan, real estate dealer, loan and
insurance agent, of Effingham, Kansas, is a representative example of
the class referred to in the foregoing statement. Mr. Sullivan was
destined to succeed in his farming and business ventures, and, while a
young man, he has already made his mark in the world, and is one of the
substantial and influential citizens of Atchison county.
John E. Sullivan was born on a farm, near Rulo, Richardson county,
Nebraska, January 20, 1873. He is a son of Murty and Mary (Rawley)
Sullivan, substantial and well respected citizens of Effingham. The
former was born in Ireland in 1847, and the latter is a native of
Canada, born of Irish parents in 1852. Murty Sullivan left Ireland in
1865, immigrated to America and settled near Rulo, Neb. He made his own
way in this country, and accumulated a large farm in Nebraska, on which
he resided until 1910, when he removed to Effingham and purchased a farm
adjoining the town on the south. Murty and Mary Sullivan are the parents
of the following children: James and Murty, Jr., living at Hardin,
Mont.; Daniel D., a farmer, of Benton township, Atchison county, Kan.;
John E., the subject of this review; Mrs. John Vogel, of Falls City,
Neb.; Sister M. Teresa, a sister of the Ursuline Convent, of York, Neb.,
and a teacher in St. Angela’s Academy there. The family are all members
of the Catholic church.
John E. received his primary education in the common schools of his
native county in Nebraska, and finished his education in St. Benedict’s
College, Atchison, Kan., graduating from the commercial department of
that institution in 1894. He then took a special teachers’ course at the
Lincoln, Neb., Normal School. He taught school for seven years in
Richardson county, Nebraska, and practically all of his teaching was
done in two schools of his home county. Upon his marriage in 1897 he
engaged in farming in Nebraska, and it is a matter of pride with Mr.
Sullivan that he earned more money in two years of farming operations
than he had in all of his seven years of teaching, another reason why
the farm is the best place for a young and ambitious man to make money.
His success as a farmer determined his future career, and he decided to
stick to the agricultural country for all time, imbued with the belief
that there is money to be earned in farming, or in handling farm lands.
He left Nebraska in December of 1901, and came to Atchison county,
Kansas, where he purchased a farm, one and one-half miles south of
Effingham, his first farm being the northwest quarter of section 34–618.
He is at present the owner of 400 acres of well improved land which is
kept in a high state of cultivation by improved methods of farming. Mr.
Sullivan raises considerable live stock on his acreage and aims to feed
all the grain raised on the land to live stock. He specializes in
Hereford cattle and Poland China hogs and aims to keep only good grade
of stock of all kinds. At the time of his purchase of the farm land in
Atchison county, the land itself was in poor condition, and the soil had
become impoverished by continual cropping of a single staple. Through
the modern method of crop rotation Mr. Sullivan is reviving the
fertility of the soil, and at the present time the greater portion of
his farm is planted to clover and grasses, for the purpose of renewing
the strength of the soil, the process being assisted by the raising and
feeding of live stock on the place. The Sullivan farm has splendid
improvements, which were placed on it by Mr. Sullivan, who erected a
modern eight-room house and a good barn. In 1907 Mr. Sullivan was
induced to take up insurance work as a side line, in the interest of a
Nebraska insurance company, and met with great success in his new line
of work. He later took up the real estate business and the handling of
loans, and has been likewise successful in establishing a permanent
business which requires his attention and necessitates an office in
Effingham. The Sullivan real estate and loan office is well located in
the Farmers and Merchants State Bank, of which concern Mr. Sullivan
served as cashier and a director for several years.
He was married February 16, 1897, to Mary Majerus, a native born
resident of Richardson county, Nebraska, and a daughter of Jacob and
Elizabeth (Wilker) Majerus, the former a native of Germany, and the
latter of Ohio, of German parents. Seven children have blessed this
union, namely: P. Justin, aged seventeen, and a student of St.
Benedict’s College, class of 1916; Leo, aged thirteen years; Nellie, ten
years old; Elizabeth, aged eight; Edward, six years old; Agnes, three
years of age; and Mary, born January 28, 1915.
Mr. Sullivan is a Democrat who takes an active and influential part in
the affairs of his party in Atchison county, having been the candidate
of the party for county treasurer in 1914. He is fraternally affiliated
with the Modern Woodmen, of Effingham, the Knights of Columbus, of
Atchison, and the Central Protective Association.
SAMUEL L. LOYD.
Samuel L. Loyd, an enterprising and successful farmer, of Shannon
township, was born June 11, 1860, in Brown county, Ohio, a son of Thomas
F. and Celina (McGinness) Loyd, natives of Kentucky and Ohio,
respectively. His paternal ancestors were of Welsh extraction. William
Loyd, grandfather of Samuel Loyd, after making a home for his family in
this country, started on a return trip to his native land, in order to
secure a legacy which had been willed to him by a deceased relative, and
on the way was afflicted with cholera, and died. With his death,
practically all knowledge of the family in the old country passed away,
and his widow and two children were left to get along as best they
could. Two years later the widow died. Thomas F. Loyd was reared by a
Mr. Boyd, and removed from Kentucky to Brown county, Ohio, when he
became of age, and there married Celina McGinness. About 1865 he set out
for the western country to obtain cheaper land, and make a permanent
home for his family. After living for one year in Clark county,
Missouri, he loaded his effects on a covered wagon, and with his wife
and children crossed the Missouri river at St. Joseph, and settled on a
farm in Doniphan county, Kansas, April 14, 1866. Thomas F. Loyd was a
member of the Home Guard in Brown county, Ohio, during the Civil war. He
was born in 1825, and died in 1910. His wife, Celina, was born in 1829,
and died in 1906. They were the parents of ten children, seven of whom
are living: William, Mollie, deceased, Charles, deceased, Samuel L.,
Anna, George, Effie, Otis, Oscar, and Celina, deceased.
Samuel L. Loyd was six years of age when his parents located in Doniphan
county, and consequently knows a great deal about the early days in
Kansas, and the struggles of the early settlers to make homes on the
prairie. He was brought up on the farm, and attended the district school
when possible, and learned very early in life to do farm work. After his
marriage he farmed in Doniphan county until 1899, when he came to
Shannon township in Atchison county, and purchased 160 acres of fine
land, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation. During his
sixteen years of residence here he has improved his farm to a
considerable extent, and has spent over $5,000 in the erection of a
handsome brick residence which sets far back on a rise of ground and is
reached from the highway by a private driveway. Other improvements on
the place in the way of buildings and fences have cost him over $1,500.
A severe storm, which swept this section May 3, 1903, did damage to the
extent of over $500 to his buildings, and he found it necessary to
repair all of this.
Mr. Loyd was married September 2, 1896, to Miss Lulu Voelker, born and
brought up in Atchison county, a few miles north of the city of
Atchison. To this union five children have been born: Myrtle Ceina, Edna
Lula, good educations by their ambitious parents. Mrs. Loyd is a sister
of Conrad Voelker, a wealthy and prominent farmer residing on one of the
finest farms in the county, about four miles north of Atchison, and who
earned the title of “Cabbage King” of Kansas, because of his wonderful
success in growing that vegetable some years ago. Mrs. Loyd was born
July 14, 1872, and is a daughter of Karl Voelker, who immigrated to this
country from Germany in 1861, and operated a dairy and truck farm in
Shannon township for several years. The mother of Mrs. Loyd was
Christina Neuhaus, of German parents. Further details of the history of
the Voelker family are found elsewhere in this volume. Conrad M., a
nephew of Mrs. Loyd, is county clerk of Atchison county.
Mr. Loyd is a Republican, but gives little or no attention to political
affairs, other than to vote as his conscience dictates. He is affiliated
with the Central Protective Association, and is a member of Good Intent
lodge, of Shannon township. While Mrs. Loyd was reared in the Lutheran
faith, the members of the Loyd family attend the Methodist church. For a
man who was forced to make his own way in the world, Mr. Loyd, with the
assistance of his faithful wife, has accomplished a great deal, for
which he deserves credit and honor among his neighbors.
JULIUS KAAZ.
The life story of Julius Kaaz, founder and proprietor of the
manufacturing concern which bears his name, is an account of the
achievements of a self-made man who left his native land to seek
opportunity and fortune in Atchison, and found it. During the period of
thirty-four years of his life which has been spent in his adopted city,
Mr. Kaaz has succeeded even beyond his expectations and has made a place
for himself an enviable one in the city. He arrived in Atchison in 1881
without a dollar, but endowed with a willingness to do whatever came to
hand, imbued with a desire to succeed where the opportunity awaited him.
The Julius Kaaz Manufacturing Company is a monument to his industry and
ambition. This is one of the thriving and important establishments in
the city of Atchison, and is widely known as one of the city’s leading
industries. The extensive plant covers two floors of a building, 52×130
feet, and from eighteen to twenty men are employed in the mill proper,
and from five to thirty-five men are given employment at outside work.
The factory is conveniently located at 1200–1208 Main street and is
fully equipped with all modern machinery to facilitate the manufacture
of the high grade products which consist principally of bank, church and
store fixtures, made to the order of the purchaser. An example of the
high grade work turned out by the Kaaz plant can be seen in the interior
fixings and furniture of the German-American State Bank of Atchison. Mr.
Kaaz ships his output to Kansas and Nebraska cities and all parts of the
United States, and it is unsurpassed in quality and finish.
Julius Kaaz was born March 26, 1854, in Prussia, German Empire, a son of
Daniel and Christina (Schroeder) Kaaz, who were the parents of four
children: Wilhelmina Loeproeck, a widow residing in Atchison county;
Ernest, Atchison; Mrs. Christina Schmeling, deceased; Julius, the
youngest of the family. Daniel Kaaz was a carpenter by trade and came to
Atchison from Germany with his family in 1881. He resided with his son
Julius upon his retirement from active labor until his death in 1902.
His wife, Christina, was born in 1821, and died in 1895.
[Illustration:
_Jul. Kaaz_
]
Julius Kaaz attended the schools of his native land and studied
architecture. He learned the trade of carpenter under his father, but
could not content himself to settle down in his native land and follow
in the footsteps of his forebears. When still a young man the germ of
ambition called him to other lands, and his goal was America. His desire
to better his condition led him to set sail for this country in 1881,
arriving in Atchison, where he at once sought employment. His first work
was cutting cordwood in the timber land, south of the city, during the
winter, and in the spring of the following year he worked on the
Missouri river, making and placing riprap. Soon afterward he was given a
job working at his trade for $1.50 per day. For one year he worked for
wages, and at length decided to embark in business for himself and began
taking contracts at a time when he had no capital worth speaking of. It
was even necessary for him to borrow the saw and hammer which he used in
his work. In 1885 he formed a partnership with Henry Braun in the
contracting business which continued until 1909, when they dissolved
partnership. In 1907 Mr. Kaaz erected his first planing mill which has
grown into his present extensive establishment consisting of plant,
yards and warerooms.
He was married to Ida Schmeling in 1883, and to this union have been
born nine children, as follows: Emil, Lena, Robert, Lydia, Julius E.,
Otto, Fred, Arthur, Martha. Of these children Martha is deceased, Lydia
is her father’s secretary, Fred is also employed in the office, and Otto
H. is employed in the mill. Mrs. Kaaz was born September 6, 1856, in
Prussia, German Empire, and is a daughter of August and Ernestine
(Polzien) Schmeling. She left her native land when sixteen years of age
and came to Atchison.
Mr. Kaaz, while politically allied with the Republican party, is an
independent voter who believes in voting for the individual who seems to
be most capable of serving the people, rather than supporting an avowed
politician. He and the members of his family are affiliated with the
German Lutheran church and are liberal supporters of this denomination.
GEORGE W. REDMOND, M. D.
A greater service in behalf of mankind than a life devoted to healing
the sick and curing the halt and the lame can not be considered, and
when this service has been rendered far from the comforts of the city
and during the storms of many seasons in the open country from the
pioneer era in Kansas down to the present time, the value of such
service to humanity is inestimable. The unsung heroes of the medical
fraternity are the large class of country practitioners who go their way
year after year, uncomplainingly and satisfied with the good they are
doing for their fellow creatures. Great fortune is not theirs, but the
inevitable reward and the satisfaction of a task well and faithfully
done is theirs to have. Of this great class the biographer is pleased to
record the facts concerning the life and career of George W. Redmond,
the second oldest physician in Atchison county, and one of the oldest
medical men in Kansas. For nearly half a century Dr. Redmond has
practiced his profession among the tillers of the soil in the
neighborhood of Potter, and the southeastern part of Atchison county,
and in the northeast part of Leavenworth county, Kansas. During all this
time he has remained true to his calling, and resisted the call of the
towns and cities, where an easier life might be lived. He has likewise
progressed with the profession and endeavored to keep abreast of the
wonderful developments in the science of medicine, arriving at the point
in his career where he is a specialist in his profession.
Dr. George W. Redmond was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, October 19,
1849, a son of Oscar Redmond and Susan (Orr) Redmond, the former a
native of Bourbon county, and the latter a native of Nicholas county,
Kentucky. Both were born in the same year, 1820, and the mother of Dr.
Redmond was a daughter of William Orr, a captain in the American army in
the War of 1812. William migrated to Kentucky from Pennsylvania shortly
after peace was declared between England and the United States, and was
one of the pioneers of that State. Oscar F. Redmond, father of George
W., was a son of William Redmond, was also one of the pioneers in the
settlement of old Kentucky. Both the Orr and Redmond families were of
that sturdy Scotch Presbyterian stock, who were prominent in the early
history of Kentucky, and were noted as true pioneers in several of the
middle Western States. Oscar F. Redmond was a farmer in Kentucky, and
reared a family of twelve children, of whom George W. was the fourth
child. In 1856 the Redmond family removed to Cooper county, Missouri,
where they remained until 1858, and then settled in Platte county,
Missouri, where the father made a permanent home for many years,
afterwards ending his days in Muscotah, Atchison county, Kansas. The
mother of Dr. Redmond died in Kansas City in 1892.
When the Redmond family left Kentucky, George W. was five years of age.
He received his primary education in the district schools of Platte
county, Missouri, and graduated from the Gaylord Institute, after which
he began the study of medicine with his uncle, Dr. H. B. Redmond, in
Saline county, Missouri, with whom he studied one year. He then entered
the St. Louis Medical College, of St. Louis, Mo., completed the
prescribed two years course, and graduated therefrom in 1869. While
trying to decide upon a location, and almost having his mind set upon a
city location, he received a letter from his sister, Mrs. Samuel E.
King, in Atchison county, informing him that Dr. John Parsons, of Mt.
Pleasant, was in need of a young assistant and partner, and he could
have the place if he came to Kansas. This letter decided his course, and
he came at once to Atchison county and began his practice with Dr.
Parsons. At this period Mt. Pleasant was an important inland town, but
it has long since passed into the realm of “disappeared cities.” Dr.
Redmond remained in Mt. Pleasant a little over two years, and then
located in Oak Mills, where he owned a farm, and built up an enormous
medical practice in the village and surrounding countryside. He
practiced in Oak Mills for thirty years, although prevailed upon by his
many admirers in Atchison to remove to the larger city and open an
office. During the winter of 1903 and 1904 he pursued a post-graduate
course in the post-graduate school of Chicago, and upon his return to
Kansas, in the spring of 1904, he located in Potter, Atchison county. Of
late years Dr. Redmond has become a specialist in the diseases of women,
and it is in this branch of practice that he is achieving his greatest
successes. Obstetrics has long been his specialty, and he undoubtedly
holds the record in Kansas for the number of successful confinement
cases at which he has officiated, and it can be said of him, that in all
of his many years of practice he has never lost a confinement case,
although there have been times in his career when he has had three and
four cases of this character in one day.
Dr. Redmond has been twice married, his first marriage occurring in 1874
with Anna Douglass, a daughter of J. M. and Sarah Douglass, who were
among the earliest of the Atchison county pioneers. Four children
blessed this union: Ethel, of Leavenworth, Kan.; Edith, wife of Charles
Munger, of Atchison county, Kansas; Virginia, living in Leavenworth,
Kan.; Georgia Redmond, also residing in Leavenworth. Dr. Redmond’s
second marriage took place in 1906 with Carrie A. Sprong, a daughter of
D. H. Sprong, an early pioneer settler of Kansas, a sketch of whom
appears in this volume.
While Dr. Redmond is a Democrat in politics, he has never found the time
to take an active part in political affairs. For the past thirty-five
years he has been a contributor to various medical journals, among them
being the _Medical World_, of Philadelphia, one of the oldest and most
widely read medical publications in the United States. He is a member of
the Atchison County Medical Society, the Kansas State Medical Society,
and the American Medical Association, and was one of the organizers of
the county society in 1869, and is the only surviving original member of
the society. He is a member of Kickapoo Lodge, No. 4, Ancient Free and
Accepted Masons.
FREDERICK W. LINCOLN.
From small beginnings larger things very often naturally grow. The candy
and soft drink manufactory of Frederick W. Lincoln on South Fifth
street, Atchison, had its inception in a very modest beginning. In fact,
Mr. Lincoln first began manufacturing his fine candies at his residence,
corner of Seventh and S streets, but the constant growth of the concern
soon required larger quarters, and his present factory, erected in 1893,
is the result of his enterprise, a building 20×60 feet in extent, with
the basement in use. He employs ten people the year round, and is his
own traveling salesman, his son, Edward, having charge of the business
during his father’s absence on the road. The products of the Lincoln
factory are in demand, and are noted for their excellency. In 1912 the
manufacture of soda and soft drinks was added to supply a demand in
Atchison and the surrounding territory. The manufactured goods of the
Lincoln factory are distributed to all points in Kansas and western
Missouri.
Frederick W. Lincoln was born in England January 29, 1852, a son of
Edmund B. and Jane (Barrell) Lincoln, the father being born in Norfolk,
Intwood county, England, and the mother being a native of County
Clingford, England. They were the parents of four children: Edward, a
veteran of the Civil war, and inmate of the National Soldiers’ Home at
Sandusky, Ohio; Mrs. Mary King, of Michigan; Mrs. Emily S. Moffit,
deceased; Frederick W., with whom this review is directly concerned, and
who was reared by an uncle, Mr. Barrell, who taught him the baker’s
trade. The Lincoln family immigrated to America in 1853, and settled in
Ohio, where Frederick was reared to manhood in the home of his uncle. He
worked at his trade of baker until 1875, when he came to Atchison, and
was employed in the hardware store of W. W. Marlborough for a few years,
after which he worked in a candy shop for W. B. Howe, who taught him the
candy maker’s trade. About 1880 he embarked in the manufacture of
candies with T. L. White, with whom he was associated for a short time,
and eventually engaged in business for himself, starting in his home,
making a very modest beginning. His first shop was near his residence,
but the business soon outgrew the demands made upon the little shop, and
larger quarters soon became necessary. The business is the direct
outcome of the persistence, integrity and industry of the proprietor,
and the future of this flourishing concern is bright with promise, as
the years see it extend its natural field, and it achieves a natural and
deserving growth.
Mr. Lincoln was married January 26, 1879, to Laura Averill, born July
20, at Cooper, Maine, a daughter of Joseph and Julia A. (Whitney)
Averill, natives of England and Scotland respectively. Mrs. Lincoln came
to Atchison with her mother and resided with her stepfather and mother
until her marriage with Mr. Lincoln. To Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln have been
born the following children: Mrs. Leona Andrews, of Atchison; Edward E.,
born May 11, 1883, educated in the public and high schools of Atchison
and brought up with his father in the business, married in 1903 to Freda
Spatz, who was born November 9, 1896, in Atchison, a daughter of Jacob
and Josephine (Latenser) Spatz, natives of Germany and St. Joseph, Mo.,
respectively; the third child being Frank, a machinist, employed at
Horton, Kan.
Mr. Lincoln is a Republican, and is fraternally allied with the Ancient
Order of United Workmen, the United Commercial Travelers, and the Modern
Woodmen of America. He and the members of his family belong to the
Christian church. Mr. Lincoln’s career is an exemplification of the
adage, “Success never comes to him who waits,” and his standing in the
commercial life of Atchison today is due to the fact that he made his
opportunity and is justly entitled to proper recognition as one of the
city’s leading factors.
JOHN C. VALENTINE.
John C. Valentine, owner and proprietor of the Northern Kansas Telephone
Company of Effingham, for more than forty years has been a resident of
Atchison county. The Northern Kansas Telephone Company, of which he is
the head, was organized in 1903 as a coöperative concern, but is now
owned and operated by Mr. Valentine and his son, A. G. Valentine. The
lines of the company cover a section of country within a radius of six
to ten miles of Effingham. Twenty-six lines are supplied with good
service, and the company has over 435 subscribers at the present time.
The plant is well equipped and is noted for the excellent service given
the patrons.
John C. Valentine is a native of Dearborn county, Indiana, and was born
in the Hoosier State July 28, 1845, a son of George and Sarah
(Cornforth) Valentine. His father was born in New Jersey, and
accompanied his parents to the Middle West, locating in Cincinnati when
George was a child. He was reared in Cincinnati, and later settled in
Indiana. His mother was the daughter of pioneer stock of English
descent, and was connected with the Eubanks family, which figured in the
early history of Indiana. Sarah Valentine died in 1863, and George
married again, after which he settled in Illinois, and died near Xenia,
that State. He was a soldier in the Civil war, and served in an Ohio
cavalry regiment throughout the conflict. John C. Valentine enlisted in
the 134th regiment, Indiana infantry, in the spring of 1864, and served
until his honorable discharge in the fall of the same year. His health
became poor while serving in Tennessee, and he was transferred to
Louisville, Ky., and sent home from that city. He was kept on the
reserve force while serving in Alabama, and was in the breastworks at
Decatur, Ala. At this place he was exposed to a hot fire, and recalls
that it was a very uncomfortable place in which to be. During the winter
of 1866 he taught school in Decatur county, Indiana. He remained at home
with an uncle, William Sawdon, at Aurora, Ind., after returning from the
war, until September, 1867, at which time he went to Ft. Madison, Iowa,
and there met some friends. He worked on farms in the neighborhood until
Christmas of that year, and then left for Kansas, arriving at
Leavenworth January 1, 1868.
During his first year in Kansas he broke prairie land for a living; the
next year he sold sewing machines, and made good at that avocation; the
second year, winter of 1868–69, he taught school in Leavenworth county,
and two years after coming to this State he was married. He and his
brother, Charles, broke prairie with their two teams in Jefferson
county, and for four years after his marriage, Mr. Valentine had great
success in farming in that county, raising immense crops of wheat. In
the year 1874 he came to Atchison county and settled on a farm four
miles northwest of Effingham on the south side of the Parallel road. He
at first bought a tract of eighty acres and erected a small house on his
land, erecting other buildings as he was able. Mr. Valentine has
prospered in the years following his first purchase of land in this
county, and he and his son now own a total of 200 acres of well improved
land. He resided on the farm until January of 1896, then turned over the
farm to the management of his son, and came to Effingham. For ten years
following he traveled as salesman, and in 1905 engaged in the telephone
business by the purchase of the coöperative company which formerly owned
the lines he is now operating.
Mr. Valentine was married April 7, 1870, to Miss Lena Smith, of Johnson
county, Kansas, who was born in 1855. The children born to this union
are: Albert G., on the home farm, married Alice Frame, and is the father
of one son and five daughters; Mrs. Mattie Stevenson, of near Beloit,
Kan.; Edward died at the age of twenty-two years, and Robert died at the
age of thirteen years.
Mr. Valentine is a Republican in politics, and has always remained loyal
and steadfast to the party of Abraham Lincoln. He has served as city
councilman and mayor of Effingham. He is an Odd Fellow, and a member of
the Grand Army Post, No. 176, Effingham.
GUSTAVE STUTZ.
Gustave Stutz, farmer and stockman, of Atchison county, Kan., was born
April 20, 1867, in Lancaster township, this county, and is the son of
Christian and Katherine (Schweitzer) Stutz. Seven children were born to
them, as follows: Caroline (Demel), of Central City, Neb.; Katherine
(Wilkins), Atchison, Kan.; Frederick, policeman, Atchison, Kan.;
Christopher W., Center township, Atchison county; Gustave, subject of
this sketch; John, Center township; and one child died in infancy. The
father of Gustave Stutz was born March 25, 1825, in Germany. He left
there in 1855, and settled in Jackson county, Missouri, and in 1859 came
to Atchison county, where he bought eighty acres of land in Lancaster
township. The land was timber and prairie country, and he employed a man
to break it up with oxen. Mr. Stutz made extensive improvements on his
farm, and added more land from time to time. When he died, December 28,
1898, he owned 380 acres of land. The mother of the subject of this
sketch was born in Germany, in February, 1829. She died in Lancaster
township in December, 1888. She is buried in Maple Grove cemetery.
Gustave Stutz was reared on his father’s farm and attended the public
schools of Lancaster. In 1893 he rented a farm from his father for a
year, and then bought 160 acres in Center township. Five years later he
sold that and bought eighty acres near the Madison school house. Having
made a number of improvements, he sold this farm and bought the present
one of 160 acres. When he took this land there were only a few
ramshackle buildings on it, but he has made it one of the most modern
farms in the State. He built a large seven-room house at a cost of
$4,500, which is fitted with all modern conveniences, including hot and
cold water, electric lights, bath, and a basement fitted up as a
laundry. The house is lighted by electricity, which is generated from a
private plant located on the farm. Mr. Stutz was the first to install
one in Atchison county. In 1912 he built a barn, 52×46 feet, for general
purposes. Mr. Stutz is a breeder of Shorthorn cattle and takes great
pride in his herd. He has a herd of thirty fine Shorthorn cattle,
including four pure breds, and has been gradually improving his herd for
the purpose of embarking in the business of breeding Shorthorns for the
trade. He is a stockholder in the Independent Harvester Company, of
Plano, Ill. He is a Democrat in politics, and was for a time road
supervisor of Lancaster township.
Mr. Stutz was married October 10, 1893, to Margaret Waltz, who was born
April 30, 1875, in Shannon township, Atchison county. She is a daughter
of Charles and Margaret (Diesback) Walz, both natives of Germany. The
father died February 4, 1890, at the age of sixty-two. He immigrated
from Germany in 1847. The mother is living in Atchison county. Mr. and
Mrs. Stutz are the parents of three children: Albert, born June 2, 1895;
Edward, born January 3, 1898, and Pearl, born June 24, 1899, all living
at home. Mr. Stutz attends the Presbyterian church, and is a member of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
THOMAS O. PLUMMER.
There is some distinction in being a pioneer in the State of Kansas, and
there is certainly considerable distinction coming to the man who can
justly lay claim to being the first white child born of pioneer parents
in a component part of a great county like Atchison. Thomas O. Plummer,
prosperous farmer and stockman of Grasshopper township, Atchison county,
is the first white child born within the borders of his township, and
has lived all of his fifty-nine years within the borders of the
township.
[Illustration:
_T. O. Plummer and wife_
]
T. O. Plummer was born December 6, 1857, a son of Leven Vincent and
Matilda (Norman) Plummer, both of whom were born in Kentucky. Leven
Vincent was a son of Lewis Plummer, a native of Germany, who immigrated
to America when quite young and married a Miss Vincent in Kentucky. She
(his wife) was a daughter of English parents and was a large woman. The
fact that her descendants are all men of large physique is explanatory
of the inheritance of strength and size which predominates in the men of
the Plummer family. The mother of Thomas O. was a daughter of Lewis
Norman, a Kentucky pioneer and expert blacksmith, who was of French-
English descent. He (Lewis) was a maker of plows and farming implements
which he would manufacture in his shop, load on a river boat and sell in
the towns and villages on the banks of the Ohio river. On one of his
trading expeditions he was shot by the crew of a rival trading boat.
Leven Vincent Plummer was the father of eight children, as follows: Mary
Elizabeth Baker, Oklahoma; Dempsey died at the age of sixteen years;
Charles died in 1907; Thomas O. and Benjamin F., (twins), Arrington,
Kan.; Leonidas, Atchison; Commodore, Oklahoma; Harriet Ratley, Cowley
county, Kansas; Lucullus, on old home place.
In the year 1854 he left Kentucky and migrated to Platte county,
Missouri, where he resided until 1855 and then made a settlement in
Grasshopper township, Atchison county. He was the first white settler on
Brush creek in the Kickapoo Indian reservation lands. He did his trading
at old Kennekuk. It is recalled that the old Mormon trail passed by his
home and Mr. Plummer remembers the story of a large party of Mormon
immigrants being stricken with the cholera and over 100 of them died as
a result of the terrible attack of the dread disease. The dead bodies of
the victims were hurriedly buried in shallow graves, but, unfortunately
were rooted up by hogs owned by the Indians. Inasmuch as the white
settlers were afraid to bury the bodies again the hogs were permitted to
eat the bodies. Leven Plummer was on extremely good terms with the
Indians of the neighborhood and several of them worked for him at
different times. When the Indians disposed of their land holdings to the
Government and moved to a new reservation, he purchased of them 100 of
their “razorback” hogs and 10,000 fence rails at a cost of ten cents a
hundred rails. He hauled the rails to his place in immense wagon loads,
hauled by two yoke of oxen and a team of horses. He became fairly well
to do and was a large feeder of live stock, frequently feeding as high
as 100 head of cattle, four-year-old steers and 400 head of hogs. He
died in 1867, at the age of forty-seven years, leaving eight children to
the care of his widow. Leven Plummer was noted as one of the strongest
men of his day and was a man of large stature who could perform feats of
strength which would appall the average man.
Thomas O. Plummer attended the district school of his neighborhood and
when twenty-one years of age began for himself. His first employment
away from home was for six months with Martin W. Ham. He then worked for
a bachelor neighbor at ten dollars per month. In 1879 he began renting
land on his own account. From boyhood he has always had to hustle for
himself and has made good. He made his first purchase of land in 1893
and has accumulated a total of 241 acres of well improved farm lands in
Grasshopper township.
In 1884 Mr. Plummer was united in marriage with Mary Ratley, and the
union was blessed with one son, James Oliver Plummer, who is now the
efficient superintendent of highways in the township. Mary (Ratley)
Plummer was the daughter of John and Hannah Ratley, and departed this
life in September 15, 1887. In September of 1893, Mr. Plummer was again
married to Miss Mary E. Clark, who has borne him one child, Thomas
McKinley Plummer, who as a youth attended the agricultural college at
Manhattan, Kan., and is much interested in scientific farming. Mrs. Mary
(Clark) Plummer died March 13, 1908. She was a daughter of P. J. Clark,
a very early settler of Atchison county, and formerly a member of the
Atchison city police force. The third marriage of Thomas O. Plummer
occurred March 2, 1909, with Mrs. Bessie May De Bord (Floyd), widow of
James Floyd, a native of Kentucky, and to this union have been born two
children: Theodore Ole, and Calvin Vincent Plummer. By her first
marriage, Mrs. Plummer has one child, Ruby Jewell Floyd, born September
30, 1905.
Mr. Plummer is one of Atchison county’s best known and successful self-
made men and everything he owns has been earned by hard labor and
diligence, combined with good management. Besides his farming interests
he is a stockholder in the Farmers Grain Elevator and the Mutual
Telephone Company, at Muscotah. He is a Republican in politics, and is a
member of the Mystic Workers and the Modern Woodmen of America.
HOWARD E. NORTH.
Howard E. North, farmer, of Lancaster township, Atchison county, was
born January 25, 1867, in Walnut township, this county, and is a son of
Edwin T. and Elizabeth (McCully) North, natives of New Jersey. Of the
eight children born to them six are living, as follows: Walter M.,
Atchison, Kan.; Joseph H., of Kansas City, Mo.; Percy, of Ottawa, Kan.;
Claude, Lancaster, Kan., and Mrs. Sadie Dunkle, of Los Angeles, Cal.,
besides Howard E. North, subject of this sketch. The father was born
April 23, 1830, in Burlington county, New Jersey, of English descent.
Leaving there about 1865, he came west and settled in Atchison county,
Kansas, living one year in Walnut township, and then bought a farm in
Lancaster township. He made improvements, and later sold the farm to his
son, Howard E., and retired in 1896. In December, 1912, he died, after
having lived a long and useful life. The mother was born in New Jersey,
as was her husband, and was born in the same year, 1830, of Scotch
descent, and died in March, 1902.
Howard E. North was reared on his father’s farm, and attended the public
school at Lancaster, and also the Bell district school, No. 59. He was
born on the place which he now owns, and it has been his home since
boyhood. It consists of 180 acres, and is exceptionally well improved.
Extra attention has been given to stock raising facilities. Mr. North
takes a great deal of interest in fine cattle, hogs and horses, and has
some excellent Shorthorns and some valuable Poland China hogs. Mr. North
has a graded stock of horses, some of which are the best in this part of
the country. He is a stockholder in the German-American Bank at
Atchison, Kan. Politically, he is a Republican, and has always been a
loyal citizen, taking keen interest in the welfare of his community and
his county. He is a member of the school board of Bell district.
In 1896 Mr. North was married to Alice Guyer, who was born October 1,
1866, in Union county, Pennsylvania. Mrs. North was a daughter of Israel
and Catharine (Brown) Guyer, natives of Pennsylvania, and who lived and
died in the land of their nativity. Mrs. Alice North came to Kansas in
August of 1893, and joined her sister, Mrs. Annie Gemberling, who now
resides in a home on the Parallel road, near Lancaster, Kan. One child,
Emlin E., has been born to Mr. and Mrs. North. Mr. North is a member of
the Methodist church, and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and
Modern Woodmen of America.
NICHOLAS BOOS.
Nicholas Boos, proprietor of one of the best improved farms in Shannon
township, has resided on the land which he now owns for over fifty
years, and is widely known as a progressive farmer who has applied his
accurate knowledge of the best farming methods to such good account that
he is now the owner of 250 acres of good land, upon which he erected in
1912 a handsome brick residence, modern throughout, at a cost of $4,500.
Mr. Boos installed his own light and water plant, and in the rear of his
handsome home he has built a large and commodious bank barn. His
residence faces the main highway running northward from Atchison, and
presents a substantial evidence of the enterprise of its owner.
Mr. Boos was born November 11, 1862, in Germany, a son of Nicholas and
Catharine Boos, who left their native land with their two children and
came to Atchison county, Kansas, in July of 1865. After one month’s stay
in the city they removed to a point in Shannon township, about three
miles north of Atchison, and settled upon eighty acres of land which the
elder Boos purchased. Nicholas Boos and his wife reared their children
here, and lived on the farm until death called them away. Nicholas Boos,
Sr., was born in 1833, and died in October of 1899. Catharine, his wife,
was born in 1833, and died in November of 1898. Their two children are:
Nicholas, with whom this narrative is directly concerned, and Catharine,
now known as Sister Hilda of the Order of St. Benedict’s, Mt. St.
Scholastica Academy, Atchison.
Upon the death of their parents, Nicholas Boos and his sister inherited
the eighty acre farm upon which they had been reared. Nicholas bought
his sister’s share of the estate, and by dint of hard, unremitting
labor, and the exercise of frugality and good financial judgment, has
added 170 acres to the original tract. There are 205 acres in the home
farm on the east side of the highway and forty-five acres on the west
side, some distance from his home.
Mr. Boos was married May 1, 1889, to Mary Wolters, born in Atchison
county, and daughter of Matthew and Catharine Wolters, both of whom were
natives of Germany, Matthew being now deceased and his widow residing in
Mr. Boos’ home. Ten children have been born to this estimable couple,
namely: William, aged twenty-five years; Albert, aged twenty-three,
employed by Dolan Mercantile Company; Nicholas, aged seventeen years;
Edward, twelve years of age; Harold, aged eight years; Hilda, twenty-
three years of age, and a dressmaker; Marie, aged twenty-one, second
bookkeeper for John J. Intfen, grocer; Frances, aged eighteen,
bookkeeper for Byrnes’ drug store; Bertha, aged fourteen, and Rosa, aged
ten years: William, an employee of the Symns Grocer Company, married
Marie McGraff. Mr. and Mrs. Boos have endeavored to give all of their
children good school and college educations, and have succeeded in
rearing a fine and worthy family, of which they have a good and just
right to be proud.
Mr. Boos is a member of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church and is a liberal
supporter of Catholic institutions. He is affiliated with the Modern
Woodmen lodge. While a Democrat in politics, he endeavors to exercise
the right of suffrage in a manner befitting his own ideas, and supports
such candidates for office as come the nearest to his ideal of a good
man and official regardless of political protestations.
JUNE E. MOORE.
June E. Moore, president of the Symns Grocer Company, of Atchison, Kan.,
is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and a son of Thomas H. and Lydia Ann
(Gordon) Moore, the former a native of Virginia, and the latter of New
Jersey. The Moore family came to Kansas in 1865, and the father engaged
in the mercantile business at Iowa Point, Doniphan county. He was
engaged in business there about ten years, or until 1876, when he sold
his business and removed to Kansas City, where he remained until his
death, in 1889. His wife died in 1886. June Moore, the subject of this
sketch, received a good common school education, and remained at home,
at Iowa Point, until 1873, when he came to Atchison and accepted a
position as bookkeeper in the grocery house of A. B. Symns. About three
months later he went on the road as traveling salesman for Mr. Symns,
and was the first man to represent Mr. Symns in that capacity. After
remaining in Mr. Symns’ employ for about three years, he went to Falls
City, Neb., and engaged in the mercantile business for himself, and
conducted a business there for seven years. He then returned to
Atchison, and in 1879 engaged in the grocery business for himself. Mr.
Moore continued in the grocery business in Atchison from 1879 to 1887,
when he again became connected with the Symns Grocer Company, which had
been reorganized in the meantime. Since that time Mr. Moore has been
connected with the Symns Grocer Company, which is one of the leading
institutions of the kind in the State. From 1889 until 1907 Mr. Moore
had charge of their Topeka branch. During the year of 1907, M. S.
Peterson, who had been the buyer of the company for a number of years,
died, and Mr. Moore was obliged to return to Atchison to assume the
responsibilities in connection with the purchasing department. He looked
after the purchasing department of the company for one year, when he
became president of the company, and has since capably filled that
responsible position. Mr. Moore is a stockholder in the company, and is
one of the men who have contributed many of the best days of their lives
to the upbuilding and development of this great commercial institution,
of which the people of Atchison are justly proud.
Mr. Moore was united in marriage July 27, 1871, to Miss Rebecca
Armstrong, a native of North Carolina. Mrs. Moore was a daughter of
Francis K. Armstrong, of Virginia, who moved to North Carolina, and
there married Jerusha Eliza Belt, and returned to Virginia, and in 1859
migrated to Missouri, remaining in St. Joseph until the fall of 1860,
and then settled on a farm in Doniphan county, Kansas, where he died in
November, 1861. Mr. Moore is a member of the Masonic lodge, and one of
the substantial business men of Atchison.
W. PERRY HAM.
The powers of leadership are inherent in some individuals, and there are
in every community such men who seem naturally gifted to lead their
fellows in political affairs. In reviewing the life career of W. Perry
Ham, the official head of the Republican party in Atchison county, the
fact is brought out that his natural gifts have tended to lead him to
activity in political affairs, and that he is gifted with ability of a
high order, which is universally recognized by the men of his party who
look to him for leadership. Mr. Ham is a thorough American, whose
ancestry goes back to the earliest days of the foundation of the
Republic.
W. Perry Ham was born October 11, 1861, at Flemingsburg, Fleming county,
Kentucky, a son of James P. and Eliza (Jones) Ham, both of whom were
born and reared in Kentucky, and were children of pioneer parents. James
P. was the son of William and Mary E. Ham, and the great-grandfather of
W. Perry was John Ham, better known as “Jackie,” a native of Greenbrier
county, Virginia, who married a Miss Woods, and migrated to Kentucky in
the days of the illustrious Daniel Boone, the famous hunter. These were
troublous times in Kentucky, and the Indians fiercely disputed the
advent of the white settlers into their favorite hunting grounds. The
mother and two sisters of “Jackie” Ham were captured by the Indians,
killed and scalped, and their bodies burned in the cabin fireplace by
blood-thirsty Indians. The Ham family is of Welsh extraction. James P.
Ham, although a southerner by birth and breeding, was a strong Union
man, who was opposed to the institution of slavery. While still residing
in Kentucky, in the year 1865, he received a telegram from his brother.
Joseph, calling him to Buchanan county, Missouri, where his life was in
danger from Union men. Joseph kept a general store at DeKalb, and was
forced to go in hiding to preserve his life, he being a southern
sympathizer. It was his desire that James P. come to Missouri and take
charge of his store until times were better, and it was safe for him to
appear. James made all haste to comply with his brother’s request, and
with his wife and family made a hasty trip to Buchanan county, only to
find on his arrival that his brother’s store at DeKalb had been burned
to the ground. The wife of James P. was overcome by the excitement, and
her strength overtaxed by the trials of the family, and she died in
1865. This left the father with three children to care for, and he
removed to Atchison in 1866. Here he engaged in market gardening, and
took more or less interest in political affairs until his demise,
November 2, 1894, at the age of sixty-six years, in Rural township,
Jefferson county, Kansas, where he removed a few years after coming to
Atchison.
W. Perry Ham was reared in Kansas, and attended the common and high
schools of Atchison county. From the time he was six years of age he
found it necessary to shift for himself, and secured his education
mainly through his own efforts. He did chores and worked for farmers in
return for his board and schooling, and generally had a hard time of it
trying to make his own way in the world. During the famous “grasshopper”
years the family lived in Jefferson county, and privation and suffering
were predominant among the settlers. Perry was sent twice each week a
distance of seven miles, astride his pony, to the nearest relief station
for food and clothing. His first position was in the old Grant bakery,
operated by Gerber & Hagen, and he was employed there for two years. He
afterwards bought the grocery business at Tenth and Laramie streets, and
was engaged in business for another period of years until he bought a
farm near Atchison and moved upon it. He farmed this land for two years,
and in 1895 returned to Atchison, and again entered the grocery
business, at Ninth and Parallel streets. In 1898 he disposed of his
business and accepted a traveling position in the interest of the Select
Knights of the Ancient Order of United Workmen as State manager and
organizer. He continued in this position until 1901, and then opened a
feed and poultry business, in which undertaking he was engaged until
1909, when he sold out. He served as chief of police of Atchison during
1908 and 1909 under Mayor S. S. King, and has been a member of the city
council for three terms during his residence in Atchison. Since 1909 Mr.
Ham has been general organizer of the Fraternal Aid Union, and has made
a great success of his work, which requires that he oversee the work of
organizing in the States of Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska. His
reputation as an organizer in the interest of the Fraternal Aid Union is
unsurpassed, and it is in this capacity that his remarkable gifts have
received full play.
Mr. Ham was married in 1883 to Rosa Frommer, who has borne him children
as follows: Lloyd Perry, clerk in the Atchison postoffice; Mable Rose,
wife of Roy Castle, of Falls City, Neb.; James Harwi Ham, of Atchison;
Walter, of Atchison; Herbert, a jeweler, of Atchison; Myrtle, at home
with her parents; and Luther, in the city high school. The mother of
these children was born and reared in Germany, near the city of
Stuttgart, and was a daughter of John Frommer, who was a stone-cutter by
occupation. Mrs. Ham came to this country in 1879.
Mr. Ham is a member of the Odd Fellows, the M. B. A., the Knights and
Ladies of Security, the Mystic Workers, the Central Protective
Association, and the Fraternal Aid Union. In political matters, Mr. Ham
has been for years a prominent figure in Atchison county and Kansas, and
enjoys a wide and favorable acquaintance among the political leaders of
the Republican party in Kansas. He has been a member of the central
executive committee of his party for several years, and is at present
the county chairman and virtual leader of his party in Atchison county.
FRANK BEARD.
Frank Beard, furniture dealer, of Potter, Kan., was born on a farm near
Abingdon, Knox county, Illinois, a son of William M. and Sarah
(Hawthorne) Beard, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter of
Maryland, both of Scotch Presbyterian ancestry. William M., the father,
was born in Wilson county, Tennessee, on a farm not far from Nashville.
The grandfather of Frank Beard was Rev. John Beard, born of Virginia
parents, who were among the earliest settlers of Tennessee. The Beards
are a family of pioneers, the pioneering of the family having begun over
100 years ago when the parents of Rev. John Beard crossed the mountains
and made a settlement in western Tennessee, where John Beard was born
December 25, 1800. The home of the family was not far from the
birthplace of Andrew Jackson, with whom John was personally acquainted.
The family later became pioneers in Illinois, and ever moved westward
until they came to Kansas, and were among the first of the sturdy
characters to build homes in the new State.
[Illustration:
_Thomas Highfill_
]
[Illustration:
_Frank Beard and Family_
]
Rev. John Beard was a minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian
denomination. He left Tennessee in 1848 and settled in Knox county,
Illinois, and in 1856 came to Kansas, and was one of the first men to
preach the Gospel in Atchison county. He was an ardent Free State man
who was emphatically opposed to the institution of slavery and
fearlessly attacked the pro-slavery party and its principles from the
pulpit. On one occasion he preached a sermon in Mt. Pleasant and laid a
huge revolver on the pulpit beside his Bible with the remark, “I hope
there will be peace during the services,” and there was peace. This
action was in keeping with the fearless character of the man himself.
Rev. John Beard died at the age of sixty-six years. No pictorial
likeness of this famous pioneer is available or his grandson, Frank,
would have it inserted in the history. His last sermon was preached at
Pleasant Grove church in South Atchison. During his career he served the
Round Prairie and High Prairie churches in Leavenworth county, the Wolf
Creek congregation in Brown county, and the Pleasant Grove church in
Atchison county. He was traveling at all times, to and fro, in northeast
Kansas while engaged in the Lord’s work. His son, William M., left
Illinois in 1862 and settled in Brown county, Kansas, and in 1865 came
to Atchison county. Border ruffians at one time raided the home of
William Beard in Brown county. Mattie Beard, a three months’ old babe,
was awakened by the noise made by the raiders and screamed loudly. One
of the ruffians walked to the cradle, drew his revolver and said: “I’ll
stop her noise.” The mother made frantic by this threat picked up a
chair, and with all her strength, augmented by her fright, rushed at the
raider and knocked him down. After this occurrence the Beards left
Kansas and returned to Illinois, where people were more of one mind on
the subject of slavery and life was much safer. They remained in
Illinois until the close of the war and then came again to Atchison
county, settling on a farm in Walnut township. This farm has been owned
by the Beard family for fifty years and is now in possession of John
Beard, a son of William. Rev. John Beard died in Atchison county in
August, 1866. William M. died in 1905, and his faithful wife followed
him to the great beyond two years later, in 1907. The father of Sarah
Hawthorne Beard was also a pioneer settler of Knox county, Illinois, and
planted the first apple orchard in that section of the State, and was
the first and only apple exhibitor at the first county fair ever held in
Knox county, Illinois.
Frank Beard was a boy of seven when his parents removed to Atchison
county and was reared on the farm in Walnut township, receiving his
schooling in district No. 60. He followed farming until 1909, when he
came to Potter and engaged in the general merchandise business in
partnership with Mr. Hodges. This partnership continued until 1911, when
he sold out his interest in the general store, and in July of that year
purchased the furniture and undertaking business which he is now
conducting successfully.
Mr. Beard was married in 1898 to Miss Bee Henson, a daughter of A. T.
and Amanda (Cox) Henson, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter
having been born in Missouri. The Hensons migrated to Kansas in 1854
before the organization of the State and settled in Jefferson county.
They were Free State advocates and took part in the struggle which made
Kansas a Free State. Mr. and Mrs. Beard have one child, Leona Beard,
born in 1903.
The Democratic party has always claimed the allegiance of Mr. Beard in
National affairs, but he is inclined to independence of voting in local,
county and State affairs. He is a member of Kickapoo Lodge, No. 4,
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Modern Woodmen of America, the
Modern Brotherhood, and the Knights and Ladies of Security. Mr. Beard is
one of Potter’s best and well respected citizens, a successful and
prosperous business man who is ever willing to put his shoulder to the
wheel to advance the interests of his home community.
THOMAS HIGHFILL.
The late Thomas Highfill, of Easton township, Leavenworth county,
Kansas, was born April 9, 1844, on a farm near the city of Madison, in
southeastern Indiana. He was a son of William Highfill, who was born in
South Carolina of German parents, and was there reared to young manhood,
went to Kentucky from South Carolina, and there met and married
Elizabeth Bonnell, born in Kentucky of German ancestry. Shortly after
their marriage William Highfill and his wife crossed the Ohio river and
settled near Madison on the Flat Rock river. He had charge of the toll-
gate entrance of the bridge crossing the Flat Rock at that time. When
Thomas was four years of age, or in 1849, the father and his family
loaded their movable effects on wagons and started across the plains, en
route to California, consuming six months on the long trip, their wagons
being hauled by slow-moving oxen. The family remained in California for
four years, and William spent the time profitably in placer mining for
the yellow metal, after which they returned to the middle West, this
time making the return trip with horses instead of oxen. They settled in
Platte county, Missouri, and resided there until 1862, when William
Highfill made a final settlement in Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison
county. He died the same year in Atchison county. George Highfill, son
of Thomas, is now the owner of the original home place of the Highfill
family in Atchison county.
Thomas Highfill was eighteen years of age when his father came to
Atchison county. He assisted in the operation of the home farm until his
marriage, November 24, 1864, to Elvira Porter, who was born in Casey
county, Kentucky, February 7, 1847, a daughter of George and Sarah Ann
(Foster) Porter, both of whom were born in Kentucky, and resided in
their native State until November, 1850, when they removed to Buchanan
county, Missouri, and there farmed for two years on the McDonald farm,
near Wallace. The Porters came to Atchison county, Kansas, among the
earliest of the pioneers in the spring of 1855 and settled on a tract of
land just one-half mile west of the present town of Potter. George
Porter filed on 160 acres of land in the fall of 1854 which has never
changed ownership but once and has never been out of the family, being
now owned by George Highfill, the eldest grandson of George Porter. The
elder Porter, although born and bred in a slave State, abhorred the
institution of slavery, despite the fact that his father, Isaac Porter,
was a slave owner. He saw the evils of slavery when a youth and
determined never to support it, because it was utterly wrong. He came to
Kansas imbued with the determination to do his part in making the State
free. He suffered considerably from the forays of the border ruffians
and his homestead on the banks of the Big Stranger was raided frequently
by the pro-slavery element. At one time Mr. Porter had a fine saddle
horse stolen from him by border ruffians. As soon as he learned of the
theft he set out after the thieves armed only with a bowie knife stuck
in his boot top. He followed them to Atchison and lay hid in a clump of
jimson weeds, near the camp of the ruffians on the spot where the Santa
Fe railroad yards are now located. The marauders were drinking and
carousing in seeming safety and had no idea that they would be followed.
As a consequence of their neglect in not placing a sentry Mr. Porter was
enabled to secure his horse and return home in safety at 4 o’clock in
the morning. At the outbreak of the Civil war Mr. Porter enlisted in the
Thirteenth Kansas regiment and served throughout the war. While absent
in defense of the Union his wife and five children were left to shift
for themselves as best they could. George Porter was a stanch Republican
in his political affiliations and was a member of the Grand Army of the
Republic. He died February 19, 1887, the age of sixty-five years, having
been born January 21, 1822. His wife, Sarah Ann, died June 23, 1897.
They were the parents of eight children, of whom Mrs. Thomas Highfill
was the eldest. Mrs. Highfill was ten years old when the Porter family
located in Kansas, and during the days of the Civil war, when the
breadwinner of the family was absent fighting for the Union, this brave
woman ploughed with an ox team and did the hardest kind of farm labor.
To Thomas Highfill and wife were born the following children: George,
born September 8, 1865, and is the owner of the farm preëmpted by his
grandfather Porter; John, born December 12, 1866; Sarah Elizabeth, wife
of P. H. Fleer, of Potter, Kan., was born June 23, 1868, and died May
11, 1909; Thomas J., born April 8, 1870, residing in Potter; Mrs. Rose,
wife of Clarence Binkley, of Atchison, born December 23, 1878; Abigail,
wife of Ashton Hundley, of Atchison county, born October 19, 1879;
Martina, wife of Louis Linville, of Spring Lake, Texas, born November
14, 1880; and Benjamin F., born June 10, 1884. The mother of these
children resides on the Highfill place, west of Potter. Her son, George,
is a prosperous farmer and good business man, who is connected with the
Farmers State Bank of Potter.
Thomas Highfill departed this life March 7, 1899. He was a well
respected and industrious citizen who did well his part in the
development of Atchison county.
JOHN H. BEAN.
John H. Bean, having been a resident of Atchison county for a period of
nearly sixty years, is naturally considered as one of the pioneers of
the county. He has lived in the county since the year 1857, when his
father, Michael Bean, filed on a Government homestead in Mt. Pleasant
township, seven miles southwest of Atchison. John was born on a farm in
Illinois October 22, 1850. His parents were Michael, born in Winchester,
Ky., and son of William Bean, a native of Virginia, and Rebecca
Northcutt, wife of Michael, who was born and reared near Winchester,
Ill. Michael Bean came to Atchison February 5, 1853, filed on a claim,
as stated above, and developed it into a splendid farm. On account of
border troubles he returned to Independence, Mo., and remained for four
years, and then returned to his claim. Michael died December 9, 1893,
when a little over sixty-five years of age. He was a soldier in the
Union army, having enlisted in Company F of the Thirteenth Kansas
regiment in 1862 and served until the close of the war. He was mustered
out at Ft. Leavenworth, after taking an active part in military
operations in southeast Missouri, Ft. Smith and Little Rock, Ark. To
Michael and Rebecca Bean were born seven children, namely: John H.; Mrs.
Mary Barber, deceased; William, in Colorado; Paul, deceased; Mrs. Minnie
Ledger, of Kansas City; Mrs. Ida Mayfield, living on the old homestead
in Mt. Pleasant township; Alvin, farmer, living in Shannon township;
Barbara died in infancy; Mrs. Barbara Helen Hayes, of Lincoln, Neb. The
mother of these children died in 1903, at the age of seventy-five years.
When John H. Bean was twenty-three years of age he left home and went to
Colorado, where he spent the intervening years until 1893 in the gold
and silver mines of the State with intermittent fortunes attending his
efforts. After two years’ residence in St. Joseph, Mo., he spent four
years engaged in lumbering in the woods of northern Michigan. He then
returned to Atchison, and after two years on the Atchison police force,
and for four years, from 1909 to 1913, inclusive, he was cell-keeper in
the State reformatory at Hutchinson, Kan. He returned to Atchison and
was attached to the Atchison police department as one of its most
efficient and faithful members until October 1, 1915, when he became
gate-tender for the Atchison Bridge Company. He has been twice married,
his first wife being Florence Bridges, who bore him one child, Mrs.
Armina Bolen, of Leon, Kan. His second wife was Ella Mitchell, who died
in Michigan in 1898.
Mr. Bean has always been a Republican in politics, but has never been a
candidate for any political office. In this respect he follows in the
footsteps of his father, Michael, who was an active politician in his
day, although he never sought official preferment. Michael Bean was
considered as one of the really influential men of Atchison county in
political affairs and was a great and stanch friend of Senator John J.
Ingalls, besides having a wide and favorable acquaintance with the
people of the county. He counted among his friends many of the famous
men of Atchison and the State. For thirteen years he was in charge of
the county poor farm, and during that time he made a record since
unsurpassed for management of the farm. Michael was a large man,
physically, of the true pioneer type—one of those outspoken, honest
fellows, who said outright what he thought, and was a friend to all who
knew him and trusted him. It is said that no needy settler went to
Michael Bean for assistance when in dire need and came away empty-
handed. If a settler needed money to buy a cow or horse, it was
forthcoming without the usual security or note which accompanies latter-
day transactions of this character. Liberal in his views, he was liberal
with his means and was always ready and willing to help an acquaintance.
ANDREW SPEER.
