XXV. BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY (part 3 of 3)

XXV. BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY (part 3 of 3)

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.

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.

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.

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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.

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