Andrew Speer, county commissioner for the second district of Atchison
county, Kansas, was born in this county, February 20, 1863. He was a son
of Joseph and Mary (Fountain) Speer, both of whom were natives of
Lawrence county, Indiana. In 1859 Joseph and his wife left the old home
in Indiana, en route to Kansas, and stopped during the winter in Iowa,
where the oldest child of the family was born. Joseph came on to Kansas,
leaving his wife in Iowa among friends, and preëmpted a quarter section
of land in Grasshopper township, three miles northeast of Muscotah, now
owned by William Speer. In the spring of 1860, the year of the great
drought, the father of the family returned to Iowa and brought his wife
and son, William, to the new home which he had prepared for them on the
Kansas plains. While the drought of their first year in Kansas worked
considerable hardship upon the settlers, Joseph was better prepared to
withstand this hardship, because of the fact that he had brought
considerable means with him, which enabled him to successfully weather
the crop failure of that year. Joseph Speer was a man of more than
ordinary education and had been a school teacher in Indiana in his
younger days. All of his life, he was a student and was a fine
mathematician. While teaching in Indiana he had read law to some extent,
and became a justice of the peace in Grasshopper township, a position
which he held for many years. He also served several years as township
trustee. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Speer, of whom
Andrew is the third in order of birth. (See biography of D. Anna Speer,
county superintendent of schools, for further details regarding the
Speer family.)
Andrew Speer, with whom this review is directly concerned, was educated
in the district school of his neighborhood, and brought up on his
father’s farm. His marriage occurred after a trip to the western part of
Kansas in 1888, and he then rented a farm. He has continually been
engaged in farming and is now cultivating the Moore farm of 320 acres in
Grasshopper township. When the Cherokee strip was thrown open to
settlement in the Indian Territory by the Government in 1892 Mr. Speer,
with eleven other Kansans from his neighborhood, made the run for
homesteads on the opening day. Six thousand or more men were lined up
ready for the great race and all rushed forward when the cannon boomed
for the start. Andrew drove a wagon and was unfortunate in staking out
his claim which proved to be a quarter section of school land. Each of
the other eleven men who accompanied him secured a good claim.
Mr. Speer was married May 1, 1889, to Miss Alida Gilliland, who has
borne him five children, namely: Myrtle, wife of Fred Draper, a farmer
of Atchison county; Albert, at home; Joseph, a teacher at Prospect Hill,
Atchison county, and the first school teacher ever graduated from the
Muscotah schools and directly became a teacher; Stephen, a pupil of the
eighth grade of the Muscotah schools, and Nicholas, deceased. The mother
of these children was born in Illinois, October 22, 1863, a daughter of
Josiah and Delitha (Maxwell) Gilliland, who died when she was but a
child four years of age. She then went to the home of an aunt, Mrs.
Kline, living in Jackson county, Kansas, who reared her to young
womanhood. Josiah Gilliland lives in Nebraska, aged eighty-three years.
He was a veteran of the Civil war from Illinois, and served in the Union
army, and moved to Missouri directly after the war ended.
The Democratic party has always had the unswerving allegiance and
support of Mr. Speer, and he stands high in the councils of his party in
Atchison county. He was first elected to the office of township trustee
and served for four years. Two years after his term of office as trustee
expired he was elected to the office of county commissioner of the
second district. Mr. Speer has performed the duties of his official
position with great credit to himself and for the benefit of his
constituents. He is an honest and capable county official who has the
best interests of the entire county at heart. He is a member of the
Masonic lodge of Muscotah, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the
Central Protective Association. Mrs. Speer is a member of the Methodist
church, the Eastern Star lodge, the Royal Neighbors and the Mystic
Workers.
SAMUEL EDWARD FIECHTER.
Samuel Edward Fiechter, now living retired on his beautiful suburban
place near Atchison, which is located on the west side of Forest Park,
is a native of Missouri. He was born in Andrew county August 25, 1856,
and is a son of John George and Anna (Bright) Fiechter. The father was
born in Baden, Germany, January 27, 1815, and died in Brown county,
Kansas, December 20, 1893. Anna Bright, his wife, was born in Berne,
Switzerland, October 26, 1822, and died in Brown county, Kansas, August
8, 1900. George Fiechter immigrated to America with his parents about
1835. They located in Missouri, and George engaged in farming in Andrew
county, that State. In 1860 he traded his Missouri farm for a farm in
Brown county, Kansas, where he was successfully engaged in farming until
he retired. He accumulated considerable property, and at the time of his
death owned something over 400 acres. To John George and Anna (Bright)
Fiechter were born the following children: John resides in Brown county;
Fred, deceased; Louise, deceased; George, deceased; Susan married S. E.
Rush, and resides in South Dakota; Samuel E., the subject of this
sketch; Jacob, deceased; Tina married Oscar Dean, and resides in Chase
county, Kansas.
Samuel Edward Fiechter was reared on the farm, and received a good
common school education. At the age of twenty-one he engaged in farming
for himself, and later rented his father’s farm, and cared for his
parents during their lives. He followed farming in Brown county until
1902, when he removed to Atchison, and after residing in the city for
eight months purchased his present place. His farm is one of the best
improved places in Brown county, consisting of 360 acres of land, under
a high state of cultivation.
Mr. Fiechter was married November 20, 1884, to Miss Sarah Parker. She
was born in Andrew county, Missouri, July 17, 1863, and is a daughter of
William and Rachel (Esslinger) Parker, the former a native of Indiana,
born March 12, 1835, and the latter was born in Andrew county, Missouri,
September 20, 1842. William Parker came to Missouri with his parents,
Daniel and Sarah (Davis) Parker, when he was a child. The parents were
natives of Kentucky, and after coming to Missouri, spent the remainder
of their lives in that State. Mrs. Fiechter was the oldest of a family
of six children; the others in order of birth are as follows: Frank
resides in Colorado Springs, Colo.; Jennie resides with her parents;
Daniel, Boise, Idaho; Mrs. Mae Zimmerman, Boise, Idaho; and Stella Allen
died September 16, 1915, at Cosby, Mo. To Mr. and Mrs. Fiechter has been
born one child, Edna, who married Ray McGaughey, and resides on a farm
in Brown county. Mr. Fiechter is a member of the Modern Woodmen of
America, and is a Republican. The family are members of the Lutheran
church.
MRS. JENNIE CIRTWILL.
Mrs. Jennie Cirtwill, of Lancaster, Kan., is the widow of Richard N.
Cirtwill, one of the well known and substantial farmers of Atchison
county, who was among the early settlers of this county. Richard N.
Cirtwill was born in Jefferson county, New York, September 20, 1828. He
was reared to young manhood in New York, and at the outbreak of the
Civil war offered his services in defense of the Union. Mr. Cirtwill
enlisted August 24, 1864, in Company I, One Hundred and Eighty-sixth
regiment of New York infantry, and served until his honorable discharge,
June 2, 1865. He was color bearer of his regiment, and fought at the
battle of Petersburg and at the siege and capture of Richmond. Mr.
Cirtwill carried the regimental colors at Petersburg and during this
fierce engagement his clothing and flag were riddled with bullets, and
he received a slight wound in his side. His son, Albert D., was also a
member of the same company and regiment, as his father and was wounded
at the battle of Petersburg. Mr. Cirtwill was first married in New York
State to Susan Burns, who departed this life in 1885.
[Illustration:
_Jennie Cirtwill_
]
Mr. Cirtwill came to Kansas in 1871 and developed a fine farm and became
well-to-do.
In January, 1889, Mr. Cirtwill married Mrs. Jennie (McClain) Cameron,
whose first husband was James Cameron, a native of Carrickfergus,
Ireland, born in 1848. When a young man, James Cameron became a sailor,
and was first mate on a vessel sailing the Atlantic ocean. At the
outbreak of the Civil war, Mr. Cameron enlisted in the Union army at
Bangor, Me., and served until the close of the war. In 1869 he came to
Muscotah, Kan., and worked as a contractor and brick mason. Six children
were born of this marriage: Frank, deceased; William, a traveling
salesman, Kansas City, Mo.; John R., a railway operator, of Mountain
Home, Idaho; Rose died in infancy; Frank J., a railroad conductor, St.
Joseph, Mo., and Walter H., a traveling salesman, Kansas City, Mo. The
father of these children died in 1903.
Mrs. Jennie Cirtwill was born at the Bank Cottages, Scotland, May 1,
1849, a daughter of William and Rosanna (Saul) McClain, who emigrated
from their native heath in 1855, and first settled in Illinois, where
the father became a contractor and builder in the employ of the Illinois
Central Railroad Company. He, too, became a soldier, thus making a
remarkable coincident, wherein Mrs. Cirtwill was the daughter of a
soldier, and both of her former husbands were Union veterans. Mr.
McClain served with bravery in an Illinois regiment of volunteers. In
1870 he came to Atchison county and engaged in the lumber and building
business at Muscotah, Kan. He became the owner of several farms and was
well-to-do at the time of his death, February 13, 1907. The mother of
Mrs. Cirtwill died in 1915, at the ripe old age of ninety-three years.
Both parents are buried at Lancaster, Kan. A bright spot in the memories
of Mrs. Cirtwill is the fact that she was permitted to care for her aged
parents in their declining years and made a home and furnished every
comfort for them.
When residing in Muscotah, Mrs. Cirtwill, nee Cameron, was left almost
destitute with the care of her five children on her hands. She was
forced to do the hardest kind of work to keep them in comfort and send
them to school. She worked as a tailor and seamstress in order to do
this, and long and exacting hours of toil were necessary to hold the
little family together, but later, better days came and she has had the
extreme satisfaction of seeing her children, for whom she made
sacrifices in those earlier days, become substantial and well-to-do
citizens of their respective localities.
A brother of Mrs. Cirtwill, John McClain, was killed by a horse when
four years of age. William, the only brother reared to manhood, was a
banker at Huron, Kan., but sold his interests there and removed to Peru,
Kan., where he started a bank of his own. Three years later he went to
Coffeyville, Kan., and lived there for a short time. Very early he began
to see the future value of oil lands in Oklahoma, and invested heavily
in Oklahoma land which proved to be a very profitable investment.
Besides being a capitalist and builder he was a speaker and public man,
well known in Atchison county and Kansas. He died in Coffeyville, Kan.,
January 5, 1911, at the age of fifty years. He left a widow and one
daughter.
The mother of Mrs. Cirtwill, who was Mrs. Rosanna (Saul) McClain, was a
skilled seamstress, and had the honor of attending the coronation
ceremonies of Queen Victoria in England. Her father was Thomas Saul, a
poet of unusual ability, endowed with a wonderful memory and an ability
to quote poetry and the classics which his daughter inherited to a great
extent. Through her great-grandmother, Rosanna Saul McClain was of royal
lineage, having been born in a royal golden bed of honor, only
vouchsafed to those of kingly lineage. This great-grandmother became
very wealthy and left a large estate to her two daughters. Rosanna and
her sister were highly skilled in tailoring and needle work and
embroidery, and were highly rewarded by Queen Victoria for making and
embroidering a beautiful dress for the queen to wear on state occasions.
Mrs. Cirtwill is the owner of considerable property in Atchison county,
including 260 acres of fine land, a store building and a home in
Lancaster, Kan. She has two grandchildren: Cecil Mae, and Jeanette Rose
Cameron, children of Frank J. Cameron. Besides her Atchison county
property this well-to-do Atchison county woman has several vacant lots
and residence properties in St. Joseph, Mo., and is considered to be an
able business woman. She is a member of the Rebekah lodge, of Lancaster,
and is a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. For many
years she has taught a Sunday school class, of which she is very fond.
Mrs. Cirtwill usually spends the summer seasons in traveling and during
the summer and fall of 1915, she spent several weeks in the West,
principally in Denver and vicinity.
ASA BARNES.
The name of Barnes figures prominently in the early history of Kansas
and Atchison county, and the history of the family in Kansas dates from
the spring of 1858 when Capt. Asa Barnes came from the ancestral home of
the Barnes family in New Jersey, and settled in Mt. Pleasant township,
Atchison county, and immediately identified himself with the Free State
party.
Asa Barnes, the present representative of the family living on the old
Barnes homestead in Mt. Pleasant township, five miles northwest of
Potter, was born in January, 1854, in New Brunswick, N. J., a son of Asa
and Harriet (Cook) Barnes, the former a native of Connecticut and the
latter of New Jersey of English descent. Asa Barnes, the father of the
subject, was born in 1821, and became a papermaker in New Brunswick,
where several of his children were born. In 1858 he disposed of his
belongings and property in New Jersey and migrated to Kansas, settling
in Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison county. His wife and children
followed him in April, 1859. When he first came to Kansas he was a
Democrat in politics, but changed his political belief soon afterward
and espoused the cause of the Free State party. He took a prominent and
active part in political affairs and became well known throughout the
State as an able and influential champion of freedom. On two different
occasions he was elected to represent Atchison county in the State
legislature and served the people with distinction and ability. When the
Civil war broke out between the States he organized Company A of the
Twelfth Kansas cavalry and served as captain of the company; he also
helped to organize a company for the Thirteenth Kansas infantry. He was
further distinguished by his war service in a manner which reflected
credit upon himself and his home county. Captain Barnes died January 12,
1889. Asa Barnes was the father of ten sons and one daughter, as
follows: R. A., deceased; M. N., deceased; Enoch, deceased; Asa, Jr.,
Fillmore died in New Jersey; Frank, living in California; Laura
(Willis), Corning, Kan.; Louis, living at Binger, Okla.; Harry, Bisbee,
Ariz.; Orrin, of Nevada; Reuben C., deceased. The mother of these
children died February 12, 1909, at the age of eighty-two years.
Asa Barnes, the younger, was one of three sons of Capt. Asa Barnes, and
grew to manhood on his father’s farm in Atchison county. He remained at
home and assisted his father in the management of the home farm until he
attained his majority. After his marriage in 1874 he rented land on his
own account for six years and then bought the home farm of 207 acres
from his father and the heirs, part of which is now owned by his sons.
He has followed a plan of general farming and has prospered to a
considerable extent. Mr. Barnes was married November 5, 1874, to Miss
Kate Thompson, of Atchison county. This marriage has been blessed with
five children, as follows: Fannie, deceased; Herbert, at home with his
parents; Bertha, wife of A. J. Pease, of Atchison; Leola, wife of A. J.
Saggs, of Falls City, Nebraska; Ernest L., at home; Dora, wife of Ed
Lee, of Atchison county; Cora, deceased. The mother of these children
was born October 2, 1854, and is a daughter of Hon. George W. Thompson,
now living in Atchison, and who is probably the oldest living pioneer
settler of Atchison county, and concerning whose career an extended
review is given in this volume.
In political affairs Mr. Barnes, while favoring the Progressive party
principles, is inclined to be independent in his voting. He is a member
of the Christian church, and is well and favorably known throughout this
section of Atchison county, being rated as a substantial well-to-do
farmer, who is deserving of considerable credit for what he has
accomplished.
CHARLES ARTHUR CHANDLER.
Charles Arthur Chandler is one of the self-made men of Atchison. Some
men are successful because of a fortunate chain of circumstances
attending their efforts which we commonly refer to as “good luck”;
others by dint of steady employment, saving their surplus funds and
investing them wisely, are enabled to secure the necessary wherewithal
to embark in business and attain a substantial modicum of wealth. It is
to the latter class that Mr. Chandler properly belongs. While good
fortune has generally attended his industry and plans, his success is
due to the husbanding of his resources, and planning ahead with the
coöperation of a faithful wife, so that he could eventually be his own
employer and engage in mercantile pursuits for himself. Since January 1,
1910, he has been engaged in the lumber business in connection with the
Shulz-Fisk Lumber Company, one of the oldest concerns in the city. Four
men are employed to take care of the extensive business which comes to
the yards. Lumber, lime, cement, plaster and building material of all
kinds are sold in large quantities. The extensive yards, 100×250 feet,
are rated as among the best equipped and most modern in northeastern
Kansas, and the management is constantly improving the appearance and
facilities of the buildings.
Mr. Chandler was born November 22, 1860, in Fond du Lac, Wis., a son of
Charles and Maria (Moore) Chandler, natives of Munson, Mass., and
Montreal, Canada, respectively. The Chandler family is a very old one in
America, and an extensive genealogy of the family has been compiled.
William Chandler, progenitor of the family in this country, emigrated
from the ancestral home in England to Roxbury, Mass., in 1637, dying
there November 26, 1641. He had a son named John, born 1635, who married
Elizabeth Douglas, of Roxbury, Mass. Succeeding generations are as
follows, in a direct line to C. A. Chandler: Captain Joseph Chandler,
born June 4, 1683, wife, Susannah Perrin, of Roxbury, Mass.; David
Chandler, born May 28, 1712, wife, Mary Allen, of Pomfret, Conn.; Elijah
Chandler, born May 3, 1737, wife, Sarah Frizzel, of Woodstock, Conn.;
Charles Chandler, born June 23, 1779, wife, Margaret Edgerton, of
Munson, Mass.; Charles Chandler, born February 21, 1822, wife, Maria
Moore Shepard; C. A. Chandler, born November 22, 1860, wife, Effie Rook,
of Atchison, Kan.; Elijah Chandler was a soldier in the French and
Indian war. Charles Chandler, father of the subject of this review, was
a “Forty-Niner,” who made the long trip to California across the plains
in 1849. He mined gold in the placer fields of the Golden State for some
time, and then returned to the East, via the Nicaragua route, settling
down in Fond du Lac, Wis., where he engaged in the grain business with
fair success. He died at his home in Fond du Lac in 1896, at the age of
seventy-five years. He was the father of three children: Mrs. Charles E.
Rogers, Fond du Lac; Fred Shepard, also of Fond du Lac, and Charles A.,
with whom this review is directly concerned. The mother of these
children, Maria Moore Shepard, was born in 1826, and is a direct
descendant of Governor William Bradford, of Massachusetts. The
genealogical tree in a direct line from the colonial governor is as
follows: Gov. William Bradford; his son, Maj. William Bradford; Alice
Bradford married Maj. James Fitch, 1649–1727; Daniel Fitch, 1693–1752,
wife, Anna Cook; William Fitch, 1720—, wife, Mary Paine; Abigail Fitch,
1745–1785, married Joseph Moore, 1745–1823; Anna Moore, 1770–1854,
married Timothy Shepard, 1764–1817; Maria Moore Shepard, 1826, etc.
C. A. Chandler was educated in the public schools of his native city and
fitted himself for the profession of civil engineer by a considerable
amount of home study and practical experience. After getting launched in
his chosen profession, he entered the employ of the Missouri Pacific
railroad and remained in the employ of this railroad for a period of
twenty-five years. He first came to Atchison in May, 1885, and has since
been a resident here.
Mr. Chandler is the owner of the Graham farm of 310 acres near Cummings,
Atchison county, Kansas. Every dollar’s worth of property which he owns
has been accumulated by his own endeavors; not one dollar was ever
received by him through inheritance or gift, and he and his wife have
the great satisfaction of knowing that what they have and own is theirs
by right of industry and thrift. Mr. Chandler is a Republican, a member
of the Episcopal church, and is fraternally associated with the Masonic
order, a member of Active Lodge, No. 158, Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons, and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He was married February
4, 1891, to Effie Rook, of Atchison. To this union have been born:
Horace F., born September 19, 1896, a graduate of the Atchison High
School, class of 1913, and now a sophomore in Kansas University,
Lawrence; Esther, born March 5, 1898, senior student in the Atchison
High School, class of 1916. The mother of these children is a daughter
of Judge Horace M. Jackson, a biography of whom is published in this
volume.
GRACE CROSBY POWER.
The city of Atchison is fortunate in having as the present
superintendent of the city hospital a lady of talent and ability, which,
combined with great personal charm, constitute a splendid equipment for
the important position which Miss Power holds. She is eminently
qualified by training and executive capacity to perform the exacting
duties required of a hospital superintendent, and she is fast becoming
deservedly popular among the people of Atchison, who support this justly
famous institution.
Grace Crosby Power is a native of Indiana, born October 23, 1880, in the
town of Milroy, Rush county, and is a daughter of William Strange and
Mary E. (Crosby) Power. Her father was also a native of Rush county,
Indiana, born in 1837, a son of an Indiana pioneer family. His parents
were John A. and Mary A. (Smisor) Power, both of whom were natives of
Germany and Scotland, respectively. They immigrated to America from
Germany in an early day, and cleared a farm from the dense wilderness of
Rush county by dint of hard labor and the exercise of fortitude. This
German-American couple had the satisfaction of gaining a substantial
competence from the soil and of bequeathing a good family of sons and
daughters to their adopted land. William Power was one of the first fine
live stock breeders of Rush county, and his farm became famous for the
Hambletonian horses which it produced. He died in 1906 in his home town,
Milroy. His wife, Mary, was born in Milroy, Ind., in 1837, a daughter of
Michael and Lucinda Crosby, natives of Ireland, and also early settlers
of Rush county, Indiana. The Powers were all members of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and have been prominent in the affairs of Rush county
for many years. William Power was one of the well-to-do men of the
county. To Mr. and Mrs. William Power were born four children: Cora
Estelle, wife of Prof. E. F. Engel, of Lawrence, Kan.; Kathrine, wife of
Rev. W. F. Smith, of the Methodist church, at Huntington, Ind.; Frank
A., Wichita, Kan., a director of the Power-Myers music house; Miss Grace
Crosby Power, with whom this review is directly concerned.
Miss Power received her elementary education in the public schools of
Milroy, Ind., and afterwards entered DePauw University, at Greencastle,
Ind., where she pursued a music course for two years. She then came to
Kansas and studied in the liberal arts department of Kansas University,
at Lawrence. While her original intention had been to perfect herself in
art and music, she became imbued with the idea of becoming a nurse,
feeling that a wider field was offered in the art of caring for the
sick, and that she could be of greater service to humanity. Accordingly,
Miss Power entered the University Medical Hospital of Kansas City, Mo.,
in 1905, and began the studies which were to prepare her for her life
work as a hospital nurse. She applied herself diligently to her medical
studies and was graduated from the Kansas City institution in 1908. She
was then offered the position of superintendent of the Galesburg, Ill.,
hospital, and accepted, remaining there until 1911. She was not yet
satisfied with her professional preparation, and resigning her position,
she spent one year in Europe, traveling and studying the methods in
vogue in the hospitals of the old world. Returning to Kansas City in
1912, she was employed by Drs. Jabez and Jackson, of that city, in a
professional capacity, until she was called to her present post,
September 29, 1915. Since taking charge of the Atchison City Hospital,
she has given every evidence of being eminently fitted for the duties of
her position and calling. Miss Power is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and is affiliated with the A. X. U. sorority, of
DePauw University.
WILLIAM H. THOMPSON.
The late William H. Thompson, of Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison county,
was born on a Kentucky farm, near the city of Louisville, in 1838. His
parents were Benjamin and Nancy (Baxter) Thompson, and both were born
and reared in Kentucky, their old home being located on a small stream
called Dry Beauty. Nancy Baxter Thompson was the belle of the
neighborhood and was a famous beauty in her day. In 1848 the Thompsons
migrated from Kentucky to Platte county, Missouri, where they resided
until the spring of 1860, and then came to Atchison county and purchased
the farm where William H. lived until his death, in 1884. Benjamin, the
father, was born in Kentucky in 1799, and died on his Kansas farm in
1861, just after locating in this county. He was a man of fair
education, who was self-taught. He taught school in his native State,
and his father was a famous hunter in the early days of Kentucky
history. He disappeared while absent from home on a hunting expedition,
and it is supposed that he was killed or captured by Indians, leaving a
wife and three children. Times were hard and educational advantages were
either very poor or absent altogether. Benjamin educated himself by
night study and home reading, and became well versed in books and
knowledge.
[Illustration:
_Mrs. Matilda Thompson_
]
William H. Thompson was ten years of age when the family removed to
Missouri, and he was reared to young manhood on the pioneer farm in
Platte county. After his marriage in 1862, he and his wife lived with
his widowed mother after the death of his father, October 26, 1861. He
came into possession of the home place and cultivated the land until his
demise in 1884. He was married July 6, 1862, to Matilda Thompson, and
eight children were born to this marriage: Annie, wife of Frank
Williamson, of California; Ada, wife of Henry Knobloch, of Atchison
county; Robert Lee, at home with his mother; William H., a mining
expert, in Colorado; Gertrude, wife of Ed. Myer, of Atchison; Sirena
Ella, deceased wife of Patrick Burns; Benjamin Isaac, at home; Gladis,
deceased wife of Eugene Thornburg. The mother of these children was born
in 1842 in Buchanan county, Missouri, a daughter of Isaac Thompson, born
in New York State, on a farm near New York City, in 1804. The
grandfather and a great-uncle of Isaac came to America from England some
time before the American revolution, and became separated and never saw
each other again. They were of Scotch origin. The paternal grandmother
of Mrs. Thompson was a Miss Fiske of the New York family of Fiskes.
Isaac Thompson married Elizabeth Fiscus in Indiana. In the year 1808,
the parents of Isaac Thompson removed from New York to Ohio and twelve
years later migrated westward to Shelby county, Indiana, where the
parents died. After his marriage Isaac migrated to Buchanan county,
Missouri, in about 1839, and developed a fine farm in that county. In
about 1847 he sold his farm in Missouri and set out on the long overland
journey to Oregon. A large party were en route to this new country and
the outfit comprised twenty-one wagons and teams. An incident of this
journey is here worth recording. While the emigrants were encamped for
the night at a point hundreds of miles from any human habitation, an
Indian came to the camp and informed them that a band of hostile red men
intended to attack them and destroy the outfit. A band of emigrant
Mormons drove up and joined them and they at once formed a corral with
their wagons and prepared to defend themselves against the threatened
attack, but the attack did not take place because of the preparations
made. The Thompson family remained in Oregon for five years. Isaac went
to California in 1848 and engaged in gold mining. Mr. Thompson was
fortunate in his prospecting and accumulated a small fortune. During the
winter of ’49 he was shipwrecked while making a voyage from California
to his Oregon home, the vessel being driven far and out of its course by
terrific storms and he was forced to spend the winter on the Sandwich
Islands. After arriving home safely, he again went to California and
continued his gold mining. In 1851 the family returned to the Middle
West. They boarded a ship at Portland, Ore., journeyed to San Francisco,
where they took a ship for New Orleans. On the way down the coast the
party was landed on the west coast of the Isthmus of Panama and the
emigrants were packed across the Isthmus to the east side, where they
boarded a vessel which carried them to New York City, arriving there on
Christmas day of 1851. From New York they went to Philadelphia where Mr.
Thompson had his gold minted at the Government mint. From Philadelphia
they traveled to Pittsburgh, and here the children all contracted
measles and two of them died. From Pittsburgh they went down the Ohio
river by steamer and up the Mississippi to St. Louis where they boarded
a Missouri river steamer which took them to Camden, Mo. Here the wife
and mother died. At Camden Mr. Thompson purchased oxen and wagons and
took the family to Buchanan county, Missouri, arriving there in the
summer of 1852. They lived in Missouri until 1856 and then made a
permanent settlement in Kansas preëmpting land and locating on Walnut
creek in Mt. Pleasant township, about four miles southwest of the city
of Atchison, which is now the Herzog farm. After eight years’ residence
here they again moved, this time to Illinois, where they lived for three
years and came again to Kansas, this time settling in Nemaha county.
Isaac died in Nemaha county in 1871. His was certainly a rich and varied
experience and his life was filled with adventure and continual changes.
Mrs. Matilda Thompson, widow of William H., although having attained the
age of three score and thirteen years, is active, spry and in full
possession of her mental faculties. She is a wonderful woman for her age
and is fond of relating reminiscences of the old days when the family
crossed the plains and traveled half way around the world in quest of
riches and adventure.
JOHN HENRY NASS.
When the soul of the late John Henry Nass departed from its earthly
habitation to go to his Maker, the city of Atchison lost one of its
excellent citizens and merchants who had lived all of his life in the
city of his birth. The late J. H. Nass was born in Atchison, February
15, 1865, a son of Jacob and Johanna Nass, both of whom were born and
reared in Germany and emigrated from the Fatherland in 1856, to America.
They first settled at Weston, Mo., but a short time later came to
Atchison, Kan., where Jacob Nass became the first brick manufacturer of
the city. He erected the first brick plant and made brick for many of
the large brick buildings still standing in the city. Jacob Nass
continued actively in the brick business until 1875, when he retired and
the business was carried on by his four sons. During the course of his
business career he established the hardware store which was later owned
by his son, the subject of this review. He left at his demise, in 1899,
a considerable estate consisting of the brick plant, a hardware store,
and real estate. Jacob and Johanna Nass were the parents of six
children, namely: Werner, J. H., Theodore, Herman, all living in
Atchison; Gertrude, and Mary Nass, who is caring for her aged mother.
J. H., or Henry Nass, as he was better known by his friends and
associates, was reared in Atchison and attended the parochial schools
and St. Benedict’s College. At the age of sixteen years he entered his
father’s hardware store, and took complete charge of the business when
he attained the age of eighteen years. In 1886, with a partner named
Frank Hess, of Weston, Mo., he purchased the hardware store of his
father. Six years later he bought out his partner and became the sole
owner of the store, which he conducted until his demise, in 1903. He was
married September 27, 1893, to Bertha Fleming, who bore him children as
follows: Charles, born September 16, 1895, educated in St. Benedict’s
College, and is now in the employ of the Dolan Mercantile Company of
Atchison; Raymond, born July 31, 1898, a graduate of St. Benedict’s
College, and is now with the Harwi Hardware Company of Atchison; Rose,
born October 31, 1899, at home with her mother; Margarette, born June 2,
1901, student in St. Louis parochial school; William, born November 19,
1902, a student in a St. Louis school; Henry John, born December 7,
1903, and died at the age of eighteen months. Mrs. Nass is justly proud
of her children and has endeavored to rear them so that they will lead
upright lives and be a credit to her and the public. The Nass home is
located near St. Benedict’s College, and it is a happy one at all times.
When Mr. and Mrs. Nass were married in 1893 their honeymoon trip
included the World’s Fair at Chicago. She was born in Holland, a
daughter of Lambert and Rosa (Johnson) Fleming, both of whom were born
and reared in Holland and married there, after which they immigrated to
America with their family and settled in Atchison where Lambert made
wooden shoes for a time and later moved to a farm where he died June 15,
1880. Mrs. Fleming died in 1903.
J. H. Nass was moderately successful in his business pursuits, and left
his family comfortably provided for. He was a Democrat but did not take
a very active interest in political matters. He was a member of St.
Benedict’s Catholic Church. His life was a good and useful one and his
main interest was in the well being of his family, of whom he was very
thoughtful and treated kindly and justly.
FRANK M. WOODFORD.
Frank M. Woodford, the well known cashier of the Atchison Savings Bank,
was born at Niles, Mich., November 29, 1874. He is a son of James H. and
Emma (Bickell) Woodford, both natives of Niles, Mich., the former born
in 1851 and the latter in 1855. James H. Woodford is a son of Benjamin
Woodford, who was a native of New York, and an early settler in
Michigan. His wife, Emma Bickell, is a daughter of Thomas J. Bickell, a
Virginian. James H. Woodford came to Kansas with his family in 1887, and
located in Atchison, and was an employee of the Missouri Pacific
Railroad Company for a number of years, and later purchased a farm in
Atchison county, where he now resides. Frank M. Woodford is the only son
born to James H. and Emma (Bickell) Woodford. He attended the public
schools and graduated from the Atchison High School in the class of
1894. In 1896 he entered the employ of the Exchange National Bank of
Atchison, and worked in the collection department of that institution
for two and one-half years. He then entered the employ of the Missouri
Pacific Railroad Company as yard clerk and later served in the capacity
of inspector and bookkeeper. August 1, 1900, he became bookkeeper of the
Atchison Savings Bank, and in 1910 succeeded to the cashier-ship of that
bank, and has capably filled that position to the present time. Mr.
Woodford possesses the safe and conservative judgment of the successful
bank cashier and is recognized for his efficiency in that important
branch of the commercial world. Mr. Woodford was united in marriage
December 21, 1898, with Miss Mabel Santchfield, of Macon, Mo., and two
children have been born to this union: Millard, aged eleven, and
Maurice, aged eight. Mr. Woodford is a Royal Arch Mason, a member of the
Knights of Pythias, Fraternal Order of Eagles, Knights of the Maccabees,
Modern Woodmen of America, and Knights and Ladies of Security. He is a
Democrat and a member of the Baptist church.
HOLMES DYSINGER, D. D.
Holmes Dysinger, D. D., dean of the Western Theological Seminary of
Atchison, Kan., was born March 26, 1853, in the town of Mifflin, Juniata
county, Pennsylvania, and is a son of Joseph and Mary Amelia (Patterson)
Dysinger, both natives of Pennsylvania. The genealogical record of the
Dysinger family traces its beginning in America to the seventeenth
century, the ancestry on the paternal side being South German and on the
maternal side, of English origin. The members of the family for
succeeding generations were farmers and carpenters, Joseph Dysinger
being a carpenter and contracting builder in his younger days, and later
became a farmer. He died on his farm in Pennsylvania, near his
birthplace. There were six sons and a daughter in the family which
Joseph Dysinger reared, as follows: Holmes, with whom this review is
directly concerned; George Washington Dysinger, a practicing dentist at
Minneapolis, Minn.; Rev. William Stewart Dysinger, a minister of the
Lutheran church in Los Angeles, Cal.; Prof. James H. Dysinger, a teacher
at Los Angeles, Cal., and a daughter died at the age of six months.
Holmes Dysinger was reared on his father’s farm and received his
elementary education in the district school of his neighborhood. The
initial part of his higher education was obtained in the Airyview
Academy at Port Royal, Penn. The means at the disposal of the Dysinger
family did not permit of Holmes continuing his studies uninterrupted,
and he found it necessary to make his own way through the higher realms
of learning. Consequently, in order to make his way through college and
the university, he began teaching at the early age of seventeen years,
and has taught continuously since that time, with the exception of three
years in college and a few years in a pastorate. In 1878 he received the
degree of Bachelor of Arts from Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg, Pa.,
and taught in the academic department of that college for a period of
four years, while studying theology in the seminary at that place. His
next position was as professor of Latin and Greek in the North Carolina
College, Mt. Pleasant, N. C., from 1882 to 1883. From 1883 to 1888,
inclusive, he was professor of Latin and Greek at Newberry College, in
South Carolina, and from 1888 to 1895 he filled the position of
president of Carthage College, Carthage, Ill. From 1895 to 1900 he
filled the pastorate of the Lutheran church at Polo, Ill.; he was pastor
of the First Lutheran Church of Kansas City, Mo., from 1900 to 1902, and
had charge of the Lutheran church at Vandergrift, Pa., from 1902 to
1905. He became dean of the Western Theological Seminary at Atchison,
Kan., in November of 1905. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity
from Wittenberg College, at Springfield, Ohio, in 1889.
Dr. Dysinger was united in marriage with Ada Frances Ray, of
Blairsville, Pa., September 22, 1886, and to this union have been born
five children: Mary Ray Dysinger, librarian of Midland College,
Atchison; Cornelia, Helen Frances and Dorothy Homes, at home with their
parents, and Mrs. Dr. C. F. Malmberg, of Greenville, Pa.
CHARLES LANGE.
Charles Lange, farmer, Center township, Atchison county, was born in
Germany, January 11, 1865. He is a son of Karl and Marie (Poos) Lange,
who were the parents of three children, as follows: Charles, subject of
this sketch; Mrs. Mary Rathert, Center township, Atchison county, and
Minnie, married C. Kloepper, living in Jefferson county. Karl Lange, the
father, was born March 13, 1838, in Germany, and left his native land in
the fall of 1874, coming to Atchison county, where he rented for a short
time. He then bought the place where his son now lives, which contained
140 acres. The place was fenced with rails and a log cabin had been
built, and the barn was of straw. Taking this primitive farm in 1874,
Mr. Lange began improving it, and in 1883 he built a fine six-room house
and made a number of other improvements. In 1902 he retired and moved to
Nortonville, Kan., where he died in 1910. The mother of Charles Lange
was born in Germany, July 31, 1841. She is now living in Nortonville,
Kan.
Charles Lange attended school in Germany four years and also went to the
district school in Center township, Atchison county. He has always lived
on his present farm, and looked after his father’s affairs until the
latter’s death. He now owns the old home place, which includes 375
acres, sixty acres of which is in corn. He is a thorough farmer and
keeps high grade stock. In 1901 Mr. Lange was married to Martha Straub,
who was born January 17, 1881, in Baden, Germany. At the age of five
years she left Germany with her parents, Joseph and Salme (Hilderbrandt)
Straub, who came to America. In 1904 they settled in Mt. Pleasant
township, Atchison county, where the father followed farming. Mr. and
Mrs. Lange have six children, all of whom are living at home. They are:
Erna, Charles, Jr., Henry, Emma, Julius, and Ella. Mr. Lange is a
Republican, and attends the Lutheran church.
CHARLES L. ALKIRE.
Charles L. Alkire, proprietor and manager of the Troy laundry of
Atchison, was born December 1, 1876, in Saline county, Missouri, a son
of George A. and Ellen H. (Dickson) Alkire, who were the parents of two
children, as follows: George D., a farmer of Bronaugh, Mo., and Charles
L. George A. Alkire was born August 28, 1846, in Illinois, and was a son
of George Alkire, who had the distinction of founding the Texas town
which bears his name. In early life he was a merchant, and came to
Missouri when a young man, and established a general merchandise store
in Saline county. Later he engaged in banking and was cashier of the
bank at Blackburn, Mo. For six years he served as county collector of
Vernon county, Missouri. He is now living a retired life in Dallas, Tex.
His father, George Alkire, was an extensive fruit grower, after whom the
town of Alkire, Texas, was named and who died there. Ellen H. (Dickson)
Alkire, mother of Charles L., was born on a farm near Booneville, Tipton
county, Missouri, September 3, 1839, and is living in the family home at
Dallas, Texas.
Charles L. Alkire received his education in the schools of his native
county, and attended the State school at Nevada, Mo., graduating from
business college in Nevada. He served as deputy collector in Vernon
county under his father, and then went to Norman, Okla., where he
embarked in the newspaper business, running the Troy laundry in
connection with his publishing duties, from 1899 to 1902. He then
disposed of his holdings in Norman and located in Kansas City, Mo.,
where he had charge of the shoe department in G. B. Peck’s drygoods
store, until his removal to Atchison, Kan. He was first employed in the
freight department of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad, and was
then engaged in the inspection bureau of the Western Weighing
Association of Railroads. He served as traveling salesman for the A. J.
Harwi Hardware Company until he purchased the Troy laundry, in October
of 1915. He was a successful traveling salesman, and is making a marked
success in his latest business venture.
Mr. Alkire was married in 1899 to Elizabeth H. Clapham, and to this
union one child, Elizabeth, has been born. Mrs. Alkire was born March
12, 1878, in Fremont, Neb., and is a daughter of Edward and Anna
(Bradley) Clapham, natives of England, who came to Iowa from their
native land with their parents when both were infants. Mr. and Mrs.
Clapham have been dead for a number of years. Mrs. Alkire was educated
in the University of Oklahoma and graduated from that institution. Mr.
Alkire is an independent voter and is not allied with any particular
political party, being self-reliant in such matters as he has always
been in his business affairs. He is a member of the Baptist church and
his wife is a member of the Methodist church.
W. D. CHALFANT.
W. D. Chalfant, a prominent farmer of Shannon township, Atchison county,
is a native of Pennsylvania. He was born at Brownsville, Fayette county,
August 2, 1862, a son of Benjamin M. and Mary Amanda (Lynn) Chalfant,
both natives of Pennsylvania, the former born in 1838, and the latter in
1836. The Chalfant family is of English origin, and was founded in
America prior to the Revolutionary war. Benjamin M. Chalfant was a son
of James Chalfant, of Fayette county, Pennsylvania. Benjamin M. owned
the old Chalfant homestead in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, and in 1882
he sold his Pennsylvania property and came to Kansas, locating in
Shannon township, Atchison county, where he purchased 320 acres of land,
and was successfully engaged in farming until his death, which occurred
June 3, 1914. He was accidentally killed at the railroad crossing at
Fourth street, Atchison, while walking across the track. In an effort to
avoid an approaching car, he did not notice an approaching Missouri
Pacific train, which struck him. His wife died January 18, 1905. They
were the parents of the following children: James M. resides in Graham
county, Kansas; Elsworth died in infancy: William D., the subject of
this sketch; Mary B. Bean lives in Kingman county, Kansas: Henry died at
the age of ten, Alice died at the age of ten, and Elvira P. resides in
Atchison.
William D. Chalfant was twenty years of age when he came to Atchison
county, and has resided in this county since 1882, with the exception of
two years, one of which he spent in California and the other in Nemaha
county, Kansas. He bought the home place in 1914, shortly after his
father’s death. He was united in marriage in 1891 to Miss Mary Mann, a
native of Monroe county, West Virginia, and a daughter of Austin and
Susan Mann. The father is deceased, and the mother resides in Arkansas.
To Mr. and Mrs. Chalfant have been born eight children, as follows:
Bonnie Miller resides in West Virginia, and has two children, Raymond
and George; Benjamin M. resides at home; Delilah, Jenette, Helen, Henry,
Marie, and Mildred. Jenette and Henry died in infancy. Mr. Chalfant is a
Republican, and his fraternal affiliations are with the Fraternal Order
of Eagles and the Central Protective Association.
JACOB BUTTRON.
He of whom this review is written is one of the enterprising and
successful farmers of Lancaster township, Atchison county, and is a son
of Henry Buttron, a pioneer settler of the county, and who at the time
of his death was one of the wealthiest and best known citizens of
Lancaster township. A biography of Henry Buttron appears in this
history.
Jacob Buttron was born in Lancaster township, April 16, 1872, and has
always lived in the vicinity of his early home. He was reared on his
father’s farm and attended the school in the Bell district, No. 59. He
remained on the farm and gave his best endeavors to assisting his father
in building up the family estate until 1904, at which time he started
out for himself on a rented farm. He first rented 160 acres of land from
his father. Later he bought an equal amount of the north quarter of the
Cloyes farm. He has through his father, at the present time, one of the
best improved and productive farms of Lancaster township and is on the
high road to prosperity. Mr. Buttron has his farm stocked with only the
best grades of live stock and has made an excellent record as a
stockman.
He was married December 14, 1904, to Miss Emma Flattre, and four
children have blessed this union, namely: Bertha, Emma, Alice and John.
Mrs. Buttron is a daughter of Thomas and Emma (Manson) Flattre. Mr.
Buttron is a Republican in politics, but has never sought political
preferment of any kind, and contents himself in doing his duty at the
polls at election time. While he professes no religious creed, he is a
church goer and is considered to be an upright and exemplary citizen who
has many friends in his neighborhood, who esteem him highly for his
industrious habits and honest demeanor.
GEORGE SCHRADER.
George Schrader, farmer and stockman, of Center township, Atchison
county, was born in Lancaster township, January 25, 1868, and is a son
of Nicholas and Kathrine Schrader. He was one of six children. The
parents were born in Germany, but each came to America when young. They
were married in the United States about 1856, and came directly to
Kansas, settling in Lancaster township, Atchison county. Later they
removed to Mount Pleasant township, and followed farming until the
father retired. The mother died in 1907, aged seventy-three years, and
the father lived with his children until his death, in 1914, at the age
of eighty-six. George Schrader grew to manhood on the home farm in
Atchison county, and at the age of nineteen began to work as a farm
hand. A year later he went to California and worked on a ranch. In 1890
he returned to Atchison county and rented his father’s farm for a year,
when he bought 180 acres, located on the Topeka State road, two and one-
half miles north, and one-half mile west of Cummings, Kan. The farm had
only scanty improvements, with a house in bad condition and a small
barn. He built a good two-story, modern, nine-room house, which is
situated in one of the finest building places in the county, commanding
an excellent view. He then erected a large barn, 36×50 feet, with a
cement basement. It is well equipped and built especially for a stock
barn. Mr. Schrader takes great pride in his stock, which includes fine
Hampshire hogs, Percheron and Coach horses. His farm consists of 200
acres, forty acres of which is timber land.
When a young man Mr. Schrader operated a threshing outfit, and continued
in that business for many years as a sideline. He is also a carpenter,
and built most of the buildings on his farm. In 1894 he married Carrie
Kuhn, who was born in Atchison county in 1874. She is a daughter of Fred
and Anna (Gruner) Kuhn. The father was a native of Germany, and the
mother of Illinois. Both parents are living. Mr. and Mrs. Schrader have
three children: Herbert, Lester, and Ida, all living at home. Mr.
Schrader is a Republican, and is treasurer of Center township. He is a
member of the German Evangelical church. He is a stockholder in the
Cummings State Bank. Mr. Schrader is a citizen active in the interest of
his community, and takes pride in his farm and in his community, and is
always in favor of any movement which will be for the good of the
community.
WILLIAM T. HUTSON.
William T. Hutson, an Atchison business man, who has extensive
industrial and commercial interests, and is a large land owner, is a
native of Missouri. He was born in Platte county August 1, 1874, and is
a son of E. P. and Johanna (Kelley) Hutson, the former a native of Clay
county, Missouri, and the latter of Dublin, Ireland. E. P. Hutson, the
father, had a very successful career, and at the time of his death,
which occurred in Platte county, Missouri, in 1892, he owned over 2,000
acres of valuable land. He and his brother, Isaac, went to California in
1850, shortly after the discovery of gold. They were interested in the
live stock business on the coast at that early day, buying cattle and
driving them to the mining camps, where they found a ready market at
very good prices. They were engaged in this business for twelve or
thirteen years, and were very successful in a financial way. Isaac’s
health failed while on the coast, and he returned to his Platte county
home, where he died in 1864. After returning to Missouri, E. P. Hutson
followed farming, and looked after his extensive interests until about
the time of his death.
William T. Hutson, whose name introduces this sketch, is one of a family
of six children, as follows: William T., the subject of this sketch; G.
E., farmer, Platte county, Missouri; Capitola married W. P. Page, Platte
county, Missouri; Pluma married Dr. Kirkfast, Austin, Neb.; Goldie
married Barney Nolan, Sioux City, Iowa, and Galena married Edward Back,
Atchison, Kan. William T. Hutson was reared on the home farm in Platte
county, Missouri, and received his education in the public schools, and
has made farming the chief occupation of his life. He and his brother,
G. E., now own and operate 1,000 acres of land in Platte county,
Missouri, where they are extensive growers of wheat and other grains.
They are also extensive hog raisers and are among the most extensive
farmers of Platte county.
Mr. Hutson came to Atchison in December, 1909, and since that time has
been closely identified with industrial Atchison. He is president of the
Atchison Paving Brick Company, and is a director in the First National
Bank of Atchison. He was united in marriage in June, 1909, to Miss
Esther Jackson, of Bigelow, Mo. She is a daughter of Richard and Varney
Jackson, members of old and highly respected Platte county families. Mr.
and Mrs. Hutson have one child, Virginia Lee, born June 23, 1912. Mr.
Hutson is a Democrat.
JOHN BEYER.
John Beyer, banker and stock buyer of Arrington, Atchison county,
Kansas, was born in Kapioma township, on October 9, 1871. His parents,
Asa and Susan Beyer, were both natives of Pennsylvania, the father
having been born there in 1835. They came to Kansas in 1868, and settled
in Kapioma township, Atchison county, where the father died in 1898, and
the mother is still living. John Beyer is one of eleven children, as
follows: Mrs. Mary Lewton, Benton township; Samuel, Kapioma township;
Mrs. Christen High, Texas; David, farmer, Kapioma township; Jane, living
on the home place; Clarissa, deceased; Martha Schiffbauer, Sumner
county, Kansas; John, the subject of this sketch; Albert, Caldwell,
Kansas, and Luctria Dodson, Kapioma township.
John Beyer attended the Cole Creek district school and at the age of
twenty-one started out in life for himself. He bought an eighty-acre
farm from his father, and worked this place five years and made a
success of it. In 1900 he moved to Arrington, Kapioma township, and
engaged in the livery business. He ran this until the following year
when he sold out and bought the elevator on the Union Pacific railroad
at Arrington. He bought and sold grain for six years, but owned the
elevator until 1912. The year previous he began to deal in live stock
and has continued in that business since. In 1904 the need of a bank was
felt, and John Beyer, together with other leading citizens of Arrington,
organized the present bank. For the past eight years he has been
assistant cashier of the institution. Mr. Beyer owns farm land in
Kapioma township.
In 1897 Mr. Beyer married Maud A. Coots, who was born in Holt county,
Missouri, January 13, 1875. She is a daughter of Presley W. and Sarah
(Campbell) Coots, both Missourians, whose parents were from Kentucky.
The father is now living in Muscotah, Kan. Mr. and Mrs. Beyer have one
child, Flossie A., who is living at home. Mr. Beyer is a Republican and
a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
JOSEPH H. WATOWA.
Joseph H. Watowa, a prosperous Atchison county farmer, is a native of
Missouri. He was born in Buchanan county, January 24, 1864, and is a son
of Joseph and Catharine (Fischer) Watowa, both natives of Austria. They
were married in their native land, and immigrated to America in 1855,
first settling in Wisconsin. Later, they located in Buchanan county,
Missouri, and in 1879 came to Kansas, locating in Shannon township,
Atchison county, on the place where Joseph H., the subject of this
sketch, now resides. They were the parents of six children, as follows:
Frank resides in Atchison county; Mary, deceased; Henry resides in
Atchison county; Amelia; Joseph H., the subject of this sketch; and
Paulina.
Joseph H. Watowa is one of the successful farmers of Atchison county,
and has one of the fine farms of that section in the State, consisting
of 160 acres of well improved land under a high state of cultivation.
His land is located in an ideal spot, and a fine tract of timber is
located on the place. He is an extensive alfalfa grower and an all
around practical modern farmer.
Mr. Watowa was married in 1892 to Miss Theresa, daughter of Joseph and
Johanna Zeit, natives of Austria and early settlers in Atchison county,
where they still reside. To Mr. and Mrs. Watowa have been born the
following children: Mary, age nineteen; Johanna, age eighteen;
Elizabeth, age seventeen; Helena, age sixteen; Joseph, age thirteen;
Bertha, age twelve, and Catherine, age four. Mr. Watowa has lived on his
present place for thirty-six years, and, although still a young man, he
counts himself among the old landmarks of Atchison county. He is a
Democrat, and has always supported the policies and principles of that
party. He has taken a commendable part in local politics, and has served
as town clerk for six years. He and his family are members of the St.
Benedict Catholic Church at Atchison.
NATHAN T. VEATCH.
Nathan T. Veatch, superintendent of the Atchison city schools, is a
native of Illinois. He was born near Astoria, Fulton county, and reared
on a farm. After receiving a common school education, he began his
career as a teacher in the district schools of Schuyler county,
Illinois. Later he attended the State Normal school of Illinois, and was
graduated from that institution with the class of 1881. He was principal
of the graded school at Butler, Ill., for two years, and later was
principal of an eighth grade ward school in Little Rock, Ark., for four
years. He served as superintendent and principal of the Rushville city
schools at Rushville, Ill., for fourteen years, and in 1901 was elected
superintendent of the Atchison city schools, and has held that position
to the present time.
Mr. Veatch was married in 1883 to Miss Lizzie Montgomery, of Rushville,
Ill. She was a successful teacher prior to her marriage. To Mr. and Mrs.
Veatch have been born two children, as follows: Nathan T., Jr., born at
Rushville, Ill., and is now a civil engineer, and a member of the firm
of Black & Veatch, consulting engineers, Kansas City, Mo., and Francis
M., born at Rushville, Ill., a sanitary engineer, in the employ of
Kansas University.
JAMES L. ARMSTRONG.
James L. Armstrong, farmer and breeder of prize winning Percheron
horses, was born in Winnebago county, Illinois, July 11, 1867. He comes
of sturdy Irish stock, his parents having been born on the Emerald Isle.
The father, James Armstrong, was born October 22, 1836, in County Sligo,
Ireland. He was a farmer there, and at the age of twenty-four sailed for
America and found his first job in Philadelphia. In a short time he came
west and followed farming in Illinois. Several years later, in 1867, to
be exact, he came to Atchison county, Kansas, and bought eighty acres of
land near Huron, Kan., in Lancaster township. He farmed this place until
his death in 1886. In addition to his farming he was an extensive
breeder and feeder of cattle. His wife was also born in Ireland, the
date of her birth being December 25, 1830. She died in 1902. They were
married in Ireland and three children were born to them there. After
coming to America five other children were born. Both parents were
members of the Methodist church.
James L., Jr., the subject of this sketch, grew up in Lancaster
township, and attended school in district No. 44. He remained at home
with his parents until they died. He then bought 320 acres in Kapioma
township and built an unusually fine residence at a cost of about
$4,000. The interior is finished in white oak, and a cement basement
underlies the house, and all modern conveniences have been installed,
including hot and cold running water. He keeps all of his buildings
painted and in repair so that everything around the place presents a
fresh and orderly appearance. Horses are Mr. Armstrong’s hobby, and
several times he has won prizes at the Effingham fair with his
Percherons, and now has four thoroughbred Percherons registered. He is a
shareholder in the Muscotah elevator. He is unmarried and has a man and
his wife, who care for the household. Mr. Armstrong is a member of the
Christian church and has affiliated himself with the Republican party.
He is a member of the Percheron Society of America. He has received as
high as $600 for Percheron horses bred on his place.
JOHN FERRIS.
A man’s usefulness in his community need not necessarily be confined to
working entirely for his own individual aggrandizement, and there are
frequently found conspicuous examples of good citizenship who are broad-
minded and enterprising enough to extend their activities outward, so as
to embrace the well-being of their fellowmen. John Ferris, banker and
prosperous farmer, of Center township, Atchison county, is a shining
example of broad and upright citizenship, with whom family, church and
social ties have been preëminent during his long residence in the
county. Successful as a farmer and stockman, his ambitions have led him
into banking pursuits with considerable success to his credit. His
deeply religious nature having endowed him with a love for church work,
many fruitful years of his life have been devoted to Sunday school and
church work, which have won him high esteem and infinite respect among
the people of his neighborhood.
The twenty-eight years of Mr. Ferris’ residence in Center township have
been productive of much material good on his part, and he is rated as
one of the really successful men of the county. This period marks his
rise from comparative poverty to a position of affluence and prestige,
attained by few citizens. Mr. Ferris saw opportunity and embraced it,
and has made good in more ways than one.
John Ferris is a man whose pluck and industry have brought him out of a
long struggle with high honors. Starting out in life as a poor boy, he
worked long and hard, until now he lives in comfort and security. Mr.
Ferris was born at Sharonville, Ohio, November 25, 1860, and is a son of
Peter and Hettie (Phares) Ferris, who were the parents of seven
children, as follows: John, the subject of this sketch; Joseph,
Winchester, Kan.; Alice, wife of W. T. Birt, Topeka, Kan.; Louvinca,
wife of F. L. Stephens, Topeka, Kan.; Thomas, Mt. Pleasant township,
Atchison county; Peter, farmer, on old Eastman place, Center township,
Atchison county, and Mrs. Della Coppinger, deceased. The father was born
August 8, 1839, in Sharonville, Hamilton county, Ohio. He was a son of
John and Rebecca (Myers) Ferris, natives of Pennsylvania, who came to
Ohio as early settlers, in 1804. The father of John Ferris, subject of
this sketch, was reared on the farm in Ohio. He came to Kansas in 1878,
and settled in Osborne county. Two years later, after being starved out
by the ravages of the grasshoppers and the hot winds, which burned up
his crops, he went to Rawlins county, Kansas, where he preëmpted 640
acres of land. He did not live there, but came to Nortonville, Kan., and
began work as a laborer and farmer.
In 1887 he came to Center township, where he rented for five years. He
then rented 640 acres south of Nortonville. In 1892 he and his son,
John, the subject of this sketch, bought 160 acres in Jefferson county.
Then, for a number of years, they bought and sold farms in Atchison and
Jefferson counties, until 1903, when they bought the farm of 215 acres,
which John and his father are working. This land is located in Center
township and includes the northwest quarter of section 3 and the
southwest quarter of section 34, and includes ten acres of natural
timber. He has thirty acres of alfalfa and fifty acres in corn each
year. Mr. Ferris also devotes considerable attention to his stock. He
keeps only graded animals on his farm, and makes a specialty of feeding
hogs and cattle for the market. He started out with little capital, and
had to begin as a laborer at day wages, but he saved his earnings and
invested them wisely, and, now, besides being a substantial farmer, he
is a shareholder and president of the State Bank of Cummings. Mr. Ferris
is unmarried. His mother was born in Little Rock, Ark., in 1840. She is
a daughter of Joseph and Matilda (Todd) Phares. The father came from New
Jersey, and the mother from Tennessee. In politics, Mr. Ferris has
identified himself with the Republican party. He is a member of the
Pardee Methodist Episcopal Church and takes an active part in its
organization. He is a steward, and for many years has been
superintendent of the Sunday school. He is a member of the Ancient Free
and Accepted Masons, and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellow lodges
of Cummings. Mr. Ferris is a conspicuous example of the self-made man.
His career proves the possibilities of a man, who, though handicapped by
lack of capital, is willing to work consistently and save judiciously.
MARCUS J. LAIRD.
The history of the Laird family in Kansas begins three score years ago,
in the old days when the first sturdy pioneers were coming from the
older states to find new homes in the unpeopled waste of Kansas, and to
break the way for others who have since followed in increasing numbers.
It is a long reach which witnesses the transformation of a wilderness of
prairie and woods to a beautiful, productive landscape of peace and
plenty, but Marcus J. Laird and his wife have been fortunate in growing
to maturity with Atchison county. Few families in this county can claim
an older lineage than the Lairds or Cummings families, and no family is
more respected than that of Marcus J. Laird. His father, J. B. Laird,
was one of the earliest pioneers of Atchison county, and on the other
hand the father of Mrs. Laird was another pioneer. William Cummings, who
founded the town of Cummings, thus leaving a monument which will
perpetuate his name for all time to come. Through the medium of these
historical annals of Atchison county these pioneers will be duly honored
and this volume is dedicated to their everlasting memory in order that
the story of Atchison county might be transmitted truthfully and
accurately to posterity.
Marcus J. Laird has been successively, farmer, merchant and postmaster,
and is proud of the fact that he is a native born citizen of Kansas, and
a son of one of the earliest pioneers of the State. Like a good many men
who have been reared to farm life, after a successful career as merchant
and public official, he has returned to the farm where living is sure
and certain and a competence is the inevitable reward of years of labor.
[Illustration:
_M J Laird._
]
[Illustration:
_Britamore Laird_
]
Marcus J. Laird was born August 26, 1860, in Center township, Atchison
county, and is a son of James B. and Marinda (Martin) Laird, who were
the parents of fourteen children as follows: Mary died in infancy;
Thomas died in infancy; James W., Jackson county, Kansas; Marcus, the
subject of this sketch; Abraham, Jefferson county, Kansas; Mrs. Emma
Leland, Atchison, Kan.; John, deceased; Ulysses, deceased; Rose, wife of
C. Barnes, Chase county, Kansas; Robert, Jackson county, Kansas; Paul, a
teacher, Durant, Okla.; Mrs. Amanda Hanson, Nortonville, Kan.; Mrs.
Mabel McDonald, Muscotah, Kan., and Frank, Seattle, Wash. James B.
Laird, the father, was born in Zanesville, Ohio, June 13, 1834, and was
a son of Thomas and Elton (Saffle) Laird, both natives of Pennsylvania.
The Lairds are of Scotch descent. James was brought up on his father’s
farm, and when he was thirteen years of age his parents removed to
Livingston, Mo., where he grew to manhood. He then went to Buchanan
county, Missouri, where he was married to Marinda Martin, the wedding
taking place at DeKalb, Mo., in 1854. Marinda (Martin) Laird was born
August 1, 1836, in Morgan county, Indiana. She is a daughter of Hanson
and Mary (Holman) Martin. Her father was a farmer in Kentucky before
coming to Atchison county, Kansas, in 1856, where he died in 1878, and
the mother died in 1840, at the age of thirty years.
James B. Laird and his bride came to Kansas in the fall of 1854 and
settled in Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison county, where they
homesteaded 160 acres of prairie and timber land. They drove from
Missouri in a covered wagon pulled by oxen. Atchison, Kan., had but one
house at that time; it had been moved there from Missouri. James Laird
built a sawmill on his farm the first year he was there and sawed 1,000
feet of lumber, but a flood swept it all down into Crooked creek. They
built a log cabin on the place, and the first child, Mary, was born
there. The fact that Mt. Pleasant, which was only three miles away,
provided a nearby market, helped the Lairds out considerably. They
farmed the homestead until 1860, when they sold it for $900 and moved
farther west and bought 276 acres in Center township. This property
became the old home place and the Lairds owned it for many years.
James B. Laird moved to Cummings and conducted a general merchandise
store for a few years preceding his death, in 1892. The widow returned
to the farm with the children, where she brought them up and educated
them. In 1909 she left the home place and has since lived with her
children, and at present she lives with Marcus, the subject of this
sketch. Marcus J. Laird grew up on the home place and attended school in
district No. 36, Center township, and at the age of sixteen he left home
and worked as a farm hand for about a year, and later rented land from
his father. In 1883, at the age of twenty, he bought sixty acres in
Center township and farmed it a year when he traded it for a stock of
merchandise at Cummings and was in partnership with Nelson Cox there for
five years. Selling his interest in the business he rented land and
farmed for a while. In 1892 he bought the place which he now owns and
has increased the original eighty acres to 104. He has always kept good
stock on his place and takes pride in keeping his animals up to
standard. In 1884 Mr. Laird married Britamore Cummings, who was born
August 20, 1866, in Center township, Atchison county. She is a daughter
of William and Sarah (Quiet) Cummings. Her father was a founder of
Cummings, Kan., and was a native of Pennsylvania. He came to Kansas in
1855 and engaged in farming. He died July 27, 1900, at the age of
eighty-six. The mother, Sarah, was born in Illinois and is now living in
Kansas City, Kan. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Laird, as
follows: James W., Kansas City, Mo.; Meda B., wife of L. Reynolds,
Center township, Atchison county, Kansas; Anna McKanna, living at home;
Edith Hammer, Effingham, Kan.; Blanche, a teacher, living at home. Mr.
Laird is a Republican. He was postmaster of Cummings for thirteen years.
He is a member of the Baptist church and of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows and Ancient Order of United Workmen.
ALLEN T. BILDERBACK.
The history of the Bilderback and Johnson families in Kansas goes back
to the old freighting and pioneer days when the hardships of the first
settlers were many and conveniences were few. The father of Allen T.
Bilderback, whose name heads this review, was one of the early stage
coach drivers whose route took him on many journeys from Kansas to
Denver, and other Colorado points. Aaron Bilderback drove a stage coach
from Atchison to Denver and Central City, Colo., beginning in 1864, for
several years, until he finally settled on a farm in Center township,
Atchison county. Jesse R. Johnson, grandfather of Mrs. Bilderback, had
the honor of assisting in establishing the first Methodist church in
Kansas, and Methodism is said to have had its origin in the State from a
Sunday school which was started in his home at Oak Mills, nearly sixty
years ago. From this small beginning a great religious denomination had
its inception in the new State of Kansas.
Allen T. Bilderback, with whom this review is directly concerned, is a
native born Kansan, a man of good education, who has been useful as an
educator and farmer during his residence in his native county. He was
born in Center township July 21, 1878, and is a son of Aaron and Sarah
(Jones) Bilderback, who were the parents of two children: Allen, the
subject of this sketch, and Leslie, who lives in Atchison. The father
was born in Indiana September 17, 1843. When a young man he came to
Kansas in 1855, and freighted across the plains to Denver. The trail
extended from Atchison to Denver, and Aaron Bilderback drove a stage
coach and a prairie schooner. He later bought forty acres of land just
south of Cummings, Atchison county, where he remained a few years. In
August, 1881, he bought the farm which his son now owns. He improved it
and lived there until his death, January 4, 1890. Allen Bilderback’s
mother was born in Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison county, in 1855. She
was a daughter of Vincent Jones, an early settler in Kansas. She died in
1885, at the age of thirty years. Both parents died when Allen was very
young, and he was brought up by his uncle, Gabriel T. Bilderback. He
attended school in District No. 36, Center township, and later attended
the Atchison county high school at Effingham. At the age of twenty-one
he began teaching in District No. 19, Mt. Pleasant township. In 1902 he
went to Granada, Colo., where he started a livery business. Three years
later he returned to Atchison county and taught school again. After a
term of teaching, he took charge of the old home place and engaged in
farming. He now owns 149 acres and has graded stock.
On March 28, 1906, Mr. Bilderback married Edith K. Jones, who was born
November 15, 1884, near Mayetta, Jackson county, Kansas. She also was a
teacher before her marriage, having taught for a number of years in
Jackson county, Kansas. She is a daughter of Samuel R. and Sarah J.
(Johnson) Jones. The father was born in Miami county, Ohio, and came to
Atchison county in 1856, settling near Oak Mills. For a time he farmed
there, at first using oxen, and lived in a log cabin. A number of years
later he moved to Jackson county, Kansas, where he died January 23,
1916. His wife was born in Virginia, a daughter of Jesse and Nancy
(Davis) Johnson. Her father was born in New York April 11, 1819, and
came to Kansas in 1834, settling near Oak Mills, and helped organize the
first Methodist church in Kansas. For some time a Bible class met at his
house, and when it grew to a membership of forty, a Methodist church was
organized by Rev. Bowen. That was the origin of Methodism in Kansas.
Jesse Johnson died in 1904. and his wife died in 1907, at the age of
eighty-three. Mr. and Mrs. Bilderback have three children, all living at
home, as follows: Allen, Jr., born March 18, 1907; Sarah Naomi, born
July 27, 1909, and Lucile Elizabeth, born June 8, 1913. Mr. Bilderback
is a member of the Methodist church, and now holds the office of
trustee. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, and is president
of the farmers’ institute at Cummings.
WILLIAM M. NITZ.
America is proud of her citizens of German birth, and glories in their
accomplishments, their successes, and affluence, wherever they are
located. It is an undisputable fact that the farmers of German birth or
ancestry in Kansas today are rated as among the most prosperous of this
great commonwealth. Atchison county has its quota of successful German
agriculturists, and William M. Nitz, of Center township, is one who is
deserving of special mention. It is a noteworthy rise from a poor German
immigrant boy to become one of the large landed proprietors of the
county, but Mr. Nitz has accomplished all this. His 400 acres or more of
land in Center township were all obtained by hard labor, economy,
intelligence and good financial judgment. The rearing of his large
family of nine children, and their gift to the county and country as
sturdy and upright citizens, is alone a matter for praiseworthy mention.
William M. Nitz was born in Germany, March 26, 1864, and is a son of
Ludwig and Johanna Louisa (Linstad) Nitz, who were the parents of eleven
children, eight of whom are living. The father was born in Germany, in
August, 1836, and left his native land in 1883 with his wife and one
child, coming to America. He came west and worked a year as a laborer,
and then bought eighty acres of land in Doniphan county, Kansas, where
he farmed until 1911. He then removed to Kansas City, Mo., where he and
his wife now live. His wife, the mother of William Nitz, was also born
in Germany, in 1845. William N. Nitz immigrated to America when he was
fifteen years of age. He worked in Pennsylvania as a farm hand for a
year, then he came to Doniphan county, Kansas, where he also worked as a
farm hand. He then rented land in Lancaster township, Atchison county,
for two years, when he returned to Doniphan county, where he bought
eighty acres of land. In 1902 he sold out and bought 307 acres in Center
township. This farm was poorly improved, the house and barn being old
and dilapidated. Mr. Nitz proceeded to rebuild and improve the
buildings. He is now located in section 11, and owns 427 acres of land.
He is a fancier of good mules and keeps graded stock on his farm. Mr.
Nitz, together with several other farmers in his neighborhood, hold
stock in a thresher outfit which they operate jointly.
In 1890 Mr. Nitz married Miss Lena Lawson, a native of Kansas, born
February 27, 1873. Mr. and Mrs. Nitz are the parents of eleven children:
George, born January 12, 1893, farmer, Center township; Charles, born
November 11, 1891, on his father’s farm of 120 acres; Otto, born August
28, 1894, living at home; Johanna and Nava, deceased; Edward, born June
26, 1898, living at home; Oscar, born January 28, 1903; Irvin, born
October 22, 1906, and Ida, born March 5, 1913, living at home, and two
children died in infancy. Mr. Nitz is an independent in politics and he
and his wife are members of the Lutheran church, as are Charles and
George. Though Mr. Nitz could not read or write the English language
very well when a young man, he has always been a student of new
conditions, and was quick to learn the customs and language of his
adopted country and has proved himself to be a useful member of his
community. Of late years he has become very proficient in reading
English and keeps abreast of the times by reading the daily newspapers.
HENRY GLATTFELDER.
Henry Glattfelder, farmer, Center township, Atchison county, Kansas, was
born in the township where he now lives, September 16, 1871, and is a
son of Henry and Margaret (Kuntz) Glattfelder. They were the parents of
seven children: Elizabeth married J. Meyers, died in Atchison. Kan.;
Maggie married widower of her deceased sister, and he is a baker and
merchant, Atchison; Anna, wife of J. Kuhn, Atchison, Kan.; Fannie
married H. H. Severs, Manning, Iowa; Mary married M. L. Dilgert,
Atchison; Bertha married W. A. Dilgert, Mt. Pleasant township, and
Henry, the subject of this sketch. The father was born in Switzerland,
January, 1827. He came to America and settled in Atchison county, on a
rented farm in Mt. Pleasant township. He worked this from 1863 until his
death in 1871. The mother was also born in Switzerland, December 18,
1832, and died in Atchison, Kan., in 1904.
Henry Glattfelder, the subject of this sketch, attended the district
schools of Center township, and grew up on his mother’s farm and began
farming for himself when he was twenty-two years old. He bought 125
acres of land in Center township, and now owns 130 acres. He has made
many improvements on his place since taking possession of it, and keeps
graded stock. In 1894, the year in which he started out for himself, he
was united in marriage with Miss Anna Cline, a daughter of Peter J. and
Bersheba Cline. Mrs. Glattfelder was born March 21, 1877, in Mt.
Pleasant township, Atchison county, Kansas. Her father was a native of
Iowa, and her mother of Missouri. To Mr. and Mrs. Glattfelder have been
born six children: Leona, Ellsworth, Harold, Kennith, Lucile, all living
at home. One child, Henry, is deceased. Mr. Glattfelder is an
independent voter. He attends church but does not profess any creed. He
is a practical farmer and is a liberal giver to all movements for the
benefit of the community. Never has Mr. Glattfelder allowed his selfish
interests to stand in the way of the community’s progress and he has
proven himself a patriotic citizen of the commonwealth.
THOMAS W. TUCKER.
Thomas W. Tucker, live stock dealer, Effingham, Kan., is a native of
Atchison county, and has lived all of his life in Benton township. He
was born on a farm three and one-half miles northeast of Effingham,
November 27, 1872. His parents were J. Martin and Polly (Cummings)
Tucker, both of whom were born in Crawford county, Indiana. J. M. Tucker
was the son of Sloan Tucker, also a native of Indiana, who emigrated to
Kansas in 1860. When he attained young manhood the father of Thomas W.
rented land for a few years in Doniphan county, and then bought a farm
in Atchison county. He prospered and became the owner of two farms in
Benton township, aggregating 280 acres. When old age came he and Mrs.
Tucker retired to a home in Effingham, where they spent the remainder of
their days in peace and comfort. J. M. Tucker was born in 1831 and died
in 1896, and his wife was born in 1838 and died in October, 1910. Mr.
Tucker served in the Kansas State militia during the Civil war. The
following children survive J. Martin and Polly Tucker: John R., a farmer
living west of Effingham; Mrs. C. C. Anderson, of Atchison, Kan.; Thomas
W.; Albert, a resident of Atchison.
Thomas W. Tucker attended the Maple Grove school when a boy and lived on
the home farm, assisting in its operation, until he attained the age of
twenty-two years. In 1894 he engaged in the livery business in Effingham
and continued operating the same until 1898, when he sold out and spent
one year cultivating the home farm. After his marriage in 1898, he
removed to the Noffsinger farm, east of Effingham, and managed it for
six years, returning to Effingham in 1905. While on the farm he became
interested in the buying and selling of live stock, and since taking up
a permanent residence in Effingham, he has devoted his entire time and
attention to this business with signal success. His live stock dealings
embrace the purchase and shipment of over seventy-five carloads of stock
yearly, which is no inconsiderable item and involves transactions
requiring capital of several thousands of dollars. He is also interested
in real estate and farm lands and has made several profitable deals in
this line. Mr. Tucker owns one of the best residences in Effingham and
is the owner of some town lots.
He was married in 1898 to Miss Maude Noffsinger, who was born and reared
on a farm, four miles southeast of Effingham, a daughter of Peter and
Margaret Noffsinger, residing on their home place, east of Effingham.
Both Peter and Margaret Noffsinger are deceased, Mrs. Noffsinger dying
in September, 1915. Mr. and Mrs. T. W. Tucker are the parents of two
children: Ramona, aged fifteen years, and Maurice, aged eleven.
Mr. Tucker is a Republican in politics and is prominent in the affairs
of his party, at present being the central committeeman of the Effingham
precinct, being a part of the county organization. He and his family are
members of the Christian church. He is fraternally affiliated with the
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks, the Modern Woodmen, and the Knights and Ladies of Security.
J. F. FLYNN.
J. F. Flynn, farmer, resides on the old Flynn homestead in Mt. Pleasant
township, Atchison county, of which he is the owner and upon which his
father settled in March. 1855. Mr. Flynn was born on this farm, October
8, 1855, and has lived all of his sixty years of life on the place.
During this time he has simply grown up with Atchison county, and his
earliest recollections were of the vast stretches of prairie in Atchison
county, which were awaiting the homesteaders and settlers who have since
transformed the unpeopled wilderness into a land of homes and plenty.
His father was Jeremiah Flynn, who was born in County Cork, Ireland, and
left his native land when a young man and immigrated to America,
locating after a time in Kentucky, where he met Julia Sullivan, who was
born in his own native county in Ireland. The acquaintance ripened into
love and culminated in their marriage at Frankfort, Ky., September 24,
1854. In March, 1855, they came to Kansas and settled on a tract of part
prairie and part timber in Mt. Pleasant township where both lived and
died.
J. F. Flynn was the first born of ten children of Jeremiah and Julia
Flynn. He received a common school education, supplemented with a course
in bookkeeping at St. Patrick’s common school, district No. 14, after
which he settled down to farming the home place, coming into possession
of the homestead by inheritance and purchase after his father’s demise.
For several years he was a successful fruit grower, but of late has
devoted all of his time and activities to general farming.
Mr. Flynn was married March 31, 1880, to Mary Desmond, of Missouri, and
to this union have been born five children: Kathrine, wife of John
Begley, of Kansas City, Kan.; John E., at home, assisting his father in
the farm work; Joseph J., in Kansas City, Mo.; Julia and Mary, at home
with their parents.
Mr. Flynn is a Democrat in national politics, but is inclined to be an
independent voter who votes for the best man who seems qualified for the
office regardless of his political affiliations. He and all of his
family are members of the Catholic church, which was the faith of his
parents.
ERNEST C. HAZEL.
Industry and effort are generally rewarded. The successful man is
usually found filling the niche for which he was designed. It affords
some satisfaction to chronicle the facts in the life of a self-made man
who has won an enviable place in the commercial and manufacturing life
in his home city. Ernest C. Hazel, vice-president and general manager of
the Lockwood-Hazel Printing and Stationery Company, of Atchison, has
achieved his position by industrious application of talents which have
enabled him to rise above the mediocre and general station of the
average man. Considerable credit is due him for having been a potent
factor in building up the extensive business which his firm enjoys.
[Illustration:
_Ernest C. Hazel_
]
The Lockwood-Hazel Printing and Stationery Company was established in
1912. It originated as the Trade Printing Company in 1903. This was a
small concern but grew constantly until the business reached its present
proportions. The business is housed in the handsome new Masonic Temple
on Fifth and Kansas avenues, and occupies the first floor and basement
of the building. The arrangements and equipment are the most modern
which can be obtained and are especially adapted for a high grade
quality of printing which this firm turns out. The greatest progress of
the firm has been made since its organization as the Lockwood-Hazel Co.,
in 1912. The firm is composed of C. A. Lockwood, president and
treasurer, and E. C. Hazel, secretary and general manager. The firm
manufactures blank books and does general printing of the highest grade.
The line of printing includes county and bank supplies, loose leaf
systems, and embossed stationery. They supply leading banks with their
outfits and deal extensively in wood and steel office furniture and
equipments, and also vault accessories. C. A. Rowe is manager of the
sales department which employs three traveling salesmen and the firm
conducts a large mail order business in eight states. So excellent is
the product turned out and so fair is the treatment accorded a patron
that a first order supplied by this enterprising establishment leads to
constant repetitions from the purchaser when in need of supplies of the
character furnished.
Ernest C. Hazel was born March 30, 1875 in Newman, Ill. His parents were
Thomas and Lydia (Kinney) Hazel, natives of Virginia and Ohio,
respectively. Thomas Hazel was born in Page county, Virginia, a son of
Richard and Elizabeth Hazel. He was a veteran of the Union army, and
served his country faithfully during the Civil war in Company E, of the
Twelfth regiment, Illinois infantry. He served for two years under
General Grant and was under General Sherman’s command for two years and
six months. His first engagements were at Ft. Henry and Ft. Donelson. He
fought in the battles of the Wilderness, Lookout Mountain, Mission
Ridge, Siege of Vicksburg, and was with Sherman on his victorious march
from Atlanta to the sea. He enlisted at Springfield, Ill., at the first
call for volunteers and served until the end of the war. To the end of
his days he was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. A brother,
John, also fought in the Union army and like many other southern
families it was a house divided against itself and three brothers,
Richard, Benjamin and William, fought on the side of the confederacy.
Lydia Hazel was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, and was the daughter of
Thomas C. and Levina Kinney.
In 1876 the family emigrated from Newman, Ill., and settled on a farm
near Pawnee Rock, Kan., which the father had homesteaded. After spending
some years in developing the farm Thomas Hazel removed to Missouri, from
where he came to Atchison in the year 1888. Here he lived a retired
life, dying November 19, 1904, at the age of sixty-seven years. Mrs.
Lydia Hazel resides with her daughter in Leavenworth, Kan. The Hazels
are descendants from a fine old Virginian family and their ancestry
traces back to the colonial days.
To Lydia and Thomas Hazel were born six children, as follows: Mrs.
Elnora Allen, of Atchison; Mrs. Ida Stucker, of Leavenworth; Marion
Hazel, of Leavenworth; Ernest C. Hazel, of Atchison. Two children died
in infancy.
Ernest C. Hazel was educated in the public schools of Atchison and
learned the trade of bookbinding with Mr. Caldwell, beginning at the age
of fourteen years. After serving an apprenticeship of three years, he
was employed by the Haskell Show Printing Company. This concern was
succeeded by the Home Printing Company, and he was employed by them
until 1901. For a period of two years he was a traveling salesman for
the Western Paper Company. In 1903 he entered the employ of the Trade
Printing Company, which was succeeded by the present firm in 1912. He
purchased an interest in the firm in 1908.
The married life of Mr. Hazel has been a happy one, and has been in
keeping with his success in the business world. He was married March 30,
1897, to Mary Elizabeth Semple, of Atchison, a daughter of Andrew and
Jennie Semple, both of whom were natives of Glasgow, Scotland. Andrew
Semple was one of the pioneer contractors of Atchison. His last contract
was the Atchison county court house. Mr. Semple is deceased and his
widow still resides in Atchison.
To Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Hazel have been born five children, namely:
Ernest C., Jr., seventeen years of age, and a student of Midland
College; Robert R., fourteen years of age, and also a student at Midland
College; Constance Marie, who died in infancy; Kenneth C., nine years of
age, a pupil in the public schools, and Neola Christine, aged five
years.
Mr. Hazel finds time in the midst of his busy life to give considerable
attention to civil and social affairs and is an active member of the
Christian church of Atchison, in which thriving religious institution he
and his wife are warmly appreciated for their good qualities. He is a
Republican in politics, and is fraternally affiliated with the Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and the
Fraternal Aid Union, and also the United Commercial Travelers.
Pronounced ability, combined with an engaging personality, have won him
this high place in his home city.
ALEXANDER H. CALVERT.
Alexander H. Calvert, lumber and grain dealer, Muscotah, Kan., was born
on his father’s farm in Platte county, Missouri. He is a son of Warren
Calvert, a native of Kentucky, whose ancestors were among the earliest
settlers in America. It is a matter of tradition that he was a
descendant of the original Lord Baltimore, or Cecil Calvert, who founded
the State of Maryland, in the seventeenth century. The father of Warren
Calvert was a pioneer settler in Kentucky and was the owner of a large
plantation. Warren Calvert was born in 1815 and died in 1875. With his
wife, Lucy Calvert, he migrated from Kentucky, accompanied by his
retinue of slaves, to form a part of the Kentucky colony which settled
Platte county, Missouri, in 1835. He was one of the original settlers in
Platte county, and operated a large tract of land. He and his wife,
Lucy, reared a family of nine children, namely: Presley Hawkins, a
retired farmer of Muscotah; James Harvey, deceased banker of Muscotah,
who was a soldier in the Confederate army; Mrs. Anne May Buford,
deceased; John Hawkins, who died on his farm near Arrington in 1910;
Ambrose Owens, living in California, near Los Angeles; Mrs. Ella (Burt)
Jackson, died in 1903.
A. H. Calvert came to Kansas in the spring of 1878 and settled on a farm
south of Muscotah in Atchison county. Three brothers came at this time,
Presley H., James H. and himself. For a number of years Mr. Calvert
rented land in Kapioma township and then purchased the farm of 220
acres, which he owns. He rented land for over fifteen years and then
began to buy land. His first farm of 135 acres was purchased in 1903,
and he has continued to invest heavily in farm lands in the vicinity of
Muscotah until he is now the owner of 700 acres, besides a small tract
in Leavenworth county, Kansas.
Mr. Calvert resided on his farm until 1897 and then removed to Muscotah
where he engaged in the lumber business under the firm name of Calvert &
Sharp. This partnership continued until 1902 when he purchased his
partner’s interest in the business, which he has since operated. In
November of 1905 he formed a partnership with M. E. Bevin, of Muscotah,
and they purchased the grain elevator and engaged in the buying and
shipping of grain. This firm also does an extensive live stock business,
buying and shipping several carloads of live stock during each year. In
addition to his extensive business affairs, Mr. Calvert is a stockholder
in the Muscotah State Bank.
His first marriage was with Miss Nora Rice in 1881. Two children (twins)
were born of this union, namely: Ella, wife of Will Warren, of Muscotah,
who served for seventeen years as assistant cashier of the Muscotah
State Bank; Alma, a highly educated lady who studied in the Camden Point
Young Ladies’ Seminary, the Emporia Normal College, and received her
degree of Bachelor of Arts from Washburn College, at Topeka, now a
teacher of mathematics in the Atchison city high school. The mother of
these children was a daughter of D. Rice, a native of Illinois, and a
pioneer settler of Atchison county. She died in 1883, at the age of
twenty-six years. In 1889 Mr. Calvert was united in marriage with Miss
Hattie Burt, of Platte county, Missouri, a daughter of John Burt, who
came from Indiana to Platte county. Three children have been born to
this marriage: George, conducting a garage at Effingham, Kan.;
Marguerite, aged twenty-one years, a teacher, at present studying in
Washburn College; Charles Cecil, aged fifteen years, a student in the
Atchison County High School.
Mr. Calvert is an old-line Democrat and takes considerable interest in
local and county political matters. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen
and the Knights and Ladies of Security. A man of good education and
attainments, he has succeeded in making his own way in the world and has
risen from comparative poverty to become one of the substantial and best
known citizens of the county.
JOHN STODDARD.
John Stoddard, a late resident of Muscotah, was born in Allegheny
county, Pennsylvania, in 1833, and departed this life February 18, 1901.
He was the son of Robert and Margaret (Jordan) Stoddard. On the Stoddard
side of the family the lineage is Scotch-Irish. John Stoddard grew to
young manhood on the Pennsylvania farm, and received a good common
school education in his youth. When twenty years of age, fired by the
stories of the riches being obtained in the gold fields of California,
he boarded a vessel in New York harbor. It carried him to Aspenwall, on
the east coast of the Isthmus, which he crossed on mule back. He then
boarded the vessel, “Golden Rule,” which carried him to San Francisco,
Cal., from which city he journeyed to Sacramento, where he equipped
himself with a prospecting outfit, and for ten years followed the trail
of the elusive metal. He spent this time in various mining campaigns and
prospecting for gold. He returned home by re-tracing the same route
which he had traveled on his way to California, and arrived in
Pennsylvania, not rich, but with considerable gold in his possession,
and the remembrances of a wonderful experience.
Soon after his return to his Pennsylvania home he removed to Iowa and
purchased a farm, and was married there in 1869, after which he lived
five years on his first farm in Iowa, and then moved to another farm, on
which he resided for seven years. In 1881 he came to Muscotah, Kan., and
invested in 320 acres of land near that city. Mr. Stoddard looked after
his farming interests and lived a retired life while in Muscotah, and
died there in 1901. Mr. Stoddard was married October 20, 1869, to Miss
Martha Piggott, a native of Harrison county, Ohio, and a daughter of
Israel and Liddie (Goodwin) Piggott, the former a native of Belmont
county, Ohio, and the latter a native of Westchester, Pa. The Piggott
family originally came from Virginia, where the founder of the family in
America settled in early colonial days. Israel P. was an early settler
in Iowa. To Mr. and Mrs. Stoddard were born four children: Grace, the
wife of Dr. J. O. Ward, Horton, Kan,; Guy, a railway mail clerk, Los
Angeles, Cal.; Alice V., the wife of J. C. Thurman, Los Angeles, Cal.;
Eva, wife of Carl Young, of Kansas City. Guy Stoddard, the son, who is
located at Los Angeles, Cal., is a bright young man of more than
ordinary ability. After completing the course of study in the public
schools of Muscotah, he graduated from the Atchison County High School
at Effingham. Later, he attended college for a while. After completing
his education he became the owner and editor of the _Muscotah Record_.
The newspaper gained a wide prestige and was prosperous. After his
marriage to Miss Pearl Knox, of Muscotah, he and his wife removed to Los
Angeles, where he became a member of the reportorial staff of the _Los
Angeles Times_. He later entered the United States railway mail service
at Los Angeles. John Stoddard, the subject of this review, was a
Democrat during the latter years of his life, and served two terms as
mayor of Muscotah. Mrs. Stoddard is a member of the Congregational
church of Muscotah, and spends a portion of her time each year in
California.
AARON B. EVANS.
Aaron B. Evans, pioneer auctioneer and livery proprietor, of Muscotah,
Atchison county, was born April 16, 1857, in Union county, Tennessee, He
was a son of George W. and Orlena (Wolfenbarger) Evans. His mother was a
native of Granger county, Tennessee, and was of German extraction.
George W. Evans, the father, was the owner of a large farm on the south
side of Clinch river, in Union county, Tennessee, just opposite the old
home of the Vansell family. A. B. Evans and M. C. Vansell, of
Grasshopper township, were boys and play-mates together in Tennessee,
and are first cousins. Like most boys living in the South, during that
period, and in the time of the Civil war, their early education was
sadly neglected. In fact, during the war the school system of Tennessee
was entirely destroyed. When Aaron B. Evans was twenty years of age he
left home and came direct to Kansas. He had no means wherewith to pay
his transportation, and borrowed sufficient money from a neighbor to pay
his railroad fare to Atchison. When he arrived at Atchison he had no
money with which to pay for a meal or hotel accommodation. He and M. C.
Vansell, who accompanied him on the trip, walked from Atchison to
Kennekuk, where they stopped at the home of their uncle, M. C. Willis,
for a few days.
Mr. Evans’ first employment in Kansas was on the farm of Dave Moore,
located three and one-half miles northeast of Kennekuk, in Atchison
county. He worked for various farmers in the county until he saved
sufficient money to buy his first farm. For two years previous to his
marriage, in 1881, he was in the employ of George Storch, who at that
time was engaged in the general mercantile business at Muscotah, Kan. In
1881 Mr. Evans moved to a farm three miles northeast of Kennekuk, where
he resided for three years, and was very successful in his farming
operations. He then bought ninety-six acres of land near Kennekuk, which
he cultivated for two years, when he sold it at a good profit. After
selling his first farm he moved to a rented farm west of Muscotah, which
he operated for one year, and invested in partnership with M. C.
Vansell, and divided the land in a quarter section of raw prairie land,
three miles northwest of Muscotah. He erected improvements on this farm
and resided upon it for eighteen years. He sold his farm in 1901, and in
May of the same year invested in a livery barn, and also entered upon
his career of auctioneer, which he has followed since that time with
considerable success. Mr. Evans also maintains a breeding stable, for
the equipment of which he went to Lexington, Ky., in 1906 and purchased
the best jack to be had in the Lexington market, and shipped him to
Muscotah. This animal is the first high class jack ever brought to this
section of Kansas. During this same year Mr. Evans also bought a pure
bred black Percheron stallion, which he lost during the first year of
his ownership. At the present time the Evans barn stands two high class
jacks and one pure bred grey Percheron stallion.
On January 27, 1881, Mr. Evans was united in marriage with Recy
Tannyhill, who was born in Marion county, Ohio, a daughter of William
and Nancy Tannyhill, both of whom were natives of the Buckeye State, and
emigrated to Kansas when Mrs. Evans was but eight years of age, and
settled on a farm in Grasshopper township, Atchison county. Mr. and Mrs.
Evans are the parents of seven children: Elizabeth, the wife of J. L.
Morgan, St. Joseph, Mo.; William George, a farmer, Grasshopper township;
Fred, who is associated with his father in the livery business; Orlena,
the wife of Bert Annis, Chicago, Ill.; Nannie, living in Des Moines,
Iowa; Nora, St. Joseph, Mo., and Frank, at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Evans are members of the Christian Advent church of
Muscotah. He is a stanch and true Republican of the uncompromising
variety, and has been one of the political leaders of his section of
Atchison county for many years, serving as delegate several times to the
Republican county conventions. He has always been an advocate of
educational advancement, and has offered his children every opportunity
to acquire a good common school education. He was one of the pioneers in
the auctioneering profession in Atchison county, and was the second man
to enter the business of crying sales.
RALPH A. ALLISON.
Ralph A. Allison, the capable, efficient and obliging cashier of the
Muscotah State Bank, was born and reared in the town where he resides.
He was born July 1, 1889, at Muscotah, Kan., a son of Webster C. and
Irene (Alexander) Allison, the former a native of Illinois, and the
latter of Wisconsin. Webster C. Allison was born in 1861 on his father’s
farm in Illinois, and was the son of John Allison, who was born and
reared in Pennsylvania, and immigrated to Illinois in the pioneer days
of that State. Webster C. Allison attended the district schools of his
native State, and assisted his father on the home farm until he was
eighteen years of age. He then came to Kansas, where his first
employment was on a farm west of Muscotah, owned and operated by A. B.
Harvey. He worked for Mr. Harvey for one year, and then went to Jackson
county, Kan., where he broke up and developed a tract of prairie land
which he purchased. He improved his farm and cultivated it with profit
until 1888, when he came to Muscotah and established a hardware store
which he conducted successfully for twenty-five years. In 1913 Mr.
Allison disposed of his interests in Muscotah, and removed to Horton,
Kan., where he is now conducting a hardware and implement business.
To Webster C. and Irene Allison were born the following children: Lola,
wife of Luther Cortelyou, assistant cashier of the First National Bank
of Parsons, Kan.; Minnie, wife of Charles Hail, an oil operator, LeRoy,
Kan.; Jennie, wife of William McClennon, Owasa, Iowa; Ralph A., with
whom this review is directly concerned. Ralph A. received his primary
education in the public schools of Muscotah, after which he completed a
course in the Atchison County High School at Effingham, from which
institution he graduated in 1907. For one year following his graduation
he served as stenographer for a wholesale fruit company, and then
entered his father’s hardware store in Muscotah, where he remained until
the stock was sold in 1913. In 1914 be became manager of the Farmers
Elevator Company of Muscotah. He became cashier of the Muscotah State
Bank July 1, 1914, and is filling this responsible position to the
satisfaction of the bank patrons, and in a manner which reflects credit
upon himself and the bank’s officials and stockholders. Mr. Allison was
married in April, 1912, to Miss Ella Ellson, who was born in Muscotah, a
daughter of Charles Ellson, proprietor of the local meat market. Mr. and
Mrs. R. A. Allison are the parents of one daughter, Priscilla, born
April 17, 1913.
Mr. Allison is a Republican in politics, and is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church. He is affiliated with the Ancient Free and
Accepted Masons and the Modern Woodmen of America.
FRED SUTTER.
Fred Sutter, president of the Farmers and Merchants State Bank of
Effingham, is a native son of Atchison county and prominently identified
with the affairs of his county. Mr. Sutter is rightly considered as one
of the real leaders of the county, and it can be said of him that he has
met with unusual success in anything which he has undertaken. To him and
his influence, more than any other individual, the farmers of the county
are indebted for the inauguration of a skilled county farm expert.
Kindred things of this character in behalf of the welfare of the county
have been Mr. Sutter’s hobby for several years past.
[Illustration:
_Fred Sutter_
]
[Illustration:
_Mrs. Fred Sutter_
]
[Illustration:
Fred Sutter’s Residence.
]
Fred Sutter was born July 20, 1869, on a pioneer farm in Walnut
township, and is a son of Fred Sutter, who was born in Bath, Germany, in
1827, and immigrated to America about 1844, and died in Atchison county
in September of 1887. Fred Sutter, Sr., landed at New York City and made
his way from there to St. Louis, Mo., where he married Fredericka
Miller, who was born at Bath, Germany, September 23, 1837. She died in
Atchison county September 10, 1914. The elder Sutter had learned the
trade of carpenter in his youth and he plied his trade in St. Louis
until 1857, when he came up the Missouri river by steamer to old Sumner,
then in the heyday of its brief glory and prosperity. He found plenty to
occupy his talents at Sumner and helped to build a great many of the
first houses there. It might be well to add here, however, that the
first home of the family in Kansas was at old Port William, where one or
two of the children were born. From Port William the family removed to
Sumner, and in the course of time Fred Sutter, Sr., made his home on a
farm in the northwestern part of Walnut township, near the Mt. Pleasant
and Walnut line. The family lived there until the spring of 1880, during
which time he worked at his trade. In 1880 he moved to Benton township,
and for the first seven years of his residence there he rented the A. G.
Otis farm, about two miles west of Effingham and then purchased the
farm. The next investment was made by his sons in the Osborn tract of
480 acres of school land. Two years after buying this an additional
quarter section was added, making 640 acres in all, which was owned by
this enterprising family. During all these years in which he was
accumulating valuable farm lands, the elder Sutter had the assistance of
his sons, and the greater part of the estate is still tilled and owned
by the children of this pioneer. Fred Sutter, Sr., came to this country
a poor man and worked in a planing mill and furniture factory at St.
Louis until he heard of the opening of the Kansas territory, when he
determined to be one of the first to settle in the new State. He was
farseeing, and by the practice of rigid economy and the better plan of
holding his family together, was able to leave a considerable estate at
his demise. He was an honored and respected member of the community and
was well known throughout the county. The children born to Frederick and
Fredericka Sutter were as follows: Kate, deceased wife of H. W. Barkow,
of the Kessler-Barkow Saddlery Company, of Atchison; Mrs. Augusta
McAdam, of Effingham; Fannie, housekeeper for her brother, William, who
resides on the old home place; Mrs. Anna Shannon, of Effingham; Carl F.,
of Kipp, Kan.; William and Fred, and Frank, on a farm one-half mile west
of Effingham.
Fred Sutter, with whom this review is directly concerned, received his
education in the district schools, and for three years after his
father’s death lived on the home place, or until 1890. He settled on
part of the family estate, consisting of 640 acres held jointly by the
Sutter sons, improving the property until his removal to Effingham,
where he resided for three years, and then purchased his present farm,
which is just at the edge of Effingham. He has 160 acres of fine land
within sight of the town upon which he has erected (in 1909) one of the
handsomest, modern ten-room farm houses in the county. He also built a
new barn, 40×40 feet, which is in keeping with the rest of his farm
property.
Mr. Sutter was married May 20, 1908, to Sarah, daughter of Robert
McPhilimy, and to this union have been born the following children:
Mabel, aged five years, and Geneva, aged three years. He has been
connected with the Farmers and Merchants State Bank since 1905 and was
elected president of this thriving financial institution in 1906. Mr.
Sutter is a Republican and is one of the wheel horses of the party in
Atchison county. He was appointed a member of the Atchison County High
School board in September of 1913, reëlected to the office in the fall
of 1914 and is now serving as treasurer of this board. He is a member
and trustee of the Presbyterian church of Effingham and is a liberal
contributor to the support of this religious denomination. He is
affiliated fraternally with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the
Benevolent and Protected Order of Elks of Atchison, and the Central
Protective Association, being one of the original members of Effingham
Lodge, No. 158, Central Protective Association, and has been its
treasurer for the past four years.
While Mr. Sutter is connected with the Presbyterian church of Effingham,
his ideal of a church for a small town is the community church which can
be used by the entire population of the town for public and social
purposes. To this end he was the prime mover in the erection of the
handsome Presbyterian church building in Effingham, at a cost of
$14,000, which was dedicated in June, 1913. This church building is used
for many public purposes and has been a decided benefit to Effingham in
many ways. Mr. Sutter started the movement for the building of this
church and headed the subscription list, never desisting in his work
until the church was erected and dedicated. Another monument to his
enterprise is the farmers’ institute, with which he was connected for
five years and assisted materially in organizing. His energy and
influence kept the institute going in fine shape for the five years with
which he was connected with the movement. Mr. Sutter has a likable
personality and is one of the forceful and influential men of Atchison
county.
EDMOND W. ALLEN.
Edmond W. Allen, merchant, of Muscotah, Kan., is a leading and
successful retailer of his city, and one of the hustling citizens of
Muscotah. The grocery and meat market of which Mr. Allen is proprietor
was first established by Jacob P. Sprang, with whom Mr. Allen became a
partner in 1902. He became the sole owner of the business in 1910.
Allen’s store is nicely located in one of the large business rooms,
80×25 feet in extent, on the main street of Muscotah, supplemented with
an ice house and a ware house for feed and flour. In addition to
conducting the grocery and meat market, Mr. Allen is a retailer of ice
and conducts a produce exchange, which enabled him to ship eggs and
poultry in considerable quantity to distant markets.
Edmond W. Allen was born January 29, 1868, on a farm adjoining the
present county farm on the northwest corner, consisting of eighty acres,
in Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison county. He was the son of M. L.
Dunlap and Amanda (Walker) Allen, natives of Kentucky. Amanda (Walker)
Allen was the daughter of Philip Walker, who immigrated to Kansas from
Kentucky, settled on the prairies of Atchison county, but later moved to
Missouri. M. L. Dunlap Allen moved from Kentucky to Missouri, and came
from that State to Atchison county, Kansas, in 1863. He purchased the
farm of 130 acres on which he erected a small house, built out of native
sawed lumber. In this house of two rooms several of his children were
born, and as the family increased in size, he added four rooms to the
residence. He was born in 1830, and died in March, 1886. He was the
father of eight children, as follows: Mrs. Francis J. Bucknum, of
Oklahoma City; Emily, deceased; William H., living at Saugatuck, Mich.;
Robert M., former traveling salesman, who died at Holdredge, Neb., in
1913; Edmond W., the subject of this review; Mrs. Etta M. Hubbard,
living in Michigan; Mrs. Addie Myrtle Latta, of Oklahoma City, and
Dudley M., deceased. The mother of these children died in 1881. The
senior Allen was again married in 1883 to Ruth Robinson, who now resides
in Wyandotte county, near the town of Piper. One child, Ethel, was born
of this marriage.
Edmond W. Allen was reared on the pioneer farm of his father’s, near
Atchison, Kan., and received his primary education in the district
schools of his neighborhood, and completed his schooling at Beloit, Kan.
When his father died, in 1886, William H. Allen, the oldest son, was
appointed administrator of the estate, and guardian of the minor
children. He removed all of them to his home at Beloit, where he was
engaged in the implement business. This was done in order that William
might properly care for the younger children and look after their
education. Edmond W., after finishing his schooling, was employed for
two years in his brother’s store at Beloit, following which he worked
for one year in a grocery store and meat market in Kansas City, Kan.,
owned by Robert Robinson. His brother, William H., in the meantime, sold
out his stock in Beloit and removed to Hoxie, Kan., and was employed in
a bank for a year and one-half. Financial disaster overtook the bank,
and he then spent one year in Kansas City, Kan., after which, in 1891,
he went to western Nebraska and entered the employ of Harris Bros., a
firm of grain dealers with headquarters in Lincoln, Neb. Mr. Allen was
located in the town of Stamford, Lebanon, and Republican City, Neb., in
the employ of Harris Bros. and was then transferred to the main office
of the firm of Lincoln, Neb., where he remained until 1893. From 1893 to
1895, he was in the employ of Hathaway & Williams, fire insurance
agents, of Lincoln, and when this firm sold out he traveled for a period
of six months in the interests of an Omaha fire insurance company. After
his marriage, in 1895, he resided in Michigan for one year, and in 1896
he again entered the employ of the Harris Bros. Grain Company, which
firm was later incorporated as the Central Granaries, a very rich
corporation. He remained with this concern until 1898, when he entered
the employ of the McCormick Harvester Company as bookkeeper, with
headquarters at Lincoln, Neb. He was in the employ of the McCormick
people until 1903. In the meantime he had formed a partnership with his
father-in-law, Jacob P. Sprang, in the grocery and meat market business
in Muscotah, where Mr. Allen has resided permanently since 1903.
Edmond W. Allen was married in 1895 to Miss Lucie Sprang, and their
children are as follows: Una L., born in 1896, and is a senior in the
fine arts and music department of Kansas University. Miss Una is a
teacher of piano and violin, and has a large class of pupils. Mrs. Allen
was born on a farm in Benton township, Atchison county, five miles south
of Effingham, and is a daughter of Jacob P. Sprang, who built up a fine
farm in Atchison county, and established the business which is now owned
by Mr. Allen. While Mr. Allen is a Republican, he votes independently on
local and county matters. He was formerly a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, but since coming to Muscotah has united with the
Congregational church of this place. He is a member of the Knights and
Ladies of Security.
LUTHER CORTELYOU.
For a citizen of a small Kansas city to achieve State-wide prominence,
and to become the official head of the body of mercantile men with whom
he became affiliated during a long and successful career, is somewhat
out of the ordinary, and is decided evidence that the recipient of such
honors has received them solely because of pronounced ability of a high
order. For several years, Luther Cortelyou, farmer, grain merchant, and
banker, of Muscotah, Kan., was the recognized leader among the grain men
of Kansas, attaining to his position by virtue of executive ability and
powers of leadership. He is one of the first and best known citizens of
Muscotah and Atchison county, who for more than twenty-seven years has
been active in civic affairs in the county.
Luther Cortelyou was born December 23, 1851, in Somerset county, New
Jersey, and is a son of James G. and Cornelia (Polhemus) Cortelyou.
James Garretson Cortelyou, the father, was the son of Abraham Cortelyou,
who was descended from French Hugenot colonists, who first settled on
Long Island in 1624. The original ancestor of the family fled from
France to a safe refuge in Holland during the persecution of the
Huguenots in France. Jaques Cortelyou was the founder of the family in
America and was prominent in the affairs of the colony on Long Island.
His son, Peter, was a governor of the borough in which is now located
Brooklyn. The descendants of Jaques Cortelyou figured in Revolutionary
history.
James G. was reared in New Jersey, and there married Cornelia, a
daughter of C. Polhemus, also of an old Holland family. He was the
father of three children: John Gardner, deceased; Luther, of this
review; and Peter J., now deceased, formerly a resident of Corning,
Nemaha county, Kansas. The father died in Middlesex county, New Jersey.
Luther Cortelyou was reared to young manhood on his father’s farm, and
received his primary education in the public schools of Somerset county,
New Jersey. He received his academic education in Rutgers College, a
Dutch Reformed college, at New Brunswick, N. J., and then attended
Eastman’s Business College, at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. After his marriage he
removed to Maryland, where he lived on a farm which he purchased and
cultivated for twelve years. In 1889 Mr. Cortelyou sold his Maryland
property and came to Kansas and located in Muscotah, Atchison county. He
invested his capital in the M. J. Walsh grain elevator, and for eighteen
years was engaged in the buying and shipping of grain. He extended his
operations, and owned an elevator at Corning, Kan., which he sold in
1909. Mr. Cortelyou amassed a considerable competence during the many
years in which he was engaged in the grain business, and became
prominent in mercantile circles in the State of Kansas. For seven years
he served as president of the Kansas Grain Dealers’ Association, and
gained a wide acquaintance among grain dealers throughout the State and
Nation. He served for one year as second vice-president of the National
Grain Dealers’ Association, and also filled the post of first vice-
president of the national body for one year. He disposed of his elevator
in Muscotah in 1907, and has since retired from active business pursuits
other than his farming and banking interests. Mr. Cortelyou is the owner
of a fine farm of 250 acres in Grasshopper township, and was one of the
organizers of the Farmers State Bank of Muscotah, of which thriving
institution he is the president.
Mr. Cortelyou was first married in New Jersey in 1876 to Miss Gertrude
Stelle, of Middlesex county, New Jersey, and this union was blessed with
four children, namely: Luther, Jr., assistant cashier of the First
National Bank at Parsons, Kan., married Miss Lola Allison, a daughter of
Webb Allison, of Nortonville, Kan.; Stelle, formerly an engineer in the
United States Government service, died in Panama of yellow fever, in
1905, at the age of twenty-two, having been the last victim to die from
yellow fever on the Isthmus; Peter J., postmaster of Muscotah; Frank
Morgan, born in 1886, a talented engineer, who was graduated from Kansas
University engineering department, and is connected with the engineering
firm of Waddell & Harrington, of Kansas City, Mo., and is now located in
Vancouver, Wash., in charge of the construction of an immense bridge
across the Columbia river, costing $1,750,000; this bridge connects
Vancouver, Wash., and Portland, Ore., and is a link in the Pacific
highway. It has twenty-nine steel-spans, and is over 17,200 feet in
length. The largest dredges and pile-driving machinery in the world are
required in its construction. The permanent roadway of this great
structure is thirty-five feet wide with sidewalks five feet in width.
Frank M. married Miss Marney Burney, of Green Forest, Ark. The mother of
these children was born March 19, 1856, in New Jersey, a daughter of
Peter and Sarah J. Stelle, and she departed this life February 5, 1905.
Mr. Cortelyou was again married to Mrs. Alice T. Calvert, widow of J. H.
Calvert, deceased merchant and banker of Muscotah, February 19, 1907.
The Democratic party has always had the allegiance of Mr. Cortelyou, and
he has been prominently identified with the affairs of his party in
Atchison county, and was the candidate of his party for county treasurer
in 1896. He is a warm admirer of President Wilson and a supporter of the
President’s policies. He was elected mayor of Muscotah in April, 1900,
and served one term, and also has served as a member of the school board
of Muscotah. Mr. Cortelyou is a member of the Congregational church of
Muscotah, to which denomination he has been a liberal contributor: he
assisted in the building of the church edifice, and has served as
trustee of the church for several years. For the past thirty years or
more he has been a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and
he also is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen.
WILLIAM S. HUBBARD.
Living in comfortable retirement in Muscotah is one of the pioneer
settlers of Atchison county, who fought the good fight with grasshoppers
and hot winds in the old days of hardships on the prairies over forty
years ago. William S. Hubbard is one of the fine old gentlemen of
Muscotah who came to Kansas a poor man, has reared a fine family of
prosperous sons and daughters, and achieved a competence sufficient to
support him in comfort during his declining years.
W. S. Hubbard was born March 10, 1839, on a farm near Cloverdale, Putnam
county, Indiana, a son of Asa and Melinda (Holland) Hubbard, natives of
Kentucky, who founded a pioneer home in the forests of Putnam county,
Indiana. Asa Hubbard, the father, died when William S. was a child, and
his mother married W. Davis. In 1844 the family moved to Illinois, where
the mother and stepfather died in later years. The Davis farm was
located in Henry county, Illinois. Here W. S. was reared to young
manhood, and knew very few luxuries in those early days of privation and
struggle. After a two years’ residence on a farm near Burlington, Iowa,
he decided to come farther west to find a home and fortune where lands
were cheap and opportunities seemed to be much better than in Illinois.
In 1874 he set out with his wife and five children to find a home in
Atchison county, Kansas. All of his worldly possessions consisted of a
team of horses, a cow, and twelve dollars in cash. His first year on a
rented farm in Grasshopper township was a disastrous one, and the
“hoppers” got his crops, even to a fine crop of cabbage, which he
harvested and tried to cover up by piling hay upon the cabbages to keep
the greedy “hoppers” from eating them. Sad to relate, the grasshoppers
burrowed down through the hay and ate the cabbage. The following year
was much better, Mr. Hubbard raising a fine crop of corn. During his
first year he raised a good flax crop which he sold for one dollar and
forty cents per bushel. He was eventually able to invest in 220 acres of
rich bottom land, bordering the Delaware river, at a cost of fifteen
dollars an acre. Mr. Hubbard had saved $800 to make the initial payment
on this tract, and in nine years succeeded in lifting the debt. During
the period in which he was paying off the indebtedness on his land he
was also paying interest on the money at the rate of ten per cent,
annually. He sold his first farm some years after this and invested in
the fine tract of seventy-two acres which he now owns. On June 12, 1913,
he and Mrs. Hubbard decided that they had worked long enough, and left
the farm for a home in Muscotah.
Mr. Hubbard was married January 29, 1861, to Miss Mary Ann Pence, a
native of Lycoming county, Pennsylvania. Six children have been born to
this worthy couple, namely: William Elsworth, a farmer, of Kapioma
township, Atchison county, and the owner of 160 acres of well improved
farm land; he married Mattie Roth, and they have six children: Lewis
Henry Hubbard, a farmer of this county, owner of 160 acres of land: he
married Ann Hinxton, and they have two children: Lillie Jane, wife of
Malcolm Connor, residing on a homestead in South Dakota, and they have
three children: Cora May, wife of Simeon Routh, Atchison county; they
have six children. The other children are deceased. All of Mr. and Mrs.
Hubbard’s children are prosperous and highly respected citizens of their
respective communities, and are a credit and comfort to their aged
parents, who are proud of the family. Mrs. Hubbard was born December 27,
1839.
Few people in Atchison county can point to a better record than Mr. and
Mrs. Hubbard, or can look back with greater satisfaction over long years
well spent in achieving a livelihood and rearing a fine family to
maturity. They came to Atchison county at a time when Indians still
roamed the prairies, and very little of the prairie land was improved.
Mr. Hubbard is an old-line Democrat, and, while he has taken an active
interest in political affairs in his township and county, he has never
been an aspirant for office, preferring to play the game for the pure
love and fun of it rather than to become an aspirant for political
honors. He and Mrs. Hubbard are members of the Second-Day Adventist
church of Muscotah.
O. O. BARKER, M. D.
O. O. Barker, M. D., is one of the younger members of the medical
profession in Atchison county, located at Muscotah, Kan. During the nine
years which he has been located in Muscotah, he has built up an
excellent practice in his profession, and has demonstrated that he has
an accurate knowledge of the art and science of medicine. Dr. Barker was
born March 30, 1885, in the town of True, Sumner county, West Virginia.
He is a son of J. Lee and Anna (Milburn) Barker, the former having been
born in 1860, and the latter in 1862, in Virginia. Both parents still
reside at True, W. Va. J. Lee Barker was a son of M. Calloway Barker,
also a native of Virginia, and a descendant of an old Virginia family.
The history of the Barker family dates back to the birth of Chaplain
Barker, of Liverpool, England, who was born in 1750, and immigrated to
Virginia in 1785. David Barker, a son of Chaplain Barker, distiller, in
Richmond, Va. William Barker, the son of David, was a tanner by trade,
and had three sons: William A., Joseph, and Isaac. Of these sons, Joseph
was killed by Indians; Isaac lives at Liberty, Va., and reared the
following children: James M. Calloway, Mary E., A. L., Thomas J.,
Francis, and Joseph G. Thomas J. Barker immigrated to Kansas and became
a wealthy citizen of Kansas City, where he died. M. Calloway Barker
lived at True, W. Va., and reared a family of twelve children: William
A., who died in the Confederate service during the Civil war; Mary E.,
deceased; R. J., residing in Kansas City, Kan.; J. W., deceased; Thomas
B., living near Hinton, W. Va.; James L., deceased; Dr. Joseph L.; J.
Lee, father of Dr. Barker; David M., of Parsons, Kan.: Francis I.;
Ollie, living at True, W. Va., and Maria, deceased. J. Lee Barker has
always been a farmer, and has made a success of his life’s vocation. He
is one of the prominent and well known citizens of his section of West
Virginia, and for several years has served as president of the school
board of True, W. Va. He has reared three children: Orus O., with whom
this review is directly concerned; Mrs. Grace M. Skaggs, Topeka, Kan.,
and Mrs. Nellie B. Deeds, of Hinton, W. Va.
Dr. Barker received his primary education in the public schools of his
native town in West Virginia, and then decided to take up the study of
medicine. He studied for two years in the medical department in the
University of Maryland, and completed his medical education in the
University of Louisville, Ky., from which institution he received his
degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1906. After his graduation he came to
Kansas, visited for a few months with an uncle in Kansas City, Kan., and
after passing an examination given by the state board of medical
examiners of Topeka, he opened an office at Muscotah, Kan., October 1,
1906. Dr. Barker is a member of the Northeast Kansas Medical Society,
the Kansas State Medical Association, and the Country Doctors’ Business
and Social Club. He endeavors at all times to keep abreast of the latest
advancement in medical science, and has built up an excellent practice
in Muscotah and the surrounding country. He was married June 2, 1906, to
Miss Ethel M. Morton, a daughter of G. W. Morton, of Columbus, Ohio. Dr.
Barker is a fraternal member of the Knights and Ladies of Security,
Modern Woodmen of America, and Mystic Workers of the World.
DR. CHARLES M. LUKENS.
Charles M. Lukens, dentist, Muscotah, Kan., is a fine type of
professional man who is self-made, and has achieved success in his
profession, which is gratifying and worthy of mention in a favorable
manner. Dr. Lukens was born June 28, 1872, in Harrison county, Ohio, and
is a son of William Ellis and Margaret (McLaughlin) Lukens, both of whom
were born and reared in Ohio. William Ellis Lukens was born in 1849, and
was a son of Moses Lukens, born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, in
1812, and was an uncompromising abolitionist. He was an early settler of
Harrison county, Ohio, where he conducted a station on the famous
“Underground Railway.” He lived to a great age, and it is a fact that
longevity is a characteristic of both the Lukens and the McLaughlin
families. The Lukens family was of Quaker origin, and the founder of the
family in America was one of the original followers of William Penn.
Another characteristic of the Lukens family is the fact that a brother
of William Ellis Lukens was a dentist, and Dr. Lukens has five cousins
who are practicing dentistry.
William Ellis Lukens migrated to Holt county, Missouri, in 1882, where
he resided for four years, and in 1886 he settled in Nemaha county. He
was one of the early pioneers in Nemaha county, and first engaged in the
live stock business at Corning, Kan., where he conducted a grain
elevator, and bought and shipped live stock. He has become well-to-do,
and is the owner of two large farms in Nemaha and Jackson counties. Mr.
and Mrs. Lukens now make their home on a farm in Jackson county, Kansas,
south of Netawaka. Their children are: Dr. C. M. Lukens, of Muscotah;
Chester W., a farmer, living south of Netawaka, and Kinney E., a farmer,
living in the northwest corner of Jackson county, Kansas. The mother of
these children was born in 1850.
Charles M. Lukens received his primary education in the public schools
of Corning, Kan., and then decided to work his way through college. His
ambition was to become a dentist, and for a period of five years he did
all kinds of honest labor in order to pay for his tuition and expenses
while attaining his collegiate education. He not only earned his way
through college, but saved money in the meantime. He followed farming
and railroad bridge work during this time, and eventually graduated from
the Western Dental College of Kansas City, Mo., on May 6, 1905. He
located in Muscotah, June 29, 1905, and has made a signal success in the
practice of his profession. Dr. Lukens also maintains an office at
Whiting, Kan., and divides his time between the two towns, Whiting and
Muscotah.
Dr. Lukens was married April 10, 1901, at Corning, Kan., to Miss Hallie
A. Graham, a daughter of Dr. J. W. Graham, of Wetmore, Kan. They have
one child, Graham St. Clair Lukens, born June 21, 1902. The Republican
party claims the allegiance of Dr. Lukens, and he has always been active
in political affairs in Atchison county, being one of the leaders and
“wheel-horses” of the party in the county. He is affiliated with the
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Muscotah, and the Fraternal Order of
Eagles of Horton, Kan., and is a member of the Modern Woodmen. Dr.
Lukens is possessed of a likable and generous personality, which enables
him to make friends easily, and to retain them for all time. He is a
good provider for his family, and is fast accumulating a comfortable
competence. He is a member in good standing of the Northeast Kansas
Dental Association.
JAMES M. TRIMBLE.
J. M. Trimble, deceased, was born September 10, 1843, in Buchanan
county, Missouri, a son of Benjamin F. Trimble, a native of Kentucky and
early pioneer settler of De Kalb, Mo., where he conducted a blacksmith
and wagon shop for a number of years, until his removal to Texas. After
living in Texas for some years, he finally located in Atchison county,
Kansas. James M. Trimble purchased a farm in this county and cultivated
it until 1905 and then removed to Atchison and engaged in the livery
business, continuing the same until his demise in January of 1910. The
first wife of James M. Trimble was Margaret McCreary, a daughter of
Solomon McCreary, a pioneer settler of Atchison county. To this first
marriage were born the following children: J. P. Trimble; A. F. Trimble;
K. S. Trimble; Ed. Henry; Roy C., sheriff of Atchison county, and T. O.
Trimble.
Mr. Trimble was married the second time, to Mrs. Emma A. (Hayden)
Gallup, widow of Frank Gallup, January 21, 1892. She is a daughter of
Levi and Martha Hayden, natives of Kentucky, and pioneer settlers of
Coffey county, Kansas. The Hayden family were settlers in Coffey county,
Kansas, at a time when the county was largely populated by Indians. At
one time, while a resident of this county, Levi Hayden and a number of
other settlers were hunting buffalo and were surrounded by hostile red-
men, who robbed the hunting party of their provisions and horses and
left the hunters on the plains destitute. A terrible snow storm came up,
and several of the party perished from cold and starvation, Mr. Hayden
being among the number lost. After his death his widow reared the family
of seven children with the exception of two sons and a daughter, Emma,
who went to reside with an uncle, John Hayden, in Iowa. This uncle was a
very prominent resident of Taylor county, Iowa, and served as county
clerk and county surveyor. He ran a survey line from his farm in Taylor
county, Iowa, to a place later named Hayden Junction, near Council
Bluffs. He was a school teacher and a man of more than ordinary ability
and reared his adopted children to become good citizens. Emma lived at
her uncle’s home until January 1, 1874, and while attending high school
at Bedford, Iowa, she met Frank Gallup, whom she married. Mr. Gallup
died August 11, 1888. To this union were born children as follows:
Nellie M., wife of Gale Trimble, of Atchison county; Jennie B. married
Edwin E. Buchanan, now deceased, and she lives in Atchison; Clara Maude,
wife of Ed. Trimble, residing near Seattle, Wash.; Samuel D., of
Atchison; Agnes Gertrude, wife of Blake Balaock, of Memphis, Tenn.
At the time of the marriage of Mr. Trimble and Mrs. Gallup, Mr. Trimble
was serving as superintendent of the Atchison county poor farm. They had
charge of this institution for over six years and then moved to Mr.
Trimble’s farm, which is now owned by John M. Price, in Mt. Pleasant
township. They resided on the farm until their removal to Atchison in
1905. After another short period of residence on the farm they finally
purchased the property which is the family home at 1206 South Seventh
street, Atchison. Mr. Trimble conducted a livery and horse trading
business in Atchison until his demise. He dealt extensively in horses
and cattle, and frequently conducted farm and real estate deals to
advantage.
James M. Trimble was a life-long Republican and took an active and
influential part in the affairs of his party. He was well and favorably
known throughout Atchison county. He and Mrs. Trimble were affiliated
with the Presbyterian church, and Mr. Trimble belonged to the Grand Army
of the Republic by virtue of having enlisted for service in a Kansas
regiment during the Civil war, at the time of the Price invasion. It can
be said of him that he was an honest, upright citizen, who cared well
for those who depended upon him and he was, according to those who knew
him best, a good man.
JOHN EDWARD SULLIVAN.
For fifty-five years John Edward Sullivan has resided in Atchison
county, Kansas, and can be readily classed with the old-timers of the
county. His parents came from Iowa to Kansas when he was but one year
old, and his father, with the assistance of his sons, Roger P. and John
Edward, was enabled to rise from poverty to become the owner of half a
section of land in Grasshopper township. The account of this family is
similar to that of several other prosperous Irish families in Atchison
county.
John E. Sullivan was born May 15, 1859, in Keokuk, Iowa, a son of
Michael and Bridget (Tobin) Sullivan, both of whom were born in Ireland.
Michael Sullivan was born in 1826 in Ireland, and lived in his native
land until he was twelve years of age, and then made his way, alone and
unaided, to America. His travels for seeking fortune in the new country
took him ever onward, and he was married in Keokuk, Iowa, to Bridget
Tobin, who was his faithful helpmeet when he was rising from poverty to
affluence. Mr. Sullivan came to Atchison, Kan., in 1860, and for some
time was engaged in the railroad contract work, and assisted in the
grading of the Central Branch railroad. With the money saved in his
railroad contract work he became the owner of a home in Atchison, which
he exchanged for eighty acres of land in Grasshopper township, upon
which he settled and soon developed into a fine farm. Mr. Sullivan, in
the course of a few years, was enabled to buy an additional quarter
section, and with the help of his sturdy sons, he increased his holdings
to 320 acres of well improved farm land. When old age crept upon Michael
Sullivan and his wife they turned the farm over to their two sons, who
cared for them in their declining years, which were spent in peace and
comfort. Mr. Sullivan died at the home of his son, John Edward, December
24, 1904. He was the father of three children: John Edward, the subject
of this review; Roger Patrick, a prosperous farmer of Benton township,
Atchison county, and Mary, deceased.
John Edward Sullivan attended the public schools of Atchison until he
was fourteen years of age, and after his parents removed to the farm in
Grasshopper township he remained at home and assisted his father on the
home farm until he was thirty years old. He then purchased his present
farm of 160 acres, made improvements upon it, and has brought the land
up to a high state of cultivation. Mr. Sullivan has his farm stocked
with well graded horses and cattle, and has frequently exhibited his
fine draft colts and mules at the county fairs, held at Effingham, Kan.
Mr. Sullivan was married in 1890 to Anna Small, and to this union were
born eight children, namely: Mary E., deceased: Anna, John, Lauretta,
Leo, and Lucy, all at home with their parents; Grace, deceased; one
child died in infancy. Mrs. Sullivan was born October 29, 1864, in
Ireland, a daughter of Patrick and Elizabeth (McVay) Small, who
immigrated to America, settling in Pennsylvania, and came to Atchison,
Kan., in 1879; they were engaged in farming for some years, and are now
living at Effingham, Kan. Mrs. Sullivan died November 23, 1906. She was
a well educated woman, being an accomplished musician and a teacher of
music. Mr. Sullivan is a stockholder and director of the Farmers State
Bank of Muscotah. He is not allied with any political parties, and casts
his vote independently at election time for the candidates of his
choice, who seem best fitted to perform the duties of the office sought.
He is a member of the Catholic church, and is fraternally allied with
the Knights of Columbus of Atchison.
RIENZI M. DUNLAP.
Rienzi M. Dunlap, editor and publisher of the _Muscotah Record_,
Muscotah, Kan., was born in Illinois, February 25, 1850. He is the son
of John M. and Nancy (Fletcher) Dunlap, the former a native of Maine,
and the latter a native of Illinois. John M. Dunlap was a descendant
from Scotch-Irish ancestry, who immigrated from North of Ireland to
America. His wife was of English descent, and a daughter of Kentucky
parents, who emigrated from Kentucky to Illinois in the early days. John
M. received his education in his native State, and was engaged in
teaching school, a profession which he followed for twenty-five years.
He taught school in Illinois, southern Wisconsin, and also in the State
of Iowa. He finally located on a farm in northern Iowa, near Nashua,
which he developed into a fine productive plant. He became well known as
a skilled horticulturist, and originated several different kinds of
fruits. He died at his home near Nashua, Iowa, in 1909. His widow still
lives on the home place.
Rienzi M. Dunlap was educated in the schools of northeastern Iowa, and
entered college with the intention of completing a college course, but
his eyesight failing him, he was unable to complete his classical
studies. Later, he prepared himself for the teaching profession by self-
study, and received a teacher’s certificate. He taught school for
fifteen years at various places in Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota. The
last five years of his teaching was of a professional character, with
the backing of a professional certificate. During all this time he had
been preparing himself by hard study to enter the ministry, and on
September 1, 1893, went to Wisconsin and began preaching in an Advent
Christian church. He preached for four years in Wisconsin in the
interest of the Advent Christian denomination, and later engaged in the
market gardening business for the benefit of his health at Baraboo,
Wis., where he resided until 1909, in the meantime preaching in the
churches of the nearby towns. From 1909 until 1910 he had charge of a
church at Linn, Kan. Mr. Dunlap, while engaged in teaching, managed to
obtain considerable journalistic experience by working in various
newspaper offices, among them being that of his uncle. Consequently, it
is not surprising that in 1910 he came to Muscotah, Kan., and purchased
the _Muscotah Record_. He is operating an excellent newspaper, which is
noted for its clean, moral and fearless stand on all public questions.
Mr. Dunlap was married at Mendota, Ill., August 23, 1893, to Miss Retta
Morris, of Ohio, who was also a public school teacher, who taught school
fifteen terms previous to her marriage, several years of which were in
Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap are the parents of three children: Morris O.,
a student of journalism in the Advent Christian College, Aurora, Ill.,
which course is to be followed by two years in the university; Ella M.,
a pupil in the eighth grade in the Muscotah school; Mary, a pupil in the
sixth grade in the public school. Mr. Dunlap is an independent in
politics, who has not allied himself in any form of politics, and
believes that the best government results from the independent voting of
its citizens. His newspaper is also noted for its independence.
LEWIS P. Du BOIS.
Lewis P. Du Bois has the distinction of being the oldest living pioneer
settler of Atchison county residing in Shannon township. The story of
his life since coming to the great West in search of health reads like a
romance and is well worth recounting in the pages of this history of the
county which he has helped to create during the past fifty-seven years
or more. The last days of his eventful life are being peacefully spent
in the beautiful country home which he erected several years ago, which
sets far back in a park created by his own hands and shaded by great
trees planted in years gone by on the barren prairie which he broke and
brought to a high state of cultivation. Mr. Du Bois can look out over
the broad acres which he and his good and faithful wife have
accumulated, and be well content that providence has been kind to them
and theirs.
[Illustration:
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Du Bois—Golden Wedding Anniversary.
]
Lewis P. Du Bois is a descendant of an old American family. He was born
March 23, 1834, in Salem county, New Jersey, a son of Samuel and Mary
(Johnson) Du Bois, both of whom were natives of New Jersey. Louis Du
Bois, a Frenchman, who came to America in about 1660, and established
the French settlement of New Palz, was the original founder of the
family in this country. His children were as follows: Jacob, Abraham,
Sarah, Isaac, David, Solomon, Rebecca, Rachel and Matthew. Samuel Du
Bois was the son of Matthew, a great-grandson of the first Louis Du
Bois. Lewis Du Bois, direct ancestor of Lewis, and son of Mathias, was a
soldier in the Revolution and served for seven years under General
Washington, and was engaged in all of the battles in which Washington’s
army participated. Matthias’ children were: Sarah, Lewis, Anna, Rachel,
Cornelius, Matthew and Benjamin. Lewis Du Bois, the Revolutionary
patriot, married Rebekah Craig and was the father of the following
children: John, Matthew, Polly, Lewis, Rebekah, Benjamin, Elizabeth, and
Samuel, father of the subject of this review. Samuel Du Bois was born
September 26, 1800, and died in May, 1873. He married Mary Johnson, who
was born January 17, 1824, and died January 28, 1879.
To Samuel and Mary Du Bois were born children as follows: Rebecca, who
became the wife of Clarence Struper, and is now-deceased; Adaline, wife
of Jacob Kaeley, deceased; Mary Jane, wife of John Du Bois, of
Fairfield, Iowa; Lewis, with whom this review is directly concerned;
Emeline, wife of Daniel Hitchner, Nemaha county, Kansas; Eliza, wife of
A. Hitchner, deceased; Samuel Johnson, Salem county, New Jersey. Mr. Du
Bois has an old Bible over 150 years old and also has in his possession
genealogical works concerning the Du Bois, Patterson and the Ewing
families which can be consulted for further genealogical data if need
be. Samuel Du Bois was a farmer and his father, Lewis, was a paymaster
in the American army of defense during the War of 1812. Both lived and
died on the old ancestral farm which has been in the family for many
generations. Lewis donated one farm of 160 acres to the Daretown
Presbyterian church and practically endowed it. Samuel was a very
prominent citizen in his neighborhood and held several important offices
and was one of the twelve free holders of Salem county, New Jersey.
Lewis P. Du Bois was educated in the common schools of his native county
and when twenty years of age was employed as clerk in a store at
Bridgeton, Cumberland county, New Jersey, for three years, after which
he spent one year assisting his father farm the old homestead. His
health failing, he was told by the family doctor that he must go west or
he could live but a short time. Leaving the old home, his sweetheart and
all associations behind him, he set out and arrived in Atchison in
April, 1858, with only $50 in cash in his pockets. For the first year he
made his home with Dr. Challiss, on the doctor’s farm. Dr. Challiss
advised him to spend one year near the river and then go to the
mountains for an indefinite stay until he was cured. At the end of his
first year’s residence in the West he set out for the mountain country
as assistant to Eli Mason, the first sheriff of Atchison county, in the
conduct of a wagon train en route to Ft. Kearney. His first trip to the
West and the outdoor life proved beneficial and upon his return he
clerked in the store of P. R. King until November of 1859, and again
crossed the plains with Henry Macey, of Weston, Mo. This was a very hard
and long trip, taken in the winter time, but he gained rapidly in
strength and general health and accumulated weight until he tipped the
scales at 158 pounds. Upon his arrival in Denver, Colo., the mining
excitement was at its height and he was seized with the gold fever. He
took up a mining claim in the mountains, but left it and went further
into the mountainous country. He spent all of his money on developing
another claim, building a sluice and dam and turning the course of a
stream in order to get a sufficient flow of water for placer mining. All
of his efforts came to naught and his mining fixtures were washed away
by a disastrous flood and he was left in debt over $1,000. He and his
associates then went to Georgia gulch and bought another claim which
yielded sufficiently to enable him to pay off his debts and then the
gold gave out entirely. News came to the camp during his first winter in
the mountains that a number of men were snow bound over the divide and
were starving for food. The snow was from seven to ten feet deep on the
level and twenty feet deep on the ranges. Mr. Du Bois and another man
were the only men brave enough to volunteer to carry succor to the
destitute prospectors and had the distinction of being the first men to
cross the Rockies in the dead of winter. From Colorado he went to
Wyoming and then returned to Atchison in 1861, meeting the fast pony
express on his way and learning of Abraham Lincoln’s election to the
Presidency.
From Atchison he returned to the old home in New Jersey and there
married the sweetheart who had been waiting for him to come back,
restored to vigorous health and strength. He followed farming in New
Jersey for three years, suffering in the meantime from rheumatism and
sickness, brought on from too much exposure to the elements. In 1865 he
and his wife again returned to Atchison with a cash capital of $500 and
he took charge of a farm owned by his friend, Dr. Challiss, on the share
plan for a period of three years. His farming experience for those three
years was not at all profitable, and he was left at the end of the time
with practically no funds. Jayhawkers took practically all that he made,
and one time, after he had fattened a lot of hogs on corn which cost him
$1.10 per bushel, thieves stole the porkers and he was left without a
dollar. He then ventured to sell fruit trees to the settlers in Colorado
on the route to Denver and was very successful in taking many orders.
The delivery of this consignment consisting of two wagon loads cost over
$1,850 by overland freight train in the fall of the year. The Indians
were troublesome at the time and during one eventful night which
demonstrated that the biggest braggarts with the train were the greatest
cowards, the Indians tried to run off their mules but were finally
driven off. This venture resulted in replenishing his store of funds and
he bought his first farm with the proceeds, paying cash for it. Like
many others during those early days, Mr. Du Bois herded cattle on the
great free ranges but was unfortunate in having fifty head die of Texas
fever contracted from an infected herd of Texas cattle which were being
pastured over the range on the way to market. Many, indeed, were the
discouragements which beset his attempts to secure a livelihood, at one
time having purchased a horse from a Mr. Galbreath, it developed that
the beast was afflicted with glanders in a contagious form. This
necessitated the killing of all of his horses and the consequent
restocking of his farm. Prosperity eventually smiled upon him and his,
however, and better times came and he became the owner of 320 acres of
exceedingly fine land in Shannon township. He is a director of the Bank
of Vliets, Kan.
Mr. Du Bois was married November 3, 1863, to Sarah Jane Jones and to
this union have been born children as follows: Mrs. Carrie C. Buck, born
in 1865, and residing at Vliets, Kan.; Lewis P. died in infancy; Samuel
T., born July 7, 1876, operates the home farm, married Anna Katharine
Kistler, daughter of William D. Kistler, and has two children, Lewis P.,
Jr., and Kathryn Ellen. The mother of these children was born April 5,
1835, in Salem county, New Jersey, daughter of Joseph and Mary Ann (Van
Meter) Jones. The Jones family of which she is a descendant is a very
old one in America, and a history of the family is being now published.
The Van Meter family had its origin in this country as far back as 1660
and they were members of the new Palz settlement in New Jersey. Her
grandfather, Samuel Van Meter, married Lady Anna Bishop, a titled
English lady who was a member of a noble English family. Several of her
ancestors served in the war of independence.
On November 3, 1913, there was celebrated at the hospitable and
beautiful Du Bois home, the fiftieth or golden wedding anniversary of
this widely known and well loved pioneer couple. Guests to the number of
500 came to congratulate them from far and near, among them being the
notable men and women of Atchison county, who are proud of the
friendship of Mr. and Mrs. Du Bois. The tables groaned with good things
to eat and the day was spent happily in merrymaking, the wedding
ceremony of Lewis and Sarah being again duplicated for the edification
of the interested guests. No invitations were issued for the occasion,
but a general country-wide notice printed in the Atchison newspapers
caused a perfect hegira to the Du Bois home of old and new friends of
this worthy couple, who wished to be in line to grasp their hands and
wish them many more happy years of wedded life which have been unmarred
by a single serious discord. The fifty-three years of wedded life have
been replete with happiness and blessings for Mr. and Mrs. Du Bois, in
the main, while tinged with sorrows which are the inevitable lot of all
mankind.
Mr. Du Bois and the members of his family are affiliated with the
Presbyterian church. He is a member of the Masonic lodge, the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Central Protective Association,
having been one of the founders of the Good Intent lodge of the Central
Protective Association. He has been a life-long Democrat, and, while
never having sought political preferment and not having filled any
office but that of trustee of Shannon township, he has always taken in
other years a very active part in county, State and National politics.
He was a great personal friend of Governor Glick.
EDWIN S. WOODWORTH.
The name Woodworth is a noted one, not only in Kansas, but in American
history. A long line of distinguished men have descended from the
original founders of the family in America, and the men of each
successive generation have added additional luster to the family name by
deeds of valor and statesmanship which stand out prominently in the
annals of their respective abiding places. Edwin S. Woodworth, farmer
and live stock breeder, of Kapioma township, is a well and favorably
known member of the civic body of Atchison county, and a son of Maj.
Caleb A. Woodworth, who was one of the famous figures in the early
period of the making Kansas into a great State. His grandfather, Caleb
A. Woodworth, Sr., was one of the earliest of the Kansas pioneers.
Major Caleb A. Woodworth was born in Wilkesbarre, Pa., April 14, 1838,
and was a son of Caleb Woodworth, a native of Tyre, N. Y., whose father,
also named Caleb, was a captain of artillery under General Scott in the
War of 1812. Gresham Woodworth, the great-grandfather of Major
Woodworth, was a colonel in the Continental army during the American
Revolution, and fought at the battle of Saratoga. The Woodworth family
is of English origin, the progenitors of the family having emigrated
from the Isle of Man early in the seventeenth century. The father of
Major Woodworth was a farmer by occupation, and married Miss Ellen
Gordon, of Goshen, N. Y., a cousin of Gen. Gordon, of Goshen, and a
daughter of Cornelius Gordon, who was born in Ireland, of Scotch-Irish
parents, and settled in Virginia. The elder Woodworth died at the age of
seventy-four years, and the wife and mother died in December, 1898, at
the age of eighty-six years. Caleb, Sr., immigrated to Kansas in 1857,
and settled at Muscotah, Atchison county. Both Caleb Woodworth and his
wife were members of the Congregational church, and Caleb was an Odd
Fellow. He was well educated, and in his younger days was a school
teacher, becoming a farmer in later life. The line of Woodworths in
America tells of many men of letters and distinction, and many soldiers
who have shed luster on the family name in the successive generations.
There were five children born to Caleb, Sr., and wife, namely: Caleb A.,
father of Edwin S.; Gilbert M., who came to Kansas at an early day, and
served three years in a Kansas regiment during the Civil war, first as
corporal, then as sergeant, and later was captain of a company of the
Fourth Arkansas infantry, and was made lieutenant-colonel of the Twelfth
Kansas militia in 1864. He became prominent in political life, and
served as State senator in Colorado, and died while marching in the G.
A. R. reunion parade in Philadelphia, September 8, 1899; eighty veterans
succumbed to the heat. He left one son, Charles G., of Onanga, Okla.;
Ben F., a resident of Downs, Okla., served three years in the Union
army, part of the time as bugler of Company A, Fifth regiment, Kansas
infantry, and later as captain in the Fourth Kansas regiment; David G.,
a graduate of Monroe Institute, a teacher, and a Kansas militiaman.
David Woodworth assisted in the survey of Oklahoma, moved to the new
State in 1889, and settled at Downs. He was a successful farmer, but is
now postmaster at Kingfisher, Okla. The mother accompanied him to
Oklahoma, and died there; Sarah Elizabeth, deceased, was the wife of B.
A. Colville, and left one son, Dr. Frank Colville, who died in St.
Joseph, Mo.
Major Caleb A. Woodworth came to Kansas in 1857, from Virginia, and
engaged in farming near Muscotah until 1859, when he entered the
University of Chicago, and pursued his collegiate education until the
outbreak of the Civil war. He then returned to Kansas and offered his
services in defense of the Union. His first enlistment was for a period
of nine months in Company B, Fourth regiment, Kansas infantry. He then
assisted in organizing the Thirteenth Kansas regiment, and was a member
of Company F of that regiment, which he joined September 20, 1862. He
rose rapidly in rank, was commissioned major of his regiment, and served
for three years, or until the close of the war. He served directly under
Colonel Bowen, and under Generals Blount, Schofield, Steele, and
Reynolds. He participated in the battles around Springfield, Mo., and in
Arkansas. At the battle of Prairie Grove, in 1862, his horse was shot
from under him. Three times his mount was killed in battle, but he
seemed to bear a charmed life, and was never wounded. After the close of
the war he returned to Atchison, Kan., and engaged in freighting across
the plains, making three trips in all with a freighting outfit. He was
the first man to telegraph money from Denver, Colo., to Atchison. He
operated a livery barn where the union depot now stands in Atchison.
About 1868 he again turned his attention to farming, and settled in
Kapioma township, where his father had preëmpted half a section of land.
Major Woodworth farmed the home tract, and erected the house where Edwin
S. now lives. He became an extensive cattle feeder, and was very
successful in his farming operations.
Major Woodworth was married in June, 1867, to Miss Margaret Shaw, of
Valley Falls, Kan. Three children were born of this union, namely: Nora,
wife of E. M. Wilcox, Kamaloops, British Columbia; Edwin S.; Jennie,
living in Wood, S. D. The mother of these children was born in Akron,
Ohio, January 21, 1850, a daughter of William and Louise (Fletcher)
Shaw, natives of Ohio. She is now residing with her daughter at Wood, S.
D.
The civic and political career of Major Woodworth was a distinguished
one. He was elected State senator from Atchison county on the Republican
ticket in 1876, and served for four years. During his term as senator he
wrote the bill and presented the same to the State legislature,
organizing the Kansas State Historical Society. In 1892 he was chosen to
represent the third district in the lower house of the legislature, this
time being elected on the Democratic ticket. In 1895 he removed to
Effingham, Kan., and resided in that city until 1897, when he removed to
Atchison to take up his duties as superintendent of the State Soldiers’
Orphans’ Home. He filled the duties of this position until 1900, when he
resigned and retired to a home in Muscotah, Kan. Major Woodworth died
October 24, 1908. His demise marked the passing of one of the most noted
of the Kansas pioneers, a distinguished soldier and statesman. He left a
heritage of honorable and upright service to the people of the State, of
which his descendants can well be proud.
Edwin S. Woodworth was born April 20, 1874, on the farm where he now
resides. He was educated in the common schools of his native county, and
studied in Bolton University, after completing a course in the high
school at Effingham, Kan. After his marriage, in 1895, he began farming
the home place of the Woodworth family. He is the owner of 163 acres of
rich farm land, which is well improved. Mr. Woodworth is a well known
breeder of registered Shorthorn cattle, and ships the product of his
farm in this respect to all parts of the country. He is a member of the
American Shorthorn Breeders’ Association. During 1915 he had a herd of
fifty thoroughbred Shorthorns, but has sold to buyers at excellent
prices until he has depleted his herd.
Mr. Woodworth was married May 29, 1895, to Miss Sadie E. Speer, born
June 11, 1875, and reared on a farm three miles east of Muscotah. (See
biography of D. Anna Speer for details concerning the Speer family.)
Four children have been born to Edwin S. and Sadie E. Woodworth, namely:
Mrs. Marguerite Mulligan, of Benton township; Mabel, a student in the
county high school at Effingham; Isabelle and Mildred, at home.
Politically, Mr. Woodworth is allied with the Democratic party. He
attends the Methodist Episcopal church, and is affiliated with the
Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Central
Protective Association. There is no doubt in the minds of those who know
Mr. Woodworth and esteem him for his many excellent qualities, that he
will keep alive the traditions of the Woodworth family and endeavor to
follow in the footsteps of his illustrious ancestors as regards right
living and doing his duty to his county and State.
HAL C. LOW.
Hal C. Low, of the firm of Johnson-Low Clothing Company, of Atchison,
was born in 1879 in Doniphan county, Kansas. His parents were J. W. and
Mary (Collins) Low, natives of the Buckeye State, the father’s home
having been at West Milton, Ohio. The grandfather of Hal C. was Ansel
Low, who was one of the earliest pioneer settlers of Kansas, first
coming to Atchison in 1852, following which he located in Doniphan,
where he kept the first hotel, or tavern, and also operated a general
store. To the home of this pioneer came in the fall of 1860, Abraham
Lincoln, who was then touring the country in his first campaign for the
presidency. Lincoln’s visit and stay at the Low hostelry was an event
which awakened a great deal of pride with J. W. Low and he was fond of
relating the circumstance and describing in detail how Mrs. Low served
the simple wants of the greatest of all Americans. He was always a
stanch supporter of the martyred President and gave direct evidence of
his loyalty to the Union by his enlistment in Company I, Seventh
regiment, Kansas cavalry, serving under Generals Rosecrans and Grant
successively, and was in active service throughout the entire war.
Hal C. Low was educated in the common and high schools of Atchison, and
then entered his father’s dry goods store, where he spent several years
profitably, absorbing the details of the business and in becoming a
proficient salesman and buyer. This experience stood him in good stead,
and in 1905 he organized the Johnson-Low Clothing Company and has made
an unqualified success of the venture. The store is one of the most
complete in this section of the State, and carries high grade goods of
the best workmanship and design. The ever increasing trade, which flows
to this establishment, is the best evidence of its continued success.
Mr. Low was married in 1905 to Miss Jane Pollock, daughter of S. M.
Pollock, an early pioneer settler of Iowa, later a resident of Kansas,
and now residing in Atchison. Mr. Low is a Republican.
D. ANNA SPEER.
The public owes much to the teachers who have made a life work of their
chosen profession. While the teaching profession is used to some extent
as a stepping-stone to something supposedly higher and better, or as an
opportunity on the part of young people to earn some money in
preparation for embarking in some other vocation, there are in the ranks
of the profession a considerable number of efficient and painstaking
educators who through a deep and abiding love of the work of teaching
the youth of the land and a desire to advance themselves high in their
profession, have made themselves indispensable members of the community,
and have shown by application and actual practice that they are fitted
above the rank and file to hold executive positions. D. Anna Speer,
county superintendent of schools for Atchison county, is a capable and
successful educator whose marked ability has received due recognition
from the people of the community in which she was reared.
[Illustration:
_Miss D. Anna Speer._
]
She was born in Atchison county, a daughter of Joseph and Mary
(Fountain) Speer. Her father, Joseph Speer, was born March 4, 1834, in
Leesville, Ind., and was the son of Andrew and Dicie (Kirby) Speer, both
natives of Kentucky. Miss Speer’s mother was a daughter of Stephen
Fountain and Mary (Clark) Fountain, natives of North Carolina. The
ancestors on the side of each parent were pre-Revolutionary colonists of
Virginia and the Carolinas. The Speers were among the earliest settlers
of Kentucky and the great-great-grandfather of Miss Speer on the
maternal side was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Joseph
and Mary Speer were married in Indiana and came west in 1859, settling
on a farm near Muscotah in the spring of 1860. Mr. Speer invested in a
partly improved farm of 160 acres on which they lived until old age
required that they leave the farm for a town home in Muscotah. During
the Civil war Mr. Speer served in the Kansas State militia and took part
in the expedition against the Price invasion. Joseph Speer died March 5,
1900. His wife was born in September, 1833, and departed this life June
19, 1909. To them were born six sons and three daughters: William F.,
who resides on the home farm; Mrs. Mary J. Long, of Fowler, Kan.;
Andrew, present county commissioner and farmer residing near Muscotah;
James R., one of the pioneer settlers of Guthrie, Okla.; John W., a
farmer of Morrison, Okla.; George T., a resident of Guthrie, Okla., and
auditor of the Arkansas Lumber Company; D. Anna; Jesse A., engaged in
the livery business at Medford, Okla.; Sadie E., wife of E. S.
Woodworth, of Muscotah, a son of Major Woodworth. The Speers are a
family of pioneers and are found to be leading citizens of their
respective communities. Joseph and Mary Speer reared their large family
of children to become useful and influential members of society and God-
fearing men and women. Before death called them to the eternal rest they
had the satisfaction of seeing the county where their earliest and most
arduous labors had been accomplished grow to become a prosperous and
populous community.
D. Anna Speer was educated in the rural school of her home neighborhood
and the Muscotah public school. She completed a teachers’ course in
Campbell College and was graduated, receiving a life diploma from the
State Normal College at Emporia, Kan., in 1893. She then taught school
for a number of years. During the summer vacations she did post-graduate
work in the University of Chicago, Kansas University and Colorado
College, at Colorado Springs, Colo., and received the degree of Bachelor
of Arts in 1911.
She entered the University of California at Berkeley and received the
degree of Master of Arts in 1913. Miss Speer is self-educated, having
worked her way through college and university while teaching school to
earn money for tuition and expenses. She began her teaching career with
a few years’ service in the rural schools and in 1893 became a teacher
in the Effingham County High School, where she taught continuously for
seventeen years. She was then an instructor for two years in the State
Normal School at Emporia, Kan., after which she spent one year as a
student in the University of California. After receiving her degree from
the University of California she served as instructor in Grass Valley,
Cal., High School. This was a delightful experience in one of the most
beautiful spots on the globe, but she returned home, and on July 1,
1915, entered upon her new duties as county superintendent of public
instruction of her home county. That she will make a success of her work
is assured.
Miss Speer is affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal church, the
Eastern Star lodge and is a member of the County and State Teachers’
associations, and is a member of the National Educational Association.
She is a deep and capable student: a thorough and progressive educator,
who is familiar with the most advanced methods of teaching and is
destined to achieve marked success in her present important position.
JOSEPH C. GREENAWALT.
Joseph C. Greenawalt, retired lawyer, Muscotah, Kan., was born April 17,
1840, on a farm in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. He comes of old
Holland Dutch stock and the progenitors of the Greenawalt family
emigrated from Holland to America in 1665. He is a son of George and
Sarah (Conner) Greenawalt, natives of Pennsylvania. George Greenawalt
was a son of John, and his wife’s father was John Conner, a native of
England. Joseph C. was eighteen months old when his father died, leaving
a widow with six children to rear, namely: Mary Amanda, Sarah Ann and
Margaret, now deceased; Samuel C., deceased, who served as captain in a
company in the Seventy-third regiment, New York infantry, in the Union
army, and was a wanderer from choice, having gone to sea for several
years, his first service in the Union army being as a scout; Elmina C.,
deceased, and Joseph C., with whom this review is directly concerned,
and who was reared in eastern Ohio at the home of his aunt. He lived at
his aunt’s home until he attained the age of sixteen years, attended
school and learned the trade of carpenter and cabinet maker in a shop
operated by his uncle.
As a boy Joseph C. Greenawalt had been ambitious to acquire an education
and was not content with the idea of spending his days at the
carpenter’s bench. Accordingly, at the age of sixteen, we find that he
started out to make his own way in the world and to educate himself by
partly working his way through college. He entered Mt. Union College, at
Alliance, Ohio, and was one of the first students enrolled in this
college when it was advanced from a seminary to a regular college. He
worked during the summer seasons and was thus enabled to pay his way
through the college course. When he was eighteen years of age, he also
taught one term of school. He studied languages for one year in the
Hayesville Institute at Ashland, Ohio. After studying for three years at
Mt. Union, he matriculated at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor,
Mich., entering the junior class of this university in 1860. In 1862 he
received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, but did
not acquire his master’s degree until five years later, in 1867. In May
of 1862 Mr. Greenawalt enlisted in Company I, Eighty-sixth regiment,
Ohio infantry, and served for four months, when he was commissioned a
lieutenant of the Ohio Sharpshooters, but resigned his commission and
took charge of the Canton, Ohio, Union School for the ensuing six
months. He then served as deputy clerk of the circuit court, studied law
in the meantime and was admitted to the bar at Ravenna, Ohio. In the
spring of 1864 Mr. Greenawalt went to Colorado and engaged in mining
engineering in the mountains, forty miles west of Denver. After a stay
in the West he settled in Platte City, Mo., and practiced law there
until 1871, and after a trip to the Pacific coast, he located
permanently in the city of Atchison in August of 1871. He practiced law
successfully for twenty-five years in Atchison, and held the office of
city attorney in 1875.
Mr. Greenawalt has always been a great lover of horses, and more to
gratify his love of horse flesh than anything else he established in
1882, the famous Greenview Stock Farm, near Atchison, now owned by B. P.
Waggener. He erected the residence and several of the buildings now on
the farm and engaged in the breeding of fast trotting horses. For some
years he made his home on the farm and practiced his profession in the
city, going to and fro from his law office and giving the farm work his
personal supervision. The Greenview Stock Farm became famous for the
many fast horses bred there, one of the most noted of which was Samuel
G., record 2:29, and who made a trial record of 2:18¼ when a four-year-
old. He made a practice of breeding two-year-olds for speed and
succeeded, shipping horses to buyers in eastern and southern points
where racers were desired for the tracks. In 1900 Mr. Greenawalt removed
to Muscotah and continued his horse breeding until 1912, when he
practically retired from the pursuit of his favorite hobby. He is the
owner of a fine farm of 160 acres adjoining Muscotah on the east.
Mr. Greenawalt has been twice married, his first wife being Sophia E.
Bowers, of Cleveland, Ohio, and who died May 26, 1870, at the age of
twenty-seven years, leaving an infant daughter, Maude Mary, born
February 11, 1870, and died August 2, 1870. He married Mary C. Bowers,
of Stark county, Ohio, in September of 1882. This marriage was blessed
with one son, Samuel O., born November 6, 1885, and died March 1, 1902.
Mrs. Greenawalt was born December 15, 1845, in Stark county, Ohio, a
daughter of Elijah and Mary Bowers, natives of Pennsylvania. In
politics, Mr. Greenawalt is an independent. Mrs. Greenawalt is a member
of the Congregational church of Muscotah. For many years Mr. Greenawalt
has been a Mason and served as eminent commander of Washington
Commandery, No. 1, at Atchison for two years, and also served as
worshipful master of Active lodge of Masons, and is a member of the
Knights of Pythias.
HENRY NIEMANN.
Wherever members of the German race have settled in the agricultural
sections of the Middle West, we find that they have been uniformly
successful, and it is only natural to find that certain individuals
achieve greater success than others. Henry Niemann, of Center township,
Atchison county, is an American citizen of German birth, who came to
this country a poor emigrant lad, and has made a wonderful success since
he purchased his first eighty acre tract in this county, nearly forty
years ago. He is now one of the largest landed proprietors of the
county, and one of the best known stockmen of northeast Kansas.
Henry Niemann was born February 14, 1853, in Minden, Germany, a son of
Christian and Mary (Krouse) Niemann, who lived and died in the
Fatherland. They were the parents of seven children as follows: Crist,
deceased; Henry, whom this review directly concerns; Fred, a farmer of
Center township; Mrs. Christena Krouse, deceased; Charles, a farmer of
Atchison county; William, living in Germany, and Augustav, deceased.
Henry was educated in the schools of his native land and at the age of
eighteen years left the Fatherland and immigrated to America in search
of his fortune, which he was eventually to find in Kansas. He first
settled in Madison county, Illinois, and worked there as a farm hand for
five years. He saved his money carefully while working on the farms of
Illinois, and in 1876 came to Kansas and invested in a tract of eighty
acres of land in Center township. He erected a small two-room cabin on
his land and a barn to house his team of horses. He broke his land
gradually and at first was able to farm only a small portion of it. The
neighbors tried to discourage him by telling him that the strong winds
might wreck his home at any time and advised him to find a better and
safer location. He failed to find a place which suited him as well as
his first choice, and although he has lived for forty years on the farm
his buildings have never yet been blown away by the Kansas zephyrs. Mr.
Niemann has prospered as he deserved and by the exercise of economy,
hard work and good financial judgment, has become the owner of 615 acres
of land in several farms, all of which are well improved and highly
productive. Mr. Niemann is an extensive feeder of hogs and raises large
numbers annually for the market. He believes in feeding the grain
products of his farm to live stock on the place and thus reaps greater
benefits than the ordinary methods of farming would yield. He is a
stockholder in a prosperous mercantile concern at Nortonville, Kan.
Mr. Niemann was married in 1897 to Louise Frommer, and to this marriage
have been born ten children, namely: Mrs. Mary Dietrich, a widow, who
lives with her parents; Rosa, widow of George Moeck, also living with
her parents; Christena, deceased; Dena, deceased; William, a farmer
living in Center township; Mrs. Dora Dietrich, deceased; Harry, Henry
and Julius, living at home, and Mrs. Lillie Poos, Nortonville, Kan. The
mother of these children was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1858, a
daughter of John and Kathrine (Markley) Frommer, natives of Germany, who
were early settlers of Atchison county.
Mr. Niemann is an independent Republican voter, who refuses to wear the
collar of any one set of political bosses, and votes as his judgment
indicates. He and his family are members of the German Lutheran church.
Henry Niemann is a fine type of successful German-American farmer and is
a tiller of the soil first and last; he lays claim to no ambition beyond
tilling his broad acres and making his land yield the maximum of
sustenance for man and beast; his great success lays in the fact that he
has confined his energies to the soil and its cultivation and he has
managed to get a good slice of the best land obtainable.
FRED W. KAUFMAN.
Fred W. Kaufman, merchant, Cummings, Kan., was born in Nortonville,
Kan., February 18, 1879. He is a son of Frank and Louise (Baker)
Kaufman, who were the parents of thirteen children. Frank Kaufman was
born in Servia, Germany, in 1833. When a youth, in his native land he
learned the shoemaker’s trade which he followed there until eighteen
years of age, and he then emigrated from Germany to America in 1851. He
came to Atchison, Kan., and worked as a cobbler. When the town of
Pardee, Kan., was founded, Mr. Kaufman opened a shoe shop in that town
and conducted it for about four years, after which he located in
Nortonville and worked at his trade until his demise in 1911. The
children of Frank and Louise Kaufman were as follows: Charles, deceased,
merchant of Nortonville, born 1866, died 1908; Edward, a merchant,
Nortonville; Fred, a merchant of Cummings, Kan., the subject of this
review; Mrs. Anna Coon, of Rock Creek, Kan.; Mrs. Flora Hilderbrand,
Independence, Kan.; Walter, a farmer, living near Cleveland, Okla.;
Grace, residing at Nortonville. The mother of these children was born
near the city of Atchison, and is now living in Nortonville.
Fred Kaufman was reared in Nortonville and attended the public schools
of his native city after which he studied in the Atchison Business
College. At the age of fifteen years he was employed as clerk in a
general merchandise store in his home city. In 1900 he went to St.
Joseph, Mo., where he was employed in the wholesale department of the
Wheeler & Motter Mercantile Company for a period of nine years, and
served in the capacity of mail order clerk in this establishment. He was
then given a traveling position as salesman with his firm and for three
years sold goods in the surrounding territory with considerable success.
His ambitions led him to undertake things in his own behalf, however,
and in 1912 Mr. Kaufman located in Colorado, where he was engaged in
ranching for three years. Three years’ hard work enabled him to develop
his Colorado farm into a good piece of salable property and he then
disposed of his holdings and came to Cummings where he invested his cash
capital in a general merchandise store which he is conducting with
considerable success. His previous commercial experience has proven to
be invaluable to him since entering the mercantile field in his own
behalf, and he has developed a splendid business in Cummings. Besides
his large store in Cummings, Mr. Kaufman has invested in 210 acres of
land in Colorado and Oklahoma.
Mr. Kaufman was married September 6, 1905, to Carrie E. Hackney, and
this marriage has been blessed with two children: Fred, Jr., and Maxine
C., both of whom are at home with their parents. Mrs. Kaufman was born
October 27, 1884, at Agency, Buchanan county, Missouri, and is a
daughter of Alfred and Pauline (Slover) Hackney, natives of Wisconsin
and Missouri, respectively. Alfred Hackney was a son of Thomas and Mary
(Saxton) Hackney, the former a native of England. Thomas was an early
pioneer settler in Doniphan county, Kansas, coming there about 1852, and
also operated a drug store at Wathena, Doniphan county. Mrs. Thomas
Hackney is still living at the age of eighty-eight years, born August,
1827. Alfred is now living in retirement at St. Joseph, Mo., and has
attained the age of sixty-five years. Mrs. Kaufman’s mother died in
1904, at the age of forty years.
Mr. Kaufman is a Republican in politics and is affiliated with the
United Commercial Travelers’ lodge at Hastings, Neb. He and Mrs. Kaufman
attend religious worship at the Baptist church, of which Mrs. Kaufman is
a member. Mr. Kaufman is a splendid type of self-made man whose success
in the mercantile field is certain to continue in the years to come. His
business methods are such as to commend him favorably to the many
patrons of his store; he is likewise a good citizen who has the best
interest of his town and county at heart.
ARNOLD LANGE.
Lancaster township, Atchison county, is rightly considered as one of the
genuine garden spots of the State of Kansas, because of the fertility of
the soil, the well kept appearance of the fields, and the excellent
improvements on the farms, the owners of which seem to vie with each
other as to who can have the nicest looking and most productive farm.
This township has a large German population, or rather, American citizen
farmers, of German birth or descent, and it is a proverb in this land
that, wherever you see a community of thrifty farmers of German descent,
there you will find enterprise, thrift and progress. Arnold Lange, of
this township, is a successful farmer and breeder, of German birth who
has made good in his adopted country and holds a high place in the
citizenship of the county.
Arnold Lange was born in Westphalia, Prussia, German Empire, December
23, 1853, and is a son of Herman and Charlotte (Mittendorf) Lange, who
were born and reared in the Fatherland. Herman Lange was a farmer and
coal dealer, and also conducted a grocery store for a time. He was born
in 1824, lived all of his life in his native land and died in 1907. His
wife, Charlotte, died in 1899, at the age of seventy-six years. They
were the parents of twelve children, six of whom are living.
Arnold Lange received his schooling in Germany and worked as farmer and
teamster until his emigration from Germany to America in 1882. He
settled in Atchison county and invested his capital in eighty acres of
land north of Huron, which he cultivated for nine years with fair
success. He then sold the farm at an increase over the purchase price
and bought the farm which now constitutes his home place and which
contains 240 acres of good land. The improvements on the land when Mr.
Lange purchased the tract were indifferent and included a small house.
Naturally one of his thrift and pride could not remain long content with
poor accommodations and he has built a commodious farm residence and a
very fine barn and improved the looks of his place with shrubbery and
trees until it presents a handsome appearance. He has also set out an
orchard of six acres. Mr. Lange has specialized in his live stock
raising with considerable success and his efforts in breeding
thoroughbred Percheron horses have met with reward commensurate with his
efforts. He has bred and raised some very fine animals of this class and
in 1906 was awarded first prize on Percheron draft animals at the county
fair held in Effingham. His interest is given to breeding fine cattle
and his herd of shorthorns are as good as can be found in the county.
Mr. Lange was married in 1883 to Miss Minnie Kloepper, who has borne him
three children: Herman, of Huron, Kan.; William, a farmer, of
Grasshopper township, and Arnold, a graduate of the Huron schools and at
home assisting his father in the farm work. The mother of these children
was born December 14, 1865, in Illinois, and is a daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Christian Kloepper deceased. Mr. Lange is a Democrat, and is a
member of the German Lutheran church. He is fraternally connected with
the Modern Woodmen lodge.
WILLIAM H. GRANER.
“_The Graner Farm._”
According to competent authority there are in Atchison county a number
of pure bred live stock breeders, who, if they received the recognition
to which they are rightly entitled, would take high rank among the
leading live stock men of the country. Among these specialists are
William H. and Henry C. Graner, sons of one of the pioneer pure bred
live stock breeders of the county who are following in their father’s
footsteps and have made a name and fame for themselves which extend far
beyond the borders of this county and beyond the borders of the State of
Kansas. William H. Graner, proprietor of the “Graner Farm,” which is the
old homestead of the Graner family, is one of the most successful
agriculturists of the county and is deserving of special credit for his
progressiveness and decided ability as a breeder of fine live stock. The
“Graner Farm” is one of the best stocked and best equipped ranches in
the West and is noted for its fine Shorthorn cattle and standard bred
Percheron horses. Mr. Graner learned the breeding business from his
father and has made a success of the undertaking. His farm consists of
160 acres, which was formerly owned and developed by his father,
Gottlieb Graner. On this farm are some very fine animals of the pure
bred Shorthorn type which will compare most favorably in breeding and
appearance with anything of the kind in the country. His herd of
Percherons include twenty registered mares which have won many prizes at
county fairs and live stock exhibits in Kansas. Mr. Graner has owned and
used two grandsons of “Brilliant,” the sons of “Old Brilliant,” and sire
of these animals, the “Colored Gentleman,” was awarded first and
championship over all draft horses at the world’s exhibit of live stock
at the Chicago international exhibition in 1893. All of his mares’
ancestry is traced back to “Old Brilliant” and this strain predominates
in his drove of fine Percherons.
[Illustration:
_Gottlieb Graner_
]
[Illustration:
_Mrs. Martha (Hauck) Graner_
]
[Illustration:
The Old Graner Homestead, W. H. Graner, Owner.
]
[Illustration:
_W. H. Graner._
]
[Illustration:
_H. C. Graner._
]
[Illustration:
Crowd of prosperous Kansas farmers at H. C. Graner’s Annual Sale of
Large Type Poland China Sows, May 27, 1913. Pleasant Hill Stock
Farm, Lancaster, Kansas.
]
In the breeding of Shorthorn cattle he has used such sires as a son of
the imported cow, “Ballechin,” “Charming Maid,” V67–616, “Sire
Ceremonious Archer,” 171479. A number of the cows in Mr. Graner’s herd
are sired by “Victor Archer,” 223102, a pure Victoria, and one of the
finest strains of Shorthorn cattle known. Mr. Graner has not shown any
of his fine stock cattle outside of Atchison county. He has six large
cattle barns for the housing of his live stock and ships the product of
his farm to buyers and fanciers in all parts of the United States.
Gottlieb Graner, founder of the “Graner Farm,” and father of William H.
and Henry C. Graner, of Lancaster township, was born in Germany in 1835,
and immigrated from the Fatherland to America at the age of sixteen
years. He first settled in Illinois where he worked as a farm hand, and
a few years later came west to Kansas City, Mo. In this city he invested
his savings in a city lot which is now in the heart of the most valuable
business district of the southwest metropolis, but he eventually let the
lot go for taxes. From Kansas City he made his way to the city of
Atchison where he found employment in a brewery at a salary of $100 per
month. He saved his money and in 1868 purchased 160 acres of raw prairie
land in Lancaster township, for which he paid five dollars an acre. He
became a breeder of Shorthorn cattle and Percheron horses and succeeded
in this undertaking, being one of the pioneer breeders of the western
country. At the time of his demise, in 1894, he was the owner of 560
acres of well improved farm lands.
Gottlieb Graner married Martha Hauck, also a native of Germany, and who
died in 1905. To this well and favorably known pioneer couple were born
the following children: Mrs. Matilda Stansburger, a widow, residing in
California; William H., with whose career this review is directly
concerned; Henry C., a farmer and stockman, living near William H.;
Ferdinand, living in New York, and Adolph, residing in California. Mr.
and Mrs. Gottlieb Graner were Lutherans, and honest, industrious, God-
fearing people.
William H. Graner was born June 13, 1869, on the farm which he now owns
in Lancaster township. He was reared on his father’s farm and attended
the Bell district school and also studied in the Monroe Institute at
Atchison, after which he pursued a course in the Atchison business
college. His commercial course occupied a period of four years and has
proven to be invaluable to him in the management of his extensive
farming interests. After completing his commercial course Mr. Graner
went to work on the home farm with his father. After his father’s demise
in 1894 he took charge of the farm and managed it until all the children
became of age. The estate left by his father was then divided, and
William bought the interests of the other heirs in the home farm and
came into possession of the homestead place of 160 acres which he has
improved with several barns and modern farm buildings. He has prospered
and is now the owner of 560 acres of land, two farms, each of which is
well equipped with good buildings. One of these farms is tilled by a
tenant, and Mr. Graner had planted in 1915 140 acres of corn.
Mr. Graner was married in 1898 to Miss Clara Matthias, and to this union
have been born four children, namely: Martha, deceased; Louis,
Marguerite and Esther, at home with their parents. Mrs. Graner was born
February 6, 1871, in Lancaster township, a daughter of Fred and Agnes
(Bodendoerfer) Matthias, both of whom were natives of Germany and
immigrated from the Fatherland to America and became early pioneer
settlers in Atchison county. Mrs. Graner attended the Rock district
school in her youth and is an excellent helpmeet to her husband and a
kind mother to her children.
Mr. Graner is an independent in politics and prefers to vote for the
man, regardless of party affiliations. He is a member of the Lutheran
church, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Modern Woodmen of America.
He is a well educated and versatile citizen and a capable and successful
business man, as well as farmer and breeder. He has achieved a
considerable measure of prominence in the county and State because of
his decided ability. Besides his farming interests he is a stockholder
of the Independent Harvester Company of Plano, Ill., of which concern he
is the county agent, a large warehouse having keen erected on the
“Graner Farm” for the purpose of housing the implement stock sold to
farmers in the neighborhood. Mr. Graner is a member and stockholder of
the Percheron Society of America, the Importers and Breeders, and the
American Percheron Registry Association, and is a member of the American
Shorthorn Breeders’ Association. He is a director in the Brown County
Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of which prosperous concern he has been a
director for fifteen years.
HENRY C. GRANER.
“_Pleasant Hill Stock Farm._”
Situated on a hillside within sight of the old Graner homestead in
Lancaster township, Atchison county, is the “Pleasant Hill Stock Farm,”
owned and managed by Henry C. Graner, one of the most successful and
best known farmers and breeders of northeast Kansas. Mr. Graner is a son
of Gottlieb Graner, a pioneer in the pure bred live stock industry of
Atchison county, whose biography appears in the review of the life of
William H. Graner on the preceding pages of this history of their home
county. The “Pleasant Hill Stock Farm” is unquestionably one of the best
equipped modern breeding plants in the State of Kansas and is famed over
the West for the product of its fields and barns. This farm consists of
240 acres of well tilled and well improved land, situated two miles
north of the town of Lancaster and only a quarter of a mile from the
birthplace of Henry C. Graner. In addition to his home place, Mr. Graner
is the owner of 160 acres of land which he uses for pasturing his live
stock. The home farm is well equipped with two farm dwellings and five
well built barns and granaries with other conveniences to facilitate the
handling of live stock. The owner has given special attention to
equipping his farm for the breeding of fine cattle and hogs. He pays a
great deal of attention to his Poland China hogs and is a breeder of the
Big Type Poland China swine, which are among the best in the United
States. Mr. Graner ships the product of his breeding pens to all parts
of the country and has annual sales of thoroughbred hogs which are a
feature of the countryside. To show the prices obtained from his sales
in 1914, one small sow sold for $500. He handles the Big Type Poland
China breed exclusively and is a regular exhibitor at county fairs and
has frequently taken first prizes and many blue ribbons. His drove of
fine hogs exceeded 300 in 1915, all pure bred stock.
Mr. Graner’s herd of Shorthorn cattle is of the Scotch pure bred strain
and bred to “Choice Goods,” a famous strain known the world over for
quality. He has also shown his fine cattle at the county fairs and live
stock exhibits and carried off many first prizes. His herd of pure bred
Shorthorns numbers fifty head at the present time, all registered stock.
In addition to being a breeder of hogs and cattle Mr. Graner breeds
standard Percheron horses of the imported strain sired by “Brilliant,”
of which he has usually from twenty-five to thirty head of fine stock on
the place.
Henry C. Graner was born April 19, 1871, on the old Graner homestead in
Lancaster township, on which he was reared to young manhood. When a
small boy he attended school in the village of Lancaster, and after the
school house was erected in the neighborhood he went to the district
school. He was one of the first students to enter Midland College in
Atchison and there completed his education. He remained on the home farm
until 1901 and then bought the farm which he now owns, first consisting
of 160 acres, to which lie afterwards added an eighty. He later invested
in another quarter section which he uses for pasture.
He was married June 6, 1901, to Miss Mary K. Meck, who has borne him
five children, as follows: Lillian, born October 11, 1902; Matilda, born
April 21, 1904; Louise, born June 1, 1907; Henrietta, born March 11,
1910; and Frederick, born April 8, 1913. The mother of these children
was born in Center township August 31, 1874, a daughter of Fred Meck,
now living on a farm in Center township, Atchison county. Mrs. Graner is
a capable woman, a devoted wife and mother, and the Graner home is a
very happy one at all times.
Mr. Graner is a Democrat in politics, but has little time to devote to
the political game other than to vote for his favorite candidates at
election time. He and Mrs. Graner are members of the Lancaster
Presbyterian church, of which institution Mr. Graner is a trustee. He is
affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is also a
member of the Standard Bred Poland China Record Association, and the
Percheron Society of America. Mr. Graner’s success has been mainly due
to hard work, close application to his affairs and keen financial
judgment.
RICHARD E. KING.
Richard E. King, farmer of Oak Mills, Walnut township, Atchison county,
was born in this county, January 11, 1876. He was a son of Richard M.
King, pioneer, farmer, merchant and early-day freighter, who was born in
Smith county, Tennessee, January 23, 1837. Richard M. was a son of
Abraham and Mahaley (James) King, natives of Virginia, who came to
Tennessee in 1833. They migrated from Tennessee to Buchanan county,
Missouri, in 1851, and one year later moved to a farm in Platte county,
Missouri, where Abraham King and his wife eventually died. Richard M.
King crossed the plains with a freighting outfit which started from Ft.
Leavenworth en route Ft. Laramie in Wyoming, and met with considerable
adventure on the long trip, which consumed ninety days going and
returning. The Indians molested them frequently, and one time a
mischievous band stole all the tongue pins from their wagons. Another
time, when they were in camp, a band of hundreds of Pawnees swarmed
around the train and tried to intimidate the men. One big Pawnee buck,
uttering a loud “woof,” stuck a spear in Mr. King’s stomach. On account
of the Indian force being of superior number to the whites, they did not
dare take offense at anything they did, or seem offended at any of their
pranks for fear of massacre. Richard M. King followed freighting four
years and made his last trip to the far West in 1862, from Ft.
Leavenworth, Kan., to Ft. Union, N. M. He came back from this trip, and
with his savings bought a tract of land on the Missouri river in Walnut
township. Unhappily, this land was eventually cut off from the mainland
by the freakish Missouri, when it once more changed its course, and,
although the deed to the land is still held by Richard M. King the muddy
waters of the Missouri flow over it. In 1866 he bought forty acres of
land in the hills, back from the river. He was married November 22,
1863, to Mary Frances Hottle, a daughter of David and Frances (Creal)
Hottle, both of whom were natives of Brook county, Virginia. They too,
came to Kansas in the early days, and settled in Leavenworth county, in
1855. David Hottle was a butcher by trade and bought and killed the
first beef ever slaughtered in the historic town of Kickapoo,
Leavenworth county. Kickapoo was a hotbed of the pro-slavery element in
those days and woe betide the man who opposed their wishes. Two children
were born to Richard M. King and wife: Lucy Ann, born August 27, 1864,
deceased wife of Thomas Reagan, a passenger conductor on the Missouri
Pacific railway. To Mr. and Mrs. Reagan were born two children, Thomas
D., born March 8, 1889, and John M., born August 7, 1905; Richard E.,
the subject of this review.
Richard E. King grew to manhood on the home farm and was educated in the
common schools of his native county and the high school at Kansas City,
Kan. He was married in 1895 to Mary Sacks, a daughter of Henry Sacks, of
Atchison county. She died in 1898, and after her death, Mr. King went to
Kansas City, Kan., to reside and was there engaged in various pursuits.
He married Miss Sue Allen in Kansas City, Kan., January 16, 1900. Mrs.
King is a daughter of James T. and Jane (McCampbell) Allen, both natives
of Woodford county, Kentucky, whose people removed from the ancestral
home of the family in Virginia to Kentucky. The old Allen homestead,
built of natural stone is still standing in the latter State, a
picturesque and beautiful reminder of ante-bellum days. In 1885 James T.
Allen and family left Kentucky and went to Cass county, Missouri, where
they resided on a farm until 1903, and then removed to Harrisonville,
Mo., where they now live. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs.
Richard E. King, Richard Allen King, born July 12, 1903, a bright and
intelligent boy and is an excellent student in school.
The King home, situated on a bluff overlooking the reaches of the old
Missouri river, is noted for its hospitality and good cheer. Their home
has been named “Che-me-o-kah,” a Kaw Indian term, meaning “Lodge of the
Rising Sun,” or “Sunrise Cottage.” The Kaw Indians had a village on this
farm in ancient times. Mr. and Mrs. King are a fine young couple who are
highly esteemed by all who know them. Mrs. Richard M. King has one of
the most remarkable collections of family heirlooms in Kansas.
JOHN MOECK.
John Moeck, farmer, of Center township, Atchison county, was born in
Wurtemberg, Germany, March 17, 1869. He is a son of Henry and Eva
(Heinz) Moeck, who were the parents of the following children: Mrs.
Kathrine Younger, living near Potter, Kan.; Anna, deceased; Henry,
farmer, Germany; John, subject of this sketch; Karl, Osborne county,
Kansas; Regina, Atchison, Kan.; and George, deceased. The father was
born April 3, 1839, in Germany, where he spent his life. He was a son of
Henry Moeck, also a native of Germany. His wife, Eva, was born December
1, 1841. She is a native of Germany, and is now living on a farm in that
country. John Moeck, the subject of this sketch, attended the schools in
Germany, and in 1883 immigrated to the United States, settling in
Atchison county, Kansas, where he worked on a farm for his board and
clothing. He attended the district schools of Center township until he
was twenty-one years old. During this time he was living with his uncle,
Fred Moeck, and the following five years he worked as a farm hand. He
was then married, and settled down on the farm which he now owns. He
rented it for a time, until he was able to accumulate enough to buy it.
He bought the place in 1898, and has owned it since that time. The farm
consists of 145 acres of fine land, which the owner has improved
extensively. Two acres of the place is planted with fine fruit-bearing
trees. Mr. Moeck keeps high grade stock on his farm.
The career of Mr. Moeck shows what one can do by hard work. When he
arrived in Atchison county he had only four dollars, and every cent that
he now owns has been earned by hard work since he came to Atchison
county. Mr. Moeck is a self-made man, who has won a desirable place for
himself in his community. That his fellow citizens hold him in high
regard, is shown by the fact that they elected him to the office of
township treasurer for two terms. He has been road overseer, and is now
a member of the school board.
In 1895 Mr. Moeck married Kathrine Ziegler, who was born April 5, 1875.
She is a native of Germany, and the daughter of George and Agnes
(Frommer) Ziegler. When a child five years old Mrs. Moeck came to
America with her parents, who settled in Center township, Atchison
county. Mr. and Mrs. Moeck have four children: Eva, Louise, Frieda, and
Walter, living at home. Mr. Moeck is a Republican. He is an elder in the
German Lutheran church. In reviewing his life, it is only fair to say
that he is one of those self-made citizens who form the solid foundation
of our democracy. By his own efforts he has climbed to the top, and has
shown by his life what the man who will try can accomplish.
JOHN O. A. MILLER.
John O. A. Miller, farmer and stockman, of Kapioma township, Atchison
county, was born January 1, 1872, in Kapioma township. He is a son of
James and Eliza (Russell) Miller, who were the parents of eight
children, one of whom is dead. The father, James Miller, was born in
Clay county, Missouri, August 3, 1831, and was a son of Moses Miller, a
native of Kentucky. James Miller grew up on his father’s farm and at the
age of eighteen crossed the wild western plains to New Mexico, working
for the Government. He found a few years of the strenuous life enough
and settled down to farming in Atchison county in 1854. He bought 160
acres of land from a land company. The farm was composed of good bottom
land and he made extensive improvements on the profitable returns which
his large crops brought. He was a large breeder of cattle, especially
Shorthorns, and his judgment on cattle was regarded as authoritative. He
was known throughout that part of the country as the “cattle king.” He
farmed 700 acres until his death. During his life time he held a number
of township offices. His successful career ended September 12, 1913,
with his death at Muscotah, Kan. His wife, who was a native of Iowa,
died in 1879.
John Miller grew up on his father’s farm. He attended the Atchison
County High School at Effingham, Kan., and after working a short time he
went to the State Normal School at Emporia, Kan. To earn his way through
college he worked as a farm hand until he had saved enough money to
carry him through school. After leaving the State Normal School he
rented the farm which he now owns, and in 1912 bought it. The place
consists of 160 acres. In 1914 he built a fine barn, which is one of the
best in the State for its size. It is 40×52 feet and has a smaller wing,
26×14 feet, with a capacity of seventy-five tons of hay. It is strongly
constructed and is a model barn. Mr. Miller maintains that stock as fine
as his ought to have a good barn in which to live. He makes a specialty
of Percheron horses and Chester White hogs. He is also a breeder of
Shorthorn cattle and has maintained the same strain which his father
kept. In addition to his activities in the rural life of his
neighborhood Mr. Miller is active in the business affairs of Muscotah.
He is a director and stockholder in the State Bank at Muscotah, Kan.,
and has an interest in the Farmers’ Grain and Elevator Supply Company
and the Mutual Telephone Company.
In 1903 he married Jane Ernst, who was born November 6, 1871, in Kapioma
township, Atchison county. She is a daughter of John and Eliza (Lewis)
Ernst. The father is a native of Germany and the mother of Norway, and
both came to Atchison county, Kansas, in the early days. Mr. and Mrs.
Miller have two children: Alice E. and Mary E., twins, who are living at
home. Mr. Miller is a Democrat and has been treasurer of Kapioma
township. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.
CHARLES CARLTON HART.
For a Kansas citizen and pioneer settler to spend the better part of a
lifetime in building up a fine and highly productive farm, and then to
enter the banking business at a time when most men are ready to retire
and live a life of ease, is rather out of the ordinary, but such has
been the experience of C. C. Hart, banker, of Muscotah, Kan. Mr. Hart
has lived in Kansas for forty-seven years and has been successively
farmer and banker during that time. He is a descendant of one of the old
families in America and comes of a family of ministers and teachers.
[Illustration:
_C. C. Hart_
]
C. C. Hart was born December 6, 1842, in Sandusky, Ohio, and was a son
of Rev. Ichabod and Harriet (Whitcomb) Hart, the former a native of New
York, and the latter was born in Templeton, Mass., April 22, 1819, and
died in Chicago, Ill., April 30, 1889. The Hart family is a very old one
in America and is descended from two English immigrants who settled in
Connecticut in the colonial period of our Nation’s history, and from
whom the city of Hartford took its name in the seventeenth century.
Several descendants of these early pioneers fought for the cause of
American independence in the American Revolution and also in the War of
1812. Two brothers of C. C. Hart served in the Union army in the late
Civil war. The father of C. C. Hart was educated for the Presbyterian
ministry and later became a Congregational minister. He received his
college training in Princeton University and migrated to Ohio in 1840;
resided at Sandusky until 1843, and then took charge of a church at
Medina, Ohio, until 1844, when he removed to Kenosha, Wis. After several
years’ ministerial work in Wisconsin he located in Illinois, and died at
Wheaton, that State, in 1870, at the ripe old age of eighty-four years.
Rev. Hart was the father of eight children: Edwin R. received a college
education and served in the Union army; Rev. Walter O. Hart, a Union
veteran, now located in North Carolina; Eliza born in Kenosha, Wis.,
January 23, 1847, married George W. Phillips, and died September 15,
1875, at Llano, Texas, one and one-half years after her marriage. While
carrying on his ministerial work the Rev. Ichabod Hart also conducted a
farm in the neighborhood of his work. Edwin R. Hart was educated in
Oberlin College, Ohio, and Walter O. received a college and theological
institute education and is now living in retirement with his son who
also is a minister.
C. C. Hart, with whom this review is directly concerned, was reared to
young manhood on his father’s farm and attended the schools of Genoa,
Wis. During the Civil war lie remained at home and assisted his father
in the farm work. In 1868 he decided to strike out for himself and try
his fortunes in the West. He came to Kansas and located in Jackson
county, on the western border of Atchison county, where he purchased 160
acres of railroad owned land, at a cost of five dollars and forty cents
per acre. He at once began improving this tract which was raw prairie at
the time of purchase and in the course of time developed it into a fine
and highly productive farm. The Hart farm is one of the most productive
and best improved in the State of Kansas and is widely known for the
excellent shape in which the grounds and improvements are kept. Mr. Hart
added eighty acres adjoining in Atchison county to the original quarter
section and now has 240 acres in all. He remained on the farm until
1905, in the meantime having become interested in the Muscotah State
Bank as a stockholder and director. In that year he removed to the town
of Muscotah, where he has since made his residence in an attractive
home. Mr. Hart was elected cashier of the bank January 1, 1910, and
served in this capacity until August 1, 1915. While cashier he also
served as vice-president of the institution and is now connected with
the bank in that capacity.
Mr. Hart was married in 1867 to Miss Emma A. Olden, who has borne him
the following children: Arthur C., born in 1873, married Bertie
Stockton, and has one child, Dorothy, residing in Bakersfield, Cal.;
Dwight Hart died in youth. Mrs. Emma A. (Olden) Hart, the mother, was
born in Wisconsin in 1846, and is a daughter of Enos Olden, a native of
New York State, and a descendant of an old eastern family.
The Republican party has always claimed the allegiance of Mr. Hart, and
he has taken an active part in political affairs during his long
residence in Grasshopper township and Muscotah. While living on the farm
he held various township offices, and was always found in the forefront
of civic movements which had for their intention the ultimate good of
all the people. He filled the post of mayor of Muscotah for four years
and was a good official. In church work he has been very active and is
at present the treasurer of the Congregational church. His work in the
interest of the young people of Muscotah has endeared him to all of the
residents and for twenty-five years he has served as the superintendent
of the Sunday school of his church. Mr. Hart was secretary of the
Atchison County Sunday School Association for ten years. Although this
grand old pioneer has passed the allotted three score and ten years of
age. He is still active, mentally and physically, and rarely a day
passes which does not find him at his desk attending to his duties in
the bank or working about the grounds of his attractive, well kept home.
Mr. Hart is a courteous and kindly gentleman of the old school whom one
can not help but admire for his many sterling qualities.
WILLIAM YOUNG.
A native born Kansan, who became a successful agriculturist and banker,
and left an indelible imprint upon the business and social life of
Atchison county, was the late William Young, of Arrington, Kan. The
Young family was one of the real pioneer families of the county, and the
late Mr. Young was born on a pioneer farm in Mt. Pleasant township May
20, 1858. He was a son of William Johnson Young, whose wife was Mrs.
Martha (Wamach) Snowden, widow, born in Virginia, a daughter of Abraham
Wamach, an early pioneer settler of Atchison county, who came to this
county in 1854 and settled on adjoining homesteads with W. J. Young. W.
J. Young, the father of William, was born in Tennessee in 1815, and was
the first judge of Atchison county. He settled on a farm in Walnut
township, two and one-half miles northeast of Potter, Kan., which farm
is now owned by Peter C. Griner. The elder Young was a natural born
leader of men, and took an active and influential part in the political
affairs of the county in the early days. He was a religious man, whose
home was a meeting place for the politicians and ministers of the
Gospel, and he was very hospitable. His father was the Rev. Duke Young,
a native of Tennessee, who came to Kansas in 1854, and preached the
first sermon in the county, on the doctrine of the Christian
denomination. The Rev. Mr. Young was about sixty years of age when he
came to Atchison county, and he had been preaching the Gospel for many
years in Tennessee. J. W. Young became a member of the Christian church
when sixteen years of age. The Young family was of Scotch-Irish
ancestry.
William Young, with whom this review is directly concerned, was one of a
family of fourteen children reared by his parents. He grew to manhood on
his father’s farm, and after his marriage, in 1880, he and his wife
located on a farm in Mt. Pleasant township, near the town of Potter, and
developed it into a fine and productive tract. He continued in
agricultural pursuits until 1908, when he went to Arrington, Kan., and
purchased the Arrington State Bank, which he operated until his demise,
January 12, 1910. After Mr. Young’s death, his widow disposed of the
bank and the Arrington property, and removed to Atchison, where she has
since made her home at 419 Kearney street.
William Young was married February 5, 1880, to Miss Angie Cooley, and to
this union were born the following children: Maude, wife of Earl
Stapler, Atchison; Duff D. Young, born April 8, 1901. The mother of
these children was born November 9, 1861, a daughter of James and
Cassendania (Waddle) Cooley, both of whom were born and reared in
Kentucky. James Cooley, her father, migrated to Kansas in 1854 and
settled on a homestead south of Potter, in Leavenworth county. His wife,
Cassendania, came to Kansas to reside with her sister, Mrs. Masterson,
who lived in Mt. Pleasant township, and she was married in 1860 to James
Cooley. Eight children were born to them, of whom Mrs. Young was the
fifth in order of birth. James Cooley took an active and prominent part
in political affairs in Kansas in the early days, and served as the
representative to the State legislature from Leavenworth county for two
terms, from 1868 to 1872, inclusive. He died in 1876.
William Young was a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the
Odd Fellows, and the Fraternal Aid Union. He was a man who lived his
life according to Christian precepts, and was a regular attendant at
church and Sunday school of the Christian denomination. His start in
life was at the foot of the ladder, and he was successful in his
undertakings, building for himself and his family, and leaving behind
him on this earth the memory of a life well spent, and to his family a
heritage of industry, honesty, straightforwardness and right living
which will long be remembered by those who knew him best.
JAMES E. BEHEN.
In the compilation of the biographical department of this history of
Atchison county, Kansas, the fact is frequently brought to the mind of
the reviewer that the really successful men of this county are
essentially self-made, and began at the foot of the ladder of success,
working their way upward by various means, all of which were honest and
based upon hard and painstaking labor at the outset of their careers.
Very few were well educated, or had been blessed with opportunities in
their youth such as are the heritage of the youth of the present day.
James Edward Behen, successful farmer, of Center township, Atchison
county, is one of those citizens who are deserving of credit for what
they have accomplished. Starting out as a boy of twelve, he has made his
own way in the world, and after he attained manhood, with the assistance
of a good and faithful helpmeet, he has accomplished results which are
really creditable. Starting with a tract of eighty acres of land in
1900, which he found necessary to improve, he soon added another eighty,
then another eighty, and now has a fine farm of 240 acres, which is one
of the most fertile tracts of land in the county, practically all of
which is in cultivation. Mr. Behen has the right idea of farming,
inasmuch as he sells the product of his farm “on the hoof,” and has
become an extensive feeder of cattle and hogs. This plan insures the
fertility of the soil, and his farm is steadily improving as the result
of a wise method of cultivation.
Mr. Behen is a native son of Kansas, who was born and brought up on
Kansas soil, and will not admit that there is any better place under the
sun for a man to acquire a fortune than right here in Atchison county,
and, judging by what he has done in Kansas, the writer is prone to agree
with him. James E. Behen was born March 28, 1864, at Leavenworth, and is
a son of Michael and Mary Behen, who had six children. The father was of
Irish descent. He followed bridge building. James, the subject of this
sketch, started out to make his own way at the age of twelve years, and
went to work on the farm of Edward Whalen, in Doniphan county, Kansas,
and stayed there eight years. Meanwhile, he attended the district
school, receiving a rudimentary education. He then worked as a farm hand
until he was twenty-two years old. For several years following he rented
land in Atchison and Doniphan counties. In 1900 he bought eighty acres
in Center township, and five years later bought the eighty acres
adjoining his farm on the west. Now he owns 240 acres, which he has
improved considerably. He built a modern barn, 32×35 feet in size, and
also built a fine cattle barn, forty feet square. He does a large
feeding business, handling a carload of cattle each year. He keeps
graded stock of all kinds on his farm.
In 1888 he was married to Lizzie Pauly, who was born March 30, 1862, in
Doniphan county, Kansas. She is the daughter of John and Anna
(Hartzinger) Pauly, natives of Germany. The parents were early settlers
in Illinois, and moved to Doniphan county, Kansas, in 1857. Mr. and Mrs.
Behen have eight children: Mrs. Agnes McCibben, Atchison, Kan.; Alice,
deceased; Mary, graduate of Atchison High School, living at home;
Thomas, living at home; Joseph, at home; John, whereabouts unknown; Roy
and Fred, living at home. Mr. Behen is a Democrat. He is a member of the
Roman Catholic church.
FRED HARTMAN.
It is meet that considerable space be devoted to the valiant old
pioneers of Kansas who assisted in the settlement of the country, and
had much to do with its development. Not all of them figured
prominently, and it was given to a very few to be honored above their
fellows. In the latter class the reviewer must of necessity and choice
place the late Fred Hartman, pioneer, successful farmer, Union veteran
and well known public official, who for more than two decades was a well
known and highly esteemed citizen of Atchison county.
Fred Hartman was born in Franklin county, Indiana, December 7, 1844, a
son of Jonathan and Christina (Wolking) Hartman. His paternal
grandfather was Henry Hartman, a native of Pennsylvania, of German
extraction, and his wife, Alice Case, whom he married in Pennsylvania,
migrated to Indiana in the early days of the settlement of the Hoosier
State. Jonathan Hartman, father of the subject, was born in Franklin
county, Indiana, January 22, 1822, and was reared to young manhood among
the rugged hills of his native county, learning the carpenter’s trade,
and then moving to Platte county, Missouri, with his family in 1846.
Nine years after settling in Platte county, he removed to Port William,
at that time a thriving settlement on the banks of the Missouri river in
Atchison county. Here he erected one of the first sawmills in Atchison
county and the State of Kansas, and furnished all the sawed lumber for
the settlers for many miles around. The year 1856 saw the beginning of
the struggle between the Free State and pro-slavery men for possession
of Kansas, and the summer of that year witnessed some lively times.
History records the fact that a man named Bob Gibson, leader of the
Kickapoo Rangers, came from the headquarters of the gang with a squad of
men for the purpose of mobbing Jonathan Hartman on account of his
opposition to slavery. Mr. Hartman was a man of high courage and assumed
a defiant attitude toward the Rangers who finally left without doing the
damage which they had boasted was their intent. About this time the
noted Pardee Butler was set afloat on a raft down the Missouri river by
the pro-slavery men of Atchison, and Butler appealed to Hartman for aid
after landing, near Port William. Mr. Hartman gave Butler every
assistance possible, in getting him to his home. In 1857 Jonathan
Hartman sold his sawmill and settled on a farm in Mt. Pleasant township,
near the old military road which ran from Ft. Leavenworth to Denver, and
the Far Western points. Great trains of thirty or more heavily laden
wagons drawn by six and twelve yoke of oxen were constantly passing the
home of the Hartmans. Mrs. Hartman recalls the great drought of 1860 and
the great snows of the following winter. During the year of the great
drought the settlers did not raise any crops and were forced to journey
to Atchison for provisions, on the return trip stopping at the Andrew
Parnell farm for assistance in their dire need. Two of the drivers on a
wagon train that terrible winter had their feet frozen, one of the men
afterwards losing both feet as a result of the hardships undergone. The
Parnell home was a welcome and hospitable place of refuge for the
starving and suffering settlers, during that winter. Mrs. Hartman also
recalls the beautiful and inspiring sights made by the troops of United
States cavalry which were frequently seen from her home in those days.
Fred Hartman hearkened to the call of the Union in the second year of
the great civil conflict and enlisted in Company F, of the famous
Thirteenth Kansas volunteer regiment, under Captain Hayes, Major
Woodworth and Colonels Bowen and Speck. He was engaged chiefly in scout
duty, and was stationed at Ft. Smith and other points in the Southwest
during his term of service, which lasted for three years, and was
finally mustered out at Ft. Leavenworth in 1865. He then came home and
resumed the farm work on his father’s farm. He was married January 21,
1866, to Cynthia Parnell. To this union were born the following
children: Henrietta, wife of R. H. Ripple, died in 1896; Hannah Ann,
wife of James Iddings, both of whom are deceased, and who left one
child, Geneva Iddings, of Topeka, Kan.; Dora, wife of Joseph Speck, died
in 1896, leaving one daughter, Dora, who lives with her grandmother;
Jonathan, a salesman of Kansas City; Josephine, wife of John Putman, of
Atchison; May Florence, wife of Roy Trimble, sheriff of Atchison county,
has four children; Birdie, wife of Henry Barr, died in 1906; Frederick,
died in 1911, was married to Blanche Baker, daughter of Captain Baker.
The mother of these children was born January 14, 1849, in Buchanan
county, Missouri, a daughter of Andrew and Mirah (Wilson) Parnell
natives of Kentucky and Indiana, respectively. Andrew and Mirah Parnell
began their wedded life in Franklin county, Indiana, where they were
reared and then migrated to Arkansas, and from there to Missouri in the
early forties. In 1859 the family left Buchanan county and settled in
Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison county, where they figured prominently
in the early history of the county. The little Parnell was named after
Andrew Parnell and the old town of the same name took its appellation
from the family which settled in the neighborhood. Mr. Parnell spent his
last days in Jefferson county, Kansas, where he died in 1872. He became
very well-to-do and prospered. He was one of the original Free State men
and suffered considerable loss at the hands of the Jayhawkers and border
ruffians. Andrew Parnell was the father of eleven children, six sons and
five daughters, and sent three of his sons to serve their country in the
Thirteenth Kansas regiment, one son being killed. Mrs. Hartman is the
youngest child of this large family.
When Mr. and Mrs. Fred Hartman were married they settled on a farm near
Parnell, which Mrs. Hartman still owns. They developed this farm and
cultivated it successfully until 1896, when they removed to Atchison,
where Mr. Hartman died October 25, 1909. Mr. Hartman was a life-long
Republican and began taking an active part in political and civic
affairs when he had attained his majority. He was elected sheriff of the
county in the fall of 1895, and served four years in all, in this
important office. Previous to his removal to Atchison, he had capably
filled the office of trustee of Mt. Pleasant township. He became
identified with the civic life of Atchison and served as a member of the
city council and was held in high esteem for his ability and
capabilities as a citizen. Mr. Hartman was prominent in Odd Fellow and
Masonic circles during his long life in the county.
Fred Hartman was one of those pioneer citizens of Atchison county which
are distinguished for their qualities of leadership, and his descendants
are proud of his record as a citizen and public official. He was, during
his whole life, a reader and student who believed in keeping abreast of
the times and made a hobby of gathering historical data, being much
interested in the history of his adopted State. His mind remained keen
to the end of his days and he will always be fondly remembered by those
who knew him. To him and his comrades who laid the foundation of the
prosperous and happy community of Atchison, this volume is respectfully
dedicated.
OSCAR A. SIMMONS.
Successful banking calls for qualifications somewhat different from
those required in other pursuits or professions. It calls for a keen
mind, decisive action, ability to pass judgment upon a proposition and
its merits, and the power to judge and gauge human nature, and determine
upon the honesty or sincerity of those with whom the banker is
constantly doing business. Oscar A. Simmons, active vice-president and
manager of the First National Bank of Atchison, possesses the
qualifications of a successful banker to a considerable degree. He is
unquestionably one of the rising financiers of Kansas with an ever
increasing prestige in financial circles. He is one of those broad-
minded men who keep abreast of progress and have the faculty of adapting
their capabilities to the advanced needs of the times. Although a
comparatively young man, as years measure a man’s age, his experience in
banking has been such as to eminently fit him for the important position
which he holds.
[Illustration:
_O A Simmons_
]
O. A. Simmons is a native of Kansas, and was born in Jefferson county
February 11, 1874. His father was Joshua Simmons, a native of Indiana,
and his mother was Susan Pitcher Simmons, born and partly reared in
Missouri. The parents of both Joshua and Susan Simmons were among the
pioneer settlers in Jefferson county, and it is probable that they
located there in about 1855. Both the Simmons and Pitcher families were
prominent in the affairs of Jefferson county in the early days of the
county’s growth, and were highly respected. Joshua Simmons and Susan
Pitcher were married in Jefferson county. At the outbreak of the Civil
war, Joshua Simmons offered his services in behalf of the Union, and
enlisted in Company A, Eleventh regiment, Kansas infantry, at the age of
seventeen years, and was under the command of Colonels Moonlight and
Plumb. Mr. Simmons took part in some hard campaigns during his
enlistment, the Eleventh regiment being a part of the division which
fought General Price’s army of invasion throughout Missouri and
Arkansas. On a number of occasions he showed his personal bravery in
volunteering for scout duty in the Southwest. He was mustered out at the
close of the war, returned home, and was married shortly afterward.
After a long and successful career as a farmer and merchant, he is now
living a retired life at Brondon, Colo., at the ripe age of seventy-one
years. Eight children were born to Joshua and Susan Simmons, five of
whom are living, as follows: Mrs. J. W. Faubion, of Anthony, Kan.; Oscar
A.; Mrs. P. H. Scales, of Birmingham, Ala.; W. C. and C. T. Simmons, of
Los Angeles, Cal. The mother of these children departed this life in
1886. She was a good wife and a kind and loving mother.
O. A. Simmons attended the common and high schools of his native county
and town, after which he was employed in a general store at Winchester,
Jefferson county, until 1899. He was then employed in charge of the
gents’ furnishing department of a large department store at Leavenworth
for one year. His ambitions had always been headed toward entering the
field of banking, inasmuch as he believed that he could make a success
as a banker. Opportunity naturally beckoned; he saw the need of a bank
in the town of Potter, Atchison county. Taking what funds he could
muster he went to Potter and organized the Potter State Bank, serving as
the cashier of this institution for two years. He then sold his holdings
in the Potter bank and organized the Exchange State Bank at Nortonville.
For a period of five years he was in charge of this flourishing bank,
and here had the opportunity of demonstrating his inherent ability as a
financier. A wider and larger field beckoned to him and he came to
Atchison in 1906. Here his genius as an organizer has had full
opportunity for exercise and he organized the Commercial State Bank,
which later bought control of, and was consolidated with, the First
National of Atchison. Mr. Simmons was elected vice-president of the bank
at the time of the reorganization and was installed as the bank manager.
He has since taken an active part in the organization of other banking
concerns, having organized the Farmers State Bank of Anthony, Kan., in
1910, of which his brother-in-law, J. W. Faubion, is the cashier. In
1901 he organized the Jarbalo State Bank at Jarbalo, Kan., of which T.
J. Mains is cashier. Mr. Simmons disposed of his interests in the
Jarbalo bank in 1911, and bought the Farmers State Bank at Effingham,
selling control of this bank in 1912. His next venture was the purchase
of the controlling interest in the State Savings Bank at Leavenworth, of
which Mr. Mains is now the vice-president. He reorganized the Arrington
State Bank at Arrington, Kan., in 1903, and is still interested in its
affairs. He organized the Citizens State Bank at Elmo, Mo., in 1913, and
is the principal owner of this bank, and a stockholder in the Union
State Bank at McLouth, Kan. It is a noteworthy fact that every financial
institution with which Mr. Simmons has been connected has prospered, and
is in sound condition. In every bank in which he has been interested he
has displayed ability of a high order as a financier and manager.
Mr. Simmons has been twice married, his first wife being Margaret Mains,
whom he espoused in 1902, being a daughter of James Mains, of Oskaloosa,
Kan. She died in 1907. His second marriage, in 1910, was with Mary
Frances, daughter of J. H. Barry, a substantial and well known citizen
of Atchison (see biography of J. H. Barry). Two children have blessed
this union: John Barry, born December 17, 1911, and O. A. Simmons,
junior, born March 9, 1913.
From farmer boy to banker and capitalist in the short period of a little
over forty years, with no initial capital to begin with, but a keen mind
and strong body, is the gist of the career of him of whom this review is
written. When a boy he worked for fifty cents per day in Jefferson
county. Coming from the soil, and being reared on the farm, he has never
entirely lost a love for the land itself, and is heavily interested in
various tracts of good farm land, and owns 400 acres of Atchison county
farm land, and 700 acres in eastern Colorado, which, together with
holdings in Missouri and Texas, will aggregate over 1,500 acres. His
financial interests are varied, and in Atchison are of such nature as to
be of distinct benefit to the welfare of the city. He holds stock in
several of the city’s leading mercantile concerns. His first work was as
a farm laborer at $10 per month. His commercial career practically began
in a general store at Winchester, Kan., at a salary of $17 per month,
and during the twenty-three years following, he has amassed a fortune of
over $100,000. Yet, there are those who say that opportunity for
attaining wealth and position are gone, and that a young man has no
chance to succeed because of the great competition of the financial
trusts of the country. The life story of O. A. Simmons is a direct
contradiction to the wail of the pessimist, and furnishes a decided
inspiration to any young fellow blessed with mentality and strength to
go and do likewise in his favorite line of endeavor. While Mr. Simmons
is a stanch Republican, he does not take an active part in political
affairs, and has declined political preferment.
H. B. WALTER.
H. B. Walter, of Benton township, Atchison county, Kansas, is one of the
most widely known and successful live stock breeders in Kansas, and has
made a signal success as a breeder of Poland China hogs during the past
ten years. He first began the breeding of fine live stock in Republic
county, Kansas, and while he has been a resident of Atchison county only
since 1909, he has become known the length and breadth of the county for
his fine live stock production. Mr. Walter did not venture in the
breeding department of specialized agriculture for the purpose of
producing show animals, but began his work purely as a commercial
venture, and has succeeded even beyond his most sanguine expectations.
He is the owner of 160 acres of fine farm land, located three and one-
half miles northwest of Effingham, on which are excellent improvements.
His farm is headquarters for supplying breeders with registered stock in
all parts of the country, and he has the distinction of having developed
the world beater of big type litters, and has produced and sold a
world’s record type of Poland China swine of the big variety. For the
past four years he has made the sales record for the State of Kansas in
the numbers produced and the prices obtained. His farm produces 200 head
of registered Big Type Poland China swine annually, and he holds two
sales each year, in the months of October and February. In February of
1915, Mr. Walter sold fifty head of hogs, at an average price of sixty
dollars per head, to buyers who attended the sale from all parts of the
West. In February of the preceding year he sold at his regular sale
fifty head, which brought an average price of seventy dollars each. The
output of his breeding pens is shipped to points as far west as Oregon,
and to places ranging from Minnesota to the Gulf States. In July of 1915
he filled an order for three high priced hogs sent in from Connecticut.
He has done no exhibiting except at the local stock shows.
H. B. Walter was born on a farm in Jay county, Indiana, July 31, 1871, a
son of Thomas S. and Sarah (Sherman), the former a native of Indiana,
and the latter a native of Ohio. The family migrated from Indiana to
Republic county, Kansas, in 1892, and settled on a farm in that county,
where Thomas S. still resides. H. B. received his education in the
public schools of his native county and State, and studied at Ridgeville
College, Indiana. He prepared himself for the teaching profession, and
taught school in Indiana for one year, and taught for nine years in
Republic county, after moving to Kansas. He held the highest average
grade possible to obtain in his teacher’s certificate, and met with
considerable success in his profession, but abandoned teaching to engage
in farming, in which avocation he began with the same determination to
succeed as he had been imbued with when he began to teach. He purchased
a farm in Republic county, which he cultivated, later buying a place in
Brown county, Kansas, which he sold in 1909, and made the purchase of
his present farm.
He was married in 1895 to Fanny Kunkel, a daughter of Noah and Caroline
Kunkel, who were residents of Republic county, Kansas, from 1867 until
their death. Mrs. Walter was also a teacher for eight years, and lived
in Republic county over forty years. Mr. and Mrs. Walter have two living
children: Frank, born in 1898, and Ruth, born in October, 1902.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Politically, Mr. Walter is an independent voter, who is not tied to the
principles of any political party or leader. He is a member of the
Central Protective Association.
HEKELNKAEMPER BROTHERS.
This firm has the distinction of operating the oldest soda and vinegar
manufactory in Kansas, which was founded by William H. Hekelnkaemper,
father of the present proprietors, in 1863. The first factory was
located in a little shed, 14×14 feet, one door east of the A. J. Harwi
hardware store on Commercial street, Atchison, Kan. Mr. Hekelnkaemper
operated the business for ten years, and gradually enlarged his quarters
as much as his limited means would allow, and about 1873 removed the
plant to the present location on the corner of Ninth and Laramie
streets. He erected a brick structure, 22×50 feet, and also built an ice
house. His business prospered from the start when he moved to his new
location, and was confined to the trade in Atchison with the exception
of supplying the towns within a radius of fifty miles in northeast
Kansas, and western Missouri. In the old days patrons drove in wagons
for a distance of fifty miles and more to purchase the products of the
factory, and many of the former patrons are still buying from the sons.
After the founder’s death in 1881, the business was allowed to languish
to some extent owing to the enforcement of the State prohibition law,
for the reason that the products of the factory, while not intoxicating,
were largely purchased by saloons. Trade naturally fell off for a time
until conditions were adjusted to the new regime, and new demands were
created in other retail circles than the saloon business. The plant was
closed for about a year and the widow then leased the buildings for ten
years to M. L. Greenhut, who later retired. The sons then took charge in
1900, and it has since been operated by F. W. and G. A. Hekelnkaemper.
The boys had no capital to begin with, but had a wonderful amount of
determination and perseverance which stood them in good stead and
enabled them to make good. The business had to be built over again, but
fortunately paid a small profit during the first years. In time other
additions were made to the plant and the capacity has been increased to
over 15,000 bottle of soda water per day. This is the main product of
the factory which also produces fruit syrups and flavoring extracts of a
superior grade and quality, in addition to fifty thousand gallons of
high grade vinegar each year. During the busy season fourteen men are
employed and Hekelnkaemper Brothers has grown to become one of the
important manufacturing concerns of Atchison. During the past eight
years the business has practically doubled itself over that of each
preceding year.
William H. Hekelnkaemper, Sr., was born in April of 1837, in Westphalia,
Germany, and emigrated from his native land when a young man. He landed
at New Orleans from a sailing vessel and then came by river boat to St.
Louis where he lived for a number of years and engaged in the grocery
business. His store was burned and he left St. Louis and came to the
town of Rollin, Mo., where he again established a grocery store about
1861. In the spring of 1863, he came to Atchison, Kan., and opened and
operated the first pool and billiard room in the city. One year later he
disposed of part of his equipment and moved a part to Seneca, Kan.,
where after operating a pool room for a time, he sold out and returned
to Atchison. In about 1863 he embarked in the soda manufactory as stated
in the preceding paragraph. While a resident of St. Louis, Mr.
Hekelnkaemper was married to Theresa Houk, who was born in St. Louis,
Mo., of German parents, who both died during the great cholera epidemic
when Theresa was about three years of age. The children born to this
union are as follows: Gustave A., Frederick W.; William G., Frank V.,
Laura, Edith, Emma and Anna.
F. W. Hekelnkaemper was married September 17, 1901, to Pauline Ostertag,
a daughter of George Ostertag, one of the pioneer wagon makers of
Atchison, and to this union have been born two children: Irene and
Lucille. He is a Democrat and is a member of the Elks, Eagles and the
Moose.
G. A. Hekelnkaemper is associated with F. W. in the business as above
mentioned. He was married in August, 1901, to Lydia Weik, a daughter of
Christian Weik, an Atchison county pioneer, and to this union have been
born two children: Marie and Louise. G. A. is a Democrat in politics.
William H. Hekelnkaemper died August 20, 1881. He was politically allied
with the Republican party during his life, and was a member of the
Atchison city council for a number of years, having been a particular
and close friend and admirer of the late Senator John J. Ingalls. He was
one of the founders of the famous Turner Society, and was its first
president. He was prominently identified with the affairs of the society
and the civic affairs of Atchison until his demise. He was a man of
great resourcefulness which aided him in making a new start on occasions
when everything looked darkest for his future. He had many warm friends
in Atchison and was universally respected by all who knew him.
CLEM P. HIGLEY.
Clem P. Higley, farmer and stockman of Center township, Atchison county,
was born there March 25, 1869. He is a son of Russell and Carrie
(Hooper) Higley, who were the parents of nine children, as follows:
William, deceased; Otto, deceased; Emma Winsor, Las Vegas, N. M.; Hallie
Nelson, Las Vegas, N. M.; Theodore, a traveling man; Clem, the subject
of this sketch; Frank, farming the old home place, and Gilbert and Mina,
both deceased. The father was born just west of New York City, January
3, 1833. In his early manhood he followed the blacksmithing trade, and
at the age of twenty went to Illinois, where he remained for two years.
Coming to Atchison county, he preëmpted 160 acres of land in section 3,
Center township, and sold it shortly afterward and bought 80 acres in
section 35, a mile east of old Pardee, Kan. He made extensive
improvements on this place and farmed it until he retired in 1895. He
now lives with his son, Clem. Russell Higley’s life did not run as
smoothly as it might seem from this account of it. In his early days in
Kansas the drought destroyed his crops one year. He gathered only one
bushel of corn from his field that year. Having started out with no
capital, this misfortune was a serious one. He and his twin brother,
Russell, worked for Pardee Butler, while he returned to Illinois. They
worked for Mr. Butler all summer and in the fall of 1856 started to walk
back to Illinois, so as to be home during the winter. A winter in Kansas
was a serious thing in those days, and with the best of provisions, it
was a fierce ordeal. In the spring of 1857 they returned to Kansas,
having the confidence in this country to develop into a prosperous
district. Russell was a son of Francis Higley, and his mother died when
he was a very small boy. Carrie Higley, the mother of Clem, was born in
Tennessee in 1837. Her father was a freighter from Missouri to Santa Fe,
N. M. Mrs. Higley died in 1899.
Clem Higley, the subject of this sketch, attended school at Pardee,
Kan., and when twenty-one years old, started out to work by the month. A
year later he rented a farm in Benton township, five miles south of
Effingham, Kan. Then for a period of nine years he rented in Benton
township, and the following three years rented his father’s farm and in
1903 bought 105 acres. The place was not well improved and he set to
work erecting buildings, and now has a large two-story home and two
barns, one 24×50 feet and the other 40×42 feet. The latter has a cement
basement. Higley’s total holdings now number 185 acres of land. He keeps
graded stock, including fine Poland China hogs. In 1896 he was married
to Margaret Hawk, who was born March 21, 1877, in Ohio. She is a
daughter of Lafayette and Hattie (Pitt) Hawk, both natives of Ohio. Mr.
and Mrs. Higley have had six children born to them, the second child
dying in infancy. The others are, Newell, Wilber, Morris, Marie, Dale.
All are living with their parents. Mr. Higley is a Republican and is a
member of the Christian church.
WILLIAM E. HUBBARD.
William E. Hubbard, farmer and stockman, Kapioma township, Atchison
county, was born September 8, 1861, in Henderson county, Illinois. He is
a son of Simeon and Mary Ann (Pence) Hubbard, who were the parents of
the following children: Mrs. Lillie O’Connor, widow living in Muscotah;
Mrs. Cora Routh, Kapioma township; Lewis, farmer, Kapioma township;
William, the subject of this sketch, and two children who died in
infancy. Simeon Hubbard, the father of William, was born March 10, 1840,
in Indiana. He was a farmer in his young manhood, and on coming to
Kansas in 1874, followed the same occupation. Settling near Muscotah, he
rented land for four years, and during this time saved his earnings for
future investment. At the end of four years he had accumulated enough to
buy the farm, and he became a landowner and led a prosperous career as a
farmer. He fed stock for the market as well as grew crops. He now
resides in Muscotah, Kan. The mother of William Hubbard is also living.
William E. Hubbard grew up on his father’s farm in Illinois and attended
the district school in Kapioma township, Atchison county. When he was of
age he began farming in partnership with his father. At the age of
twenty-eight he was married and located on a rented farm near his
father’s place. He lived there until 1895, when he bought 180 acres just
south of where he had rented. After working this place seven years, he
sold it and bought the 160–acre farm which he now owns. On this place
William has invested a considerable sum in improvements which include a
fine granary. He is a stockholder in the Grange elevator at Muscotah,
Kan. It should also be mentioned that William keeps graded stock on his
farm.
In 1889 he married Martha Routh, who was born near Leavenworth, Kan., in
1869. They are the parents of seven children as follows: Jesse, Atchison
county; Mrs. Bessie Roberts, Kapioma township; Fred, Lola, Ollie, Mabel
and Frank, all living at home. Mr. Hubbard is a Democrat and is now
serving as a member on the school board in his district, Rose Valley,
No. 49. He is a member of the Mission church. Mr. Hubbard is a citizen
interested in the welfare of his community and is always active in any
project that will improve his neighborhood.
DRENNAN L. DAWDY.
Drennan L. Dawdy is a stockman first, last and always. Pedigrees and
prices are his stock in trade, and to talk with Mr. Dawdy without
hearing about his fine stock is impossible. Next to his family his stock
is his pride. Mr. Dawdy confines his stock raising to the best strains.
It is his theory that it never pays to bring up a scrub. The same amount
of feed and the same amount of care, if intelligently applied to
registered animals, will bring in double and treble returns, Mr. Dawdy
believes, and it is his policy not to waste time on inferior breeds. Mr.
Dawdy has a cow that cost him $75. The former owner of the cow did not
see any marks of good blood in the animal, but Mr. Dawdy did, and he has
made $4,000 out of that one cow in the last seven years. The buying of
this cow at the price, however, was simply a very fortunate investment,
as Mr. Dawdy says, generally speaking, “The highest priced cattle were
much the best investments, and he has paid as high as $800 and $900 for
cows and $1,000 for a bull. He sold one of the calves for $755 and
another for $500. He learned his business well, for he learned it in the
best way possible, from his father. The father, John W. Dawdy, was a
breeder of fine cattle in Illinois and probably inherited that trait
from his parents, who were Kentuckians. The father was born in the blue
grass country March 30, 1840, but at the age of seven was taken by his
parents, Jefferson and Elizabeth (Amos) Dawdy, to Illinois, where he
remained until 1910. While he was living at Abingdon, Ill., he met Sarah
J. Latimer, to whom he was married May 7, 1847. She was a daughter of
Alexandria and Julia Ann (Hart) Latimer, natives of Tennessee, and was
the mother of six children, three of whom are living. Drennan, the
subject of this sketch, is the oldest. The others are Norval M. and
Daisy E., who live in California. In 1910 the parents removed to Napa,
Cal., where the father is now living. The mother died August 12, 1915.
After attending the country school near his Illinois home, Drennan
attended Hedding College at Abingdon and later went to business college
at Chicago. But he was a natural born stockman and could not resist the
lure. So he went back to his father and joined him in the livestock
business and became associated with his father in the breeding of
Shorthorn cattle under the firm name of J. W. Dawdy & Son. In the latter
part of 1889 he and Walter Latimer purchased the entire herd of cattle
known as the Shannon Hill herd owned by the late Ex-Governor George W.
Glick, of Atchison, Kan. This herd was the largest collection of pure
Bates cattle in America at that time, and were dispersed by D. L. Dawdy
& Co., at auction in Kansas City, Mo., April 11–12, 1900, the ninety-one
head bringing a total of $20,460, which was considered a remarkable sale
for an entire herd, which included a number of aged cows, the general
average of the sale being $225 per head with a top price of $800 for the
“Second Dutchess” of Atchison, the buyer of whom was the late W. R.
Nelson, of the _Kansas City Star_. Mr. Nelson bought fifteen head of
cattle at this sale at an average price of $415 per head. In June of the
same year this firm bought the entire herd of Scotch and Scotch topped
Shorthorns of J. T. Kinmouth & Son, Columbus Junction, Iowa, paying
$11,000 cash for the 100 head. This was one of the most notable private
deals in registered cattle of recent years. In 1901 they bought sixty-
five head of registered cattle in one lot. D. L. Dawdy & Co. have made
many successful sales both private and public. In 1899 Mr. Dawdy came to
Atchison county, Kansas, and took charge of the George W. Glick farms,
near Atchison, Kan. This position gave him charge of a herd of
registered Shorthorns. In 1901 he bought the farm which he now owns,
consisting of 405 acres, lying one-half mile north of Arrington, Kan. On
this place he has devoted himself to the breeding of fine cattle and has
made that his principal work. His exhibits have taken high honors at the
stock shows in Kansas City and Chicago. A number of years ago he bought
“Sunshine,” a fine cow in the herd owned by Senator W. A. Harris, paying
$225 for her. Four of her calves have brought him $1,365. He has owned
three cows which sold for $800 each, and in 1902 he sold thirty head of
cattle at $266.66 each.
On May 15, 1901, Mr. Dawdy married Nellie B. Prim, who was born on a
farm near Atchison, Kan., April 3, 1881. Her father, Charles S. Prim,
was a native of Tennessee, while the mother, Sophia (Christian) Prim,
came from the Isle of Man. Both parents are now dead. Mr. and Mrs. Dawdy
have four children, all of whom are living at home: Ruth, John, Helen
and Glenn. Two died in infancy. Mrs. Dawdy carries her husband’s hobbies
into the domestic end of the farm. She makes a specialty of raising fine
turkeys, raising the bronze variety. She sells eggs from her turkeys for
fifty cents apiece, and often gets as high as $7.50 for a turkey. She
saved $150 from the sale of eggs and bought a Shorthorn calf which is
worth $300 today. Mr. Dawdy is working to make his home an ideal country
place. His house is on one of the finest locations in the county. By
installing 15,000 feet of drainage, at a cost of $1,200, he has
reclaimed fifty-two acres of soil, which previous owners of the place
had thought to be too wet to cultivate, but since installing the
drainage system Mr. Dawdy has raised annually fine crops of corn and
wheat on it. The Delaware has a habit of overflowing and Mr. Dawdy was
one of the first farmers to suggest the organization of County Drainage
District, Number One, comprising 8,300 acres, and is nine miles in
length as the crow flies, while the Delaware river course is at present
nineteen and one-half miles, and the drainage system shortens the run
seven and one-half miles, doubles the velocity of the stream and
increases its carrying capacity four and one-half times. The expense or
total cost of the ditch will be $100,000 and will increase land values
tremendously. Mr. Dawdy is one of the directors of the enterprise. Mr.
Dawdy owns 405½ acres of land which has a fine large residence on it.
The location is one of the most beautiful in Atchison county. On a clear
day Horton, fifteen miles north, can be plainly seen; Holton looms up
twelve miles west, Muscotah, seven miles north, Valley Falls, twelve
miles southeast, Larkin, two and a half miles west, and Arrington, one-
half mile south. Mr. Dawdy has a complete set of volumes of American
herd books, and knows the pedigree of every animal on his place. He is a
member of the American Shorthorn Breeders’ Association of Chicago, and
knows the latest facts about the cattle business. His home is highly
improved with silos and drainage facilities. He is a Democrat in
politics and a member of the district school board and the drainage
district No. 1, of Atchison county, Kansas. He belongs to the Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons, of Muscotah.
JOHN M. PRICE.
John M. Price, deputy county treasurer, farmer and stockman, of Mt.
Pleasant township, Atchison county, is a native born Kansan, and son of
John M. Price, deceased, who was one of the most distinguished members
of the Kansas bar, and who practiced his profession in the city of
Atchison for forty years.
John M. Price, the father, was born in Richmond, Madison county,
Kentucky, in October, 1829, a son of Thomas S. and Sarah (Jarman) Price.
His paternal grandfather was Moses M. Price, and his maternal
grandfather was John Jarman. Moses M. married Catherine Broadus, and
John Jarman married Elizabeth Broadus, the two women being distant
relatives. Moses M. Price and wife were both natives of Virginia, and
removed to Madison county, Kentucky, in the early part of the nineteenth
century, with their respective parents. After his marriage in Kentucky,
Moses M. made his home in Estill county, Kentucky. He was the father of
ten children, the fourth of whom was Thomas M. Price, father of John M.,
the elder, and who married Sarah Jarman in 1828. Sarah (Jarman) Price
was a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Broadus) Jarman. This marriage was
blessed with three children: Thomas E., John M., and Mary W. The mother
died in 1836, and in 1838 Thomas M. Price married Miss Elizabeth Combs,
of Clark county, Kentucky, and the following fall removed to a home in
Johnson county, Missouri. From Johnson county he removed to Pettis
county, Missouri, and farmed there until 1845, after which he returned
to Estill county, Kentucky. In 1853 Thomas S. and family started for
Texas, where he resided until his demise at Mt. Pleasant, Titus county,
in 1857.
John M. Price, father of the present deputy county treasurer, returned
from Missouri to Kentucky with his father, and remained at the home of
his uncle, Morgan M. Price, whom he assisted in his farm work, and also
attended school at Irvine, the county seat of Estill county. In 1845 and
1846 he was employed in a drygoods store at Irvine, and in the fall of
1847 he accepted a home with Col. Walter Chiles, a prominent lawyer and
politician of Mt. Sterling, Ky., who had married Jane Price, an aunt of
John M. Price. After attending school in the fall and winter, Mr. Price
became a clerk in the office of the county clerk of Montgomery county,
Kentucky. While performing his duties in the county clerk’s office he
read law in the office of Colonel Chiles and was admitted to the
practice of his profession in March, 1848. He first opened a law office
at Irvine, and in 1851 was elected county attorney of Estill county;
reëlected in 1855, and continued to serve until July, 1858, when he
resigned in order to remove to Kansas. He determined on Atchison as his
future abiding place, and accordingly, located in this city September 1,
1858.
Kansas was then a territory, and for forty-one years of the development
of the State, Mr. Price was an important factor in promoting its
interests and welfare. He soon built up an extensive law practice in the
growing city of the great bend on the Missouri, and took an active and
influential part in political affairs, allying himself with the newly
formed Republican party. He early identified himself with the
controlling organization of his party, and for twenty years prior to his
demise he was a delegate to every Republican county convention, and to
many State conventions. In 1859, when Judge Otis resigned the office of
county attorney, Mr. Price was appointed to fill the vacancy by the
board of county commissioners, and served until Kansas was admitted into
the Union, when he was nominated and elected to the office at the first
general election under the State constitution. In 1861 he was elected
police judge of the city and re-elected in 1862 and 1863. He was elected
a member of the city council in 1864 and served for three years in
succession as a member of that body. He was elected mayor of the city
without opposition in 1867. In the fall of 1866 he was elected State
senator from Atchison county for a two years’ term, and while serving as
State senator he was appointed by Governor Crawford as one of the
commissioners to revise the general laws of the State. Mr. Price was
chairman of the commission, which was composed of himself, Samuel A.
Riggs, of Lawrence, and James McCahon, of Leavenworth. The revision thus
made was adopted by the legislature without much amendment, and the
general statutes of 1868 were printed and published during that year
under the supervision of this commission. In the same year Mr. Price was
made chairman of the judiciary committee of the senate, to which body he
was reëlected in 1870, and served during the sessions of 1871 and 1872,
and on the organization of the senate, he was chosen president of the
body. He was a candidate for governor of the State before the Republican
convention in the fall of 1872, and was a leading candidate until the
tenth and last ballot, when all the opposing candidates threw their
support to Thomas A. Osborne. In the memorable contest for the United
States senatorship in 1873, Mr. Price’s friends presented him as a
candidate before the anti-Pomeroy caucus, and for the first nineteen
ballots Mr. Price was the leading candidate, and then John J. Ingalls
was chosen by the convention on a unanimous vote. In 1892 he was again
elected to the State senate and served in the memorable sessions of 1893
and 1895.
On January 10, 1854, John M. Price was married in Irvine, Ky., to Eliza
Jarman Park, the only daughter of Elihu and Mary Park. This marriage was
blessed with the following children: Mollie F., born in Irvine, October
12, 1854, married Charles B. Singleton, of Atchison, for twenty-seven
years assistant postmaster, and now bookkeeper for the Exchange National
Bank; Nannie B., born in Irvine August 28, 1856, wife of F. L.
Vandergrift, editor of the Santa Fe publications, Kansas City, Mo.; John
M. died in January, 1875; John M., Jr., with whom this review is
directly concerned, and Eliza P. The mother of these children was born
in Irvine, Ky., August 22, 1832, and resides at present in Kansas City,
Mo.
John M. Price, Sr., died October 19, 1898. He was one of the
distinguished Masons of Kansas. He served as the grand high priest of
the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Kansas, and was secretary of that body:
he was president of the council of the Holy Order of High Priesthood;
grand treasurer of the Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of the
State; also president of the Kansas Masons’ Protective Association; was
a thirty-second degree Mason, and a member of Medina Temple, No. 31, of
the Mystic Shrine, and was also a member of Shiloh Conclave, No. 1,
Knights of the Red Cross of Constantine, Knights of the Holy Sepulchre,
and Knights of St. John the Evangelist. He served one term as grand
master of the most worthy grand lodge of the Odd Fellows, and was twice
elected a grand representative to the grand lodge of the United States.
He served one term as grand chancellor of the grand lodge, and of the
Knights of Pythias was the supreme representative to the supreme lodge
of the world for four years. He was the grand master workman of the
grand lodge of the Ancient Order of United Workmen of Kansas; was a
member of the grand lodge of the Knights of Honor, served as assistant
director, and as president of the Atchison lodge of the Independent
Order of Mutual Aid. For years a distinguished and able member of the
legal profession, he was one of the most respected and useful citizens
of Atchison and the State of Kansas.
John M. Price, whose career naturally follows that of his distinguished
parent, was born March 27, 1876, in Atchison. He was educated in the
public schools, and graduated from Midland College in 1894. After
completing the course in Midland College, he entered Wittenberg
University, at Springfield, Ohio, and was graduated from that
institution in 1897, with the degree of Master of Arts. For some time he
was engaged in the profession of teaching, and was assistant professor
of chemistry and physics at Midland College from 1894 until 1895. For
two years he filled the post of buyer at the Kansas State penitentiary,
at Lansing, and then located on his farm in Mt. Pleasant township, near
the city of Atchison. He followed farming and stock raising with
success. He was appointed deputy county treasurer under U. B. Sharpless
in the fall of 1915, and is now filling the duties of his office
faithfully and conscientiously.
Mr. Price was married August 12, 1903, to Miss Fan Ballew, who has borne
him one child, Jane Ballew Price, born June 2, 1911. Mrs. Price was born
in Madison county, Kentucky, March 19, 1885, a daughter of George W. and
Jennie (Francis) Ballew, both of whom were descended from old Kentucky
families It is a matter of history that the grandfather of Mrs. Price,
Francis, by name, owned the slaves which escaped from the Kentucky
plantation across the Ohio river, and from whom the character, Eliza, in
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was taken.
Undoubtedly, John M. Price is one of the rising young men of Atchison
county, who is at the beginning of a career which is destined to reflect
credit upon the memory of his illustrious father. He is a member of the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is the present exalted
ruler of that body, and is a prominent member of the Ancient Order of
United Workmen, and the Fraternal Aid Union.
BOYD ROYER.
Boyd Royer, farmer and stockman, of Kapioma township, Atchison county,
Kansas, has reason to be proud of his family tree. His mother was the
first white child to be born in Kapioma township, Atchison county. She
was Emma Hammond before her marriage to George Royer, and was born in
1861 to William and Lena (Brutton) Hammond, who came over from Missouri
and settled in Kansas a short time before her birth. Her ancestors were
Kentuckians. The father of Boyd Royer was a Pennsylvanian, having been
born in Union county, that State, in 1859. He grew up with the common
schooling of the time and learned the blacksmith’s trade. Coming to
Kansas in 1879, he worked by the month near Effingham for a while and
later engaged in farming in Kapioma township, where he rented a farm
until his retirement in 1910. when he moved to Valley Falls, Kan.
Boyd Royer, the subject of this sketch, was born May 13, 1881, four
miles east of Arrington, Kan. He was the oldest child of four children.
The other children are: Walter, with the J. I. Case Company, Kansas
City, Mo.; Miles, a Government employee, Washington, D. C, and George,
Kansas City, Mo. The mother died in 1905. Boyd Royer grew up on his
father’s farm and attended school in district No. 31 of Kapioma
township. In 1901 he rented land near Arrington, Kan., and in 1909
bought 160 acres, and built a fine barn, 36×36 feet, on this place and
has a large eight-room house on the place. All buildings are well
painted and kept in excellent condition, and everything around the place
is kept in neat order.
In 1905 Boyd Royer married Mabel Beyer, who was born June 26, 1882, in
Kapioma township, Atchison county. She is a daughter of Asa and Susan
Beyer, both natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Atchison county in the
early days. Mr. Royer is a Republican. He is a steward in the Methodist
Episcopal church. Mr. and Mrs. Royer have no children.
LEWIS H. HUBBARD.
Lewis H. Hubbard, farmer and stockman, of Kapioma township, Atchison
county, was born March 13, 1872, in Cass County, Missouri. He is a son
of Simeon and Mary Ann (Pence) Hubbard, who were the parents of the
following children: William, Kapioma township, Atchison county, Kansas;
Lillie O’Conner, widow, Muscotah, Kan.; Cora Routh, Kapioma township;
Lewis, subject of this sketch, and two children who died in infancy. The
father of Lewis Hubbard was born March 10, 1840, in Indiana, and grew up
as a farmer, following that occupation after coming to Kansas in 1874.
He settled near Muscotah and rented land for a period of four years and
during that time he saved his money carefully. When he came to Kansas he
was without funds, but at the end of four years he had accumulated
enough to enable him to buy a farm. In addition to growing his crops he
fed stock and did a hustling business in that line. He is still living
and resides at Muscotah, Kan. The mother of Lewis Hubbard is also
living. Lewis Hubbard went to school in the Rose Valley district. He
received a common school education and worked with his father on the
latter’s farm until 1909, when he bought a farm of his own and became
his own manager. The place consisted of 160 acres of fine tillable soil
and is located in section 16, southeast quarter of Muscotah township.
Mr. Hubbard has devoted considerable attention to improving the
appearance of his farm and has constructed a fine seven-room cottage,
and has built a large barn to provide shelter for his stock and hay. He
keeps the best Jersey cows and milks eight to twelve of them for the
dairy. Mr. Hubbard is a stockholder in the farmers’ grain elevator at
Muscotah, Kan.
In 1897 Mr. Hubbard married Anna Hinkston, who was born May 5, 1880, in
Doniphan county, Kansas. She is a daughter of Frank and Dorinda (Tate)
Hinkston, who now live in Jackson county, Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard
are the parents of two children, as follows: Ethel, aged sixteen, who
attends the Atchison County High School at Effingham, and Leslie, aged
seven, living with his parents. The daughter is also studying music, and
her father hopes to give her a thorough education in that subject. Mr.
Hubbard is a Democrat of an independent stamp. He is a member of the
Adventist church and is a deacon in that denomination. If there is one
thing that Mr. Hubbard takes pride in more than another it is in his
children’s education. He realizes the value of an education and desires
that his children have every advantage of education that he can give
them.
ARTHUR S. SCHURMAN.
Atchison county is principally an agricultural community, and not unlike
most sections of the great Middle West, the general wealth and standing
of the community is commensurate with the thrift, enterprise and
industry of the individual farmers. He whose name introduces this sketch
is a representative of that type of men whose efforts have placed
Atchison county in the foremost rank of the 110 political sub-divisions
of the great state of Kansas.
Arthur S. Schurman is one of the substantial and enterprising
agriculturists in Benton township, and has been a resident of the
township for the past thirty years. He is the owner of 202 acres of well
improved land, which is noted for its excellent yields of grain. For the
past ten years Mr. Schurman has been one of the most successful wheat
growers in Atchison county, or even in the State. He has produced the
great yield of 2,330 bushels of wheat on a tract of eighty acres. A
handsome farm residence, tastefully painted a clean white, presents an
attractive appearance on a rise of land fronting the highway, which
passes east and west in front of his land. This fine home was built by
Mr. Schurman in 1911, and comprises eleven rooms in all, with a heating
and water pressure system, which completely modernizes the home. The
residence is nicely situated in the midst of a fine grove, which affords
a generous shade in summer. Mr. Schurman carries on diversified farming
and raises a considerable amount of live stock.
Arthur S. Schurman was born January 11, 1864, in Prince Edward Island,
Dominion of Canada, and is a son of Caleb Schurman, who was born
December 8, 1829, on Prince Edward Island, a son of English parents, who
left their native land and settled on the island many years ago. The
great-grandfather of Arthur Schurman was a German by birth, who
established a home in England. The mother of Arthur S. was Sarah
Creswell before her marriage. She was born May 15, 1835, and died on the
home place in Benton township, November 15, 1889. When but a child she
went from England to Prince Edward Island with her parents. The Schurman
family lived on their native island until 1876, and then immigrated to
the United States, going first to Des Moines, Iowa, in search of a
suitable location. After a residence of eight months in Des Moines, the
family came to Atchison, Kan., where Arthur Schurman was employed in a
harness shop for three years, and also drove a coal wagon for a retail
coal dealer for a time. Caleb Schurman rented a farm south of Atchison,
and later bought the farm now owned by his son, Arthur. Four children
were born to Caleb and Sarah Schurman, namely: Mrs. J. B. O’Connell,
Denver, Colo.; Frederick Robert, a resident of Effingham, Kan.; Percy
Ernest, who died in September, 1896, and Arthur S., the oldest of the
family.
Arthur Schurman was twelve years of age when the family came to the
United States, and received a portion of his schooling in his native
land. He remained with his father, and assisted him in developing his
Atchison county farm, purchasing the land from his father when he came
to man’s estate. Caleb Schurman makes his home with his son, Arthur S.,
who married in August of 1890, to Emma Pruitt, of Atchison, Kan., a
daughter of James Pruitt. This marriage has been blessed with the
following children: Sadie Mary, born October 5, 1892, the wife of Fred
Dooley, of Lancaster township; Martha, born April 3, 1893: George
Herbert, born September 21, 1895; Arthur Ernest, born June 3, 1899, and
died October 19, 1900: Ralph, born March 25, 1902.
Mr. Schurman is a Republican, but has never found time to take an active
part in political affairs. He was reared in the Episcopalian faith. but
the members of his family attend the Christian church at Effingham. He
is a member of the Masonic lodge and the Central Protective Association.
C. A. LILLY, M. D.
C. A. Lilly, M. D., a well known member of the medical profession of
Atchison county, is a native of the Buckeye State. He was born at
Mansfield, Ohio, and is a son of S. and Clara (Beard) Lilly. The father
was a lumberman. Dr. Lilly was reared and educated in Mansfield, Ohio,
and Chicago, Ill., and after obtaining a good academic and classical
education, he entered the Chicago Medical College in 1897 and was
graduated in the class of 1901 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He
then came to Kansas and engaged in the practice of his profession at
Seneca. After remaining there about one year and a half he returned to
Chicago and took a post-graduate course in Rush Medical College, and did
considerable hospital work. In 1904 he located in Atchison, where he has
since been successfully engaged in the practice of medicine and has one
of the extensive practices of Atchison county. He has been division
surgeon for the Missouri Pacific railroad since 1911.
Dr. Lilly was united in marriage in 1902 to Miss Isabel Smith, of
Hiawatha, Kan. Dr. Lilly is a member of the Northeastern Kansas and the
Missouri Valley Medical associations and also belongs to the County,
State and American Medical association.
FRANK J. WATOWA.
Frank T. Watowa, a successful farmer of Shannon township, Atchison
county, was born in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, October 3, 1854, and is
a son of Joseph and Catherine Watowa, natives of Austria, who emigrated
from their native land to Wisconsin where they resided until 1860, when
they came to Missouri, locating in Buchanan county. About 1870 the
family came to Atchison and located on a farm in Shannon township where
his son, Joseph H. Watowa, now resides. The father died in 1895. Frank
J. Watowa is one of a family of seven children, born to Joseph and
Catherine Watowa, as follows: Mary, Henry, Joseph H., Mollie, Earnest,
Paullina and Frank.
Frank J. Watowa was married in 1879 to Miss Anna Falk, who died in 1885,
leaving three children, as follows: Mary, the wife of Antone Lutz, of
Lancaster township; Josephine resides in Colorado Springs, Colo., and
Anna, deceased. On June 24, 1892, Mr. Watowa was united in marriage to
Amanda Smith, and four children have been born to this union, as
follows: Sarah, Frances, Frank and Lawrence.
Mr. Watowa is one of the extensive farmers of Atchison county. He has
280 acres of land, nicely located and very productive. In 1895 he built
a handsome stone residence, which is one of the finest farm homes to be
found in the county. Politically he is a Democrat, and he and his family
are members of the Catholic church. He is a progressive and public
spirited citizen and one of the substantial men of Atchison county.
LEWIS BRADLEY.
Lewis Bradley, farmer and stockman, of Kapioma township, Atchison
county, was born February 24, 1857, in Henderson county, Illinois, and
is a son of Hamilton J. and Sarah E. (Pence) Bradley. The father was
born in Steuben county, New York, October 27, 1834. He followed the
stonemason’s trade. Coming to Atchison county, Kansas, several years
later, in 1880, bought the farm of 160 acres which his son now owns. He
came to Kansas with very little capital, but was able to save enough
money to buy 160 acres in Canadian county, Oklahoma. His death occurred
May 24, 1914. The mother, who died March 8, 1908, was born in Lycoming
county, Pennsylvania, May 14, 1837. Lewis Bradley, the subject of this
sketch, spent the first few years of his life in Illinois, Missouri and
Iowa, and then was brought to Kansas by his parents in 1874. He farmed
with his father until 1898, when he bought the home farm and built a
fine nine-room house on the place, a two-story dwelling. In 1913 he
erected a large barn, 48×60 feet, and keeps the best graded stock. Mr.
Bradley was married September 5, 1881, to Minnie Streeter, who was born
in Boone county, Illinois, October 28, 1865. She is a daughter of Rev.
William H. and Hanna (Vandicar) Streeter, both natives of Watertown, N.
Y. Mr. Streeter came to Kansas in 1870. He was a Methodist minister and
established churches all over Kansas. He was born September 16, 1825,
and died February 28, 1911. Hanna, his wife, was born May 16, 1826, and
died July 29, 1879. Mr. and Mrs. Bradley have four children as follows:
Maud married Albert Williams, railroad contractor, Muscotah, Kan., who
is a graduate of the county high school and taught for fourteen years;
Bessie, deceased; Henry, living at home, graduate of business college of
Kansas City, Mo.; Leslie married Miss Mabel Swisher, and has three
children, Elberta, Clarence and Bessie. Mr. Bradley is a Republican, and
belongs to the Modem Woodmen of America and to the Mystic Workers of the
World. He and his wife were charter members of the Advent Christian
church at Muscotah. Mr. Bradley is the oldest living of a family of
eleven children; the others living are: Lavelle Green, Levi, Ellen
Sheets, Elmer, May Sommers, and Mary Raasch.
ALFRED J. HAMON.
Alfred J. Hamon, farmer, stockman and builder, is one of those self-made
men whose careers demonstrate to our growing youths the possibilities of
industry and good management. Born with no unusual gifts and of parents
who were only in moderate circumstances, he has, by his own efforts,
built up a worthy name for himself in the community in which he lives.
Mr. Hamon was born in Kapioma township, Atchison county, Kansas, July
10, 1863. He was one of five children born to William and Leanah
(Brutton) Hamon. Emma Royer, the oldest child, is dead; Alfred, the
subject of this sketch, is the second in order of birth. The others are:
Nancy Heimbach, Effingham, Kan.; John, Jefferson county, Kansas: Samuel,
Kapioma township. The father was a Kentuckian, born in 1835, and during
part of his young manhood he farmed in his native State. Coming to
Kansas in the early days, he homesteaded 160 acres in Kapioma township,
Atchison county. This land was covered with timber, and rather than
attempt to clear it, he traded it for prairie land which composed the
farm on which he lived until his death in 1873, and his widow is living
on the farm in Kapioma township, at the age of seventy-six years.
Alfred Hamon grew up on the farm and attended school at Cole Creek
district a few months each year, and at the age of twenty-one he started
out for himself, renting a farm. Three years later he bought the place
and owned it three years. He then worked at the carpenters’ trade in
Atchison for three years and during this time he worked in many places
around Atchison and helped erect some of the more important buildings,
which were constructed during that time. Another two years was spent on
the farm in Kapioma township, and Mr. Hamon returned again to Atchison
to work at his trade. Carpenter work appealed to him more than farming
and he spent twenty-three years handling the plane and the saw. For
thirteen years of this time he did contracting and supervised the
erection of many buildings. Meanwhile he accumulated considerable
property in Atchison, and in 1906, the exacting work of carpentry became
tedious to Mr. Hamon, and he returned to farming, after twenty-three
years in Atchison. He had eighty acres of well improved land in Kapioma
township, section 23. He built a fine house and barn, utilizing his
experience in construction work to put up the best buildings that the
money would afford. His improvements cost $4,000. Mr. Hamon was a real
farmer as well as a carpenter. In 1911 he won first prize with an
exhibit of yellow corn at the Muscotah fair.
In 1884 he married Emma Tull, who was born in October, 1863, in Kapioma
township, Atchison county. She is a daughter of John and Hanna H. (Rust)
Tull, Virginians, who settled in Atchison county at an early date. Mr.
and Mrs. Hamon have five children as follows: Effie, deceased; Edna
Piper, California: Susan Clark, of Kansas City, Kan.; Roy and Ruth,
living at home. Mr. Hamon is a member of the Christian church. He is a
Republican and has been a member of the school board in his township.
JOHN GRIFFIN.
John Griffin, farmer and stockman, of Kapioma township, Atchison county,
Kansas, is a native of Kansas, having been born on the farm where he now
lives March 25, 1882. His parents, Lawrence and Ellen Griffin, lived on
the farm in Kapioma township. John Griffin was brought up on the farm
and when a small boy divided his time between chores and school at
district No. 60, Kapioma township, and later attended St. Benedict’s
College at Atchison, Kan. Considering the time spent in school, John
started out in life remarkably early, making his first venture at the
age of eighteen, renting a farm from his father. He continues to work
the farm rented from his mother at the present time.
On October 15, 1912, John Griffin married Christena Hanson. Mrs. Griffin
was born November 12, 1885, in Doniphan county, Kansas. Her parents,
Nels and Christena (Henderson) Hanson, were natives of Denmark, who came
to Doniphan county, Kansas, about 1870, where they engaged in farming.
The father died in 1892, at the age of fifty. The mother is living with
her son, Crist Hanson, in Kapioma township, Atchison county, and is
sixty-three years old. Mrs. Griffin attended the district schools in
Doniphan county, Kansas. Mr. Griffin is a member of the Catholic church,
and politically, has affiliated himself with the Democratic party. Mr.
Griffin is a conscientious citizen and a hard worker.
DAVID BEYER.
David Beyer, farmer and stockman of Kapioma township, Atchison county,
was born August 29, 1866, in Clearfield county, Pennsylvania. He was the
fourth child born to Asa and Susan Beyer, who were the parents of eleven
children, ten of whom are living, as follows: Mary Lewton, Benton
township; Samuel, Kapioma township; Christena High, Texas; David, the
subject of this sketch; Jane, living on the home place; Clarissa,
deceased; Martha Schiffbauer, Sumner county, Kansas; John, banker,
Arrington, Kan.; Albert, Caldwell, Kan.; Luctria Dodson, Kapioma
township; Mabel B. Royer, Kapioma township, Atchison county.
Asa Beyer, the father of David, was a carpenter by trade; he was born in
Pennsylvania in 1835, and after following his trade in his young
manhood, came to Kansas in 1868, and bought an eighty-acre farm in
Kapioma township, Atchison county. He gradually increased his holdings
to 340 acres, which he owned at the time of his death in 1898. The
mother of David Beyer is a Pennsylvanian also and is now living on the
home place in Kapioma township. David attended district school in
Pennsylvania and started out to shift for himself at the age of twenty-
one. When he came to Kansas and bought the eighty-acre farm, there were
no improvements on the place. In 1892, he built a substantial house and
in 1907, he built a fine two-story, ten-room house, and modern in every
respect. In 1911 he built a large barn, 36×52 feet. Mr. Beyer now owns
258 acres of land which were formerly owned by his father.
In 1897 Mr. Beyer married Anna Cawley, who was born in Atchison, Kan.,
June 30, 1862. She is a daughter of John and Margaret (Welch) Cawley,
both natives of Ireland. They were early settlers in Atchison, having
come here in 1858. Later they came to Kapioma township. Mr. and Mrs.
Beyer are the parents of three children, as follows: Asa, Marie and
Margaret, all living at home. Mr. Beyer attends church regularly though
he is not a member of any denomination. He belongs to the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows. He is a Republican, and has served as township
treasurer.
GEORGE W. GIBSON.
George W. Gibson, farmer, of Kapioma township, Atchison county, was born
May 16, 1855, in Clearfield county, Pennsylvania. He is a son of Jacob
and Leah (High) Gibson, who were the parents of eleven children, eight
of whom are living. The father was born in Maryland, and the mother in
Pennsylvania. They came to Kansas in 1871 and settled in Kapioma
township, Atchison county. Here the father bought 160 acres of land and
erected a small house on it. In the early days when he was just getting
on his feet financially, he had to economize at every point and to begin
with built a straw barn. Later, he improved the farm until it was a
modernly equipped place. Mr. Gibson lived on this farm until his death
in 1900, at the age of seventy-six years. The mother died the following
year at the age of seventy.
George Gibson, the subject of this sketch, attended the district schools
in Pennsylvania, Illinois and Kansas. At the age of twenty-one years he
started out to farm for himself. He rented land for a year when he
engaged in teaching at Larkinburg, Jackson county, Kansas. Later he
taught at Arrington, Atchison county, and, altogether, Mr. Gibson taught
school for three years. He then bought eighty acres of unimproved
prairie land, which he broke and improved. Mr. Gibson used good judgment
in his investments and was successful in every venture. He now owns 840
acres of land in Kansas and Texas. The farm on which he lives, is modern
in every respect and he has built an especially fine barn on it.
In 1880 Mr. Gibson was married to Elizabeth Miller, who was born May 9,
1860, in Atchison county, Kansas. She is a daughter of James and Eliza
(Russell) Miller. The father was born in Clay county, Missouri, August
3, 1831, and was a son of Moses Miller, a Kentuckian. James Miller spent
his early days in the West, working for the Government. Later he became
a large cattle breeder in Atchison county and came to be known as the
“Cattle King” because of his extensive activities in the cattle
business. He died at Mscotah, Kan., September 12, 1913, and the mother
of Mrs. Gibson died in 1879. She was a native of Iowa. Mr. and Mrs.
Gibson have nine children: Daisy M. Anderson, of Muskogee, Okla., who
was graduated from the Kansas Western Business College, and later taught
school in Kansas and Colorado; Dr. Frank C. Gibson, a graduate of the
Physicians’ and Surgeons’ School of Chicago, now practicing in Bovill,
Idaho, where he is surgeon for a railroad company and has charge of a
hospital; Charles R., farmer, Kapioma township, Atchison county; Lucy M.
Irwin, Dallas, Texas; Harry L., farmer on the home place; Ruth,
attending Kansas University, Lawrence; George W., Jr., John and William,
living at home. Mr. Gibson is an independent progressive Republican. He
has held the township offices of clerk, treasurer and trustee.
FRANK J. HUNN.
Frank J. Hunn has combined the activities of banker, public citizen,
farmer, and stockman, with the refinements of education, and lives today
as an example of an all around man of influence. Mr. Hunn is a native
Kansan, having been born in Garfield township, Jackson county, Kansas,
March 2, 1860. He comes of parentage of the sturdy pioneer type, brave,
but God-fearing. The father, Joseph Hunn, was born in 1815, of English
descent, being a son of a London minister. He was a native of
Connecticut and lived there until he was of middle age. Coming to Kansas
in 1857, he preëmpted a claim one mile east and a mile north of
Arrington, Atchison county, Kansas. Here he constructed a cabin home and
lived in the rough life of the frontier. But this was not new to Joseph
Hunn, for he had been one of that vast army of adventurers who crossed
the western plains in “forty-nine,” to seek gold in California. For four
years he had undergone the hardships of prospecting and the rigors of
Kansas winters weighed less heavily on him than they did on many
settlers. After two years on the Atchison county place, he sold out and
removed to Larkin, Jackson county, Kansas, living there until 1865, when
he took possession of the farm now owned by his son, Frank J. The father
died two years later, leaving his wife, Elizabeth, with two children,
Frank, and a daughter, Bessie, since married to Mr. Kathrens, a
merchant, of Arrington, Kan.
Elizabeth Hunn, whose maiden name was Redman, is of English and German
descent, coming from a line of religious ancestors, all of her family
being of a devout nature. She was born in 1825, and died December 16,
1912, having lived a long and useful career. After the death of her
husband she was occupied with the management of the farm, but in her
younger days she led a life full of service to others. She worked as a
nurse among the sick in the early times, when medical attention was
expensive and hard to get, and her efforts saved untold suffering and
expense to many settlers. She was a school teacher in Iowa for some
time, and always took a great deal of interest in the affairs of the
church and Sunday school. Until two years before her death Mrs. Hunn
taught a Sunday school class at the Arrington Methodist church, and,
although she was eighty-five years old, her age never kept her away from
her class. She was always on time and in her place and constantly set a
good example for younger persons.
With such persons for parents it is to be expected that Frank Hunn would
develop into a good citizen. With the high ideals instilled in his young
mind, Frank when a boy was encouraged to study hard at school, and when
he finished the graded courses at the Arrington school, he went to
Campbell College, at Holton, Kan. Here he spent a short time, and at the
age of twenty-two years began farming for himself. In 1893 he bought his
father’s old place and has since increased it to 250 acres. But his
activities do not stop at the limits of his farm. He has broken the
isolation of the farmer and has taken an active part in affairs for the
good of the community. He is recognized as a conservative, shrewd
business man, and now is president of the Arrington Bank, a position of
trust and responsibility. The fact that his fellow-shareholders in the
enterprise were willing to place such an honor upon him is proof of his
character and achievements. He takes a great deal of interest in
Shorthorn cattle and is recognized as a breeder of fine strains. He also
keeps graded horses and hogs.
In 1894 Mr. Hunn was married to Susie Gibson. (A sketch of her brother,
George W. Gibson, appears elsewhere in this volume.) Mrs. Hunn was born
in January, 1860, in Pennsylvania, and was a teacher in the district
school of Kapioma township before her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Hunn are
the parents of three children, the oldest of whom is Frank, a graduate
of Effingham high school, now living at home; Edna and Mildred, the
other two children, also live with their parents. Mr. Hunn attends the
Methodist church, although he is not a member. He is an independent
voter, preferring to cast his ballot for the man whom he thinks will
make the best official regardless of party affiliations. He has held the
office of township clerk, township trustee, and township treasurer,
which positions he filled in a praiseworthy manner. At present Mr. Hunn
is a member of the school board of Kapioma township.
AUGUST J. WOLF.
August J. Wolf, farmer and stockman, of Atchison county, was born
October 17, 1862, in Doniphan county, Kansas. He is a son of Gottlieb
and Joehanna Wolf, who were the parents of fourteen children, seven of
whom are living. The parents of August Wolf were born in Germany and
both grew up there and were married in the capital city. In 1860 they
left the Fatherland with their five children and came to Doniphan
county, Kansas, where they engaged in farming. In 1880, they came to
Atchison county, Kansas, and bought the farm of 240 acres which is now
owned by their son, August, the subject of this sketch. Five years later
they moved to Atchison, Kan., where the father died in 1904, at the age
of eighty-five years. The mother died in 1914, at the age of eighty-one.
August Wolf grew up on his father’s farm and at the age of twenty-seven
started out to shift for himself. He rented his father’s farm, and also
helped his father in the threshing business. While feeding a thresher he
had his right hand torn off. This, of course, disabled him greatly, but
he kept up courage and after his injury had healed engaged in threshing
again. In 1902 he bought his father’s farm, and kept up both farming and
threshing until 1905, when he gave all of his attention to farming. Just
after this a storm destroyed many of the buildings on his place and he
rebuilt them better than they were before and made several additions. He
now owns 320 acres of land, seventy of which he plants in corn each
year. In 1910 he retired from active work on the farm, and his son-in-
law, Will Graham, now has actual charge of the place. Mr. Wolf has been
twice married, his first wife being Mary Walsh, a native of Germany, to
whom he was married in 1890. No children were born to them and the wife
died in 1912. Mr. Wolf later married Dorothea Hoffman, who was born in
Atchison county, April 15, 1870, and is the daughter of Frederick and
Katharena (Scheu) Hoffman. Her parents are of German birth, both having
left their native country when quite young. They were married in
Illinois and came to Kansas about 1860, where nine children were born to
them. Three had been born to them while they were living in Illinois.
The father engaged in farming in Center township and worked the place
which Frank Hubbard now farms and was also a blacksmith in Atchison,
Kan., for a few years. He died in July, 1887, at the age of fifty-six
years. No children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Wolf, and the wife died in
July, 1913, at the age of seventy-six years. Mr. Wolf is a Republican.
He is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and belongs to the
Evangelical church. Mr. Wolf has striven under the greatest
difficulties, having lost his right hand when a young man, he has been
immeasurably handicapped through the greater part of his life. This is
especially true in view of the fact that he followed farming, where, if
anywhere, the use of both hands is necessary. Though it was a great
disadvantage that Mr. Wolf was placed under, he made a success of his
career by hard work and good management.
FRANK J. WAGNER.
Frank J. Wagner, farmer and stockman, of Center township, Atchison
county, was born July 16, 1864, in Austria. He is a son of Frank J. and
Louise (Frennar) Wagner, and was one of seven children, four of whom are
living. The parents were born in Austria and the father remained there
until his death in 1870. He was a farmer and was seventy-eight years old
when he died. In 1888 the mother left Austria and came to Atchison,
Kan., where she is now living. She was married a second time and this
husband is also dead. She will be seventy-six years old in August, 1916.
Frank J. Wagner, the subject of this sketch, was educated in his native
land and after attending the Austrian schools learned the trade of wagon
maker. Until 1884 he worked at this trade in Austria. He then immigrated
to America and came to Atchison, Kan., where he worked for a lumber
company for some time. Three years later he went to work on a farm, and
after five years he returned to Atchison and worked two years. He then
rented land in Shannon township, Atchison county, and in 1905 bought 160
acres in Center township. He bought this place just in time to have his
buildings torn to pieces by the storm of 1905. Most of the buildings
were blown down by the wind and it was necessary to rebuild practically
all of them. In doing this he made some $5,000 worth of improvements.
Mr. Wagner takes a great deal of interest in the breeding of fine Poland
China hogs.
He was married to Amelia Wonder, March 5, 1890. She is a daughter of
Wenzel and Amelia Wonder, and was born in Austria in August, 1873. She
came to America with her mother in 1888, and later settled in Atchison
county. Mr. and Mrs. Wagner are the parents of the following children:
Frank, farming with his father; Karl, living with his father; Frances,
married to M. Mudice; Ada, deceased: John, Albert and George, living at
home. Mr. Wagner is an independent Democrat in politics. He is a member
of the Catholic church and of the Fraternal Order of Eagles.
WILLIAM WEHKING.
William Wehking, farmer and stockman, of Center township, Atchison
county, was born in Westphalia, Germany, November 26, 1866. He is a son
of Christian and Christena (Ruhe) Wehking, who were the parents of seven
children, one of whom is dead. The parents both died in their native
land. William Wehking worked in a flour-mill in Germany until 1886, when
he immigrated to America. He thought that the West offered the best
opportunity to a poor boy, and came to Kansas, settling in Cummings,
Atchison county. He began working on a farm at thirteen dollars a month.
Eight years later he rented land near Nortonville, Kan. In 1894 he
bought eighty acres in Jefferson county, Kansas, where he farmed eight
years. Later, he sold this place and bought the farm of 150 acres which
he now owns. He erected a fine silo on this place and is especially
prepared to raise fine stock. He has since increased his holdings to 190
acres and has ventured into the dairy business fine Durham cattle and
Poland China hogs in which he takes great pride. Mr. Wehking is a
stockholder in a mercantile enterprise in Nortonville, Kan.
In 1895 Mr. Wehking married Minnie (Giesking), who was born in Germany
August 31, 1876. When sixteen years old she came to America and settled
at Lancaster, Kan. Mr. and Mrs. Wehking have eight children: Martha,
Edward, Clara, William, Alma, Ernst, Frederick and Henry, all living at
home. Mr. Wehking is an independent voter and is a member of the
Lutheran church. He is a shrewd business man and has been successful
primarily because of his conservative judgment in handling his business
ventures.
WILLIAM HARTMAN.
William Hartman, prosperous farmer, of Mt. Pleasant township, Atchison
county, was born in Platte county, Missouri, in 1851, a son of Jonathan
and Christina (Wolking) Hartman, the latter a native of Hanover,
Germany, and emigrated from her native land with her parents when ten
years of age, locating in Cincinnati, Ohio. Jonathan Hartman was born in
1821, at Brookville, Franklin county, Indiana, and was a son of Henry
Hartman, who was born in Pennsylvania, and was among the first settlers
of Franklin county, Indiana. In 1842 Henry left Indiana and settled in
Platte county, Missouri, and was among the early pioneers of that
county. He died on his farm in Missouri in 1860. Jonathan, the father of
William, was reared to young manhood in Indiana and was married there.
In 1847, he with his wife and two children followed his father to Platte
county, Missouri, and there followed his trade of millwright in Platte
City until 1849, when he made the overland trip to California with ox
teams, remaining on the coast for two years. He made some money while in
the gold fields and returned home by way of Cape Horn, paying $500 for
his passage. Captain Fulger was in command of the ship and he lost his
vessel on the coast of Central America, the vessel striking the rocks
and breaking in pieces. All aboard were rescued except the first mate.
There were 500 passengers on this vessel who were compelled to wait on
the west coast for five weeks before an opportunity presented itself to
cross the mountains to the eastern shore. They were eventually taken
across the mountains, but several died from the hardships they endured
during the trip. Mr. Hartman secured passage to New Orleans, and from
that city came up the Mississippi river to St. Louis, arriving there in
December of 1850. From St. Louis the returned argonaut went to his home
at Platte City. Three years later he set out with five wagons in
partnership with his brother-in-law, R. D. Johnson, en route to Salt
Lake City, Utah. The wagons were heavily loaded with provisions,
drygoods and liquor. When the expedition arrived at the south fork of
Green river they left three wagonloads at that point and pressed onward
to their destination to the north fork of the river. They traded with
the Indians and Mormons and made considerable money. Prices were
fabulous in the far West in those days, flour bringing $100 per hundred
weight; common work shirts sold for five dollars each, whiskey brought
five dollars per pint, and the prices of other commodities were in
proportion. Returning home from this trip Mr. Hartman lived in Platte
City until 1854, and then came to Kansas with the first steam sawmill
ever erected in Atchison county, and one of the first to be placed in
operation in Kansas. He established his mill at old Port William and
operated it successfully until 1857. He then came to Mt. Pleasant
township and preëmpted a claim now known as the Howe farm which he sold
for fifty dollars. He traded his sawmill for a farm near Parnell, Kan.,
now owned by Robert Volk. Jonathan was personally acquainted with Pardee
Butler, and met and conversed with Butler after he had been set adrift
on a raft on the Missouri river by pro-slavery men. He took Butler to
his home and gave him his supper. He hid the refugee at the home of a
neighbor until the next day and then accompanied him to Weston, from
which point Mr. Butler made his way to his old home in Ohio, where he
remained in safety for nine months before he returned to Kansas.
Jonathan Hartman was a Free State man and a Republican in politics, who
took a prominent and influential part in the affairs of his locality. He
was appointed guardian for the war widows and was selected by the Civil
war veterans of the county to distribute the money apportioned to the
war widows. On account of defective hearing, contracted as a result of
an attack of mountain fever, he was not eligible for service in the
Union army, but lent his moral support to the Union. He died on the farm
January 24, 1897. He was the father of nine children, three of whom are
living, as follows: R. D. Hartman, born in Missouri in 1847; William
Hartman, the subject of this review; and Henry Hartman, born in Indiana;
Frederick Hartman, former sheriff of the county; Elijah Hartman, born in
Atchison county, Kansas, in 1856, and died in 1890; Alice, wife of E. N.
Eshom, of Atchison county.
William Hartman grew up on his father’s farm and was educated in the
district school of his neighborhood. He was married in 1883 to Florence
A. Good, a daughter of Daniel Good, an early settler of Atchison county,
and originally from New York State. Mr. Hartman is the owner of 140
acres of very fine and productive land near old Parnell. The children of
William and Florence Hartman are as follows: Morris, Jonathan H.,
Nelson, Mariwillie, wife of H. W. Gilbert, of Horton, Kan.; and Flossie,
wife of J. C. Cartmille, of Atchison county; Warren, the youngest of the
family, was born November 11, 1901.
Mr. Hartman is a stanch Republican in politics, is a member of the
Christian church, and is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows.
ROYAL BALDWIN.
Near the old village of Kennekuk, in the northeast corner of Grasshopper
township, Atchison county, Kansas, stands the old home of Maj. Royal
Baldwin, Indian agent. This home was built sixty years ago by Major
Baldwin and is at present the home of Mrs. Jennie L. Dollinds, the last
of the race of Baldwins in Atchison county. This narrative, therefore,
will deal principally with the life career of Royal Baldwin, United
States Indian agent, who was widely known in all of northeast Kansas as
Major Baldwin.
Royal Baldwin was born in Litchfield, Conn., June 22, 1817, and was a
descendant of ancestors who came over from England in the Mayflower.
Three brothers, Ira, Julius, and Thomas, landed at Plymouth Rock with
the party of Pilgrims who sought homes in the forbidding wilderness of
New England in 1620. Julius Baldwin was the founder of the family of
which Royal Baldwin descended, and he finally settled in Connecticut,
where Royal was born and reared to young manhood. Royal Baldwin received
a good education in the public schools and academy of his neighborhood
in Connecticut, and when fifteen years of age he began teaching school.
Later, the spirit of adventure moved him and he went to Ohio, where he
became a boatman on the Muskingum river. While living in Ohio he married
Miss Ann Campbell, who was born February 15, 1820, in Belmont county,
Ohio, and died July 16, 1894. She was a daughter of Joseph Campbell, of
Scotch parents, and who married a lady of Welsh parentage. After his
marriage Royal Baldwin settled in Meigs county, Ohio, where their three
children were born. In 1856 Mr. Baldwin was appointed Indian agent by
the United States Government and sent to northeast Kansas to take charge
of the moving of the four tribes, the Kickapoos, Sacs, Foxes and
Pottawatomies to their Kansas reservations. When he received his
appointment he removed with his family overland to St. Joseph, Mo., and
immediately began his duties of settling the Indians on their
reservations. He remained as Indian agent for twelve years and then
resigned his position on account of poor health, but was again appointed
and held the office for three years, after which he resigned, but was
re-appointed by the Government, and died October 3, 1878, soon after the
acceptance papers were sent back to Washington. Major Baldwin also
conducted the Indian trading post at old Kennekuk in Grasshopper
township. During the border ruffian days a party of Jayhawkers called at
the home of the Baldwins one night when the major was absent, and,
knocking loudly upon the door, gave the information that Government
authorities had sent them to get arms and ammunition from the stores
with which to fight against General Price’s army, which was about to
invade Kansas. Jennie L. Baldwin was then a young girl of sixteen years.
Mrs. Baldwin met the men at the door, and by the exercise of tact and
diplomacy induced them to move on and let them alone. During his career
as Indian agent Major Baldwin accumulated several hundred acres of land.
He was a shrewd trader, and during the early days before the building of
the trans-continental railroads he became interested in the freighting
of goods across the plains to Denver and western points. He was a
brilliant success as an Indian agent and never had trouble with his
proteges. His first interpreter was Peter Kadgue, and his second
interpreter was John Chawkickey. The old Indian mission was also built
by Major Baldwin, and the old Baldwin home which he erected in 1856 is
still standing. His duties as Indian agent were arduous and exacting,
but he was equal to the emergencies which arose. He was a small, wiry
man of slight build, blue-eyed and had light hair. Three children were
born to Royal Baldwin and wife, of whom two died in infancy. Jennie L.,
widow of John S. Dollinds, was born January 9, 1851, in Meigs county,
Ohio, and was married in 1883 to Mr. Dollinds.
John S. Dollinds was born in New Orleans January 1, 1832, of French-
Spanish parents. When he was a small boy his parents removed to
Pittsburgh, Pa., where he was reared to young manhood. At the outbreak
of the Civil war he enlisted in Company A of the Sixty-second regiment,
Pennsylvania infantry, serving in the Fifth army corps and participated
in many hard-fought battles, among them being the battles of the
Wilderness and Gettysburg. He was wounded at the battle of Antietam, but
remained in the service until the close of the war, after recovering
from his wound. After the war closed Mr. Dollinds became a river boatman
on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers for sixteen years, plying between
Pittsburgh and New Orleans. He then came to Kansas and settled in
Pottawatomie county. He invested in land, but never actively farmed to
any extent. He was a gifted individual of great versatility of mind and
was a photographer of more than ordinary ability. He died June 1, 1914.
Mr. Dollinds was a member of the Odd Fellows, and of the Grand Army of
the Republic, Black Eagle Post, Horton, Kan.
Mrs. Dollinds was formerly a member of the ladies’ aid auxiliary of the
grand army post at Horton, and was invited by the Grand Army of the
Republic to attend the National grand encampment at Washington. She is
an honorary member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and had served as
a delegate to the grand encampment held at Pittsburgh, Pa.
DAVIS W. COLLINS.
Davis W. Collins, M.D., a prominent physician, of Arrington, Atchison
county, Kansas is one of the leading professional men of his town. He is
a Pennsylvanian, having been born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, March
9, 1875. His parents, James C. and Phoebe (Woodward) Collins, were the
parents of four children, as follows: Eliza Rowland, Lane, Kan.; Effie
Mocherman, Wellsville, Kan.; Davis, the subject of this sketch; Roy,
operator, Yale, Okla. The father was born in Ohio and spent his early
years on the farm. In 1878 he came to Kansas and settled in Franklin
county, where he is now engaged in farming at the advanced age of
seventy, an example of good health through right living. The mother was
born in Pennsylvania and lives with her husband on the farm.
Dr. Collins grew up on his father’s farm in Kansas and attended the
district school near the home place. Later, he attended the high school
at Wellsville, Kan., and then took a business course at Dixon, Ill. In
1894 he entered the Kansas City Medical College and was graduated from
that institution with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1898. He was
at Baldwin, Kan., a short time and then came to Arrington, where he has
built up a large practice by his excellent skill and high ethical
standards. He owns stock in the Arrington bank and holds considerable
property in the vicinity of Arrington.
In 1900 he was united in marriage with Minnie Case, who was born
November 20, 1880, in Atchison county, Kansas. She is the daughter of
Frank and Anna (High) Case, early settlers of Kansas. The father was a
merchant in Arrington. Both parents are now dead. Mr. and Mrs. Collins
have two children: Claire and Carmen, both living at home. Mr. Collins
is a Republican and belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and
Modern Woodmen of America. Although he is not a church member, he is a
regular attendant at church and contributes liberally to the support of
religious activities.
GEORGE GOODWIN.
George Goodwin, one of the pioneer settlers of Atchison county, and
farmer of Grasshopper township, was born in 1857, in Illinois, a son of
Thomas and Helen (Bevens) Goodwin, both of whom where born at Gravesend,
England, about thirty miles from the city of London on the Thames river.
They were reared to maturity in England, there married and immigrated to
America, first settling in New York, where they resided for a short
time, and then made a home in Illinois. In 1860 the parents of George,
with the family, came to Kansas. For a short time they lived at Ft.
Leavenworth, and then came to the city of Atchison, where Thomas Goodwin
became a manufacturer of brick in partnership with Henry Bevens, his
brother-in-law. They made the first kiln of brick ever burned in
Atchison county, and soon afterward sold the brick kiln and moved onto a
farm owned by John Russell, the banker. After working for Mr. Russell
for a few years, Thomas moved on to a farm of his own, where he spent
the remainder of his days. He became quite prominent among the early
pioneers of the county, was a Republican in politics, and was an Odd
Fellow. Seven children were born to this pioneer couple, of whom George,
the subject of this review, was the youngest.
George Goodwin was eighteen months of age when the family came to
Kansas, and he was reared in the city of Atchison and on the farm where
his parents settled. He received his education in the public schools,
and is residing on his eighty acre farm in Grasshopper township. When he
became of age he married Hester Adams, to this union have been born two
children, namely: Thomas N. Goodwin, who is cultivating the old Goodwin
homestead, and Edmund E. died at the age of eight years. The mother of
these children was born in Iowa, a daughter of Nathan Adams, a native of
New York State, and an early settler of Iowa. He was of English
parentage, and his wife was a daughter of French-Canadian parents.
While Mr. Goodwin is allied with the Republican party, he prefers to
vote independent of party dictation and makes up his own mind concerning
the qualifications of respective candidates regardless of their
political qualifications. He is a member of the Knights and Ladies of
Security.
RICHARD B. CLEVELAND.
Richard B. Cleveland, retired farmer and old settler, of Muscotah, Kan.,
was born December 29, 1830, in New York State. He was a son of Richard
and Elizabeth (Mead) Cleveland, who left New York when Richard was a
small boy and settled in Illinois. The Cleveland family are of English
descent and can trace their ancestry back to the settlement and colonial
days of New England. Richard, the father, was a successful merchant in
New York, who suffered considerable losses on account of an absconding
partner, who left after looting the business. Richard then decided to
make a new start in the West, and again succeeded in rehabilitating his
fortunes on the rich farm lands of Illinois in Cook county. When he
first went to Illinois he was too poor to do otherwise than to rent
land, but as time went on he gradually got on his feet and became a
prosperous land owner.
Richard B. Cleveland was reared to young manhood in Cook county,
Illinois, and was married there. In 1862 he left Illinois and came to
Kansas with his wife and family, first living for a few years on a farm
in Jackson county, north of Holton. He then bought 160 acres of land in
Grasshopper township which was unimproved. Before he built his home on
this tract he lived for a time at New Eureka on the old Salt Lake trail
and operated a small grocery store. All of Mr. Cleveland’s worldly goods
when he came to Kansas in company with Isaac Gordon, an old Englishman,
consisted of a team and wagon and a few household goods. He bought 160
acres of unimproved land, his mother’s watch being applied on this deal.
In 1863 he enlisted in the Second regiment, Nebraska infantry, and was
engaged in fighting the Sioux Indians on the border for over nine
months. He was mustered out of the service at Falls City, Neb., late in
the winter of 1864, at a time when a deep snow covered the ground and he
had difficulty in reaching his home after his long absence. He then took
a job of carrying the mail for a Government contractor named Darlington.
The route which he traveled extended from Falls City, Neb., to Indianola
and Mr. Cleveland received the munificent salary of twelve dollars per
month for carrying the mail on horseback between these two cities and
furnished his own horse. The farm which he purchased near Eureka was
located on Straight creek, and there was plenty of timber growing on the
banks of this stream which was a favorite camping ground of the Indians
of the Pottawatomie tribe. Sometimes a large band of over 100 would camp
in the timber along the stream. An incident which occurred is well worth
recording. Mrs. Cleveland had a fine flock of turkeys which were running
in the woods and prairies. One day she heard the sound of a gun, and
looking out of the doorway of the cabin she saw an Indian buck going
toward one of her turkeys which he had shot. This incensed her and she
ran toward the Indian. A neighbor woman also started toward the Indian
with a gun in her hands, ready to shoot him if it became necessary. She
shook her fist at the buck, who said in explanation: “Me thought prairie
chicken.” Mrs. Cleveland replied: “You thieving rascal, that was my
turkey, now you get.” The Indian sulkily moved on and the Cleveland
family feasted on turkey the next day. In the spring of 1864 the soldier
returned to his family and began building up his farm, settling down to
farm life and endeavoring to make good. He succeeded and is the owner of
a fine farm of rich land. By the exercise of thrift and industry he
accumulated a competence and reared a fine family. Like the other
farmers of his neighborhood he had to go through the experience of the
“grasshopper” years, and it is recalled that he was very skeptical of
the news of the coming of the “hoppers” when travelers and grasshopper
victims came through his country. He “pooh-poohed” the idea that the
“hoppers” were coming in vast clouds and would not believe it, but he
soon had serious reason to change his mind when they came in vast swarms
and ate up his crops. Mr. Cleveland was married in Lockport, Ill., to
Rhoda A. Perrin, who was born November 21, 1832, and departed this life
July 11, 1907. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland, as
follows: Orrin Almeron, a farmer of Atchison county; Mead Cleveland, a
farmer in Oklahoma, and Hattie, at home with her father.
In politics, Mr. Cleveland has always been a Republican of the stalwart
variety. He is a member of the Congregational church of Muscotah, and is
one of the highly respected citizens of his township and city, and is
one of the last of the old-time Indian fighters and pioneers who paved
the way in the wilderness for the thousands of settlers who have come to
this great land after him and his fellows had endured the hardships
necessary for the redemption of the unpeopled prairie. It is to such men
as he that this volume of historical annals is respectfully dedicated.
GEORGE V. ANDERSON.
George V. Anderson, farmer and stockman, of Arrington, Kapioma township,
Atchison county, Kansas, was born February 3, 1876, on a farm in Platte
county, Missouri, son of Vincent and Mathelda (Pitts) Anderson. Vincent
Anderson was a native of Tennessee, farmer by vocation, immigrated from
Tennessee to Missouri, where he became the owner of a farm, and during
the late fifties was a shipper and freighter across the plains. Vincent
Anderson was married to Mathelda Pitts, and the following children were
born to this marriage: Mrs. Mary Dyer, deceased; Eliot, deceased; and
George V., the subject of this sketch. The mother of these children was
born April 17, 1845, in Fleming county, Kentucky, a daughter of James
and Anna (Eliot) Pitts. James Pitts was a native-born Kentuckian who
immigrated to Missouri, and died at the age of seventy-four years. He
became an extensive land owner in Missouri. A few years after the death
of Vincent Anderson his widow married John H. Calvert, who is also
deceased. Mrs. Calvert, the mother of George V. Anderson, still resides
in Kapioma township.
George V. Anderson was reared on a farm and when twenty years of age
started to work at twenty-two dollars a month. His stepfather, John
Calvert, migrated from Platte county, Missouri, to Kansas in 1883 and
settled on a farm near Muscotah, where he rented land for a few years,
and in 1892 bought an eighty-acre farm in Kapioma township. He improved
this farm and erected a six-room residence which presents a good
appearance. He died June 24, 1913. In 1897 George V. Anderson rented a
tract of land which he cultivated for three years, saved his money in
the meantime, and made his first investment in eighty acres of land in
Jackson county, Kansas. He improved this tract and sold it at a good
profit in 1902. A few years later he purchased 160 acres of land in
Kapioma township. This tract he at once began to improve, built a house
and erected a nice barn. Mr. Anderson has added to his acreage from time
to time until he now owns 252 acres of well improved land. He keeps
sufficient graded stock on his place to consume the grain which is
raised, enabling him to market his farm products in a convenient manner
and keep up the fertility of the land.
Mr. Anderson was married in 1892 to Frances Brosig, and to this union
have been born four children: Carl, Minnie, Vernon, and Scott, all of
whom are at home with their parents. Mrs. Anderson was born August 13,
1865, in Germany. She is a daughter of Carl and Theresa Anderson, who
immigrated to America when Frances was a child and settled in Kansas.
Mr. Anderson is a Democrat in politics, a member of the Christian
church, and affiliated with the Modern Woodmen lodge.
GEORGE L. BROWN.
George L. Brown, one of the younger members of the Atchison county bar
and an able attorney, is a native of Chattanooga, Tenn. He was born
March 25, 1890, and is a son of George T. and Mary E. (Scott) Brown. The
father was a native of Washington, D. C., born in 1860. He was reared to
manhood in the vicinity of Washington and studied civil engineering in
Maryland. He came to Kansas in the capacity of civil engineer on the
construction of the Rock Island railroad in the eighties and while there
met and married Mary E. Scott. She is a native of Doniphan county,
Kansas, and is a daughter of Benjamin and Frances (Helm) Scott; the
former is now deceased and the latter resides in Atchison with her
daughter. The Scott family were early settlers in Kansas, locating in
Doniphan county in 1857.
After their marriage George T. Brown and his wife located in
Chattanooga, Tenn., where he was engaged in business for a time when he
removed to St. Louis and was engaged in business there until the time of
his death which occurred in November, 1900. After the death of her
husband Mrs. Brown returned to Kansas with her two children, George L.,
the subject of this sketch, and Donald Scott, now aged fifteen years.
Mrs. Brown located in Atchison and engaged in teaching which had been
her profession prior to her marriage. She is one of the most successful
teachers of Atchison county and is now engaged in her work in the
Ingalls school, Atchison.
George L. attended the public schools of Atchison and was graduated from
the Atchison High School in the class of 1909. He then entered the law
department of Kansas University, Lawrence, Kan., and was graduated in
the class of 1914 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Mr. Brown did not
attend the university continuously from the time that he entered until
his graduation. He was employed for a year in the meantime as clerk in
the offices of the Missouri Pacific shops at Atchison and in this way
helped pay his way through the university. He was admitted to the bar in
June, 1914, and immediately engaged in the practice of his profession
with offices at 304 Simpson building. He has a very satisfactory
practice for the short time that he has been engaged in his professional
work and is recognized as a young man with considerable more than
ordinary ability who gives close attention to his profession.
Politically, he is a Democrat and comes from a long line of Democratic
ancestors. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and his fraternal
affiliations are with the Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity, and the Loyal
Order of Moose.
JOHN A. REYNOLDS.
Time and experience have demonstrated that if an individual remain for a
number of years in an avocation and devote his energies and mind to
becoming proficient in his particular profession he is certain to become
a valued citizen of his community and amass a competence. John A.
Reynolds, railroad engineer, is a citizen of this type, who for forty
years has been in the employ of the Missouri Pacific railroad, and has
arisen to become one of the substantial and well respected citizens of
Atchison. Mr. Reynolds is a director of two of the most important
banking concerns of northeast Kansas and has taken a leading part in
city affairs for many years.
Speaking in a biographical sense. Mr. Reynolds was born in the city of
St Louis, Mo., June 7, 1858. a son of Thomas and Bridget (Glancy)
Reynolds, both of whom were natives of Roscommon county, Ireland. Thomas
Reynolds, after his immigration to America became wharf clerk for a
navigation company at St. Louis, where he resided until July 28, 1861,
at which time he came to Atchison, Kan., and entered the employ of
Theodore Barkow as bookkeeper. He remained in this position until his
demise, on April 1, 1870. The mother of John A. Reynolds died February
25, 1915, at the great age of ninety-six years. It is to the everlasting
credit of John that when his father died he at once began doing his
share of supporting the family and cared tenderly for his mother until
her death. Mrs. Reynolds, the widow, was left with very few resources,
and John was but twelve years of age at the time. Seven children were
born to Thomas Reynolds and wife, of whom John was the only survivor at
the time of his father’s death.
John A. Reynolds received his education in the public schools of
Atchison, attended a private school, and also studied in St. Benedict’s
College. At the age of sixteen years he entered the employ of the
Missouri Pacific Railway Company as a fireman and brakeman and remained
with the railroad at Atchison until January 1, 1881, when he entered the
service of the Missouri Pacific at Sedalia, Mo., as engineer of a
freight run for a period of five years. He was then (1886) promoted to
the passenger service, in which department he has since been employed as
one of the most trusted and reliable engineers of the system. Mr.
Reynolds’ first experience as an engineer, however, was in the passenger
service of the road, and it came about in this wise: The engineer for
whom he was firing (George W. Slade) had been promised a vacation and a
trip to New York State. This promise had been made to Mr. Slade time and
time again, and at his suggestion the master mechanic of the yards
placed young Reynolds, then twenty-two years old, in charge of the
engine on the run between Kansas City and Atchison, Kan. Mr. Slade took
the responsibility of any errors or mistakes that Reynolds would make,
but the young engineer ran his train successfully without mishap for a
period of six weeks and was then promoted to the post of locomotive
engineer on the freight run as stated above. Mr. Reynolds at this time
is in charge of the through passenger run between Atchison and Downs,
Kan.
Mr. Reynolds was married in 1898 to Kathrine Horan, and the following
children have blessed this happy marriage: Mary Anna, John, Kathrine,
Ruth, Ellen, Marselene, all of whom are at home with their parents. The
mother of these children is a daughter of Michael and Anna (Dean) Horan,
both of whom were born in Tipperary, Ireland. (See biography of M. J.
Horan.)
Mr. Reynolds is a member of the Locomotive Engineers’ Union, the Ancient
Order of United Workmen, the Elks lodge, the Fraternal Order of Eagles,
and is affiliated with the Democratic party in politics. For the past
six years Mr. Reynolds has been connected with the Atchison Savings Bank
and is a director of this financial concern, as well as being a
stockholder of the First National Bank of Atchison. One of the finest
things which can be said of Mr. Reynolds concerning his career as a
railway engineer is that during all his long experience and constant
work he has never had a serious accident, and no passengers have been
killed or injured who were intrusted to his charge, and he has had but
two trifling rear-end collisions to account for, which did very little
damage and resulted in no injuries to persons. This record is a
remarkable one and is in keeping with the character of the man himself,
who from his earliest boyhood has known what it is to shift for himself
and learned the art of being self-reliant and cool-headed in any
emergency. A brother of Mr. Reynolds, Andrew by name, was a Union
soldier who served in the cavalry and was wounded, later dying at home
from the effects of his wound. Another brother, James, was also a
soldier in the Union army.
WILLIAM SUTTER.
William Sutter resides on the old home place of the Sutter family in
Benton township, about two miles west of Effingham. This farm is one of
the finest and best cultivated farms in Atchison county, and the
residence grounds and farm buildings are among the most attractive and
best kept in the State of Kansas. The farm is widely known as the “Maple
Lawn Stock Farm,” and is noted for its production of fine live stock.
Mr. Sutter is an able farmer, having been well schooled in the art of
agriculture by his capable father. The Sutter family erected the
handsome farm residence of seven rooms in 1892, all modernized with hot
and cold running water and electric lights. The barn is an immense
affair and well built, in dimensions, 60×70 feet and erected with an eye
to appearance as well as convenience. Mr. Sutter has long been a breeder
of Percheron horses and keeps pure bred stock of this variety. He
generally has about thirty head of horses and mules on the farm and aims
to feed all of the grain which he produces to live stock on the place.
He keeps only full bred Poland China hogs and good grades of cattle.
When the Sutter estate was apportioned among the children of the late
Frederick Sutter, William received 160 acres, the home place, as his
share, and afterwards bought an additional quarter section, making 320
acres in all. Which he owns. He formerly owned 160 acres south of the
home place, but sold it.
[Illustration:
THE SUTTER HOMESTEAD
William A. Sutter, Owner.
]
William Sutter was born October 18, 1856, on a farm in Walnut township,
a son of Frederick and Fredericka Sutter, natives of Germany, and
pioneer settlers in the town of old Sumner. (See biography of Fred
Sutter for further details.) William Sutter accompanied his parents to
Benton township in 1880, and assisted his father in the accumulation of
his large estate and cared for his parents until their deaths. After his
father’s death he continued to reside on the old home place and tilled
the farm of which he is now the sole owner.
He was married October 18, 1915, to Miss Dorothy Nickle, of Muscotah,
Atchison county, a daughter of William Nickle, an old resident of
Atchison county. After a honeymoon trip to the Panama-Pacific Exposition
and Pacific coast points extending into old Mexico, covering a period of
nearly two months, Mr. and Mrs. Sutter returned to the home farm, near
Effingham.
Mr. Sutter is a Republican in politics, is a member of the Presbyterian
church and is affiliated with the Central Protective Association and the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is truly a product of the pioneer
days in Atchison county, and in his youth knew what real hardships were
and assisted in the struggle to achieve a comfortable competence for the
Sutter family in common, and has had the satisfaction of seeing the
family fortunes increase as the years have passed, and seeing his home
county improve with age and gain in prestige and wealth. He is a genial,
popular gentleman, who has a deep and abiding love for the county which
he has helped to develop and is proud of the fact that he was one of
those who assisted in its upbuilding.
JAMES ISHAM HOLMES.
James Isham Holmes, of Shannon township, Atchison county, is a pioneer
of eastern Kansas and western Missouri, and for seventy-three years has
lived within a radius of twelve miles from Atchison. He is a native of
Indiana and was born in Putnam county March 22, 1841. He is a son of
William and Nancy (Hartsock) Holmes, the former a native of England,
born in 1812, and the latter a native of Germany. William Holmes, the
father, immigrated from England with his parents when he was a small
boy. The family located in Kentucky, where they remained but a short
time when they removed to Indiana, and in 1842 they removed to Buchanan
county, Missouri, and located near St. Joseph. The father was a cooper
and worked at his trade for a short time at Rushville, Mo., and in the
spring of 1843 he settled one mile south of Dekalb, where he conducted a
cooper shop for eight years. He then bought a farm three miles north of
Dekalb, where he followed farming for twelve years, or until 1863, when
he traded his place for a farm in Doniphan county, Kansas. Three years
later he sold his Doniphan county farm and removed to Atchison, where he
spent the remainder of his life in retirement.
William and Nancy (Hartsock) Holmes were the parents of the following
children: John William, Eliza Ann, Peter, Alfred; James Isham, the
subject of this sketch; John, Francis, Marion, Loma, Ann, Perry, Praeter
B., Isaac, Susan Ann, Lethia Maria, Joseph, and Henry.
James Isham Holmes was reared amid the pioneer surroundings of the times
and received such education as was available under the conditions, and
when twenty-two years old went to Doniphan county, Kansas, where he
worked in a flouring mill one year. He was then engaged in various
vocations, including farming, cutting cordwood, railroading and
lumbering, when he engaged in breaking prairie in the vicinity of
Atchison. He followed that vocation for some time when he engaged in
farming in Atchison county. He sold his farm in 1868 and shortly
afterwards bought another place of eighty acres, and bought more land as
the opportunity offered, and now owns a fine farm of 240 acres, where he
has resided for the past forty years. He is one of the successful
farmers of Atchison county and has prospered.
Mr. Holmes has been twice married. His first wife was Rose Ann Wood, to
whom he was married in 1861. She died February 9, 1862, leaving one
child, William H., who resides in Atchison. His second marriage took
place September 17, 1863, to Jemima E. Pruitt, a Missouri girl, born in
1844. Three children were born to this union: Perry, a railroad man,
residing in Salt Lake City, Utah; Nancy Emily, now deceased; Minnie
married Mr. Bisel, and is now deceased. She was the mother of three
children, Lawrence, Milburn, and Othello.
Mr. Holmes has been a student of men and affairs all his life. He has
read extensively during his entire life and is one of the best posted
men on general topics in Atchison county. He is a typical representative
of the American pioneer who courageously conquered the wild and unbroken
West and made of it the great agricultural and commercial empire that it
is. He and his accomplished wife, who has been his helpmate and
companion for more than a half century, are now spending the sunset of
their lives in peace and comfort in their beautiful home which their
industry has provided.
EDWIN TAYLOR SHELLY, M. D.
For thirty-five years Dr. Edwin Taylor Shelly has been a successful
medical practitioner in the city of Atchison. Dr. Shelly was born in
Quakertown, Pa., February 6, 1859, and is a son of William N. and Anna
(Taylor) Shelly, both of whom were natives of Bucks county,
Pennsylvania. Rev. William N. Shelly, the father, was a United Brethren
minister, whose ancestors came originally from Saxony, Germany, in 1765
and settled in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. He departed this life in
1893, at the age of seventy-nine years. Mrs. Anna (Taylor) Shelly died
in 1881, at the age of sixty-four years.
Edwin Taylor Shelly was the only child by the second marriage of Rev.
William N. Shelly. He received his early education in the Quakertown
high school and then taught school for two years. He began the study of
medicine in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in
1878, graduating therefrom in 1881. After practicing his profession for
a few months in his home county Dr. Shelly removed to Eden, Kan., where
he practiced for three years. He then moved to Huron, Kan., where he
remained for two years, previous to locating in Atchison in May, 1886,
where he has since maintained offices.
Dr. Shelly is a member of the Missouri Valley Medical Society, the
Atchison County Medical Society, the Kansas State, and the American
Medical associations, and is a member of the Kansas Academy of Science
and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has
twice served as president of the Northeastern Kansas Medical
Association. He has endeavored to keep pace with the progress made in
his life profession and has pursued post-graduate courses in the
University of Pennsylvania, the Post-Graduate School of Chicago, and the
Sloan Maternity Hospital of New York City. Dr. Shelly has been an
occasional contributor to the various medical journals, and articles
from his pen have appeared in the _Journal of the American Medical
Association_, the _New York Medical Record_, and other medical
publications. He has always devoted himself exclusively to the practice
of his profession. In politics, the Doctor is an independent Democrat,
and has always taken a great deal of interest in civic and economic
questions.
Dr. Shelly has been twice married, his first marriage occurring in 1885
with Miss Mary A. Schletzbaum, of Eden, who died in 1897, leaving two
sons, namely: William L., a farmer, residing on rural route No. 1, south
of Atchison, and who is a graduate of the Manhattan Agricultural
College; Ralph A., a graduate of the engineering department of Manhattan
College, and now employed in the Buick automobile factory at Flint,
Mich. His second marriage was with Miss Lillie E. Allen, of Atchison, in
1899. To this union have been born two children, Esther, aged thirteen
years, and Allen Parker, seven years old.
EDGAR WATSON HOWE.
Edgar Watson Howe, journalist and author, was born at Treaty, Wabash
county, Indiana, May 3, 1854, a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Irwin) Howe.
In 1857 the Howe family moved to Harrison county, Missouri, where Edgar
was educated in the common schools until twelve years of age, when he
began working in his father’s printing office. Henry Howe, a Methodist
minister, was described as a “fierce abolitionist,” and published a
paper at Bethany, Mo. At the age of fourteen the strict discipline of
his erratic father became too much for the spirit of the boy and he left
home. E. W. Howe is next heard of in Golden, Colo., as editor and
publisher of the _Weekly Globe_, at the age of eighteen. A year or so
afterward he was connected with a paper at Falls City, Neb., where in
1875 he married Miss Clara L. Frank. Five children were born to this
union, and three are living. In 1877 Mr. Howe came to Atchison, Kan.,
where he established the _Atchison Globe_. This paper was not long in
finding its way to recognition among the newspapers of Kansas on account
of the personality injected into it by its editor, and for more than
thirty years it has been one of the most widely quoted publications in
the whole country. The recent edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica
refers to it. Mr. Howe has the happy faculty of being personal in his
comments without giving offense. The informal way of dealing with
matters in his paper has always been relished by Kansans and has
attracted favorable comment in the more conventional parts of the
country. The magazines, in reproducing some of his refreshing
paragraphs, have referred to “Ed” Howe as the best country-town
newspaper reporter in America. He has the faculty of seeking the points
overlooked by the majority and of working them up into paragraphs having
a combination of sarcasm and good humor that is irresistible.
Mr. Howe’s first work of fiction was “The Story of a Country Town,”
published in 1882, which has been for more than a quarter of a century
among the standard books of America. It has been classed by such eminent
critics as William Dean Howells as one of the ten best American novels.
This book did not run its course as the average popular novel does; its
human interest has taken lasting hold on the public. Other works of
fiction which Mr. Howe has since written are: “The Moonlight Boy,” “The
Mystery of the Locks,” “An Ante-mortem Statement,” “The Confession of
John Whitlock.” His “Lay Sermons” contain a great deal of good, sound
philosophy of life, and from the pages of this book may he deducted a
very practical code of ethics. In 1900, at the time Dr. Sheldon edited
the _Daily Capital_ in Topeka for a week in the way he thought Christ
would do, Mr. Howe added to the gayety of Nations by accepting an
invitation from the _Topeka State Journal_ and running it for a week the
way he thought the devil would run a newspaper.
In 1906 Mr. Howe made a long trip abroad, which resulted in “Daily Notes
of a Trip Around the World,” in two volumes, which has been praised as
highly as any book of travels in recent years. Two years later he wrote
“The Trip to the West Indies,” as a result of a winter cruise. His
latest book is “Country Town Sayings,” a collection of his paragraphs in
the _Atchison Globe_.
Mr. Howe’s country home at Atchison is one of the most carefully and
artistically arranged homes in the State. It is a bungalow, overlooking
what is said to be one of the three finest views in Kansas. It was built
by its owner as a place to retire when he became old, as he believes
that too many people stand around in other people’s way. True to his
instinct of the unusual he named it “Potato Hill.” At the age of fifty-
six years he retired from active management of the _Globe_. It was
predicted by those familiar with his tireless energy as a newspaper man
that he would soon be back at his desk in the _Globe_ office, but such
was not the case. After revising the “Story of a Country Town” for the
stage he began the publication of _Howe’s Monthly_, which, within a few
months became the western rival of the _Phillistine_, published at East
Aurora, N. Y., and is considered by many to have out-classed Elbert
Hubbard’s magazine. The Edward Howe paragraphs have been syndicated, and
appear in the leading dailies of the country. In an attempt to account
for the popularity of these paragraphs and the other writings of Mr.
Howe, Walt Mason in the _American Magazine_, says: “There is always, in
everything Ed. Howe writes, the element of the unexpected. It is present
in all his books—one of which ranks with the best in American fiction—
and it is in his briefest paragraphs, and that is why he is inimitable.
Others may adopt his style and mannerisms, but they can’t borrow the
strange, original intelligence that eternally ignores the obvious and
seizes upon the bizarre, showing how much of the bizarre there is in
every-day commonplace life.”
The personality of Mr. Howe as described by those who know him best, is
that of a quiet, courteous gentleman, amiable and kind to all. His
patience in teaching the young reporter and his indulgent ignoring of
the mistakes of his office force, have been frequently remarked upon. It
is said that he never discharged anyone, but always assisted them to
make good. To those who have been associated with him he is a greater
man than he is to those who only know him through the printed page, and
the longer and closer the acquaintance, the more remarkable seems his
genius.
WILLIAM F. SPEER.
William F. Speer showed his good judgment in coming to Kansas. It was
not his fault that he was not born in the great Sunflower State, but he
immediately recognized that the next best thing to being a native born
“Jayhawker” was to spend as many years as possible in the prosperous
State, and although he was only three months old at the time he has
never had occasion to reverse his judgment. In fact, he likes it better
every year, and in all the fifty-five years he has lived in Kansas he
has always held to his first preference for Kansas territory.
William F. Speer was born January 8, 1860, but when spring came his
parents, Joseph and Mary (Fountain) Speer, whose history is written
under the name of Anna D. Speer, a sister, came to Atchison county,
Kansas, from their former home in Madison county, Iowa. The parents
settled on the farm which William Speer now owns and brought him up in
the way he should go, including some schooling at the district school
house. His meagre time in school was only a breathing spell for the
heavier duties which awaited him on his father’s farm, and William was
early drafted for service and had to help along with his eight brothers
and sisters. When the father’s estate was divided he bought the home
place of 160 acres, which he has improved a great deal since that time.
In 1889 Mr. Speer married Cora Spangler, who was born March 6, 1866, in
Malden, Ill. She was the daughter of LeRoy and Lucendia (Smith)
Spangler, both natives of Ohio, who came to Brown county, Kansas in
1870, where they remained until 1876, when they moved to Grasshopper
township, Atchison county. They moved to Edmond, Okla., in 1900. The
father died in 1913, at the age of seventy-four years, and the mother
passed away in 1906, at the age of sixty-seven years. Mr. and Mrs.
Spangler had six children, as follows: Alfred, of Marion county, Kansas;
George, of Edmond, Okla.; Cora, the wife of William Speer; Joseph,
deceased; Curtis and Irvin, of Kansas City, Mo. Mr. and Mrs. Speer have
seven children, all of whom are living at home, with the exception of
Ralph, who is manager of the Muscotah farmers’ elevator. The children
living at home are: Lela, LeRoy, Lucy, Anna Belle, Frank, and Marjorie.
EDMUND BULLOCK.
Edmund Bullock, late of Muscotah, Kan., was born in January, 1838, at
Cornwall, England, and departed this life July 27, 1892. He was a son of
Frank Bullock, who with his family immigrated to Canada in 1846, and
crossed the border to become a resident of the United States in 1853,
finally settling in Wisconsin. Edmund was reared to young manhood in
Wisconsin, and married there in 1869. Three years later, in 1872, he and
his young wife came to Kansas, settling in Muscotah, Atchison county.
Edmund Bullock was a skilled tinsmith, and his first work in Muscotah
was the opening of a small shop which served as a place to ply his
trade, and also as their home for some time. He prospered as time went
on and added a stock of stoves and tinware, and later established a
larger store and carried hardware of all kinds in stock. For several
years after coming to Muscotah he made all of the tinware sold from his
shop. For the first five years of their residence in Muscotah the tin
shop was divided and half of it served as a residence for Mr. and Mrs.
Bullock. A sister of Mrs. Bullock lived with them and conducted a
millinery store in the living room. Mr. Bullock first worked in
Greenleaf, Kan., when he came west, and Mrs. Bullock stayed with friends
in Frankfort. He heard of Muscotah and decided to locate here.
Mr. Bullock was married in 1869 to Miss Emma Graham, a native of
Wisconsin, and a daughter of Gustavus and Sarah Maria Graham, who were
both born in New York State. For fifteen years previous to her demise
Mrs. Bullock’s mother, Mrs. Sarah Maria Hale, made her home with her
daughter, dying September 29, 1915, at the great age of 100 years and
nine months.
Edmund Bullock was a Union veteran, who enlisted in 1862 in the Twenty-
fifth Wisconsin regiment of volunteers and served until the close of the
Civil war, participating in several hard-fought engagements with his
regiment. He was affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic and the
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He was prominent in Masonic circles
and was well versed in Masonry. Politically, Mr. Bullock was a
Republican, who voted independently on local and county matters. He was
reared in the Episcopalian faith, but was a liberal donator to all
denominations who sought his assistance. He was an honest, straight-
forward citizen who was blessed with a jolly disposition and had a fund
of anecdotes which he was continually retailing to a crowd of interested
listeners, especially children who would gather around him at times when
he was not busy and listened enthralled to his wonder tales. Mr. and
Mrs. Bullock lived an ideal married life and were deeply devoted to each
other.
PRESLEY H. CALVERT.
Presley H. Calvert, retired farmer, of Muscotah, Kan., was born November
14, 1835, in Owington, Ky., a son of B. Warren Calvert, a native of old
Virginia, and a direct descendant of Cecil Calvert (Lord Baltimore), who
founded the Maryland colony in America. The mother of Presley H. Calvert
was Lucy J. Hawkins before her marriage with Warren Calvert, and was
born in Frankfort, Ky. In 1837 the Calvert family migrated from Kentucky
to Platte county, Missouri, and were among the earliest pioneer settlers
of that county. Being slaveholders in Kentucky they brought along the
family slaves and improved 160 acres of land in Missouri. Both parents
ended their days on the old home place in Platte county.
Presley H. was reared on the farm in Platte county and was educated in
the Pleasant Ridge College, the same school attended by B. P. Waggener,
of Atchison. He followed farming until the outbreak of the war between
the States and then served three months in the army of General Price,
being under the direct command of Captain Mitchell and in Steen’s
division. He fought at the battle of Lexington, Mo., in behalf of the
Confederacy and received his discharge on account of sick disability at
Osceola, St. Clair county, Missouri. After his marriage in 1867 he
farmed for ten years in Platte county, Missouri, and then came to
Kansas, settling on a farm three miles south of Muscotah in Kapioma
township. For the first ten years Mr. Calvert rented land and then
invested in 160 acres of good land three miles north of Muscotah in
Grasshopper township. He improved this farm and resided thereon until
1895. He then rented his farm and moved to Muscotah. Mr. Calvert paid
twenty dollars per acre for his land and sold it for $5,000 when he
retired from active farm work. He is now making his home with Mr. and
Mrs. Will Warren. Mrs. Warren is his niece.
Mr. Calvert was married in 1867 to Miss Cora A. Jackson, born and reared
in Platte county, Missouri, a daughter of Wallace Jackson, a native of
Kentucky and an early settler of Missouri. Two children were born to
this union: Edna and Charles, both of whom are deceased. Mrs. Calvert
died in 1908, at the age of sixty years. Mr. Calvert has been a life-
long Democrat of the old school. When a young man he formed one of the
hardy army of freighters who crossed the plains to the Far West in
charge of the great overland freight trains before the advent of the
railroads. He crossed the plains on four trips to Salt Lake City and
other western points in Colorado.
WILLIAM THOMAS WARREN.
William Thomas Warren is one of the younger generation of farmers in
Atchison county, and is the owner of 320 acres of land one and one-half
miles east of Muscotah on the White Way highway. He was born December
25, 1876, in Brown county, Kansas, and is a son of Rodney T. (born in
1846, died March 5, 1914), and Chariet (Speaks) Warren (born in 1846).
Both parents were born and reared in Kentucky and came to Kansas in the
spring of 1876 and settled on a farm in Brown county. Later, in 1905,
Rodney T. Warren bought a farm near Centralia in Nemaha county, and
resided thereon until his demise. Mrs. Warren lives at Hiawatha, Kan.
W. T. Warren was educated in the public schools of his native county and
followed farming until 1903, when he left the farm and was employed in
the retail meat market of Mr. Zimmerman, at Hiawatha, for a period of
five years. He was then employed in the same avocation at Atchison,
Falls City, Neb., and Fairbury, Neb., until October of 1911. He then
came to Muscotah and entered the employ of E. W. Allen, who conducted a
grocery and meat market. He remained with Mr. Allen until 1914, and then
he and Mrs. Warren invested their combined capital in 320 acres of land
near Muscotah.
He was married on May 22, 1912, to Miss Ella, a daughter of A. H.
Calvert, grain merchant of Muscotah. (The reader is referred to the
biography of A. H. Calvert, brother of Presley H. Calvert, for further
details concerning Mrs. Warren’s parents.) Mrs. Warren served as the
assistant cashier of the Muscotah State Bank for fifteen years. Mr.
Warren is a Republican in politics and attend the Congregational church,
of which Mrs. Warren is a member.
WILLIAM MANGELSDORF.
The name of Mangelsdorf is indelibly linked with the story of the
commercial development of northeast Kansas and the Middle West, and the
Mangelsdorf family is one of the most respected and substantial of
Atchison, Kan. The review of the life of William Mangelsdorf, deceased,
begins across the Atlantic in the Fatherland of Germany, where he was
born and spent part of his youth, coming to America with his parents
when twelve years of age. William not only achieved a wonderful success
in business and accumulated wealth, but he assisted in making the family
name known and respected throughout a great extent of territory wherever
the output of the great seed house founded by him and his brother,
August, carried its business. He left behind him a monument for business
integrity and upright methods which has made his name universally
respected and honored for years to come.
William Mangelsdorf was born in Armin, Prussia, February 15, 1845, a son
of Christopher and Marie Anna Dorothy Mangelsdorf. Christopher
Mangelsdorf died in Germany in 1849 and his widow married Andrew
Stehwein, who with the family emigrated from their native land in 1849
and settled on a farm in Gasconade county, Missouri. In 1868 the family
removed to Douglas county, Kansas, where they resided until the mother’s
demise, after which Mr. Stehwein came to Atchison to spend the remainder
of his days with his children. Five children were born to Christopher
and Marie Anna Mangelsdorf: Mrs. Anna Buhman, of Atchison, Kan.; Henry,
in New Mexico; Mrs. Dorothy Beurman, Lakeview, Douglas county, Kansas;
William, with whom this review is directly concerned; and August,
residing in Atchison.
In 1868 William Mangelsdorf left the family home in Gasconade county,
Missouri, and came to Atchison, Kan. His first employment in this city
was as a laborer in various capacities until 1872. During the four years
in which he was earning his living by the hardest kind of labor he was
all the time obsessed with the idea that the mercantile field of the new
country being developed afforded opportunities to become successful for
an ambitious young man. He accordingly, carefully saved his money, and
with a small capital embarked in business for himself. He was first
engaged in the retail grocery business with John Ratterman under the
firm style of Ratterman & Mangelsdorf, and remained a member of the firm
until 1875, when he disposed of his interest in the grocery business and
purchased a half interest in the retail grocery conducted by his
brother, August Mangelsdorf, forming the firm of Mangelsdorf Brothers.
It was about this time that the brothers tried the experiment of adding
a seed department to the grocery in order to meet a growing demand for
farm and garden seeds. The experiment proved successful and the business
grew even beyond the greatest expectations of the promoters. What was
intended as a side line on their part developed into an extensive
business which soon dwarfed the grocery trade; it was not long until
they engaged in the wholesale line; the enterprise grew to be one of the
most important in northeastern Kansas, and was later incorporated as the
Mangelsdorf Brothers Company. An extended mention of its development is
to be found elsewhere in this publication. Not many years after the
partnership of the Mangelsdorf Brothers was formed, William established
another general merchandise store at Ellinwood, Kan., in 1877, and later
another store at Bushton, Kan. The stores were conducted under the name
of the Mangelsdorf Brothers Company, which was incorporated about this
time, and the other partners in the various enterprises were August
Mangelsdorf, of Atchison, H. D. Back, of Atchison, Kan., and C. F.
Stehwein, manager of the Bushton store. William resided in Ellinwood in
active management of the stores until 1895; then he removed with his
family to his farm near there. In 1898 he moved to Bushton, taking the
active management of the store at that place. He also established a
banking business at Bushton which was successful from the start, and his
activity in commercial life continued until 1904, when he removed to
Atchison, where he lived in retirement from active business pursuits
until his demise, May 15, 1911.
Mr. Mangelsdorf was married August 6, 1875, to Miss Minnie Halling, and
this marriage was blessed with six children, namely: Clara, residing in
Pueblo, Colo.; William C., who also lives in Pueblo, Colo.; Edward F., a
member of the Mangelsdorf Brothers Company; Minnie, at home; Frank A.,
cashier of the German-American State Bank of Atchison; Albert H.,
cashier of the Farmers State Bank, Potter, Kan. Mrs. Mangelsdorf was
born in 1854 in Pennsylvania, and died in Atchison, Kan., in 1904. Her
father was an early settler in Kansas, and first resided in Doniphan
county, where he preëmpted land on Independence creek, later removing to
Atchison. William Mangelsdorf was a member of the Evangelical Lutheran
church, to which denomination he was a liberal contributor. During his
life he was a hard and indefatigable worker, who was ambitious to
succeed and achieve a competence for his children. He was a liberal
supporter of local enterprises, and was regarded as one of the wealthy
and substantial citizens of Kansas, and will long be regarded as one of
the leading figures of the commercial development of Atchison county and
central Kansas.
ALBERT H. MANGELSDORF.
Albert H. Mangelsdorf, cashier of the Farmers State Bank of Potter,
Kan., was born February 15, 1890, in Barton county, Kansas. He is a son
of the late William Mangelsdorf, a pioneer settler of Atchison, and one
of the successful merchants of Kansas, extended mention of whom is given
elsewhere in this volume. Mr. Mangelsdorf was educated in the common
schools of Barton county, Kansas, and received his preparatory training
at St. Benedict’s College, Atchison, Kan. He attended the University of
Kansas, class of 1912, pursuing a course in mining engineering. After
the completion of this course he was in the employ of the Newmire
Vanadium Company, located at Newmire, Colo., in the capacity of
engineer. Later, he was in the employ of a mining firm at Weinkleman,
Ariz., and later with the Arizona Copper Company at Morenci, Ariz.,
after which he served as superintendent of the main building of the
Mangelsdorf Brothers Company at Atchison until his appointment as
cashier of the Farmers State Bank of Potter, Kan., in December, 1914.
Mr. Mangelsdorf is a Republican in politics and is fraternally
affiliated with the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, the Knights of Columbus,
and is a member of the Catholic church.
FRED BINKLEY.
The late Fred Binkley, of Potter, Kan., was born April 8, 1832, in
Warrick county, Indiana, a son of George and Catharine (Chinn) Binkley,
both of whom were born and reared in the State of North Carolina, and
were among the earliest settlers of southwestern Indiana. George Binkley
was of German origin, and Catharine (Chinn) Binkley was of English
origin. In the year 1828 George Binkley with his wife and infant son,
James, set out for Indiana, equipped with one horse, their personal
belongings and a camping outfit. The horse was used to transport their
outfits and it was necessary for George and his wife to walk practically
the entire distance from North Carolina to their destination in Indiana.
They arrived in the wilderness of Indiana without mishap and at once set
about making a home in the new country. A few years later they removed
to a farm in Gibson county, Indiana, where George and Catharine Binkley
spent the remainder of their lives. They reared a family of eleven
children, of which Fred was the third child.
Fred Binkley grew to manhood on the pioneer farm in Indiana and learned
to rough it at a very early age. After his marriage in 1854 to Elizabeth
Dougan, he and his wife lived for one year on a farm in Gibson county,
and then the father of Mrs. Binkley (James Dougan) sold out his holdings
in Indiana and migrated to Atchison county, Kansas. Two years later Fred
and his wife followed and settled on 160 acres of land one and one-half
miles northwest of Potter in Mt. Pleasant township. The land was mostly
raw prairie and it was necessary for him to erect a suitable home which
was an humble one at first, but as the years passed and Mr. and Mrs.
Binkley became more and more prosperous they built a better home and
added sixty acres more land to their holdings.
Fred Binkley was married September 15, 1854, to Elizabeth Dougan, and
eight children have been born to this union: Robert, born in Indiana in
1855, a farmer living in Mt. Pleasant township; Sarah, wife of S.
Watson, of Leavenworth county, Kansas, was born in 1860; Lewis, born in
1863, and died in 1899; James, born in 1868, living on a farm near
Effingham, Kan.; George, born in 1870, died in 1910; Dora, born in 1872,
wife of Samuel Hall, of Leavenworth county, Kansas; Lou, born in 1874,
at home with her mother; Kate, born in 1877, wife of Albert Hawley, of
Atchison county, Kansas. The mother of these children was born May 10,
1835, a daughter of James and Sarah (Healt) Dougan. James Dougan, the
father, was born in Kentucky, a son of Samuel, who was a soldier of the
Revolution, and who received a large grant of Government land for his
services. His grant was located in Dyer county, Tennessee, and consisted
of 1,300 acres of wild land, which was divided among the children of the
Revolutionary soldier (James). Samuel removed with his family to a
portion of this land, which was wild and rough and covered with dense
timber. A few years of living in the wilderness of Tennessee sufficed
for them, however, and they left the State and went to Gibson county,
Indiana, to found another home. They traveled horseback to the new
location. Samuel, at that time an old man, became ill on the trip and
was forced to return to Tennessee, dying there in about 1828. The family
later made a permanent settlement in Gibson county, Indiana. Samuel and
Molly Dougan (his wife) reared a family of five children, of whom James,
the father of Mrs. Binkley, was the third child. The mother of James
died in 1845. James Dougan was married in 1831 to Sarah Healt, and
eleven children were born to them, of whom nine were reared to manhood
and womanhood. As early as 1855 James Dougan came to Atchison county and
preëmpted 160 acres of land, built a cabin, and returned to Indiana for
his family, whom he brought to Atchison county, Kansas, in the spring of
1856. He was comparatively a poor man when he located in Kansas, but
became quite prosperous and well-to-do and became the owner of a half
section of well improved land. James died in 1900, at the age of ninety-
two years. Two brothers of Mrs. Binkley served in the Union Army during
the Civil war. One of them enlisted in the Eighth Kansas cavalry
regiment, and the other in the Thirteenth regiment.
Fred Binkley departed this life August 2, 1910. He was well and
favorably known in Atchison county and his demise marked the passing of
one of the sturdy pioneer settlers of the State. He was a stanch
Republican during his whole life and was a pronounced Free State man in
the days when the struggle was on to make Kansas a Free State. He took
an active part in the stirring scenes before and during the dark days of
the Civil war, and like many others, suffered from the forays of the
border ruffians. The Methodist church, of which he was one of the
members and a builder, having been burned by border ruffians, he never
united with any other denomination.
JOHN DRIMMEL.
John Drimmel, farmer and stockman, of Shannon township, Atchison county,
was born on the farm where he resides, in 1863, a son of John and Mary
(Karn) Drimmel, natives of Austria. John Drimmel, Sr., was born in
Austria in 1829, and immigrated to America with his wife in 1853. They
were accompanied by the oldest child, Veronica. He settled on a rented
farm of eighty acres north of Atchison in Shannon township, which he
cultivated for three years and then bought eighty acres of land four
miles west of the city. John, Sr., erected a small, rough box house,
which was the family home for the first twelve years, and which was then
replaced by a large, handsome brick residence of ten rooms, which is now
the home of the son, John. This fine home is modern and fitted with a
lighting system and a cellar runs underneath the entire body of the
house. It is one of the most attractive places in Atchison county. Mr.
Drimmel added to his acreage as he was able and accumulated a total of
230 acres of fine land which is now being cultivated by his son. During
1914 John Drimmel, with whom this review is concerned, had planted
forty-five acres of corn, 100 acres of wheat, and ninety acres of oats,
all of which yielded splendid crops. Mr. Drimmel is renting eighty
acres, in addition to the home farm. The elder Drimmel was a Free State
man and served as company cook in the Union army during the Civil war.
He reared a family of seven children, as follows: Mrs. Veronica Miller,
living in Doniphan county, Kansas; Antony, of Atchison; Florence,
Everest, Kan.; John, the subject of this review; Arnold, of Kansas City;
Frank, living with his brother, John; L. J., a farmer, living in Shannon
township. All of the children of this pioneer family are well-to-do and
in good health, the oldest of the family being over sixty-one years of
age. John Drimmel, the father, died in 1891. The mother was born in
1829, and died in 1889. They were a worthy pioneer couple who achieved a
comfortable competence and reared a fine family in the land of their
adoption.
John Drimmel owns and manages the old home place of the Drimmel family
in Shannon township, and is one of the representative and well known
farmers of Atchison county. All of his fifty-three years of life have
been spent in Atchison county and he has always lived on the farm which
he now owns. Mr. Drimmel was married in 1893 to Miss Marie Blodig, who
died in the first year of her marriage, leaving one son, Frank, born
March 1, 1894, and studied in St. Benedict’s College. He was again
married in 1896 to Miss Marie Jahl, who has borne him the following
children: Anna Marie, born November 24, 1898; John Albert, born April
28, 1900; Marie Veronica, born September 6, 1901; Agnes Cecila, born
December 23, 1902; Irene Florentine, born June 11, 1904; Ernest Gabriel,
born January 15, 1906; Alfred William, born March 28, 1908; Reinhold
Leapold, born September 20, 1909; Rose Helena, born January 23, 1911;
Maximilian Louis, born August 21, 1912; Genevieve Frances, born August
14, 1914. The mother of this large family of eleven children was born in
Austria in 1877, a daughter of John and Anna Jahl. John Jahl, the father
of Mrs. Drimmel, was born in Austria in 1852, and departed this life
March 10, 1879. Mrs. Jahl was born July 22, 1855, and came to America in
the year 1894, and has since resided in Atchison county. Mrs. Jahl
resides with her daughter. She and Mr. Jahl were married in Austria in
1875 and were the parents of three children as follows: John Jahl, Jr.,
born February 21, 1876, and died in October, 1877; Mrs. Marie (Jahl)
Drimmel, born March 10, 1877; Frank Jahl, born September 17, 1878, and
died in June of 1879.
Mr. and Mrs. Drimmel and their children are all members of St.
Benedict’s Catholic Church and are liberal supporters of this
denomination. Mr. Drimmel is a Democrat in politics, but simply does his
duty as a citizen and has never been a seeker after political office.
The Drimmel home is a very happy one, and the Drimmel family is one of
the largest families in Atchison county or the state of Kansas, and Mr.
and Mrs. Drimmel have good and just right to be proud of the fact,
inasmuch as Atchison county is proud of them. The children of this fine
family are all receiving the benefits of a good school and college
education, and it is the firm intention of the parents that all of their
sons shall be educated in St. Benedict’s College, and the daughters
shall finish their training in Mt. St. Scholastica Academy. John, Jr.,
is at present a student in St. Benedict’s College, class of 1917, and
Anna and Marie will enter Mt. Scholastica in the fall of 1916 in order
to complete the course in this excellent young ladies’ school. Mr. and
Mrs. Drimmel believe thoroughly in giving their children every
educational advantage within their means in order to properly fit them
for becoming useful men and women and become a credit to their ambitious
parents.
AUGUST MANGELSDORF.
August Mangelsdorf has been a citizen of Atchison for over half a
century and has accomplished during that period two things which entitle
him to recognition and even renown. He established and built up the
Mangelsdorf Brothers Seed Company, one of the largest concerns of its
kind in the West, and now managed by his sons. The other is the rearing
of a large family of fifteen children. If Mr. Mangelsdorf had done no
more than to bring into the world and rear his family of fifteen
children he would have been entitled to more than ordinary mention as
one of the sturdy pioneer citizens of Atchison. He is now living a
retired life at his beautiful place, “Homewood,” in South Atchison, and,
while ostensibly retired, works constantly on his farm within and
adjoining the city limits. While nominally the president of the
Mangelsdorf Brothers Seed Company, he spends the greater portion of his
time out of doors working about the grounds and fields of his estate.
Mr. Mangelsdorf, while having lived a busy and even strenuous life
during his fifty years in business in Atchison, has no desire to “rust
out,” but believes that his health can be better conserved by plenty of
exercise in the open air. His rugged appearance and keen interest in
life bear testimony to the wisdom of his plan of living. He is one of
the highly respected and substantial citizens of Atchison and has done
his part in the task of making Atchison preëminent among the cities of
the West. The great concern which bears his name was originated and
built up by himself and is a monument to his enterprise and integrity,
and Atchison is proud of him and the outcome of his life work.
Mr. Mangelsdorf was born in Armin, Prussia, July 27, 1848. He was the
son of Christopher and Marie Anna Dorothy Mangelsdorf, who lived in
Armin until 1856, when they immigrated to America. The father died in
1849, and the mother married the second time to Andrew Stehwein. The
family first settled on a farm in Gasconade county, Missouri, residing
there until 1868, when they came to Douglas county, Kansas. Here they
lived until the mother died, and then Mr. Stehwein came to Atchison to
spend the remainder of his days with his children. Five children were
born to Christopher Mangelsdorf, namely: Mrs. Anna Buhrman, of Atchison;
Henry, in New Mexico; Mrs. Dorothy Beurman, Lakeview, Douglas county,
Kansas; William, deceased August, with whom this review is directly
concerned.
August Mangelsdorf came to Kansas from Missouri in 1865 and located in
Atchison. He worked as a laborer to earn money for his sustenance and
was not ashamed to do the hardest kind of labor. He willingly did
anything necessary to earn an honest dollar. His first real business
experience was as a clerk in the grocery store of John Belz. It was only
natural to see him become the owner of the business in time. Frugality,
industry and aptitude, characteristics of his race, enabled him to
become proprietor of the store in 1873. He owned the business until
1893. Two years after taking entire charge of the grocery he started a
small seed business as a side line with his grocery. This was the
foundation of his subsequent fortune, and it was only a question of
years until he branched out in the wholesale line and the business
outgrew the store. The seed business kept on growing and growing: the
sons of its founder became young men; its founder concluded to retire
and he turned over the management to his sons who are following in the
father’s footsteps. For years his brother, William, was associated with
him and they started a general store at Ellinwood, Kan., of which
William had charge. Mr. Mangelsdorf established greenhouses in
connection with the seed business. These extensive greenhouses are
located on the Homewood estate and are in charge of his son, Ernest. In
1912 Mr. Mangelsdorf concluded to retire from active business and is now
enjoying life to the full. His sixty-seven years of existence have been
well and profitably spent and he can look back over the past years with
satisfaction and pleasure over a task well and faithfully done. It is
given to but few men to have reared a large family of sons and daughters
and to have lived to see them shoulder the responsibilities left by the
father and perform the work successfully while he is yet living to
observe, guide, and instruct them.
Mr. Mangelsdorf was first married to Anna Charlotte Brune in 1874. She
died in 1890. To this union were born nine children: Anna died in 1890;
August, manager and vice-president of the seed company; Fred, the
efficient secretary of the concern; Charlotte, cashier of the company;
Ernest, in charge of the greenhouses; Bertha, teacher of domestic
science in the high school at Seneca, Kan.; Caroline, who is studying in
Chicago in preparation for kindergarten work; Marie, deceased; Frank,
treasurer of the seed company; Mrs. Marie Schmeling, of Atchison. In
1892 Mr. Mangelsdorf took to wife, Mrs. Louise Brune, who has borne him
eight children: Albert, a graduate of the Agricultural College at
Manhattan, class of 1916; Carl died in infancy; Paul and Louise, in high
school; Theodore, Dorothy, Harold and Helen.
Mr. Mangelsdorf is a director of the First National Bank of Atchison.
Politically, he is allied with the Democratic party and has served one
term as city councilman and city treasurer for four years. He is a
member of the Evangelical church and is fraternally allied with the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
FRANK A. MANGELSDORF.
Frank A. Mangelsdorf, cashier of the German-American State Bank of
Atchison, Kan., while the youngest of the bankers of the city, has given
evidence that he possesses the inherent ability and the necessary
ambition to successfully conduct the important financial institution
under his management. The German-American State Bank is the newest of
the banking concerns of Atchison, but it is fast coming to the front as
one of the important banks of this section of Kansas under Mr.
Mangelsdorf’s aggressive and capable control. He is a native son of
Kansas and was born and reared in this State, being a son of William
Mangelsdorf, merchant and financier, deceased, who came from Germany to
America when a boy and achieved a notable success in the land of his
adoption. A review of the life of William Mangelsdorf appears in this
volume.
Mr. Mangelsdorf was born August 14, 1888, in Ellinwood, Kan. The first
ten years of his life were spent there and on his father’s farm, whither
his parents had removed from Ellinwood. He received his early education
in a country school, later attending the public schools of Bushton, and
completed the eighth grade at the age of twelve. From 1900 to 1904 he
was employed in his father’s store at Bushton, the family removing to
the city of Atchison in the latter year. He pursued a course in the
Atchison Business College, and then became cashier of the Mangelsdorf
Brothers Company, a position which he filled until 1910. He then became
assistant cashier of the First National Bank of Atchison, remaining in
that position until the organization of the German-American State Bank
in 1912, when he became cashier of the newly organized banking concern.
The success of this bank is a matter of gratification to its
stockholders and patrons.
Mr. Mangelsdorf was married June 22, 1914, to Miss Veva Sawin, a
daughter of William H. Sawin, an undertaker of Atchison. He is
independent in political matters, preferring to cast his vote for the
individual whom he deems best fitted to perform the duties of the office
sought rather than to support a party candidate. He is a member of the
Catholic church. Although young in years, Mr. Mangelsdorf is recognized
as one of the rising young bankers of Atchison and is considered among
the city’s best and most enterprising citizens. The unvarying courtesy
and dignity characteristic in his conduct of the banking business is
carried into his daily life, and he enjoys the respect and esteem of a
large number of friends in the city.
PAUL ATKIN.
Paul Atkin, traveling salesman, of Atchison, Kan., was born September 6,
1866, in Lincolnshire, England. He was the son of William and Rebecca
(Prestwood) Atkin. William Atkin, the father, was born in England about
1841. He was a farmer in his native country, but emigrated from England
to America in 1872. His first place of residence in this country was in
Chicago, where he resided a few years. He then moved to Kansas, settling
on his farm in Doniphan county. After one year’s residence in Kansas he
returned to Chicago and engaged in the transfer business. Again, in
about 1880, he returned to Doniphan county, Kansas, and engaged in
farming, and cultivated his land until 1899, at which time he engaged in
the hotel and livery business in Denton, Kansas. He died in a hospital
at Leavenworth, Kan., in 1900. Nine children were born to William and
Rebecca Atkin: Mrs. L. H. Priester, living in California; Paul, with
whom this review is directly concerned; Mrs. Thomas Wrighter, of Denton,
Kan.; Mrs. Fred Hickok, of Haverlock, Neb.; Mrs. Ben Hinchscliff, near
Topeka, Kan.; Mrs. Art Hall, Severance, Kan.; William, farmer, of
Doniphan county; Arnold, near Severance, Kan.; Ethel died at the age of
eight years. The mother of these children was born in England in 1842,
and died in Severance, Kan., in 1902.
Paul Atkin did not leave England until thirteen years of age, when he
crossed the ocean and continent and came to Atchison, Kan., arriving in
the city ten days before his parents, then living in Doniphan county,
Kansas, learned of his arrival. He was nine days on the water and came
across the ocean aboard the “City of Richmond,” one of the fastest
ocean-going passenger ships afloat at that time. Being a boy and alone,
he was given all privileges and made many friends. He never had a day’s
illness during the voyage or crossing the continent to Kansas, but
became ill on arriving in Atchison and was cared for by Mr. Dorethy, at
that time depot master of Atchison. This kind man looked after him until
his father was notified of his arrival. From Atchison he went to
Doniphan county and assisted his father for many years in operating the
farm, later operating the farm by himself for one year. At the age of
twenty he began working for himself for twenty dollars per month for a
period of one year. He then went to Ellensburg, Wash., and learned the
plasterer’s trade, remaining in that city two years, after which he went
to Tacoma, Wash., and remained there six months, then going to Portland,
Ore., where he worked at the harness maker’s trade, not long after
returning to Doniphan county, Kansas, where he followed the trade of
plastering for three years. After his marriage he made his home in
Atchison, Kan., and after making a trip to Port Arthur and working at
his trade, he then opened a meat market in Denton, Kan., which he
operated for a time and then sold out. In 1888 he returned to Atchison
and entered the employ of Curtain & Clark Cutlery Company, of St.
Joseph, Mo., as traveling salesman. He traveled for three years, his
territory being through Nebraska. He resigned and accepted a position
for another three and a half years with the Rochester Stamp Company, of
Rochester, N. Y. Giving up this work he engaged in the hardware business
with Krings in Atchison. The firm was known as Krings & Atkin. Later he
sold out his interest in the hardware business and became interested in
the United States Street Lighting Company, manufacturing street lamps in
Kansas City until February, 1909, when he again went on the road as
traveling salesman with the Associated Silver Company of Chicago, his
territory embracing Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado.
Mr. Atkin was married in 1894 to Addie M. Herring. Mr. and Mrs. Atkin
have one daughter, Frances Mildred, a graduate of Atchison High School,
and a student in Atchison Business College.
Mrs. Atkin was born in 1871 in Doniphan county, Kansas, a daughter of
Henry H. Herring, a native of Pennsylvania and now residing in Atchison.
Mr. Atkin is independent in political affairs and votes for the
individual rather than the support of any one political party. He is
affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. His wife and
daughter are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
PETER PARSONS.
Peter Parsons, of Atchison, Kan., is a Kentuckian by birth and has the
distinction of being the pioneer thresher man of northeast Kansas and
western Missouri. He was born in Breathitt county, Kentucky, December
10, 1868, a son of J. W. Parsons, a descendant of an old Virginia
family. Peter Parsons’ maternal grandfather, Hatfield, was a soldier in
the Revolution and fought under General Washington. The Parsons and the
Hatfield families were among the earliest pioneers of the State of
Kentucky. When Peter was four years of age the Parsons family removed to
Buchanan county. Missouri, and there settled on a farm. Peter was reared
to young manhood on the Missouri farm and attended the district schools.
When but a boy he developed an aptitude for machinery and showed a knack
of handling farming implements possessed by few boys of his age. In 1887
he entered the employ of the A. J. Harwi Hardware Company and worked in
the farm machinery department of the store. Desiring to gain a more
intimate knowledge of threshing machinery, especially, he went to Battle
Creek, Mich., where the machines were manufactured and learned the
business of building and assembling threshing machines from the ground
up. This was a good business venture on his part, as he soon engaged in
threshing on his own account and operated threshing outfits for over
nineteen years, and was actively engaged in northeast Kansas and
northwest Missouri in this business successfully. He operated several
machines and crews and had almost a virtual monopoly of the threshing
business in his territory. At the present time Mr. Parsons operates two
threshing outfits which he owns, but for some years has retired from
active labor in the fields. The wide range of his activities naturally
gave him an extensive and favorable acquaintance among the farmers of
this section of the country and he acquired a reputation for thorough
workmanship and square dealing which has never been surpassed by men
engaged in the same industry. He is probably the oldest threshing
machine operator at the present time in eastern Kansas or western
Missouri in years of experience, and understands the mechanical part of
the industry better than any other man in this neighborhood. Mr. Parsons
has a right to be proud of his record in the agricultural history of
Atchison county and Kansas. From 1903 to 1909 Mr. Parsons was a member
of the Atchison police force and made a record in the department for
efficiency and faithful performance of his duties which is remembered.
He is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and is well liked by all
who know him. He is broad-minded in his views and kindly disposed toward
his fellow men.
HENRY SCHIFFBAUER.
Henry Schiffbauer, pioneer, plainsman, Government scout, and friend of
Buffalo Bill, now lives in comparative quiet on his farm in Kapioma
township, Atchison county, after having seen the wildest and wooliest
parts of the great West in its early days. Under his own eyes, Kansas
has changed from a land of Indians, daubed with bright paint, shouting a
war-whoop and brandishing tomahawks, to a quiet farming community, where
peaceable citizens drive to church every Sunday. He has seen Kansas
changed from a broad prairie, with its countless thousands of buffaloes
to a great farming country, with its productive fields, and the trudging
ox has been succeeded by the tractor and automobile. Henry Schiffbauer,
in his seventy-five years, has seen the making of a nation; he has seen
the wild frontier grow into a civilized community, which ranks among the
highest in intelligence and prosperity. Mr. Schiffbauer was born January
27, 1841, on the River Rhine, in Prussia, Germany. His parents, Michael
and Gertrude (Frentz) Schiffbauer, had thirteen children. The father
followed farming in his native land, and in 1851 immigrated to the
United States, settling on General Taylor’s farm, in Gamwell county,
Kentucky. Four years later he moved to Missouri, and in the same year
came to Kansas, where he homesteaded a claim in Jefferson county, which
he farmed until about eight years before his death, which occurred when
he was eighty-nine years old. The mother of Henry Schiffbauer died in
1854, at the age of fifty-five years. She fell before the terrible
scourge of cholera which swept the United States about that time. The
four children living are: Charles, Cripple Creek, Colo.; Trassie, a nun,
at Leavenworth, Kan.; Frank, Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Henry, the subject of
this sketch. All but Frank were born in Germany, he having been born in
Gamwell county, Kentucky.
Henry Schiffbauer’s boyhood was one of rough and hard adventure. He
received his education by driving a six-mule team, and his book learning
was scanty. When he was seventeen years old he went to work for Dr.
Davis, at Leavenworth, Kan. In 1857 he was stationed in the
quartermaster’s department at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., where he was
employed eight years. After Lee’s surrender, in 1865, Henry returned to
his home in Jefferson county, Kansas, and met Buffalo Bill, or as he is
known in private life, William Cody, for the first time. Here was begun
a friendship which continued for many years, and which probably will
live until one of the friends passes away. Two years later, however, the
two men were thrown closer together, and their acquaintance ripened into
a close friendship. Henry was guarding and herding mules when he met
Buffalo Bill the second time. The latter was an extra hand on Major &
Russell’s overland freight train. Henry Schiffbauer was the man who
taught Buffalo Bill to shoot from a saddle, it is said, and the
unequalled skill of the great hunter may be laid at the feet of the
subject of this sketch. It may be that if Buffalo Bill had not met Henry
Schiffbauer, his life history might have been different, for undoubtedly
it was the stories which Henry told of his experiences that tempted the
young man to leave his oxen and follow the wilder life of a Government
scout. Mr. Schiffbauer has seen the most sensational life of the West in
its most dangerous days. Just before the outbreak of the Civil war he
carried messages for the Government from Ft. Kearney, Neb., to Ft.
Laramie, Colo., and to Salt Lake City, and Ft. Floyd, Utah. These were
times when it was dangerous to be a Government messenger. The
dispatchers of the Government were not held in such awe in those days,
and it was not at all unusual to kill a messenger to get his papers. But
Mr. Schiffbauer was able to take care of himself, and passed through
these uncertain times without harm. He served in the secret service
department for eight months, about the time of the second election of
Abraham Lincoln. It was feared by governmental officials that attempts
on the President’s life were being planned, and General Thayer, then in
command at Ft. Smith, Ark., secured the services of Henry Schiffbauer in
this difficulty. This was a position won because of fearlessness and
coolness, even in the most dangerous situations, and to be one of the
protectors of the President was the honor which repaid him. In 1865 Lee
surrendered and conditions began to settle.
When Mr. Schiffbauer saw that his opportunity to serve his country had
ceased, he located on the farm which he now owns and built a small farm
house, thus settling down to the quiet life of a farmer. He broke his
ground with oxen, and worked in the most primitive manner for a few
years, but gradually he was rewarded for his labors, and he came to have
more of the comforts and conveniences of a modern farmer, erecting a
large stone residence in 1880. His place is one-fourth mile east of
Arrington, Kan. It comprises 189 acres, and here he and his wife,
Margaret Glimm, to whom he was married in 1865, have lived since,
rearing a family of eight children. Mrs. Schiffbauer was born in
Germany, March 6, 1848. She is a daughter of John and Christian Glimm,
who came to Kansas in the early days, bringing their daughter with them.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Schiffbauer are: Christena, who married
Allen Kinkaid, of Washington State; Charles E., Belle Plains, Sumner
county, Kansas; Sarah married L. E. Wagner, of St. Louis, Mo.; Henry F.,
Valley Falls, Kan.; Gertrude married John Nevins, Kapioma township;
Robert is farming near La Cygne, Linne county, Kansas; William,
Arrington, Kan.; George, passenger conductor, East St. Louis, Ill. Mr.
Schiffbauer is an independent in politics. He belongs to the Modern
Woodmen of America, and to the Knights and Ladies of Security. He has
had a remarkable career and remembers the incidents of his early life
with vividness. Atchison county has few characters with such an
interesting history.
In 1857 while in the quartermaster’s department at Ft. Leavenworth he
was detailed with General Sumner’s expedition against the Cheyenne
Indians in the far West. This trip required six months and was filled
with great hardships for the troops. In April of 1858 he accompanied
Gen. Sydney Johnston’s expedition to Salt Lake City for the purpose of
subduing the Mormons, and was gone for eighteen months. He assisted in
building a camp at Ft. Floyd, or Camp Floyd, as it became known at the
time, forty-five miles south of Salt Lake City. During this trip Mr.
Schiffbauer had his first experience in driving a six-mule team and
hauling “adobes.” The fort was built under the direction of Colonel
Crossmore. He returned to Kansas in the fall of 1859, and went to New
Orleans in the Government secret service, and thence to Baton Rouge,
where he remained until after Lincoln’s election, finally making his way
out of the southland with great difficulty, accompanied with personal
danger to himself. For a period of eight years this plainsman never
slept under a roof, excepting twice at Ft. Bonta, where he was under
shelter for the night. On one of his expeditions to the far West they
had fed their last grain to the mules, made camp, and the next morning
the entire camp was under two feet of snow. Mr. Schiffbauer himself
being covered over in a gully where he had lain down, wrapped in his
blankets and buffalo robes. He recalls that on this snowy morning the
wagon-master shouted: “I wonder where that damned Dutchman is?” Henry
raised himself out of the snow and called out: “Here I am.” The mules
were picketed out two and two together the night before, but that
morning they were put into corrals and were so starved that they tried
to eat each other. The pioneer corps cut down cottonwood trees for fuel,
and the mules ate the branches, which poisoned them, and they died in
their tracks, the ravens eating out their eyes while the beasts were in
their death throes. The expedition lost sixty mules each day, and the
drove of 500 animals was depleted to less than sixty head. They lay in
camp for twelve days, and then moved on the thirteenth day. Henry
recalls that the favorite team, belonging to General Johnston, was
drowned through the carelessness of a teamster in fording the swollen
stream.
While Mr. Schiffbauer was at Baton Rouge in Government service, he was
importuned by the rebels to join a company as bugler, but declined, and
with the assistance of a steamboat captain, he managed to get out of the
country, and at New Orleans boarded the steamer, “Henry Von Pool,” and
made his way to St. Louis. From here he went to Ft. Leavenworth and
handled Government dispatches, working between Ft. Leavenworth, Ft.
Scott, Ft. Gibson, Ft. Smith, Little Rock, and hunting forage and wheat
for the Government. During this service he was sent to Valley Falls,
with 100 six-mule teams from Ft. Smith for recuperation on the Hoover
farm. Henry bought all the forage for miles around in order to feed the
mules, and had under him several men for assistants.
WILLIAM ADDISON MCKELVY.
In 1880 a young man, who had graduated but a few months previously from
the Philadelphia Dental College came to Atchison, Kan., and finding the
city to his liking located for practice. The year 1915 finds the same
man, now thirty-five years older, or younger, as his friends speak of
him, still in the active practice of his profession, and it is said his
practice is a leading one in this section of the State. Thirty-five
years in Atchison have done much for this man and he has done much for
suffering humanity. He is the nestor of the dental profession in
northeastern Kansas, one of the widely known and influential citizens of
the city and has justly earned the esteem of a large circle of friends
and acquaintances; the esteem which slowly develops only through
honorable living and kind deeds. His name initiates this review.
William Addison McKelvy was born in the city of Pittsburgh, Pa., June 5,
1858. His paternal grandfather, Hugh McKelvy, emigrated from Ireland
about the year 1800. Shortly after reaching America, he located in
Pittsburgh and was one of that city’s pioneer brick manufacturers. Dr.
McKelvy’s father was Col. Samuel McKelvy, born in Pittsburgh, a member
of the firm of Blair & McKelvy, pioneers in the steel industry in that
city. He married when a young man, Anna B. Pride, a daughter of David
Pride, who was also a pioneer resident of Pittsburgh and a native of
Scotland. When President Lincoln issued his first call for volunteers,
Samuel McKelvy was among the first to enlist in his home city. He was
commissioned captain of the Duquesne Greys, Pittsburgh’s crack troop. He
served his country with distinction and was given important assignments
and received deserved promotion, being commissioned lieutenant-colonel
and served on the staff of General Heintzelman and that of Gen. Phil
Sheridan. The convalescent camp of the Union army, situated about seven
miles south of the city of Washington, was under his charge or
supervision during his entire term of service. Following his military
service, he returned to Pittsburgh and his steel business. He was one of
the first to build a country residence at Sewickley, now famous for its
beautiful suburban homes owned by the prominent families of the steel
city. The old McKelvy mansion, now owned by the Doctor’s brother,
William Henry Seward McKelvy, is known as the Park Place Hotel, and is
operated by its owner. Colonel McKelvy died in Sewickley in 1889. To
Colonel and Mrs. McKelvy were born nine children of which our subject is
the eighth.
William Addison McKelvy was reared in his native city and acquired a
thorough education in its public schools. He later entered the
Philadelphia Dental College and graduated with the degree of Doctor of
Dental Surgery, a member of the class of 1880. Following his graduation
he returned to Pittsburgh and was engaged in practice for a few months.
In November of that year he came to Kansas and located in the city of
Atchison on the twenty-fifth of the month. His choice of location was
partly due to having in the person of Dr. William F. Ferguson, a well
established surgeon of the city, a friend who assured him that Atchison
would prove a most satisfactory place in which to build up a practice.
Dr. Ferguson assisted in getting him properly started and gave every
evidence of a sincere friendship. He had little difficulty in building
up a lucrative practice and has for many years past been recognized as
one of the leading men in his profession in his section of the State. He
is a member of the Kansas City Dental Society, the Kansas State, the
Missouri State and the National Dental Associations.
Dr. McKelvy has never neglected his civic duties, has favored those
measures and projects which meant a bigger, better city, but has never
had time nor the inclination for public office. He has, from the time he
graduated given his entire time and attention to his profession. He is a
member of Washington Lodge, No. 4, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and
Atchison Lodge, No. 647, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Dr. McKelvy has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Ella M.
Ferguson, a daughter of Dr. Eli Ferguson, a pioneer physician of
Atchison. They were married in November, 1888. Mrs. McKelvy died in
1892. Two children were born to this union: William Ferguson McKelvy, a
hardware merchant of Marliton, W. Va., and Charles S. McKelvy, employed
in the wholesale hardware house of Blish, Mize & Silliman, of Atchison.
On October 2, 1899, he married Miss Eleanor Cain, a daughter of Alfred
D. Cain, a pioneer miller of Atchison and founder of the Cain Milling
Company. They are parents of three children: Alfred D., Addison P., and
Mona.
GEORGE ROBERT HOOPER.
George Robert Hooper, an extensive merchandise broker of Atchison, Kan.,
and president of the Babcock-Arensburg Shoe Company, is a native of
Virginia. He was born at Richmond, December 7, 1851, and is a son of
John Hancock and Sarah Rebecca Hooper. The mother died when George R.,
of this sketch, was a child, and in 1867 the father removed from
Richmond to Bowling Green, Ky., and later to Paducah, where he died in
1871. He was a contractor and builder. George R. Hooper was one of a
family of six children and is the only one now living. He was reared in
Virginia and was educated in private schools. He was about twenty years
old when his father died, and had just completed an apprenticeship at
the carpenter’s trade. After the death of his father he returned to
Virginia with the remains, and the following year came to Atchison and
entered the retail grocery business as clerk from 1872 to 1876. He was
then a traveling salesman until 1884, and after that was engaged in the
grocery business in Atchison about a year and one-half, when he engaged
in the merchandise brokerage business, which he has successfully
conducted to the present time. Mr. Hooper was united in marriage in 1876
to Miss Frances Lucy Howe, a daughter of George W. Howe. Mrs. Hooper is
a daughter of George W. Howe, who was one of the very early settlers of
Atchison county. He conducted a store at the town of Sumner and was
later engaged in freighting across the plains from 1860 to 1865. The
Howe family came from Plattsburg, Clinton county, New York, and Mrs.
Hooper’s mother bore the maiden name, Frances Lucy Ellis. To Mr. and
Mrs. Hooper have been born three children, as follows: Edith married O.
M. Babcock, a sketch of whom appears in this volume; Gladys Ella is a
graduate of the Conservatory of Music, Cornell University, and is now a
teacher in the music department of the Iowa State Teachers’ College; and
George Frances Hooper, a graduate of Wentworth Military Academy of
Lexington, Mo., and is a traveling salesman. Mr. Hooper is a Democrat,
but has never aspired to hold political office, although he takes a
commendable interest in public affairs and is public spirited and is
ever ready and willing to aid any movement for the betterment of the
community. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
and secretary of the lodge. He is also local secretary for the United
Commercial Travelers, of which he is a member. He also holds membership
in the Knights of the Maccabees and the Independent Order of Foresters.
RUTHERFORD B. HAWK.
The residence and buildings of a farm in any locality are generally
taken as evidence of the degree of thrift and enterprise of the owners
of the land. If the house and barns and fences of the agricultural plant
are in a “run down at the heels” condition, it is taken as evidence of
the sterility of the soil and lack of industry, pride and thrift on the
part of the proprietor. On the other hand, if the buildings, fencing,
etc., are attractive and well kept, it betokens prosperity and a desire
on the part of the farm proprietor to keep things in first class
condition. The farm home of Rutherford B. Hawk, of the younger
generation of farmers in Atchison county, is one of the most attractive
and handsome in the county, barns and fences, fields, orchard and
gardens all making a pleasing appearance. This farm is located in Benton
township, north of Effingham in sections 8 and 9, and consists of 240
acres of good land, 160 acres of which lie in section 8, and eighty
acres in section 9, range 618. This is the old home place of Andrew
Hawk, father of R. B., and the present owner has lived on the place
since 1883.
Rutherford B. Hawk was born February 28, 1877, on a farm near
Bakersville, Coshocton county, Ohio, a son of Andrew and Lavina (Landes)
Hawk, both of whom were born and reared on pioneer farms in Ohio. The
late Andrew Hawk was born February 4, 1825, and died in 1903. He was
born in Carroll county, Ohio, a son of Leonard and Margaret Hawk, and
was one of a large family of ten children. Leonard was born in
Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and his people were pioneers in Ohio.
Andrew Hawk came to Kansas in the eighties to make a visit with his
brother, Daniel, in Atchison county, and liked the country so well that
he returned to Ohio and disposed of his property and in 1883 came again
to Atchison county and bought a section of land, one mile north and west
of Effingham, in Benton township. He developed this large farm and lived
on the place until 1903 when he sold 160 acres. Mrs. Hawk, the widow,
was the owner of 240 acres of this tract which she sold to her sons.
Andrew Hawk was twice married, his first marriage taking place in
Coshocton county, Ohio, with Mary Jane Walters, whom he married on May
5, 1848. The following children were born to this union and who are yet
living are as follows: Mrs. Margaret Alice Zinkorn, of Baltic, Ohio;
Mrs. Rachel Emily McFarlan, living on a farm near Monrovia, Atchison
county, Kansas; Mrs. Teletha Ellen Dreher, of Minerva, Ohio. The second
marriage of Andrew Hawk took place May 12, 1864, with Lavina Landes, and
the following children were born to this union: William Sherman, Howard,
Allen, a farmer near Salina, Kan.; Edgar Russell, located on a farm two
miles west of Effingham; Arvilla Florence, wife of Herbert Harris,
Horton, Kan.; Charles Arthur, living near Atchison, Kan; Rutherford B.,
with whom this review is directly concerned; John Andrew, a farmer in
Benton township; Clarissa, at home with her mother. The mother of these
children was born April 2, 1844, in Coshocton county, Ohio, a daughter
of Valentine and Elizabeth (Hufford) Landes, the former a native of
Germany, and the latter a native of Switzerland.
Rutherford B. was six years of age when his parents came to Atchison
county to make this county their permanent home. He attended the
district school and studied for one year in the county high school. He
has always resided on the farm where he now lives with the exception of
one year spent in the West. Upon his father’s demise he came into
possession of eighty acres by inheritance and purchase, bought an
additional eighty acres, and eighty acres of land which came to his
wife, make the total of 240 acres which he owns and cultivates. He was
married on March 31, 1909, to Mary Agnes Mackay, who was born near
Effingham, educated in the district school and completed the course in
the Atchison County High School, graduating therefrom in 1898. She
taught school successfully for a period of ten years, the last two years
of which was as principal of the Effingham school. During the summer of
1908 Mrs. Hawk visited Europe and spent some time amid the old home
scenes of her parents in Scotland and also visited places of interest in
Ireland and England.
Mrs. Mary Hawk was born on a farm near Effingham, a daughter of George
and Jeanette (Macnee) Mackay, both of whom were born and reared in
Scotland. George Mackay was born in Sterlingshire, April 18, 1840.
Jeanette Mackay was born January 21, 1843 in Perthshire, Scotland. This
worthy and industrious couple was married July 27, 1868, and three years
later emigrated from their native heath to America. They first settled
on the prairies of Wisconsin near the city of Janesville, and after a
residence of three years in that locality they removed farther west to
Kansas (1874). Mr. Mackay rented land for a short time and then
purchased a tract of prairie land in Benton township. The land which he
bought was unbroken prairie, unfenced and had never known the mark of
the plow. He at once set about the hard task of developing his prairie
farm and in the course of time developed it into one of the best and
most productive agricultural plants in Atchison county. This farm which
Mr. Mackay built up was well known as “Walnut Hill Farm.” The Mackays
prospered as they deserved, and with true Scottish thrift increased
their land holdings to 280 acres.
George Mackay died on his farm May 1, 1907. He was a sturdy and upright
citizen whose honesty was proverbial and he enjoyed the respect and high
esteem of his neighbors. He was a member of the Presbyterian faith and
was a Democrat in politics. He was also a member of the Ancient Order of
United Workmen. Two years after Mr. Mackay’s demise the widow and
children removed to a pleasant home in Effingham.
The children of this estimable couple were: Alexander, and Georgette, at
home with their mother; Mary, wife of Rutherford B. Hawk; Nellie
Jeanette, deceased wife of Frank Sutter.
The subject of this review is a Republican in politics, and while
interested in the success of his party, and a believer in Republican
principles of government, has never sought political preferment. He and
his wife are members of the Presbyterian church, and Mr. Hawk has served
as an elder of the church for the past six years.
CALVIN BUSHEY.
There is an atmosphere of refinement and well being about the town of
Muscotah, Atchison county, Kansas, that is not always found in the
western towns which the traveler passes through. The handsome
residences, with well kept lawns, shaded by great trees, and the
generally attractive appearance of things in the residence portion of
this prosperous community is sure to attract the eye and cause favorable
comment. The people inhabitating this town are mostly of eastern descent
and are nearly all pioneers who many years ago settled on the prairies
in the western part of Atchison county, and by dint of industry and hard
work transformed the wilderness into a smiling and fertile landscape.
Many of them, their work done, have retired to comfortable homes in
Muscotah. Among these is Calvin Bushey and his estimable wife, who came
to Kansas, fought the good fight for a competence and are now taking
life easy in a beautiful and comfortable home in this attractive Kansas
town.
Speaking in a biographical sense, Calvin Bushey, Union veteran and
retired pioneer farmer, was born July 17, 1844, on a Pennsylvania farm
in Adams county, near the historic city of Gettysburg. He comes of good
old Pennsylvania German stock and is a son of Nicholas (born 1797, died
1852), and Esther (Mickley) Bushey. Nicholas Bushey was born in the
Fatherland and immigrated with his parents to America when a youth.
Eight children were born to Nicholas Bushey and wife, namely: Peter died
in 1905, at the age of eighty-five years; Mrs. Sarah Hartman died in
1910 at the advanced age of eighty-seven years: George, Union veteran,
died at the age of eighty-four years; Jacob M., a Union veteran,
residing at Holmesville, Ohio: Henry died in 1858; Catharine died in
1881; Calvin, with whom this review is concerned; John, a resident of
Arendtsville, Pa., and James, deceased. The parents of these children
lived and died on the homestead in Pennsylvania. The grandfather of Mr.
Bushey, on his maternal side, was John Jacob Mickley, who figures in
American history as one of the men who helped to haul the old Liberty
Bell from Baltimore, Md., to keep it from being captured and destroyed
by the British invaders and hid the bell under a church for safe
keeping. A son of John Jacob was a soldier in the Revolution. Daniel
Mickley, an uncle of Calvin Bushey, lived to the great age of ninety-
nine years, and two other uncles lived to the age of ninety-four and
ninety-five years. Longevity is a characteristic of the members of this
remarkable family. Daniel Mickley served in the War of 1812 as a
sergeant.
Calvin Bushey was reared to young manhood on his father’s farm. When
President Lincoln called for troops, with which to quell the rebellion
of the southern states, he responded and enlisted in August of 1862, in
Company K, One Hundred and twenty-sixth regiment, Pennsylvania infantry,
for a period of eight months, but served one and one-half years in all.
He participated in the great battles of Second Bull Run, South Mountain,
Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. After Mr.
Bushey received his honorable discharge from the service he studied in
Hayesville Institute for one year and was then engaged in mercantile
business for two years, and after his marriage in 1867 came to Kansas to
make his fortune. He and his young wife came directly to Atchison county
and bought 160 acres of land six miles southeast of Muscotah. Not being
exactly satisfied with this farm they sold it three years later and
bought a quarter section of land three miles southeast of Muscotah. This
land was all raw prairie at the time of purchase and it was necessary
for Mr. Bushey to place all the improvements on it. He cultivated this
farm until 1903 when he and Mrs. Bushey retired to a home in Muscotah.
He sold the old homestead for a good price and invested in 120 acres of
land southwest of Muscotah which is being cultivated by his son.
Mr. Bushey was married in January of 1867 to Miss Eva J. Taylor, who has
borne him the following children: Mrs. Myrtle Belle, wife of J. D.
Miller, garage proprietor and farmer, of Muscotah; John C., farmer and
stock buyer, of Muscotah; Esther, wife of J. N. Roach, a farmer, living
near Muscotah; Chastine Dwight Bushey, a farmer; and two children died
in infancy. The mother of these children was born September 20, 1842, in
Defiance, Ohio (at that time Paulding county, Ohio), a daughter of John
and Lucretia (Bell) Taylor, the former a native of Huntingdon, Pa., and
the latter a native of Nova Scotia. John Taylor was a son of William
Taylor, who emigrated from Ireland to Pennsylvania, whence he came to
Ohio and made a permanent settlement. John Taylor was a prominent man in
his section of Ohio and served as a member of the Ohio legislature in
1860, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865 and 1866, six years in all. He also served
as a justice of the peace and was probate judge of Ashland county, Ohio,
for twelve years. He died in Ashland, Ohio, in 1881. The Taylor children
were as follows: Mrs. Eva Bushey, William, Arabella, Wilson, Don
Fernando, Lavona, and Emma Luverna. Mrs. Bushey is a well educated lady
and taught school in Ohio. It was at Perrysville, Ohio, that Calvin and
Eva Bushey first met. Calvin had left his home in Pennsylvania, and
after studying at the Hayesville Academy he was employed at Perrysville,
Ohio, keeping store, attending the railroad office, the express office,
and was general all-round railway factotum, as well as managing a
general store. The future Mrs. Bushey came to the store one day to buy a
pair of shoes and Calvin fell a victim to her charms while attending to
her wants. They became friends; the friendship ripened into love, and
marriage ensued, which has been one of the happiest on record.
Mr. and Mrs. Bushey are members of the Congregational church and
contribute to the support of this religious denomination. He is a
Republican in politics and is a member of the local grand army post.
This well known and highly respected couple have a total of twenty-one
grandchildren, as follows: Mrs. Olive Laughlin, Eva, Nannie, Marguerite,
Lillie, Josephine, Julia, children of Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Miller; Helen,
a teacher, Ruth, also a teacher, Calvin Dwight, Mildred, and Dorothy,
and Louis, children of John C. Bushey; Charles Calvin, Mrs. Bertie
Yazel, and Gail, children of Mrs. Esther Roach; Paul Everett, Ralph,
Dessa, Essa, and Claude, children of Chastine Dwight Bushey. They have
one great-grandchild, Margaret, daughter of Mrs. Olive Laughlin.
MARTIN C. VANSELL.
Forty-six years ago Martin C. Vansell, pioneer settler of Grasshopper
township and one of the best known farmers and live stock breeders of
Atchison county, landed in Muscotah with a cash capital of five dollars.
During the forty-six or more years he has lived in the vicinity of
Muscotah he has risen to become one of the wealthy and substantial
landed proprietors of the county and has reared to maturity a fine
family of sons and daughters, educated them and given them a start in
life. What more honors can a man wish for than these? Could any citizen
contribute more to the upbuilding of his State and county than this
pioneer?
Mr. Vansell was born of old southern stock, on a plantation in Union
county, Tennessee, October 24, 1854. He was a son of Dr. Elias Vansell,
of German descent. His mother was before her marriage, Tabitha Willis,
born and reared in Tennessee, and a daughter of Moses Willis, whose farm
adjoined the Vansell homestead on the river bottoms. She was of English
descent. There were seven children in the family of Elias and Tabitha
Vansell, of which M. C. was the youngest. The ancestral home of the
Vansells was a large plantation which stretched for one and one half
miles along the banks of the Clinch river in Tennessee, and before the
Civil war the land was cultivated by slaves. Dr. Vansell was a physician
of fine education and exceptional talent.
When a boy M. C. Vansell’s education was cut short by the troubles which
beset the neighborhood during the Civil war when all schools in the
State were closed and Tennessee was torn by the marching and ravaging of
contending armies. The fortunes of the Willisses and Vansells suffered
an eclipse for the time being and when fifteen years of age he decided
to leave the old home and try his fortune in a newer land. He set out
for Dade county, Missouri, with a party of men who were en route to the
wild country of southwest Missouri. There was little to induce the boy
to remain at home as his father had died and his mother had re-married.
Upon his arrival in Dade county he was given work as a cow-boy on a big
cattle ranch owned by David Scott and George Igue, brothers-in-law.
Young Vansell at that time was a fair horseman and his work consisted in
driving herds of cattle to the ranch from Indian Territory and Texas.
The nearest point of supply to the ranch was at Sedalia, 100 miles away.
His next move was to the State of Kansas, and this migration came about
in this wise: In the year 1856 his uncle, Martin C. Willis, had gone
from Tennessee to Brown county, Kansas, where he had preëmpted land and
become quite wealthy. This uncle heard that his nephew was working on
the cattle ranch in Missouri and sent for him to come to his home in
Brown county. Although quite in love with the wild free life of the
cattle ranch, he heeded his uncle’s request and joined him at his home.
For eighteen months after going to his uncle’s home he attended school
and was then employed by his uncle and others as a farm hand for some
years. On July 17, 1870, he stepped off the train at Muscotah, Kan.,
with a cash capital of five dollars in his pocket. He worked at farm
labor until he was twenty-one years of age and then began operating on
his own account. Mr. Vansell has always been somewhat of a trader. The
first deal which he ever made in his life was the purchase of a horse in
Muscotah which involved an outlay of thirty-five dollars for horse,
saddle and bridle. He later sold this animal for sixty-five dollars,
took a note in payment, but, sad to relate, the note was never paid and
he lost the whole amount. When he became of age he traded a span of
mules, of which he had become the owner, for his first forty acres of
land which he had farmed on shares, and with the money earned had bought
the mules. This trade was made with a Kickapoo Indian. He fenced the
forty-acre tract and rented it to a son-in-law of the Indian who had
formerly owned it, and finally traded the land for some colts, five cows
and twenty-five head of hogs. In a short time afterwards he bought an
eighty-acre tract with borrowed money and during the first summer broke
up seventy acres of his eighty, and in the fall built a home for
himself. The following winter he sowed seventy acres of the tract in
wheat and then sold the land at a good profit in November of that year.
The following February he bought 160 acres of land, comprising the old
townsite of Cayuga in Grasshopper township. Mr. Vansell cultivated this
tract for about two years and then sold it at a profit. In 1882 he
bought the quarter section which is now the Vansell home place. He has
added to his possessions since that time until he is now the owner of
362 acres of land, 320 acres of which is all in one body. It is one of
the finest and best improved farms in Atchison county. When Mr. Vansell
settled on this land there were little or no improvements. He now has a
large modern ten-room house, two large barns, hog and carriage houses, a
big double corn-crib and granary, a horse barn, and a special cattle
barn. The Vansell farm also boasts a 250–ton concrete silo, forty-eight
feet in height and sixteen feet in diameter. From the start of his
successful agricultural career Mr. Vansell has handled pure bred live
stock, and he is widely known as a breeder of thoroughbred Shorthorn
cattle, Poland China hogs, and standard black Percheron horses. In
addition to this he has some standard trotting horses which are his
pride. Since the start of his career Mr. Vansell has never bred any but
the purest strains of live stock on his ranch and keeps from forty to
sixty head of pure bred cattle on his place at all times.
Mr. Vansell was united in marriage with Miss Alice Trimble, February 23,
1882, and this union has been blessed with the following children: Lena,
wife of Frank Campbell, of Horton, Kan.; Ralph, at home, manages the
Vansell home farm; Ray, a student for two years in the State
Agricultural College at Manhattan, Kan., and is now operating a cattle
ranch in Montana; George, a graduate of Kansas University, class of
1915, and now employed as an entomologist by the State of Kentucky,
located in Lexington; Erma, wife of T. C. Whittaker, of Nortonville,
Kan., and Willis Blaine, who died at the age of seventeen years in July,
1904. Mr. Vansell has given each of his children a good education. His
two daughters are graduates of the Atchison County High School, and his
son, Ralph, is a graduate of the Veterinary College of Kansas City, and
Ray studied for two years in the Manhattan State Agricultural College.
Mrs. Alice (Trimble) Vansell, mother of the foregoing children, was born
May 23, 1854, in Fayette county, Ohio, a daughter of Nathaniel and Jane
(Lorimer) Trimble, natives of Ohio and Pennsylvania, respectively, and
who were pioneers of Johnson county, Missouri, settling there in 1868.
Mr. Vansell is an independent Republican in his political affiliations,
and refuses to wear a party yoke when his conscience and knowledge lead
him to think independently, and make up his own mind concerning the
qualifications of candidates or the merits of political principles at
issue. Aside from his extensive farming interests he is a stockholder of
the Farmers State Bank of Muscotah. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen
and is religiously connected with the Congregational church. Mr. Vansell
is a broad-minded and well read citizen who keeps abreast of the times
and stands high in his community. In a way he is a philosopher who holds
to the correct idea that some men or too many men never grow up and take
the serious view of life which they should in order to achieve the
success which is their right and in justice to those dependent upon
them.
FRANK W. BISHOP.
Frank Wilson Bishop, live stock dealer and broker, and leading citizen
of Effingham, Kan., has spent the greater part of his sixty-one years of
life in Atchison county. When a boy he knew what it was to endure the
hardships of the frontier and had little opportunity for schooling until
he had attained the age of sixteen years. He is a descendant of a fine
old colonial family which can trace their ancestry back to the early
days of the settlement of New England. His forebears were Puritans, and
he is a direct lineal descendant of Governor Bishop of Connecticut. A
grandfather, Levi Bishop, was a soldier in the regular United States
army and fought in the War of 1812. On the maternal side of his
grandfather’s family he is a descendant of the old Higgins family of New
York, which numbers among their progeny Governor Higgins. The Bishops
for many generations have been military men and in practically every
generation the annals of the country show that members of the family
fought in the various wars in which this country has been engaged.
Mr. Bishop was born December 12, 1854, in Alleghany county, New York, a
son of Lucius Hazen and Betsy Morse (Wilson) Bishop, the former a native
of Windsor, Vt., and the latter having been born in Whiteside, N. Y.
Lucius was the son of Levi Bishop, who served his country in the War of
1812 as a regularly enlisted soldier. The second wife of Lucius Bishop
was a Miss Higgins of the Higgins family of New York. It is worthy of
note that while the Bishops were soldiers and fighting men who believed
in serving the Nation on the battlefields of its wars, the Higgins
family were as a class opposed to warfare and it is not recorded that
any of the members of the family enlisted in behalf of their country.
They were men of letters, teachers, authors and Statesmen rather than
warriors. The father of Levi Bishop was a soldier in the Revolution,
according to tradition. The Bishop family left the old home in Alleghany
county, New York, in April of 1859. Lucius Bishop having previously made
a first trip in 1857 and selected a quarter section of land just north
of Monrovia, Atchison county, Kansas, for his home site. He returned
home and brought his family to Kansas with the intention of making a
permanent home in Atchison county, and thus giving his children a better
opportunity for gaining a livelihood than the older eastern country
afforded. On his previous trip he had made arrangements for the erection
of a home, and an abiding place was already for the family to occupy
when they came here. Frank W. and his mother landed from the Missouri
river steamer, which they boarded at St. Louis and he recalls that the
day they landed at the foot of Commercial street in Atchison was very
rainy and disagreeable. The family had taken the overland train at
Belmont, N. Y., and rode by rail as far as St. Louis and then boarded
the “Ben Louis,” which carried them to Atchison. They breakfasted in
town and then made the trip to the claim by wagon. The outlook and
surroundings of the vicinity of the family home were not encouraging,
and it required considerable courage to get ready to face the struggle
for a livelihood in what was then almost a barren wilderness with few
settlers in the neighborhood. Every fall the members of the family had
the ague, which did not entirely disappear for many years. There was
also some trouble with the Indians, and the border warfare added its
quota of troubles to beset this pioneer family. Lucius Bishop served in
Company F, Twelfth regiment of Kansas cavalry, under Capt. A. S. Best in
the battle of Westport, which resulted in repelling General Price and
his army of invasion. The elder Bishop prospered as the years passed,
and in old age he and his faithful helpmeet left the farm and retired to
a comfortable home in Effingham, where they both died. Lucius Bishop was
born January 6, 1824, and died August 9, 1905. Betsy Ann Bishop was born
in 1832, and died March 31, 1907. They were the parents of the following
children: Frank Wilson, with whom this review is intimately concerned:
Willis E., who resides on the home farm near Monrovia; Amelia Ann, wife
of C. H. Oliver, both deceased, who were the parents of three sons and
two daughters; Sarah H., wife of Hugh N. Gillan, of Hill City, Kan. The
two daughters were twins. A sister, Helen Bishop, accompanied Lucius C.
to Kansas. She was the oldest of the family, dying July 6, 1913, at the
advanced age of ninety-two years. Helen Bishop was born in Randolph,
Vt., March 12, 1831, and came to Kansas in 1858. She began teaching when
sixteen years of age, receiving one dollar per week and boarded around.
At the end of nine years she was receiving two dollars per week. She
taught several years in Atchison county, and conducted a private school
at Monrovia. She taught at Monrovia and Lancaster. She was one of the
pioneer advocates of teaching domestic science in the schools and was
far ahead of her time. She advocated progressive teaching methods in the
seventies, which are now in practice. She was a thinker and was an
advocate of purity in living. After the death of her parents she made
her home with Frank W. Bishop.
Frank W. Bishop was reared to young manhood on the pioneer farm, and had
little or no schooling until he attained the age of sixteen years, at
which time he realized the necessity of securing an education and
managed to attend a short term at the State College at Manhattan, Kan.
His father purchased a fine tract of farm land in 1873, consisting of
160 acres which Frank leased from him for a few years and then
purchased. He practically built up the farm from a barren tract of
prairie land to be one of the excellent producing farms in Atchison
county. He erected all buildings on the place and cultivated the land
very successfully until 1908, when he removed to Effingham to be better
care for the extensive live stock business which he had begun in 1895.
Mr. Bishop has one of the most attractive homes in this beautiful city,
which was formerly the Potter property and maintains a down-town office
where he looks after his business affairs. He is not only a buyer and
shipper of live stock but is principally a broker, buying stock in the
city yards in carload lots for his farmer patrons who feed them on their
farms for the market. In this manner in the capacity of broker he does a
very extensive business annually.
Mr. Bishop was married in 1880 to Miss Viola T. Horton, of Atchison
county, whose demise occurred in 1886, leaving three children, as
follows: Ernest L., a farmer, of Atchison county; Carl A., who is first
sergeant of Company I, engineering division, United States regular army,
and who is on duty in the Hawaiian Islands; one child died in infancy.
In 1890 Mr. Bishop was again married to Miss Mary E. Scott, of Tama
county, Iowa, a daughter of Robert A. and Anne (Cannon) Scott, natives
of Scotland, the former born in Kirkcudbrightshire, and the latter born
in Wigtonshire. The Scotts came to America in 1880. Robert was a
stonemason and was one of the builders of the United States treasury
building at Washington. In 1870 the Scotts settled on a farm in Tama
county, Iowa, and reared eight children. Robert A. and Anne were married
May 26, 1848. Robert died November 24, 1911, aged eighty-five years, and
Anne Scott died May 18, 1905, aged eighty years.
Mr. Bishop is a Democrat in his political affiliations, and has held
local city offices, doing his duty as a citizen when called upon by his
fellow citizens. Mrs. Bishop is a member of the Presbyterian church, of
which Mr. Bishop is a Supporter.
WILLIAM RYAN.
William Ryan, former chief of police of the city of Atchison and
prosperous farmer and iron moulder of Walnut township, was born in
Ottawa, Ill., in 1874. He is a son of James and Ellen (Charleston) Ryan,
the former a native of Connecticut and the latter having been born and
reared partly in Boston, Mass. James Ryan was a son of Patrick Ryan, a
native of Ireland who, after emigrating from the Emerald Isle, settled
in Connecticut and later became a pioneer of Ottawa, Ill. Patrick Ryan,
with his wife and seven children, moved to Ottawa, Ill., in an early
day. Later James and his family went to Nebraska and in 1874 moved to
Kansas. Patrick Ryan, grandfather of William, was a very prominent
citizen of his county in Illinois. He served as captain of his company
of Union soldiers during the Civil war and held the office of county
treasurer for several terms, besides filling other important county
offices. James Ryan, the father, was also a soldier, holding the
position of sergeant in a company forming part of the Fifty-sixth
regiment of Illinois volunteers. He was taken prisoner and confined for
a time in the notorious Andersonville prison. His trade was that of iron
smelter and for thirty years he was employed in the John Seaton foundry
in that capacity. His son, William, also became an expert moulder and is
now employed in the Seaton foundry.
William Ryan, with whom this review is directly concerned, was but an
infant when the family located in Atchison. He attended the old Doniphan
school in the city and also the Washington public school, where he was a
school-mate of Sheffield Ingalls. He learned the trade of iron moulder
at the Seaton foundry and saved his earnings until he was able to
purchase a farm in Walnut township in 1908. He removed to his farm and
cultivated it until 1910 and then returned to Atchison. In 1911 he was
appointed chief of the Atchison police department. Previous to his
appointment to the head position of the city police force he had served
as a member of the city council and was very active in behalf of a
number of public and street improvements which were badly needed at the
time. He was one of the official body responsible for the completion of
the South Atchison sewer and for the building of a number of paved
streets. For his activity in behalf of these public improvements he was
defeated for re-election, but some years later Mr. Ryan was again
elected to office by a handsome majority. Mr. Ryan has a fine farm of
160 acres in Walnut township which was originally covered with a heavy
growth of timber, much of which has been cleared away in past years.
Upon his retirement from the position of chief of police he returned to
his farm, where he resides while he is employed as iron moulder.
He was married in 1898 to Miss Nellie Cairns, and this union has been
blessed with five children: Blanche, born in 1899; Ruth, born in 1901;
Mary Louise, born in 1903; Hugh, born in 1905; Florence, born in 1910.
Mrs. Ryan is a daughter of Irish parents and was born in Atchison.
In his younger days William Ryan was a noted baseball player. He played
the left field position on the Atchison team in the first game of
baseball ever played in Forest park. The aggregation of players with
whom he was associated were known as the “Corn Carnival Colts.” This
team became known as the fastest amateur team ever banded together in
the city of Atchison and became famous over northeast Kansas for their
proficiency in the national game. The name was given to the team when
they succeeded in defeating the fast “Kansas Blues,” a professional
team, at the time of the corn carnival held in Atchison. Several players
from this team broke into the professional league game and became
famous.
JAMES H. GARSIDE.
James H. Garside, retired, is one of the best known and best liked
pioneer citizens of Atchison. He has resided in this city for the past
fifty-one years and has a large acquaintance throughout the city and
county. For thirty-eight years Mr. Garside was engaged in railroad work
and for twenty-seven years he served as a member of the board of
education and was vice-president of the board which had charge of the
erection of the Ingalls High School building and other school edifices
in the city. During the time in which he served as the local freight
agent of the Santa Fe railroad Mr. Garside’s position brought him into
contact with all classes of men and his fine courtesy and obliging
manner of conducting the company’s business won him high regard and an
enviable reputation.
Mr. Garside was born in Canton, Fulton county, Illinois, January 26,
1848, a son of Joshua and Anna (Cox) Garside. His father was born in
England and immigrated to America in 1836. He became engaged in banking
and was a member of the banking firm of Maple, Stipp & Garside, at
Canton, until his removal to Nebraska City, where he opened a bank for
S. F. Nukols. The family came to Atchison in 1864 and Joshua Garside was
associated with A. S. Parker & Company, forwarding agents, and also
agents for the Star line of steamers plying between St. Joseph and St.
Louis. This firm later became Garside & Son and did an extensive
freighting business to Denver, Salt Lake and Montana points. They
shipped a vast amount of grain by river steamer; a single boat used in
their freighting sometimes took on from 3,000 to 10,000 bushels of grain
and lay at the levee two or three days while loading. This was in the
days when the Missouri river was the great waterway for transporting
freight to southern and eastern points. Joshua Garside and wife reared a
family of two sons and seven daughters, of which James H. was the
eldest.
James H. Garside received his education in the public schools of
Nebraska City, Neb., and the high school of Atchison. For several years
he was engaged in the freighting business with his father, as above
stated. Prior to the completion of the Atchison bridge across the
Missouri river, Mr. Garside had charge of the business of transferring
the railroad freight cars across the river and which were carried to the
Missouri side, and vice versa, by the “William Osborne.” When the bridge
was completed he was in the employ of the Hamilton & Flint Transfer
Company, engaged in transferring freight with teams across the river. In
1881 he entered the service of the Santa Fe Railroad Company as local
freight agent and held this position continuously until his retirement
from active service. Before he was engaged by the Santa Fe Mr. Garside
was an agent for the Continental Fast Freight line, the Commercial
Express line and the Star Union line.
Mr. Garside was married in 1872 to Miss Hattie H. Preston, of Canton,
Ill. One son blessed this union, William Preston. Mr. Garside is
affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and is a member of
Washington Lodge, No. 5, of Washington Commandery, and of the Mystic
Shrine. For twenty-seven years he was a member of the board of education
and did his duty as a very useful citizen in helping forward the
advancement of the Atchison city schools to first rank in the state of
Kansas. He served as vice-president of this body for several years, and
was always found in the forefront of the movement for better school
buildings and the installation of better educational facilities for the
benefit of the youth of Atchison. He is one of the charter members of
the Flambeau Club and also of the Atchison Gun Club. He is religiously
affiliated with the Congregational church and has been one of the
trustees of this body for several years. In the days of his retirement
the same geniality and courtesy which he maintained during his years of
public service marks the demeanor of this grand old citizen of Atchison.
WILLIS J. BAILEY.
Willis J. Bailey, vice-president and managing officer of the Exchange
National Bank, Atchison, Kan., since 1907, and governor of the State of
Kansas from 1903 to 1905, was born in Carroll county, Illinois, October
12, 1854. He was educated in the common schools, the Mount Carroll high
school, and graduated at the University of Illinois as a member of the
class of 1879. In 1904 his Alma Mater conferred upon him the degree of
Doctor of Laws. In 1879, soon after completing his college course, he
accompanied his father to Nemaha county, Kansas, where they engaged in
farming and stock raising, and founded the town of Baileyville. Upon
reaching his majority Governor Bailey cast his lot with the Republican
party, and since that time he has been an active and consistent advocate
of the principles espoused by that organization. In 1888 he was elected
to represent his county in the State legislature; was reëlected in 1890;
was president of the Republican State League in 1893; was the Republican
candidate for Congress in the First district in 1896, and in June, 1898,
was nominated by the State convention at Hutchison as the candidate for
Congressman at large, defeating Richard W. Blue. After serving in the
Fifty-sixth Congress he retired to his farm, but in 1902 was nominated
by his party for governor. At the election in November he defeated W. H.
Craddock, the Democratic candidate, by a substantial majority, and began
his term as governor in January, 1903. At the close of his term as
governor he removed to Atchison, and since 1907 has been vice-president
and manager of the Exchange National Bank of that city. Shortly after
his retirement from the office of governor he was prominently mentioned
as a candidate for United States senator, and in 1908 a large number of
Republicans of the State urged his nomination for governor. Mr. Bailey
has always been interested in behalf of the farmers of the country, and
from 1895 to 1899 he was a member of the Kansas State Board of
Agriculture.
JOHN A. KRAMER.
John A. Kramer, a leading and prosperous farmer of Shannon township, has
the double distinction of being a pioneer in the county and having one
of the largest families in the State. In this day of small families it
is gratifying to note that in Atchison county, within a few miles of the
city, resides a man who takes a just pride in the fact that he is
rearing thirteen children to become good citizens of the community. Mr.
Kramer is the owner of one of the oldest farms in the county which has
been in the family for nearly fifty years. It is one of the valuable
fruit farms in this section of the State and is noted for its small
fruits and orchard products. A handsome brick residence built by the
father of Mr. Kramer sets well back from the highway and is surrounded
by large trees which have grown to immense size during the life of Mr.
Kramer.
John A. Kramer was born October 13, 1862, on the farm where he now
resides and was the son of Frank and Rosalie Kramer, both of whom were
born, reared and married in Austria, the former having been born in 1820
and the latter in 1827. They emigrated from their native country in
about 1852, locating first in Wisconsin, going from that State to
Missouri, and in 1857 coming to Atchison county, Kansas. In that year
Frank Kramer settled permanently on the farm now owned by his sons and
built up a fine estate which became noted throughout this section of
Kansas. He was one of the pioneers in the fruit industry in the county,
and planted an extensive vineyard, an orchard of thirty to forty acres,
including apples, pears and plums, and all kinds of small fruits, the
cultivation of which has been carried on by his sons. The Kramer farm
now consists of 240 acres of land in a high state of cultivation and
well improved. Frank Kramer died in 1889 and his wife lived to a
considerable age, dying in April of 1911. To them were born three sons
and three daughters, namely: Theresa and Anna, sisters of the Order of
St. Benedict, in Mt. St. Scholastica Academy; Mrs. Mary Zehnter,
deceased; Frank, born October 13, 1860, in partnership with John A. in
the management of the farm; John A. with whom this review is directly
concerned; Edward, deceased.
John A. Kramer was reared on the farm in Atchison county, and upon the
death of his father took up the burden of the family support with his
brother. He is considered to be one of the substantial and successful
agriculturists of the county and has taken a prominent part in the
affairs of his county since attaining his majority. He was married in
1891 to Phillipina Rambour, born in Bavaria, Germany, a daughter of
Michael Rambour. She came to Atchison when young and here met and
married Mr. Kramer. To this estimable couple have been born thirteen
children: Mrs. Hattie Dooley, of Shannon township, Martha, Rosalie,
Anna, Tillie, Phillipina, Josephine, Deloris, Mary Constance, Alfred,
John, Francis and Edward.
Mr. Kramer is a member of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church and is a
liberal supporter of this denomination. He has been a life-long Democrat
and has been an active and influential figure in his party since
attaining voting age. In 1891 he served one term as trustee of Shannon
township and was elected county treasurer in 1893 and again elected to
succeed himself in 1895. This election took place at a period when the
county was strongly Republican and party lines were more strictly drawn
than at present—evidence of the fact that Mr. Kramer had a strong
personal following among the citizens of the county.
JOHN BELZ.
The growth and development of any community depends to a considerable
extent upon the management of its financial institutions. The
manufacturing and commercial enterprises of the city of Atchison, as
well as the farmers and stockmen in its trade territory, have enjoyed
the benefits of progressive banking since the first bank was established
in the county. It is in connection with this field of activity that John
Belz became most widely and favorably known in Atchison county. He was
for many years a managing executive of the German Savings Bank of
Atchison, which he had helped to organize, serving as cashier, and later
filled the same position with the United States National Bank of
Atchison. He was known to the banking fraternity of Kansas as an able
and discriminating financier, an executive who brought the
administrative policy of the institutions with which he was connected to
the point of highest efficiency. He was of material assistance in the
development of the city of Atchison, an ambitious and tireless worker, a
man of high ideals, and his business integrity and honesty were
unquestioned.
John Belz was a native of Germany, born in Wurtemberg, near the city of
Stuttgart, on August 18, 1833. His father was engaged in the milling
business and was a man of some means. John learned the miller’s trade
and also served his apprenticeship as a journeyman carpenter, and he
enjoyed excellent educational advantages in the schools of his home town
and the city of Stuttgart. The elder Belz died when John was nineteen,
in 1852, leaving a comfortable estate which was dissipated by the
administrator through mismanagement. Thrown on his own resources, and
with two younger sisters dependent upon him, John came to the conclusion
that America spelled opportunity for him. Master of a trade, possessed
of an excellent education, thoroughly versed in the German and French
languages, he believed that wealth and position were to be won in the
United States; and his sisters believed in him. Leaving their native
country, they crossed the Atlantic, landed in New York City, and for a
time lived in Lancaster, N. Y., a little village near the city of
Buffalo, where the brother found employment. A few months later they
located in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Here John was employed as a carpenter,
farm hand, and with such other jobs as offered. He attended school and
acquired a comprehensive knowledge of the English tongue.
In 1857 John Belz came to Atchison and during the succeeding twelve or
fifteen months was employed at his trade. He was thrifty and was soon
able to open a small grocery store. His identification with the banking
life of the city began in 1872, when he, George Storch and Robert
Forbriger organized the German Savings Bank. He was elected its first
cashier and filled this position until the institution closed out its
business in 1886. Subsequently he was elected cashier of the United
States National Bank, and remained in this executive office until 1887,
when he resigned. He had early in life acquired the desire, the habit,
the love of making money and the habit of work. He possessed shrewd
business judgment, keen insight in business affairs, profound knowledge
of men, and these, coupled with will and energy, enabled him to gain
rank as one of the leaders in the financial and commercial life of the
city. He became directly or indirectly interested in several commercial
enterprises of the city and was closely associated with the late George
Storch, at that time Atchison’s leading man of affairs. Mr. Belz was a
loyal citizen, believed in the commercial future of Atchison, and could
always be depended upon to assist, both with time and money, any
enterprise or measure which meant a greater, better Atchison. During his
residence in the city his various investments in financial and
commercial enterprises were uniformly successful, from which he
accumulated a large fortune. Shortly after his retirement from the
United States National Bank he went to California, where he invested
heavily in lands. This venture proved a failure and a large part of his
fortune was lost. From this time until his death, which occurred
September 11, 1895, while not actively engaged in business, he occupied
himself as a real estate and insurance agent.
Coming to Kansas in 1857, and locating in any of the towns on her
eastern border, meant taking sides with one or the other of the
political parties. It also required courage upon the part of the
settler. John Belz possessed not only courage but convictions, and,
although a newcomer to the United States had, while living in Iowa,
given the slavery question much study which resulted in his aligning
himself with the Free State party on his arrival in Atchison. He became
actively identified with political affairs and was elected a member of
the city council, serving several terms. He was also elected to the
office of city clerk and served several years. Had it not been for his
sensitiveness over his inability to overcome a pronounced German accent
in his English which caused him to decline to speak at public meetings,
a most necessary qualification if one desired to attain State-wide
prominence politically, John Belz would have become one of the powers in
the political life of Kansas. He knew men and the motives which actuated
them and possessed keen insight as to the demands of the future upon the
legislators.
Mr. Belz became a member of Washington Lodge, No. 5, Ancient Free and
Accepted Masons, on October 17, 1857. He was one of several who demitted
from other lodges and was the oldest Mason among them, having been
initiated at an earlier date than any of the others. He was also a
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was reared a Lutheran
and a member of that church in his native town. He never affiliated with
any church after coming to the United States.
Mr. Belz married on November 10, 1859, Miss Sophia Binde. She was born
in Prussia, near Madgeburg. She was left an orphan at the age of six
years and was adopted by her uncle and aunt, Ludwig and Mary Binde, and
with them and their two sons came to the United States in 1857. They
located northwest of the city of Atchison where Mr. Binde engaged in
farming. He broke the raw prairie, fenced his property, underwent the
privations incident to that pioneer period and developed a successful
and highly productive farm. He and his wife were persons of culture,
comfortably situated financially and their children were highly educated
and talented musicians. Among their effects brought from the Fatherland
were a Grand piano and the complete works of the great composers, which
included those by Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Beethoven. Mrs. Belz talks
familiarly and interestingly of these composers and has never lost her
interest in things musical. The vessel which brought the Binde family to
America also carried the Mangelsdorf family, of which August
Mangelsdorf, Atchison’s pioneer seedsman, was the youngest member. As
time went on John Belz came to Atchison and entered the grocery
business. He met Sophia Binde and later she became his wife. His grocery
business required the services of a clerk and August Mangelsdorf filled
that position. The latter has often remarked that his first employer,
John Belz, instilled in him the principles which were the foundation of
his success in the commercial world; that his rugged honesty, high
ideals and close attention to detail in the handling of any matter
remained indelibly imprinted on his mind. Following his precepts has
brought him a golden harvest.
Mr. and Mrs. Belz were the parents of two children, daughters. The
eldest, Emma, born in Atchison, was married in 1892 to Augustin M.
Moore, of Denver, Colo. Mr. Moore died in 1906, leaving an infant son
and a daughter, Helen, the wife of Fred Stein, an electrician, of
Atchison. Mr. Moore was a well known insurance adjuster and was in the
employ of the Shawnee Fire Insurance Company of Topeka. Ida Belz, the
younger daughter, also born in Atchison, is the wife of Thomas N. Gray,
treasurer of the Symns Grocer Company of Atchison.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES.
┌────┬────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────┐
│Page│ Changed From │ Changed To │
├────┼────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────┤
│ 37│two years later │two centuries later │
│ │ │ │
│ 85│used the construction │used for the construction │
│ │ │ │
│ 226│he was forced to take control of the│he was forced to take │
│ │ paper, and had employed Herman │ control of the paper, and│
│ │ Van- On August 19, 1915, T. A. Cur│ had employed Herman Van. │
│ │ became editor, and on November 11,│ On August 19, 1915, T. A.│
│ │ 1915. August 19, 1915, T. A. Cur │ Cur became editor, and on│
│ │ became editor, and November 11, │ November 11, 1915, Orvil │
│ │ 1915, Orvil │ │
│ │ │ │
│ 238│Col. Wm. Osborn, J. W. Parker, and │Col. Wm. Osborn, J. W. │
│ │ other men prominent in the │ Parker, and other men │
│ │ business and thereon the bank │ prominent in the business│
│ │ early acquired title to the lot at│ and social life of that │
│ │ the southwest corner of social │ period were among its │
│ │ life of that period were among its│ early stockholders and │
│ │ early stockholders and directors, │ directors, while │
│ │ while │ │
│ │ │ │
│ 239│Louis W. Voit │Louis W. Voigt │
│ │ │ │
│ 323│and ready for the occupancy of │and ready for the occupancy│
│ │ children July 1, 1910. The law │ of children July 1, 1910.│
│ │ providing for the admission of │ The law providing for │
│ │ children has never been changed │ │
│ │ and very few crippled chil- and │ │
│ │ ready for the occupancy by │ │
│ │ children July 1, 1910. The law │ │
│ │ providing for │ │
│ │ │ │
│ 324│Major W. W. Downs was the propoter │He was at │
│ │ of the association. He was at │ │
│ │ │ │
│ 458│ │CHARLES H. JOHNSON. │
│ │ │ │
│ 495│ │JOHN F. CONLON. │
│ │ │ │
│ 574│as lows: Rose M., wife of Bert │as follows: Rose M., wife │
│ │ Gilmore, │ of Bert Gilmore │
│ │ │ │
│ 674│To this union five children have │To this union five children│
│ │ been born: Myrtle Ceina, Edna │ have been born: Myrtle │
│ │ Lula, rad Voelker, a wealthy and │ Ceina, Edna Lula, good │
│ │ prominent farmer residing on one │ educations by their │
│ │ of the finest good educations by │ ambitious parents. Mrs. │
│ │ their ambitious parents. Mrs. Loyd│ Loyd is a sister of │
│ │ is a sister of Conrad Voelker, a │ Conrad Voelker, a wealthy│
│ │ wealthy and prominent farmer │ and prominent farmer │
│ │ residing on one of the finest │ residing on one of the │
│ │ │ finest │
│ │ │ │
│ 771│Her grandmother, Samuel │Her grandfather, Samuel │
└────┴────────────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────┘
1. Silently corrected typographical errors and also variations in
spelling.
2. Retained anachronistic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as
printed.
3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "History of Atchison County Kansas" ***
Copyright 2023 LibraryBlog. All rights reserved.